FilmFanatic.org

Synopsis:
After the untimely death of his highest-paying customer (Walter Sande), a charter boat owner (Humphrey Bogart) in WWII-era Martinique agrees to help the patriotic owner of a hotel-cafe (Marcel Dalio) by transporting a resistance fighter (Walter Szurovy) and his wife (Dolores Moran) to safety; meanwhile, Bogart’s alcoholic shipmate (Walter Brennan) remains a liability, but a sexy young singer (Lauren Bacall) promises romantic adventure.

Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:

• Howard Hawks Films
• Humphrey Bogart Films
• Lauren Bacall Films
• Resistance Fighters
• Romance
• Walter Brennan Films

Response to Peary’s Review:
Peary suggests that viewers “forget the Hemingway novel on which William Faulkner and Jules Furthman supposedly based their script” for Howard Hawks’ “reworking of Casablanca,” and points out the many parallels between the two films, noting that once again “Bogart’s an American expatriate… who’s trying to ignore the political situation” but “eventually… becomes inspired by [some resistance fighters] and intolerant of the fascists in power and joins their cause”. In this flick, however, Bogart is less enamored with the beautiful wife (Dolores Moran) of the resistance fighter (Walter Molnar) — i.e., Ingrid Bergman’s role in Casablanca — and is instead smitten by Lauren Bacall’s ‘Slim’, “the husky-voiced singer [who] has no part in the political-action story” but “makes the most of… [her] limited screen time in her movie debut”, “slinking around a room, in control of her sexual impulses but making it obvious what’s on her mind”. Peary argues that while “the film itself becomes confusing and klutzy, the ending is weak, and the secondary characters are poor substitutes for Casablanca‘s memorable cast of heroes and villains”, “every time Bogie and Bacall have a scene together, we feel the romance that was building on and off camera”.

Indeed, Bogart and Bacall’s romantic tension drives the film: it’s impossible to imagine this movie being nearly so memorable without Bacall in her breakthrough role, or the genuine sparks that went flying between the two. With her peekaboo hair and sultry voice, Bacall is simply dynamite. (Click here to see an edited section from the animated “Merrie Melodies” spoof “Bacall to Arms”, re-enacting some of Bogie and Bacall’s most memorable onscreen moments.) Walter Brennan turns in yet another solid supporting performance as Bogie’s “rummy” shipmate, whose extreme drinking problem is played for laughs at times, but also acknowledged for the deadly serious gamble is presents (what will or won’t Brennan do or say for another drink?). Also notable is Hoagy Carmichael’s presence as “Cricket”, a piano-songwriter who accompanies Bacall on several memorable ditties. Thankfully, the film’s more-faithful-to-the-novel remake The Breaking Point (1950) — co-starring John Garfield and Patricia Neal — is differently excellent, and also well worth a look.

Note: See this TCM article for fascinating insights into how and why the locale was shifted from the original Cuban setting in Hemingway’s novel.

Redeeming Qualities and Moments:

• Lauren Bacall as “Slim” (nominated as one of the Best Actresses of the Year in Peary’s Alternate Oscars)
  
• Humphrey Bogart as Harry Morgan (nominated as one of the Best Actors of the Year in Alternate Oscars)
  
• Walter Brennan as Eddie
  
• Hoagy Carmichael’s songs
  
• Sidney Hickox’s atmospheric cinematography
  
  
• A sassy, hard-boiled script: “I’m hard to get, Steve. All you have to do is ask me.”

Must See?
Yes, as an enduring classic.

Categories

• Genuine Classic
• Noteworthy Performance(s)

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

Links:

• IMDb entry
• NY Times Original Review
• Spinning Image Review
• DVD Savant Review
• TCM Articles
• The Greatest Films Review

Synopsis:
A charter boat skipper (John Garfield) struggling to support his wife (Phyllis Thaxter) and kids agrees to take a man (Ralph Dumke) and his mistress (Patricia Neal) to Mexico, but soon finds himself embroiled in increasingly dangerous dealings.

Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:

• At Sea
• Blackmail
• John Garfield Films
• Juano Hernandez Films
• Michael Curtiz Films
• Patricia Neal Films

Response to Peary’s Review:
Peary writes that while this “excellent remake of To Have and Have Not… doesn’t resemble Hemingway’s novel any more than Faulkner’s script for Howard Hawks’s 1944 film did, at least it conveys more of its spirit”. He praises the film — directed by Michael Curtiz — for presenting “the WWII veteran as a disillusioned, financially troubled forgotten man” who may long “for some of the excitement of war rather than his life of bills to pay and familiar spats”, and he argues that “it makes sense that, having reached his breaking point, [Garfield] dares get involved with lawbreakers, risks his life to make a bundle of money in a hurry, [and] contemplates an affair with a loose woman”. He concludes his review by noting that the film is “well acted, nicely shot (partly on location)”, “smartly written” and “has an exciting climactic action sequence and classic final shot”. Peary’s review is spot-on, though he neglects to point out the excellent performances all around — not only by stars Garfield and Neal but by Phyllis Thaxter as Garfield’s loyal yet far-from-dull wife (“I can think about you anytime and get excited.”) and Juano Hernandez as Garfield’s doomed right-hand man (the scenes with his son [Juan Hernandez] are particularly poignant and heartbreaking). This one is well worth a look.

Redeeming Qualities and Moments:

• John Garfield as Harry Morgan (nominated by Peary as one of the Best Actors of the Year in his Alternate Oscars)
  
• Patricia Neal as Leona Charles
  
• Phyllis Thaxter as Lucy Morgan
  
• Juano Hernandez as Wesley Park
  
• Atmospheric cinematography
  

Must See?
Yes, as a finely acted and directed adaptation of Hemingway’s novel.

Categories

• Good Show

Links:

• IMDb entry
• NY Times Original Review
• TCM Review

Synopsis:
A wounded gunslinger (John Wayne) being tracked by a lawman (Harry Carey) falls in love with a naive but sincere young Quaker woman (Gail Russell) who hopes to marry and reform him.

Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:

• Christianity
• Cross-Cultural Romance
• Gail Russell Films
• John Wayne Films
• Westerns

Response to Peary’s Review:
As Peary writes, this “most enjoyable” “high-class ‘B’ western” is “truly delightful and believable”, and certainly “anticipated Peter Weir’s Witness.” Wayne and Russell — “who were lovers off screen as well” — are a “sweet couple”, and “there are some wonderful moments when Wayne [Quirt] looks at Russell [Penny] adoringly, and when Russell feels emotions building inside her as she looks at him”; indeed, they have genuine chemistry together, and both actors give excellent, sincere performances.

The cinematography — with much location shooting in Arizona, including Monument Valley — is nicely done, and there are numerous touching and/or humorous scenes, such as when Wayne is stuck holding a baby at a Quaker gathering.

The story-line is simple, but filled with genuine tension and many unanswered questions: Is Penny’s love for Quirt simply naive infatuation, or something deeper — and vice versa? Will Penny’s parents (Irene Rich and Stephen Grant) tolerate her love for a gunslinger? Will Quirt be able to evade both his sworn enemy (Bruce Cabot) and the lawman (Carey) determined to catch him? Can — and should — Quirt convince Penny that she’s better off with a steadfast Quaker suitor (Marshall Reed)? It’s a delight to watch and find out.

Redeeming Qualities and Moments:

• Gail Russell as Penny
  
• John Wayne as Quirt Evans
  
• Archie Stout’s cinematography
  
  
• Fine use of location shooting in Arizona
  
  

Must See?
Yes, as a fine and charming western.

Categories

• Genuine Classic

Links:

• IMDb entry
• NY Times Original Review
• TCM Article
• DVD Savant Review

Synopsis:
A sultry nightclub singer (Marlene Dietrich) in Morocco falls for a womanizing Foreign Legion soldier (Gary Cooper) while being wooed by a kind millionaire (Adolph Menjou).

Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:

• Adolph Menjou Films
• Gary Cooper Films
• Josef von Sternberg Films
• Love Triangle
• Marlene Dietrich Films
• Military
• Romance

Response to Peary’s Review:
Peary writes that in her second collaboration with director Josef von Sternberg — and “her first Hollywood film” — Marlene Dietrich “is quite an attraction”, “whether wearing a tux and kissing a woman on the mouth (!) or a skimpy outfit that reveals her long, luscious legs”. He notes it’s “refreshing that both [Cooper and Dietrich] play characters who have had numerous affairs”, and that “they are both free to express passion”. In his Alternate Oscars, he names Dietrich Best Actress of the Year for her role here as Amy Jolly, arguing that she’s “perfect because she understood the importance of ‘presence’ on the screen — and knew she had it — and because she conveyed the self-knowledge that her audience was watching a unique star”. He adds that her character’s “ironic wit/nature comes from knowing that she is condemned by the male-dominated society for using sex to manipulate men when even they know she must use her body to survive”, and that “she maintains an air of superiority and startling indifference”. However, while it’s true that “Dietrich, who seems to be followed around by smoke, is at her most likable”, we never learn enough about her to understand her as anything other than a confident yet jaded woman who, over the course of the film, gradually “become[s] less flamboyant” and thinks “of herself more as a typical woman”. (We know even less about Cooper.) Although Dietrich does have impressive star presence and gives a fine performance, I don’t believe the screenplay of this “erotic and exotic” film does her justice.

Redeeming Qualities and Moments:

• Beautiful cinematography by Lee Garmes
  
  
  

Must See?
No, though it’s worth a look for its historical relevance and cinematic beauty.

Links:

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

Synopsis:
A nude “Greek chorus of one” (Kitten Navidad) narrates the tale of a Hitler-lookalike (Edward Schaaf) being murdered in his bathtub by a piranha after an encounter with a man dressed as a Pilgrim (Robert McLane); a rapist (Larry Dean) being killed by his buxomy victim (Raven De La Croix); De La Croix’s affair with a horny sheriff (Monty Bane); and the opening of a new diner by McLane and his bisexual wife (Janet Wood), who has been carrying on an affair with a female trucker (Linda Sue Ragsdale).

Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:

• Mistaken or Hidden Identities
• Murder Mystery
• Russ Meyer Films

Response to Peary’s Review:
As Peary writes, this “ugly Russ Meyer film” has “sex scenes that are more graphic and repulsive than those usually found in Meyer films”, is lacking in “Meyer humor”, and “contains a tasteless S&M sequence… and a couple of rapes… played for laughs”. He points out the fact that “Meyer’s films always contain ‘hicks’ so he can get away with objectionable dialogue” — of which there is more than plenty. He ends his review by noting that the “picture’s best scene has two surviving women running nude through the forest, trying to kill each other and simultaneously carrying on a lengthy conversation that ties up all the film’s loose ends”, thus representing “Meyer at his most outrageous”.

Why in the world does Peary include this title in his GFTFF?

Redeeming Qualities and Moments:
Not much, unless you’re a Meyer fan.

Must See?
No; definitely skip this one.

Links:

• IMDb entry
• TV Guide Review