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Devil (2010)
No sacrifice great enough for Night's "a-ha!" moment
Satan meets THE TOWERING INFERNO, with a bit of SAW thrown in. A disorienting opening credit sequence gets things off to a good start, but eventually characters must mouth the dialogue (not M Night Shyamalan's forte). The premise--Satan stuck amongst 5 passengers in a stalled elevator--sets up some intriguing scenarios, none of which are mined fully for suspense, dread, or even shock.
Nothing is scarier than the unknown, but DEVIL bends over backward to explain away the reason for Lucifer's visit, even resorting to a dire, laughable voice-over narration. You will simply not believe the contortions this film gets into to reach its desired conclusion. In Night's world, no sacrifice is too great to get to that obligatory "A-ha!" moment, and in nearly all of his films, the ride simply isn't worth it.
Girls About Town (1931)
Gold Diggers of 1931
Lilyan Tashman could sit and read the telephone book and make it funny. Someone needs to give this woman, and her tragically short career, a retrospective. This time she's got a sumptuous Paramount production, George Cukor at the wheel, everyone's favorite clotheshorse Kay Francis as co-star. Not enough? How about the great black actress Louise Beavers, whose entrance in the film is a scream (I'll say no more, lest I ruin it). It's a witty piece of art deco comedy, with Tashman and Francis as ermine-caped gold diggers, and Eugene Palette (not quite yet obese) and handsome Joel McCrea as the latest targets. Like so many Paramount films of the early 30s, its still fresh and contemporary, thanks to its grown up, pre-Code script. And those opening credits--couples dancing over the new york skyline--just icing on the cake. Don't miss this.
Killer's Kiss (1955)
Valuable NYC time capsule
Decent, B-NeoNoir with the expected trimmings--boxer, dame, thugs, dingy walk-up apartments--given some class (to use the noir vernacular) via Kubrick's lush direction, and a wildly unsettling finale amongst disemboweled mannequins. Earns a place on your "must" list for its remarkable on-location NYC photography, some of the best of any noir. Two locales in particular--the cavernous original Penn Station (already on the road to ruin) and 1955 Times Square with its acres of movie palaces and neon marquees--get plenty of footage, serving as an irresistible time capsule. It lends great realism to one of the least glamorous urban films since the Warner pre-Code era.
Zoo in Budapest (1933)
Budapest....Fox backlot style
It will take more than a little suspension of disbelief to buy the core fantasy: that fast talking Gene Raymond has lived his entire life inside the Budapest Zoo, ditto the idea that gorgeous Loretta Young is a poor orphan. But no matter, for the film is a marvelous and unusual piece of work, seldom seen and well worth finding. In fact, the sets alone make it a must see. As a side note, Raymond's character may be one of the sound era's first animal rights activists...I recall no previous studio film taking a stand against fur (though don't get your hopes up--the thrilling finale, featuring lions and elephants on the loose, surely traumatized the animals involved).
Footsteps in the Fog (1955)
Perfect "Late Late Show" British thriller
Fascinating British drama, notable for having two depraved, totally unlikeable protagonists--a murderer and the blackmailer who loves him. All the trimmings are here for perfect Late Late Show credentials: Gothic mansion, bickering servants, thick fog, the portrait over the fireplace, poison, blood stains, secret letters, a clueless blonde ingénue, a hooded figure in the dark...but filmed in lush Hammer-style color, rather than a more appropriate b/w, which gives the film a ghoulish modern edge. Stewart Granger and Gene Simmons get high marks for underplaying this vile pair...particularly Simmons, who nails her final scene. What a great, unsung actress.
So Long at the Fair (1950)
Dark little masterpiece...don't let the silk and tassels fool you
A misleading first act suggests a Henry James-esque tale of an upper class British brother and sister visiting Paris for the Exposition. Alas this is pure deception, giving no indication of the shift that will occur about 20 minutes in, when a character simply vanishes without a trace, leaving the other stranded and slowly driven to hopelessness. The one brief scene at the Fair is a cruel, brilliant moment that further dashes audience expectations. The film could easily have boxed itself into a scenario that only the most far-fetched of explanations would have solved, but instead the resolution is completely logical, and--if you know your history--disturbingly possible. Not to be missed!
Tôkyô monogatari (1953)
Early Reality TV
Quite unlike any other film...with a camera so passive it almost feels like we are eavesdropping into the lives of this family. As in McCarey's similar MAKE WAY FOR TOMORROW, there are no obvious villains here...though the adult children may be selfish, many viewers will be able to sympathize with them. While parents fear dying alone, children fear having the burden of aging parents. TOKYO STORY never lets you forget this.
Ozu's style is interesting, avoiding scenes that an American director would have milked for maximum dramatic effect, and preferring to focus on the aftermath instead. The tone is so even, and the film so long, many are likely to find it a tad exasperating. Patient viewers will be rewarded, as the layers of this family are uncovered (the reunited fathers, all in a saki buzz, revealing their disappointments with their children, remains my personal favorite scene). Most memorable: the almost total lack of physical affection displayed, which may come as a shock to Western viewers. See this movie alone, just you and the screen.
Rosalie (1937)
Trainwreck...a la Louis B. Mayer
Is this one of the worst movies of its decade? Had there been anything as dull and lumbering since the late 1920s musicals? The title number, excerpted in THAT'S ENTERTAINMENT, with Eleanor Powell banging out a wondrously complex tap routine, promises a film of some charm. But audiences must proceed with caution. Nelson Eddy is a miserable lead here, miscast (spectacularly so) as a West Point football star, and grappling with a ludicrous script that makes Fox musicals of the 40s seem like ALL ABOUT EVE. He has never looked so foolish on screen (though he's in good voice), and there is just no moving past this. Then there is Frank Morgan as the king, bringing everything to a halt with that awful befuddlement routine of his (one wonders, can it be the same wonderful actor from THE SHOP AROUND THE CORNER?), matched only by irritating Tommy Bond, who needs to be shipped off to that amusement park island in Pinocchio.
Eleanor Powell can't carry these 2 hours (feels like 9) by herself. Her numbers are good enough to NEARLY make this worth sitting through, though I swear I'd break my purist rules and approve an edited version that only contained the musical numbers. Note that Cole Porter's lovely score is very poorly used, and one is likely to forget that "In The Still of The Night" even came from this film it's so indifferently performed.
Should you venture in, notice the humongous nightclub set early in the film...a bizarre, avant-garde concoction from outer space that resembles nothing else in the history of set design (not in a good way).
The Great Ziegfeld (1936)
The Grating Ziegfeld
William Anthony McGuire holds the honor of writing two of the most boring musicals ever made: this and ROSALIE. Better to be remembered for something, I suppose, than nothing at all.
Florenz Ziegfeld, as written, is just a dullard (no doubt due to wife Billie Burke's influence on the film)...neither a driven Svengali nor a charming, devilish rogue (I suspect the real guy may have been both)...he's just a spendthrift with an ear for publicity and a love of drapes. Endless bills and searches for financial backing are not the stuff of a great musical.
Here is some fascinating sabotage to ponder: Some scenes go on for a hundred million years (the milk bath saga), while dramatic arcs vanish to the sidelines in minutes (the dalliance with Virginia Bruce, the stardom of "Sally Manners"--I guess she is supposed to represent Marilyn Miller?, or the little girl from his past). The best scene in the film is Ziegfeld's handling of Fanny Brice, and then...sigh...she starts to perform and we cut away to some office meeting and that's that. Multiply that times 3 hours.
Powell was never so at sea. He doesn't have the leering eyes to make up for the sanitized role...maybe Fredric March would have better? Loy's part amounts to a guest appearance; it's nice, and she certainly does look like young Billie Burke. Frank Morgan chews the expensive scenery. It wasn't hard for Luise Rainer to steal the film.
Bonus points all around: costumes by Adrian (try to see them in an HD broadcast where the shimmering concoctions fairly leap off the screen); lovingly detailed set design overflowing with silk and orchids; and the dramatic, famous "A Pretty Girl Is Like A Melody," where the camera jumps up out of the front row and swirls up a revolving white staircase--a thrilling moment of movie magic that leaves the rest of this brontosaurus in the dust.
The Human Comedy (1943)
Patchy, but with one classic performance
Normally Mickey Rooney is a cocky, mugging, scene-chewing bulldozer. But he is amazing this time out, so restrained and touching as Homer that it's hard to believe it's the same person. Just talking about his scene delivering his first "we regret to inform you" telegram gets me choked up.
Both film and book are pleasant "Greatest Generation" relics, but too idealized and loaded with flawless, angelic characters to be taken seriously. Almost no one rings true. You'll appreciate how great ITS A WONDERFUL LIFE is--a film that showed the cynicism beneath the small town veneer, yet still celebrated the human spirit. Is no one in Ithica petty or selfish or impatient? Is EVERYONE noble?
Soon the war would end, and movies would again take a more honest, warts-and-all look at America.
Sunnyside Up (1929)
Forget your fear of 1920s musicals
Did Busby Berkeley view this film before making THE GANG'S ALL HERE (also at Fox)? The "water curtain" effect is exactly the same...the production number is also set on a Long Island estate...the heroine sings a sad solo number to the audience at the benefit...there are big inflated bananas. It's hard to imagine this wasn't at least an inspiration for his big Technicolor triumph.
SUNNY SIDE UP defies all the expectations you have of early sound musicals...it's lively, well acted, funny and--get this--beautifully photographed. If you have only been exposed to pioneering musicals like THE Broadway MELODY, THE SINGING FOOL, and SHOW OF SHOWS, this will feel like it arrived from Mars. Time has been kind to Janet Gaynor, who had a marvelous range (see her in Murnau's SUNRISE) and was almost devoid of the usual affectations and Talkie mannerisms. She gives a beguiling performance here. And as an added bonus: one of the most insane of all pre-Code musical numbers.
The great reviews don't lie. See this!
Make Way for Tomorrow (1937)
Guess I must revise my Top 10 of The 1930s List
I had a pretty solid Top 10 List for the 1930s. I guess something must come off so I can slip this movie on there.
Not a subject many people want to dwell on--the care of aging parents. But the movie is pretty level-headed about it all, and not a sermon in any way. Nor does the audience feel manipulated in that patronizing Capra way (i.e. the scene on the bus with the mom and child in It Happened One Night, which makes me want to puke every time I see it). It takes a lot for a movie to make a cynic like me cry, but the moment with the orchestra leader...well boy that did it.
What a beautiful little film. Utterly off the radar thanks to years of languishing in the vaults. It's one of those studio system products in which every aspect--script, acting, music, sets--falls just so perfectly into place.
Christmas Holiday (1944)
NOT "Holiday Inn".....
OK first...how funny to read these reviewers feeling cheated and misled because the movie with "Christmas" in the title doesn't have santa and egg nog and snow and jingle bells and holiday cheer. Not enough that a pivotal scene occurs at midnight mass during the gloomy homefront years of WWII...no, it must have mistletoe & holly if the word "Christmas" is in the title. (I wonder if they got mad when DINNER AT EIGHT actually ended without showing the dinner party...?) Good grief, let me dislodge my rolled-back eyeballs and move on.
For those with broader minds, this ultra-elusive little film noir is worth seeking out. There is something grave about seeing two sunny, legendary musical stars in such brooding circumstances, especially Deanna Durbin--world-weary and gorgeous as Jackie, who tells her sad tale (in two elaborate flashbacks) to a pilot on his holiday leave.
Durbin's musicals are an acquired taste, but this dramatic turn requires no suspension of disbelief--she's entirely plausible as the luckless prostitute who must sing for her supper. Clearly, we are no longer in THREE SMART GIRLS territory. When she first enters the film to sing "Spring Will Be A Little Late This Year", she is both poignant and bored to death, a combo I tend to love in my leading ladies (Dietrich, anyone?).
Kelly always seems self-conscious and over-rehearsed to me (this mommas-boy-psycho role might be a little out of his grasp), but OK, I'll buy his shift from smirking charmer to brooding villain, especially since he's terribly sexy when he emerges in the final reel with his 3-day beard.
I wouldn't call Christmas HOLIDAY a raging success--so much needs to be squeezed into this running time to make the finale ring true, and yet it still feels rather sleepy (I have similar issues with Siodmak's PHANTOM LADY). But its always these oddball, subversive products of the studio system that are most fascinating, so it needs to be seen (it has never made it to video in the US). Fans of noir will appreciate the relentlessly grim atmosphere, even if it doesn't have a Christmas tree.
Kismet (1955)
More like a 1929 musical than a 1955 one...
One of the last big MGM musicals, and who expected they would return to the 1929 early talkie format?...nail the camera to a seat in the 10th row, have people stand around and talk--and then move over here and talk some more, don't edit out anything no matter superfluous or expendable it is, let everyone give hammy Vaudeville performances, and stage completely static musical numbers (there's even a pageant...like out of an old Ziegfeld show). It's as though there had been NO advances in film-making in the previous 20 years.
On the upside...the score is excellent, and if you rent the 2008 DVD (contained in "Musicals from The Dream Factory Vol 3"), you will get a sense of what real, movie palace stereo used to sound like. Also, like most early Cinemascope movies, it is super duper wide, which is always thrilling to look at on a widescreen TV (even if the subject matter is as anemic as this). Note the gaudy costumes...designed by none other than Tony Duquette, the famed interior designer.
Lady Be Good (1941)
The Band Wagon it ain't
Based on the DVD supplements, it appears MGM cut one of Powell's numbers--"I'd Rather Dance". It must be one of the great Hollywood mysteries of all time how, considering all the stretches of tedium in this movie and the fact Powell is the only good thing in the whole enterprise, a studio would delete one of her dances.
Since Powell is relegated to a supporting Girl Friday/Matchmaker role, the film rests on the shoulders of Robert Young and Ann Sothern, whose roles are so painfully vile and obnoxious you expect them to be murdered by one of their long-suffering friends at any moment, and then Charlie Chan to show up. In their defense, one doubts that Hepburn & Tracy , or for that matter Lunt & Fontanne, could have made this work either.
And oh, that script. The courtroom scenes...the fights between Sothern and Young...the clunky way musical numbers are tossed in (particularly "The Last Time I Saw Paris", for which an entire incongruous "banquet" scene is set up for no reason whatsoever)...Red Skelton falling down 4 or 5 times...one practically yearns for a simple, low-budget Columbia musical.
If you can make it all the way to the end, Busby Berkeley, The Beery Brothers, and Eleanor Powell totally turn it out with Gershwin's "Fascinating Rhythm," which is a triumphant piece of staging, and actually a wonderful version of the song as well.
Millie (1931)
worthy of rediscovery
"Work?!? You won't have any time for opportunity!"
This forgotten RKO drama has been rediscovered since Roan Group released their beautiful,spotless DVD of it. While not much more than a "B" programmer, it's still fascinating, especially in its depiction of the sexes.
Mille's character, as played by Helen Twelvetrees, is a neurotic and pouty plain jane, so it's hard to imagine why these three men relentlessly go after her. Maybe because the men are neurotic losers themselves (no one in this film is a glamorous beauty by any means). We barely even get to know them, so the suffering she endures from their infidelity does not convince. Still, Twelvetrees gets points for trying.
But Millie's tribulations aren't the real star of this film.
While it's easy to project gay subtexts onto older films, here it's pretty indisputable that Millie's pals Helen and Angie are more than just friends. Watch Helen gussy herself up when she sees Angie across the room in the club. And their relations with men are based solely on financial gain--they clearly turn to each other for their other needs. Both Lilyan Tashman and Joan Blondell are quite funny in the roles, the former a world-wise goldigger and the latter a young, mercenary bubblehead. In their world, men are mere objects to be used with total detachment--the opposite of Millie, who allows herself to be exploited by men and then wallows in self-pity for the next 3 reels.
While not quite the best of pre-Code, MILLIE is still an important footnote for early 30s movie-making, and worth a look for those (like me) who can't get enough of pre-Catholic League Hollywood.
Central Park (1932)
Was Central Park ever safe at night?
Set entirely in Central Park (albiet a studio bound, rear projection version of it), this is one of Warner's most fascinating 60-minute lightning rounds, with Joan Blondell as the out of work Roxy usherette who gets caught up with gangsters (in her first scene she steals a hot dog from a vendor, out of starvation). On hand are Wallace Ford as the "Forgotten Man" who falls for her, Guy Kibbee as a Central Park cop, and John Wray as a sociopath on the loose.
If that isn't enough plot for an hour, there's a lion that escapes from the Central Park Zoo, and I don't know if it's special effects or just brilliant editing, but I'd swear that the extras and stunt men where REALLY put in harm's way with this animal, especially in the horrifying scene in the cage.
I have to address another reviewer's question about the "appeal of Joan Blondell." I totally disagree. Blondell's pre-code output is worthy of its own book. She was a master of rapid fire dialogue and wisecracks, with excellent comic timing. She instilled energy into films that are now unimaginable without her (GOLD DIGGERS OF 1933, NIGHT NURSE, BIG CITY BLUES, DAMES, etc), and if nothing else was the best co-star James Cagney ever had (BLONDE CRAZY, FOOTLIGHT PARADE, HE WAS HER MAN). I'd vote that her performances survive intact, and haven't dated a bit in 75 years (which I cant say for Garbo, Shearer, Crawford and some other shining lights of the era).
Havana Widows (1933)
Pre-code misfire
It's tempting to imagine this is a taste of the long-lost film CONVENTION CITY, made in the same year, from the same studio, with a similar themes, and some of the same cast (and, if you know Warner Bros, probably some of the same costumes, sets, and extras too).
I'm hoping this is not the case. HAVANA WIDOWS is a snooze, missing the grit and edge of the other Warner Bros films from their amazing 1931-33 output. This studio didn't always fare well with straight comedies--they usually struck gold with the dramas and musicals (and 2 horror movies), where the comedy played supporting role. I find similar problems with BLESSED EVENT: the comedy just has nothing to play against.
Joan Blondell (fresh off of FOOTLIGHT PARADE) and Glenda Farrell con their friend for ticket fare to Havana, in hopes of landing some rich sap. That's a good start, but even these two formidable talents cant put over the unfunny script, which wants to be saucy and naughty but cant seem to figure out how. In fact, there is only a little pre-Code pleasure to be found here, and by the end we descend into a pretty desperate slapstick finale.
This film is rarely shown (it was released on MGM/UA's laserdisc FORBIDDEN Hollywood VOLUME 2, but not on VHS), but there are occasionally copies to be found on ebay.
Susan and God (1940)
Crawford's Worst. Performance. Ever.
There is a reason that Joan Crawford retrospectives barely acknowledge this film. When she finally shows up (all the characters just stand around and discuss her--like in every other Crawford movie) it's clear she is miscast to within an inch of her life. She tries hard (this was a "celebrated" play, according to the opening credits), but she's so arch, mannered, and inconsistent for a while I thought the character of Susan was supposed to be a manic depressive lunatic. She plays every scene in a different way--usually in some variation of "Crystal Allen" from THE WOMEN, and obviously George Cukor thinks he's still directing THE WOMEN too. Reliable talents like Ruth Hussey and Frederic March are also quite bad here, obviously uninspired by the clunky script and the vacuous lead performance. Just a painful experience.
Who would imagine Crawford would be so convincing in STRANGE CARGO the same year?
Stage Door Canteen (1943)
Required viewing for theater buffs
Cheaply filmed and a little less glamorous than its West Coast sister "Hollywood Canteen", this New York edition opens with a canteen girl being fired for accompanying a soldier to Roseland (he was lonely), and the movie keeps that rather sad note throughout. The screenplay isn't exactly arresting, but it's convincingly played--especially by Cheryl Walker, an amiable presence who didn't really escape B movies. There are some excellent big band numbers (though WHAT the heck is up with Kay Keyser, anyway?), and interactions with Broadway legends (Hayes, Fontanne, Bankhead, Cornell) that are thrilling to witness. Nice to see appearances by character actors like Helen Broderick (Top Hat) and Aline McMahon (Gold Diggers of 1933).
Most surreal moments are Katharine Hepburn interacting with mortals, and "Gypsy" Rose Lee giving a strip tease.
Fascinating film was in the public domain for a long while, in horrible prints, so beware. A clean, beautiful print can be seen on Turner.
Hollywood Canteen (1944)
Not as good as the New York one
There is something very exciting about these canteen movies. What hasn't dated at all is the excitement the soldiers feel when meeting the likes of Joan Crawford or Barbara Stanwyck. Since these stars are even more distant and otherworldly now, it's impossible to imagine meeting them, much less having them make you a turkey sandwich.
Those moments have to go a long way in a movie that's fairly hard to sit through to the end. The main problem are leads Dane Clark and Robert Hutton, who are both from another planet. In fact, Hutton's scary, maniacal fixation on Joan Leslie--this is the whole plot of the movie--is a bit of a head-scratcher now, as Leslie seems so utterly ordinary. Clark is just...ridiculous (he's even worse in "A Stolen Life").
The Andrews Sisters are a scream--it's hard not to love them, and Jimmy Dorsey is always worth listening to. The Golden Gate Quartet has an excellent number, easily the best performance in the movie.
Overall, an endurance test. Not as much fun as "Stage Door Canteen."
She Had to Say Yes (1933)
The ultimate pre-Code...Actually uncomfortable to watch
Having seen lots of pre-Code films over the years, I have to say this was the first time I held my hand over my mouth and gasped. The plot is almost inconceivable, as stenographers at a department store office are recruited to be "customer girls" who, um, entertain out-of-town buyers. Sure enough, when gorgeous Loretta Young tries it out (so her cheating fiancée can get a commission), she's basically attacked by a drunk Lyle Talbot. After he stalks her for a few weeks, Loretta gives in and starts dating him (he tells her he loves her after one date), then because of a misunderstanding, he decides to take her to a friend's house and RAPE her. When Talbot starts to undress while standing over the unconscious Young, I could only shake my head in wonderment. The film's resolution to this masochistic relationship is just otherworldly.
Except for the terrible Regis Toomey, the performances here are convincing. Talbot was an underrated actor (superb in "Three on a Match"), with a sexy smile and a hulking presence. His multi-faced personality here is fairly disturbing. Young shines as usual. Winnie Lightner, who can be awful sometimes ("Dancing Lady"), is amusing, at one point telling an aggressive suitor that she is from "the Virgin Islands." Good as she is, Joan Blondell or Glenda Farrell in the role would have been amazing.
I would rate this among the top 10 wildest of all pre-Code films. I am certainly no prude, but the situations in this movie actually made me squirm. If you enjoy the era, you should seek this out (it's not on video, but can sometimes be found on Turner Classic Movies).
If you're a Busby Berekely fan, lots of his chorines can be found among the sexy stenographers.