What Classics Did You See Last Week? (12 June-18 June 2017)

Sensualidad , Sensuality (1951) Mexico, Directed by Alberto Gout

A blend of "Rumberas" and  Film Noir.  Superior film.  Femme fatale , dancer Ninón Sevilla (Aurora) is sensational

Echizen take-ningyô , Bamboo Doll of Echizen (1963) Japan, Directed by Kôzaburô Yoshimura 

Glorious b&w cinematography, excellent, touching melodramatic film 10/10 

Dáblova past , The Devils Trap (1962) Czechoslovakia, Directed by Frantisek Vlácil

Masterpiece ...

Unknown Bogart! Isle Of Fury / Frank McDonald (1936). Some American residents of a small south Pacific island are gathered for the marriage of Val Stevens (Bogie) and Lucille (Margaret Lindsay). Outside the house, a brutal storm is raging. The ceremony is interrupted by the news that a boat has wrecked on the reef. Val takes a boat to the rescue and pulls two men out of the water. One is Eric Blake (Donald Woods). This is the beginning of a tale of secrets (all the white people on the island are running from something, including the alcoholic doctor played by E.E. Clive) and a romantic triangle (Lucille and Eric are attracted to one another). Not all that bad a film for what it is: a medium-budgeted programmer produced as a second feature attraction – I say medium budgeted because they were given five days for location shooting on Catalina Island. Humphrey Bogart was, at the time, a contract player who had to take whatever role the studio ordered him to. He hated this film and would even deny he ever made it. Personally, the only thing he got out of it was a love for Catalina to which he often returned in later years. Looking at the movie (the TCM print is flawless) 80 years later, it seems pretty harmless and is moderately entertaining. There is a twist ending and a nice moment when Lucille has to decide between Val or Eric. As was his personal policy, no matter how hard he had partied the night before, Bogart always showed up on time, knew his lines, and gave 100% no matter the script. Give it a look.

Dead Men Tell / Harry Lachman (1941). This Charlie Chan mystery came late in its run at 20th Century Fox, the studio that started the Oland/Toler series. This title was number 25 of the 27 Charlie Chan films made at Fox. This entry is pretty confined to just a few spaces, mostly a tour boat that never leaves the harbor. An old lady whose grandfather was a famous pirate owns a map of hidden buried loot. The ship, with a few select guests, are to go to an island to search for the treasure. She has divided the map into four parts, making any one part useless. Just as bodies start dropping, Charlie Chan (Sidney Tolar) shows up looking for #2 son, Jimmy (Victor Sen Yung) who is trying to crash the tour. Among the suspicious characters are George Reeves (“Superman”) and Kay Aldrich, star of “Perils of Nyoka” (1942), one of the very few cliffhanger serials with a female protagonist. She is not called on for any derring-do in this flick, however. This low-budget item has plenty of atmosphere with thick fog and a possible pirate ghost stalking the ship. There is a satisfactory revelation of the killer. All in all, a slightly above average entry. After the next two Chan adventures and a hiatus of two years, the series re-emerged at the Poverty Row studio, Monogram. Tolar and Yung also went to Monogram with the brand which continued for another 18 movies.

THERE MAY BE SPOILERS IN THE REVIEW FOR “COMPLETE UNKNOWN” BUT ANY OTHER REVIEW YOU READ ANYWHERE ELSE WILL DESCRIBE THE SAME PLOT, ONLY WITHOUT WARNING. SO YOU MIGHT AS WELL READ IT HERE.

Complete Unknown / Joshua Marston (2016). When we first see Alice (Rachel Weisz) she is looking at an apartment, then we see her as an ER nurse, then a magician’s assistant performing for a Chinese audience. Finally, after the title appears on the screen, she is in NYC. What’s going on? At a lunchroom in a government office building, Alice engineers a Meet Cute with Clyde who works with a department that writes policy guidelines for land use. Her purpose is to get a date to the birthday party of Clyde’s co-worker, Tom (Michael Shannon). Meanwhile, we meet Tom and his wife Ramina (Azita Ghanizada) and find out they are having problems because she wants to move to California for her own profession. At the party, Tom recognizes Alice but she doesn’t know him and ignores him when he calls her “Jennie.” The set-up is for some kind of twisty suspense or an existential mystery, but at exactly the half-way time, Alice/Jennie’s story is revealed and the second half is comprised of a quiet conversation between Tom and Jennie in the late night/early morning hours as they walk around New York. A some other reviewers knock off a lot of points for this tonal shift, but I thought it kind of interesting in the way they turn around the usual thriller formula of slow start followed by the mystery and suspense. I have seen Weisz in three new films in 2017 (Denial and My Cousin Rachel are the other two) and she has shot to the top of my list of favorite current actresses. I’ve always been mixed about Shannon and remain that way. Azita Ghanizada (who came to the U.S. as a political refugee with her parents) quite easily takes the few scenes she is in just by showing up in them. This film is not a total success but recommendable as an appealing curiosity.

Love’s Labour’s Lost / Barry Avrich (2017). A movie theater HD presentation from the Globe Theater at the Stratford (Ont.) Shakespeare Festival. Top-flight acting and production in this stage comedy videoed in front of a live audience. The King of Navarre and three of his court gentlemen take a signed vow to do nothing for three years but study, fast, and avoid all contact with women. One of the gentlemen, Berowne (he’s the smart ass of the group), objects to the no food or sex clauses but eventually signs. The ink is not wet, though, before an embassy from France that the King had forgotten about finally arrives. Do I need to tell you that the embassy consists of the unmarried Princess of France with three of her similarly unattached Ladies accompanying? How long can that vow last? Hilarity ensues. There are a couple of sub-plots involving a visiting Italian knight, a tutor, and a Vicar all of whom think much more highly of themselves than they should, looking down on others, but who get made considerable – and some times bitter – fun made of them. The Canadian Stratford Shakespeare Festival has been in business for more than 60 years. This is the second production of theirs I have seen; both have been of the highest quality. This show was my Father’s Day outing.