Escape (1940)

Escape (1940)

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“My mother — what’s she got to do with death? She’s life!”

Synopsis:
The son (Robert Taylor) of a famous actress (Nazimova) who has gone missing after selling her late husband’s estate in Germany attempts to track her down, but finds all citizens fearful and evasive about her fate in a concentration camp. Will Taylor be able to count on either the support of an American-born, widowed countess-turned-headmistress (Norma Shearer) whose lover (Conrad Veidt) is a general in the Nazi army, or a kind-hearted doctor (Philip Dorn) with a lifelong admiration for Nazimova?

Genres:

  • Actors and Actresses
  • Bonita Granville Films
  • Conrad Veidt Films
  • Mervyn LeRoy Films
  • Nazis
  • Norma Shearer Films
  • Robert Taylor Films
  • Search

Review:
This early anti-Nazi film by MGM Studios was banned by Hitler — no surprise, given that it pulls absolutely no punches about the dangers of Germany’s totalitarian government, which is shown as willing to mercilessly execute a beloved actress for attempting to legitimately take her own money out of the country. Shearer’s character feels a bit too deliberately crafted as a beautiful American with torn loyalties, but Dutch-born Dorn (who fled Nazi-occupied Europe to continue his career) is excellent as a doctor who shows increasing bravery over the course of the story. We’re kept on our toes about how things will work out, and a very real air of death looms over the entire affair, making it a worthy entry in early cinematic outings about the Nazi threat to humanity.

Redeeming Qualities and Moments:

  • Philip Dorn as Dr. Ditten
  • Robert Planck’s cinematography

Must See?
No, but it’s worth seeking out by fans of films from this unique era.

Links:

Winning Team, The (1952)

Winning Team, The (1952)

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“It isn’t enough that I believe in him — baseball’s got to believe in him, too.”

Synopsis:
Farmer-turned-pitcher Grover Cleveland Alexander (Ronald Reagan) finds support from his loving wife (Doris Day) while pursuing a career in major league baseball — but after being hit in the head, his vision and stability are never quite the same. Will Alexander be able to make a come-back?

Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:

  • Baseball
  • Biopics
  • Doris Day Films
  • Rise-and-Fall
  • Ronald Reagan Films

Review:
This unexceptional biopic about Baseball Hall-of-Famer Grover Cleveland Alexander is likely included in Peary’s GFTFF (1986) both because it starred then-president Ronald Reagan in one of his final roles before turning to politics, and because it centered on Peary’s favorite sport. Unfortunately, Alexander’s tragically complicated story — involving an early work-place accident, war-induced PTSD, alcoholism, and unacknowledged epilepsy — is framed as a dual tale of “never give up” can-do-ism and selfless marital support (together, Reagan and Day are a “winning team”).

Baseball fans will likely enjoy seeing numerous cameos by real-life stars — as well as footage from the 1926 World Series, featuring Babe Ruth — but others needn’t bother seeking this one out.

Redeeming Qualities and Moments:

  • Sidney Hickox’s cinematography

Must See?
No; you can skip this one.

Links:

Strawberry Blonde, The (1941)

Strawberry Blonde, The (1941)

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“I’d have quit long ago if that horse didn’t have such interesting teeth.”

Synopsis:
In 1890s New York, an aspiring dentist (Jimmy Cagney) falls instantly in love with a flirty blonde (Rita Hayworth), but accepts comfort and romance with Hayworth’s friend (Olivia de Havilland) instead when his buddy (Jack Carson) steals Hayworth from under his nose.

Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:

  • Alan Hale Films
  • Dentists
  • Flashback Films
  • Historical Drama
  • Jack Carson Films
  • Jimmy Cagney Films
  • Love Triangle
  • Olivia de Havilland Films
  • Raoul Walsh Films
  • Rita Hayworth Films
  • Romantic Comedy

Review:
Raoul Walsh directed this lighthearted romantic comedy about the vagaries of love and courtship, framed through a flashback story of a married dentist reminiscing about his infatuation with the local “strawberry blonde” beauty (Hayworth).

Since we know Cagney didn’t end up with Hayworth, the story of how and why his romantic intent failed — as well as the story behind his recent past as a “jailbird” — inform the twist-filled narrative, in which most people aren’t quite what they seem (some for the worse, some for the better). While she’s not the title character, Olivia de Havilland stands out as the most memorable and sassy female in the film, and is given numerous fun lines; she’s nicely filmed by James Wong Howe, who offers stand-out cinematography as usual. Cagney’s character is a bit of an enigma — given his lifelong dreams of dentistry, would he really accept a random job from Carson without hesitation? — but at least we see him evolving, and the overall moral of the story is a satisfying one.

Redeeming Qualities and Moments:

  • Olivia de Havilland as Amy
  • James Cagney as Biff
  • James Wong Howe’s cinematography

Must See?
No, though it’s a pleasant enough diversion if you’re in the mood for this type of flick.

Links:

Red Dust (1932)

Red Dust (1932)

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“Don’t mind me, boys — I’m just restless.”

Synopsis:
A prostitute (Jean Harlow) on the lam falls for the owner (Clark Gable) of a rubber plantation in Indochina, but Gable is primarily interested in the wife (Mary Astor) of a visiting engineer (Gene Raymond).

Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:

  • Clark Gable Films
  • Donald Crisp Films
  • Fugitives
  • Jean Harlow Films
  • Jungles
  • Love Triangle
  • Mary Astor Films
  • Prostitutes and Gigolos
  • Victor Fleming Films

Response to Peary’s Review:
Peary writes that this “hot-blooded jungle romance” by director Victor Fleming (remade as Mogambo by John Ford in 1953) “still has the sexual charge that caused it to break box-office records in the early thirties”. He points out that “unshaven Gable and braless blonde Harlow have immense sexual chemistry at all times — whether he’s standing next to her while she takes her famous nude bath in a barrel or she sits by him as he lies on a bed, reading to him a children’s bedtime story while he’s putting his hand on her knee.” The storyline is simple but powerful, showing Gable’s sway over “well-bred Astor” (who hates herself for cheating on her noble husband), as well as Harlow’s immense patience and world-weariness. She’s been through enough that a disappointment like Gable choosing Astor over her stings a bit, but she’ll survive intact, and never loses her self-possession or sense of innate dignity. It’s easy to imagine Joan Crawford in a role like this; indeed, Red Dust and Rain (1932) — another film about a fugitive prostitute on a rainy island — would make a potent double-bill.

Redeeming Qualities and Moments:

  • Jean Harlow as Vantine
  • Harold Rossen and Arthur Edeson’s cinematography

  • A smart and sassy screenplay:

    “If it was the summer of 1894, I’d play games with you, sister. But life is much simpler now.”

Must See?
Yes, as a pre-Code classic. Selected in 2006 for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant”.

Categories

  • Genuine Classic

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Anna and the King of Siam (1946)

Anna and the King of Siam (1946)

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“Women do not exist in Siam — they simply do not exist.”

Synopsis:
A widowed schoolteacher (Irene Dunne) arrives in Siam with her son (Richard Lyon) prepared to teach the many wives and children of King Mongkut (Rex Harrison) — including the son (Tito Renaldo) of Mongkut’s first wife (Gale Sondergaard). She’s quickly taught by Mongkut’s right-hand-man (Lee J. Cobb) about his many quirks and sexist beliefs, but pushes back when Mongkut refuses to give her the house he promised. When Anna witnesses Mongkut’s “number one wife” (Linda Darnell) being mistreated, she feels she’s had enough — but can she be convinced to stay?

Genres:

  • Feminism and Women’s Issues
  • Historical Drama
  • Irene Dunne Films
  • John Cromwell Films
  • Lee J. Cobb Films
  • Linda Darnell Films
  • Rex Harrison Films
  • Royalty and Nobility
  • Teachers

Review:
This first cinematic adaptation (by director John Cromwell) of Margaret Langdon’s biographical novel about Anna Leonowens is a worthy predecessor to its more famous musical remake, The King and I (1956). Dunne matches Deborah Kerr in both intensity and believability as a bold widow who stands up to toxic patriarchy and corruption in a foreign country while remaining sympathetic to the conflicted goals of its intelligent but brutal leader. Refreshingly, there is no hint of romantic interest between Dunne and Harrison; their relationship is one of begrudging mutual respect (and, for Dunne, eventually deep commitment). Of note are both Arthur Miller’s cinematography and Bernard Herrmann’s score, adding to the quality of this slightly over-long but engaging feminist tale.

Redeeming Qualities and Moments:

  • Irene Dunne as Anna (nominated as one of the Best Actresses of the Year in Peary’s Alternate Oscars)
  • Rex Harrison as the King (nominated as one of the Best Actors of the Year in Alternate Oscars)
  • Arthur C. Miller’s cinematography
  • Bernard Herrmann’s score (check out the horror-flick ambience as Anna is leaving the king’s palace at night and hears a baby crying on her way home)

Must See?
No, but it’s certainly recommended for one-time viewing.

Links:

Belles of St. Trinian’s, The (1954)

Belles of St. Trinian’s, The (1954)

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“This school has practically reduced me to a nervous wreck!”

Synopsis:
An undercover detective (Joyce Grenfell) is sent to investigate the situation at an anarchic boarding school for girls, whose cash-strapped headmistress (Alastair Sim) is betting money on an Arabian racehorse to save her institution. Meanwhile, Sim’s brother (also Alastair Sim) brings his rebellious daughter (Vivienne Martin) back to the school in order to learn more information about the racehorse, which is owned by the recently arrived daughter (Lorna Henderson) of a sultan (Eric Pohlmann).

Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:

  • Alastair Sim Films
  • Boarding School
  • Comedy
  • Gambling
  • Get Rich Quick

Review:
Based on a popular comic strip series by British satirist Ronald Searle, this first of four films in the popular “St. Trinian’s” series takes place at a boarding school where wild-haired girls run rampant while their vampy teachers smoke cigarettes and schmooze. It will primarily appeal either to those familiar with the strip or fans of Sim, who is in fine comedic mettle here playing dual roles as siblings (though he spends most of his time in drag as Millicent). He’s nicely matched by Grenfell as a determined detective who resorts to ultra-creative evidence gathering in the film’s final moments. Director Frank Launder co-wrote the screenplay with Sidney Gilliat, with whom he had previously scripted The Lady Vanishes (1938) and Night Train to Munich (1940); fans of those earlier classics should be forewarned that this flick is much more broadly slapstick, relying heavily on caricatures and the ridiculousness of a kidnapped horse.

Redeeming Qualities and Moments:

  • Joyce Grenfell as Sgt. Ruby Gates

Must See?
No; this one will likely only appeal to fans of Sim or Searle’s work.

Links:

What Price Hollywood? (1932)

What Price Hollywood? (1932)

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“We don’t live in the same world!”

Synopsis:
A waitress (Constance Bennett) hoping to make it big in Hollywood convinces an alcoholic director (Lowell Sherman) to take a chance on her, and soon her star is on the rise — but her new husband (Neil Hamilton) quickly tires of her hectic schedule, and gossip emerges around her enduring loyalty to Sherman no matter how low he falls.

Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:

  • Actors and Actresses
  • Alcoholism and Drug Addiction
  • Aspiring Stars
  • Constance Bennett Films
  • George Cukor Films
  • Hollywood

Response to Peary’s Review:
Peary writes that in “George Cukor’s classic” — precursor to A Star is Born (1937) and the musical remake Cukor himself directed in 1954 — “Constance Bennett is extremely appealing as Mary Evans, a spunky Brown Derby waitress” who remains “forever grateful” to the man (Sherman) who gives her a break in Hollywood, becoming “the only person who remains loyal once alcoholism ruins his career”. Peary points out that the “sharply written” script by “Jane Murfin, Ben Markson, Gene Fowler, and Rowland Brown” — who “adapted a story by Adela Rogers St. John” — is “more cynical [about Hollywood] than vicious: careers are shown to be fragile and personal lives are easily shattered, but at least the souls of good people are not destroyed.” Unfortunately, the “film wavers between being highly original and very conventional” — including “everything involving Hamilton”. Indeed, Mary’s marriage to Lonny (Hamilton) is particularly poorly handled; their “meet cute” is annoyingly protracted, placing both of them in a bad light and setting us up not to like either of them as a marriage partner. As Peary notes, “the best part of the film is the core relationship between Bennett, whose star is on the rise, and Sherman, whose career is in a drunken tailspin”; his final scene is a doozy indeed.

Redeeming Qualities and Moments:

  • Constance Bennett as Mary Evans
  • Lowell Sherman as Max
  • Fine cinematography
  • The impressively edited final sequence with Sherman

Must See?
No, though I’m tempted to say it’s a once-must for its strengths as well as its historical relevance.

Links:

Scarface, The Shame of the Nation (1932)

Scarface, The Shame of the Nation (1932)

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“Colorful?! What color is a crawling louse?”

Synopsis:
A ruthless aspiring ganglord (Paul Muni) zealously protects his young sister (Ann Dvorak) from suitors while wooing the sultry mistress (Karen Morley) of his boss (Osgood Perkins); meanwhile, with help from his loyal henchman (George Raft), he wreaks murderous havoc on rival gangsters while attempting to take over new territory in Chicago.

Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:

  • Ann Dvorak Films
  • Boris Karloff Films
  • Gangsters
  • George Raft Films
  • Howard Hawks Films
  • Karen Morley Films
  • Paul Muni Films

Response to Peary’s Review:
Peary begins his review of Scarface by noting that this “best of the early gangster films was completed by Howard Hawks in 1930 but was held up by censors until several changes were made”, in order for “the public to understand that the motion-picture industry was also infuriated by crime.” However, as Peary points out, this film hardly glamorizes gangster life, given that “Paul Muni’s Tony Camonte, who, like many movie gangsters, was based in part on Al Capone, is a stupid, loutish, ugly brute — his scar is his best facial feature since he’s made up to resemble an apeman (he’s like Fredric March’s Mr. Hyde minus the fangs).”

He adds that “screenwriter Ben Hecht based his crime family on the Borgias, so he had a model for the corruption, cruelty, power-lust and decadence that exists” — including “an incest theme” but minus any parental influence; Tony’s father is non-existent and his mother (Inez Palange) is completely ineffectual. Peary correctly notes that “no one who sees this film would want to emulate the lives of these criminals” — but with that said, the “film has exciting, atmospheric cinematography by Lee Garmes; taut, inspired direction by Hawks; and a powerful script by Hecht (with additional dialogue credit going to John Lee Mahin, Seton I. Miller, and W.R. Burnett).”

In GFTFF, Peary outlines several of the film’s highlights, including “the opening, in which the camera pans for several minutes across an emptying party room and ends up showing the first victim being murdered”; and “gangster Boris Karloff being shot just as he bowls — the camera follows the ball down the lane, where it knocks over all the pins, including the king pin, which spins for a while and topples over.” In Alternate Oscars — where he names this the Best Film of the Year — Peary writes that “for real, reel-to-reel excitement, no film filled the bill better than” Scarface, “the best and most ferocious of the gangster cycle.” He notes that “the gangster world Hawks presents is unsavory, sordid, and not enticing” — though “males might be drawn to the beautiful, trampy women played by Ann Dvorak and Karen Morley (two of the great unsung actresses of the period).” (Indeed, Dvorak “almost steals the film”.) Peary adds that “the gangsters themselves are childlike, ignorant brutes who could stand no other company but their own and play dangerously stupid games… We don’t want to be like them and we don’t want to walk the streets when they’re around.”

In GFTFF, Peary writes that Muni “gives one of his finest performances — it is his one character for whom you can feel no sympathy”, and he awards Muni Best Actor of the Year in Alternate Oscars, noting that “Muni plays his character as if he were a cocky punk teenager. Unsophisticated and immature (like all other gangsters), he’s self-impressed, overrates his intelligence (he is proud to use the word disillusioned), boasts nonstop, acts tough, doesn’t listen to his mother…, and is always looking for a good time.” He considers machine guns “toys”, women “meat”, and “likes anything that is ‘hot’.” While he “is usually having a good time” — at which moments “we fear his recklessness” — he “suddenly shifts from being carefree to being serious” and is “downright creepy.” As “Muni’s eyes, face, and tone of voice quickly change”, we “realize what a frightening, depraved individual Tony is.” I find Muni’s performance a tad overdone, but would agree he’s fully invested in his role and quite memorable — as is the entire atmospherically filmed narrative, which is well worth a look by all film fanatics.

Redeeming Qualities and Moments:

  • Strong performances throughout

  • Lee Garmes’ cinematography


  • Ben Hecht’s script

Must See?
Yes, as an early gangster classic.

Categories

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

Links:

Shampoo (1975)

Shampoo (1975)

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“Women can get to be an occupational hazard.”

Synopsis:
A hairdresser (Warren Beatty) lies to and cheats on his steady girlfriend (Goldie Hawn) while bedding the wife (Lee Grant), daughter (Carrie Fisher), and mistress (Julie Christie) of the man (Jack Warden) he’s hoping to secure funding from to open his own salon.

Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:

  • Goldie Hawn Films
  • Hal Ashby Films
  • Julie Christie Films
  • Lee Grant Films
  • Love Triangle
  • Warren Beatty Films
  • Womanizers

Review:
Warren Beatty and Robert Towne co-wrote this satire (directed by Hal Ashby) about the vacuous lives of various Hollywood denizens, both rich and aspiring-rich, who mostly want sexual satisfaction and financial freedom but occasionally (like Hawn) show leanings towards something a little more wholesome — say, kids. It’s a depressing yet amusing farce, set during Nixon’s triumphant election over Humphrey in 1968, presumably to show that self-absorbed individuals may merit leadership by equally self-absorbed politicians. However, the primary focus is on George (Beatty) as he zips around L.A. (helmetless) on his Triumph motorcycle:

doing women’s hair while hopping from one bed to the next. Beatty plays on his own public image as a sexual Lothario, ultimately coming across as hedonistically distracted at the cost of any other considerations (including loyalty, honesty, or the chance to open his own business). The most charitable character by far is Hawn, who thankfully has other options available to her.

Redeeming Qualities and Moments:

  • Warren Beatty as George
  • Laszlo Kovacs’ cinematography

Must See?
No, but it’s worth a one-time look.

Links:

Black Sabbath (1964)

Black Sabbath (1964)

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“There’s no fooling around with ghosts, because they take revenge!”

Synopsis:
Boris Karloff introduces a trio of horror stories about a woman (Michele Mercier) seeking solace from an estranged friend (Lydia Alfonsi) while she’s menaced by an ex-lover threatening to kill her; a patriarch (Boris Karloff) returning to his family home and bringing a dreaded curse with him; and a nurse (Jacqueline Pierreux) who foolishly steals a special ring from a corpse.

Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:

  • Boris Karloff Films
  • Episodic Films
  • Horror Films
  • Mario Bava Films
  • Vampires

Review:
Mario Bava’s seventh credited directorial effort was this omnibus of horror shorts, retitled from “The Three Faces of Fear” for American audiences to bank on his beloved debut film Black Sunday (1960). Black Sabbath (yes, the band took direct naming inspiration from this movie) offers plenty of spooky, atmospheric visuals tied to simple yet tight storylines that serve their purpose — but it’s the visuals that really linger. DVD Savant, a huge Bava fan, describes the unique quality of Bava’s lighting style:

It’s difficult to properly express the ‘special’ quality of Mario Bava’s artistic lighting… Favoring bright primary hues, sets are bathed in washes of color that can only be called hallucinatory. Electric greens and crimson reds, steely blues and deep purples give the screen depth and character. The heroines are bathed in warm golds and lit in non-traditional ways that make them look lusciously alive (Mercier) or nervously cold (Pierreux)… The fact that Bava’s lighting makes frequent use of unmotivated, un-sourced colored lights only adds to the feeling of fantasy. Images disturb precisely because their lighting is so ‘impossible’.

Film fanatics should enjoy checking out this cult favorite, though it’s only must-see for Bava fans.

Redeeming Qualities and Moments:

  • Highly atmospheric cinematography and sets


Must See?
No, but it’s worth a look as a solid set of short films by a master director.

Links: