What classics did you see last week? (11 Feb to 17 Feb 2018)

Sherlock Holmes Faces Death / Roy William Neill (1943). The sixth of 14 Holmes/Watson films with Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce and the one that comes right after “Sherlock Holmes In Washington” which I reviewed here two weeks ago. “Faces Death” was directed and written by the same team as “In Washington” – Neill (who directed all of the rest of the Rathbone/Bruce films) and screen writer Bertram Millhauser. Once again, Millhauser’s script provides the duo with some bone dry throwaway humor that you have to be on the alert to catch. Watson’s asides are always directed at Inspector Lestrade (Dennis Hoey) who is real bumbling dunderhead of these movies, not Bruce’s Watson. “Faces Death” is based, rather remotely, on an actual Arthur Conan Doyle story. About all that is left of Doyle is an ancient family named Musgrave who have a ritual that must be recited any time an heir inherits the Manor although the meaning of the words has been lost. Holmes solves the riddle of the Musgrave Ritual. Everything else, including the words of the ritual, are new for the movie. Nevertheless, this is an authentic puzzle mystery with clues to the killer that can be discerned by the careful viewer. A good one.

Rathbone’s “do” is back to normal. “In Washington” was the last time Sherlock’s locks took on that strange appearance.


So Dark The Night / Joseph H. Lewis (1946). This is a little seen noir thriller from the classic cult director Joseph Lewis (My Name Is Julia Ross, Gun Crazy, The Big Combo). It is a film that deserves a much wider fan base and reputation. In Paris, Henri Cassin (Steven Geray), the leading detective on the police force, is taking his first vacation in eleven years. Cassin doesn’t look like a major homicide detective for the Sûreté. He is short, round and middle-aged with a pleasant face and demeanor (until he begins an investigation when he turns into a detecting machine). After motoring to a country village he is immediately stricken by the inn keeper’s daughter who seems to reciprocate his feelings. Turns out that Nanette (Micheline Cheirel) is engaged to poor farmer Leon but is attracted to Cassin’s status, wealth, and life in Paris. Nanette’s mother encourages the flirtation but her father, the inn keeper, wants her to marry Leon and stay in the village. This opening is played as a light, romantic triangle story until there is a brutal double murder followed by a third death a few days later. Cassin should be in his element but is totally baffled and defeated by how this murderer has covered his tracks and motive. The film turns more and more bleak as hints are dropped about who the killer is. The ending is shocking and sad, but Cassin, faithful to his life’s work, solves the case. I saw this on cable TV but the entire movie can be viewed on YouTube. The real mystery is why “So Dark The Night” is not already a cult favorite. Brilliant.

As a footnote, “So Dark The Night” was filmed entirely is southern California but almost all of the major cast players are foreign born actors, perhaps WWII refugees. Steven Geray was born in what is now the Ukraine and Micheline Cheirel came from Paris originally. The odd thing is, even though the language of the film is English, the actors were all directed to speak it with a French accent (this may not have been too hard for many of them who actually were French). Further, actual French words like oui and merci beaucoup were used and the inn keeper’s wife would let loose with a torrent in French when angry with her husband.



Steven Geray as Henri Cassin


The Oscar Nominated Short Films 2016: Animated (2017). This was the first time we have attended the nominated animated short films. They all turned out to be very enjoyable. The probable winner will be either the Pixar entry, “Lou,” or the longest of the bunch – 29 minutes – from the UK, “Revolting Rhymes Part One,” based on a book by Roald Dahl. The worst one was “Dear Basketball,” written and performed by Kobe Bryant as a six minute tribute to himself. The one I liked best was a six minute film from France called “Negative Space.” It is about a man’s memory of his father and how they bonded over packing clothes (his father had to travel for his job). Rule 1: Lay out all the things you are going to take. Rule 2: Put half of it back. This is the one that has stuck with me.

Atomic Blonde / David Leitch (2017). Action adventure from one of the co-directors of the first John Wick shoot-‘em-up. I liked both the Wick movies because, I think, how the action choreography resembles that of the Asian martial arts films I enjoy. The same goes for “Atomic Blonde” which features what is seemingly a 9 to 10 minute unbroken take of a brutal fight that starts on the upper floor an apartment building, moves downstairs, through an apartment, out on to the street, and then in a car. Quite impressive. The spy plot takes place in the days just before the fall of the Berlin Wall. The McGuffin is a list in microform of all the British agents working in East Berlin at the time. It has Fallen Into The Wrong Hands and someone must get it back. That someone is Lorraine Broughton (Charlize Theron). The story is told in flashback as Lorraine is de-briefed by her superior (“My superior!” she says sarcastically) played by Toby Jones and an American CIA chief (John Goodman). Well directed action is all well and good but what is better is a human element. That is supplied by Theron’s performance. Like what she accomplished in building a character in “Mad Max: Fury Road” with very little dialog, she also does here with sheer physical presence and slight indications of emotion – conveying a lot using very little. She triumphs once again. Also in the cast are James McAvoy, Sofia Boutella, and Eddie Marsan.

Stair fight



…Continuing a watch straight through the 10 seasons of Doctor Who: New Series in anticipation of next year’s introduction of the 13th Doctor.

S. 8, Ep. 4 “Listen” September 13, 2014. What if there were a creature whose evolutionary defense mechanism is hiding? It hides so well that no one ever sees it unless it is movement in a mirror of in the corner of the eye. It is what is in the dark and under the bed when you are a child. The Doctor is determined to find it and confront it. The solution might lie in The Doctor’s own childhood on Gallifrey.

S. 8, Ep. 5 “Time Heist” September 20, 2014. Brilliant conception. A time travel heist to rob the most secure bank in the universe. Complex science fiction storytelling that will reward more than one viewing. Keely Hawes guest stars as the bank’s head of security.

S. 8, Ep. 6 “The Caretaker” September 27, 2014. I have always thought that during Peter Capaldi’s first season as The Doctor, he was never quite comfortable with his persona, that of a grumpy misanthrope (he loves humanity and keeps saving it, but dislikes people) much like the First Doctor, harking back to the earliest days of the classic series. Capaldi seems to be struggling with who his Doctor is going to be. In this episode and the next, he becomes so obnoxious that Clara threatens to leave him. BTW, speaking of the early Classic Series, we learn in this story that Clara is a teacher at Coal Hill School in southwest London which Who Fans will recognize from the premiere episode on November 23, 1963.

S. 8, Ep. 7 “Kill The Moon” October 4, 2014. This is not a bad story, overall. The Doctor, Clara, and one of Clara’s students, Courtney, a self-described “disruptive influence” (a description that pleases The Doctor as he himself is one) land on the moon in Earth’s near future. It is scary and suspenseful but…it’s ending is probably the most absurd thing you couldn’t possibly think of. For most fans, it ruins the entire tale, but it shouldn’t.

S. 8, Ep. 8 “Mummy On The Orient Express” October 11, 2014. One of the masterpieces of Doctor Who, both Classic and New Series, and one of the greatest Doctor Moments in the history of the show. The Doctor takes Clara on one last excursion before she leaves him. It is a trip on the Orient Express, but on hyper-rails in space. Future humans dress in old Earth fashions to party on the “train.” Clara looks very fetching as a 1920s flapper. But on the train is an ancient peril: The Foretold, who looks like a mummy. If the Foretold appears to you (no one else will be able to see it), you have 66 seconds to live. No one has ever stopped the Foretold no matter what they do or how they bargain or promise. Eventually, The Doctor will have to take his own 66 seconds facing the unstoppable threat.

Jenna Coleman and Peter Capaldi (Clara Oswald and The Doctor) on the Orient Express in hyper-space

Looks like we both went to war this week, I haven't seen either of those movies though.

Well enough. Once only for me. I don't mind a bit of found footage and am always hopeful for a good scary movie. They're actually kind of rare (good + scary) but maybe I'm just too jaded. You can't return to your childhood thrills.

-Bill

I will start my list here and make changes (with additions, descriptions and posters), as I go along, by editing this one post from time to time.


The Divine Lady (1929) www.imdb.com/title/tt0019824/?ref_=nv_sr_2 is a silent movie that basically tells the same story as that conveyed in Alexander Korda’s movie, That Hamilton Woman (1941).  The Devine Lady (1929) is an addition to my silent classic favourites and I was glad to have an opportunity to watch it on TCM’s 31 Days of Oscar. I was not familiar with Corinne Griffith (who played Emma Hamilton) but was very impressed with her winning silent acting. Her mother was played by a Marie Dressler; her husband by H.B. Warner; and Horatio Nelson by Victor Varconi. Frank Lloyd won an Oscar for Best Director; Corinne Griffith was nominated for Best Actress in a Leading Role; and John F. Seitz for Best Cinematography. There were some great sound effects (including gun shots and cannons bursts) and music (including singing) that were, no doubt, added to original silent version.

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Satan Never Sleeps (1962) www.imdb.com/title/tt0056447/?ref_=nv_sr_1 based on a Pearl Buck novel, was Leo McCarey’s last movie and also served as Clifton Webb’s swan song. Set in China during the Civil War of 1949, two Catholic priests (William Holden and Clifton Webb), and their mission are being constantly attacked by the Communists. Holden also has to constantly discourage a young Chinese girl (France Nuyen) from falling in love with him. While Nuyen is very cute ad winning, she is no "Suzie Wong."

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Trial (1955) www.imdb.com/title/tt0048748/?ref_=fn_al_tt_2 presents surprises at every turn. I wanted to see it because I am a fan of most of its principal actors—Glenn Ford, Dorothy McGuire,Juano Hernandez (Intruder in the Dust), and Arthur Kennedy, who received his third of five 50s Oscar nominations for this movies (4 of which were directed by Mark Robson). Clearly, Arthur Kennedy and Glenn Ford were at the zenith of their great acting careers when this movie was released.

The movie is set in 1947 America and covers a number of social issues current at the time. But, the modern movie watcher will be surprised to see that it has less to do with the trial of a young Mexican boy accused of murdering an under-aged girl on a private beach than it does with Kennedy setting Ford up to lose the trial to line his own pockets in the name of the “Communist cause.” Kennedy tries to do this by sacrificing the boy as a martyr to be used by American Communists. Interestingly, Kennedy assigns the court case to novice trial lawyer (Ford) and then goes about raising money back East to audience sympathetic to the Mexican boy’s plight. In this movie, all the groups that we would call “progressive” or “liberal” today were portrayed as Communists fellow travellers in this movie.

David Blake (Glenn Ford) : [Blake and Castle are discussing the fund-raising for Angel Chavez's defense fund] Look, it's not only the way you are raising the money, it's the people that are raising it. The All Peoples Party. Barney, half of them are a bunch of Communists, you know that!

Bernard 'Barney' Castle (Arthur Kennedy) : I'd say sixty percent, and some of the others are cheating the Party out if its dues.

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Lady Bird (2017) www.imdb.com/title/tt4925292/?ref_=nv_sr_1 has surprisingly been nominated for five Oscars this year: Best Picture; Best Actress in a Leading Role (Saoirse Ronan); Best Actress in a Supporting Role (Laurie Metcalf); Best Directing and Best Original Screenplay (Greta Gerwig). I clearly recognized Ronan as the little smart-assed tattletale from Atonement (2007) but had forgotten that she was also nominated for the more natural Leading role in Brooklyn (2015). I recognize Laurie Metcalf as Jackie, Roseanne’s sister on the TV sitcom.

For me, this movie is something of a coming-of-age movie with a different style than I am use to. Set in 2002, it traces the senior year of a girl from a lower-class mixed family, who lives in plain ol’ Sacramento and attends a parochial high school. She aspires elevate herself, giving herself her own name, “Lady Bird.” She really wants to go to a liberal arts college in the East rather than settle for a California state college. But, knows that her family can’t afford it: her father is about to lose (and then loses) his job and her mother works as a health care professional at a local hospital. The movie presents her story as a series of loosely-connected scenes covering her day-to-day life: at home, at school, and with her friends. The movie, taken as a whole, gives us the story.

I like Laurie Metcalf’s chances for an Oscar, but there is competition in her category.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xgfxx_CuK-Y

Marion McPherson (Laurie Metcalf) : I want you to be the very best version of yourself that you can be.

Christine 'Lady Bird' McPherson (Saoirse Ronan): What if this is the best version?

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The Sign of the Cross (1932) www.imdb.com/title/tt0023470/?ref_=nv_sr_1
This was Cecil B. DeMille's first sound epic movie. It was based on Wilson Barrett's 1914 play, and is so similar to  Henryk Sienkiewicz's 1914 novel, Quo Vadis? that one wonders if it isn't the same story.
In any case, I now want to re-watch Quo Vadis? to compare and contrast these two stories that both take place in during the great Roman fire in 64 A.D. which was blamed on this strange minority of people in residing in Rome. This strange minority group was called the Christians .........

In TSOTC, Charles Laughton protray Nero; in Quo Vadis (1951) Peter Ustinov take on that same role. They both play think weak narcissisticc Trumpian character (who thinks he is a god) so well that one wonders which is best. (I pick Laughton). There are many parallels between these two movies..........(to be continued)


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The Real Glory (1939) www.imdb.com/title/tt0031842/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1

Hi all,this week I kicked off seeing a number of films from the 60's:

60's fest:



The Girl with the Golden Eyes (1961) 7

Looking into the eyes of the French New Wave (FNW) storm,director Jean-Gabriel Albicocco & his cinematographer dad Quinto Albicocco shine a light on the era with fluid, ultra-stylised tracking/floating shots that glide into the debauchery life of Marsay. Flooding the opening credits with flashing car lights, the Albicocco's glaze the dreamy camera moves with pristine lighting that gives a brooding appearance to Marsay's intro,that melts as a crisp,cold light of day focus surrounds the trio.Making Albicocco's debut be a "modern" adaptation to one part of Honoré de Balzac's 1835 Thirteen series of short stories, the screenplay by Pierre Pelegri and Philippe Dumarçay daringly has a brewing lesbian romance.

While the placement of Marsay in the middle does push the cliché that a good looking guy can turn lesbians straight,the icy intimacy between the ladies shines against Marsay's jack the lad attitude. Keeping eye contact with the Albicocco's direction,the writers give the romance between the trio a scattering,FNW collage presentation,which whilst capturing the disenfranchised lifestyles they have, does lead to the romances being emotionally vague. Greeting the next woman he wants to sleep with in a fox mask, Paul Guers gives a wonderful,devil may care performance as Marsay,whose disinterest in ending his hard living days Guers fractures by getting Marsay to look into a pair of golden eyes. Finding herself to be another name on Marsay's bedpost, the beautiful Françoise Dorléac perfectly captures the criss-cross emotions Katia has for Marsay and fille,with Marie Laforêt leaving a haunting shadow as Fille,the girl with the golden eyes.

Creature from the Haunted Sea (1961) 4

Showing some care towards the film,DVD company dig up from the ocean the 74 minute extended cut, featuring 12 extra minutes Corman got Monte Hellman to direct in 1963 for TV showings. Made in a 5 day rush when there was still time left after making Battle of Blood Island and the interesting Last Woman on Earth,director Roger Corman & cinematographer Jacques R. Marquette are unable to rise above the cheap and cheerful way it was made,with an overuse of narration, (done by a wry Robert Towne) making the rushed monster effects and the lingering of shots more noticeable. Recycling Charles B. Griffith's screenplay for the third time, (Griffith got given just 3 days to re-re-write his script)the move by Corman to give this version of Griffith's script a comedic edge allows for a satirical sting over a culture clash between the Americans and Puerto Ricans to catch some punch-lines from the haunted sea.

The Young Doctors 6 (1961)

Sternly ordering staff to follow the old ways, Fredric March gives a great, stubborn performance as Pearson,with March treating those who doubt Pearson's ways with a hard shoulder,whilst Dick Clark lays on his famous charm as Dr. Alexander. Entering the hospital like a tornado, Ben Gazzara breezes on a gust of youthful energy as Coleman,with Gazzara neatly balancing the blunt style of March's Pearson by giving Coleman exuberant compassion and progressive dedication to medicine.

Filmed on location in New York hospitals, director Phil Karlson & future Death Wish cinematographer Arthur J. Ornitz open the doors to the era,with Elmer Bernstein's excellent brassy score giving excitement to the shiny,new medical cures Karlson shows is being made,and also a hollowness to the run-down corridors in the back of the hospital. Despite staying close to personal Melodrama in adapting Arthur Hailey's book,the screenplay by Joseph Hayes uses a scalpel to open up questions still very relevant in the medical field, from the disagreements between doctors in making the correct diagnosis,to the running cost of the hospital putting limits on possible life-saving treatments that are the young doctors dreams.






The Indian Scarf (1963) 8


Limited by producer Horst Wendlandt's attempt to save money by filming it all in a studio,director Alfred Vohrer & cinematographer Karl Löb brilliantly overcome the limitations, and unfold an early Giallo Krimi. Handling black leather gloves before their arrival in the Giallo with the 1970 Bird with the Crystal Plumage, Vohrer gives each murder a highly stylised shine,gliding in smoothly-handled first person track shots,which along with building tension to the next attack,also cleverly map out the corners of the mansion. Solving the mystery with a mischievous twist, Vohrer and Löb do extremely well keeping anxiety running high in the isolated location,by using swift overlapping close-ups to draw out the fear from each family member over possibly sitting next to the killer.

Leaning towards Agatha Christie in this take on the Krimi, the screenplay by Harald G. Petersson and George Hurdalek spreads the mystery across the family evenly, with them each being given quirks that crack the façade of their royal upper-crust status. Catching a handful of the Giallo, the writers keep the twists in the Krimi strong by playing allowing with the early set-ups of the Giallo,such as a haunted family gathering round the table for the final,a death in the family sauna, and an wry spin on the dope/druggie loner of Gialli.The black sheep in the family from his first meeting with Heinz Drache’s smooth lawyer Frank Tanner, Klaus Kinski gives a great, fidgeting performance as the howling Peter Ross,who keeps all the family ill at ease,as the killer puts on the Indian scarf.

Horror trio:

Hannibal Rising (2007) Craptastic 7

Serving up the killing of Hannibal's parents with an over the top Rube Goldberg-style coincidence, director Peter Webber & cinematographer Ben Davis take psychological menace off the menu to cook up a straight-up gorefest. Peeling away to Hannibal's roots,Webber gives the European locations an elegant frosty appearance for the start-point of Hannibal's gentlemanly manner,which gets torn to shreds by the fantastic lashings of gore, sprayed by practical effects beheadings and samurai sword killings.

Forced to write the novel and the screenplay at the same time after producer Dino De Laurentiis threatened to bring a hack in to do an origin story, (Mmm...Perhaps not the best way to help someone come up with a good plot Dino.) the screenplay by Thomas Harris shoves atmospheric horror to a side dish,and instead goes for a revenge tale (best served cold!) Sticking Hannibal with flashbacks to his family killers, Harris comes up with a grisly kill list,the episodic outline of which allows for a constant stream of splatter to flow. Faced with Dominic West randomly dropping his French accent as Inspector Popil, Gaspard Ulliel rises above the schlock on show to reflect the pristine, emotionally detached of Hannibal.

Il fantasma dell'opera (1998) 5


Going historical for the first time since the very interesting, 1973 non-Horror/non-Giallo The Five Days of Milan, co-writer/(with Gérard Brach & Giorgina Caspari) director Dario Argento reunites with Opera's cinematographer Ronnie Taylor (who also worked on Phantom adaptations Popcorn and Phantom of the Paradise) aim for an epic Gothic Horror,complete with a magnificent Opera house and winding catacombs. Working on a healthy budget,Argento (who throws sex scenes between the Phantom and his own daughter in to up the sleaze factor!)becomes unsteady in reaching the grandiose ambitions,as the stylisation of camera moves is pulled to focusing on rubbery gore effects, and the lighting is dimmed to the point of the impressive locations being covered in pitch darkness.

Whilst losing the directing ambitions he had shown in Opera,the screenplay by Argento/Brach and Caspari brings to the front one of Argento main themes across his work,via the parental (and sexual!) love the Phantom has for the rats that raised him.Following the path in his directing,the writers appear undecided over what direction to take this loose adaptation, where the would-be sweeping romance between Phantom and Christine lacks any feeling of passion,and the bonkers, rat catcher surges into Gothic Horror (that would be the main element in Argento's next historical Horror: Dracula)are clipped before they become fitted into the mask of the movie. Joined by a sultry Asia Argento as Christine, Julian Sands tries to give the Phantom a brooding, Dracula-style allure,but fails due to Sands being extremely timed in digging his rat fangs in,and lifting the curtain on the phantom of the opera.

Evil Dead 3. 8/10

Revving back to life after a five year gap, co-writer/(with brother Ivan) director Sam Rami & The Matrix cinematographer Bill Pope transfer the free-flowing ultra-stylisation of the first two onto a much larger canvas,with the extended,rapid-fire tracking shots of the first films morphing into explosive battle scenes that spin flying first-person shots across the sky towards their targets. Taking the series in a more open Fantasy/Ray Harryhausen-inspired direction,Rami tones down the gory horror shocks for playful Slap-Stick Horror (!) that ties Ash into Gulliver's Travels,and the Medieval setting allowing Rami to use Harryhausen-style stop-motion animation to bring an army of darkness back from the evil dead.

Sending Ash's 1973 Oldsmobile Delta 88 into Medieval times, the screenplay by the Rami's chop their lone hero into a fish out of water adventure,where Ash's off the cuff one-liners leads to very funny gruff exchanges with the knights. Whilst less focused on the horror element,the writers do well twisting the Adventure tale into the Horror genre,as Ash is sent as a man on a mission to retrieve The Book of the Dead,and a surprising dip into Sci-Fi ends the trilogy on an excellent chilling note. Picking up the chainsaw again, Bruce Campbell gives a hyper-active performance as Ash,who leaps into action to take on the evil dead's army of darkness.

Modern films:
Dysfunctional parents double feature:
The Glass Castle (2017)--Sanitized Hollywood adaptation of Jeannette Walls' harrowing memoir of her childhood and her deeply dysfunctional parents. Unnecessarily sentimental ending; if you've read the book, prepare to be somewhat disappointed in the movie.

Dear Zachary: A Letter to a Son About His Father (2008)--documentary about the murder of a young doctor by his crazed ex-girlfriend, who later announces to his devastated parents that she's pregnant with their grandson. Affecting, but very sad and infuriating.

Bear double feature:
Paddington (2014)--Better-than-average children's talking animal movie, if you're looking for something for the kiddies.
Brigsby Bear (2017)--A sweet, underrated film that should have gotten more attention. A weird, low-budget children's show starring a Teddy Ruxpin-inspired bear is the sole entertainment/education provided to an isolated, childlike
twentysomething young man named James. Then the whole story of the show, and of James, becomes more evident. The initial sinister aura of the plot changes as the movie goes along.

Waste of time:
Paris Can Wait (2016)--You know those people who always have to take pictures of their meals when they go to a restaurant and share them with everyone, as if anyone cares to see their plates of food? Well, this is a movie just for them!
The bored wife of a busy movie executive decides to drive to Paris with his French business associate, who turns out to be ze stereotypical horny Frenchman who lives for food, wine and ze potential for some adulterous romance. Pepe LePew takes her to restaurant after restaurant, and we get to see plates of French meals and close-ups of filled wineglasses. And that's pretty much the whole movie. Watch one of those PBS travelogues on dining across Europe instead; at least those are only a half-hour long.

Classic films:
Cabaret (1972)--What should have won the Best Picture Oscar for its year, IMO. Atmospheric, still frightening (that sequence of the Hitler Youth punk singing "Tomorrow Belongs to Me" makes me think of Donald Trump as a kid for some reason), and Liza Minnelli sings better than her mother did in this film.

Run for Cover (1955)--I'd never even heard of this movie until I came across it today. Average Western, but I had to watch it solely for the presence of James Cagney, who doesn't fit the usual tall, lanky Western hero stereotype, but he makes it work here.

My Man Godfrey (1936)--Because it was a good day for some screwball stuff.