“If we could capture Gene Autry, Radio Ranch would soon become deserted, and the entrance to our underground kingdom would remain forever undiscovered.”
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It’s not exactly scintillating stuff — but it remains fascinating simply from a historical perspective. Redeeming Qualities and Moments:
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“Have you any idea what it’s like to be on a party line with a sex maniac?”
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Response to Peary’s Review: I’m not quite sure I agree with Peary’s cynical take on this one. Surprisingly, I didn’t find it “smutty”; instead, I simply enjoyed the calculated sexual banter liberally sprinkled throughout the screenplay:
Yes, Day and Hudson go at it like the inevitable to-be-couple they’re posited as from the beginning — but them’s the rules of this particular genre. And it’s exactly Day’s strength and feistiness as a female protagonist (outlined by Peary himself) that prevent the film from descending into ho-hum mid-century mores. Meanwhile, though one really should detest Hudson’s character on some level (given that the charade he’s carrying out it with Day is questionable at best, and mean-spirited at worst), somehow his character remains oddly likeable throughout. I’ll bet this is due in large part to the fun Day and Hudson admitted to having with each other on set; their (asexual) attraction to one another is in clear evidence. Redeeming Qualities and Moments:
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“You’re beating your head against a stone wall, Milly: You’ll never make jack-a-dandies out of them!”
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Response to Peary’s Review: Rewatching the film recently, I was gratified to find that the seemingly distasteful storyline — “based on Stephen Vincent Benet’s ‘The Sobbin’ Women'”, which in turn “was inspired by Plutarch’s ‘The Rape of the Sabine Women'” — actually possesses a relatively strong feminist strain. Spunky Powell’s foolhardy willingness to marry Keel the day she meets him (and to wax rhapsodic in song about her desire to cook and clean for him) is tempered by her savvy calculation that this is likely her best possible option in life; it’s certainly better than the thankless work as a servant-for-hire she’s been doing until then. Of course, she didn’t bargain on Keel having six lunk-headed brothers who she’d also be expected to cook and clean for — but she quickly asserts her dominance in their household, “playing Snow White” as she attempts “to turn the ruffians into gentlemen”. And, once the film’s infamous kidnapping occurs, she retains her authority, dictating at every moment exactly what will happen next. She’s a refreshingly strong “Western” woman, and this remains one of Powell’s best roles. Interestingly, Jonathan Rosenbaum — in his review of the film for 1,001 Movies You Must See (2003) — refers to it as “a profoundly sexist” (albeit “eminently hummable”) movie, one which provides a “fascinating glimpse at the kind of patriarchal rape fantasies that were considered good-natured and even ‘cute’ at the time”, with a bevy of tunes that “accurately pinpoint the movie’s sexual politics” (such as “Bless Your Beautiful Hide” and “I’m a Lonesome Polecat”). His take is exactly how I felt as a much younger film fanatic; but at this point, I’m willing to simply place the film within its historical context, and recognize that for women at that time and in that geographical situation, finding a suitable husband really was likely the cleanest path to security and happiness. Regardless, I’m now able to appreciate Seven Brides… for its merits — vibrant widescreen Technicolor cinematography, “hummable” tunes, and truly fantastic dancing — rather than its questionable premise. Redeeming Qualities and Moments:
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(Listed in 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die) Links: |
“When it’s the real thing, you’ll know it — as surely as if you’d been hit on the head with a sledgehammer!”
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The mocking disdain shown when Gidget first attempts to enter the surfing clique’s hallowed turf rings all-too-true and painful; it’s especially disturbing to see “Lover Boy” (Tom Laughlin) being sexually aggressive with innocent young Gidget while purportedly teaching her how to surf (thankfully, she holds her own just fine).
Where the film falters a bit is in the casting of teen heartthrob James Darren as Moondoggie, the object of Gidget’s affections.
He’s such a pill that we can’t help wondering why she persists in her crush (though of course, the heart knows no reason, and I suppose he’s good-looking enough in his way). Much more interesting, however, is the relatively complex role played by Robertson, whose character “The Big Kahuna” possesses an intriguing history as a Korean War vet; one wishes his storyline were given a bit more emphasis.
Then again, this film really is all about Gidget herself — and Dee is appropriately winsome in this central role.
Note: Residents of Southern California will enjoy laughing themselves silly at the notion that Robertson could successfully set up and maintain a ramshackle home for himself right on the beach. Ha! Redeeming Qualities and Moments:
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“You’re gonna be a big star, Rusty — but you gotta get down on your feet, not your face.”
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and Kelly’s frustration with Hayworth’s desire to take a “short-cut” to success (made possible due to a silly plot contrivance involving her uncanny resemblance to her grandmother) seems uncharitable at best. Meanwhile, only one of the songs in Jerome Kern and Ira Gershwin’s Oscar-nominated score — the ballad “Long Ago and Far Away” — lingers in one’s memory, and this is likely due to its use as the film’s overall musical motif.
However, Cover Girl remains worth a look simply to watch lovely Hayworth performing some fine dance numbers (she’s incredibly light on her feet), and to see Kelly’s “Alter-Ego” routine, in which he dances with “himself” — he purportedly labeled it “the most difficult thing [he’d] ever done, a technical torture”, but his efforts paid off, to stunning effect. Watch for Eve Arden in a standard supporting role as Krueger’s wisecracking assistant:
and Phil Silvers as Hayworth and Kelly’s annoyingly abrasive dance partner.
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“I pronounce you wife and man.”
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Response to Peary’s Review: At the heart of the film’s success are its charismatic lovers. In her screen debut, MacDonald is “glowing” — as Peary notes, this “film is a reminder that [she] was not just a singer, but an okay comedienne and also an extremely sexy actress when given a chance”.
Meanwhile, Oscar-nominated Chevalier cemented his American screen presence here as a “bubbling” ladies’ man; it’s easy to see why MacDonald’s “virgin queen” would fall head-over-heels for him. Most film fanatics will also be interested to see a very young Lillian Roth in her breakthrough comedic role as MacDonald’s maid:
She performs a couple of enjoyable ditties and dances with “acrobatic, elastic-legged Lupino Lane” (playing Chevalier’s loyal servant). While its pacing is occasionally off (it could have easily been trimmed by half-an-hour or so), this early Lubitsch outing remains worth a look. Redeeming Qualities and Moments:
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“When a man pities his rival, he’s preparing to pity himself.”
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Sanders is typecast in a somewhat serious role as a judge who falls head-over-heels for Darnell’s Olga; their romance isn’t particularly convincing either — though we’re meant to simply accept that Olga is such an intoxicatingly smoldering beauty she can’t help igniting the passions of all men around her.
Other than the rather pedestrian “suspense” surrounding Darnell’s social-climbing romantic aspirations (and an unexpected plot twist in the final half-hour), the film’s narrative tensions derive primarily from sticky class relations; indeed, the original story’s timeline was moved up a few decades to heighten the fact that Horton and Sanders’ sense of entitlement would not last long in the face of an increasingly disenchanted proletariat. Watch for a memorable supporting performance by Laurie Lane (Lori Lahner) as a maid with a crush on Sanders.
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“An innocent man has nothing to fear — remember that.”
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Response to Peary’s Review: Fonda is well-cast in the title role; he’s the ideal “everyman”, an “initially dull Hitchcockian hero whose every minute is planned out and whose life doesn’t vary at all from day to day” — and a rare Hitchcockian protagonist “without any sense of humor” whatsoever. Miles provides a nuanced, sensitive portrayal as his increasingly disturbed wife, and the supporting performances throughout the film — many by seemingly unknown actors — are finely rendered; note, for instance, the utter believability of the three terrified women in the Social Security office who initially accuse Fonda’s character. Meanwhile, Robert Burks’s stark cinematography perfectly captures the nightmarish noir milieu within which Fonda and his family find themselves, and fine use is made of authentic New York City locales. With all that said, I must now admit to postponing my revisit of this highly regarded Hitchcock title for as long as possible; as DVD Savant puts it, “There’s nothing wrong with this picture except that it breaks Hitchcock’s primary rule – it doesn’t please the audience.” Hitchcock’s fidelity to the real-life story he was telling results in an oddly depressing and disturbing viewing experience; while The Wrong Man is undeniably a masterful film on many levels, it’s one which most film fanatics will probably want to consider a “once and done” title. At the very least, any viewer will come away with a heightened understanding of the importance of never, ever providing information to the police without first consulting a lawyer; Fonda’s best intentions here (giving lie to the oft-repeated quote that “an innocent man has nothing to fear”) do nothing but get him even deeper into trouble. Redeeming Qualities and Moments:
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(Listed in 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die) Links: |
“I may not be the cleverest woman in the world, and there are lots of things I don’t know, but there’s one thing I know better than anyone else: I know you.”
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Meanwhile, we’re simply exasperated by Todd’s overly compassionate approach to the “situation” she finds herself in; would any wife REALLY be quite that understanding and forgiving upon hearing her husband confess that he’s in love with another woman?
Another facet of the problem may lie in the fact that the film was drastically cut (it originally ran three hours), so certain elements are necessarily given short shrift; Charles Laughton as the lecherous judge overseeing the case, for instance, presents as simply a cameo:
while his interactions with his highly sensitive wife (Ethel Barrymore) seem to belong to another movie entirely.
Louis Jordan does a fine job playing the valet accused by Peck of murdering Valli’s blind husband — but his critical role, too, seems to merit further expansion.
Ultimately, one watches The Paradine Case from a state of odd detachment, mildly curious to learn the truth behind the murder mystery, but sadly uninvolved on an emotional level. Redeeming Qualities and Moments:
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“We’ve become a race of Peeping Toms. What people ought to do is get outside their own house and look in for a change.”
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Response to Peary’s Review: As Peary notes, a “related and equally important theme (central to most Hitchcock films) is that even the most [seemingly] predictable people are capable of doing wildly unpredictable things” — demonstrated by the fact that “Kelly, who’s the type to fret over a broken fingernail, can be gallant enough to climb up a railing into a murderer’s apartment”. Speaking of Kelly, she’s not only as gorgeous as ever here (wearing “Edith Head’s lavish, sexy costumes”), but, as noted by Vincent Canby in his NY Times review of the film for its 1983 re-release, gives “probably her most successful performance, one in which the facts of her public personality and the fiction of the film become marvelously mixed”. We are actually able to have some fun with her notorious ice-princess persona, since it’s called out time and again by Stewart. Ultimately, Kelly’s impossible beauty and charm (could she BE any more perfect?) simply serve to heighten the fact that Stewart is scared to death of marital commitment (as wryly evidenced by his silently judgmental observations of various married couples in apartments across the way). As noted by Gary Mairs in his review of the film for Culture Vulture, “he fears domestication… and the stories he watches in his neighbors’ windows come to resemble projections of all his worst connubial fantasies”. To that end, Mairs picks up on the Peeping Tom theme once again by arguing that Stewart’s “desire to watch overwhelms his desire for [Kelly], and he only really becomes aroused when she joins him in peeping.” Speaking of such matters, Hitchcock and screenwriter John Michael Hayes get away with an astonishing amount of sexual subtext for the times — most notably in Kelly’s brazen assertion that she’ll be spending the night in Stewart’s apartment, followed by pulling out and donning a sexy negligee; as Jonathan Rosenbaum points out in his analysis of the film, “one suspects the censors were placated only because Jeff’s plaster cast made sex between him and Lisa seem unlikely.” Any discussion of Rear Window‘s multiple merits as a cinematic masterpiece would be incomplete without mentioning its sheer technical bravado. Hitchcock was clearly at the top of his game when planning and executing his vision for the film, given his consistently innovative approach to the material. Collaborating with DP Robert Burks — and given a truly impressive set to work with (possessing no less than 31 apartments!) — Hitchcock tells nearly the entire story from a camera “situated in the living room of [Stewart]… so we sense how trapped he feels while stuck in his apartment”. Until Stewart pulls out his camera’s zoom lens as makeshift binoculars, we’re restricted to the same limited view of his neighbors’ existence as he is; we’re never privy to anything more than what Stewart himself can see — which is what makes the finale so terrifying (though I won’t say more about that here, at risk of revealing spoilers). Redeeming Qualities and Moments:
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(Listed in 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die) Links: |
