feaito wrote:It's always interesting to read your posts Anne, because they are very honest.
Today I watched Robert Siodmak's "The Killers" (1946), a fantastic Film-Noir. It reminded me in way of "Out of the Past", because the story is also told via flashback.
It is a cleverly mounted film which holds one's interest from start to finish. I think it was Lancaster's and Gardner's only pairing and they make a great couple. One only wishes they would have had more time together on screen. Gardner is at her most alluring as a sultry Femme Fatale and she looks mesmerizing in that satin black gown which resembles the one that Rita Hayworth wore the very same year in "Gilda". Gardner's character also connects on many levels with Greer's in "Out of the Past".
Two words linger in my mind after watching it: double crosser and victim. Pity poor the Swede (played by Lancaster). A really doomed guy if I ever saw one.
Edmond O'Brien is magnificent as the investigator who works for the Insurance company.
Superb!
Feaito,
Criss Cross also directed by Siodmak which teams Lancaster with Yvonne DeCarlo is also a noir that you should see. The story is very similiar to The Killers and is also told in flashbacks. IMHO Criss Cross is superior to the very excellent The Killers & Out of the Past
I recently watched "The Mirror Crack'd," an adaptation of an Agatha Christie Miss Marple mystery from around 1980.
I enjoyed the movie, but I had an odd reaction to it. I didn't like Angela Lansbury as Miss Marple at all. She seemed a cold and aloof know-it-all, and I was frankly glad that the movie didn't do more with her. (I guess this was the performance that led to "Murder She Wrote," but I think Jessica Fletcher was far warmer than her Miss Marple.)
Instead I enjoyed watching the suspects, who included Elizabeth Taylor, Rock Hudson, Kim Novak and Tony Curtis. These scenes were funny and interesting. Indeed, I really liked Hudson's performance because his character became the anchor holding the film together. (Ok, maybe anchor isn't the best word there.) It is an odd mystery film that works even if you don't really care about the mystery. (And indeed, the film basically forgot to explain who killed Geraldine Chaplin, the second victim, and why.)
The Joan Hickson version of "The Mirror Crack'd" is better, but this film version is very entertaining.
I remember seeing this in the theater when it came out thinking I need to see these big stars on the big screen. Who knows when.... Couldn't tell you a thing about the movie as I haven't seen it since.
If I remember Lansbury was made up to be older than she was
Chris
"Time flies like an arrow, fruit flies like a banana."
ken123 wrote:Feaito,
Criss Cross also directed by Siodmak which teams Lancaster with Yvonne DeCarlo is also a noir that you should see. The story is very similiar to The Killers and is also told in flashbacks. IMHO Criss Cross is superior to the very excellent The Killers & Out of the Past
This week I've indulged in four movies I've wanted to see for a long time and two that I only learned about this week.
DEMENTIA (John Parker) was made in 1953 and, after battles with the New York censors, released in 1955 as DAUGHTER OF HORROR with added narration by Ed McMahon. Neither version has any dialogue. Both versions are on the Kino DVD and, as Dobie Gray would sing, the original is still the greatest. This is a simple tale of complex emotions seen through the nightmares of an insane...or is she?...young woman. It was filmed in part where TOUCH OF EVIL was later filmed, with Bruno VeSota looking like Hank Quinlan, which adds to the eeriness. While praise of zero-budget noirs can sometimes be ironic or camp or hip, this is one of the best avant-garde (whether intentional or not) and disturbing films I've seen. It is the only film Parker made and, on a short-list of great one-time-only feature films, it is up there with BLAST OF SILENCE, WANDA and, yes, THE NIGHT OF THE HUNTER.
And speaking of disturbing, EYES WITHOUT A FACE (Georges Franju, 1959) may now be Exhibit A for my definition of "Horror", but in a noir sense.. It truly blurs any line that may exist between normalcy and madness, pity and guilt. And Eugene Shuftan's cinematography is a joy.
There is no confusing SAINT JOAN (Otto Preminger, 1957) with Dreyer's THE PASSION OF JOAN OF ARC or Bresson's THE TRIAL OF JOAN OF ARC. It did take me awhile to adjust to a master of noir directing a historical costume drama. Not among his best, but interesting for its different take on the story, and a must-see just to watch Richard Widmark's mincing doppelganger of Tommy Udo, naif Jean Seberg and the stately Sir John Gielgud play off of each other.
Despite my admiration for Fritz Lang's German films, especially M, I generally prefer his Hollywood movies. That said, HANGMEN ALSO DIE (1942) will go near the bottom of his Hollywood movies that I've seen. My preference in Lang films is when he focuses on the personal psychology of characters and allows the audience to extrapolate any greater societal message. Here, the focus is The Big Message; however, Mascha's constant ambivalence between loyalty to her Father's cause, a personal loyalty to Dr. Svoboda, loyalty to her husband-to-be, and keeping up general appearances did add interest, as did the cinematography of James Wong Howe. Biggest problem: the magnificent Lionel Stander is the first to die. For an anti-Nazi movie made during WWII, I prefer the prescient NONE SHALL ESCAPE (Andre De Toth, 1943).
Any Lawrence Tierney movie is worth seeing. Add John Carradine and, to quote Jack Paar, Here they are, Jayne Mansfield and look out! FEMALE JUNGLE (Bruno VeSota, 1956) wasn't written by Cornell Woolrich, but it could have been...on a real bender (excuse the redundancy). Off-duty cop (!) Tierney is in the vicinity of a murder of a starlet, but was too drunk to notice and has blacked-out portions of his evening; Carradine is the suave starmaker of the murdered starlet; Mansfield is a wanton lush (no typecasting anywhere in this flick). Who did what to whom when? One truly weird moment is when Tierney tries to prevent (huh?) a fellow officer from beating a confession out of Carradine and then gets socked in the jaw for his trouble. Great noir fun and classic cinematography by Elwood (Woody) Bredell (PHANTOM LADY, THE KILLERS (1946)).
PSYCHIC KILLER (1975) is not a title I would typically watch. A nice young man is wrongfully accused of murdering his mother's physician, who had refused to operate on her due to her lack of funds (how topical), and is committed to a mental institution. His mother dies due to neglect shortly thereafter. In the institution he learns the secret of psychic projection from another resident (good thing Cody wasn't there). He is released when another person confesses to the murder, whereupon he seeks revenge, via psychic projection so that his body is nowhere near the scenes, on all who he views as having harmed his mother (A boy's best friend is his mother.) So why watch this thing? Well, get aload of this (Moirafinnie: Are you sitting down?) -- Director: Ray Danton; Stars: Paul Burke, Jim Hutton, Julie Adams (yes, ChiO's & The Gill Man's passion -- and 21 year's after enticing The Gill Man, she still looked great); Co-Stars: Della Reese, Rod Cameron, Aldo Ray, Neville Brand and Whit Bissell. I did not recall ever seeing Whit as an unrepentant lecherous libido-driven gentleman, so a reassessment of his career may be in order. He portrays the psychiatrist (you just knew it, didn't you) who testified for the prosecution and got Jim Hutton committed. We see him open the door to his mountain cabin escorting a beautiful young blonde. They lie down in front of the fireplace. We learn that he is her therapist and this is the first time in her troubled marriage that she's been away with another man. As Whit slowly takes her clothes off, he says: "And do you know why you came here? It is because of your incestuous fantasies about your father." O, the HORROR!
Everyday people...that's what's wrong with the world. -- Morgan Morgan I love movies. But don't get me wrong. I hate Hollywood. -- Orson Welles Movies can only go forward in spite of the motion picture industry. -- Orson Welles
I just watched "Bell, Book and Candle." It was fun, although it is one of those movies that has been copied so much that a lot of the freshness has gone out of it. It was fun seeing Jack Lemmon as something of a jerk, and I enjoyed seeing Ernie Kovacs as the eccentric writer.
It was also nice to see Jimmy Stewart and Kim Novak in a romance that doesn't end tragically.
My sister-in-law is a fan of Classic dramas & thrillers so I chose to show to her "Ivy" (1947). Since this second-rewatching offered no surprises for me (I remembered very well the whole plot of the movie) I concentrated on its excellent cinematography & camera work, as well as in its Art Direction which successfully depicts the Edwardian period. Very atmospheric, thanks as well to the great score by Daniele Amfitheatrof. Joan Fontaine looks ravishing in the Orry-Kelly designed outfits. Beautiful use of lighting and shadows. Handsome close-ups of her beautiful face. Excellent supporting cast. Probably I noticed some flaws during this second showing, but it's a good movie anyhow.
Yesterday I watched Dieterle's September Affair (1950) with Joan Fontaine, Joseph Cotten & Françoise Rosay.
David Lawrence (J. Cotten) meets in Italy a pianist, Marianne Stuart (J. Fontaine). They fall in love but he is already married. Then by bizarre circumstances, the plane they were supposed to take crashes and they are reported dead. They take advantage of the situation to start a new life in Italy.....
The film boasts a lot of wonderful Italian locations: Pompei, Capri, Naples, Rome and Florence. Cotten and Fontaine listen to a recording of Weill's 'September Song' sung by Walter Huston which becomes a leitmotiv in the film. I couldn't help thinking of Cotten's own life as I watched it as he had been himself married to a pianist (and she tried to commit suicide when he was unfaithful to her). I wonder if the director and screenwriters were aware of it... As with all Paramount films, the cinematography is gorgeous (C. Lang & V. Milner) and the whole film is a treat to the eye. Françoise Rosay hasn't got a lot to do in the film but certainly looks authoritative! She probably took on that film because she had just lost her husband Jacques Feyder and had enormous hospital bills to pay back for him (she had arranged for him a really expensive stay in a Swiss hospital for his last weeks). There was some excellent acting from Joan Fontaine in this film. I am starting to reassess her as an actress. This was very enjoyable. Thanks Fernando!
MikeBSG wrote:I just watched "Bell, Book and Candle." It was fun, although it is one of those movies that has been copied so much that a lot of the freshness has gone out of it.
Hey, Mike!
Have you ever seen I Married a Witch, with Veronica Lake & Cecil Kellaway?
Although it's a decade older than Bell, Book & Candle, and filmed in B&W, for my money it beats the younger film handily at the same exact game, with more magic & humor, and a delightful blend of naughtiness & whimsy.
No great "trick", really, as it was based on a story by Thorne Smith, who also penned the source for Topper!
Yes, I have seen "I Married a Witch," which does move faster and pack more of a punch than "Bell, Book and Candle," which seemed a little leaden at times. I like how the witch plot (In "I Married") gets tied up in a political election as well.
I watched the Mexican Melodrama "Distinto Amanecer" (1943) (aka Another Dawn in the USA), starring Pedro Armendáriz and Andrea Palma. It was one of the first urban dramas of the Mexican cinema and it has its strong moments. Although its performances, dialogues seem dated, the film has redeeming qualities, especially good cinematography. As the plot unfolds it becomes more interesting, although there are holes and implausibilities.
My wife hated the film and commented that the performances were leaden, inexpressive and artificial and that the actors delivered their lines without sentiment. I felt that leading actress played her role in a zombie like manner in purpose, like a walking dead and that Armendáriz was OK.
Yesterday I watched Jean Negulesco's The Mask of Dimitrios (1944) with Peter Lorre, Sidney Greenstreet and Zachary Scott.
This film noir with a splendid Arthur Edeson cinematography allows two character actors to take center stage: Greenstreet and Lorre. As usual, they complement each other, Lorre getting upset by the large and dangerous Greenstreet. I felt the score by Adolph Deutsch was an absolute masterpiece in the use of leitmotives and its atmospheric themes. It manages to suggest unrest brilliantly. Unfortunately, Z. Scott was not quite as menacing as he sould have been as the nasty Dimitrios. Neverthless, it's enjoyable for its unforgettable couple: Greenstreet & Lorre. Great fun!
I watched Across the Pacific on TCM last weekend. I hadn't seen it in a long time, and I thoroughly enjoyed it.
This grouping of many of the same players from The Maltese Falcon is very funny (though not a comedy, per se) and quite risque, I thought, especially a brief scene with Bogart and Greenstreet comparing their pistols, each holding his gun in the palm of his hand, and Bogart commenting: "Mine is bigger."
What was most notable was, I felt, that in this go-around Bogart and Mary Astor had much more on-screen chemistry than in Falcon. Astor was so good at innuendo -- some of their flippant, sexually-charged exchanges are really hilarious. The more I see of Astor, the more I like her.
And of course, how could I forget the "Whatsa matta you, whatsa matta me?" scene? It obviously made a great impression on my family: I heard it being said constantly in my formative years.
