Storm Warning (1951)
“Without us, a girl like you wouldn’t be safe on the street at night.”
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Response to Peary’s Review: Redeeming Qualities and Moments:
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“Without us, a girl like you wouldn’t be safe on the street at night.”
Synopsis: |
Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:
Response to Peary’s Review: Redeeming Qualities and Moments:
Must See? Links: |
“Pick out anyone you like, someone out of a crowd: the more anonymous the better.”
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Response to Peary’s Review: Peary notes that “clumsy Richard keeps acting like a fool, but the spies think it’s just a clever cover.” I agree with Peary that it “contains some funny sight gags”, with the “biggest laugh com[ing] when Richard first sees [the] low, low, low-cut, backless gown Darc wears in the seduction scene.” Many reviewers seem to find this comedy overly “academic”, but contributors on IMDb are in agreement with me that it’s a genuinely amusing physical comedy. Check it out for yourself. Redeeming Qualities and Moments:
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“The destiny of an entire empire often hangs upon a single man.”
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Response to Peary’s Review: Apparently Gance was stymied in his original desire to depict the entire arc of Napoleon’s life, so the resulting “truncated” film simply shows one man’s rise to power without the inevitable balance of his fall. Nonetheless, this is actually oddly effective as a rhetorical technique; by the end of the film, as split-screen cinematography shows a close-up of Napoleon’s face surrounded on either side by triumphant battle scenes, we understand that this was a man who was all too human, but simultaneously larger than life. Redeeming Qualities and Moments:
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(Listed in 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die) |
“Can these be the guys I once thought I could never live without?”
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Response to Peary’s Review: Meanwhile, though Peary disses the “songs by Adolph Green and Betty Comden” as “Broadway rejects”, he does call out several “musical highlights”, including “the three vets dancing with trash-can lids”: … and “Kelly tapping on roller skates”. Peary ends his review by questioning why we’re never given a chance to see “Kelly and Charisse dance together”; point well-taken. He also notes that viewers, if possible, should “see [the film] in the theater because the directors made special use of Cinemascope, at times dividing the screen into thirds.” Redeeming Qualities and Moments: Must See? Links: |
“They’ve shifted the tilt of the earth. The stupid, crazy, irresponsible bastards — they’ve finally done it!”
“It is not easy to suppress yourself to become another.”
“It’s like half the time I don’t know why I’m doing things.”
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Response to Peary’s Review: While parts of the script are heavy-handed (for instance, Marcus and Estelle “remind” each other of their history with mind control while talking out loud — surely unnecessary for a couple living and working together for decades), I nonetheless got completely caught up in this story of “an elderly couple’s obsession for youth and excitement” and was reminded of Homebodies (1972) — another sleeper film about elderly folks who discover their darker nature when push comes to shove. As Peary writes, the “low budget hurts” but this “film has excitement, strong black humor, and strong and interesting directorial touches”; it “should be seen” — but not by “those out for a happy time”. Redeeming Qualities and Moments:
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“No matter how potent your weapons are, you’ll be defeated — because Infra-Man is invincible against them!”
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Response to Peary’s Review: Redeeming Qualities and Moments: Must See? Links: |
“I’ve got the power pasties, and I know how to use ’em!”
“The race is on — and we’d better win it!”