“The diary, the diary… If it hadn’t been for that damned diary!”
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So — consider yourself forewarned. For a quick video overview of giallo films and how this title fits into its history, click here. Redeeming Qualities and Moments:
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“You’re sort of on the planters’ side now, and we’re the people who keep the country going.”
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The storyline itself is an old but still-valid one of class conflict in a working town with — surprise, surprise — the owners of a cotton plantation taking systemic advantage of their employees to the point of generational destitution.
Racial issues are notably muted; this is about whites versus whites, with Barthelmess literally a malleable pawn passed back and forth between two equally icky social groups. Of course, we’re meant to sympathize with the put-upon workers, who turn to theft and arson out of desperation — but it doesn’t help that they’re played (in several notable instances) as backwoods caricatures. Barthelmess’s performance is as wooden as they come, and we don’t learn enough about his hometown sweetheart (Dorothy Jordan) to root for their success as a couple.
Davis really does stand out as the notable feature of this film; she would go on to be nominated for an Oscar two years and 12 films (!) later in Of Human Bondage (1934). Redeeming Qualities and Moments:
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“Fear God, honor the queen, shoot straight, and keep clean!”
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Response to Peary’s Review: Redeeming Qualities and Moments:
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“Ingenuity is never a substitute for intelligence.”
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Review: Redeeming Qualities and Moments:
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“Nobody knows anything about anybody.”
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I suppose the point is to call him out as worthy of someone (Grable) who would stoop to deception and golddigging, but he’s simply not a likable character. Redeeming Qualities and Moments:
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“No, Mr. Bond — I expect you to die!”
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He points out that the film is filled with “lots of humor, gimmicks (Bond uses his Aston-Martin’s passenger-ejection seat to get rid of one of the villains), excitement (captured Bond watches a laser beam rip through the table he lies on, nearly zapping his crotch), an amusing yet tense golf contest between Bond and Goldfinger, thrilling fights to the death between Bond and Oddjob and Bond and Goldfinger, and a fascinating central crime: Goldfinger wants to destroy all the gold in Fort Knox to both ruin America’s economy and greatly increase the value of his own gold.” Peary adds that while this film is “most enjoyable”, it’s “too bad Eaton’s part isn’t longer and that Frobe’s Goldfinger, a heavy but nimble intellectual in the Sydney Greenstreet tradition, never appeared in another Bond film.” Regardless, there’s no denying that this film succeeds on just about every count — though modern viewers will want to be forewarned about the infamously disturbing “consensual rape” scene, and use caution if watching this movie with kids or teens. (Be prepared for a challenging but important discussion, not only about sex and women but about racial depictions.) With that said, Pussy Galore remains one of the delights of powerful women in cinema — she’s mesmerizing in every scene, and she can’t help the screenplay developments her character is saddled with. Best of all, however, are the many seat-clenching action sequences — zowie, is this film filled with them! Redeeming Qualities and Moments:
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(Listed in 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die) Links: |
“Perhaps you have been made beautiful, that Poland might be made free.”
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“Training is useful, but there is no substitute for experience.”
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Oh boy. I know he’s Bond, and all women love him… and Connery is undeniably a beefcake. But it’s a bit much. Note: This and all Bond films appear to have quite a specialized and fanatical following, as evidenced by DVD Savant’s essay devoted entirely to a mysterious jump-cut in the final sequence of the film. Redeeming Qualities and Moments:
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“When I was a child, they daren’t leave me in a room with an armchair.”
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We’re never sure where each scene will lead to, and — like the characters — are consistently surprised by what comes next out of each person’s mouth. Colbert and Ameche (not to mention Rex O’Malley as Astor’s droll, fey sidekick):
… prove themselves more than capable of surviving in a world of extreme snobbery and classism: working-class Ameche draws upon collective strength in motivating his fellow cab drivers to help him find Colbert:
… while Colbert relies on both her beauty (Lederer is amusingly smitten the second he lays eyes on her) and quick wit to come up with on-the-spot rationales and back-stories for her newly adopted persona — including plenty of hilariously left-field (yet convincing) one-liners: “And yet, I had warning… Why else should his grandfather have sent me as an engagement present one roller skate covered with Thousand Island dressing?” This film is a treat to rediscover. Note: For a detailed overview of Brackett and Wilder’s contentious yet successful decade-plus collaboration, click here. Redeeming Qualities and Moments:
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“Lovers and madmen have such seething brains — such wild imaginings that apprehend more than cool reason ever comprehends.”
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Review: Redeeming Qualities and Moments:
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