Browsed by
Month: February 2022

Caine Mutiny, the (1954)

Caine Mutiny, the (1954)

“A captain’s job is a lonely one; he’s easily misunderstood.”

Synopsis:
During World War II, a Naval minesweeper captain (Tom Tully) is replaced by a strict new captain (Humphrey Bogart) who quickly exhibits signs of extreme mental strain. When a lieutenant (Fred MacMurray) tries to warn his colleagues that Captain Queeg (Bogart) is paranoid, at first the ship’s executive officer (Van Johnson) doesn’t believe him — but soon Johnson and a new recruit (Robert Francis) are worried enough about Queeg’s competence that they take a drastic step.

Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:

  • At Sea
  • Courtroom Drama
  • Cowardice
  • Edward Dmytryk Films
  • E.G. Marshall Films
  • Fred MacMurray Films
  • Humphrey Bogart Films
  • Jose Ferrer Films
  • Lee Marvin Films
  • Mutiny
  • Ruthless Leaders
  • Sailors
  • Van Johnson Films

Response to Peary’s Review:
Peary isn’t a big fan of this adaptation of “Herman Wouk’s exciting novel” about a commander (Bogart) who had “been a hero, but too much combat has had an effect on his mind” and thus “he suffers from acute paranoia,” “drives the men too hard,” and “even conducts a full-scale investigation to determine who pilfered a quart of strawberries.”

Peary argues that the “picture seems more concerned not to hurt the image of the Navy than to condemn Queeg, or to probe the military mentality and suggest that his phobias are not rare among military leaders.” He further adds that “the direction by Edward Dmytryk is stagy — one never feels that the men are actually on a ship in mid-ocean.”

I disagree with Peary’s sentiments. While the studio-mandated inclusion of an insipid romance between Francis and his singer-girlfriend (May Wynn) is an annoying waste of screentime:

… the rest of the storyline plays out in an engaging and suspenseful fashion. MacMurray gets to play one of his anti-nice-guy roles as an aspiring novelist who means well with his armchair analysis of Queeg, but ends up (arguably) causing harm:

… while Johnson is solid as an uneducated but savvy officer, and Jose Ferrer is nicely cast as a lawyer who openly wishes he were defending someone other than Johnson and Francis, but steps up to the task.

However, it’s Bogart’s Oscar-nominated performance which really holds one’s attention, especially during the riveting final courthouse sequence.

Bogart’s Queeg is a complicated character, as are the others around him — and I appreciate the culminating sequence in which the courtroom verdict is complexified even a bit further. By the end of this film, we definitely understand that leading is hard, and that knowing what to do under extraordinary circumstances is rarely straightforward.

Note: Watch for former-Marine Lee Marvin in a small role as a lieutenant nicknamed “Meatball”:

Notable Performances, Qualities, and Moments:

  • Humphrey Bogart as Captain Queeg
  • Jose Ferrer as Lt. Greenwald
  • Van Johnson as Lt. Maryk
  • Fred MacMurray as Lt. Keefer

Must See?
Yes, as a good show with a strong performance by Bogart.

Categories

  • Oscar Winner or Nominee

Links:

What Price Glory (1952)

What Price Glory (1952)

“It’s a lousy war, kid — but it’s the only one we’ve got.”

Synopsis:
During World War I, Captain Flagg (James Stewart) resists marrying his French sweetheart (Corinne Calvert), instead trying to get her hitched to his career-long rival, Sergeant Quirt (Dan Dailey). Meanwhile, a handsome young recruit (Robert Wagner) falls for a beautiful local girl (Marisa Pavan), but ongoing battles pull all the men away from their love lives.

Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:

  • Dan Dailey Films
  • James Cagney Films
  • John Ford Films
  • Love Triangle
  • Rivalry
  • Robert Wagner Films
  • World War I Films

Review:
John Ford directed this colorful but unsatisfying adaptation of Maxwell Anderson and Laurence Stallings’ play (first made as a silent film by Raoul Walsh in 1926). My sentiments about this film are just about the same as for Walsh’s version, which I was similarly unimpressed with. Cagney and Dailey’s ongoing rivalry takes center stage at the expense of any other narrative hook:

… and Calvert is simply relegated to the role of a beautiful pawn whose only option to make it to Paris is seemingly to marry one of them:

We get to see handsome Wagner and lovely Pavan falling for one another (they even sing a romantic multilingual duet):

… but there’s nothing else to their relationship, either. This one is strictly must-see for Ford completists.

Notable Performances, Qualities, and Moments:

  • Fine cinematography by Joseph MacDonald

Must See?
No; you can skip this one.

Links:

Kid for Two Farthings, A (1955)

Kid for Two Farthings, A (1955)

“It’s a unicorn!”

Synopsis:
A young boy (Johnathan Ashmore) whose mother (Celia Johnson) works for a London tailor (David Kossoff) longs to find a unicorn that will grant his wishes — including his long-gone dad returning home from Africa; acquiring a new pressing machine for Kossoff; and helping a body-building sewist (Joe Robinson) in Kosoff’s shop earn enough money to marry his sexy sweetheart (Diana Dors). When Ashmore encounters a baby goat (a kid) with just one horn, he believes he’s found his unicorn, and gets right to work requesting wishes; meanwhile, Robinson reluctantly agrees to engage in paid matches with a bullying wrestler (Primo Carnera), who has his own eye on Dors.

Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:

  • Carol Reed Films
  • Pets
  • Wrestling

Review:
Carol Reed directed this quaint tale of a young boy whose belief in magic drives all the subplots in the film’s bustling narrative, which takes place within a colorful cityscape of eclectic characters:

Ashmore is charming as sweet Joe:

… though we don’t actually get to know him too well, given that his own needs and wishes are overshadowed by the dominant subplot between Robinson (who aspires obsessively towards body-building fame):

… and Dors, who oh-so-desperately wants to get a ring put on it:

These two are indeed gorgeous specimens, but unfortunately not all that bright or interesting. Meanwhile, Carnera’s oafish “Python” is a hiss-worthy but purely one-dimensional villain (below he’s trying to strangle Joe’s “unicorn”):

The most magical scenes are those simply showing the hustle and bustle of Joe’s child’s-eye view of the world:

… as his harried mother (Johnson) struggles to keep up with solo parenting and work:

… and Kossoff tries to bargain his way into purchasing his competitor’s old pressing machine:

The wrestling scenes are pure filler — though I suppose they fit with the film’s overall theme of showing everyday, working-class life and entertainment.

Fans of Carol Reed will want to check this one out simply to see the variety and creativity of his output, but it’s not must-see viewing for all film fanatics.

Notable Performances, Qualities, and Moments:

  • Edward Scaife’s cinematography


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

Links:

God’s Little Acre (1958)

God’s Little Acre (1958)

“It takes a man to turn on the power — not just a talker.”

Synopsis:
In Depression-era Georgia, a deluded farmer named Ty Ty (Robert Ryan) insists that his sons Buck (Jack Lord) and Shaw (Vic Morrow) dig holes in search of hidden treasure on their property, despite justified concerns from his sharecropper (Rex Ingram) that they should be spending their energy tilling the soil instead. Meanwhile, Ty Ty hires an albino “diviner” (Michael Landon) to try to determine the actual location of the treasure; Ty Ty’s daughter “Darlin’ Jill” (Fay Spain) flirts with the rotund would-be sheriff (Buddy Hackett) of the town; Buck worries that his gorgeous wife (Tina Louise) has eyes for the husband (Aldo Ray) of his sister Rosamund (Helen Westcott); Ty Ty reluctantly requests supplemental funding from his well-to-do son Jim Leslie (Lance Fuller); and Will (Ray) wants nothing more than to turn on the lights of a local factory that has been quiet for years.

Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:

  • Aldo Ray Films
  • Anthony Mann Films
  • Deep South
  • Family Problems
  • Farming
  • Gold Seeking
  • Marital Problems
  • Rex Ingram Films
  • Robert Ryan Films

Review:
Anthony Mann directed this adaptation of Erkine Caldwell’s notoriously racy 1933 novel, with a script credited to Philip Yordan but purportedly penned by blacklisted screenwriter Ben Maddow. In her big-screen debut, Tina Louise of “Gilligan’s Island” fame instantly shows her appeal as a kind and sexy female always willing to lend a hand around the property:

Ryan, meanwhile, is all earnestness and goofy grins as the deluded father of the family (how in the world are they actually surviving?):

His imprisonment of an unwitting albino (Landon is unrecognizable) is painfully awkward to watch (though I guess we’re meant to… laugh?):

There’s “comic relief” provided through Hackett’s mega-crush on Spain:

— who also has the hots for Landon:

— but this humor falls terribly flat; and the central subplot about Ray’s intention to open the local mill back up is severely underdeveloped (I didn’t understand its initial closure was due to wage cut protests until I read more about the novel):

What we’re mostly watching for in this film are the inevitable tensions building between Louise and Ray, who do indeed come across as hot and steamy with one another:

The film’s primary selling point is its visual beauty, with stunning b&w cinematography by Ernest Haller:

Overall, however, this film about familial tensions and power plays hasn’t really held up well — but given that it was apparently one of Mann’s personal favorites, fans of his work will of course want to check it out.

Notable Performances, Qualities, and Moments:

  • Tina Louise as Griselda
  • Ernest Haller’s cinematography

Must See?
No; skip this one unless you’re curious. Listed as a Cult Movie in the back of Peary’s book.

Links:

Show Boat (1951)

Show Boat (1951)

“I can’t fight this Lady Luck of yours, this fancy queen in her green felt dress.”

Synopsis:
When a black singer (Ava Gardner) is kicked off her show boat for passing as white, her role is taken over by the daughter (Kathryn Grayson) of the boat’s captain (Joe E. Green), whose disapproving wife (Agnes Moorehead) is none too happy. Meanwhile, Grayson falls for a big-time gambler (Howard Keel) who marries her and whisks her away — but will Keel’s luck last forever?

Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:

  • Actors and Actresses
  • Agnes Moorehead Films
  • Ava Gardner Films
  • Gambling
  • George Sidney Films
  • Howard Keel Films
  • Kathryn Grayson Films
  • Marital Problems
  • Musicals
  • Play Adaptations

Review:
MGM’s Technicolor remake of Oscar Hammerstein and Jerome Kern’s 1927 stage musical — itself based on Edna Ferber’s best-selling novel — is colorful escapist fare (it was the second highest grossing film of the year), dodging the storyline’s most challenging aspects (i.e., miscegenation) in favor of a melodramatic soaper. It’s certainly beautiful to look at:

… and we get to hear beautiful renditions of some of the show’s most famous songs, including “Ol’ Man River” (sung by William Warfield):

… “Can’t Help Loving’ Dat Man”:

… “Make Believe”:

… and “My Bill”:

… but the storyline has been completely whitewashed (see the Adaptation section of Wikipedia’s entry for a detailed comparison with James Whale’s 1936 version). The remaining narrative is not all that compelling; when Grayson falls for a career-gambler (Keel):

… what kind of life does she expect to lead other than one that inevitably becomes volatile? Meanwhile, Gardner’s Julie (as show fans know) simply turns increasingly alcoholic and despondent, which is no fun at all. Fans of the musical will of course want to check this version out, but it’s not must-see viewing for all film fanatics.

Notable Performances, Qualities, and Moments:

  • Fine Technicolor cinematography
  • Several memorable musical sequences

Must See?
No, unless you’re curious to check it out.

Links:

Cry, the Beloved Country (1951)

Cry, the Beloved Country (1951)

“It was my son that killed your son.”

Synopsis:
In Apartheid-ridden South Africa, a rural black minister (Canada Lee) journeys to Johannesburg and receives help from a fellow minister (Sidney Poitier) in seeking out his sick sister Gertrude (Ribbon Dhlamini), his successful brother John (Edric Connor), and his long-lost son Absalom (Lionel Ngakane), who has impregnated a teenager (Vivien Clinton) and commits a crime that deeply impacts the lives of a white farmer (Charles Carson) and his wife (Joyce Carey).

Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:

  • Africa
  • Father and Child
  • Priests and Ministers
  • Racism and Race Relations
  • Sidney Poitier Films
  • Zoltan Korda Films

Review:
Director Zoltan Korda’s next-to-last film was this bold (for its time) adaptation of Alan Paton’s 1948 novel of the same name. The storyline begins by following a man (Lee) encountering close family members again for the first time in years, learning about the paths their lives have taken, and reconciling their choices with his own faith and beliefs:

Along the way, we’re shown some of the realities of Apartheid-era South Africa, with pervasive poverty and challenging dilemmas all around:

The crime at the center of the film is appropriately shocking, and leads us swiftly towards its second half, as the impact of systemic racism and crime on citizens from all walks of life is explored:

There are no easy answers, but thankfully, we see shifts-for-the-better occurring as a result of tragedy, with Carson coming to understand the power of the work his activist-son (Henry Blumenthal) had been engaging in before his death.

The fact that Lee and Poitier — in just his second film role after No Way Out (1950) — had to be smuggled into South Africa as “indentured laborers”, and endured bitterly harsh restrictions while there, speaks directly to the challenges inherent in making this film, which remains worth a look given its unprecedented exploration of issues otherwise untouched in mainstream cinema of the time.

Notable Performances, Qualities, and Moments:

  • Canada Lee as the Reverend Stephen Kumalo
  • Charles Carson as James Jarvis
  • A powerful glimpse of Apartheid-era South Africa

Must See?
Yes, for its historical value and as a quietly powerful film.

Categories

  • Historically Relevant

Links:

Julius Caesar (1953)

Julius Caesar (1953)

“The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, but in ourselves, that we are underlings.”

Synopsis:
Shortly after Roman general Julius Caesar (Louis Calhern) returns home from battle, several conspirators — including Cassius (John Gielgud), Brutus (James Mason), and Casca (Edmond O’Brien) — plot to assassinate him in order to prevent him from becoming dictator; however, they don’t realize how vengeful Marc Antony (Marlon Brando) will become upon the death of his beloved mentor.

Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:

  • Ancient Greece and Rome
  • Assassination
  • Deborah Kerr Films
  • Edmond O’Brien Films
  • George Macready Films
  • Greer Garson Films
  • Historical Drama
  • James Mason Films
  • John Gielgud Films
  • Joseph L. Mankiewicz Films
  • Louis Calhern Films
  • Marlon Brando Films
  • Play Adaptations
  • Revenge
  • Shakespeare

Review:
Marlon Brando impressed critics (and earned his third Academy Award nomination in a row) by transforming from mumbling Stanley Kowalski in A Streetcar Named Desire (1951) to assertive statesman Marc Antony in this faithful adaptation of Shakespeare’s historic play, directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz on sets left over from Quo Vadis (1951). The first half of the storyline is the most powerful, as we see loyal Mason torn over his decision to participate in the assassination of his friend and leader:

… and Caesar ignoring pleas from his wife Capurnia (Greer Garson) to stay home, given premonitions she’s had:

The death scene itself, with one of the most famous lines in all of history (“Et tu, Brute?”), is well filmed:

… as is Antony’s famous response and speech to the masses: “Friends, Romans, countrymen — lend me your ears!”

Gorgeous Deborah Kerr barely registers as Brutus’s wife Portia — though that’s more a function of the storyline than her character, who essentially disappears:

The remainder of the narrative focuses on vengeance for Caesar’s death, though it’s surprisingly action-free (other than the Battle of Philippi). Viewers will likely be most curious throughout to listen for famous lines of dialogue and turns of phrase, including the following:

Caesar: “Cowards die many times before their death. The valiant never taste of death but once.”

Calpurnia: “Caesar, I have never stood on ceremonies.”

Antony: “Cry Havoc and let slip the dogs of war!”

Antony: “This was the most unkindest cut of all.”

Watch for Edmond O’Brien as Casca, who gets to speak the line, “It was Greek to me.”

Notable Performances, Qualities, and Moments:

  • James Mason as Brutus
  • Marlon Brando as Antony
  • Fine cinematography and sets

Must See?
No, though it’s worth a look as a finely mounted Shakespearean production.

Links: