{"id":35780,"date":"2016-01-13T12:06:44","date_gmt":"2016-01-13T19:06:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=35780"},"modified":"2020-12-13T15:41:25","modified_gmt":"2020-12-13T22:41:25","slug":"bluebeard-1944","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=35780","title":{"rendered":"Bluebeard (1944)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>&#8220;She defiled the image I had created of her \u2014 and so, I killed her.&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n<table>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/Bluebeard-Poster.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/Bluebeard-Poster-155x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"155\" height=\"300\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-35784\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/Bluebeard-Poster-155x300.jpg 155w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/Bluebeard-Poster-66x128.jpg 66w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/Bluebeard-Poster-768x1491.jpg 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/Bluebeard-Poster-527x1024.jpg 527w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/Bluebeard-Poster.jpg 800w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 155px) 100vw, 155px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Synopsis:<\/strong><br \/>\nAs a rash of murders occurs across Paris, an investigator (Nils Asther) interrogates an art dealer (Ludwig Stossel) who seems to have some connection to the case, and a puppeteer (John Carradine) becomes enamored with a costume designer (Jean Parker) who eventually realizes he is the murderer known as &#8220;Bluebeard&#8221;.\n<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p>\n<strong>Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Artists<\/a><\/li>\n<li>Edgar G. Ulmer Films<\/li>\n<li>Historical Drama<\/li>\n<li>Jean Parker Films<\/li>\n<li>John Carradine Films<\/li>\n<li>Mistaken or Hidden Identities<\/li>\n<li>Serial Killers<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Response to Peary\u2019s Review: <\/strong><br \/>\nPeary is clearly a big fan of Edgar G. Ulmer&#8217;s low-budget PRC production (based on the enduring <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Bluebeard\">French folktale of Bluebeard<\/a>), given that he refers to it as &#8220;a real sleeper&#8221;. He writes that the &#8220;Expressionistic&#8221; film &#8212; which has a &#8220;European look to it&#8221; &#8212; is &#8220;strikingly directed&#8221; and features a &#8220;great use of close-ups, shadows, and bizarre camera angles&#8221;. <\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/Bluebeard-Angles.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/Bluebeard-Angles.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"474\" height=\"360\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-57639\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/Bluebeard-Angles.png 474w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/Bluebeard-Angles-300x228.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/Bluebeard-Angles-128x97.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/Bluebeard-Angles-356x270.png 356w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 474px) 100vw, 474px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>He notes that it provides John Carradine &#8220;his best lead performance and one of the few in which he doesn&#8217;t succumb to hamminess&#8221;; indeed, in his <em>Alternate Oscars<\/em> book Peary nominates Carradine as one of the Best Actors of the Year for this role. <\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/Bluebeard-Carradine2.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/Bluebeard-Carradine2.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"474\" height=\"360\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-57640\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/Bluebeard-Carradine2.png 474w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/Bluebeard-Carradine2-300x228.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/Bluebeard-Carradine2-128x97.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/Bluebeard-Carradine2-356x270.png 356w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 474px) 100vw, 474px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>While I find the film visually impressive, I&#8217;m much less taken with its rather insipid storyline, which doesn&#8217;t reveal Bluebeard&#8217;s motivations until close to the end, and thus leaves us puzzled about why a seemingly likable puppeteer turns randomly into a murderer whenever he paints a beautiful woman. <\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/Bluebeard-Painting.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/Bluebeard-Painting.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"474\" height=\"360\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-57641\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/Bluebeard-Painting.png 474w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/Bluebeard-Painting-300x228.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/Bluebeard-Painting-128x97.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/Bluebeard-Painting-356x270.png 356w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 474px) 100vw, 474px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>It&#8217;s nice to see Carradine given a leading role, and he&#8217;s suitably nuanced, but I much prefer him in his more memorable supporting roles &#8212; like Preacher Casy in <a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=32399\"><em>The Grapes of Wrath<\/em> (1940)<\/a>. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Redeeming Qualities and Moments: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Atmospheric cinematography<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/Bluebeard-Cinematography.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/Bluebeard-Cinematography.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"474\" height=\"360\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-35783\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/Bluebeard-Cinematography.png 474w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/Bluebeard-Cinematography-128x97.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/Bluebeard-Cinematography-300x228.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 474px) 100vw, 474px\" \/><\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/Bluebeard-Cinematography2.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/Bluebeard-Cinematography2.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"474\" height=\"360\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-35781\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/Bluebeard-Cinematography2.png 474w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/Bluebeard-Cinematography2-128x97.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/Bluebeard-Cinematography2-300x228.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 474px) 100vw, 474px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>John Carradine as &#8220;Bluebeard&#8221;<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/Bluebeard-Carradine.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/Bluebeard-Carradine.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"474\" height=\"360\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-35782\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/Bluebeard-Carradine.png 474w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/Bluebeard-Carradine-128x97.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/Bluebeard-Carradine-300x228.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 474px) 100vw, 474px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Must See? <\/strong><br \/>\nNo, though it&#8217;s recommended for one-time viewing. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Links: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0036653\/\">IMDb entry<\/a>\n<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.dvdtalk.com\/dvdsavant\/s1777ulm.html\">DVD Savant Review (scroll down)<\/a>\n<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.digitallyobsessed.com\/displaylegacy.php?ID=38\">Digitally Obsessed Review<\/a>\n<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tcm.com\/tcmdb\/title\/5866\/bluebeard#articles-reviews?articleId=74692\">TCM Article<\/a>\n<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.timeout.com\/london\/film\/bluebeard\">Time Out Capsule Review<\/a>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;She defiled the image I had created of her \u2014 and so, I killed her.&#8221; Synopsis: As a rash of murders occurs across Paris, an investigator (Nils Asther) interrogates an art dealer (Ludwig Stossel) who seems to have some connection to the case, and a puppeteer (John Carradine) becomes enamored with a costume designer (Jean Parker) who eventually realizes he is the murderer known as &#8220;Bluebeard&#8221;. Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors: Artists Edgar G. Ulmer Films Historical Drama Jean Parker&#8230;<\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more\"><a class=\"btn btn-default\" href=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=35780\"> Read More<span class=\"screen-reader-text\">  Read More<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":true,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-35780","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-responses-to-peary"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35780","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=35780"}],"version-history":[{"count":15,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35780\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":57642,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35780\/revisions\/57642"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=35780"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=35780"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=35780"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}