Movies that pretend to be one -- and turn out to be something else
I have not watched many such movies (I guess there aren't many of them -- for natural reasons), but I have come across some that started as a film of one genre, and then turned out to be a film of a completely different genre. Not all of them are worse off because of this switch. Here's my list of some REALLY twisted movies. Preference is given to Golden Age Hollywood.
SPOILER ALERT!!! Beware of spoilers, as I describe briefly what sort of genre switch took place in the movie.
SPOILER ALERT!!! Beware of spoilers, as I describe briefly what sort of genre switch took place in the movie.
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- DirectorClarence BrownStarsClark GableRosalind RussellPeter LorreA jewel thief and a con artist are rivals in the theft of a valuable gem as the Japanese army invades China.Starts as a full-fledged screwball comedy, ends as a melodrama/war movie. Very average all in all. If it had not been for Peter Lorre, who has a small role in mid-way, it would have been downright bad. (And mind you, I adore Roz Russell!)
- DirectorW.S. Van DykeStarsBarbara StanwyckRobert TaylorJean HersholtRita Wilson meets epidemiologist Chris Claybourne and they fall in love with each other. When Claybourne leaves for the tropics to find a cure against a disease, Wilson gets her revenge by marrying Claybourne's brother although she still loves Chris.Starts as a passable screwball comedy, ends as a melodrama, and not a very good one.
- DirectorClarence BrownStarsNorma ShearerClark GableEdward ArnoldA group of disparate travelers are caught and thrown together in a posh Alpine hotel when the borders are closed at the beginning of World War II.Starts as a melodrama, goes on as a comedy, ends as an anti-war drama. The only scene worthy of attention is Clark Gable's "Puttin' on the Ritz" song and dance number. Find it on youtube, and don't bother about watching the whole movie. (What a waste of talent! I watched mainly for Edward Arnold. And I like Clarence Brown's films, as a rule.)
- DirectorMitchell LeisenStarsGinger RogersRay MillandWarner BaxterLiza Elliott, "Allure" magazines editor-in-chief, suffers from headaches and continuous daydreams and undergoes psychoanalysis to determine why.All sorts of genres are intermingled in this one: drama of a psychoanalitic patient, office movie, melodrama, comedy (with elements of bitter sarcasm), slapstick comedy, parody or spoof (of a few Ginger Rogers previous pictures), musical, eye candy (provided by Edith Head's incredible dresses, gowns, office suits, HATS!!!, circus attire in one dream sequence). The movie stuns every minute, but I enjoyed it immensely, and it did not give me the impression of being forced or eclectic.
- DirectorFrank BorzageStarsClark GableJoan CrawfordIan HunterConvicts escaping from Devil's Island come under the influence of a strange Christ-like figure.A religious parabola pretending to be melodrama and survival flick. Very weird indeed.
- DirectorVincente MinnelliStarsRichard WidmarkLauren BacallCharles BoyerAt a private psychiatric clinic, the daily dramas and interactions between the doctors, nurses, administrators, benefactors and patients are accentuated by the personal and family crises of these individuals.Pretends to be a silly melodrama and a petty drama about... curtains (no less!), but in reality it is a serious "physician heal thyself" drama and, maybe, even something deeper than that.
- DirectorRobert ParrishStarsRita HayworthRobert MitchumJack LemmonThe friendship between two tramp boat owners is threatened by the arrival of a beautiful and seductive passenger.Starts off as a light buddy-buddy comedy, continues as a melodrama and ends up a disaster movie. There is even a Rita Hayworth dancing number thrown into the mix! This awkward mélange never really takes off as anything distinct or distinguished, and is recommended only for diehard completists of any of the three stars.
- DirectorJames B. HarrisStarsRichard WidmarkSidney PoitierJames MacArthurAn American destroyer Captain is determined to confront a Soviet submarine caught violating territorial waters. Perhaps too determined.
- DirectorsWilliam K. HowardSam WoodStarsWilliam PowellRosalind RussellBinnie BarnesPowell plays an American cryptologist who tangles with German spies while falling in love.
- DirectorRudolph MatéStarsRobert MitchumJack PalanceLinda DarnellMobster Vic Spalato's girlfriend Claire is in hiding in Mexico and she's willing to testify for a US Senate investigation committee, if she can make it back to the US alive.From an IMDb user review: "It starts out like a film noir, then becomes a dreamy romance before turning into a classic, full fledged disaster flick. [...] Every part is OK in itself, but the different pieces do not tie together well."
- DirectorRichard QuineStarsLauren BacallTony CurtisNatalie WoodA womanizing reporter for a sleazy tabloid magazine impersonates his hen-pecked neighbor in order to get an expose on renowned psychologist Helen Gurley Brown.
- DirectorStanley DonenStarsCary GrantJayne MansfieldLeif EricksonIn 1944, three Navy pilots stationed in Hawaii and a P.R. officer go on a 4-day leave to San Francisco where they party with a good crowd in the executive suite of a busy hotel.
- DirectorPhil KarlsonStarsGuy MadisonKim NovakBrian KeithFour vets attending college on the GI Bill and a cabaret singer try to rob a Reno Casino and pull off the perfect crime.
- DirectorJohn H. AuerStarsGig YoungMala PowersWilliam TalmanJohnny Kelly, who plans on resigning from the police force and leaving his wife the next day, has a very eventful last night on duty.
- DirectorGiuliano MontaldoStarsJanet LeighRobert HoffmannKlaus KinskiTo pull off a daring diamond heist in Rio during Carnival, a retired schoolteacher hires four professionals who must contend with a revolutionary alarm system and a taciturn secretary.
- DirectorCharles WaltersStarsJoan CrawfordMichael WildingGig YoungA tough but unhappy Broadway star re-evaluates her life when she crosses paths with a blind pianist.
- DirectorJohn FordStarsLoretta YoungRichard GreeneGeorge SandersThe sons of a disgraced British officer try to clear his name.
- DirectorsMilton CarruthLewis R. FosterStarsTala BirellWalter PidgeonCesar RomeroA beautiful woman suspected of being a jewel thief is actually a detective tracking down a ring of bond thieves.
- DirectorGeorge CukorStarsKatharine HepburnCary GrantDoris NolanA young man in love with a girl from a rich family finds his unorthodox plan to go on holiday for the early years of his life met with skepticism by everyone except for his fiancée's eccentric sister and long-suffering brother.
- DirectorJohn FarrowStarsBarbara StanwyckRay MillandBarry FitzgeraldEpic account of how California became a state, featuring a wagon train, the Gold Rush, a wicked saloon queen, and an evil profiteer.
- DirectorJoseph PevneyStarsRock HudsonCyd CharisseArthur KennedyThe sailing vessel Cannibal has a leaking hull. The captain (Rock Hudson) reluctantly changes course for Honolulu, where one passenger (Cyd Charisse) is wanted by the law. The water rising, everyone struggles against nature to survive.Starts as a rather light-hearted movie about a sea voyage, intermingled with some humor, flirt and romance, but turns into an existential drama midway, with some serious soul-searching, a natural disaster and near-fatal accidents added into the mix. I enjoyed it immensely.
