December 2012 – Page 2 – FilmFanatic.org

Story of Vernon and Irene Castle, The (1939)

December 4, 2012 admin Comments 1 comment

“Who’s gonna pay money to see a man dance with his wife?”

Synopsis:
Near the turn of the 20th century, married couple Vernon (Fred Astaire) and Irene (Ginger Rogers) Castle become a cultural phenomenon, known the world over for their elegant ballroom dancing — but with World War I on the horizon, their happiness is ultimately short-lived.

Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:

Biopic
Dancers
Fred Astaire Films
Ginger Rogers Films
Historical Drama
Musicals

Review:
This biopic of the world’s most famous married dancing couple seems like a no-brainer casting choice for long-time dancing “couple” Astaire and Rogers, who inhabit their based-on-real-life roles with grace and respect, remaining true to the dancing styles of the era while exhibiting their characteristic genius on the dance floor. It’s nice to see the duo in a non-combative onscreen collaboration (for the first time since their earliest films), and the Castles’ ongoing marital devotion is nicely portrayed. Knowing that Vernon Castle died in a plane crash during WWI adds a level of poignancy to the material, as one watches the events unfold with a sense of impending doom; to that end, the final half-hour — as we’re kept in suspense about exactly when and how Castle’s death will occur — eventually feels a bit drawn-out. But the “rise to fame” story that’s taken place until then is pleasantly handled, and will surely appeal to those curious about the phenomenal fame of the Castles.

Redeeming Qualities and Moments:

Astaire’s informal “soft shoe” while at the train station
Astaire and Rogers dancing the “Castle Walk”, among other popular dance
Clever use of special effects
A refreshing glimpse of Astaire and Rogers playing a loving married couple

Must See?
No, though it’s a lovely “finale” to Astaire and Rogers’ long-time RKO collaboration.

Links:

Don’t Bother to Knock (1952)

December 4, 2012 admin Comments 2 comments

“I should have known better — you’re not cured!”

Synopsis:
The elevator operator (Elisa Cook, Jr.) for a fancy hotel enlists his niece (Marilyn Monroe) to babysit for the daughter (Donna Corcoran) of a couple (Jim Backus and Lurene Tuttle) attending an awards event at the hotel. Soon Monroe begins flirting with an embittered guest (Richard Widmark) who is reeling from a recent breakup with his girlfriend (Anne Bancroft) — but their flirtation quickly turns dangerous as disturbed Monroe begins to believe Widmark is actually her deceased fiance.

Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:

Anne Bancroft Films
Governesses and Nannies
Marilyn Monroe Films
Mental Breakdown
Richard Widmark Films
Roy Ward Baker Films

Review:
Don’t Bother to Knock is best known for featuring young Marilyn Monroe in an uncharacteristically dark leading role, playing a nuanced character with more to her than mere sex appeal. To that end, her performance is impressive (we believe her pitiful “Nell” is psychotically disturbed), but the film as a whole suffers from a strange lack of authentic tension — perhaps because we never really sense a character played by MM could commit murder, or perhaps because Widmark’s character isn’t sufficiently developed. The claustrophobic events — all taking place in “real time” within the hotel — speed by at a fast-paced clip; ironically, however, this short-changes the pivotal “change-of-heart” supposedly experienced by Widmark’s character, whose real love interest (a young and beautiful Bancroft, singing several songs in her charismatic screen debut) has broken up with him because she claims he lacks sufficient empathy for others. With that said, Roy Ward Baker’s direction is solid, the economic script (just 76 minutes long) makes good use of the setting, and one does stay involved throughout.

Favorite (throwaway) exchange early in the film:

Widmark: You married?
Will Bouchey (as bartender): Sure. Who isn’t.
Widmark: You and your wife fight?
Bouchey: [beat, while he stirs a drink] Sometimes she sleeps.

Redeeming Qualities and Moments:

Marilyn Monroe as Nell Forbes
Anne Bancroft as Lyn Lesley
Some creative direction by Roy Ward Baker

Must See?
No, though it’s definitely worth a look simply to see Monroe (and Bancroft)’s impressive “early” performances.

Links:

Bells of St. Mary’s, The (1945)

December 4, 2012 admin Comments 1 comment

“It looks like St. Mary’s is in a bad way.”

Synopsis:
When sent to help manage the inner city school of St. Mary’s, Father O’Malley (Bing Crosby) clashes on certain issues with the school’s director, Sister Benedict (Ingrid Bergman). However, they both want the best for their students, and work hard to convince a stingy local businessman (Henry Travers) to donate his new building to the school.

Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:

Bing Crosby Films
Ingrid Bergman Films
Leo McCarey Films
Nuns
Priests and Ministers

Response to Peary’s Review:
Peary argues that while this “sentimental sequel” to Leo McCarey’s Going My Way (1944) “doesn’t reach the glorious heights of the original”, it “improves with repeated viewings and certainly deserves its status as a Christmas perennial.” He concedes that “the story is a bit flimsy, the con-man tactics of Crosby and Bergman are a bit disturbing, and there are a couple of ludicrous plot twists… that were designed solely to manipulate viewers into shedding tears” — but he posits that “the picture is ultimately heartwarming”, and that “the pairing of Crosby and Bergman works like a charm”.

The fact that this dated, overly sentimental film still remains of interest at all rests solely on the capable shoulders of Bergman, who, “more beautiful than ever — whether teaching a young boy to box or just reacting to good news from Crosby or Travers — is simply magnificent”. Her performance is head-and-shoulders above the material she’s given to work with, which unfortunately simply involves more of the cloying do-gooder vignettes evidenced in Going My Way. Here, Crosby and Bergman are committed (in different ways) to helping the teenage daughter (Joan Carroll) of a “single mother” (Martha Sleeper) whose musician-husband (William Gargan) walked out on them years earlier; will Crosby locate said “missing father”, and help facilitate an unrealistically happy reunion? What do you think? Meanwhile, the entire subplot revolving around Travers’ sudden change of heart simply defies belief. Regardless, film fanatics may want to check this one out once, simply for Bergman. She’s marvelous.

Redeeming Qualities and Moments:

Ingrid Bergman as Sister Benedict

Must See?
No, though it’s worth a look for Bergman’s performance.

Links:

Monkey Business (1952)

December 3, 2012 admin Comments 1 comment

“I’m beginning to wonder if ‘being young’ is all it’s cracked up to be.”

Synopsis:
A scientist (Cary Grant) experimenting with a potion to restore youth and vitality tries it on himself and is shocked to discover how effective it suddenly is — not realizing that one of his lab chimpanzees accidentally got into his supplies and tainted the water supply with the secretly powerful new brew. Meanwhile, Grant’s wife (Ginger Rogers) insists on trying the potion herself, while his boss (Charles Coburn) is desperate to determine exactly what is making the new mixture work so well.

Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:

Cary Grant Films
Charles Coburn Films
Comedy
Ginger Rogers Films
Howard Hawks Films
Hugh Marlowe Films
Marilyn Monroe Films
Scientists

Review:
With Howard Hawks at the helm, a script by Ben Hecht, Charles Lederer, and I.A.L. Diamond, and a cast including Cary Grant, Ginger Rogers, and Marilyn Monroe, one can’t help expecting more from this somewhat disappointing screwball farce. The premise is an overly simple one and doesn’t really go anywhere interesting, other than to reveal the subconscious marital tensions behind the oh-so-perfect façade of Grant and Rogers’ “ideal” 1950s marriage (he’s the genius, she lovingly supports him even when he’s infuriatingly distracted).

While Peary nominates both Grant and Rogers as Best Actor and Actress of the Year in his Alternate Oscars, I find their depictions as increasingly regressive adolescents silly rather than engaging. It is fun to see Monroe in an early sexpot role as Coburn’s secretary-in-name-only (she can’t even type):

Her freeway drive with Grant makes one wonder where their flirtation may go, but her character sadly fizzles into the background.

The best part of the film comes during its final half-hour, when true chaos has erupted and the pace picks up enough to carry us along in its true silliness.

Redeeming Qualities and Moments:

The absurdly slapstick final half-hour

Must See?
No; while many find it amusing, it’s ultimately not must-see. Listed as a Personal Recommendation in the back of Peary’s book.

Links:

Let’s Make Love (1960)

December 3, 2012 admin Comments 1 comment

“Oh, there’ll be children… Lots of children!”

Synopsis:
On the advice of a consultant (Tony Randall), billionaire Jean-Marc Clement (Yves Montand) attends a rehearsal of a musical show mocking his image, intending to shut it down — but he immediately becomes smitten with its star, sexy singer Amanda Dell (Marilyn Monroe), and decides instead to go along with her assumption that he’s a Clement-impersonator hoping for a bit part in the show.

Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:

Actors and Actresses
George Cukor Films
Love Triangle
Marilyn Monroe Films
Millionaires
Mistaken or Hidden Identities
Tony Randall Films
Yves Montand Films

Review:
Marilyn Monroe’s second-to-last feature — made between Some Like it Hot (1959) and The Misfits (1961) — shows clear evidence of her growing comfort with fully inhabiting a nuanced role. While she’s still indubitably a sex-symbol first and foremost (she wears some of her most revealing outfits throughout the film, including body stockings and leotards), she’s also very much playing a real person here — someone with genuine compassion for both her current boyfriend (a troubled singer played by Frankie Vaughan) and the man (Montand) she believes is an out-of-work actor needing pointers on how to break into show business. She’s neither dumb (she attends night school) nor a gold-digger — and while she might represent too much of an archetypal “mother figure” for modern feminist tastes, she’s someone we can’t help feeling empathy with throughout the storyline.

Meanwhile, Montand is surprisingly well-cast as a billionaire needing to be coached on his performance style (by Milton Berle, Bing Crosby, and Gene Kelly in brief cameos) in order to win Monroe’s heart. Despite his reputation as an unrepentant ladies’ man, one gets the genuine impression that he really does want to find someone who will love him for himself — thus turning him into somewhat of a blithering idiot when faced with the woman he hopes will become his life-partner. Indeed, we feel a surprising amount of compassion for him as he finds himself (nicely) rejected time and again, once he’s distanced from the comfortable trappings of his money and reputation. Meanwhile, he and Monroe possess a natural chemistry together that makes sense, given the real-life affair they embarked upon for a brief while.

With all that said, the film is certainly not without its flaws, and most critics view it as a decidedly lesser entry in both actors’ oeuvres. Randall’s character barely registers at all, while Monroe’s romance with Vaughan is given far too little depth to help us understand his character as anything other than the conveniently plot-driven “romantic rival” Montand must defeat. Meanwhile, the cameos by Berle et al. come across as somewhat contrived. However, the strength of the two lead performances — as well as some knock-out numbers performed by Monroe (most notably her pole-dance rendition to Cole Porter’s “My Heart Belongs to Daddy”), and a fine supporting performance by Wilfrid Hyde-White as Montand’s no-nonsense business front — make this one worth at least a one-time look.

Redeeming Qualities and Moments: