Customer Reviews

Toys in the Attic [VHS]

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Though I didn't see the play or read the screenplay of L. Hellman's "Toys in the Attic," I have just seen the video and was entranced by the performances of Geraldine Page, Dean Martin, and Wendy Hiller!! What a movie!! Ms. Page never disappointed her audience, and 21 years later gave her Oscar-winning performance in "The Trip to Bountiful." I didn't realize how wonderfully Dean Martin could handle a dramatic role...Wendy Hiller stoicly is the older, common-sense sister who survives all the dysfunction in the siblings..what a movie!! Ms. Mimeaux is quite good as well. In my retirement, I'm trying to see the movies I missed when our children were small...this one is a "keeper."

I LOVE THIS FILM! OF COURSE, I ADMIT, I'M PARTIAL TO 60'S FILMS ESPECIALLY GOOD OLD BLACK AND WHITE DRAMAS BUT PLEASE TAKE MY WORD ON THIS ONE...IF YOU ARE A GERALDINE PAGE FAN YOU CAN'T MISS THIS MOVIE!!! I'VE SAID IT BEFORE AND I'LL SAY IT AGAIN, THIS WOMAN WAS ONE OF THE GREATEST ACTRESSES EVER TO GRACE A MOVIE CAMERA...SHE DOES MORE IN 10 SECONDS OF SCREEN TIME THAN MOST ACTRESSES DO IN MOVIE AFTER MOVIE...TAKE NOTE: MISS ROBERTS, MISS RYAN, MISS JOLIE, ETC.! DEAN MARTIN IS ALSO EXCELLENT AND THE DIVINE WENDY HILLER IS SIMPLY STUNNING AS USUAL!

This film adaptation of the successful broadway play suffers from many of the same problems that always plague stage to film dramatic attempts. It is slow in places and sometimes too "stagy" for film. The choice of black and white film was wise however and the performances are excellent to good all the way around. Page and Hiller are fine as expected and Dean Martin is much better than critics have given him credit for. I have a theory that as Martin is discovered by contemporary audiences unaffected by his TV image as the lovable lush, he will begin to get far more credit than here-to-fore received for his film work circa 1958-1965. The film, like the play, won't appeal to a wide general audience, but for those who enjoy Lillian Hellman this is a much better film than given credit for at the time of release and worth owning

I have enjoyed this film since I was a kid and first caught it on television a couple of years after I really became aware of Dean Martin when he hit big with "Everybody Loves Somebody" and his television show. Of course, it was highly censored at that time on regular television, and so it wasn't until the third or fourth time I saw it that I realized the real meaning of Carrie's feelings toward her brother. I was stunned to realize she had incestuous feelings toward him, but today I realize even more what a fine film this really is. Yes, I watched it for Dino, and despite what critics at the time said, I still think he does a fantastic acting job here (we tend to forget about some his early solo film performances -- "Rio Bravo", "Some Came Running" -- and just how good he could be at acting when he really worked at it. But I also love this film for the performances of Wendy Hiller and Geraldine Page. Page always gets the most attention, and she certainly plays her mentally ill sister character to the hilt in this film, but I admire even more Hiller's understated performance as the sister who knows more than she usually says and is actually the rock of the family. Another treat is Gene Tierney, back for one of her final films after her nervous breakdown. Perhaps the only Lillian Hellman (author) film I admire more is "The Childrens' Hour" with Shirley MacLaine and Audrey Hepburn. "Toys In The Attic" is serious stuff, and not for the moralists, but it's a film I always enjoy immensely, and most of all for the strength of its performances.

The critics really missed this one. I don't think it's been shown on TV in many years. I saw it when it first came out and it made an impression on me. It took me many hours of research to finally find it because it wasn't available on DVD until recently. Some of the celebs of that era had enough clout to take certain movies off the shelf for so many years for whatever reason. None of my friends and family had even heard of it. Dean Martin did a great acting job, but maybe the subject matter (he had a teenage bride, rumors of forbidden love, incest) may have bothered him. I highly recommend it. It brings the feel of what New Orleans was like in those days.

Toys in the Attic was cut after its release to 93 minutes from 2 hours. It is still a great cinematic statement about incest and racism, mental illness and various adictions, from George Roy Hill.

This DVD, however, does not have it in its widescreen format, yet another cut, shall we say, to this Lillian Hellman film version.

On TCM it is always widescreen, when it is on. Make a DVD of this film from TCM's widescreen showing.

You miss a great deal with pan and scan on this film. Be aware!

Dean Martin stars as an irresponsible man trying to make his fortune, surrounded by sisters and a wife who love him so much, and in fact, probably too much. When he finally comes into money, it sets of a chain of events that leaves his family in shambles. Martin is good in his role, revealing what a capable actor he was. As his sisters, Geraldine Page and Wendy Hiller deliver their usual excellent performances. Page was especially adept at playing such complicated women, while Hiller quietly let's us in on all that her character is thinking. Yvette Mimieux does a good job as Martin's desperate young wife, and an older Gene Tierney is very good as her detached mother. The movie presents a controversial subject matter as frankly as they could probably get away with when it was made, and although it wins no awards for being exciting (or even that pleasant), it is dramatic and the characters kept my attention.

This is a great transference of the Lillian Hellman play to film. Geraldine Page gives a masterful performance as the neurotic and conniving sister. She is matched every step of the way by the quiet and compelling Wendy Hiller as the other sister.

Best part I've ever seen Dean Martin play. Initially purchased for Gene Tierney's role, but pleasantly surprised by the whole cast. Sister parts very well acted - brilliant story, well played. Touches on many taboos/prejudices/social issues (incest; racism; domestic violence and more). Well worth viewing.

no problem w/viewing or shipping.I love this movie. The only problem I have w/this DVD is it doesn't give the option for subtitles.