TCM in June: Highlights

It's time for a detailed look at the June highlights on Turner Classic Movies!

TCM will celebrate the centennial of Marilyn Monroe beginning on Monroe's June 1st birthday. She will continue as Star of the Month for the next three Mondays, ending on June 22nd.

The TCM Spotlight will focus on disaster films every Wednesday.

This month's Noir Alley movies are THE BLUE DAHLIA (1946) on June 6th and 7th, BLACKOUT (1954) on the 13th and 14th, THE MAN I LOVE (1946) on the 20th-21st, and STOLEN FACE (1952) on June 27th and 28th.

I'm especially excited about one of the month's "Special Themes," as Eddie Muller revives his "Summer of Darkness" title from 11 years ago. On most Friday evenings in both June and July, Eddie will be hosting "Summer of Darkness: Eddie Muller's Top 25."

According to a TCM press release, the Summer of Darkness series will feature Eddie's "personal selections of the greatest film noir titles ever made." These films will be accompanied by "late-night neo-noir pairings that trace the genre's enduring influence."

I'll add a personal note, that I've seen Eddie at three different film festivals in the past month, including this past weekend at the UCLA Festival of Preservation. He is a very busy man! Yet always gracious, friendly, and enthused.

Below are just some of the June highlights. Please click on any hyperlinked title to read my complete review.

...Two of Marilyn Monroe's most enjoyable films, GENTLEMEN PREFER BLONDES (1953) and HOW TO MARRY A MILLIONAIRE (1953), will be shown on June 1st.

...There's a fantastic evening of aviation disaster films on June 3rd, including AIRPORT (1970), ZERO HOUR! (1957), THE CROWDED SKY (1960), and SKYJACKED (1972).

...A June 4th birthday tribute to Rosalind Russell includes the enjoyable minor mystery FAST AND LOOSE (1939), costarring Robert Montgomery.

...The first "Summer of Darkness" evening, on June 5th, features THE MALTESE FALCON (1941), DOUBLE INDEMNITY (1944), and DETOUR (1945).

...I try to never miss a chance to recommend I KNOW WHERE I'M GOING! (1945), which airs on Sunday, June 7th. A magical film.

...Movies including cruises on June 8th include THREE DARING DAUGHTERS (1948) and ROMANCE ON THE HIGH SEAS (1948).

...On June 9th the theme is hotels, including HOTEL BERLIN (1945) with fave Andrea King.

...I especially love the June 10th "sisters" theme, which includes a pair of very enjoyable June Allyson MGM films, TWO SISTERS FROM BOSTON (1946) and TWO GIRLS AND A SAILOR (1944). It's a wonderful day of viewing!

...Director William Beaudine was recently featured in a retrospective here at the New Beverly and Vista theaters. TCM is featuring a day of his films on June 11th, including Jean Parker in ADVENTURES OF KITTY O'DAY.

...The Summer of Darkness lineup on June 12th consists of SCARLET STREET (1945), THE KILLERS (1946), and NIGHTMARE ALLEY (1947). My favorite of this trio is THE KILLERS.

...The Marilyn Monroe films on June 15th include one of my favorites of her filmography, NIAGARA (1953). Jean Peters and Joseph Cotten also star.

...Anyone who's followed this blog for a length of time will understand my opinion that June 16th is the best day on the June calendar: a dozen Tim Holt Westerns! A selection of both his prewar and postward "B" films will be shown, including the gritty THE ARIZONA RANGER (1948), costarring Tim's father Jack. It's a day to sit back and enjoy Tim and Chito (Richard Martin) in Lone Pine and other familiar Western locations.

...The disaster movie lineup on June 17th includes the TCM premiere of Dana Andrews in CRACK IN THE WORLD (1965).

...Summer of Darkness takes the evening off on June 19th, but no worries, there's a full daytime lineup of Alfred Hitchcock films, including two of my all-time favorites, THE LADY VANISHES (1938) and FOREIGN CORRESPONDENT (1940).

...The Father's Day lineup on June 21st includes OUR VINES HAVE TENDER GRAPES 91945) and, of course, LIFE WITH FATHER (1947).

...I love the programming on June 22nd: Several films with the word "valley" in the title, including the adventure film VALLEY OF THE KINGS (1954), starring Robert Taylor and Eleanor Parker.

...Another fun theme, on June 23rd, is travel, including Jane Powell in NANCY GOES TO RIO (1950).

...June 24th features a day of films directed by King Vidor, including favorites Clark Gable and Hedy Lamarr in COMRADE X (1940).

...The June 26th Summer of Darkness lineup consists of OUT OF THE PAST (1947), RAW DEAL (1948), and MOONRISE (1948). All excellent films, and OUT OF THE PAST is iconic.

...I loved recently revisiting Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers in THE GAY DIVORCEE (1934), which will be shown on June 29th. (As a matter of fact, it's also part of the "ocean voyages" theme on June 8th!)

...The month ends with mysteries on June 30th, including Dick Powell in CORNERED (1945).

For more on TCM in June 2026, please visit my post Quick Preview of TCM in June along with TCM's online schedule.

Have a great summer!

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Tonight's Movies: Lorna Doone (1922) and The Magnificent Matador (1955) at the UCLA Festival of Preservation

We had a really wonderful day yesterday seeing four films at the 2026 UCLA Festival of Preservation.

The festival was held at UCLA's Billy Wilder Theater at the Hammer Museum in Westwood, where I have seen scores of films over the years. It began Friday evening, May 29th, running through Sunday night.

We chose to attend most of the day Saturday due to both our schedules and our interest in the day's movies. Two of yesterday's films were new to us and two were repeat watches, combining for a perfect day of viewing.

We also saw a quartet of restored Fleischer and Terry Toons cartoons which were introduced by animation historian Jerry Beck. I especially enjoyed THE MOUSE OF TOMORROW (1942), the very first Mighty Mouse cartoon. I was also delighted to receive a cute Mighty Mouse button as we entered the theater.

Following the first two cartoons we saw ADVENTURES OF CASANOVA (1948), starring Arturo de Cordova, Lucille Bremer, and Turhan Bey.

I first saw ADVENTURES OF CASANOVA at UCLA a dozen years ago as part of a tribute to de Cordova. I remembered liking it and that it was screened in a rather murky 16mm print, but not much more.

I'm happy to report that I absolutely loved revisiting the movie and it looked terrific, thanks to a restoration from the 35mm nitrate original picture negative, a nitrate fine grain, a nitrate track negative, and a 16mm print.

ADVENTURES OF CASANOVA is grand fun, somewhat akin to THE MARK OF ZORRO (1940), and I hope that this print will make its way to the greater viewing public via film festivals, TCM, and/or Blu-ray. It would be perfect for a Flicker Alley release!

Next up was a silent version of LORNA DOONE (1922), directed by Maurice Tourneur, father of Jacques Tourneur.

While the movie plot at times differed significantly from R.D. Blackmore's classic novel, which I have read and reread over the years, taken on its own terms this is an enjoyable and visually beautiful film.

Madge Bellamy (THE IRON HORSE) plays the title character, an innocent young girl living amongst the violent Doone clan in a remote valley.

She is ultimately rescued by the kind, sturdy young farmer John Ridd (John Bowers), though there are multiple complications before John and Lorna arrive at their Happily Ever After.

The movie has some striking California location work -- I've been unable to find out exactly where -- which adds to the movie's strong visuals, photographed by Henry Sharp. The performances are on the melodramatic side, but overall it's quite an entertaining 70 minutes.

We were fortunate to see LORNA DOONE with live music by Cliff Retallick, who always does a marvelous job.

Adding to the fun: Packages of Lorna Doone cookies were handed out as we exited the theater!

After a lunch break at The Apple Pan, the third film of the day was MERRILY WE LIVE (1938). This is one of my all-time favorite screwball comedies, which I think I've come to appreciate more on each successive viewing, and it was my first time to see it theatrically.

What a great experience seeing it with an appreciative audience! I laughed throughout, especially at the final ever-escalating series of kitchen pratfalls (seen here). I particuarly marveled at Clarence Kolb's physicality, given he did his own stunts and was roughly 63 at the time of filming.

After MERRILY WE LIVE I had the pleasure of viewing film historian Dick Bann's "keybook" containing every still shot for the movie. I could have spent much longer with it than time permitted, but I especially lingered over the set shots of the movie's amazing kitchen, including studying the countertop milkshake makers!

Finally we saw THE MAGNIFICENT MATADOR (1955), a 94-minute film directed by Budd Boetticher.

It was a CinemaScope film shot in Mexico by Lucien Ballard; the very vivid Eastmancolor rather reminded me of the Technicolor hues of SLIGHTLY SCARLET (1956), which I revisited earlier this month at the Arthur Lyons Film Noir Festival.

I'm sure I must have read about the film at some point, given the director and leading lady Maureen O'Hara, but the title was completely unfamiliar to me. I was very much seeing it "cold."

It's the story of Luis Santos (Anthony Quinn), a great Mexican matador who abruptly pulls out of a bullfight, to the dismay of his many admirers.

Wealthy Karen Harrison (O'Hara), who owns an estate in Mexico, is fascinated by Santos and literally chases after his Rolls-Royce in her little convertible sports car. She also intrudes on him as he prays in church.

Despite her aggressiveness, Luis and Karen slowly bond after she invites him to take refuge at her home. Her (apparently alcoholic) admirer Mark Russell (Richard Denning), who wants to marry her, is angry, but there's nothing he can do to stop the growing attraction between Luis and Karen.

But why did Luis avoid the bullfight, and what is his connection to young Rafael Reyes (Manuel Rojas)?

For the first half or so of the film, I kept thinking "This is a very strange movie," between the title song, O'Hara's playgirl "stalker" character, Denning's perpetually soused jerk, and constant abrupt fade-outs from scenes; that said, it increasingly grew on me as it went along and I would enjoy seeing it again in the future.

Quinn is charismatic as the bullfighter and has good chemistry with the perpetually feisty O'Hara. I especially liked the film's conclusion, which provided a better ending than I had expected.

Young Manuel Rojas, who plays up-and-coming matador Rafael, was the last husband of actress Martha Vickers (THE BIG SLEEP). He also appeared in Boetticher's BUCHANAN RIDES ALONE (1958). In the '80s he was married to actress Pamela Sue Martin (NANCY DREW, DYNASTY) who was nearly 23 years his junior.

The film has a nice supporting cast which also includes Thomas Gomez, Anthony Caruso, Eduardo Noriega, Lola Albright, and William Ching.

It was a marvelous day in every way; my husband even won a UCLA tote bag after correctly answering a trivia question. We all owe the UCLA Film & Television Archive a great debt for their work preserving cinema history.

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Tonight's Movie: Follow Me Quietly (1949) - A Warner Archive Blu-ray Review

FOLLOW ME QUIETLY (1949) is a movie I've enjoyed multiple times in the past, including on Turner Classic Movies in 2011 and via a Warner Archive DVD in 2014.

It had been a number of years since I last saw the movie, so I was glad to revisit it this weekend on a brand-new Warner Archive Blu-ray.

FOLLOW ME QUIETLY is a minor yet well-made, interesting film noir/crime film which runs a snappy hour flat.

William Lundigan plays Detective Harry Grant, who is trying to find a serial killer known as "The Judge."

Grant is aided by his colleague, Sergeant Art Collins (Jeff Corey), and alternately helped and hindered by an enthusiastic young crime reporter, Ann Gorman (Dorothy Patrick).

In some ways this is a familiar tale, yet the direction by Richard Fleischer (THE NARROW MARGIN) and black and white cinematography by Robert de Grasse knocks this film up several notches from "ordinary" to "special."

As I noted in past reviews, there are many special moments, from the off-kilter camera angles as the detectives do footwork to the smoke-filled shots in the police station.

Rainy nights add to the film's evocative mood, and there's a great chase sequence at the Los Angeles Gas Works. A very spooky sequence inside a police station is also extremely memorable, even shocking.

The film was made with care and thoughtfulness, with the end result being a very watchable film which will be especially appreciated by fans of the genre.

The three leads are all likeable; Patrick's character starts out as an annoyance but eventually her relationship with Lundigan evolves into greater understanding, and even playfulness.

The supporting cast includes Frank Ferguson, Nestor Paiva, Charles D. Brown, Paul Guilfoyle, Marlo Dwyer, Douglas Spencer, Robert Emmett Keane, Howard M. Mitchell, and Virginia Farmer.

Lillie Hayward's screenplay was based on a story by Francis Rosenwald and, believe it or not, Anthony Mann, himself an accomplished director of film noir.

As a side note, director Fleischer's family name was seen several times at yesterday's UCLA Festival of Preservation thanks to the screening of restored Fleischer cartoons. More on the festival is coming soon.

The Blu-ray print is from a 1080p HD master from a new 4K scan of the original nitrate camera negative. It looks and sounds terrific. Fans will be pleased.

The lone extras are the trailer and a Crime Does Not Pay short, DARK SHADOWS (1944), which stars Jacqueline White and a number of familiar character actors. Optional English-language subtitles are provided.

Thanks to the Warner Archive and Allied Vaughn for providing a review copy of this collection. This set may be purchased from Movie Zyng, Amazon, and other online retailers.

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Tonight's Movie: Gambling Ship (1933) - A Universal Blu-ray Review

I've seen the vast majority of Cary Grant's films, but thanks to Universal I've recently caught a couple of his very earliest films for the first time.

I reviewed the entertaining comedy THIS IS THE NIGHT (1932) last month, and I've just finished watching GAMBLING SHIP (1933).

GAMBLING SHIP is a quick little 72-minute film from Paramount Pictures which I found lots of pre-Code fun.

Grant plays Ace Corbin, a Chicago mobster who decides he's tired of living dangerously and heads to California for a fresh start.

On board the train Ace falls for lovely Eleanor Kenniston (Benita Hume, the future Mrs. Ronald Colman).

Ace gives Eleanor a false name, while simultaneously unaware that the seemingly refined Eleanor is actually Eleanor La Velle, girlfriend of California-based gangster Joe Burke (Arthur Vinton).

Once in California, Eleanor discovers that Joe is in dire financial straits due to machinations by another crook, Pete Manning (Jack La Rue). She decides she must remain loyal to Joe long enough to get him out of trouble.

Ace's dreams of a new life on the West Coast are likewise stymied by Pete, and Ace decides to go into business with Joe running the title gambling ship. Eventually true identities and relationships come to light...meanwhile Pete lobs a literal bomb onto the ship.

I found this quite an entertaining little movie. It's certainly no classic, but at the same time it's a great example of the movie fun which is "out there" awaiting rediscovery. I enjoyed it.

The screenplay by Marcin and Seton I. Miller, adapted by Claude Binyon from a story by Peter Ruric, keeps things moving quickly, and I especially liked that the characters don't spend an inordinate amount of time fretting over lies and who's been in love with who.

Indeed, underneath her patrician exterior Eleanor is one tough little cookie, deciding she owes it to Joe to help him when he's down, at the expense of the true love she has just discovered. There's a great police interview scene where both Ace and Joe discover they're in competition with one another.

Grant, with an odd gray streak in his hair, is charismatic, showing somewhat more onscreen charm than he did in THIS IS THE NIGHT. One can see his stardom growing watching these films back to back.

The film also benefits from a terrific supporting cast, including the always-reliable Glenda Farrell and Roscoe Karns. Also in the cast are Edward Gargan, Marc Lawrence, Sam McDaniel, Edwin Maxwell, and Spencer Charters. Gail Patrick is said by IMDb to be a casino patron, but I didn't spot her.

I also especially enjoyed the shipboard set, including its neon lights glowing in the distance as patrons arrive by water taxi.

The movie was directed by Louis J. Gasnier and Max Marcin, two names that are new to me. It was filmed by Charles Lang.

The Blu-ray print is very good, with a strong soundtrack.

As with other recent Universal Blu-ray releases, there are no extras. Optional English-language captions are provided.

GAMBLING SHIP is recommended for fans of Cary Grant and pre-Codes.

Thanks to Allied Vaughn and Universal for providing a review copy of this Blu-ray. It may be purchased from Movie Zyng, Amazon, and other online retailers.

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Around the Blogosphere This Week

Miscellaneous bits of news and fun stuff from around the Internet...

...There's great news for fans of film noir and crime films: Kino Lorber Studio Classics has announced that the Dark Side of Cinema XXVII Blu-ray collection is "coming soon." The terrific lineup of films includes Raymond Burr in UNMASKED (1950), which was my favorite film at the 2025 Arthur Lyons Film Noir Festival, plus Bob Steele in THE GREAT TRAIN ROBBERY (1941) and Dane Clark in THE MAN IS ARMED (1956). This sounds like a fabulous set for those of us who love exploring little-known movies.

...THE MAVERICK QUEEN (1955), which Kino Lorber earlier this year announced would be coming to Blu-ray, is now scheduled for a July 21st release. The print will be from a 4K scan of the original 35mm camera negative.

...THE LOVE TRAP (1929) , directed by William Wyler and starring Laura La Plante, is due out from Kino Lorber on July 14th...and "coming soon" is HIGH RISK (1981), with a cast including Anthony Quinn, Bruce Davison, Lindsay Wagner, Ernest Borgnine, and more.

...Disc reviews: James L. Neibaur, Glenn Erickson, and Stuart Galbraith IV (the latter of The Digital Bits) have each reviewed the new Kino Lorber release of NIGHT WORLD (1932)...Galbraith has also recently reviewed MOGAMBO (1953) and BEND OF THE RIVER (1952)...Glenn Erickson has also reviewed Kino's release of THE THIEF OF BAGDAD (1924) and VCI's two-film set of the public domain films D.O.A. (1949) and BORDERLINE (1950)...Timothy E. of Home Theater Forum has reviewed the new release Fleischer Cartoons Greatest Hits Volume 1. I just bought a copy a few days ago; it's available from ClassicFlix.

...Over at Comet Over Hollywood, Jessica Pickens' latest reviews include BRIDAL SUITE (1939) and SWEETHEARTS ON PARADE (1953).

...Ahead of this weekend's UCLA Festival of Preservation, KABC TV in Los Angeles has a news story on the UCLA Film and Television Archive.

...Notable Passings: Marcia Lucas, who won the Oscar for editing STAR WARS (1977), has passed away at 80. Lucas also edited RETURN OF THE JEDI (1983) and did uncredited editing work on THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK (1980); I will always be grateful to her for her many contributions to three of my very favorite movies. Lucas was nominated for another editing Oscar for AMERICAN GRAFFITI (1973)...I was very sorry to learn of the death of actress Ann Robinson (WAR OF THE WORLDS) at the age of 96. I was fortunate to see her at a couple different screenings over the years. Here she graciously posed for me at the TCM Classic Film Festival a decade ago...It was also sad to learn of the passing of actress Caitlin O'Heaney (TALES OF THE GOLD MONKEY). I loved her as Snow White on THE CHARMINGS (1987-88) and was mystified when she was replaced after the first season. Depending on the source, she was 72 or 73.

...More Notable Passings: British actor David Burke, who was Dr. Watson to Jeremy Brett's Sherlock Holmes in the classic 1984-85 TV series, has passed on at 91...Actor Peter Helm, who appeared in TV and movies for a dozen years beginning in 1959, has died at 84. He was married to actress Brooke Bundy (GENERAL HOSPITAL) in the early '60s. Survivors include his sister, actress Anne Helm...Character actor Charles Cioffi has died at 90...Costume designer Albert Wolsky has passed on at 95. He won Oscars for ALL THAT JAZZ (1979) and BUGSY (1991). His other credits included a pair of films I loved, TV's Hallmark Hall of Fame production of BEAUTY AND THE BEAST (1976) and THE TURNING POINT (1977), seen here...Kelly Lee Curtis, the oldest child of Tony Curtis and Janet Leigh, has died at 69. Survivors include her younger sister, Oscar-winning actress Jamie Lee Curtis.

...For additional recent links of interest to classic film fans, please visit my May 16th column.

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Tonight's Movie: Mississippi (1935) - A Universal Blu-ray Review

MISSISSIPPI (1935), starring Bing Crosby and W.C. Fields, has just been released on Blu-ray by Universal.

This is a film I've long wanted to see due to its leading ladies, favorites Joan Bennett and Gail Patrick.

Bing plays Tom Grayson, a Quaker-raised Philadelphian now living in the South.

Tom is newly engaged to Elvira (Patrick), but when her former suitor shows up at the engagement party and challenges Tom to a duel for "stealing" his sweetheart, Tom thinks it's absurd and refuses.

Elvira is insulted Tom won't defend her "honor" and immediately breaks the engagement, to the joy of her little sister Lucy (Bennett), a schoolgirl who secretly loves Tom herself.

Tom takes a job on a showboat run by Commodore Jackson (Fields), where Tom ironically becomes known as "Colonel Steele, the Singing Killer."

Eventually, Tom reunites with Lucy, but even the loyal Lucy is shocked by Tom's new identity -- or maybe she's just bothered by his unfortunate-looking mustache?

This is quite a short film, running just 73 minutes, and I'd class it as mildly entertaining. There's little depth to the characters, especially Elvira, whose instant breaking of her engagement reveals no real feelings for her fiance.

Bennett was about 25 when this was made, and her Lucy is delightful, especially in a scene where she confesses her feelings for Tom; however, again we have no character insights into why she loves him, other than that he's Bing Crosby. Bennett has nice comedic timing, while her longing is also moving, and occasionally signs of Bennett's more mature 1940s film persona peek through in her line deliveries.

Bing's performance is somewhat pallid, almost too calm and emotionless; as I've watched more of his '30s films I've come to realize it took time for him to develop the comfortable onscreen persona I associate with Bing. That said, he sings songs by Rodgers and Hart, and there are a couple funny sequences with Fields, especially one involving a card game with way too many aces on the table.

In the end, MISSISSIPPI is nothing particularly special, but it's a pleasant enough way to spend a little over an hour, especially for those who are fans of the cast or Rodgers and Hart (and who isn't?!).

The cast also includes Queenie Smith, Claude Gillingwater, John Miljan, Paul Hurst, and Stanley Andrews.

Future film noir star Dennis O'Keefe can be clearly seen as an extra during the engagement party sequence. Ann Sheridan is apparently one of Bennett's school friends, but I didn't pick her out of the group.

The movie was directed by A. Edward Sutherland and the uncredited Wesley Ruggles. It was filmed in black and white by Charles Lang and the uncredited Karl Struss.

Universal previously released this film on DVD in a six-film Crosby set as part of their "Backlot" series; later it was a single-title DVD release in the Universal Vault series.

The Blu-ray print has some speckles and is perhaps a bit less "cleaned up" than some of Universal's other recent Blu-ray releases, but overall it's fine, without any large flaws or distracting skips or jumps. Especially for those of us who grew up watching films via terrible TV prints, this disc is quite satisfactory. Sound quality is fine.

There are no extras, but optional English-language subtitles are provided.

Thanks to Allied Vaughn and Universal for providing a review copy of this Blu-ray. It may be purchased from Movie Zyng, Amazon, and other online retailers.

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Tonight's Movie: The Mandalorian and Grogu (2026)

Things are starting to get back to normal here after our recent unexpected evacuation. It's hard to believe almost a week has past since that incident began.

Our original plans to see THE MANDALORIAN AND GROGU (2026) over the holiday weekend had to be cancelled, but we were able to catch up with it today.

I'm a fan of the MANDALORIAN TV series and reviewed the very first episode here back in 2019. In 2022 I also shared photos from our visit to Star Wars Celebration: The Mandalorian Experience.

One of the reasons the series appeals to me is it's basically a "space Western," as the late Jeff Arnold described in a 2019 column at Jeff Arnold's West. That likeness was never more apparent than in the new movie, which was, in essence, a STAR WARS "B" Western.

The plot finds the Mandalorian, Din Djarin (Pedro Pascal, THE FANTASTIC FOUR: FIRST STEPS), and his adopted son Grogu working for the New Republic.

The Mandalorian tracks down holdouts pushing for a return of the Empire, and as part of that he is tasked by Colonel Ward (Sigourney Weaver) with rescuing the kidnapped Rotta the Hutt (Jeremy Allen White), son of the late Jabba.

The hope is that by returning Rotta to his family they will in turn share valuable information about someone on the colonel's "most wanted" list. Perhaps not surprisingly, nothing goes as planned...

At the outset I'll say that the movie doesn't even attempt to reach the heights of the very best STARS WARS movies, and that's most apparent with the poor score by Ludwig Goransson. Some majestic Williams-esque music would have gone a long way to heighten the excitement and underline the character's relationships. We occasionally hear the faintest thread of an original STAR WARS theme, but that music always fades away after a few bars.

The cinematography by David Klein is also quite dark, an annoying trend in recent years.

From the standpoint of those issues, it's rather lazy filmmaking, as the movie could have been much more. That said, I try to review what is, rather than what I wanted, and what did end up on screen is a perfectly pleasant "popcorn movie," rather akin to the TV series.

The film reminded me of lesser "B" Westerns, in which character interactions are very frequently interrupted by our heroes riding around on horseback and shooting it out with the bad guys. There's a lot of "riding around and shooting" in this movie, but those scenes are interspersed with some delightful moments.

What can I say? I'm a big fan of Grogu, colloquially also known as "Baby Yoda." Everything about Grogu is charming, including his incessant need for snacks and the way his eyes light up during exciting adventures with his "dad." Because of my Grogu fandom, my overall review comes down closer to that of Erik Kain of Forbes, who calls the movie a "hilarious little space Western."

You have to love Grogu running up a tab at a snack stand run by an informant (Martin Scorsese, of all people, in a funny performance) or being fed by Rotta. Rotta, it turns out, wants to be as different from his evil father as possible, and he dotes on Grogu, one of the film's more charming aspects.

I also laughed every time the tiny Anzellan mechanics referred to Grogu with names such as "the horrible baby," followed by those same Anzellans determined to rescue the imperiled Mandalorian "for the baby." Every aspect of the Anzellans' relationship with Grogu is adorable.

And of course, I love the ongoing relationship between father and son. One might question the Mandalorian taking a "baby" into very dangerous settings, but such is the world they live in, and this baby is growing smarter and more powerful all the time, to the point he can care for his father as much as his father protects him.

The fact that one of the main characters wears a helmet and one is actually a puppet, yet they have a moving and endearing relationship, is rather remarkable, really.

Circling back to the Rotta character, I also enjoyed the echoing of Luke Skywalker's relationship with his own father, underscoring once more that family history doesn't have to repeat itself.

Another plus is that some of the neon set design calls to mind San Fransokyo of BIG HERO 6 (2014), while a swampy sequence with Grogu and a fisherman calls to mind not only Yoda's THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK (1980) swamp but...the beginning of Disneyland's Pirates of the Caribbean ride?!

There's a nice callback to both the MANDORIAN and AHSOKA series with the return of Paul Syung-Hung Lee as Captain Carson Teva. Steve Blum plays the Mandalorian's pilot friend Zeb.

Although he's unseen, John Wayne's grandson, Brendan Wayne, once again wears the Mandalorian suit, with Pascal voicing the character and appearing in a brief helmetless sequence. (Those "in the know" understand that Mandalorians don't typically remove their helmets.) Lateef Crowder wears the suit for stunt scenes.

THE MANDALORIAN AND GROGU was directed by Jon Favreau, who cowrote the script with Dave Filoni and Noah Kloor. (Filoni can be spotted in a cameo as Trapper Wolf, his character from the TV series.) The movie runs 132 minutes.

Parental Advisory: This film is rated PG-13. It's a STAR WARS movie: Lots of non-gory shoot-'em-ups, alongside positive themes about family and doing the right thing.

A trailer is here.

In the end, enjoyment of THE MANDALORIAN AND GROGU will probably come down to expectations and whether a viewer can enjoy a "lesser" STAR WARS film. As a "glass is half full" viewer I found it an enjoyable time at the movies, and I will return to it in the future.

To put this film into context with my overall feelings on STAR WARS movies and series, the original three films are among my all-time favorite movies, probably all in my Top 10. I also appreciate ROGUE ONE, SOLO, and ANDOR...but I will never, ever watch the half-dozen prequel or sequel films again!

Related reviews: ROGUE ONE: A STAR WARS STORY (2016), STAR WARS: THE LAST JEDI (2017), SOLO: A STAR WARS STORY (2018), STAR WARS: THE RISE OF SKYWALKER (2019).

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