Antonius Block
This 1966 comedy is campy, silly, and a bit ridiculous, but on the other hand, it has Natalie Wood, and that rounds it up to an almost passable film - and if you adore her as I do, worth watching, maybe lightly, in the background while reading. She is absolutely beautiful in the role of an irrepressible housewife who turns to robbery because her husband doesn't pay enough attention to her. Jesus, talk about a plot hole right there. :P Peter Falk is good as the detective on her trail, and it was interesting to see Jonathan Winters in a small part as well (he's a sex-crazed professor who chases her around until her clothes rip off and she's left capering about in her underwear
not exactly politically correct).On a more somber note, it's sad to think of the troubles this 5' tall daughter of Russian immigrants had in her life, ultimately leading to her creepy drowning death at the age of 43. She took several years off from acting after making this film which speaks to some of the turmoil she was going through, and it's jarring to understand that in light of just how airy this film is, and how happy she seems to be in it.
preppy-3
Pretty dumb comedy about neglected wife Natalie Wood becoming a kleptomaniac to get her husband's (Ian Bannen's) attention. She even sees a psychiatrist (a very annoying Dick Shawn) to try to be cured. Then she robs her husband's bank and things just get sillier...This isn't a total bomb. It's beautifully photographed--I've never seen NYC look like this; the settings and costumes are incredible; Wood is just gorgeous and Bannen is handsome and actually quite amusing as her husband. But two things destroy this--the script and Shawn. Shawn is WAY over the top in his performance--he's not funny just annoying. The script is pretty poor--there are a few good parts here and there but most of the comedy is just BAD!!! Wood and Bannen give it their all but the material just isn't there. The rest of the cast just overacts (horribly). It leads to a "happy" ending which had me rolling my eyes.So it's worth seeing for Wood, Bannen, the cinematography (letter boxing is a must) and some mildly humorous material. Otherwise--forget it. I give it a 6.
phoenix_cr
This was the first flick of Natalie's that I ever laid my eyes on, and, well, what can i say?... I was bedazzled, captivated, and why?, simply because it was Natalie. What is good about this movie?, 1-the cute little 60s outfits she wears!, you have to give her that. She embodied the true meaning of 60's style. 2-All the witty and light-headed arguments between Penelope and her therapist. 3-The persona created by Natalie as her Alterego Penelope seems to me now (with a wider knowledge of Natalie's Cinema) one of the finer representations of the charming and charismatic self that she in fact was, and well.... The movie in its wholesomeness turns to eye-candy before you can finish quoting it's title. If you ever loved her, you love Penelope too.
AbandonedRailroadGrade
This weren't as bad as some people say. There's three reasons to watch it: (3) There is actually some funny and witty material here, (2) the photography is gorgeous--both the interior shots and the glamorous locales of mid-1960's New York, and (1) Natalie is stunningly beautiful.