The Star System

The star system of judging films in The Radio Times can be a bit of a hit or miss affair. I think they got it wrong with John Ford's "Sergeant Rutledge" when they gave it 3 stars and again with his "The Horse Soldiers" which only got 3 stars, yet a couple of days ago a Randolph Scott western was given 4 stars. This was one of those old fashioned OK westerns in which the characters were stock types, there was a weakish husband with an admirably likeable wife who is fancied by a rakish crook in the shape of Lee Marvin (who, I have to say, raised the film above a standard type of western which usually Scott acted in).
But these discrepancies don't worry me much. Last week, however, a film with Frank Sinatra and Doris Day was given a modest three stars and I felt that it deserved better.
OK, the film itself, without the songs, was not much to write home about - Doris Day falls for Gig Young only to find she is attracted soon after by the taciturn and rather unfriendly, if not deeply depressed, Sinatra whose performance was one of the saving graces of the blandness of the film.
What lifted the film to 4 star status, in my opinion, was the songs. How could you downgrade a film, whatever the plot, when Sinatra sings four songs (never mind Miss Day's contribution of two or three trite numbers) all of which were top hits by him: "Young at Heart"; "Someone to Watch Over me"; "Just one of those things" and "One for my baby and one more for the road".
I've changed my mind - 5 stars.