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📀 Cammmalot 📀3.5

They shouldn’t let crooks like that on Devil’s Island… It’ll give the place a bad nameHere’s an eccentric film that’s unlike any other from the 50’s I can think of. It’s based on a play and you can tell, as the entire production is pretty much staged exactly like a play.Other than the staginess, probably the biggest issue of this film is that it’s much too sweet for people who like their humor dark and it's is way too dark for people who are looking for something sweet.Despite all of this and including the fact that nothing is outrageously funny, I have to admit the whole thing won me over. It’s a pleasant, quirky, lazy day distraction.I’ll say one thing about prison. You meet a better class of people.

sakana13.5

There's probably a piece to be written about how this dark piece of kind(ly murderous) fluff is nothing more than an in-universe dream (or about how delightful Peter Ustinov is, or how uncannily much the character of Cousin Paul looks and acts like Sledgehammer) but, if I'm honest, all I can really think about is the little scene in which Aldo Ray has his hands behind his back because he's a good boy, dammit, and isn't going to touch the clueless nice girl who is blithely going on and on about how happy she is that he thinks she's pretty. Hoo boy. 🥵🥵🥵

Zoë 🐛4.0

A black comedy set at Christmastime starring Academy Award winners Peter Ustinov AND Humphrey Bogart?! Of course it's great!The script itself is full of funny lines, but Bogart, Ustinov, and Ray all bring excellent comedic know-how to the table, which I wasn't really expecting with Bogie and Ustinov, two men who I greatly admire as dramatic actors, but who did not often take on comedic roles. I'm glad to report that they did in fact have the range.The visual humor is great too. There's a subtle costume change for the three leads, all of whom are convicts in tattered clothes. In an attempt to look presentable, they each try to spruce up their convict outfits, with Ustinov wearing a collar and tie directly on his bare chest for the entire second half of the movie. It was...so funny? Where did he find that collar?Michael Curtiz directed this romp, and he wasn't on autopilot at all. The color scheme is truly distinctive for a comedy, particularly scenes involving Christmas decor, or scenes against the stunning blue sky and sea, the sky being a deep blue, a shade seen mostly in 50s melodrama. Such a beautiful touch.Merry Christmas, and please enjoy the most murderous Three Wise Men I've ever witnessed!