tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-80730258883254151582024-03-12T21:25:52.427-04:00Defiant SuccessMovies, books, and God knows what else.MovieNut14http://www.blogger.com/profile/17250239873504510289noreply@blogger.comBlogger2001125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8073025888325415158.post-6390770624352992052024-01-03T23:06:00.002-05:002024-01-03T23:06:54.818-05:00Gun Crazy<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMmiGVpPq3JKaTLiOM0v85QlJ07JsddPSsrCkQn0oK55eC0DKD_le3ovCJc6K0pD_vpTVul5xGEt3pgxQDUxr89t-uDyI4hCzGsIMjX46Czpt8_Co2QtYAYQH3QVmcBSX3XBOBthjwPU19vfqJNtdyipcnTQVHMk3SoGyGOx0D64Z_sj0QZWu89hp6Wj8a/s2935/Gun%20Crazy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2935" data-original-width="1938" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMmiGVpPq3JKaTLiOM0v85QlJ07JsddPSsrCkQn0oK55eC0DKD_le3ovCJc6K0pD_vpTVul5xGEt3pgxQDUxr89t-uDyI4hCzGsIMjX46Czpt8_Co2QtYAYQH3QVmcBSX3XBOBthjwPU19vfqJNtdyipcnTQVHMk3SoGyGOx0D64Z_sj0QZWu89hp6Wj8a/w211-h320/Gun%20Crazy.jpg" width="211" /></a></div>From the first moment Annie Laurie Starr (Peggy Cummins) laid eyes on Bart Tare (John Dall) in Joseph H. Lewis' <i>Gun Crazy</i>, their fates were sealed. Their first interaction crackled with an energy you can only find in a picture from after World War II. (With a script co-penned by a blacklisted Dalton Trumbo, can you go wrong?)<div><br /></div><div>Acting like a post-war Bonnie and Clyde (Cummins even dresses like Faye Dunaway would the following decade), they commit robberies and live off their takes. But Bart knows this can't last forever so what will win out: his conscience or Laurie's insistence?</div><div><br /></div><div>Dall nowadays is known for this and <i>Rope</i>, and it's interesting to see him play essentially both his and Farley Granger's roles from the earlier film in <i>Gun Crazy</i>. His Bart has Brandon's fascination for violence but also Phillip's nervous disposition towards it. To think there's only a two-year gap between the films.</div><div><br /></div><div>But Cummins is the real draw of <i>Gun Crazy</i>. A devious mind beneath an innocent facade, her Laurie captures the more explosive nature of film noir of the era. (Laurie's bloodlust is prevalent in later titles of the genre.) Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned, indeed.</div><div><br /></div><div><i>Gun Crazy</i> showcases the wanton desire of darkness lurking within human behavior, how even supposedly decent people crave danger. Even in the post-WWII era of filmmaking where everyone was pushing boundaries with each passing year, Lewis in particular was front and center. And boy, are we grateful for it.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>My Rating:</b> *****</div>MovieNut14http://www.blogger.com/profile/17250239873504510289noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8073025888325415158.post-26384043196590608902024-01-03T18:53:00.000-05:002024-01-03T18:53:02.835-05:002,000 Posts!<p>Frankly, I'm surprised to have been going at this for as long as I have, what with Defiant Success's fifteenth (!) anniversary in August.</p><p>Admittedly, a good chunk of the posts here aren't reviews but I'm still counting them for the impressive tally of two thousand posts since August 2009. Obviously, I would've made a bigger deal out of it but it slipped my mind and today's something of a somber anniversary for me (it's been eleven years since my father died suddenly). And my blogging has been sporadic these last few years courtesy of current events and my own mental health but I'll try to make up for lost time.</p><p>Anyway, here's to 2,000 posts and to another 2.000.</p>MovieNut14http://www.blogger.com/profile/17250239873504510289noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8073025888325415158.post-90447426148264199272024-01-02T22:57:00.003-05:002024-01-02T22:57:57.674-05:00Suspiria<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgm221PqPAe0NoGqxvSuga_OST1_Q6h80KdHiHoGdB6bTWgyedmlLyBU4QJGkbgZDow61aiF7t3C75S364DHxBnoBvDMLQhXwfiS0M-9eMVcVlKkNPej-Alp0bCXuuCToot-xBdCXYgV_DDNmQj_ZqoDIrg5YBy25J2ly4c-2WWfWxSZo9OX1aKXom235yN/s306/Suspiria.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="306" data-original-width="220" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgm221PqPAe0NoGqxvSuga_OST1_Q6h80KdHiHoGdB6bTWgyedmlLyBU4QJGkbgZDow61aiF7t3C75S364DHxBnoBvDMLQhXwfiS0M-9eMVcVlKkNPej-Alp0bCXuuCToot-xBdCXYgV_DDNmQj_ZqoDIrg5YBy25J2ly4c-2WWfWxSZo9OX1aKXom235yN/w230-h320/Suspiria.jpg" width="230" /></a></div>At first glance, Dario Argento's <i>Suspiria</i> appears seemingly innocuous. Suzy Bannion (Jessica Harper) arrives in Germany to attend a dance academy. But it becomes clear that as soon as she steps out of the airport something's...off.<p></p><p>Indeed, the general feeling of <i>Suspiria</i> is that something just isn't quite right. And Argento ensures that throughout, be it with the music (courtesy of him and Italian band Goblin) or simply the staging of the scene, there's that lingering sensation that all is not what it seems. And it isn't.</p><p>Made during a time when the horror genre was getting (pardon the pun) fresh blood, <i>Suspiria</i> -- amongst his other titles of the time -- showed that Argento was on that roster. Amid the likes of Brian De Palma and John Carpenter, he shows a more lurid fascination with bloodshed. Who'd have thought there's a beauty in it?</p><p>Akin to <i>Cat People</i> back in 1942 (and <i>The Brood</i> two years later), <i>Suspiria</i> revels in unease amid normalcy. Everything <i>should</i> be completely fine but that nagging feeling keeps gnawing at our lead. But how long until that question of "what's wrong?" gets cruelly answered?</p><p><i>Suspiria</i> is a barrage on the senses in the best way possible. Argento immortalizes himself with a film that lingers in the mind long after watching it. And it's little wonder that there have been many admirers and imitators over the years; it's just there can only be one version of it.</p><p><b>My Rating:</b> *****</p>MovieNut14http://www.blogger.com/profile/17250239873504510289noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8073025888325415158.post-61264809081036073302023-12-31T16:42:00.000-05:002024-03-11T14:40:24.249-04:00Film and Book Tally 2023<div>Another year down the drain. And yet another year of me not getting a lot done. The lists start after the cut:</div><span><a name='more'></a></span><div><ol style="text-align: left;"><li><i>The Vikings</i> (1958, dir. Richard Fleischer) (re-watch)</li><li><i>Judgment at Nuremberg</i> (1961, dir. Stanley Kramer) (re-watch)</li></ol><div>And the equally small reading list:</div></div><p></p><ol style="text-align: left;"><li><i>Blue Nights</i><i> </i>by Joan Didion</li><li><i>I Don't Want to Go to Jail </i>by Jimmy Breslin</li></ol><div>Maybe I should employ reverse psychology for the new year. That way I'll watch and read more even though I said I wouldn't.</div><div><br /></div><div>Anyway, here's hoping 2024 will be slightly better (though I already have my doubts).</div><p></p>MovieNut14http://www.blogger.com/profile/17250239873504510289noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8073025888325415158.post-7296046885499962002022-12-31T23:16:00.001-05:002024-03-11T14:40:17.500-04:00Film and Book Tally 2022Another year done, another year of not achieving much creativity-wise. Eh, but I'm still here (mostly) so that's a minor win. (Oh, and I started <a href="https://letterboxd.com/MovieNut14/">a Letterboxd account</a> during one of the Twitter scares but there's not much there so far.) Y'all know the drill by this point.<span><a name='more'></a></span><div><p></p><ol style="text-align: left;"><li><i>Dragonwyck</i> (1946, dir. Joseph L. Mankiewicz)</li><li><i>Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter?</i> (1957, dir. Frank Tashlin)</li><li><i>Winchester '73</i> (1950, dir. Anthony Mann)</li><li><i>The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes</i> (1970, dir. Billy Wilder)</li></ol><div>And onto the books!</div><div style="text-align: left;"><ol style="text-align: left;"><li><i>Five Years Ago and Three Thousand Miles Away</i> by E.K. Weaver</li><li><i style="letter-spacing: -0.42px;">The Age of Anxiety</i> by Pete Townshend</li><li><i style="letter-spacing: -0.42px;">Lupin III: Greatest Heists</i> by Monkey Punch</li><li><i>The Essex Serpent</i> by Sarah Perry</li></ol></div></div><div><span style="letter-spacing: -0.42px;">Yeah, so resolutions are still the same: try to read, watch, and write more. But will I follow through with them or -- like in years passed -- burn out before March? Only time will tell.</span></div><p></p>MovieNut14http://www.blogger.com/profile/17250239873504510289noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8073025888325415158.post-60441594876304022192022-01-05T15:53:00.000-05:002022-01-12T15:53:19.115-05:00The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgDHQapD5gyM5aPyuW0aC7fUFFkZaaFv6cAdzKKg4TC6p-x7S2lfrKfAizJvRx4Z9QZbi6P2i1v2X8ANoqKqHXTbKejFedU2h5U9j5YizOdiu2l34IioYTiH-WOas25urzt0AKn4wD4vLRzZV8AeqE2bH08AbuKpLgPofyhmDAq95nWfMa4c9DRThI0_A=s387" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="387" data-original-width="258" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgDHQapD5gyM5aPyuW0aC7fUFFkZaaFv6cAdzKKg4TC6p-x7S2lfrKfAizJvRx4Z9QZbi6P2i1v2X8ANoqKqHXTbKejFedU2h5U9j5YizOdiu2l34IioYTiH-WOas25urzt0AKn4wD4vLRzZV8AeqE2bH08AbuKpLgPofyhmDAq95nWfMa4c9DRThI0_A=s320" width="213" /></a></div>As the opening credits of Billy Wilder's <i>The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes</i> roll, the personal effects of John Watson (Colin Blakely) are examined. Among them are letters from Watson to his heirs. One of those letters talks about his days with Sherlock Holmes (Robert Stephens).<p></p><div>Wilder was a Holmesian and had tried unsuccessfully twice before to make an adaptation. (A <i>musical</i>, no less!) Now finally given the opportunity, he and I.A.L. Diamond initially came up with a film that ran over three hours long. It's this heavy editing that makes the final product clunky; you can tell that it's missing something in its flow.</div><div><br /></div><div>While not as strong as prior Wilder-Diamond collaborations, <i>The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes</i> has a certain charm to it. The film serves as both a parody and a deconstruction of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's most famed (and most personally loathed) creation. It's little wonder it served as inspiration for Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss when they made <i>Sherlock</i>.</div><div><br /></div><div>That said, the film doesn't have Wilder's particular touch to it. Lacking the sharp cynicism and sardonic wit usually found in the director's work, it also has elements that are out of place for both Wilder and Doyle. Still, there's a particular amusement amid the oddity.</div><div><br /></div><div><i>The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes</i> may not be top-tier Wilder but seeing Hollywood was beginning a new movement, he shows that he's not going to retire like his contemporaries just yet. (He'd make four more movies after this.) That being said, it was clear that he was becoming old hat. Oh, well; nobody's perfect.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>My Rating:</b> ***1/2</div>MovieNut14http://www.blogger.com/profile/17250239873504510289noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8073025888325415158.post-76269711686005603502022-01-04T15:52:00.000-05:002022-01-12T15:53:29.068-05:00Winchester '73<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgBSnhnTgCzeAwFMxTee9Ncuo7-HGLwtkPTnO5nU5LoLovM5WVgLjK17Jaz_ycDHYZpyFI6AEauRU5n0VQx4tp7V8TsHmTwQUDDMWJuKkj8VGx63SyO4tUs8SjdaWhsUYAMH98yK3OnKuYlTt37Bgu9Q0cNZ7253y1OzkhJ4-A2_oJGG_2Ng6igscojsg=s2937" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2937" data-original-width="1935" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgBSnhnTgCzeAwFMxTee9Ncuo7-HGLwtkPTnO5nU5LoLovM5WVgLjK17Jaz_ycDHYZpyFI6AEauRU5n0VQx4tp7V8TsHmTwQUDDMWJuKkj8VGx63SyO4tUs8SjdaWhsUYAMH98yK3OnKuYlTt37Bgu9Q0cNZ7253y1OzkhJ4-A2_oJGG_2Ng6igscojsg=s320" width="211" /></a></div>Anthony Mann's <i>Winchester '73</i> starts off like your standard western: Lin McAdam (James Stewart) and "High-Spade" Frankie Wilson (Millard Mitchell) pass through Dodge City while on the trail of Dutch Henry Brown (Stephen McNally). Lin and Dutch compete in a shooting contest, where Lin wins the titular rifle (and Dutch promptly steals it). And that's where the story kicks off.<p></p><div>A simple premise, yes, but that's not the point of <i>Winchester '73</i>. As Mann demonstrated with <i>Raw Deal</i> two years before, it's more about the characters in the story, how their interactions shift the narrative. It was something Mann was good at depicting.</div><div><br /></div><div>Stewart -- now in the second stage of his career -- drifts away from his idealistic screen image in favor of something a little darker. As he showed previously with <i>It's a Wonderful Life</i> and <i>Rope</i>, Stewart displays a cynical streak in Lin. And as later shown in <i>Vertigo</i>, he also displays a menacing one.</div><div><br /></div><div>And <i>Winchester '73</i> is photographed <i>beautifully</i>, thanks to cinematographer William H. Daniels. Hot off the heels of an Oscar win for <i>The Naked City</i> the year before, he goes from the looming buildings of New York City to the open outdoors of the western frontier. You genuinely feel that you're there.</div><div><br /></div><div><i>Winchester '73</i> brought back the dying genre with a vengeance. Other westerns throughout the decade would have that nasty streak coursing through them, a morality more in focus than in years before. And a lot of that can be traced back to Mann and his film.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>My Rating:</b> ****1/2</div>MovieNut14http://www.blogger.com/profile/17250239873504510289noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8073025888325415158.post-53482657525915770972022-01-03T22:58:00.003-05:002022-01-03T22:58:59.855-05:00Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter?<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh3815mX4d7bVvXiD1kZHgFuVT-aLKj7C5ewD_FM7AgZsQSd_ly_IHQwryNaMmnjmkz-KEqQTH6hQTrBJvU6yW81X6YXbN50AXjUc7uIPCm_XRznjkj-puQ_3EPl5y73bDZUCKFsGPdfXTPH2nY1gVIdkUboh9mF9JbUFMDMh_mN4w3fdehvw-9rsyimQ=s2903" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2903" data-original-width="1904" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh3815mX4d7bVvXiD1kZHgFuVT-aLKj7C5ewD_FM7AgZsQSd_ly_IHQwryNaMmnjmkz-KEqQTH6hQTrBJvU6yW81X6YXbN50AXjUc7uIPCm_XRznjkj-puQ_3EPl5y73bDZUCKFsGPdfXTPH2nY1gVIdkUboh9mF9JbUFMDMh_mN4w3fdehvw-9rsyimQ=s320" width="210" /></a></div>You know how there are some movies that even after all these years still click. Their stars have long passed on, the politics of their day have shifted, and some elements aren't as risque or daring as they once were but regardless, they <i>click</i>. (Maybe Nietzsche was right about time being a flat circle.)<p></p><p>Frank Tashlin's <i>Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter?</i> -- while deviating from the premise of George Axelrod's original stage play -- is such an example. In the sixty-five years since its release, its satirical portrayal of celebrity and fan culture is all the more prevalent thanks to the advent of social media. (Good thing Tashlin isn't around to see fiction become reality.)</p><p>Being a former animator, Tashlin's background is very apparent throughout <i>Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter?</i> With enough visual gags that wouldn't look out of place in your standard cartoon, it shows that he was one of the more unique directors working at the time. It's little wonder that Tashlin was a mentor to Jerry Lewis.</p><p>On a similar note, there's enough fourth wall-breaking in <i>Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter?</i> to warrant calling a mason afterwards. Be it towards the stars' private lives or their professional ones, Tashlin's script spares no expense. (Man, comedies from the 1950s were something else, weren't they?)</p><p><i>Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter?</i> starts to lose steam by the third act but Tashlin and the cast make it work nonetheless. Being made when sex comedies were becoming commonplace, it has the distinction of being just a touch classier than later titles. (Faint praise, granted.) Hey, the sexual revolution (and the MPAA's fruition) was only a few years away.</p><p><b>My Rating:</b> ****</p>MovieNut14http://www.blogger.com/profile/17250239873504510289noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8073025888325415158.post-67090651586889935352022-01-02T19:48:00.000-05:002022-01-02T19:48:22.218-05:00Dragonwyck<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhRrGmidVtSW_AhU7qnI4Ows_884z1ysf8p6K7gd6zuowFpulpnSBdiMJITIKwUpo3sS1Ttdo87mid4e1ntHI97-GuLtgIs9Oi_KTzrOdszpRZABoPUEpI50NKD4qpXRGlkElGnpPJNkIeqEFMbOcqe41j0aW-O2p5OZnq1IZfMSP3AEKbYsa0TB5fGWA=s328" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="328" data-original-width="220" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhRrGmidVtSW_AhU7qnI4Ows_884z1ysf8p6K7gd6zuowFpulpnSBdiMJITIKwUpo3sS1Ttdo87mid4e1ntHI97-GuLtgIs9Oi_KTzrOdszpRZABoPUEpI50NKD4qpXRGlkElGnpPJNkIeqEFMbOcqe41j0aW-O2p5OZnq1IZfMSP3AEKbYsa0TB5fGWA=w215-h320" width="215" /></a></div>There's no denying that Joseph L. Mankiewicz boasted quite the illustrious career in Hollywood. Be it as a writer, producer, or director, he and brother Herman had stories to tell and succeeded in their endeavors. It's little wonder that the name "Mankiewicz" still means something in that town.<p></p><p>By the time Mankiewicz made his directing debut with <i>Dragonwyck</i>, he had been well-established for several years. (He got the gig because original director Ernst Lubitsch fell ill.) And boy, you'd never know this was his first time directing as you watch it. (Granted, he also co-wrote the script so already he had an idea of how the film flowed.)</p><p>Bearing elements reminiscent of <i>Rebecca</i> six years earlier, <i>Dragonwyck</i> is the kind of film that Hollywood -- barring <i>Crimson Peak</i>, perhaps -- doesn't make anymore. And that's a shame, really; it's a genre that has a little bit of everything (with more focus on some elements than others) and it's a solid deviation of the standard romance. (Because -- let's be honest -- romance itself is more complex than what Hollywood has us believe.)</p><p>Having more screentime together here than in their previous collaborations (<i>Laura</i> and <i>Leave Her to Heaven</i>), Gene Tierney and Vincent Price have excellent chemistry together. And Price -- after years of bit parts and supporting roles -- finally has a meaty role to sink his teeth into. (It was originally going to be Gregory Peck but he dropped out after Lubitsch did.) Makes you wonder had he gotten more roles like this throughout his career.</p><p><i>Dragonwyck</i> is one of those few directorial debuts that works after all these years. With stunning cinematography by Arthur C. Miller and a chilling score from Arthur Newman, it just proves that Hollywood has been playing it safe for too long. Take more risks, Hollywood, like you did before the MPAA came to fruition.</p><p><b>My Rating:</b> ****1/2</p>MovieNut14http://www.blogger.com/profile/17250239873504510289noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8073025888325415158.post-46634058642952453462021-12-31T22:18:00.000-05:002024-03-11T14:40:10.350-04:00Film and Book Tally 2021<p>Well, this year of viewings and readings was slowed down a bit by me wanting to focus more on fiction writing (as well as helping out around the house). Still, I manage to squeeze some time in for these. Anyway, you know the drill. (Heads up: it's not an impressive list.)<span></span></p><a name='more'></a><p></p><p></p><ol style="text-align: left;"><li><i>Montgomery Clift: A Biography</i> by Patricia Bosworth</li></ol><div>...See, I told you. Anyway, I hope <i>not</i> to repeat my lack of media indulgence in 2022 (amongst other things). Here's hoping that things look up for all of you too.</div><p></p>MovieNut14http://www.blogger.com/profile/17250239873504510289noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8073025888325415158.post-7005639560089122312020-12-31T18:19:00.000-05:002024-03-11T14:40:03.271-04:00Film And Book Tally 2020Well, this year started off promising...and then coronavirus happened. But I try to stay positive in light of such situations; for instance, I got some reading in because of the quarantine but even then, it fell short of my goal. Still, take what you get, y'know? Anyway, my year-end list (a bit shorter than I would like) starts after the jump:<span><a name='more'></a></span><div><br />
<ol>
<li><i>Professor Marston and the Wonder Women</i> (2017, dir. Angela Robinson)</li>
<li><i>The Irishman</i> (2019, dir. Martin Scorsese)</li>
<li><i>BlacKkKlansman</i> (2018, dir. Spike Lee)</li>
<li><i>Eddie the Eagle</i> (2016, dir. Dexter Fletcher)</li>
<li><i>Cat People</i> (1942, dir. Jacques Tourneur)</li>
<li><i>Normal Life</i> (1996, dir. John McNaughton)</li>
<li><i>The Perfect Furlough</i> (1958, dir. Blake Edwards)</li>
<li><i>Novitiate</i> (2017, dir. Maggie Betts)</li>
<li><i>A Simple Plan</i> (1998, dir. Sam Raimi)</li>
<li><i>Ravenous</i> (1999, dir. Antonia Bird)</li>
<li><i>Frankie and Johnny</i> (1991, dir. Garry Marshall)</li>
<li><i>Never Rarely Sometimes Always</i> (2020, dir. Eliza Hittman)</li>
<li><i>The Outsider</i> (1961, dir. Delbert Mann)</li>
<li><i>When Tomorrow Comes</i> (1939, dir. John M. Stahl)</li>
<li><i>Three on a Match</i> (1932, dir. Mervyn LeRoy)</li><li><i>You and Me</i> (1938, dir. Fritz Lang)</li><li><i>Act of Violence</i> (1948, dir. Fred Zinnemann)</li><li><i>What Price Hollywood?</i> (1932, dir. George Cukor)</li><li><i>Merrily We Go to Hell</i> (1932, dir. Dorothy Arzner)</li><li><i>My Name Is Julia Ross</i> (1945, dir. Joseph H. Lewis)</li><li><i>The Mortal Storm</i> (1940, dir. Frank Borzage)</li><li><i>Raw Deal</i> (1948, dir. Anthony Mann)</li><li><i>Love Letters</i> (1945, dir. William Dieterle)</li><li><i>City Streets</i> (1931, dir. Rouben Mamoulian)</li>
</ol><div>And now the books!</div>
<div>
<ol>
<li><i>The Lonesome Era</i> by Jon Allen</li>
<li><i>A Good School</i> by Richard Yates</li>
<li><i>What Makes Sammy Run</i>? by Budd Schulberg</li>
<li><i>Don't Tell Dad</i> by Peter Fonda</li>
<li><i>The Sparsholt Affair</i> by Alan Hollinghurst</li>
<li><i>The Last Days of Video</i> by Jeremy Hawkins</li>
<li><i>Black Klansman</i> by Ron Stallworth</li>
<li><i>A Simple Plan</i> by Scott Smith</li>
<li><i>Frankie and Johnny at the Clair de Lune</i> by Terrence McNally</li>
</ol><div>Right, so resolutions are the same: read more, watch more, write more. And here's hoping that 2021 will be better.</div>
</div>
</div>MovieNut14http://www.blogger.com/profile/17250239873504510289noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8073025888325415158.post-85495684547642913792020-09-28T13:14:00.001-04:002021-01-11T18:49:04.146-05:00City Streets<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-R3D_E4u7lXo/X3IGwMeg4nI/AAAAAAAALBc/rev2bcuydD8LJRzar1EikBQ8TzaOvwO3wCLcBGAsYHQ/s1532/City%2BStreets.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1532" data-original-width="1000" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-R3D_E4u7lXo/X3IGwMeg4nI/AAAAAAAALBc/rev2bcuydD8LJRzar1EikBQ8TzaOvwO3wCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/City%2BStreets.jpg" /></a></div>Nan Cooley (Sylvia Sidney) of Rouben Mamoulian's <i>City Streets</i> leads a charmed life. Her racketeer father ensures a comfortable life for her and she gets involved with circus sharpshooter The Kid (Gary Cooper). But then she gets sent to jail for being an accessory to murder, and Nan wants nothing to do with the criminal life...which is a problem because The Kid has since gotten into the business.<p></p><div>In contrast to Mamoulian's more lavish productions like <i>Queen Christina</i> and <i>Blood and Sand</i>, <i>City Streets</i> is more bare-bones to the director's other works. That's not to disregard it, far from it. If anything, we get to see glimpses of what would become fixtures in his later career.</div><div><br /></div><div>Similar to what Mamoulian would do with <i>Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde</i>, he depicts the duality of both Nan and The Kid's personalities in the life of crime. She seems fine with a sense of normalcy after her prison stint whereas he fully embraces the thrill of criminal behavior after first balking it. But what will this shift in attitudes mean for the couple?</div><div><br /></div><div>Also on display in <i>City Streets</i> is a sort of misogyny that becomes more prevalent in later films in the genre. A moll becomes blind with jealousy as her man blatantly makes passes at Nan (who isn't interested) but her anger is directed solely at the other woman. Frustratingly, she's the only other female character of note in the film. Still, better than Nan being the token woman in a male-dominated film.</div><div><br /></div><div><i>City Streets</i> is surprisingly seedier than other genre titles of the era. In comparison to those starring James Cagney, there's an obvious emptiness in the opulence on display. (Material goods to make up for emotional vacancy?) And Mamoulian would feature that in later works too.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>My Rating:</b> ****1/2</div>MovieNut14http://www.blogger.com/profile/17250239873504510289noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8073025888325415158.post-88333099944226676962020-09-26T11:30:00.001-04:002021-01-11T18:47:41.697-05:00Love Letters<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-z2yPmc5Tlhg/X3IGEvbnjkI/AAAAAAAALBM/fJm5VB4IihsvI3FfyjsO4gnYFTcItRHXACLcBGAsYHQ/s375/Love%2BLetters.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="375" data-original-width="250" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-z2yPmc5Tlhg/X3IGEvbnjkI/AAAAAAAALBM/fJm5VB4IihsvI3FfyjsO4gnYFTcItRHXACLcBGAsYHQ/s320/Love%2BLetters.jpg" /></a></div>The tone of William Dieterle's <i>Love Letters</i> is established in its first scene as Alan Quinton (Joseph Cotten) writes a letter for his friend Roger Morland (Robert Sully). Alan loathes the idea of writing love letters to a girl neither man has met, feeling that she'll fall in love with the letters than the actual man. It's particularly jarring since the film is written by Ayn Rand. (Yes, you read that right.)<p></p><div>If that sounds familiar, that's because it should. Rand had deviated from the source novel in favor of making <i>Love Letters</i> more of a modern-day telling of <i>Cyrano de Bergerac</i>. But in stark contrast to the events of Edmond Rostand's play, the aftermath of Alan writing in Roger's name has far dire consequences than anyone could've imagined that's darker than what usually came out of Hollywood at the time.</div><div><br /></div><div>Similar to <i>Portrait of Jennie</i> -- the next collaboration between Dieterle, Cotten, and Jennifer Jones -- it has Jones' character having an otherworldly nature to her. Her Singleton has no memory of her past, only faint glimmers of what has transpired. It's when we learn of her history that we learn how dark her past is.</div><div><br /></div><div>But in contrast to <i>Portrait of Jennie</i>, <i>Love Letters</i> is decidedly more cynical in nature. Being a survivor of war, Alan is just tired of what the world is capable of inflicting. It's when he meets Singleton that he finds a light in this dark time in his life.</div><div><br /></div><div><i>Love Letters</i> is more pessimistic than other romance titles of the era but at the same time, it's somehow more realistic. Love is far from being a panacea (as Hollywood likes to claim) but with enough compassion and empathy towards the right person, the weight of some of your problems lightens. (Still seek out proper treatment regardless.)</div><div><br /></div><div><b>My Rating:</b> ****1/2</div>MovieNut14http://www.blogger.com/profile/17250239873504510289noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8073025888325415158.post-91437025918046045982020-09-26T11:00:00.001-04:002021-01-11T18:46:21.337-05:00Raw Deal<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GdKArbch-6M/X_umbhRkZsI/AAAAAAAALC0/JHZ7sUBZM104jq1EMqCDWk75JmJeWqEAwCLcBGAsYHQ/s2048/Raw%2BDeal.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1386" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GdKArbch-6M/X_umbhRkZsI/AAAAAAAALC0/JHZ7sUBZM104jq1EMqCDWk75JmJeWqEAwCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/Raw%2BDeal.jpg" /></a></div>The narration from Pat Regan (Claire Trevor) in Anthony Mann's <i>Raw Deal</i> shows an undying loyalty to Joe Sullivan (Dennis O'Keefe) as she helps him escape from prison. But when his caseworker Ann Martin (Marsha Hunt) becomes a begrudging accomplice (they need another getaway car), it then drips with jealousy as Pat fears the presence of the other woman.<div><br /></div><div>If anything, <i>Raw Deal</i> is less about a criminal on the run as it is about the people they've encountered. Be it the women that love him or the men that betrayed him, the film shows how those that encounter Joe invariably have their lives changed. And more often than not, it isn't for the better.</div><div><br /></div><div>Along with westerns, film noir was the genre where Mann thrived. As he would do with <i>Side Street</i> soon after, he shows a keen eye towards the darkness within humanity. Some become resigned to the fact that illegal activity is how they'll survive in the world while others fully embrace this new life.</div><div><br /></div><div>And boy, does <i>Raw Deal</i> live up to its title. Its morality is a murky gray at best, neither black nor white. John Alton's cinematography exemplifies this atmosphere, the shadows playing as much of a role as the actors. (The fact that Alton was recognized only once by AMPAS -- though thankfully won -- is something of an insult when it comes to cinematography.)</div><div><br /></div><div><i>Raw Deal</i> marked a decided change in how Hollywood told stories. Titles in the years to come had a streak of danger to them, their way of seeing how far they can push the envelope. And Mann was the one who instigated this shift. (Just look at the westerns he made with James Stewart a few years later.)</div><div><br /></div><div><b>My Rating:</b> ****1/2</div>MovieNut14http://www.blogger.com/profile/17250239873504510289noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8073025888325415158.post-51177089615206534162020-09-25T12:00:00.001-04:002021-01-11T18:45:14.487-05:00The Mortal Storm<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-2DbAyXhnEqk/X23_T4oxlkI/AAAAAAAALAw/lv6l1SzffLIvvbYmn8w_4JH6Lc9_ZmQjgCLcBGAsYHQ/s2000/The%2BMortal%2BStorm.png" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2000" data-original-width="1307" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-2DbAyXhnEqk/X23_T4oxlkI/AAAAAAAALAw/lv6l1SzffLIvvbYmn8w_4JH6Lc9_ZmQjgCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/The%2BMortal%2BStorm.png" /></a></div>Frank Borzage's <i>The Mortal Storm</i> begins innocuously enough. The family and students of professor Viktor Roth (Frank Morgan) celebrate his birthday. During a small gathering that evening, his student Fritz Marberg (Robert Young) announces his engagement to Viktor's daughter Freya (Magaret Sullavan). And Adolf Hitler is sworn in as chancellor of Germany.<p></p><div>Like a switch, the tone of <i>The Mortal Storm</i> gets darker. The respect for Professor Roth turns into contempt as his peers and students fully embrace Germany's new rule. Freya breaks off her engagement to Fritz, preferring the company of family friend Martin Breitner (James Stewart). And the small town they reside in begins to strain amid political tensions.</div><div><br /></div><div>To no surprise, <i>The Mortal Storm</i> resulted in MGM's entire library being banned in Germany despite the studio making it vague about where the film is actually set. That being said, it was certainly daring to tackle the political atmosphere of the time. You certainly don't see anyone do something that daring nowadays.</div><div><br /></div><div>In contrast to his earlier film <i>Three Comrades</i>, Borzage keeps the political message of the source novel in <i>The Mortal Storm</i>. Again, to make this during that time period was brazen to say the least. As <i>Casablanca</i> would do three years later, it effectively showed that Nazis were (and frustratingly still are) nothing more than fearmongering bullies.</div><div><br /></div><div><i>The Mortal Storm</i> is unnerving to watch eighty years later knowing that such attitudes still exist in some people. To judge someone on aspects they have no say in (i.e., race, gender, heritage) is far from the best way for society to run. What would future generations think of such backward thinking?</div><div><br /></div><div><b>My Rating:</b> ****</div>MovieNut14http://www.blogger.com/profile/17250239873504510289noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8073025888325415158.post-70314811734348008222020-09-25T11:42:00.001-04:002021-01-11T18:43:25.662-05:00My Name Is Julia Ross<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-rXNTedWjiwE/X23_I7fld_I/AAAAAAAALAo/2Z6BERGmPeI_I1ejdFB2nkk4DEgs9KGGwCLcBGAsYHQ/s1440/My%2BName%2BIs%2BJulia%2BRoss.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1440" data-original-width="960" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-rXNTedWjiwE/X23_I7fld_I/AAAAAAAALAo/2Z6BERGmPeI_I1ejdFB2nkk4DEgs9KGGwCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/My%2BName%2BIs%2BJulia%2BRoss.jpg" /></a></div>The titular character (Nina Foch) of Joseph H. Lewis' <i>My Name Is Julia Ross</i> starts the film searching for a job in London. She finds a plumb offering from an agency's newspaper ad and she's accepted on the spot. The next thing she knows, two days have passed and she's on a seaside estate in Cornwall...and she's being addressed as Marion Hughes.<p></p><div>Almost instantly <i>My Name Is Julia Ross</i> grabs the viewer by the throat and doesn't let go for its 64-minute runtime. Why is Julia being subjected to this kind of psychological warfare? Who are the people that so eagerly hired her? And what do they have planned for her?</div><div><br /></div><div>Often lost in the shadow of Lewis' more famous title <i>Gun Crazy</i>, <i>My Name Is Julia Ross</i> established his role in the noir genre. He grasped the darkness lurking within humanity with both hands, showing how one can wear a mask for the world. But sometimes it doesn't take much for that mask to slip.</div><div><br /></div><div>Mostly a forgotten name nowadays (most would recognize her as Gene Kelly's sponsor in <i>An American in Paris</i>), Foch shines in <i>My Name Is Julia Ross</i>. She captures the character's determination in finding out the truth as to why she's in this mental prison. And as soon as she's introduced, you're immediately rooting for her.</div><div><br /></div><div><i>My Name Is Julia Ross</i> is one of those titles that stays in your mind long after it's over. In its short duration, you get well-fleshed characters, a gripping plot, and one hell of a finale. This is one of those noir titles that is an imperative one to seek out.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>My Rating:</b> *****</div>MovieNut14http://www.blogger.com/profile/17250239873504510289noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8073025888325415158.post-34675663763803619792020-09-25T11:30:00.001-04:002021-01-11T18:42:28.750-05:00Merrily We Go to Hell<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-081sU5vA52Y/X23-51xcm2I/AAAAAAAALAk/qwJliy_n-wcyV9B95dBK41LslXqR7v8rgCLcBGAsYHQ/s682/Merrily%2BWe%2BGo%2Bto%2BHell.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="682" data-original-width="450" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-081sU5vA52Y/X23-51xcm2I/AAAAAAAALAk/qwJliy_n-wcyV9B95dBK41LslXqR7v8rgCLcBGAsYHQ/w211-h320/Merrily%2BWe%2BGo%2Bto%2BHell.jpg" width="211" /></a></div>When heiress Joan Prentice (Sylvia Sidney) first meets reporter Jerry Corbett (Fredric March) at the start of Dorothy Arzner's <i>Merrily We Go to Hell</i>, she's instantly smitten. They soon get engaged but Joan finds out that Jerry has a drinking problem. Through thick and thin, she stays loyal to him but how far will her devotion go?<p></p><div>Its title makes <i>Merrily We Go to Hell</i> sound like it'll be one of the scandalous pre-Codes of the era. In reality, however, it's more of how codependency isn't the foundation of a strong marriage (Joan bases her role as Jerry's wife on his happiness and little else). And that's not even getting into Jerry's relationship woes before (and since) marrying Joan.</div><div><br /></div><div>Of course, being a pre-Code, the film neither condones nor condemns Jerry's actions but rather acknowledges that he could stand to change his ways a bit. Joan herself also gets this treatment when she starts to emulate Jerry but -- due to her health -- this phase of hedonism is short-lived. Sometimes a destructive lifestyle harms more than the person imbibing it.</div><div><br /></div><div>As she would also show with <i>Dance, Girl, Dance</i>, Arzner shows how life can be unfair for women, some begrudgingly making sacrifices to achieve their dreams. In contrast to what Judy O'Brien went through in the later title, what Joan endures is far more demeaning. To watch your husband being flaunted by his lover and have to behave like it doesn't bother you...it doesn't get much crueler than that.</div><div><br /></div><div><i>Merrily We Go to Hell</i> is just proof that Arzner should be held in the same regard as her male contemporaries. (Just because she's a woman doesn't lessen her worth.) Her work was rediscovered shortly before her death in 1979; it's high time it gets another one.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>My Rating:</b> *****</div>MovieNut14http://www.blogger.com/profile/17250239873504510289noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8073025888325415158.post-80064285043011033222020-09-25T11:00:00.001-04:002021-01-11T18:40:51.560-05:00What Price Hollywood?<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0_vsajo_5Ow/X3IHdcnfogI/AAAAAAAALBk/jAH7UcI5_JMpoP2MrEnSmcalz99owhAyACLcBGAsYHQ/s500/61m%252BpZKiuxL._AC_.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="325" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0_vsajo_5Ow/X3IHdcnfogI/AAAAAAAALBk/jAH7UcI5_JMpoP2MrEnSmcalz99owhAyACLcBGAsYHQ/w208-h320/61m%252BpZKiuxL._AC_.jpg" width="208" /></a></div>We've all seen the standard trope: girl hopes to be a big name, gets a lucky break, and then is confronted with the pitfalls of fame soon after. The more famous example of this is found in <i>A Star is Born</i> with four versions being made over the years. But five years before the Fredric March and Janet Gaynor version, the one that started it all was released.<p></p><div>George Cukor's <i>What Price Hollywood? </i>has Brown Derby waitress Mary Evans (Constance Bennett) making a beeline for director Maximillan Carey (Lowell Sherman) when he stumbles into the restaurant one night. With some determination, she becomes a star but he slips deeper into alcoholism. What fates await them?</div><div><br /></div><div>In contrast to Cukor's take on <i>A Star is Born</i>, <i>What Price Hollywood?</i> -- as its title implies -- has a far more suffocating depiction of stardom than the more famous title. (Being a pre-Code also adds to it.) Tabloids and newspapers serve as the film's segues for the characters' conflicts, how the public eye pries into their private lives. That can inflict more damage than anything else, especially if you're someone of note.</div><div><br /></div><div>There's also a meta-humor with <i>What Price Hollywood?</i> in casting Sherman and Gregory Ratoff -- both directors in their own right -- as figures in movie production. Likewise, Bennett (whose sister Joan had a longer career herself) had her career become less in-demand by the 1940s. Ah, life imitating art imitating life.</div><div><br /></div><div><i>What Price Hollywood?</i> still has bite all these years later, perhaps not a surprise seeing as it's a Cukor title. If anything, it downplays what actresses endured in Hollywood then as Judy Garland was sad testament to. (Cukor meanwhile lapped up the Hollywood lifestyle.) And how strange how very little has changed since then...</div><div><br /></div><div><b>My Rating:</b> *****</div>MovieNut14http://www.blogger.com/profile/17250239873504510289noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8073025888325415158.post-68507407410657461812020-09-24T19:28:00.001-04:002021-01-11T18:39:32.408-05:00Act of Violence<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-14BdKB6iKEY/X2yj8hzj9FI/AAAAAAAALAY/rdFU9waRX1YM-Xmsnm0xPUl69WyoUCtxgCLcBGAsYHQ/s436/Act%2Bof%2BViolence.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="436" data-original-width="228" height="400" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-14BdKB6iKEY/X2yj8hzj9FI/AAAAAAAALAY/rdFU9waRX1YM-Xmsnm0xPUl69WyoUCtxgCLcBGAsYHQ/w209-h400/Act%2Bof%2BViolence.jpg" width="209" /></a></div>Fred Zinnemann's <i>Act of Violence</i> opens with a man limping to his apartment and retrieving a gun. He gets on a bus to Santa Lisa, checks into a hotel, and circles the name "Frank Enley" in the phone book. What is this story?<p></p><div>It turns out that the man -- Joe Parkson (Robert Ryan) -- served in the war with Frank (Van Heflin) and both men were prisoners of war. It was Frank's actions while they were prisoners that has Joe seeking revenge. But will Frank manage to get out of this unscathed?</div><div><br /></div><div>Being one of many post-war film noirs, <i>Act of Violence</i> displays a scarred attitude towards humanity. Similar to his follow-up film <i>The Men</i>, Zinnemann shows the battle a soldier faces upon returning home and how it can be more challenging than the war itself. And like <i>The Search</i> -- released the same year -- it shows that man is capable of some truly unspeakable things.</div><div><br /></div><div>Both Heflin and Ryan are more or less synonymous with the noir genre. (They earned Oscar nominations for their roles in such titles after all.) And both are ideal in their characters' shifting moral roles. As <i>Act of Violence</i> goes on, you're not quite certain as to who's the hero and who's the villain in this tale. All that's clear is that it won't end well for one of them.</div><div><br /></div><div><i>Act of Violence</i> depicts the horrors of war without showing the actual war, something other directors have tried to capture with varied success. Similar to <i>The Best Years of Our Lives</i> before it, every soldier's experience upon returning home is different but the commonality between them all is that nagging feeling that you can't go home again; the person that their families and friends know was lost overseas.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>My Rating:</b> ****1/2</div>MovieNut14http://www.blogger.com/profile/17250239873504510289noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8073025888325415158.post-32437852387995165592020-09-24T15:00:00.001-04:002021-01-11T18:38:17.693-05:00You and Me<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ETvkxszdGW8/X2yjlsUIQPI/AAAAAAAALAQ/58DgQfGc6n024vikkmk7lJN_Dx2V-OT9wCLcBGAsYHQ/s277/You%2Band%2BMe.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="277" data-original-width="220" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ETvkxszdGW8/X2yjlsUIQPI/AAAAAAAALAQ/58DgQfGc6n024vikkmk7lJN_Dx2V-OT9wCLcBGAsYHQ/w254-h320/You%2Band%2BMe.jpg" width="254" /></a></div>The opening moments of Fritz Lang's <i>You and Me</i> shows the employees of a department store interacting with their customers. The behavior of some of them raises a few eyebrows. It turns out -- at the insistence of the store's owner -- the employees are parolees.<div><br /></div><div>Two of the employees -- Joe Dennis (George Raft) and Helen Roberts (Sylvia Sidney) -- decide to get married and for a while, they seem happy. But Joe's criminal past is always close behind, and Helen isn't exactly forthright about her own past. What will happen to the newlyweds?</div><div><br /></div><div>Now a premise like that makes <i>You and Me</i> sound like it's on par with Lang's noir titles like <i>The Big Heat</i> and <i>The Blue Gardenia</i>. In fact, there's a surprising levity to this that one may not associate with it with Lang's work. Thanks to Virginia Van Upp's script, it's a charming oddity in the director's oeuvre.</div><div><br /></div><div>Lang himself wasn't proud of the finished product but that doesn't mean that it should be disregarded. <i>You and Me</i> was his third film with Sidney so he certainly knew what her strengths were by this point. Likewise, this was a subversion of the tough guy roles that made Raft famous. So all in all, it isn't as lackluster as Lang claims.</div><div><br /></div><div><i>You and Me</i> loses steam in its final third but Raft and Sidney keep it going nonetheless. In comparison to Lang's more famous titles, it's more of a breather amid his darker ones. So if you ever come across it in the near future, be sure to check it out.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>My Rating:</b> ***1/2</div>MovieNut14http://www.blogger.com/profile/17250239873504510289noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8073025888325415158.post-12074717442598733962020-09-24T12:50:00.001-04:002021-01-11T18:36:14.552-05:00Three on a Match<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-YXNXNKEJWrc/X2yixEgNNnI/AAAAAAAALAI/4Hs-wS2pXOo_Yz9SwzGH0sshNquwXJ26wCLcBGAsYHQ/s331/Three%2Bon%2Ba%2BMatch.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="331" data-original-width="225" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-YXNXNKEJWrc/X2yixEgNNnI/AAAAAAAALAI/4Hs-wS2pXOo_Yz9SwzGH0sshNquwXJ26wCLcBGAsYHQ/w218-h320/Three%2Bon%2Ba%2BMatch.jpg" width="218" /></a></div>Mervyn LeRoy's <i>Three on a Match</i> opens with three schoolgirls going their separate ways after graduating from public school. Mary (Joan Blondell) ends up in reform school and becomes a showgirl. Ruth (Bette Davis) opts for business school and becomes a stenographer. Vivian (Ann Dvorak) marries into a comfortable life but finds herself bored with it.<p></p><div>Soon after they reunite -- and the titular superstition is invoked -- Vivian runs off with another man with her young son in tow. And the luck of the three women shifts following Vivian's decision, some good and some bad. But what will befall them after all of them?</div><div><br /></div><div>There's just that certain spark to pre-Code titles that Hollywood has tried to replicate countless times in the years since that brief era to varying success. And boy, does <i>Three on a Match</i> have that spark <i>in spades</i>. (There's a promotional still of Blondell that perhaps best exemplifies this period in Hollywood.) Just goes to show that there's no Hollywood era quite like the pre-Code one.</div><div><br /></div><div>LeRoy -- a man whose career dipped its toe in various genres throughout the years -- shows a sharp eye towards the melodramatic nature of <i>Three on a Match</i>. As he would do with <i>Waterloo Bridge</i> and <i>Random Harvest</i> the following decade, he doesn't demonize the leads for their wrongdoings as they try to survive in the world they're a part of. Some are simply put on the wrong path beyond their control.</div><div><br /></div><div><i>Three on a Match</i> shows that Hollywood just doesn't make movies like they used to nearly a century ago. Very seldom do you see character morality get tested nowadays as was commonplace for the pre-Code era, let alone complicated female characters. And boy, is that ending a doozy.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>My Rating:</b> *****</div>MovieNut14http://www.blogger.com/profile/17250239873504510289noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8073025888325415158.post-53648837896381374132020-09-08T11:57:00.048-04:002021-01-11T18:32:41.221-05:00When Tomorrow Comes<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-S03l9Y8cDJM/X2vePTFZZWI/AAAAAAAAK_4/oCH-6uG4McopUzBWMA7Zpa8NGFiFMUTfQCLcBGAsYHQ/s300/When%2BTomorrow%2BComes.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="211" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-S03l9Y8cDJM/X2vePTFZZWI/AAAAAAAAK_4/oCH-6uG4McopUzBWMA7Zpa8NGFiFMUTfQCLcBGAsYHQ/w225-h320/When%2BTomorrow%2BComes.jpg" width="225" /></a></div>When waitress Helen Lawrence (Irene Dunne) meets Philip Chagal (Charles Boyer) in John M. Stahl's <i>When Tomorrow Comes</i>, she gets along with him very well. He in turn is instantly smitten. Their casual acquaintance blossoms into a romance but something (or someone) is holding them back...<div><br /><div>Released the same year as <i>Love Affair</i> (another romantic melodrama starring Dunne and Boyer), <i>When Tomorrow Comes</i> isn't quite as romantic as its premise makes it out to be. Despite the best efforts of Dunne's besotted expressions and Boyer's purr of a French accent, it doesn't very much live up to its potential. And there's very much a reason for it.</div></div><div><br /></div><div>That reason being how <i>When Tomorrow Comes</i> tries to somewhat justify Helen and Philip's ultimately adulterous liaison: his wife isn't of sound mind. In a half-baked attempt to rehash <i>Jane Eyre</i> of sorts, it only stigmatizes mental illness to explain away why Helen and Philip should be together at all (though Philip remains dutiful to his wife). It's not a great message to be shown in all honesty.</div><div><br /></div><div>Anyway, being one of <i>three</i> Stahl films later remade by Douglas Sirk, it's a stark contrast to his more famous title <i>Leave Her to Heaven</i>. But at the same time, there's a similarity in that both films feature a possessive wife (though the later film has a much more malicious example). Still, to compare the two is an instance of apples and oranges.</div><div><br /></div><div><i>When Tomorrow Comes</i> isn't on par with the other weepies of '39 like <i>Dark Victory</i> and <i>Wuthering Heights</i> but the leads' shared charisma can only go so far. But hey: you got Stahl adapting a James M. Cain story...even though Cain would end up suing Universal.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>My Rating:</b> ***1/2</div>MovieNut14http://www.blogger.com/profile/17250239873504510289noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8073025888325415158.post-21109859559005196702020-09-07T13:46:00.066-04:002021-01-11T18:32:41.481-05:00The Outsider<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-QTpuMkIHX_o/X2veE03cxUI/AAAAAAAAK_0/mdK9JoZwcq0Hvil8VICq-pGw08vpPfaYACLcBGAsYHQ/s461/The%2BOutsider.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="461" data-original-width="215" height="400" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-QTpuMkIHX_o/X2veE03cxUI/AAAAAAAAK_0/mdK9JoZwcq0Hvil8VICq-pGw08vpPfaYACLcBGAsYHQ/w186-h400/The%2BOutsider.jpg" width="186" /></a></div>There's been a decided shift over the decades with how Indigenous peoples have been depicted in Hollywood. The days of brownface have since been eradicated (for the most part) in favor of actually casting Indigenous actors in roles beyond the bloodthirsty savage stereotype. Still, there's a strange fascination in seeing earlier titles.<div><br /><div>Now Delbert Mann's <i>The Outsider</i> has Tony Curtis as Iwo Jima flag raiser Ira Hayes. Having a Hungarian-American Jew from the Bronx play a Pima Native American wouldn't fly today (the only real similarity both men have is that they served in World War II, albeit different branches) but that's not to disregard Curtis' work here, far from it. Being more of a physical actor (as in more aware of body language), he conveys the discomfort Ira experiences from being in the public eye.</div></div><div><br /></div><div>Speaking of which, <i>The Outsider</i> provides more of a depiction of how one buckles under the pressure from being put on a pedestal. Instead of offering him help as he slips into alcoholism, those that Ira encounters look down on him for not being the example of an American hero he should be. How much of that is true is hard to say but one thing's certain: had Hayes gotten help, he probably would've lived longer than 32.</div><div><br /></div><div>Mann however can't quite break free from his television past, and it shows from time to time in <i>The Outsider</i>. Most of the actors feel confined in their actions and deliveries, almost as if they weren't allowed to be relaxed. It's jarring in comparison to <i>Marty</i>'s easy nature.</div><div><br /></div><div><i>The Outsider</i> is far from great but Curtis' performance makes it bearable. Being made before knowledge of PTSD was better known, it probably explains the film's ham-fisted approach on the matter. Still, it's not a complete slog.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>My Rating:</b> ***1/2</div>MovieNut14http://www.blogger.com/profile/17250239873504510289noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8073025888325415158.post-83907665530177367602020-08-07T17:01:00.001-04:002020-09-02T23:12:03.715-04:00Never Rarely Sometimes Always<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Gv2LTxEd5hw/X0K7B00KjhI/AAAAAAAAK-I/8jAFeAUFILo1Ni_MsncupOupWmi5lQYEACLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/Never%2BRarely%2BSometimes%2BAlways.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="384" data-original-width="259" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Gv2LTxEd5hw/X0K7B00KjhI/AAAAAAAAK-I/8jAFeAUFILo1Ni_MsncupOupWmi5lQYEACLcBGAsYHQ/s320/Never%2BRarely%2BSometimes%2BAlways.png" width="215" /></a></div>
Early on in Eliza Hittman's <i>Never Rarely Sometimes Always</i>, we assume that Autumn (Sidney Flanigan) is just going through the usual teenage angst. Then we later find out she's pregnant, and that's when the tone changes completely.<br />
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Similarly to <i>Obvious Child</i> a few years earlier, <i>Never Rarely Sometimes Always</i> maintains a very sympathetic perspective towards the subject of abortion. (Yes, there are a few characters that are decidedly pro-life but they aren't so in your face about it.) Imagine if this had been released during the height of the anti-abortion movement over a quarter-century ago.<br />
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Speaking of which, we've come a long way since the days of <i>Roe v. Wade</i>. Yes, there are still those that object to the ruling from nearly half a century ago but again, why should someone make moral decisions for someone else they possibly don't even know? After all, it's not <i>their</i> body they're fretting over.<br />
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Anyway, as Hittman also showed with her previous film <i>Beach Rats</i>, she shows how those living an unassuming life invariably have a story to tell beyond their initial appearance. Many of us put up an invisible wall around those we don't know if we can trust. It's once familiarity sets in that -- as Hittman shows -- the wall starts to come down, brick by brick.<br />
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<i>Never Rarely Sometimes Always</i> shows how much society has changed since that January day in 1973 but also how there's still a way to go. Abortion isn't a word met with shock and horror (as much) anymore but not many are willing to view it as simply a medical procedure, potentially a life-saving one; they need to understand it's not <i>their</i> decision that's being made.<br />
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<b>My Rating:</b> *****MovieNut14http://www.blogger.com/profile/17250239873504510289noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8073025888325415158.post-2907601389442956592020-08-06T06:46:00.000-04:002020-09-02T23:12:03.702-04:00BOOK VS MOVIE: Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune/Frankie and Johnny<img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5523171828079999058" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-nTReuxXSt1A/X0wBBl8QNLI/AAAAAAAAK-o/rVO3cNclWuM0wNTS59NKqgbedJioP73JQCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/Frankie%2Band%2BJohnny%2Bin%2Bthe%2BClair%2Bde%2BLune.jpg" style="cursor: hand; float: left; height: 320px; margin: 0px 10px 10px 0px; width: 208px;" /><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ONppdkRtOUA/X0wBp-3P9DI/AAAAAAAAK-w/TF5xt2FxqBUDu0aQrOdFv5HHfTeQ2ZVUACLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/Frankie%2Band%2BJohnny.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5523171824069944434" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ONppdkRtOUA/X0wBp-3P9DI/AAAAAAAAK-w/TF5xt2FxqBUDu0aQrOdFv5HHfTeQ2ZVUACLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/Frankie%2Band%2BJohnny.jpg" style="cursor: hand; float: left; height: 320px; margin: 0px 10px 10px 0px; width: 208px;" /></a>Relationships are a fickle thing. Sometimes they're like a symphony but other times they're like nails on a chalkboard. It really depends on the people involved but more than anything, communication is crucial in these situations.<br />
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But what of those where one's ready for this but the other isn't? This isn't an uncommon situation for one to face but again, it's something that can be helped with communication. Even then, however, it can be an uphill battle for one or both parties.<br />
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Terrence McNally's <i>Frankie and Johnny in the Claire de Lune</i> has this with short-order cook Johnny and waitress Frankie, who have just gone to bed together after knowing each other for six weeks. He wants to commit to something more, she's reluctant to do so. Through stream of consciousness conversation, they try to find a commonality between them.<br />
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Fleshing out the story (and shortening the title), Garry Marshall's <i>Frankie and Johnny</i> explores more of the lonely state of humanity. With McNally serving as the film's screenwriter, he adds dimensional supporting characters and has New York City playing a bigger role than in his original play. And though there's a noticeable age difference between them, Michelle Pfeiffer and Al Pacino have great chemistry together.<br />
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So which is better: McNally's play or Marshall's film? Both have their own charms, a lot of them owing to McNally at the typewriter. But Marshall adds a little something extra to the story. (It's a shame we lost both Marshall and McNally in recent memory but their works live on.)<br />
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<b>What's worth checking out?:</b> Both.MovieNut14http://www.blogger.com/profile/17250239873504510289noreply@blogger.com1