Movie Magazine International Blog

Monica Sullivan  This charming film from Czechoslovakia, a surprise hit at international film festivals, is inspired by the Nick Carter detective stories which enjoyed a vogue at the turn of the twentieth century. "Adele Hasn't Had Her supper Yet/Dinner For Adele" is about a man-eating plant, some early flying machines, a mad scientist, a sane scientist, a delightful strudel of a girl who makes terrific strawberry dumplings, a fat detective and, last but not least, the famous slender detective Nick Carter whose motto is "Always prepared!" How do they all fit together?  Hopefully, a shrewd American distributor will acquire the video rights, so more viewers will have the fun of discovering Adele all over again. Adele is the animated plant.  The wonderfully capable Czech actor Michal Docolomansky plays Nick Carter. © 1997 - Monica Sullivan Movie Magazine International

By Monica Sullivan The world has restored its lost innocence so many times throughout recorded history that I always worry what the hell is meant by that meaningless phrase "a more innocent time".  A more unconscious time, maybe?  A more oblivious time?  In the case of the quiz show scandals of the late fifties, I'm inclined to think so.  Advertisers who had already drummed real or imagined commies out of the television industry, were quick to realize that enormous ratings meant increased sales of their products.  It was a short hop from that realization to their decision to dictate programming content.  What was cheaper to produce or more profitable than a game show?  But you couldn't have just anyone guessing who was the world's fastest land animal, it had to be someone that consumers would tune in to watch week after week.   Big surprise. The quiz shows were rigged so they would seem like real contests, not scripted entertainment.  ...