Twentieth Century

Within the first few moments of Howard Hawks' Twentieth Century, we see the beginning of the partnership of Broadway director Oscar Jaffe (John Barrymore) and acting hopeful Lily Garland (Carole Lombard). It's a rocky start to say the least, but their first play is a success.

Fast forward three years, and their partnership has become more bitter than an unripe lemon. She ditches him for Hollywood and her career thrives. (His in turn crumbles.) Then on a train from Chicago to New York, they meet after all these years, and...well, it's not a friendly reunion by any means.

As someone quite familiar with her work, it's clear to say that Lombard is very funny in this. But bear in mind that did this long before films like My Man Godfrey and Mr. and Mrs. Smith. In other words, this is Lombard's first foray in screwball comedy. (Hawks actually complained that Lombard was too stiff early on in production.)

But the absolute scene stealer of Twentieth Century is definitely Barrymore. Again, bear in mind the actor's other roles, so seeing him do screwball comedy could be a bit of a shock. And yet, he is an absolute riot here. (I also love what Hawks said to Barrymore to convince him to take the part: "It's the story of the biggest ham on earth and you're the biggest ham I know.")

Twentieth Century is a very funny film. Thanks to the manic performances from Barrymore and Lombard as well as Charles MacArthur and Ben Hecht's script and Hawks' direction, this is the benchmark for the many screwball comedies in the years to come. Go see it.

My Rating: *****

Rio Bravo

Howard Hawks was one of the more versatile directors of the Golden Age. He made comedies (His Girl Friday), dramas (To Have and Have Not), westerns (Red River) and film noirs (The Big Sleep). Probably one of the few names who could venture into many genres and do it successfully.

This was John Wayne and Hawks' response to High Noon, where Gary Cooper is on his own protecting the town. In Rio Bravo, Wayne has a ragtag posse consisting of a cripple (Walter Brennan), a drunk (Dean Martin) and a young gunslinger (Ricky Nelson). They may be a questionable group, but all of them are pretty handy with a gun.

I really liked Martin's work in Rio Bravo. It's not an exaggerated performance from him. He knows his drinking's a problem, but he finds it hard to control it. He also proves that when sober, he's quick on the draw.

Rio Bravo is different from other westerns I've seen. The others rely mostly on action; Rio Bravo only uses it in small doses. It also has to be the most fun I've had watching a movie. And to close this review, I shall use an excerpt from Peter Travers: "How many great movies do you know that blend comedy and tragedy and still have time for Martin and Nelson to sing a duet?" (That scene was the highlight of the movie to me.)

My Rating: *****

Ball of Fire

I've always liked movies from the 1940's. A number of actors I like had some of their more famous movies released during that decade. That, and several movies I like were from then.

I've always liked Barbara Stanwyck, especially since I saw her in Double Indemnity. She's just a personality that stands out from the rest. And in Ball of Fire, she's a force to be reckon with. There's no denying that she's a scene stealer.

Now with Gary Cooper, I'm not as certain with him. After all, I only saw him in High Noon. But I did like him in Ball of Fire. He seems right for the role of an intelligent but hopelessly square professor, but there's something that feels...off.

Man, this was entertaining. I mean, can you really go wrong with a Howard Hawks movie written by Billy Wilder? I don't think you can at all.

My Rating: *****

The Big Sleep

"Somebody's always giving me guns." ~ Philip Marlowe (Humphrey Bogart)

What makes a film noir a film noir? The lead character with a few flaws, cinematography chock full of dark shadows and thrown-out morals. And the 1946 classic The Big Sleep has all those things.

Here, Bogart is detective Philip Marlowe, possibly fiction's most famous private eye (alongside Sam Spade). He is called in to investigate about a man one of a prominent family's daughters has fallen for. As he goes deeper into the case, bodies start to drop.

Boy, this has one dizzying plot. Even if you pay really close attention, you still don't know who killed who. But that's what makes it more appealing to watch. Even Raymond Chandler, who wrote the original novel, didn't know who killed who.

Of course, the studio heads wanted The Big Sleep to have Bogart and Lauren Bacall in each other's arms at the end, which they got. It's the build up to that point that makes it too irresistible to avoid.

My Rating: *****

His Girl Friday

I've been trying to catch up on the classics. Most of them were released in the 50s, 60s and 70s, only a scarce number from the 30s and 40s.

All Hildy Johnson (Rosalind Russell) wants is to get married to Bruce Baldwin (Ralph Bellamy). But her ex-husband Walter Burns (Cary Grant), as well as a story about a prisoner awaiting execution, prevents her from doing that.

It's so annoying. Ever since I saw Some Like It Hot last year, I cannot take Cary Grant seriously anymore (even if most of the roles I've seen by him are comedic). Almost every time Grant speaks, my mind immediately goes to Tony Curtis' impression of Grant. Is it driving me crazy? You bet it is.

His Girl Friday has to be one of the smarter comedies I've seen. Grant and Russell have really great chemistry together. The dialogue between them and the other characters absolutely sizzles. Do I suggest that everyone should see His Girl Friday? Absolutely.

My Rating: *****

Red River

When the name John Wayne is mentioned, his performances in Westerns such as The Searchers and Stagecoach are usually thought of. But Wayne has made Westernsthat are frequently overlooked.

Thomas Dunson (Wayne) builds a cattle empire with his adopted son Matthew Garth (Montgomery Clift). Together they begin a massive cattle drive north from Texas to the Missouri railhead. But on the way, new information and Dunson's tyrannical ways cause Matthew to take the herd away from Dunson and head to a new railhead in Kansas. Dunson, swearing vengeance, pursues.

This was the first movie I saw featuring John Wayne. I like how the amount of action is at the right level. One of the writers called it "Mutiny on the Bounty with horses" (or something like that), which makes sense because, in essence, it is.

My Rating: *****

Bringing Up Baby

There's a blog I frequently read whose author has an infatuation with movie legend Katharine Hepburn. Since last November, I've seen three of her movies. Those movies are The Philadelphia Story, Guess Who's Coming to Dinner and Bringing Up Baby, the latter I'll be reviewing.

When scatterbrained Susan Vance (Hepburn) takes a shine to palaeontologist David Huxley (Cary Grant), mayhem ensues. David, engaged to be married and intensely interested in the arrival of the brontosaurus bone required to complete his project at the museum, is inetricably bound up with Susan's escapades when she finds herself responsible for Baby, a tame leopard shipped to her New York apartment and intended for Susan's aunt in Connecticut.

Although I liked it in some parts, my tolerance level for a majority of it was low. It was too screwball for me to really like it. I did like the chemistry between Grant and Hepburn though. But if you're interested in a good comedy, Bringing Up Baby is a fine choice.

My Rating: ****

To Have and Have Not

In honor of her 85th birthday today and recent news of her to receive an honorary award in November, I've decided to review Lauren Bacall's best-known work: To Have and Have Not.

The movie is set on the Carribean island of Martinique during the second World War. Harry Morgan (Humphrey Bogart) and his alcoholic friend Eddie (Walter Brennan) are having difficulty getting business. Harry's offered to smuggle people onto the island. He refuses, but accepts after a client who owes him money is killed. Before he starts smuggling, Harry starts a relationship with Marie "Slim" Browning (Bacall), a singer at a club that Harry frequently goes to.

This movie, as most cinephiles like me know, created the real-life relationship of Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall. Bogart, who was married during the production of To Have and Have Not, became attracted to the rising star. They were married in 1945, but the marriage ended in 1957 when Bogart died of cancer.

Bacall's work in the movie is stellar. It baffles me that she wasn't nominated for this, and it baffles me ever more that it was fifty-two years after she started acting that she received an Academy Award nomination (and didn't win to top it off!).

My Rating: *****