WHAT FILMS HAVE YOU SEEN LATELY?

[MikeBSG]

Yesterday, I watched "House by the River" (1950) directed by Fritz Lang.

I didn't have a lot of expectations for this film, but I have to say it really impressed me. It isn't first rate Fritz Lang, but it comes very close.

It is a hard to categorize movie, both in terms of genre and in terms of era. On the one hand, it is very erotic. The protagonist's thoughts about his housekeeper are very erotic, and Lang gets his thoughts across (and films the gorgeousness of the housekeeper) in a way that I found surprisingly frank for a 1950 Hollywood film. At the same time, there is a supernatural element of sorts to this film that made me think of the horror films of Val Lewton, which were long over by 1950. (The protagonist's obsession with the river made me think of the zoo in "Cat People," and the protagonist's death scene suggests the climax of "The Body Snatcher," although the death scene here is rushed.)

The biggest flaw I have to pick with "House by the River" (apart from the utterly lackluster title. It isn't a title; it's a direction.) is that it is actually two films battling for dominance during a 90 minute running time. You have the story of the protagonist, who commits murder and becomes obsessed with the river, and you have the story of his brother, who becomes the victim of community gossip when everyone assumes that he committed the murder. To me, the two did not quite work together, possibly because the film's ending seemed a bit rushed/badly thought out.

Still, I'm very glad I saw this one.

[JackFavell]

Wow, that is a perfect description of House by the River! This is a movie I had never heard of before, but it was a real winner. Like you say, it's not perfect, but lordy, it deserves to be better known. Hayward's creepiness is incredible, as if he turned into a snake or serpent over the course of the film.

[RedRiver]

I don't know HOUSE BY THE RIVER, but I kind of like the title. I'm from Kentucky. Practically everything is by the river!

[MikeBSG]

Forgot to mention that while I was away from my computer last week, I managed to see "Silver Linings Playbook" (2012) directed by David O. Russell.

It was okay. It made me think of "Moonstruck," but a "Moonstruck" updated from the Eighties to the present and with the emphasis on drama instead of comedy. (Also, the main character is male.)

I have to say that Jennifer Lawrence is terrific. If she had been anything less than terrific, the movie would have crashed and burned. She was scary, funny, heartbreaking... It was a terrific performance.

And Robert DeNiro did a fine job. I don't think I have seen him in anything since "Analyze This," but he turned in a fiery performance here, and the scene in which he tells his son to let go of the past was quite moving.

Having said that, I can't really believe that the movie got as many Oscar nominations as it did. I would call this good but not great.

[MikeBSG]

"House by the River" is an example of what I like to call "gaslight noir," a story of murder and madness in the Victorian era. 1950 strikes me as rather late for such a film, but then it was from mini-studio Republic. According to the Fritz Lang bio I've read, the movie did fine at the box office, although the book spends very little time on it.

The screenplay was by Mel Dinelli, who also wrote the screenplay for "The Spiral Staircase" and several episodes of the radio series "Suspense." I have to say that I find myself pretty impressed by his work.

I suppose, now that I think about it, that "House of Wax" (1953) could be seen as "gaslight noir."

[RedRiver]

Thanks for bringing us back to "Baby Jane." What delightful camp! Intense, suspenseful, character driven. It's impossible to not like such riveting melodrama. Yet, I like the other Robert Aldrich thriller of that era even better. Of course, I'm talking about Miss Charlotte. Scary, sad and dramatic. It's like William Castle met James M. Cain, and they stopped and picked up Tennessee Williams! The wonderful cast of scenery eaters delivers all the moustache twirling villainy needed to keep us on edge for hours.

This ultimate double feature thrilled my ten year-old friends in 1964. It will make your hair stand up today. It's lost none of its bite in almost fifty years. Tell me again, why we prefer classic cinema?

[MikeBSG]

Last night I saw "Arbitrage" (2012) directed by Nicholas Jarecki.

This was the Wall Street drama that starred Richard Gere as a Bernie Madoff-ish character. While Gere was terrific, the movie ended up being only okay. The beginning was rather jumpy, as if uncertain as to which way it would go and what would be important. Then it seemed to settle down into a "Law and Order" type drama, which, while not especially original, proved gripping. Then the movie suddenly seemed to reverse itself and go off into a different direction, as if it had at the last moment decided to become "Crimes & Misdemeanors" or "Match Point."

In a way, I can sort of understand why the movie ended the way it did, as if to tell the audience not to be complacent about "Master of the Universe" type figures. But on the other hand, by ending this way the movie seemed to endorse the Gere-character's values. An intriguing misfire, but still a misfire. "Margin Call," from 2011 about the Wall Street meltdown, is much better. (And "Crimes & Misdemeanors" and "Match Point" are better as well.)

[CineMaven]

Maven, if you want to see Kathleen Byron later in her career, check out the BBC production of THE GOLDEN BOWL, circa early 70s, in which she plays the important supporting role of Fanny Assingham. Daniel Massey, Gayle Hunnicutt, Cyril Cusack, Barry Morse, and Jill Townsend also star. One of the best Henry James adaptations.

Thanx for the tip Brother Rat. I guess I really just want to see Byron as mad as a hatter. But I know an actor has to grow and play different roles. Thanx. By the by...liked your review re: your 'Palm Springs Weekend' moviefare and I haven't forgotten your post on "Pinky." That didn't fall on deaf ears...or is that blind eyes?

Forgot to mention that while I was away from my computer last week, I managed to see "Silver Linings Playbook" (2012) directed by David O. Russell. I have to say that Jennifer Lawrence is terrific. If she had been anything less than terrific, the movie would have crashed and burned. She was scary, funny, heartbreaking... It was a terrific performance. And Robert DeNiro did a fine job. I don't think I have seen him in anything since "Analyze This," but he turned in a fiery performance here, and the scene in which he tells his son to let go of the past was quite moving. Having said that, I can't really believe that the movie got as many Oscar nominations as it did. I would call this good but not great.

I give "Silver Linings Playbook" a full-throated, two thumbs up. I love the way it was constructed and acted ( verbally & non-verbally - the Mom. ) It was realistic and hopeful and not in a schmaltzy way. These weren't easy people to understand but you came away rooting for them. If anyone is reading my words, I wholeheartedly recommend you see this film. Jennifer Lawrence is an amazing young actress that I think you should keep an eye on ( as long as she doesn't do "Hunger Games: X." ) And Bradley Cooper showed me he's more than a pretty face. But I liked him in his last movie with Jeremy Irons & Zoe Saldana.

Yesterday, I watched "House by the River" (1950) directed by Fritz Lang. I didn't have a lot of expectations for this film, but I have to say it really impressed me. It isn't first rate Fritz Lang, but it comes very close."House by the River" is an example of what I like to call "gaslight noir," a story of murder and madness in the Victorian era.

Mike, what are some of your first-rate Fritz Lang favorites? I love your christening a new genre: "GASLIGHT NOIR." Guess "GASLIGHT" and "THE SPIRAL STAIRCASE" would fit that genre, ey?

I don't know HOUSE BY THE RIVER, but I kind of like the title. I'm from Kentucky. Practically everything is by the river!

Oh Red, you ought to check it out. As Wendy writes:

Wow, that is a perfect description of House by the River! This is a movie I had never heard of before, but it was a real winner. Like you say, it's not perfect, but lordy, it deserves to be better known. Hayward's creepiness is incredible, as if he turned into a snake or serpent over the course of the film.

Thanks for bringing us back to "Baby Jane." What delightful camp! Intense, suspenseful, character driven. It's impossible to not like such riveting melodrama. Yet, I like the other Robert Aldrich thriller of that era even better. Of course, I'm talking about Miss Charlotte. Scary, sad and dramatic. It's like William Castle met James M. Cain, and they stopped and picked up Tennessee Williams! The wonderful cast of scenery eaters delivers all the moustache twirling villainy needed to keep us on edge for hours. This ultimate double feature thrilled my ten year-old friends in 1964. It will make your hair stand up today. It's lost none of its bite in almost fifty years. Tell me again, why we prefer classic cinema?

You guys always make me chuckle...there's always the movie that's just a leeeetle bit better than what you've just seen. "...Baby Jane." One way to get through it is to think of it as camp. But I hadn't seen it in a while. And I put away that campy point of view and wound up seeing it as a psychologically terrorizing film. When Jane killed Elvira and wrapped her body and took it down to the garage in the wheel chair, it was hard for me to see the camp. Hush hush sweet Red. I loved "...Charlotte" too. ( The beatdown that deHavilland gave Bette in the car was fantastic. And Agnes Moorhead was a hoot - 'less you think I've permanently discarded my 'camp' gene. Yo, any movie Bruce Dern made before 1970, you just know he's out to lunch. ) "Diabolique" + "GWTW" = "HUSH, HUSH SWEET CHARLOTTE???

But alas, for me, it's Mary...Mary...Mary who brings the poignancy back into all the proceedings.

[Vecchiolarry]

Hi,

I love both "WeHtBJ" and "HH,SC" equally well because of the great stars in both and the fine acting in both, even though some is over-the-top - it works here in both films.

Let us not forget Mary Astor in her two small scenes. She is whom I look forward to in the latter movie.
Those lines: with Olivia - "I have no more time for you; not even one more minute!!"....
and: with Kellaway, as she touches her lace cuff - "Ruined finery, that's what I've become; I'm stoney broke!!".....
In the first scene, we can see her aged old woman; but in the second, she reveals her once long ago beauty...

Larry

[RedRiver]

Jennifer Lawrence is an amazing young actress that I think you should keep an eye on

A friend of mine went to school with her mother. You know you're getting old when that's your brush with fame!

[CineMaven]

Red, that's a great brush. Get me her autograph.

[CineMaven]

Uhhhhh, Jennifer's. Not her mom's. Though I'm sure she's a very nice woman.

[MikeBSG]

My first-rate Fritz Lang films would include: "Destiny," "Kriemhilde's Revenge," "Metropolis," "M," "Last Testament of Dr. Mabuse," "You and Me," "Manhunt," (or is that two words?) "Hangmen Also Die," "Woman in the Window," "Scarlet Street," "The Big Heat," "Clash by Night." Haven't seen "Western Union" or "Rancho Notorious."