I Just Watched...
Posted: December 4th, 2022, 3:27 pm
I'm resurrecting my very popular I Just Watched... thread from the old TCM site. Despite being under the "Movies and Features on TCM" section of this forum, I want to make it clear that this thread is intended to be a casual discussion of anything that people have watched recently. The movie did not have to have aired on TCM. My old thread was popular because the conversation flowed organically, as it segued from one conversation to another, or there might have been a few conversations going on simultaneously.
I'll start.
I recently watched a pair of film noir where Joan Fontaine played a villain.
Ivy (1947)
Joan Fontaine plays the titular character, Ivy Lexton, who aspires to have the finest things in life. At the beginning of the film, she sees a fortune teller (played by Una O'Connor) who predicts that Ivy will come into a fortune and also have a new man in her life. Then the fortune teller has another vision which she can't quite see. Ivy, having heard what she wanted to hear, leaves excitedly. Then the fortune teller's last vision becomes clear and she predicts that Ivy will also have a dark future ahead (or something to that effect). This provides the ominous foreshadowing for the remainder of the film.
Ivy is married to Jarvis (Richard Ney) who it seems used to be wealthy, but Ivy has since spent all his money. Jarvis is well meaning and a bit of a dope as he doesn't seem concerned that Ivy is spending money faster than he can earn it. Later, Ivy meets Miles Rushworth (Herbert Marshall) a wealthy, but married man. Ivy has her sights set on becoming Miles' wife. She also has a lover on the side, Dr. Roger Gretorex (Patric Knowles). Ivy eventually concocts a scheme that will get rid of Jarvis and frame her lover, Roger, for his murder.
This was a great movie. I'd never heard of it before until I heard it recommended on like four different podcasts within a span of a couple weeks. I found the film streaming on Internet Archive and managed to cast it to my TV so I didn't have to watch it on the computer. Anyway, the plot moved rather slowly and I didn't expect it to take place during the Edwardian England period. Joan Fontaine's performance was very subtle. She only gives glimpses of her character's true nature, until the deed is done. Fontaine's mousy, quiet demeanor works well as it seems easy to see how she could con her way into the hearts of all of these men. In this film, much like Lana Turner's wardrobe in The Postman Always Rings Twice, Ivy wears all white--until after the murder happens, then she wears black.
This film was released by Universal, so I'm hoping there's a blu ray release in the future.
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Born to Be Bad (1950)
This is another Joan Fontaine as a villain film noir that I watched. In this movie, Fontaine plays Christobel, a young woman who is moving to San Francisco to attend business school. Christobel's uncle is a publisher and he arranges to have her stay with his secretary, Donna (Joan Leslie). At the beginning of the film, Donna is excitedly preparing for a party that will take place in her townhouse apartment later that evening. Christobel is set to arrive the day after the party, but shows up a day early. Right off the bat, we get a glimpse of Christobel's scheming ways. It doesn't seem like her arriving the day of Donna's party is an accident. Later, Donna's wealthy fiance, Curtis Carey (Zachary Scott) shows up to take Donna to the gala. After failing to secure a third ticket for Christobel, Donna and Curtis leave for the opening night gala. While they're gone, Christobel meets an author, Nick (Robert Ryan), who has shown up early for the party. Nick immediately starts hitting on Christobel, in a rather aggressive manner. Christobel pretends to be offended and turned off by how forthcoming he is, but it is obvious that Christobel is kind of into him too. Later, at the party, Christobel meets Gobby (Mel Ferrer), a painter who is the guest of honor of the party. Eventually, Christobel sets her sights on the wealthy Curtis and schemes to get Donna out of the way--all while keeping Nick on the side as her lover.
Joan Fontaine is at least 10 years too old for the role, as I assume that Christobel is supposed to be a young college student; but Fontaine plays the role well. Her sweet, mousy demeanor works to her benefit in this film as she's able to easily insinuate herself into these people's lives and earn their trust. It is fun that Robert Ryan's character is onto her right from the start. It's nice seeing Zachary Scott not playing the sleaze for once. I thought that Joan Leslie was great. However, this is Fontaine's film the whole way. I loved how she used her little half smile when things went Christobel's way. I also loved when Joan Leslie told Joan Fontaine exactly what she thought of her. That scene was awesome.
I'll start.
I recently watched a pair of film noir where Joan Fontaine played a villain.
Ivy (1947)
Joan Fontaine plays the titular character, Ivy Lexton, who aspires to have the finest things in life. At the beginning of the film, she sees a fortune teller (played by Una O'Connor) who predicts that Ivy will come into a fortune and also have a new man in her life. Then the fortune teller has another vision which she can't quite see. Ivy, having heard what she wanted to hear, leaves excitedly. Then the fortune teller's last vision becomes clear and she predicts that Ivy will also have a dark future ahead (or something to that effect). This provides the ominous foreshadowing for the remainder of the film.
Ivy is married to Jarvis (Richard Ney) who it seems used to be wealthy, but Ivy has since spent all his money. Jarvis is well meaning and a bit of a dope as he doesn't seem concerned that Ivy is spending money faster than he can earn it. Later, Ivy meets Miles Rushworth (Herbert Marshall) a wealthy, but married man. Ivy has her sights set on becoming Miles' wife. She also has a lover on the side, Dr. Roger Gretorex (Patric Knowles). Ivy eventually concocts a scheme that will get rid of Jarvis and frame her lover, Roger, for his murder.
This was a great movie. I'd never heard of it before until I heard it recommended on like four different podcasts within a span of a couple weeks. I found the film streaming on Internet Archive and managed to cast it to my TV so I didn't have to watch it on the computer. Anyway, the plot moved rather slowly and I didn't expect it to take place during the Edwardian England period. Joan Fontaine's performance was very subtle. She only gives glimpses of her character's true nature, until the deed is done. Fontaine's mousy, quiet demeanor works well as it seems easy to see how she could con her way into the hearts of all of these men. In this film, much like Lana Turner's wardrobe in The Postman Always Rings Twice, Ivy wears all white--until after the murder happens, then she wears black.
This film was released by Universal, so I'm hoping there's a blu ray release in the future.
---
Born to Be Bad (1950)
This is another Joan Fontaine as a villain film noir that I watched. In this movie, Fontaine plays Christobel, a young woman who is moving to San Francisco to attend business school. Christobel's uncle is a publisher and he arranges to have her stay with his secretary, Donna (Joan Leslie). At the beginning of the film, Donna is excitedly preparing for a party that will take place in her townhouse apartment later that evening. Christobel is set to arrive the day after the party, but shows up a day early. Right off the bat, we get a glimpse of Christobel's scheming ways. It doesn't seem like her arriving the day of Donna's party is an accident. Later, Donna's wealthy fiance, Curtis Carey (Zachary Scott) shows up to take Donna to the gala. After failing to secure a third ticket for Christobel, Donna and Curtis leave for the opening night gala. While they're gone, Christobel meets an author, Nick (Robert Ryan), who has shown up early for the party. Nick immediately starts hitting on Christobel, in a rather aggressive manner. Christobel pretends to be offended and turned off by how forthcoming he is, but it is obvious that Christobel is kind of into him too. Later, at the party, Christobel meets Gobby (Mel Ferrer), a painter who is the guest of honor of the party. Eventually, Christobel sets her sights on the wealthy Curtis and schemes to get Donna out of the way--all while keeping Nick on the side as her lover.
Joan Fontaine is at least 10 years too old for the role, as I assume that Christobel is supposed to be a young college student; but Fontaine plays the role well. Her sweet, mousy demeanor works to her benefit in this film as she's able to easily insinuate herself into these people's lives and earn their trust. It is fun that Robert Ryan's character is onto her right from the start. It's nice seeing Zachary Scott not playing the sleaze for once. I thought that Joan Leslie was great. However, this is Fontaine's film the whole way. I loved how she used her little half smile when things went Christobel's way. I also loved when Joan Leslie told Joan Fontaine exactly what she thought of her. That scene was awesome.