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Synopsis:
In Depression-era New Jersey, a meek housewife (Mia Farrow) with an abusive husband (Danny Aiello) seeks solace in the local movie theater, where one of the characters on-screen (Jeff Daniels) falls in love with her and jumps out into the real world to be with her.

Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:

• Actors and Actresses
• Depression Era
• Fantasy
• Love Triangle
• Marital Problems
• Mia Farrow Films
• Movie Buffs
• Romantic Comedy
• Woody Allen Films

Response to Peary’s Review:
Peary’s entire review of The Purple Rose of Cairo contains spoilers of a sort (as does just about every other review I’ve seen online) — so neophyte viewers should be forewarned. If you’ve never seen this film, and wish for it to remain entirely fresh, stop reading anything about it, go watch it, then return here when you’ve finished — at which point I’ll spoil away, along with Peary.

SPOILER ALERT FINISHED

Peary notes that “perhaps Woody Allen decided not to be in his sourest comedy because as director-writer he plays such dirty tricks on all his characters”, given that “nobody ends up happier than when we first see them”. That’s actually not entirely true, but his point is that TPROC doesn’t have a traditional happy ending (though Allen himself, who refused to change the ending despite studio pressures, insists it is a “happy ending”). Peary laments the fact that Farrow’s “lonely, miserable soul” — with a “rough, cheating, good-for-nothing husband” — is “for the first time [given] a chance to escape her sad existence”, yet ultimately isn’t “allowed” to (by Allen, who apparently decided “that her escape into a fantasy world would be unrealistic“). Peary argues that perhaps Allen is “trying to tell us that those unhappy people who use movies to escape from their problems are only deceiving themselves” — a decidedly “gloomy theme, because someone like Farrow has no other way to soothe her sorrow”.

Peary does concede, however, that “on the other hand, Allen’s film may also be a tribute to the cinema for having the power to help one escape” — and this is certainly the overriding feeling one leaves with by the (admittedly depressing) ending. Peary notes that Allen references “Pirandello and Buster Keaton’s Sherlock, Jr.” in his decision to have a movie character (“Tom Baxter”) “walk off the screen and strike up a romance with Farrow”, and it’s important for film fanatics to be aware that the basic premise of TPROC didn’t originate with Allen. (Go check out Sherlock, Jr. immediately if you haven’t done so already.) But Allen goes even further than Keaton in his envisioning of how such a fantastical scenario might play out, with the remaining characters on-screen — decidedly put-out by having their familiar narrative interrupted (by a “minor character”, no less) — ultimately simply sitting around impatiently waiting for “Baxter” to return. Meanwhile, the actor playing Baxter (Daniels) worries simply about how “Baxter”‘s actions might affect his nascent career, and studio heads fear legal recriminations.

Though Peary argues that “Allen doesn’t handle the actor-out-of-the-screen premise as inventively as one would hope”, I disagree — I find the entire screenplay cleverly conceived and handled, with seamless special effects (helped by Gordon Willis’s masterful cinematography) allowing us to believe that the b&w characters up on-screen really do possess a life of their own (albeit one realistically limited by the constraints of the script’s trajectory). Meanwhile, fine performances by Farrow and Daniels ground the entire film, making us root for these characters in their unlikely predicament. Allen keeps us in suspense until the very end, wondering how things will ultimately turn out — and while you may or may not agree with his final choice, it at least makes “logical” sense.

Redeeming Qualities and Moments:

• Mia Farrow as Cecilia (nominated by Peary as one of the Best Actresses of the Year in his Alternate Oscars)
  
• Jeff Daniels as Tom Baxter/Gil Shepherd
  
• Fun and creative special effects
  
• Gordon Willis’s cinematography
  

Must See?
Yes, as a creative and enchanting (if ultimately depressing) romantic fantasy.

Categories

• Genuine Classic
• Important Director

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

Links:

• IMDb entry
• NY Times Original Review
• Digitally Obsessed Review
• Jigsaw Lounge Review
• TCM’s Article
• Moria Review

Synopsis:
A white man (Paul Newman) raised by Apaches rides on a stagecoach hired by a wealthy man (Fredric March) and his wife (Barbara Rush). When the stagecoach is overtaken by bandits (led by Richard Boone), the other passengers — including a boarding-house manager (Diane Cilento), a young man (Peter Lazer), and Lazer’s wife (Margaret Blye) — turn to Newman for help.

Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:

• Barbara Rush Films
• Fredric March Films
• Native Americans
• Outlaws
• Paul Newman Films
• Race Relations
• Westerns

Review:
As a solid western featuring a stalwart leading performance by Newman, Martin Ritt’s Hombre — listed in 1,001 Movies You Must See Before You Die — remains an odd omission from Peary’s book. Based on a novel by Elmore Leonard, it tells a simple yet powerful tale of race relations under pressure, with Newman’s Apache-like white man retaining the essence of the culture he’s chosen to adopt and maintain, even once he cuts his hair and returns to “civilization”. We first see evidence of his deep convictions when he meets with the woman (Cilento) running the boarding house he’s inherited; he displays absolutely no interest in listening to her proposed compromise to keep the house going. The screenplay shifts slightly at this point to Cilento’s dilemma: as a working woman in the Old West, she knows that her options are limited, and when her proposal to marry her long-time lover — the town’s sheriff (John Cameron) — is likewise turned down, she recognizes that she must move on.

From there, we learn that a wealthy, arrogant couple (Rush and March) are willing to pay any price necessary to hire a stagecoach to get them out of town, and soon find out exactly why they’re in such a hurry. Two characters we’ve met so far turn out to have alter egos and/or hidden agendas (I won’t spoil anything here), and the remaining characters quickly find their lives in peril, as they face a shoot-off between themselves and the bandits, with water supplies dwindling rapidly. The screenplay retains tension until the very end through the question of whether Newman’s character will abandon his “selfish”, loyalty-free stance and continue to help his fellow passengers survive, or leave them to their own devices. In addition to Newman’s memorable performance, the entire supporting cast is in fine form — particularly Cilento (as a refreshingly no-nonsense female presence), Boone (a truly menacing baddie), and Rush (whose haughty composure gradually melts in the face of adversity).

Redeeming Qualities and Moments:

• Paul Newman as Hombre/John Russell
  
• Diane Cilento as Jessie
  
• Richard Boone as Cicero Grimes
  
• Barbara Rush as Audra Favor
  
• Fine location shooting (in Death Valley) by James Wong Howe

Must See?
Yes, as a solid western featuring a host of fine performances.

Categories

• Good Show
• Noteworthy Performance(s)

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

Links:

• IMDb entry
• NY Times Original Review
• Roger Ebert’s Review
• Time Out Capsule Review (spoiler alerts)

Synopsis:
A young housemaid (Ingrid Bergman) determined to become a missionary in China saves up enough money to travel there from Britain, and finds work helping an older missionary (Athene Seyler) run an inn. Soon she finds herself a respected member of a local community led by an aging mandarin (Robert Donat), and falls in love with a half-Chinese captain (Curd Jurgens), who warns Donat and Bergman of an impending invasion by Japan.

Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:

• Biopics
• China
• Curt Jurgens Films
• Ingrid Bergman Films
• Mark Robson Films
• Missionaries and Revivalists
• Orphans
• Robert Donat Films
• Strong Females

Review:
Based upon the real-life adventures of missionary Gladys Aylward, this lushly photographed biopic (directed by Mark Robson) notoriously took some liberties with Aylward’s life, to the point where Aylward herself renounced the film. She was most upset about the inclusion of a romantic subplot, given that she claims never to have even kissed a man; see Wikipedia’s article for more specific complaints. Regardless, Inn… remains an entertaining film about a fascinating personality, played to perfection by Bergman (who looks nothing like Aylward; naturally, Aylward complained about this, too). Bergman/Aylward’s utter conviction that she belongs in China rather than England gives one renewed faith in the notion that we all may have a specific path to follow, if we’re willing to listen to our hearts and follow our passions. Aylward never questions the challenges she faces, instead simply accepting them as part of the life journey she’s meant to undertake; for instance, she adopts numerous orphans throughout the course of the film, never doubting whether she has the ability or the resources to care for them — they simply become a part of her ever-expanding household.

The culminating sequence — chronicling Aylward’s harrowing cross-country journey to bring 100+ orphans to safety in the midst of a Japanese invasion — is likely what most viewers will remember years after viewing this film; it remains a gripping adventure, especially knowing that it really occurred. Much less involving is Bergman’s romance with Jurgens, which comes across as strictly Hollywood, and should likely have been cut altogether (the film runs too long as it is); Aylward’s complaint was accurate in this case. However, Bergman’s relationship with Donat’s aging mandarin remains of interest, as we view his growing respect for the vital qualities she brings to his village — most specifically her ability to convince villagers to finally give up the barbaric practice of foot-binding. Her final scene with Donat (who died during the film’s screening) is genuinely touching, and will surely bring a lump to any ff’s throat.

Redeeming Qualities and Moments:

• Ingrid Bergman as Gladys Aylward (nominated by Peary as one of the Best Actresses of the Year in his Alternate Oscars)
  
• Fine cinematography by Freddie Young
  
• The harrowing final escape sequence
  

Must See?
No, though it’s definitely worth a one-time look. Listed as a Personal Recommendation in the back of Peary’s book.

Links:

• IMDb entry
• NY Times Original Review
• DVD Savant Review
• Time Out Capsule Review

Synopsis:
A callow cowboy (John Travolta) transplanted to Houston marries a feisty young woman (Debra Winger) he meets in a bar, but their marriage is quickly beset by jealousy and infidelity.

Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:

• Cowboys
• Debra Winger Films
• James Bridges Films
• John Travolta Films
• Marital Problems
• Masculinity
• Scott Glenn Films

Review:
After achieving phenomenal fame in both Saturday Night Fever (1977) and Grease (1978) — and then enduring ridicule for his role as Lily Tomlin’s lover, “Strip”, in Moment by Moment (1978) — John Travolta starred in this film about a headstrong young country boy whose adventures in the Big City (Houston) include both a tempestuously whirlwind marriage and a nascent obsession with riding mechanical bulls. Indeed, the newly popular sport of mechanical bull-riding — shown on-screen here so many times you’ll likely be yawning by the end — becomes a central element of the storyline, overtly representing Travolta’s quest to prove his manhood to his new wife, especially when faced with stiff competition in the form of ex-convict (and master rider) Scott Glenn.

Unfortunately, the screenplay (co-written by director James Bridges and Aaron Latham, based on Latham’s own story) disappoints in its presentation of marital challenges and machismo run amok. Travolta and Winger’s marriage, while perhaps sadly realistic, is based on nothing more than chemistry and a desire to play at housekeeping, with little real understanding of what such a commitment will entail.

It’s not at all surprising, then, when their romance quickly falls apart, especially given Travolta’s intermittently abusive treatment of Winger. Glenn’s villainous bull-rider is menacing but one-note, and Travolta’s new lover — a beautiful, slumming heiress (Madolyn Smith) with a “thing” for cowboys — simply strikes one as a caricature.

It’s Winger — nurtured by her mentor, Bridges — who gives the film’s most nuanced and noteworthy performance, and remains the primary reason to give this film a one-time look.

Note: For a much better variation on some of the same themes touched upon here, see Nicholas Ray’s The Lusty Men (1952).

Redeeming Qualities and Moments:

• Debra Winger as Sissy
  

Must See?
No, though it’s worth a look simply for Winger’s performance. Listed as a Personal Recommendation in the back of Peary’s book.

Links:

• IMDb entry
• NY Times Original Review
• Digitally Obsessed Review
• TCM Article
• Time Out Capsule Review