Re: I WAKE UP DREAMING 2014
Posted: May 17th, 2014, 11:04 am
It was a bright and sunny day….
Despite an early arrival in San Franciscso yesterday, quick contact was made with Dewey and MookRyan. All, therefore, is good. Dewey put me to work even though I didn’t have my union card with me.
By the time 6:30pm came around, Mook and I were in our designated seats, Richard (a member of my film class, making his second opening weekend appearance) was a few rows in front of us and the Roxie was full for the Opening Night treasures…an evening of obsession and murder perpetrated by stars of the first magnitude.
STRANGER ON THE THIRD FLOOR (Boris Ingster 1940) is now generally considered the first American film noir. (Note to those who say American film noir was in large part created by German director émigrés: Boris Ingster was born in Latvia, did no work in Germany, and this was his first directing assignment; the film this replaced as the first American film noir – THE MALTESE FALCON (1941), directed by the well-known German émigré, John Huston.) This has got the goods: Fate by way of chance meetings; guilty conscience of the good guy reporter (John McGuire) who may be sending an innocent man (Elisha Cook, Jr.) to the chair; first-person voice-over narration; shadows everywhere courtesy of Nicholas Musuraca; and, a stranger…an obsessed, mad, murderous stranger…who, with minimal screen time, creeps us out for a lifetime (Peter Lorre). Proof again (and think this is going to be a recurring theme over the ten-day schedule) that a very good movie watched at home alone on the TV screen is transformed into a magnificent movie when watched with an audience on the big screen.
A suave, charming, rich, mystery story radio host (Claude Rains) just can’t help himself. Cross him and you’re dead in THE UNSUSPECTED (Michael Curtiz 1947). The intricacies of the plot are almost beside the point, even though with Joan Caulfield, Audrey Totter and Constance Bennett, one does try to pay attention. This is about look and atmosphere. And this digital print looked fantastic! This now must be placed among Woody Bredell’s greatest works of cinematography beside PHANTOM LADY (Robert Siodmak 1944), CHRISTMAS HOLIDAY (Robert Siodmak 1944), THE KILLERS (Robert Siodmak 1946)…okay, okay, a German director émigré…and, of course, FEMALE JUNGLE (Bruno VeSota 1955).
Leaving the Roxie, it was a dark and windy night.
Four movies on tap for today, including one I haven’t seen.
Despite an early arrival in San Franciscso yesterday, quick contact was made with Dewey and MookRyan. All, therefore, is good. Dewey put me to work even though I didn’t have my union card with me.
By the time 6:30pm came around, Mook and I were in our designated seats, Richard (a member of my film class, making his second opening weekend appearance) was a few rows in front of us and the Roxie was full for the Opening Night treasures…an evening of obsession and murder perpetrated by stars of the first magnitude.
STRANGER ON THE THIRD FLOOR (Boris Ingster 1940) is now generally considered the first American film noir. (Note to those who say American film noir was in large part created by German director émigrés: Boris Ingster was born in Latvia, did no work in Germany, and this was his first directing assignment; the film this replaced as the first American film noir – THE MALTESE FALCON (1941), directed by the well-known German émigré, John Huston.) This has got the goods: Fate by way of chance meetings; guilty conscience of the good guy reporter (John McGuire) who may be sending an innocent man (Elisha Cook, Jr.) to the chair; first-person voice-over narration; shadows everywhere courtesy of Nicholas Musuraca; and, a stranger…an obsessed, mad, murderous stranger…who, with minimal screen time, creeps us out for a lifetime (Peter Lorre). Proof again (and think this is going to be a recurring theme over the ten-day schedule) that a very good movie watched at home alone on the TV screen is transformed into a magnificent movie when watched with an audience on the big screen.
A suave, charming, rich, mystery story radio host (Claude Rains) just can’t help himself. Cross him and you’re dead in THE UNSUSPECTED (Michael Curtiz 1947). The intricacies of the plot are almost beside the point, even though with Joan Caulfield, Audrey Totter and Constance Bennett, one does try to pay attention. This is about look and atmosphere. And this digital print looked fantastic! This now must be placed among Woody Bredell’s greatest works of cinematography beside PHANTOM LADY (Robert Siodmak 1944), CHRISTMAS HOLIDAY (Robert Siodmak 1944), THE KILLERS (Robert Siodmak 1946)…okay, okay, a German director émigré…and, of course, FEMALE JUNGLE (Bruno VeSota 1955).
Leaving the Roxie, it was a dark and windy night.
Four movies on tap for today, including one I haven’t seen.