On S List of Movie Reviews

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The Sundowners (1960)

Rate: 5
Viewed: 7/25

7/25: Although better than The Thorn Birds, The Sundowners is a whole lot of nothing.

Two hours and thirteen minutes...wow, pretty boring stuff with a terrible ending. It's hard to believe this one was Oscar-nominated for Best Picture. Sure, there's the nice cinematography of Australia. However, I've got to ask this: how much of it was really shot in the United States? And sure, there are some good scenes, but that's only when animals are involved.

Robert Mitchum and Deborah Kerr try, but their roles are so meatless that they can only look the part. The latter thought she deserved an Academy Award for Best Actress. Yeah, right...she should've learned how to be an Australian for a change. Peter Ustinov is supposed to be an asset but has been underutilized much of the time. The kid means nothing while all of the secondary characters are barely developed.

All in all, the constant lack of substance in The Sundowners is the primary reason why it failed at the box office in the United States.

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