I've seen this one a few times in recent years. No question this is high quality film, and it is highly watchable as well. My wife likes this one even more than me, she just adores this one. No question Brando is terrific in this film. Still, I find myself quite impressed with the performance of Karl Malden. I usually find in movies of this quality supporting performances that grab my attention, and Malden is that for me in this film. It may be a hangover from my teenage years when I was a fan of "Streets of San Francisco", but still, Malden really does it for me in this film. He had quite the film career before television came a calling for him.
Films Worth Viewing
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I've seen this one a few times in recent years. No question this is high quality film, and it is highly watchable as well. My wife likes this one even more than me, she just adores this one. No question Brando is terrific in this film. Still, I find myself quite impressed with the performance of Karl Malden. I usually find in movies of this quality supporting performances that grab my attention, and Malden is that for me in this film. It may be a hangover from my teenage years when I was a fan of "Streets of San Francisco", but still, Malden really does it for me in this film. He had quite the film career before television came a calling for him.
ClifSpliffy
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dude, you are freakin awesome. it is so rare to read thoughtful and educational opinions. many thanks.
"Eight Men Out"-John Sayles-1988
I don't believe this is a great film, but it is very good. Perhaps how you feel about this film is determined by how nerdy you are about baseball. The setting is 1919 in Chicago. I think the sense of period is remarkable, the costumes, the physical settings, and the way the characters move and talk all contribute to a willing suspension of disbelief. The Chicago White Sox win the pennant, many observers think this is baseball's greatest team.
This is a different baseball world. Starting pitchers are expected to finish games, home runs are a rarity, the uniforms are flannel with no numbers on the back, the spikes are iron, and print is the only real form of coverage. The players are working class; their salaries are modest, the owners are predatory, and gamblers are everywhere. The World Series is a new thing, and this season it will be best of nine games.
The details of how the World Series came to be fixed through an alliance of gamblers and players are somewhat unclear. Details of the origin are unclear; did the gamblers contact the players or vice versa?
There was a meeting of a group of players in which the conspiracy was discussed. One player, Buck Weaver (Jon Cusak) was present who refused to be involved. The conspiracy needed the starting pitchers, and the film focuses on Eddie Cicotte, David Straithairn, he agreed on the condition that he be paid $10,000 before the first game and a similar amount after the series conclusion. Comiskey, the Cubs owner, had prevented him from gaining a bonus for 30 wins by sitting him for two weeks in August. He also wanted to provide for his daughters' education. The final key collaborator was "Shoeless" Joe Jackson, one of baseballs all time greats, played by D.B. Sweeny. He didn't attend the meeting, but he took money. Later he said that he played to win, and the statistics support him.
to be continued
I don't believe this is a great film, but it is very good. Perhaps how you feel about this film is determined by how nerdy you are about baseball. The setting is 1919 in Chicago. I think the sense of period is remarkable, the costumes, the physical settings, and the way the characters move and talk all contribute to a willing suspension of disbelief. The Chicago White Sox win the pennant, many observers think this is baseball's greatest team.
This is a different baseball world. Starting pitchers are expected to finish games, home runs are a rarity, the uniforms are flannel with no numbers on the back, the spikes are iron, and print is the only real form of coverage. The players are working class; their salaries are modest, the owners are predatory, and gamblers are everywhere. The World Series is a new thing, and this season it will be best of nine games.
The details of how the World Series came to be fixed through an alliance of gamblers and players are somewhat unclear. Details of the origin are unclear; did the gamblers contact the players or vice versa?
There was a meeting of a group of players in which the conspiracy was discussed. One player, Buck Weaver (Jon Cusak) was present who refused to be involved. The conspiracy needed the starting pitchers, and the film focuses on Eddie Cicotte, David Straithairn, he agreed on the condition that he be paid $10,000 before the first game and a similar amount after the series conclusion. Comiskey, the Cubs owner, had prevented him from gaining a bonus for 30 wins by sitting him for two weeks in August. He also wanted to provide for his daughters' education. The final key collaborator was "Shoeless" Joe Jackson, one of baseballs all time greats, played by D.B. Sweeny. He didn't attend the meeting, but he took money. Later he said that he played to win, and the statistics support him.
to be continued
There are quite a few interesting characters among the gamblers. There are 3 separate groups of gamblers;Cicotte wins the third game with an excellent performance. Some of the gamblers lose big. Arnold Rothstein is always the name mentioned in connection with the Black Sox scandal. He figures in many gangster pictures; his influence extended into the early sixties.
The sportswriters were also important. Sayles plays Ring Lardner and Studs Terkel plays a real life Chicago writer who was the most instrumental in bringing the scandal into the public's view. The interplay among the various groups is well handled.
The players went to a special baseball camp for two weeks where they had professional coaching. The baseball action is storyboarded, but it is pretty realistic. The park is an old minor league park doubling for Comiskey.
This was made in the era before CGI, that meant using thousands of extras for some scenes. While I wouldn't go so far as to say the sum of the parts is greater than the whole; it probably is just about even.
There are no real heroes and no really nasty villains. "Field of Dreams" came out about the same time, and it involved some of the same players. Shoeless Joe is central to both films; however, one is real and the other is fantasy. There are no heroes in "8 Men Out" just flawed human beings. The extras are excellent and well worth viewing.
Next "Wings of Desire"
The sportswriters were also important. Sayles plays Ring Lardner and Studs Terkel plays a real life Chicago writer who was the most instrumental in bringing the scandal into the public's view. The interplay among the various groups is well handled.
The players went to a special baseball camp for two weeks where they had professional coaching. The baseball action is storyboarded, but it is pretty realistic. The park is an old minor league park doubling for Comiskey.
This was made in the era before CGI, that meant using thousands of extras for some scenes. While I wouldn't go so far as to say the sum of the parts is greater than the whole; it probably is just about even.
There are no real heroes and no really nasty villains. "Field of Dreams" came out about the same time, and it involved some of the same players. Shoeless Joe is central to both films; however, one is real and the other is fantasy. There are no heroes in "8 Men Out" just flawed human beings. The extras are excellent and well worth viewing.
Next "Wings of Desire"
storrsroars
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One of my favorites that I believe few here have likely watched. Can't wait for your commentary. Won't steal your thunder, but will say that Dennis Franz (in the US Nic Cage/Meg Ryan remake) was no Peter Falk.
.-.
There may have been a US remake of Wings of Desire, but it was hardly the same movie. Other than sharing something of a plot, the two movies are completely different in what they were trying to accomplish. And that is all I'm going to say about it until the review is posted.
The late 1980's/early 1990's was a fertile time for good baseball movies. Bull Durham and Field of Dreams are both great movies, and are by far my all time favorite baseball movies. Eight Men Out is a solid movie, and while A League of Their Own has a few problems, I still find it highly watchable.
It's been a long time since I've seen Eight Men Out, but from what I remember about it I pretty much concur with the review. It is noted that Sayles plays sports writer Ring Lardner, I was always amused that the Lardner role as well as the other sports writers essentially end up being something of a Greek Chorus in commenting upon what is happening in the movie.
"Wings of Desire"-Wim Wenders-1987
"To Be Continued..." appears on the screen at the film's conclusion. The Boneyard in its many manifestations often wrestles with existential questions. Where else could you find a eternal thread with over 3K responses attempting to answer the question: "what is the best pizza in Connecticut?"
This is a wonderful film; each viewing elicits different intuitions at least for this viewer. The more I watch and think about this film, the more certain I am that complete understanding will always be outside my grasp. We watch as two angels travel above and through the city of Berlin. They have done this since creation. They can see in black and white, they can't taste, hear-except thoughts, can't smell; they are observers who are severely handicapped, nevertheless, they record their observations in notebooks. They discuss their observations with fellow angels. What happens to the notebooks when they are full? Is there a heavenly storage facility?
They are invisible, they make no audible sounds, they are apparently visible to some children, and they can be sensed by the blind. They have the ability to acquire some objects without detection, pens, their little notebooks, and in one instance a stone. We don't know why they observe and record, just that they do. Apparently they
can sometimes provide some vague support, a feeling that things will get better ,however; this is very limited, one man commits suicide despite the presence and efforts of the angel. There is a theory in social anthropology that mere observation of a community alters its reality.
There are many more than the two angels who are central characters in the film They have at least one hangout, the central Berlin library. Damien (Bruno Ganz) and Cassiel (Otto Sander) are more than work friends; they meet regularly to discuss their observations. The angels not only observe behavior, they hear thoughts. We are led to assume that they can filter out thoughts so that only the individual{s} they observe are part of their recording process. The angels monitoring is not chaotic, it has focus, and the angels have favorites.
Cassiel spends a lot of time observing Homer (Curt Bois). He is an old man, somewhat infirm, but he has vivid memories of Berlin as it used to be. Let me interject that the memories appear on the screen; the viewer sees Berlin during WWII. Since the film is from the angels viewpoint, my assumptions is that the angels not only hear thoughts, but they can see memories. Homer is an author so his memories are not only focused and detailed, they are poetic.
There is a film being made in Berlin about WWII, one of the featured players is Peter Falk, yes, that Peter Falk. Apparently Colombo was hugely popular in Germany. As one might assume something new draws the attention of angels. So there is an interlude of angels intermingling with extras on the film set. Falk apparently has the ability to sense angels. While he orders a coffee he senses the presence of an angel. He offers his hand, and says he is a friend a compadre.
Damien has a favorite human to observe, Marion (Solveig Dommartain) who is a trapeze artist in a visiting circus. She sometimes wears wings as part of her performance. The circus hasn't had much success, and they are leaving. For Marion this means she will probably take a job as a waitress somewhere else. She can sense Damien's presence. Damien falls in love. He quite literally falls for her. Marion meets Falk at the coffee stand and tries to enlist his aid to find a man whom she can neither describe nor identify by name. It is revealed that Falk himself is a fallen angel. Why do angels leave primarily to become actors rather than merely observers. The reasons are as varied as the angels themselves.
The rest of the film brings Marion and Damien together.
A very few notes about the production. The film is basically in Black and White with flashes of color, as humans see the world. The cinematographer was Henri Alekan who was responsible for Cocteau's "Beauty abd the Beasr" forty years before. Some oft he effects are achieved are due to placing a silk stocking remnant over the camera lens. The score is string based with a chorus in the background singing different words in the same tonal sequence. The screenplay didn't properly exist. Wenders gave a notebook full of ideas to Peter Handke who then constructed monologues which he sent to Wenders on site.
Enough, zymurg, more than enough. See this film, better yet, buy the Criterion two disc edition. The extras on the second disc are almost worthy of the film. Taste is subjective, I have tried to give you more than just the facts. You may experience this film quite differently.
"To Be Continued..." appears on the screen at the film's conclusion. The Boneyard in its many manifestations often wrestles with existential questions. Where else could you find a eternal thread with over 3K responses attempting to answer the question: "what is the best pizza in Connecticut?"
This is a wonderful film; each viewing elicits different intuitions at least for this viewer. The more I watch and think about this film, the more certain I am that complete understanding will always be outside my grasp. We watch as two angels travel above and through the city of Berlin. They have done this since creation. They can see in black and white, they can't taste, hear-except thoughts, can't smell; they are observers who are severely handicapped, nevertheless, they record their observations in notebooks. They discuss their observations with fellow angels. What happens to the notebooks when they are full? Is there a heavenly storage facility?
They are invisible, they make no audible sounds, they are apparently visible to some children, and they can be sensed by the blind. They have the ability to acquire some objects without detection, pens, their little notebooks, and in one instance a stone. We don't know why they observe and record, just that they do. Apparently they
can sometimes provide some vague support, a feeling that things will get better ,however; this is very limited, one man commits suicide despite the presence and efforts of the angel. There is a theory in social anthropology that mere observation of a community alters its reality.
There are many more than the two angels who are central characters in the film They have at least one hangout, the central Berlin library. Damien (Bruno Ganz) and Cassiel (Otto Sander) are more than work friends; they meet regularly to discuss their observations. The angels not only observe behavior, they hear thoughts. We are led to assume that they can filter out thoughts so that only the individual{s} they observe are part of their recording process. The angels monitoring is not chaotic, it has focus, and the angels have favorites.
Cassiel spends a lot of time observing Homer (Curt Bois). He is an old man, somewhat infirm, but he has vivid memories of Berlin as it used to be. Let me interject that the memories appear on the screen; the viewer sees Berlin during WWII. Since the film is from the angels viewpoint, my assumptions is that the angels not only hear thoughts, but they can see memories. Homer is an author so his memories are not only focused and detailed, they are poetic.
There is a film being made in Berlin about WWII, one of the featured players is Peter Falk, yes, that Peter Falk. Apparently Colombo was hugely popular in Germany. As one might assume something new draws the attention of angels. So there is an interlude of angels intermingling with extras on the film set. Falk apparently has the ability to sense angels. While he orders a coffee he senses the presence of an angel. He offers his hand, and says he is a friend a compadre.
Damien has a favorite human to observe, Marion (Solveig Dommartain) who is a trapeze artist in a visiting circus. She sometimes wears wings as part of her performance. The circus hasn't had much success, and they are leaving. For Marion this means she will probably take a job as a waitress somewhere else. She can sense Damien's presence. Damien falls in love. He quite literally falls for her. Marion meets Falk at the coffee stand and tries to enlist his aid to find a man whom she can neither describe nor identify by name. It is revealed that Falk himself is a fallen angel. Why do angels leave primarily to become actors rather than merely observers. The reasons are as varied as the angels themselves.
The rest of the film brings Marion and Damien together.
A very few notes about the production. The film is basically in Black and White with flashes of color, as humans see the world. The cinematographer was Henri Alekan who was responsible for Cocteau's "Beauty abd the Beasr" forty years before. Some oft he effects are achieved are due to placing a silk stocking remnant over the camera lens. The score is string based with a chorus in the background singing different words in the same tonal sequence. The screenplay didn't properly exist. Wenders gave a notebook full of ideas to Peter Handke who then constructed monologues which he sent to Wenders on site.
Enough, zymurg, more than enough. See this film, better yet, buy the Criterion two disc edition. The extras on the second disc are almost worthy of the film. Taste is subjective, I have tried to give you more than just the facts. You may experience this film quite differently.
storrsroars
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Excellent synopsis. It really is an amazing movie. Very original and compelling with surprises, like Falk. One of my top 10 favorites all-time.
No question this is a quality movie. There aren't too many films like this one. It is hardly your typical love story, and if ever a film can be described as a contemplative mood piece, this one is it. And what a mood piece it is. While I certainly thought it was quite good, it is not exactly the type of thing I would expect would appeal to the normal mass movie audience. Still for anyone who likes movies that stray from the mainstream, I would encourage them to see this one.
For classic movie fans, Curt Bois has a brief but memorable role as a pickpocket in Casablanca, one of my favorite films of all time.
"The Apostle"-Robert Duvall-1987
"Holy Ghost Power"
That may well have been a factor in making this film. Duvall wrote, directed, acted, produced, and even financed "The Apostle." Fortunately, the film did well enough to more than recoup his $4 million investment. It took more than a decade to travel from a hand written script to a finished movie. A personal note, Robert Duvall's mother owned a restaurant on Maryland's Eastern Shore. She developed my favorite recipe for Crab Cakes which I borrowed for my first cookbook. (recipe on request]
Duvall starts the movie riding with his mother (June Carter Cash) when he comes upon an accident, He immediately walks to one of the cars. He brings to Jesus the two individuals in the car. His faith is palpable and real, but his personal life is in chaos. His wife is having an affair with the Youth minister, and together they have begun a coup to take over his church. Sonny Dewey is on the edge of breaking, several times it appears as if he will murder his wife. The final breaking point comes at his son's baseball game, he takes a bat to the
Youth Minister's skull. The single blow proves deadly, but not immediately. Sonny flees leaving his car underwater in a river.
He is reduced to walking, he makes it to Southern Louisiana where he makes friends withe a black fisherman.
Sonny becomes the Apostle E.F. and he follows his suggestion to meet the retired Reverend Blackwell (John Beasley). Blackwell suffered two heart attacks within six months consequently he gave up his ministry. He still owns a crumbling church which E.F. proposes to rebuild and re-open. Blackwell is initially suspicious, but he agrees to help the Apostle. E.F. gets several jobs, with the money he makes he will re-build the church and refurbish the church bus. He makes friends quickly the first being Sam (Wallace Goggins) s sketchy auto mechanic. The garage's owner also owns the local radio station, and EF expands his ministry preaching over the air. EF is a magnetic preacher, and fairly quickly he builds a healthy congregation. It is racially mixed, but predominantly black. The radio broadcasts locate the fugitive Sonny Dewey now wanted for murder. He is arrested with the authorities waiting while he conducts a final service in his church. This is not the end of his ministry, the credits roll over a road gang revival led by the Apostle E.F.
Sonny was a flawed man, but the Apostle E.F. has all of what was good in Sonny and much less of the bad.
Early in his escape travels, Sonny baptizes himself, and he is reborn as E.F. He still is a wonderful mesmerizing preacher, but where he was a roving philanderer before, now in his growing relationship with the radio station's secretary/receptionist (Miranda Richardson) he shows affection but also self restraint.
The church services are exciting and compelling. The film is served well by many Evangelical preachers in the cast, and several top flight choirs. This is the real thing on screen, Duvall and the Apostle E.F. are indistinguishable. This isn't a great film, but this is a great performance. "The Apostle" does what very few films actually achieve, bringing to life a culture. There is no cheating here, this is real religion, real belief. As one reviewer "It would be a sin to miss this performance."
"Holy Ghost Power"
That may well have been a factor in making this film. Duvall wrote, directed, acted, produced, and even financed "The Apostle." Fortunately, the film did well enough to more than recoup his $4 million investment. It took more than a decade to travel from a hand written script to a finished movie. A personal note, Robert Duvall's mother owned a restaurant on Maryland's Eastern Shore. She developed my favorite recipe for Crab Cakes which I borrowed for my first cookbook. (recipe on request]
Duvall starts the movie riding with his mother (June Carter Cash) when he comes upon an accident, He immediately walks to one of the cars. He brings to Jesus the two individuals in the car. His faith is palpable and real, but his personal life is in chaos. His wife is having an affair with the Youth minister, and together they have begun a coup to take over his church. Sonny Dewey is on the edge of breaking, several times it appears as if he will murder his wife. The final breaking point comes at his son's baseball game, he takes a bat to the
Youth Minister's skull. The single blow proves deadly, but not immediately. Sonny flees leaving his car underwater in a river.
He is reduced to walking, he makes it to Southern Louisiana where he makes friends withe a black fisherman.
Sonny becomes the Apostle E.F. and he follows his suggestion to meet the retired Reverend Blackwell (John Beasley). Blackwell suffered two heart attacks within six months consequently he gave up his ministry. He still owns a crumbling church which E.F. proposes to rebuild and re-open. Blackwell is initially suspicious, but he agrees to help the Apostle. E.F. gets several jobs, with the money he makes he will re-build the church and refurbish the church bus. He makes friends quickly the first being Sam (Wallace Goggins) s sketchy auto mechanic. The garage's owner also owns the local radio station, and EF expands his ministry preaching over the air. EF is a magnetic preacher, and fairly quickly he builds a healthy congregation. It is racially mixed, but predominantly black. The radio broadcasts locate the fugitive Sonny Dewey now wanted for murder. He is arrested with the authorities waiting while he conducts a final service in his church. This is not the end of his ministry, the credits roll over a road gang revival led by the Apostle E.F.
Sonny was a flawed man, but the Apostle E.F. has all of what was good in Sonny and much less of the bad.
Early in his escape travels, Sonny baptizes himself, and he is reborn as E.F. He still is a wonderful mesmerizing preacher, but where he was a roving philanderer before, now in his growing relationship with the radio station's secretary/receptionist (Miranda Richardson) he shows affection but also self restraint.
The church services are exciting and compelling. The film is served well by many Evangelical preachers in the cast, and several top flight choirs. This is the real thing on screen, Duvall and the Apostle E.F. are indistinguishable. This isn't a great film, but this is a great performance. "The Apostle" does what very few films actually achieve, bringing to life a culture. There is no cheating here, this is real religion, real belief. As one reviewer "It would be a sin to miss this performance."
.-.
Housekeeping-no not the Bill Forsyth film, but just some details. I keep watching films to preview. There have been some near misses I watched the 1938 English film "Pygmalion"; the first quarter is really good, but it loses momentum thereafter. You know the Shaw play through it adaption into "My Fair Lady" the great musical. Unfortunately, this film is hard to find, so perhaps I should look at some musicals. The second film I watched recently is "The Prisoner." This 1955 film stars Alec Guiness as a Cardinal and Jack Hawkins as his communist interogator. This is really interesting and superbly acted by the two principals. It s free on Amazon Prime for members, but it doesn't have easy access elsewhere.
Next up "One, Two, Three" the classic comedy by the great but nearly forgotten Billy Wilder.
Next up "One, Two, Three" the classic comedy by the great but nearly forgotten Billy Wilder.
Funny, I quite like the 1938 version of "Pygmalion", but I've started to watch "My Fair Lady" a few times, and found I just don't care for it. Well regarded musicals can be very hit and miss for me, and that Rex Harrison movie is one that misses for me.
Looking forward to the review of "One, Two, Three", as we watched it a couple months ago. James Cagney and Billy Wilder are both big items in this household.
"One, Two, Three"-Billy Wilder-1961
I saw this when it first came out, but not in the college film program. The laugh a minute farce or screwball comedy was the most laughter I've heard with the exception of "The Producers." Wilder is probably one of the most versatile directors of all time. Some of his classics include: "Some Like it Hot," "The Apartment," "Stalag 17," "Witness for the Prosecution," Sunset Boulevard." and "Double Indemnity." Before he became a director,
he was an accomplished screen writer. One of his early efforts was "Ninotchka" a personal favorite with Greta Garbo in a rare comic role as a Russian commissar.
"One, Two, Three" is set in the divided city of Berlin in 1961. Jimmy Cagney begins the film with a voice over remarking that on the same day as Roger Maris hit home runs 44 and 45 against the Senators, the Berlin Wall went up. This was a problem for the film in two ways. First the Brandenburg Gate played a central role in the film, and it was blocked when the Wall separated the two parts of the city. Fortunately, a studio in Germany had a replica of the wall which allowed for the film's completion without the costly construction of a major new set. Unfortunately, the Wall was no joking matter, particularly in Europe. Wilder's films historically had done very well in Europe. The box office was a disaster in Europe in general, and it was even banned in Finland. In 1985 it was re-opened in Germany; it ran for over one year in a single theatre in Berlin. I will depart from my usual practice to mention current availability. A new DVD came out in 2017/8; it is available in both standard and blueray versions on Amazon. There is one free streaming service, 123 Films; Google "One, Two, Three" and it will come up. The only problem is that the picture is small and the sound is tinny.
Jimmy Cagney plays McNamara, a Coca Cola executive in West Berlin. He has a wife and two children, but he plays around with his sexy blonde secretary . He is trying to expand Coke's market into Russia in hopes this will
get him the job of head of European operations headquartered in London. He reaches a tentative agreement with three Russian trade negotiators. He includes this in a fax to the head office in Atlanta. The president of Coca Cola nixes the Russian deal and asks him to entertain his daughter in Berlin for two weeks.
This causes the family vacation to be cancelled. This aggravates his wife, Arlene Francis, and his secretary who planned to help him with the umlat. Scarlet Hazeltine, Pamela Tiffin, is a 17 year old hottie who has been engaged four times. All seems to be going well, Scarlet is going to museums and theatres and behaving herself. She turns up missing one morning; This happens just as the senior Hazeltines are going to come to Berlin. Scarlet appears in the office, and she has a confession to make. She has been crossing into East Berlin every night. She met a guy and married He is a member of the Communist Party. He is going to Russia to study rocketry and Scarlet is going with him.
From here on the pace is frantic, but Cagney is in command. First he figures out a way to have Otto Piffel arrested in East Germany. His motorcycle exhaust inflates balloons which proclaim Russki go home, and gives him a cuckoo clock which plays "Yankee Doodle Dandy" wrapped in the Wall Street Journal. He plans to have the marriage license removed. Unfortunately, Scarlet faints and the doctor discovers that she is pregnant. Now McNamara has to get Otto out of jail and turn him into an acceptable husband for a Coke heiress. I should mention that Otto, Horst Bucholz was despised by Cagney and generally disliked by cast and crew. McNamara overcomes all obstacles, Otto and Scarlet are off to London where he will become head of European operations. Cagney is offered a vice presidents job in Atlanta, but he does save his marriage. In the last scene in the film, Cagney buys sodas for the family at the airport; three cokes and Jimmy gets a Pepsi. The expression on his face is a wonder to behold.
The script is great, but this is Cagney's film. He is constantly in motion, he moves even when sitting, which he almost never does. The machine gun dialog never stops when under time pressure he brings together his plan. The jokes never stop, and Cagney is on screen for almost the entire picture. If you didn't live through the period, some of the jokes won't resonate. This is very topical humor. I love this film; I watched it twice back to back while preparing this intro . If you haven't seen this film, well you really should. The quote section on the IMDb site almost goes on forever, and surprise, surprise, they don't get all the tasty morsels. There are many allusions to other films particularly those of Cagney. Remember the cuckoo clock; Cagney won the Oscar for "Yankee Doodle Dandy" where he played George M Cohan.
I saw this when it first came out, but not in the college film program. The laugh a minute farce or screwball comedy was the most laughter I've heard with the exception of "The Producers." Wilder is probably one of the most versatile directors of all time. Some of his classics include: "Some Like it Hot," "The Apartment," "Stalag 17," "Witness for the Prosecution," Sunset Boulevard." and "Double Indemnity." Before he became a director,
he was an accomplished screen writer. One of his early efforts was "Ninotchka" a personal favorite with Greta Garbo in a rare comic role as a Russian commissar.
"One, Two, Three" is set in the divided city of Berlin in 1961. Jimmy Cagney begins the film with a voice over remarking that on the same day as Roger Maris hit home runs 44 and 45 against the Senators, the Berlin Wall went up. This was a problem for the film in two ways. First the Brandenburg Gate played a central role in the film, and it was blocked when the Wall separated the two parts of the city. Fortunately, a studio in Germany had a replica of the wall which allowed for the film's completion without the costly construction of a major new set. Unfortunately, the Wall was no joking matter, particularly in Europe. Wilder's films historically had done very well in Europe. The box office was a disaster in Europe in general, and it was even banned in Finland. In 1985 it was re-opened in Germany; it ran for over one year in a single theatre in Berlin. I will depart from my usual practice to mention current availability. A new DVD came out in 2017/8; it is available in both standard and blueray versions on Amazon. There is one free streaming service, 123 Films; Google "One, Two, Three" and it will come up. The only problem is that the picture is small and the sound is tinny.
Jimmy Cagney plays McNamara, a Coca Cola executive in West Berlin. He has a wife and two children, but he plays around with his sexy blonde secretary . He is trying to expand Coke's market into Russia in hopes this will
get him the job of head of European operations headquartered in London. He reaches a tentative agreement with three Russian trade negotiators. He includes this in a fax to the head office in Atlanta. The president of Coca Cola nixes the Russian deal and asks him to entertain his daughter in Berlin for two weeks.
This causes the family vacation to be cancelled. This aggravates his wife, Arlene Francis, and his secretary who planned to help him with the umlat. Scarlet Hazeltine, Pamela Tiffin, is a 17 year old hottie who has been engaged four times. All seems to be going well, Scarlet is going to museums and theatres and behaving herself. She turns up missing one morning; This happens just as the senior Hazeltines are going to come to Berlin. Scarlet appears in the office, and she has a confession to make. She has been crossing into East Berlin every night. She met a guy and married He is a member of the Communist Party. He is going to Russia to study rocketry and Scarlet is going with him.
From here on the pace is frantic, but Cagney is in command. First he figures out a way to have Otto Piffel arrested in East Germany. His motorcycle exhaust inflates balloons which proclaim Russki go home, and gives him a cuckoo clock which plays "Yankee Doodle Dandy" wrapped in the Wall Street Journal. He plans to have the marriage license removed. Unfortunately, Scarlet faints and the doctor discovers that she is pregnant. Now McNamara has to get Otto out of jail and turn him into an acceptable husband for a Coke heiress. I should mention that Otto, Horst Bucholz was despised by Cagney and generally disliked by cast and crew. McNamara overcomes all obstacles, Otto and Scarlet are off to London where he will become head of European operations. Cagney is offered a vice presidents job in Atlanta, but he does save his marriage. In the last scene in the film, Cagney buys sodas for the family at the airport; three cokes and Jimmy gets a Pepsi. The expression on his face is a wonder to behold.
The script is great, but this is Cagney's film. He is constantly in motion, he moves even when sitting, which he almost never does. The machine gun dialog never stops when under time pressure he brings together his plan. The jokes never stop, and Cagney is on screen for almost the entire picture. If you didn't live through the period, some of the jokes won't resonate. This is very topical humor. I love this film; I watched it twice back to back while preparing this intro . If you haven't seen this film, well you really should. The quote section on the IMDb site almost goes on forever, and surprise, surprise, they don't get all the tasty morsels. There are many allusions to other films particularly those of Cagney. Remember the cuckoo clock; Cagney won the Oscar for "Yankee Doodle Dandy" where he played George M Cohan.
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You mentioned that Billy Wilder is one of the most versatile directors ever. He would be up there in that category, although my nomination for that title would be Howard Hawks, who directed great movies in all sorts of genres.
As you said, Billy Wilder did cowrite Ninotchka. Terrific movie, Ernst Lubitsch directed some great stuff. Just before Wilder started directing, he cowrote the Howard Hawks directed Ball of Fire, another wonderful comedy starring Gary Cooper and Barbara Stanwyck. Ball of Fire is definitely worth seeing.
Anyway, getting back to “One, Two, Three”, my wife had never seen it, and it had been many years since I watched it, so back in February I rented “One, Two, Three” through our Netflix DVD subscription. My wife is both a James Cagney and Billy Wilder fan (Double Indemnity is both our favorite in the film noir genre), so I figured she would be into it. I thought it was quite good, and it seemed that my wife liked it even better than I did.
This movie is a total Cagney show, as he just dominates the proceedings from beginning to end. We were quite amused at the references to old Cagney movies as well. It was also Cagney last film for about 20 years, as he found working with Billy Wilder on this movie to be such an exhausting experience that he decided to retire.
Still, in my mind, “One, Two, Three” is not on the absolute top tier of the best of Billy Wilder directed movies. That list for me would include Double Indemnity, Sunset Boulevard, Stalag 17, Witness for the Prosecution, Some Like It Hot, and The Apartment (I haven't seen Lost Weekend, but it is also considered one of Wilder's best). Still, the next level of Billy Wilder films includes a number that are quite good, including this one.
"Public Enemy"-William Wellman-1931
We are taking a trip in the "Wayback Machine" , we are going back to the inception of sound. It's 1931; Prohibition is in force; criminals are on all the front pages. Warner Brothers decides to shoot and to promote gangster films to attract audiences in the middle of the Great Depression. This decision worked. Two films they made that first year, "Little Caesar" being the other, were major hits.
This is the studio era, but Warner's was fortunate to have William Wellman, a first rate director, to oversee this film. It was shot in only 6 days. It opens in 1909 with stock footage of NYC. It was based on a novel, "Beer and Blood", by Glassman and Bright. It was based on the experiences in and knowledge of the development of the criminal underworld in Chicago. We see two young kids, Tom Powers and Matt Doyle, begin their careers in crime. Cagney is the Tom Powers character; he is tougher and less scrupulous than Doyle. They start as petty thieves selling to a Fagin like character, Putty Nose. By 1915 they are ready for more adult crime and their first guns. They botch a robbery of a warehouse full of furs when Tom shoots a stuffed bear, In the chaos, they escape, but a policeman is killed. Putty Nose leaves town; Matt and Tom ride it out, but the betrayal is a deep cut.
Without going into every crooked turn, Tom and Matt become major league criminals under Paddy Doyle and Nails Nathan. Meanwhile, Tom's older brother, Mike, becomes a solid upstanding member of the community and marries Matt's sister. Mike enlists in the army and sees combat in WWI. He and Tom pick up their conflict immediately upon their return. I must mention the famous grapefruit scene; Cagney smashes a grapefruit half into his mistresses face at breakfast. There is debate as to whether or not this action was in the script. Jean Harlow enters the film as a new romantic interest. This film raised her profile dramatically.
Things go downhill swiftly. Nails is killed by a horse which threw him while riding. The opposing gang is going to try to take over the booze trade from Doyle without the backing of Nails' toughs. Doyle's saloon is bombed. Tom and Matt go into hiding. Their hideout is known and a machine gun nest is set up across the street. When Tom and Matt leave, Matt is killed. It was asserted at the time that machine guns fired real bullets. Tom goes out and gets two pistols by robbing the gun store owner.
Tom lies in wait for the members of the other gang. He enters and is severely wounded. As he crawls away he states: "I'm not so tough." He doesn't die, but I'm not going to reveal the ending except to say the song
"I'm Forever Blowing Bubbles" is background music for the final scene.
This film has kept a high reputation with critics. The settings and their filming have a realistic aura despite what by even standards of films made even a decade later was limited equipment and backing. The film was made for a little over $100,000; the funeral flowers for the real life Nails were estimated to cost over $75,000.
The acting is very good, and the dialogue is appropriate. Cagney is arresting on camera. This is definitely a film still worth viewing. This intro leaves out some of the very best on screen moments. Enjoy.
We are taking a trip in the "Wayback Machine" , we are going back to the inception of sound. It's 1931; Prohibition is in force; criminals are on all the front pages. Warner Brothers decides to shoot and to promote gangster films to attract audiences in the middle of the Great Depression. This decision worked. Two films they made that first year, "Little Caesar" being the other, were major hits.
This is the studio era, but Warner's was fortunate to have William Wellman, a first rate director, to oversee this film. It was shot in only 6 days. It opens in 1909 with stock footage of NYC. It was based on a novel, "Beer and Blood", by Glassman and Bright. It was based on the experiences in and knowledge of the development of the criminal underworld in Chicago. We see two young kids, Tom Powers and Matt Doyle, begin their careers in crime. Cagney is the Tom Powers character; he is tougher and less scrupulous than Doyle. They start as petty thieves selling to a Fagin like character, Putty Nose. By 1915 they are ready for more adult crime and their first guns. They botch a robbery of a warehouse full of furs when Tom shoots a stuffed bear, In the chaos, they escape, but a policeman is killed. Putty Nose leaves town; Matt and Tom ride it out, but the betrayal is a deep cut.
Without going into every crooked turn, Tom and Matt become major league criminals under Paddy Doyle and Nails Nathan. Meanwhile, Tom's older brother, Mike, becomes a solid upstanding member of the community and marries Matt's sister. Mike enlists in the army and sees combat in WWI. He and Tom pick up their conflict immediately upon their return. I must mention the famous grapefruit scene; Cagney smashes a grapefruit half into his mistresses face at breakfast. There is debate as to whether or not this action was in the script. Jean Harlow enters the film as a new romantic interest. This film raised her profile dramatically.
Things go downhill swiftly. Nails is killed by a horse which threw him while riding. The opposing gang is going to try to take over the booze trade from Doyle without the backing of Nails' toughs. Doyle's saloon is bombed. Tom and Matt go into hiding. Their hideout is known and a machine gun nest is set up across the street. When Tom and Matt leave, Matt is killed. It was asserted at the time that machine guns fired real bullets. Tom goes out and gets two pistols by robbing the gun store owner.
Tom lies in wait for the members of the other gang. He enters and is severely wounded. As he crawls away he states: "I'm not so tough." He doesn't die, but I'm not going to reveal the ending except to say the song
"I'm Forever Blowing Bubbles" is background music for the final scene.
This film has kept a high reputation with critics. The settings and their filming have a realistic aura despite what by even standards of films made even a decade later was limited equipment and backing. The film was made for a little over $100,000; the funeral flowers for the real life Nails were estimated to cost over $75,000.
The acting is very good, and the dialogue is appropriate. Cagney is arresting on camera. This is definitely a film still worth viewing. This intro leaves out some of the very best on screen moments. Enjoy.
"Invasion of the Body Snatchers"-Don Siegel-1955
This is considered and justly so an all time classic. When it was made it was considered a B film. Only $15,000 was spent on special effects. It had a short shooting schedule, and 16 days was a little over schedule. The test showings contained some humor, But Allied Artists but them. Horror films were not supposed to have anything mitigate the horror/suspense. The film is based on a serial by Jack Finney. Seeds traveled across space and germinated and grew in California. These pods had the ability to grown a total human being; the mental component developed while the human to be replaced slept. The pod human had an imperative to continue to eliminate the non pods by replacement. Pods have no emotions to get in the way of domination. The film never explains what happens to the humans replaced by the pod humans. Even disposing of the bodies would present a problem.
In the movie a G.P. returns to his home town after a medical conference. The town is experiencing s strange phenomenon; people don't recognize their family members as the real thing. The film actually begins with a haggard exhausted Kevin McCarthy trying to convince doctors that beings coming from pods are replacing normal humans and that this is a national emergency. The bulk of the film deals with McCarthy's search for information and the cause. McCarthy is joined by a longtime close friend/romantic interest, Dana Wynter, in trying to reach a conclusion. The realization comes fairly quickly, and then the rest of the film details McCarthy's and Wynter's attempts to escape and raise the alarm.
There has been a virtual cottage industry discussing how the film related to McCarthyism, no relationship to the star. Siegel thought it related to the film industry, McCarthy thought it related to advertising and blandness, other interpretations have been offered. The film has a chameleon like ability to morph into a fear of the problem of the moment. One of the reasons the film still works is we can find something frightening in the subversion of humanity in our own time. The film has been re-made 3 times; the best of the three remakes is a late 70's film starring Donald Sutherland.
Olive Films issued a comprehensive DVD edition in 2017. This includes many extras; however, you may prefer to watch online. It is available free if you have Amazon Prime, and there are other options. I suspect many of you have seen it, but not recently. It is definitely well worth you time to re-visit this classic.
This is considered and justly so an all time classic. When it was made it was considered a B film. Only $15,000 was spent on special effects. It had a short shooting schedule, and 16 days was a little over schedule. The test showings contained some humor, But Allied Artists but them. Horror films were not supposed to have anything mitigate the horror/suspense. The film is based on a serial by Jack Finney. Seeds traveled across space and germinated and grew in California. These pods had the ability to grown a total human being; the mental component developed while the human to be replaced slept. The pod human had an imperative to continue to eliminate the non pods by replacement. Pods have no emotions to get in the way of domination. The film never explains what happens to the humans replaced by the pod humans. Even disposing of the bodies would present a problem.
In the movie a G.P. returns to his home town after a medical conference. The town is experiencing s strange phenomenon; people don't recognize their family members as the real thing. The film actually begins with a haggard exhausted Kevin McCarthy trying to convince doctors that beings coming from pods are replacing normal humans and that this is a national emergency. The bulk of the film deals with McCarthy's search for information and the cause. McCarthy is joined by a longtime close friend/romantic interest, Dana Wynter, in trying to reach a conclusion. The realization comes fairly quickly, and then the rest of the film details McCarthy's and Wynter's attempts to escape and raise the alarm.
There has been a virtual cottage industry discussing how the film related to McCarthyism, no relationship to the star. Siegel thought it related to the film industry, McCarthy thought it related to advertising and blandness, other interpretations have been offered. The film has a chameleon like ability to morph into a fear of the problem of the moment. One of the reasons the film still works is we can find something frightening in the subversion of humanity in our own time. The film has been re-made 3 times; the best of the three remakes is a late 70's film starring Donald Sutherland.
Olive Films issued a comprehensive DVD edition in 2017. This includes many extras; however, you may prefer to watch online. It is available free if you have Amazon Prime, and there are other options. I suspect many of you have seen it, but not recently. It is definitely well worth you time to re-visit this classic.
.-.
Another movie that I'm a fan of, it deserves its classic status. This film had something of a censorship problem as well. The original way it was filmed was too downbeat for either the censors or the studio involved, suggesting that this menace could not be defeated. So it was required that new scenes were filmed featuring Richard Deacon at the hospital where Kevin McCarthy ends up and tells his tale. These scenes were placed at the very beginning and the very end of the movie. The original ending had McCarthy on the highway screaming at the passing motorists, which is still part of the film. The new beginning and end is not bad, but I think the film would be better without them.
Fishy
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You're a damned treasure in this place.
I apologize for my absence last week. I was wrestling with "The Manchurian Candidate" and I decided to take a little break. I ended up watching on Amazon Prime "Detective Anna". I figured that I would be finished quickly, but some 50 episodes later, I was still watching. I finally finished the 56 episode first season; there was no second season. I have put myself in a position of having to comment on the show. It is set in late 19th century Russia. A young girl has the ability to summon the recently departed, she becomes involved in the work of the lead detective in her small city. The series has cases which take two episodes to solve and an underlying thread about espionage which runs though the whole show. The show is in Russian, but there are subtitles.
Next up "The African Queen" later today.
Next up "The African Queen" later today.
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"The African Queen"-John Huston-1951
this film has had so much written about it, that separating truth becomes extremely difficult and sometimes impossible. The film is based on a C.S. Forrester novel. In the book Charlie Allnut is a cockney, but Bogart couldn't do the accent, so he became a Canadian. Katherine Hepburn played a spinster who followed her Missionary brother to Africa. Huston told Hepburn to think of Eleanor Roosevelt when she did her dialogue.
She mentioned this in her book on the making of the film, remarking that it was the best piece of direction she ever received. Bogart's wife, Lauren Bacall, went along to Africa where she tended to the needs of cast and crew. She was the only one who had the forethought to bring antibiotics. She supposedly wrote an article for a Belgian cinema magazine; she emphatically denied it. The story is set in German East Africa, that's the only way the story makes sense. It was originally set to be filmed in Uganda or perhaps Kenya, authorities differ, but
Huston found a remote site in the Belgian Congo. It is agreed by all the participants that it was a miserable site; almost everyone became violently ill. Huston and Bogart avoided illness by not drinking any water; they drank alchohol. Hepburn in particular became violently ill, a bucket was placed just off camera so she could throw up during one part of the in country filming.
Huston co-wrote the script with James Agee, noted author and critic; unfortunately he suffered a heart attack prior to going to Africa. Huston asked Peter Viertel to come to Africa and work with him to finish the script. Viertel didn't receive screen credit. He wrote a thinly disguised novel based on his experiences, "White Hunter, Black Heart." Clint Eastwood made it into a film; it wasn't complimentary to Huston. Huston could be more than difficult, and he enjoyed spreading tales about himself. On the occasion of receiving a lifetime achievement award, he more than hinted that stew served on the set of this picture contained human flesh. As to the often repeated canard that he shot an elephant; his son denies it.
Now for a brief precis of the story. Allnut brings the African Queen, an aging steamboat, to the Mission with the mail. He informs Rose Sayler and her brother about the outbreak of WWI. They became enemy aliens when war was declared. Allnut leaves, and German troops arrive. They burn the native village and take away all the natives. Her brother dies and Rose leaves with Bogart on the African Queen. What happens is movie magic-great script, great camera work, and great acting produced a film that ranks with the best all time according to AFI and literally hundreds of critics. Naturally, Bogart and Hepburn fight at first. He drinks, gets drunk, and she doesn't like it. He says it is just the nature of man, she remarks: "Nature? Mr. Allnut, is what we are put into this world to rise above." She later empties his gin into the river and throws all the empties overboard. She was not angry with him about the drinking so much, but it was breaking his promise
to travel across unknown territory to reach the lake where a German warship dominated this part of Africa by having a six pound gun.
What follows is an extraordinary journey where the two overcome many near disasters and fall in love. The Queen is destroyed on the lake during a huge storm, and with her the opportunity to sink the German ship.
The two lovers are picked up separately, tried and condemned to death. Allnut asks the Captain for a last request, the Captain agrees. "By the authority vested in me by Kaiser Willheim II. I pronounce you man and wife. Proceed withe the execution."
I've seen this film about ten times, and rewatching it for this intro was a pleasure. These are two of the best screen actors ever at the top of their game. This was Bogart's only Oscar, many critics think it wasn't his best performance. I really don't care, and I don't think you will after watching this film.
this film has had so much written about it, that separating truth becomes extremely difficult and sometimes impossible. The film is based on a C.S. Forrester novel. In the book Charlie Allnut is a cockney, but Bogart couldn't do the accent, so he became a Canadian. Katherine Hepburn played a spinster who followed her Missionary brother to Africa. Huston told Hepburn to think of Eleanor Roosevelt when she did her dialogue.
She mentioned this in her book on the making of the film, remarking that it was the best piece of direction she ever received. Bogart's wife, Lauren Bacall, went along to Africa where she tended to the needs of cast and crew. She was the only one who had the forethought to bring antibiotics. She supposedly wrote an article for a Belgian cinema magazine; she emphatically denied it. The story is set in German East Africa, that's the only way the story makes sense. It was originally set to be filmed in Uganda or perhaps Kenya, authorities differ, but
Huston found a remote site in the Belgian Congo. It is agreed by all the participants that it was a miserable site; almost everyone became violently ill. Huston and Bogart avoided illness by not drinking any water; they drank alchohol. Hepburn in particular became violently ill, a bucket was placed just off camera so she could throw up during one part of the in country filming.
Huston co-wrote the script with James Agee, noted author and critic; unfortunately he suffered a heart attack prior to going to Africa. Huston asked Peter Viertel to come to Africa and work with him to finish the script. Viertel didn't receive screen credit. He wrote a thinly disguised novel based on his experiences, "White Hunter, Black Heart." Clint Eastwood made it into a film; it wasn't complimentary to Huston. Huston could be more than difficult, and he enjoyed spreading tales about himself. On the occasion of receiving a lifetime achievement award, he more than hinted that stew served on the set of this picture contained human flesh. As to the often repeated canard that he shot an elephant; his son denies it.
Now for a brief precis of the story. Allnut brings the African Queen, an aging steamboat, to the Mission with the mail. He informs Rose Sayler and her brother about the outbreak of WWI. They became enemy aliens when war was declared. Allnut leaves, and German troops arrive. They burn the native village and take away all the natives. Her brother dies and Rose leaves with Bogart on the African Queen. What happens is movie magic-great script, great camera work, and great acting produced a film that ranks with the best all time according to AFI and literally hundreds of critics. Naturally, Bogart and Hepburn fight at first. He drinks, gets drunk, and she doesn't like it. He says it is just the nature of man, she remarks: "Nature? Mr. Allnut, is what we are put into this world to rise above." She later empties his gin into the river and throws all the empties overboard. She was not angry with him about the drinking so much, but it was breaking his promise
to travel across unknown territory to reach the lake where a German warship dominated this part of Africa by having a six pound gun.
What follows is an extraordinary journey where the two overcome many near disasters and fall in love. The Queen is destroyed on the lake during a huge storm, and with her the opportunity to sink the German ship.
The two lovers are picked up separately, tried and condemned to death. Allnut asks the Captain for a last request, the Captain agrees. "By the authority vested in me by Kaiser Willheim II. I pronounce you man and wife. Proceed withe the execution."
I've seen this film about ten times, and rewatching it for this intro was a pleasure. These are two of the best screen actors ever at the top of their game. This was Bogart's only Oscar, many critics think it wasn't his best performance. I really don't care, and I don't think you will after watching this film.
"Compulsion"-Richard Fleisher-1959
This is the second film about the Leopold and Loeb murders in Chicago in 1924. Briefly, the pair abduct and murder a young neighbor, Loeb's cousin. They make a ransom demand, but they have already murdered him.
Leopold drops his glasses at the murder scene. So much for the perfect murder, the two believe that than they are more intelligent than anyone else. Leopold is bound up in the philosophy of Neitzsche . He believes that he and Loeb are supermen. They are caught and they end up confessing. Their families jointly hire Clarence Darrow, a lifelong opponent of capital punishment. Darrow makes an impassioned two to three day closing arguement. The pair is sentenced to life imprisonment. Loeb is killed in prison; Leopold is released on probation after 34 years in 1958.
Director Richard Fleisher was a solid professional. The cast included Martin Milner and E.G. Marshall. Dean Stockwell played Nathan Leopold; Brad Dillman played Loeb. Loeb, Artie Strauss, was the dominant one in the pair. Judd Steiner, Leopold pledged to do whatever Loeb asked/commanded. Orson Welles, Darrow doesn't enter until over half the picture is run. I think Welles gives a brilliant performance. He was massively in debt, the IRS took his entire salary. Welles shared the best actor award at Cannes with Stockwell and Dillman.
The film is a solid professional effort, the sense of period is well handled, and the acting by the three principals is excellent, but today the main reason to view this film is for Welles' performmance.
Next: "Rope" Hitchcock's take on the same historic crime.
This is the second film about the Leopold and Loeb murders in Chicago in 1924. Briefly, the pair abduct and murder a young neighbor, Loeb's cousin. They make a ransom demand, but they have already murdered him.
Leopold drops his glasses at the murder scene. So much for the perfect murder, the two believe that than they are more intelligent than anyone else. Leopold is bound up in the philosophy of Neitzsche . He believes that he and Loeb are supermen. They are caught and they end up confessing. Their families jointly hire Clarence Darrow, a lifelong opponent of capital punishment. Darrow makes an impassioned two to three day closing arguement. The pair is sentenced to life imprisonment. Loeb is killed in prison; Leopold is released on probation after 34 years in 1958.
Director Richard Fleisher was a solid professional. The cast included Martin Milner and E.G. Marshall. Dean Stockwell played Nathan Leopold; Brad Dillman played Loeb. Loeb, Artie Strauss, was the dominant one in the pair. Judd Steiner, Leopold pledged to do whatever Loeb asked/commanded. Orson Welles, Darrow doesn't enter until over half the picture is run. I think Welles gives a brilliant performance. He was massively in debt, the IRS took his entire salary. Welles shared the best actor award at Cannes with Stockwell and Dillman.
The film is a solid professional effort, the sense of period is well handled, and the acting by the three principals is excellent, but today the main reason to view this film is for Welles' performmance.
Next: "Rope" Hitchcock's take on the same historic crime.
.-.
I don't know of Compulsion, but I've seen "Rope" a number of times.
"Rope"-Alfred Hitchcock-1948
The film is based loosely on an English play by Patrick Hamilton. Hitchcock asked Hume Cronin to do a treatment of the basic story for the film. Arthur Laurents was brought in to write the dialogue. This film marked a number of firsts for Hitch. It was the first film for his new production company, and it was his firsr color film.
Hitchcock was brilliant in the technical aspects of film making. Before he directed his first films in England he had served an apprenticeship in Germany which focused on technical areas. He was known for his meticulous pre-planning of every camera shot. He conceived of this film as a technical exercise; he wanted to experiment and make a film constructed of around a dozen long takes. Normally when a play is brought to the screen, it is opened up. Hitch decided against this, with the exception of the intro sequence showing the street in front of the apartment building, the film is shot entirely in one set, the penthouse apartment.
"Compulsion" was based on Meyer Levin's book; he was a friend of Leopold. The book accurately depicts the murder, the investigation, and the trial. Hamilton's play barely hints at the Leopold and Loeb connection. Both films hint at homosexuality among the lead characters. This of course was a huge no, no for the Hayes censorship office.
Originally the murder wasn't supposed to be shown, but it occurs on screen. Both Cronyn and Laurents believed this diminished the suspense. Brandon and Phillip conspire to strangle Matthew Knightley. They place the body in a large trunk, cover it with a cloth. They have two candelabras and the food for a little party placed on top of the chest. They have planned a party.
There was a limited guest list: Matthew's parents, his presumptive fiancee, her old flame, their prep school housemaster, now a publisher of intellectual books, and Matthew. The mother is replaced by an aunt, and a female housekeeper/cook to complete the cast. The perfect crime breaks down over the course of the evening. There is a discussion of murder as a way to solve humanity's problems primarily between Rupert Cadell, Jimmy Stewart, and Brandon, John Dall. There are references to the "Superman" of Neitzsche, Mr. Knightley. Cedric Hardwicke, is the chief opponent of this view making some references to recent history. I should have mentioned that the film is set in late forties NYC. Matthew doesn't show up and most of the guests leave early. When Stewart is preparing to leave he is given a hat with the initials M. K. He had already been very suspicious. He returns supposedly to retrieve his lost cigarette case, and he solves the crime.
Technically the film was difficult to shoot; the color cameras were enormous and there were cables all over the set floor. The set walls were movable on coasters, but the shots were long with few or no retakes. The shooting schedule involved generally only one long take per day. Jimmy Stewart was miscast as the Cadell character. His long speech at the end arguing that his intellectual flirting with murder was just that, and that he had a deep moral center that rejected the concept, strains credulity. It is also uncomfortable for Stewarts
screen persona. In his later career Stewart handled many leading characters who were flawed particularly in Westerns, but in other films like "Flight of the Phoenix" as well. Cadell's advocacy of murder as an intellectual exercise bears some responsibility for his former students' crime. His later characters were flawed in life, and accepted responsibility for their actions.
This isn't near Hitch's best, but the acting is good, and the film doesn't have dead spots. This is the only Hitchcock role that Stewart didn't like, even Hitchcock himself didn't rate this film too highly.
Next Hawk's "Red River"
The film is based loosely on an English play by Patrick Hamilton. Hitchcock asked Hume Cronin to do a treatment of the basic story for the film. Arthur Laurents was brought in to write the dialogue. This film marked a number of firsts for Hitch. It was the first film for his new production company, and it was his firsr color film.
Hitchcock was brilliant in the technical aspects of film making. Before he directed his first films in England he had served an apprenticeship in Germany which focused on technical areas. He was known for his meticulous pre-planning of every camera shot. He conceived of this film as a technical exercise; he wanted to experiment and make a film constructed of around a dozen long takes. Normally when a play is brought to the screen, it is opened up. Hitch decided against this, with the exception of the intro sequence showing the street in front of the apartment building, the film is shot entirely in one set, the penthouse apartment.
"Compulsion" was based on Meyer Levin's book; he was a friend of Leopold. The book accurately depicts the murder, the investigation, and the trial. Hamilton's play barely hints at the Leopold and Loeb connection. Both films hint at homosexuality among the lead characters. This of course was a huge no, no for the Hayes censorship office.
Originally the murder wasn't supposed to be shown, but it occurs on screen. Both Cronyn and Laurents believed this diminished the suspense. Brandon and Phillip conspire to strangle Matthew Knightley. They place the body in a large trunk, cover it with a cloth. They have two candelabras and the food for a little party placed on top of the chest. They have planned a party.
There was a limited guest list: Matthew's parents, his presumptive fiancee, her old flame, their prep school housemaster, now a publisher of intellectual books, and Matthew. The mother is replaced by an aunt, and a female housekeeper/cook to complete the cast. The perfect crime breaks down over the course of the evening. There is a discussion of murder as a way to solve humanity's problems primarily between Rupert Cadell, Jimmy Stewart, and Brandon, John Dall. There are references to the "Superman" of Neitzsche, Mr. Knightley. Cedric Hardwicke, is the chief opponent of this view making some references to recent history. I should have mentioned that the film is set in late forties NYC. Matthew doesn't show up and most of the guests leave early. When Stewart is preparing to leave he is given a hat with the initials M. K. He had already been very suspicious. He returns supposedly to retrieve his lost cigarette case, and he solves the crime.
Technically the film was difficult to shoot; the color cameras were enormous and there were cables all over the set floor. The set walls were movable on coasters, but the shots were long with few or no retakes. The shooting schedule involved generally only one long take per day. Jimmy Stewart was miscast as the Cadell character. His long speech at the end arguing that his intellectual flirting with murder was just that, and that he had a deep moral center that rejected the concept, strains credulity. It is also uncomfortable for Stewarts
screen persona. In his later career Stewart handled many leading characters who were flawed particularly in Westerns, but in other films like "Flight of the Phoenix" as well. Cadell's advocacy of murder as an intellectual exercise bears some responsibility for his former students' crime. His later characters were flawed in life, and accepted responsibility for their actions.
This isn't near Hitch's best, but the acting is good, and the film doesn't have dead spots. This is the only Hitchcock role that Stewart didn't like, even Hitchcock himself didn't rate this film too highly.
Next Hawk's "Red River"
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8 men out is a great movie - just not what really happened.
There are a significant number of Hitchcock films that are better than "Rope". Still, "Rope" is solid and watchable.
Definitely looking forward to the "Red River" review.
Bonus Material
"Amen" - Costa Gavras-2002
Costa Gavras is known for such political thrillers as "Z" and "Missing." This picture is another political effort. It
is based partially on the Rulf Hochluth's play "The Deputy." This play is a view of Pius II action or inaction around the Holocaust. The play depicts a Pope who avoids the issue of the Nazi's extermination of European Jews. Other sources were used to background the film. The story depicts an SS officer, Kurt Gerstein an historical figure, who attempts to notify the world about the Holocaust. The other two central characters are a Jesuit with high level connections to the Vatican and an SS doctor who is amoral and willingly follows Himmler's policies. Both are fictional.. The doctor reaches the safety of he Vatican where he is sent on to Argentina. The Jesuit puts a Jewish Star on his cassock and ends up in the death camps. Gerstein surrenders to the French; he writes detailed histories of the Nazi policies and practices. He dies in his cell apparently a suicide by hanging.
This film is best viewed as a starting point for thoughtful discussion and study.
"Amen" - Costa Gavras-2002
Costa Gavras is known for such political thrillers as "Z" and "Missing." This picture is another political effort. It
is based partially on the Rulf Hochluth's play "The Deputy." This play is a view of Pius II action or inaction around the Holocaust. The play depicts a Pope who avoids the issue of the Nazi's extermination of European Jews. Other sources were used to background the film. The story depicts an SS officer, Kurt Gerstein an historical figure, who attempts to notify the world about the Holocaust. The other two central characters are a Jesuit with high level connections to the Vatican and an SS doctor who is amoral and willingly follows Himmler's policies. Both are fictional.. The doctor reaches the safety of he Vatican where he is sent on to Argentina. The Jesuit puts a Jewish Star on his cassock and ends up in the death camps. Gerstein surrenders to the French; he writes detailed histories of the Nazi policies and practices. He dies in his cell apparently a suicide by hanging.
This film is best viewed as a starting point for thoughtful discussion and study.
"Red River"-Howard Hawks-1948
I often have difficulty deciding how to start these previews. My problems with this film is that I have too much information, and I have to find my own personal handle. I will begin my intro with a mention of the film's homoeroticism. This is hardly the first film so categorized, some critics believe Hawks did this in a number of films. Frankly I think I can make as good a case for the film being a symbolic fight between the Titans and the Gods as having a strong gay undertone.
Hawks confronted the issue of color before filming; he decided that it would over complicate filming. This film was going to be extraordinarily difficult to film. The centerpiece of the film is the first cattle drive over the Chisholm Trail. The opening of the film with the voice over and the hand written text emphasizes this point. For the cattle drive one thousand cattle were hired as extras. The few longhorns were always kept front and center. Borden Chase wrote a serial for "Colliers" and his screenplay is based on that work. The story is fiction, but it is solidly based on fact.
Tom Dunson (John Wayne) joined a wagon train going west in 1851. He had a bull, two cows, and Nadine Groot (Walter Brennan) as his traveling companions. He fell in love and gave the young woman a bracelet.
He leaves her behind when he leaves the train to pursue his dream of a huge cattle ranch. The wagon train is attacked after he left. Some Indians break off the main group to pursue Groot and Dunson. They kill the Indians, and later a young boy (Montgomery Clift) who had escaped the slaughter joins them. He brings a cow and a gun. The bracelet turns up on one of the dead Indians. Dunson establishes his right to hold the good cattle land by killing a representative of a Mexican land holder.
Fifteen years pass, Matt Garth has grown up and fought in the Civil War, Dunson has achieved his dream of a huge ranch with thousands of cattle, but he has no market for his herd. Dunson plans a massive cattle drive to a railhead in Missouri. Once again the railroad appears as an instrument of change. Dunson brands all the cattle he can find including those belonging to other ranchers. One of those ranchers appears appears with his hands. A shootout is avoided when Dunson offers 2$ a head for any of the rebranded cattle which make it to the railhead. A gunfighter, Cherry Valence (John Ireland) joins the the Dunson drive. There are several scenes of testing between Garth and Valence. The drive begins after Dunson extracts promises from all the hands that they will stick with the drive to the end despite any difficulties they may encounter.
Clift was a stage actor in NYC when he took this part. He was hardly an obvious choice, but Hawks was a great judge of talent in this case. Clift worked hard to learn how to ride western style, and to fast draw and shoot. John Ireland wasn't such a happy choice. According to Hawks he was drunk and sloppy. Borden Chase attributed the conflicts to his romance of Joanne Dru and Hawk's desire for Dru.
Naturally the 1,000 mile plus drive encounters many problems starting with a stampede. This is brilliantly filmed. It was set off by one hand's sugar need. Dunson deals with this cowboy. He plans to whip him, but he ends up shooting him. This begins a series of difficulties which bring Dunson in ever increasing conflict with the hands. The journey takes longer, rations are running out, and taking the cattle to a railhead in Kansas becomes a more desirable option. When several hands desert the drive, Dunson sends men to follow them and bring them back. While the search is going on, Dunson turns to drink. When two hands are brought back, Dunson proposes hanging them. This breaks the bond between Matt and Tom. In a confrontation Matt beats him to the draw and wounds him in the leg. Matt takes over the leadership of the drive, and he leaves Dunson behind. Even Groot opts for Matt's leadership; Dunson vows to kill Matt.
There is a famous comment from John Ford that Wayne"s performance showed him that the big lug could act. I think this is a case of "print the legend." Still it is to Hawks' credit that he was able to handle both Wayne and Clift and not only get good performances out of both, but he made their conflict compelling, and even their re-affirmation in the end is more than satisfying. There is a complexity in the relationships and the themes which raises this film not only far above other forties westerns, but makes it as satisfying as the best noir.
This is deservedly considered a classic. It is top flight film making: great story, production values of the first rank, acting which has no real tinny notes. Hawks spent two years after the completion of shooting in editing and legal conflicts. This film set new standards for the Western; this film proves that the Western could be a genre where the best could stand with any other films in quality.
I often have difficulty deciding how to start these previews. My problems with this film is that I have too much information, and I have to find my own personal handle. I will begin my intro with a mention of the film's homoeroticism. This is hardly the first film so categorized, some critics believe Hawks did this in a number of films. Frankly I think I can make as good a case for the film being a symbolic fight between the Titans and the Gods as having a strong gay undertone.
Hawks confronted the issue of color before filming; he decided that it would over complicate filming. This film was going to be extraordinarily difficult to film. The centerpiece of the film is the first cattle drive over the Chisholm Trail. The opening of the film with the voice over and the hand written text emphasizes this point. For the cattle drive one thousand cattle were hired as extras. The few longhorns were always kept front and center. Borden Chase wrote a serial for "Colliers" and his screenplay is based on that work. The story is fiction, but it is solidly based on fact.
Tom Dunson (John Wayne) joined a wagon train going west in 1851. He had a bull, two cows, and Nadine Groot (Walter Brennan) as his traveling companions. He fell in love and gave the young woman a bracelet.
He leaves her behind when he leaves the train to pursue his dream of a huge cattle ranch. The wagon train is attacked after he left. Some Indians break off the main group to pursue Groot and Dunson. They kill the Indians, and later a young boy (Montgomery Clift) who had escaped the slaughter joins them. He brings a cow and a gun. The bracelet turns up on one of the dead Indians. Dunson establishes his right to hold the good cattle land by killing a representative of a Mexican land holder.
Fifteen years pass, Matt Garth has grown up and fought in the Civil War, Dunson has achieved his dream of a huge ranch with thousands of cattle, but he has no market for his herd. Dunson plans a massive cattle drive to a railhead in Missouri. Once again the railroad appears as an instrument of change. Dunson brands all the cattle he can find including those belonging to other ranchers. One of those ranchers appears appears with his hands. A shootout is avoided when Dunson offers 2$ a head for any of the rebranded cattle which make it to the railhead. A gunfighter, Cherry Valence (John Ireland) joins the the Dunson drive. There are several scenes of testing between Garth and Valence. The drive begins after Dunson extracts promises from all the hands that they will stick with the drive to the end despite any difficulties they may encounter.
Clift was a stage actor in NYC when he took this part. He was hardly an obvious choice, but Hawks was a great judge of talent in this case. Clift worked hard to learn how to ride western style, and to fast draw and shoot. John Ireland wasn't such a happy choice. According to Hawks he was drunk and sloppy. Borden Chase attributed the conflicts to his romance of Joanne Dru and Hawk's desire for Dru.
Naturally the 1,000 mile plus drive encounters many problems starting with a stampede. This is brilliantly filmed. It was set off by one hand's sugar need. Dunson deals with this cowboy. He plans to whip him, but he ends up shooting him. This begins a series of difficulties which bring Dunson in ever increasing conflict with the hands. The journey takes longer, rations are running out, and taking the cattle to a railhead in Kansas becomes a more desirable option. When several hands desert the drive, Dunson sends men to follow them and bring them back. While the search is going on, Dunson turns to drink. When two hands are brought back, Dunson proposes hanging them. This breaks the bond between Matt and Tom. In a confrontation Matt beats him to the draw and wounds him in the leg. Matt takes over the leadership of the drive, and he leaves Dunson behind. Even Groot opts for Matt's leadership; Dunson vows to kill Matt.
There is a famous comment from John Ford that Wayne"s performance showed him that the big lug could act. I think this is a case of "print the legend." Still it is to Hawks' credit that he was able to handle both Wayne and Clift and not only get good performances out of both, but he made their conflict compelling, and even their re-affirmation in the end is more than satisfying. There is a complexity in the relationships and the themes which raises this film not only far above other forties westerns, but makes it as satisfying as the best noir.
This is deservedly considered a classic. It is top flight film making: great story, production values of the first rank, acting which has no real tinny notes. Hawks spent two years after the completion of shooting in editing and legal conflicts. This film set new standards for the Western; this film proves that the Western could be a genre where the best could stand with any other films in quality.
.-.