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Month: December 2011

Here Comes Mr. Jordan (1941)

Here Comes Mr. Jordan (1941)

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“I know I don’t look like Joe, but I’m him just the same!”

Synopsis:
When his plane crashes, a boxer (Robert Montgomery) with fifty years left to live is prematurely brought to heaven by an overly zealous angel (Edward Everett Horton). Because his earthly body has been cremated, Montgomery enlists the help of administrative angel “Mr. Jordan” (Claude Rains) in finding a new one to inhabit. Out of pity for a beautiful young woman (Evelyn Keyes) whose father has been falsely accused by a heartless millionaire named Farnsworth, he takes over Farnsworth’s body just after his wife (Rita Johnson) and her lover (John Emery) have tried to murder him. Soon Montgomery finds himself eager to get his new body into shape for a boxing match, and enlists the help of his befuddled former manager (James Gleason).

Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:

  • Angels
  • Boxing
  • Claude Rains Films
  • Death and Dying
  • Evelyn Keyes Films
  • Fantasy
  • Life After Death
  • Millionaires
  • Robert Montgomery Films
  • Untimely Death

Response to Peary’s Review:
Given that I’m not generally a fan of the film blanc genre (discussed at length here), I was surprised to find myself enjoying this Oscar-winning supernatural tale — remade by Warren Beatty in 1978 as Heaven Can Wait — as much as I did. Peary argues that “while there are some delightful moments” in the script, it’s ultimately “schmaltzy and morbid and never hilarious”. He uncharacteristically gives away major spoilers when describing why he feels the film’s ending essentially cheats viewers on an emotional level (I won’t say more), and argues that Beatty’s remake “was ruined by the same unsatisfying resolution”. I don’t agree. In this case, I’m more in line with DVD Savant’s sentiment that Here Comes Mr. Jordan remains a “rare Hollywood classic that hasn’t dated and never fails to raise one’s spirits.”

In his review, Savant aptly describes the film’s “optimistic and uplifting message” as follows: “the human soul is a wondrous thing that lives after us, even if it takes new forms and new identities”, and “our essential goodness will be passed on to those that follow”, given that “love doesn’t die with one’s mortal body”. Even for hard-headed cynics like myself, this message is simply too appealing not to want to believe — and thus, I gave myself over to the story. To that end, I appreciated the care taken to resolve the undeniably tricky dilemma of Montgomery’s character supposedly inhabiting new bodies while WE still see Montgomery himself; appropriately enough, other players in the “outstanding supporting cast” are given ample time to adjust to the astonishing truth of Montgomery’s bodily inhabitance — most notably James Gleason as a cynical manager who takes some convincing that his former boxing champion now resides in a wealthy financier’s body.

Peary accurately notes that Montgomery is “perfect as [boxer Joe] Pendleton”, but I can’t quite agree with his assertion that “Rains’s role should have been stronger”. I was actually quite impressed by how seamlessly the screenplay incorporates his presence in a story that really should be all about Pendleton. Yet I wasn’t especially enthused by Rains’s performance here.

He’s certainly competent, and projects just the right amount of avuncular wisdom, but — perhaps strategically? — he’s simply not very charismatic. Meanwhile, Evelyn Keyes (probably best known for playing “Suellen” in Gone With the Wind) gives a delightful performance in a minor yet essential role as the woman who inspires Montgomery to give Farnsworth’s body a try; it’s a joy to watch her slowly learning to trust, and then love, the man who once caused her indescribable grief.

Redeeming Qualities and Moments:

  • Robert Montgomery as Joe Pendleton (nominated by Peary as one of the Best Actors of the Year in his Alternate Oscars book)
  • James Gleason as Mr. Corkle
  • Evelyn Keyes as Bette
  • Sidney Buchman and Seton I. Miller’s fine, Oscar-winning, feel-good script

Must See?
Yes, as a feel-good classic.

Categories

  • Genuine Classic
  • Oscar Winner or Nominee

Links:

Christmas in July (1940)

Christmas in July (1940)

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“Now that you’re a capitalist, I don’t know how you feel about working for a living.”

Synopsis:
A lowly employee (Dick Powell) engaged to his sweetheart (Ellen Drew) is fooled by his co-workers into thinking he’s won a $25,000 slogan-writing contest, and believes his luck has changed for good.

Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:

  • Advertising
  • Comedy
  • Dick Powell Films
  • Get Rich Quick
  • Preston Sturges Films

Review:
Although its title is finally justified in a later sequence — when the protagonist’s girlfriend refers to their luck as feeling like it’s “Christmas in July” — one could be forgiven for feeling a twinge of disappointment upon learning that this early Preston Sturges comedy (his second as director) really has nothing to do with Christmas, per se (so don’t watch it, like I did, in hopes of generating a bit of holiday spirit). However, the film stands up just fine on its own merits, and remains clear evidence of Sturges’ gift for writing clever, incisive satires which effectively skewer their targets while maintaining just the right amount of hope and belief in goodwill.

At just 67 minutes long, the storyline here moves like a breeze, shifting quickly from what looks like it will be simply a painful lesson in undue humiliation (as the ever-hopeful Powell is taken for a ride by several of his naughty co-workers), to an unexpectedly joyful tale of happy coincidence and good luck. Naturally, things must eventually come to a head — but along the way, we’re witness to both the delights of seeing asinine men-in-power made fools of, and deserving underlings given a chance to show their best light. Meanwhile, those who harbor nagging suspicions about the — er, veracity — of the advertising industry need look no further than here to have their suspicions verified; what makes for an “award-winning” slogan has apparently always remained a hotly contested exercise in Emperor’s Clothing. With that said, the film’s ending remains the best one possible, on all counts; watch and see for yourself.

Note: Powell and Drew are perfectly cast (and utterly believable) as the central young couple in love, and are surrounded by Sturges’ dependable crew of supporting comedic actors (including the inimitable William Demarest and Franklin Pangborn).

Redeeming Qualities and Moments:

  • Dick Powell and Ellen Drew as Jimmy and Betty
  • A clever, witty, satirical screenplay

Must See?
Yes, as early evidence of Sturges’ genius. Listed as a film with Historical Importance in the back of Peary’s book.

Categories

  • Historically Relevant
  • Important Director

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Send Me No Flowers (1964)

Send Me No Flowers (1964)

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“That’s one heck of a guy you’ve got there, Judy. When they made George Kimball, they threw away the mold!”

[Note: The following review is of a non-Peary title; click here to read more.]

Synopsis:
A hypochondriac (Rock Hudson) mistakenly believes his doctor (Edward Andrews) has determined that he only has three weeks left to live, and — with the help of his best friend and neighbor (Tony Randall) — tries to find a new husband for his wife (Doris Day).

Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:

  • Comedy
  • Death and Dying
  • Doris Day Films
  • Rock Hudson Films
  • Tony Randall Films

Review:
My dear collaborator and friend, writer93_99, argues in his response to my review of Pillow Talk (1959) that all three of the comedies Doris Day and Rock Hudson made together — Pillow Talk, Lover Come Back (1961), and Send Me No Flowers (1964) — could/should be considered must-see for film fanatics, given that they represent the inimitable duo at various stages of their onscreen romantic career together. Inspired by his confidence, I recently re-watched Send Me No Flowers, and was tickled to find that it’s actually my favorite of the bunch. It remains likely the best film ever made about hypochondria, given that it takes this wonderfully ripe premise to its “logical” conclusion, and exploits every comedic possibility along the way. And while Pillow Talk and Lover Come Back were crafted from the same deliciously cynical mold (with Hudson and Day simultaneously duking it out and falling in love under false pretenses), the deception in Send Me No Flowers is much gentler: Hudson really DOES believe he’s about to die in three weeks’ time, so any deception (at least for the first hour or so of the film) is unintentional.

Hudson and Day are both in peak comedic form (as usual) — but it’s co-stars Tony Randall and Paul Lynde who really steal the scenery in this one. Lynde wasn’t in many big-name movies (most viewers will recognize him simply from his work on “Hollywood Squares”), but his role here as an earnest cemetery plot salesman is flat-out hilarious:

Lynde: As you can see, we suggest the entire family all go out and select the final resting place together. The kids love it; they have a ball.

Hudson: You see, I’d rather my wife didn’t know about this.
Lynde: You want to surprise her.
Hudson: Yes.
Lynde: Well, this’ll give her a real thrill! It makes a very thoughtful gift.

Hudson (with astonishment): You really enjoy your work, don’t you?
Lynde: I sure do. I wouldn’t want to do anything else. [pauses, then explains] I like people.

Note that, in addition to his early scene-stealing interaction with Hudson, Lynde’s character plays an unexpectedly important role in the film’s denouement as well.

Meanwhile, Randall proves why he was such an essential element in all three of the Day/Hudson films: his consistently maudlin reaction to Hudson’s morbid situation convincingly grounds the entire affair. The thinly-veiled “connection” between the two men (best friends, neighbors, and…? where IS Randall’s wife, anyway?) has been duly noted (indeed, it’s hard to miss); check out the infamous bed-sharing scene, for instance. Yet it’s all simultaneously so “innocent” — and Hudson’s adoration of his wife so clear — that audiences at the time were likely comfortable with the film as the heteronormative experience it was more broadly meant to be.

Redeeming Qualities and Moments:

  • Tony Randall as Arnold
  • Paul Lynde as Mr. Akins
  • Rock Hudson as George
  • Doris Day as Judy
  • Julius Epstein’s marvelous script
  • Frank De Vol’s hilariously melodramatic film score

Must See?
Yes, as a most enjoyable comedy featuring fine performances throughout.

Categories

  • Good Show

Links:

Dark End of the Street, The (1981)

Dark End of the Street, The (1981)

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“Something bad happens, it’s gotta be someone’s fault.”

Synopsis:
When a white teenager (Laura Harrington) and her boyfriend (Henry Tomaszewski) witness the accidental death of a black friend (Terence Grey) and are afraid to report it, another black teenager (Albert Eaton) — the brother of Harrington’s best friend (Michele Greene) — is falsely accused of foul play.

Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:

  • Falsely Accused
  • Race Relations

Review:
This obscure indie film by writer-director Jan Egleson (whose career turned largely to television after the release of this movie) is exactly the kind of title I’m grateful to Peary for including in his book, given that I’d never in a million years know to seek it out otherwise. The second in an intended trilogy about the lives of teenagers in Boston (after 1979’s Billy in the Lowlands, starring Tomaszewski as the same character), it tells the tale of a fateful night in the lives of a group of black and white teens in a low-income Boston neighborhood, and unfolds from there in a refreshingly uncontrived fashion. The remainder of the loosely structured storyline primarily follows the central protagonist (Harrington) as she grapples with the decision she and her boyfriend have made, and the challenging consequences it unleashes.

The performances throughout (by a largely little-known cast) are convincingly natural — we really believe in these characters and the lives they lead. The biggest name in the bunch is character actor Lance Henriksen, whose face you’ll likely recognize (he’s appeared in Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Prince of the City, The Right Stuff, and The Terminator, to name just a few Peary titles); his role here as the trucker boyfriend of Harrington’s mother’s (Pamela Payton-Wright) rings true all the way. In an obscure bit of trivia, this film is primarily “remembered” today (if at all) for “featuring” eight-year-old Ben Affleck in his movie debut. When I read this, I went back to try to find him, and spent a good 10 minutes or so scrolling back and forth between various scenes, without much luck. Finally, I found the following brief shot of him sitting on the sofa with his older sister:

So, for any curious fans, there you go.

Redeeming Qualities and Moments:

  • An authentic look at race relations and life in Boston in the early ’80s
  • Fine performances by a cast of little-known actors


  • Lance Henriksen as Jimmy
  • Confident direction by Jan Egleson

Must See?
No, but it’s certainly worth a look if you happen to locate a copy. Listed as a Personal Recommendation in the back of Peary’s book.

Links:

Radio Ranch (1935)

Radio Ranch (1935)

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“If we could capture Gene Autry, Radio Ranch would soon become deserted, and the entrance to our underground kingdom would remain forever undiscovered.”

Synopsis:
When singing cowboy Gene Autry is kidnapped by inhabitants of a uranium-rich kingdom in the middle of the earth, it’s up to two of his devoted young radio fans — Frankie (Frankie Darro) and Betsy (Betsy King Ross) — to rescue him.

Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:

  • Kidnapping
  • Musicals
  • Science Fiction
  • Westerns

Response to Peary’s Review:
As Peary notes, “lovers of ‘B’ westerns and sci-fi serials will get a kick out of this feature, which was condensed from the popular 12-part Mascot serial, The Phantom Empire” (now available in its original episodic form on DVD). Radio Ranch offers a truly heady mix of genres and elements (horses! songs! robots! revolutionaries! uranium thieves! an underground death chamber!), and seems squarely designed to appeal to adventure-seeking youngsters of the day. Playing himself, Gene Autry stars as “a radio singing star who discovers that crooks are trying to get uranium on his land”, and, “while running for his life… happens upon the cave entrance to a futuristic city… 20,000 feet below his Radio Ranch”, where he’s promptly captured and must be rescued by his brave young friends. As you’d expect, the acting is at the level of grammar school children putting on an after-school performance — and the costumes and sets aren’t much more sophisticated (the silly robot costumes were actually re-purposed in a Joan Crawford flick!). Meanwhile, the dialogue is about as basic as can be:

“Autry has escaped! You must find him at once and bring him to our rebel headquarters!”

It’s not exactly scintillating stuff — but it remains fascinating simply from a historical perspective.

Redeeming Qualities and Moments:

  • A representative look at 1930s serial films

Must See?
Yes, as a classic example of the serial “kiddie flick”. Check out Moria’s review for a nice overview of the genre. As a public domain title, Radio Ranch is available for free viewing on www.archive.org.

Categories

  • Historical Importance

Links:

Pillow Talk (1959)

Pillow Talk (1959)

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“Have you any idea what it’s like to be on a party line with a sex maniac?”

Synopsis:
When a frustrated interior designer (Doris Day) lashes out at the playboy composer (Rock Hudson) who’s been monopolizing their party line, Hudson retaliates by wooing her in the guise of Texas oilman “Rex Stetson” — much to the chagrin of her would-be suitor (Tony Randall), who also happens to be good friends with Hudson.

Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:

  • Doris Day Films
  • Love Triangle
  • Mistaken or Hidden Identities
  • Rock Hudson Films
  • Romantic Comedy
  • Thelma Ritter Films
  • Tony Randall Films

Response to Peary’s Review:
Peary labels this “Stanley Shapiro-scripted American sex comedy, co-written by Maurice Richlin, lavishly produced by Ross Hunter, and bringing together Doris Day and Rock Hudson ([in] his first comedy) for the first time” as “quintessential”. Yet he simultaneously refers to it as a “claustrophobic comedy… full of unfunny sexual innuendo” which “has a smutty feel to it”. He argues that the “film seems to imply that because [Day] has a job rather than a love/sex life, she feels much anger and hostility”; at the same time, however, he concedes that Day’s character is actually quite laudable and progressive, given that “she seems more determined to maintain personal integrity than her virginity; [she believes] having a boyfriend is more important than having a husband; she is as successful at work as Hudson is; [and] she does not take being treated badly lying down — she has claws”.

I’m not quite sure I agree with Peary’s cynical take on this one. Surprisingly, I didn’t find it “smutty”; instead, I simply enjoyed the calculated sexual banter liberally sprinkled throughout the screenplay:

Day: “I have no bedroom problems; there’s nothing in my bedroom that bothers me.”
Hudson: “Oh, that’s too bad…”

Yes, Day and Hudson go at it like the inevitable to-be-couple they’re posited as from the beginning — but them’s the rules of this particular genre. And it’s exactly Day’s strength and feistiness as a female protagonist (outlined by Peary himself) that prevent the film from descending into ho-hum mid-century mores. Meanwhile, though one really should detest Hudson’s character on some level (given that the charade he’s carrying out it with Day is questionable at best, and mean-spirited at worst), somehow his character remains oddly likeable throughout. I’ll bet this is due in large part to the fun Day and Hudson admitted to having with each other on set; their (asexual) attraction to one another is in clear evidence.

Redeeming Qualities and Moments:

  • Doris Day as Jan Morrow
  • Rock Hudson as Brad Allen/”Rex Stetson”
  • Tony Randall as Jonathan Forbes
  • Thelma Ritter as Day’s tippling housemaid
  • Fun use of split-screen filming


  • A fine, witty, Oscar-nominated screenplay by Stanley Shapiro and Maurice Richlin:

    “There are plenty of warm rolls in the bakery; stop pressing your nose against the window.”

Must See?
Yes, as a classic mid-century romantic comedy.

Categories

  • Genuine Classic

Links:

Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (1954)

Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (1954)

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“You’re beating your head against a stone wall, Milly: You’ll never make jack-a-dandies out of them!”

Synopsis:
In 1850s Oregon, a woodsman (Howard Keel) comes to town to find a wife (Jane Powell), who he brings back to the cabin he shares with his six rough-and-tumble brothers (Jeff Richards, Russ Tamblyn, Tommy Rall, Marc Platt, Matt Mattox, and Jacques d’Ambois). Soon the brothers decide they want to be married, too, and take extreme measures to achieve this goal.

Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:

  • Battle-of-the-Sexes
  • Howard Keel Films
  • Jane Powell Films
  • Kidnapping
  • Musicals
  • Russ Tamblyn Films
  • Stanley Donen Films

Response to Peary’s Review:
When I first saw this “joyful, colorful” Technicolor musical as a teenage film fanatic, I recall finding its very premise (in which “lovesick brothers kidnap the town girls they desire and bring them home”) so distasteful that I failed to see how it could have any kind of a fan-base at all. Therefore, upon a recent revisit, I was pleasantly surprised to find myself largely in agreement with Peary’s positive review, in which he refers to it as “a lot of fun”, calling it a “rare musical that even young boys will love”, given that “Keel is handsome and masculine enough to get away with love songs” and “the dancers are extremely athletic”. He points out that the “score by Johnny Mercer and Gene DePaul has some excellent, catchy songs”, and accurately notes that “the Michael Kidd-choreographed dances” — performed by a team of “marvelous dancers” (many professionals) — are “terrific”, calling out “the exuberant, spectacular ‘barn-raising’ number” as the film’s definitive “show-stopper”.

Rewatching the film recently, I was gratified to find that the seemingly distasteful storyline — “based on Stephen Vincent Benet’s ‘The Sobbin’ Women'”, which in turn “was inspired by Plutarch’s ‘The Rape of the Sabine Women'” — actually possesses a relatively strong feminist strain. Spunky Powell’s foolhardy willingness to marry Keel the day she meets him (and to wax rhapsodic in song about her desire to cook and clean for him) is tempered by her savvy calculation that this is likely her best possible option in life; it’s certainly better than the thankless work as a servant-for-hire she’s been doing until then. Of course, she didn’t bargain on Keel having six lunk-headed brothers who she’d also be expected to cook and clean for — but she quickly asserts her dominance in their household, “playing Snow White” as she attempts “to turn the ruffians into gentlemen”. And, once the film’s infamous kidnapping occurs, she retains her authority, dictating at every moment exactly what will happen next. She’s a refreshingly strong “Western” woman, and this remains one of Powell’s best roles.

Interestingly, Jonathan Rosenbaum — in his review of the film for 1,001 Movies You Must See (2003) — refers to it as “a profoundly sexist” (albeit “eminently hummable”) movie, one which provides a “fascinating glimpse at the kind of patriarchal rape fantasies that were considered good-natured and even ‘cute’ at the time”, with a bevy of tunes that “accurately pinpoint the movie’s sexual politics” (such as “Bless Your Beautiful Hide” and “I’m a Lonesome Polecat”). His take is exactly how I felt as a much younger film fanatic; but at this point, I’m willing to simply place the film within its historical context, and recognize that for women at that time and in that geographical situation, finding a suitable husband really was likely the cleanest path to security and happiness. Regardless, I’m now able to appreciate Seven Brides… for its merits — vibrant widescreen Technicolor cinematography, “hummable” tunes, and truly fantastic dancing — rather than its questionable premise.

Redeeming Qualities and Moments:

  • Jane Powell as Milly
  • Many fine dancing sequences

  • Vivid cinematography

Must See?
Yes, as a classic Hollywood musical. Nominated by Peary as one of the Best Pictures of the Year in his Alternate Oscars.

Categories

  • Important Director
  • Oscar Winner or Nominee

(Listed in 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die)

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