203. Secret Beyond the Door (1948)

Running Time: 99 minutes
Directed By: Fritz Lang
Written By: Rufus King, Silvia Richards
Main Cast: Joan Bennett, Michael Redgrave, Anne Revere, Barbara O'Neil, Natalie Schafer

LAYING DOWN THE LANG

I recorded "Secret Beyond the Door" sometime last year, off of Turner Classic Movies, because it was nowhere to be found elsewhere. Since I watched and reviewed "The Big Heat" last night and had such a good time with it, I figured I'd might as well finish off the Fritz Lang contributions to the book.

Celia (Bennett) is a picky woman when it comes to men. When her brother dies, she finally decides to settle down with one of his former colleagues and promptly gets engaged. Following the engagement and while on vacation with friend Edith (Schafer), Celia locks eyes with a ominous, yet handsome looking man named Mark (Redgrave), a wealthy owner of a magazine. They eventually become acquainted, fall head over heels for one another and via a note Celia breaks off her engagement and quickly marries Mark. While on honeymoon with Mark, he begins to act a bit odd. One night, all of a sudden, Mark comes to Celia and tells her that he is going to sell his magazine. He tells her that he's gone to be gone for a few days and that eventually he'll send for her to come live with him in Levender Falls. Mark eventually sends for her and Celia is all of a sudden making her home in a strange house, with strange people and finding out new things about Mark, like the fact that he was previously married and that he has a son. Mark continues to fluctuate between strange behavior and normal and eventually reveals to Celia his collection of rooms. Mark re-creates grisly murder scenes in various rooms of his house, right down to the tiniest of details. There's just one room that Mark keeps locked - a room marked with a number seven and a room that may hold the secret to Celia's fate.

POSSIBLE SPOILER ALERT!

As I watched "Secret Beyond the Door" I couldn't help but be reminded of Hitchcock's "Rebecca", of which, according to the book, inspired Lang to make this film. The film is actually quite good, as it takes on a very powerful demeanor, making it's presence known through the use of strong music and towering sets. The film is very mysterious and it didn't take me long to attach myself to the very beautiful Joan Bennett and wonder what would happen to this innocent character. As the film progresses, many small mysteries are set up - little things that seemed to stick in the back of my mind, so that when the final climax came I kept trying to guess at what might happen. At first, I thought the entire movie was going to be a dream. I mean, the film did start out with Joan Bennett's character recollecting a book she once read about dreams. But it wasn't all cheaply chalked up to a dream, instead we do get answers to our questions.

Now whether or not I was satisfied with the explanations that were given, I'm not really sure. On one hand, they weren't anything I really expected and at least I can say that they "got me" on the big twist. But on the other hand, it just didn't seem to be enough. It had just a small dose of that "that's it!" factor to it and with a film as brooding as "Secret Beyond the Door", I expected to be dropping my jaw by the time the final credits rolled. Otherwise, if you can look past the lackluster explanations and final twists, it's actually quite a good movie, that's sure not to bore you and provides some exceptional performances from Bennett and Redgrave. I would say to track it down and give it a look, but I'm not sure how easy it will be to track down. Keep your eye out for it on TCM instead.

RATING: 7/10 Lackluster review? Well I'm still fighting this cold so bear with me, please. Only seven films to go before I'm ready to make another TOP 20!

MOVIES WATCHED: 294
MOVIES LEFT TO WATCH: 707

July 15, 2011 1:53am

263. The Big Heat (1953)

Running Time: 89 minutes
Directed By: Fritz Lang
Written By: Sydney Boehm, from novel by William P. McGivern
Main Cast: Glenn Ford, Gloria Grahame, Lee Marvin, Jeanette Nolan, Alexander Scourby

BEWARE: HOT COFFEE!

Damn, am I turning into a real noir hound. The other day it was "Detour" and now tonight I become entangled all in an intricately weaved web of police corruption, suicide and murder, all without leaving the comfort of my bed.

To explain the story of "The Big Heat", I guess you have to start with crime boss Mike Lagana (Scourby). Lagana runs the city and keeps a number of police on his payroll. One of those police is Tom Duncan, who, as the film opens, is promptly committing suicide, leaving behind a note. His wife, upon finding his body, collects the note and makes a swift call to Lagana and later to the police. Enter Sgt. Dave Bannion (Ford) - a good cop and a family man, who, at the end of a hard day, has a pretty, blond wife and a little girl at home waiting for him. Bannion is called in to investigate the suicide of Tom Duncan. At first, it seems like an open and shut case of suicide, but as Bannion begins to pry, he reveals that it may not be so simple. Bannion begins to uncover tidbits about Duncan's past, finding out that he was on Lagana's payroll and also finding out that he was cheating on his wife. I'll stop there and suffice it to say that it all steamrolls toward frantic outcomes for all the characters concerned and a mystery that will take some definite footwork to crack.

POSSIBLE SPOILER ALERT!

I think what attracts me to these noir stories, especially the ones about cops and criminals, is that nothing this exciting ever happens in real life. To me, these stories are as good as fantasy or sci-fi stories to others. It's almost like a bit of make-believe and when I really want to suspend my disbelief and get lost in a movie, I find that a good film-noir is as good a destination as any. "The Big Heat" is NO exception, as it provides shock after shock and my jaw was literally dropping at certain points in the film. I should have known that there was no place for a family man in a noir and when Mrs. Katie Bannion (Jocelyn Brando) went to start her car and I heard that explosion I was stunned. Since I'm new to noir, a part of me was thinking that a flick from the 50s wouldn't go that far and even when I heard the *BANG*, I just assumed they'd write it off as a "pretty serious injury, but she'll pull through" case. But, no - she was pronounced dead and suddenly I was backing Bannion all the way, wanting the criminal scum to pay for what they did. One of the leaders of the "criminal scum" being Lee Marvin, a fantastic actor with a menacing voice that makes him any film makers dream for a villain.

In fact, speaking of the cast, I had no problems, as everyone played their part and played it very well. Ford was great as a leading man, Marvin as the villain and Gloria Grahame played the ditsy con-man's lover to a tee. I'm new to noir, but I crave more and though I'm not really an authority on the subject, I'd say this one has to rank up there as one of the great ones in the world of film noir. If I had to nitpick at all, I'd only point to a small section just before the film's finale, where things are ready to be wrapped up and instead, we take our time getting there, reintroducing the police lieutenant and doing some nonsensical things, that could have been left out and had they been, it would have served to keep the heat turned up and kept the pacing moving. But that's only nitpicking, otherwise a FANTASTIC movie.

RATING: 9/10 Not that I'd want them to, but I wonder why modern Hollywood doesn't try to remake some of these old noir films. Have we grown out of the "dirty cops, criminals ruling the city, lone man seeks revenge" phase?

MOVIES WATCHED: 292
MOVIES LEFT TO WATCH: 709

July 14, 2011 1:21am

59. M (1931)

Running Time: 109 minutes
Directed By: Fritz Lang
Written By: Egon Jacobson, Fritz Lang
Main Cast: Peter Lorre, Otto Wernicke, Gustaf Grundgens

M IS FOR MARVELOUS

This actually isn't the first time I've seen M, as I actually saw it for the first time about a year or so ago and remember liking it very much, eventhough at the time, it was one of the oldest movies I had ever seen. My reaction didn't change much upon another viewing, in fact it really didn't change at all, as I still think this is a really great film.

When little Elsie Beckmann doesn't return home from school at her expected time, her mother begins to worry and rightfully so. You see, the particular German town that we're focussed on for this movie is crippled with fear as a murderer looms in the shadows, preying on the children of the city. And little Elsie Beckmann is no exception, as we, the viewer, soon see that she is just the latest in a string of child victims to be picked up by this killing monster. Upon buying her a balloon and some chocolates, we're then shown that very balloon floating through the air and the ball that Elsie Beckmann was playing with, rolling around, unclaimed.

Of course, this newest murder swings the city into full on hysteria, as the police plaster talk of a reward for his capture, all over the newspapers and we get a very well constructed montage telling all of the details and the investigation proceedings of the case. While watching this film, you're quickly transported to a city where a murderer is on the loose and this montage does a fantastic job of really hammering that point home and making you realize just how out of hand this killer has become.

The police go so far, as to hassle the petty crooks in the town, the thiefs and pickpockets and what not. The crooks get so tired of being harassed and so tired of not being able to pull of their own jobs, that they get together and decide that they must be the ones to catch this murderer, not to mention the fact, that they are no fans of a murdering man themselves. They want him locked up and executed just as badly as the parents of the deceased young. So the crooks enlist the help of the beggars to help them catch the predator, offering a $15,000 reward of their own for the beggar that can bring him in.

In my opinion "M" deals with some very sensitive subject matter, especially for the year 1931. But that's kind of the thing that makes it really stand out. While many of us are not used to hearing talk of murderers, who abduct, seemingly molest and murder young girls, in the old movies we watch, you get a real surprise when you pop in "M" and start to hear and see the violence that is being alluded to. While nothing is ever actually shown, your imagination really takes hold of you and it's probably a worse picture that you create in your own head, than anything that could've been shown on camera. In my opinion, it's not the acting (eventhough Peter Lorre does a good job), the sets, the cinematography or anything like that, that makes "M" a great picture, but rather the plot. The plot for this flick is so great that you can't helped but be sucked into the heart of a city paralyzed by fear over this gruesome killer.

RATING: 8/10 I deducted a few points, just for some little odds and ends, and mainly because, eventhough this film was great, it still didn't give me that "10" feeling. Still a great watch though!

NEXT UP: La Chienne...or The Bitch, which I currently cannot find, so look for the "Unfound Files" post momentarily.

January 1, 2010 2:54pm

30. Metropolis (1927)

Running Time: 114 minutes

Directed By: Fritz Lang

Written By: Fritz Lang, Thea von Harbou

Main Cast: Alfred Abel, Gustav Frohlich, Rudolf Klein-Rogge, Brigitte Helm

Sidenote: So I sat down on Sunday night to check out what many consider the greatest silent film of all time, Metropolis. After a bout of sneezing and coughing and basically thinking I was coming down with a cold, I succumbed to the warmth of my bed after only making it through about an hour of the picture. The next night, I gave it a second shot, but after waking up at eight o'clock for work, and not attempting my second shot until about eleven o'clock, I again, succumbed to my bed, with a still unfinished Metropolis. So tonight was the night, and the third time was the charm as I knocked it off and came one step closer to completing my journey.

Now then...

"THE MEDIATOR BETWEEN THE HEAD AND HANDS MUST BE THE HEART!"

First of all I want to say that I really, really wanted to enjoy this movie. Unfortunately, on an enjoyability scale, I didn't enjoy it as much as I wanted to.

Set in the future, the population is broken down into two societies, the workers and the upper class. The workers occupy the underground, in their own city and the upper class live in the grand, gorgeous city of Metropolis. The workers keep the city running, by manning machines underground that power the great city.

Freder, spoiled son of Joh Fredersen, the master of Metropolis, is frolicking in the Eternal Gardens one day with his many lady friends, when a woman appears, with a group of children saying, "Look, these are your brothers!", which deeply touches Freder. When the woman is ushered off by some hired hands, Freder, fascinated with the woman, goes in search of her. He ends up in the underground, where he witnesses the terrible life that the workers go through to keep the machines running, that power Metropolis.

Freder, disturbed by the treatment that he's seen the workers endure, runs back to the New Tower of Babel, where his father's offices are, and begins to question his father about the welfare of the workers. His father exclaims that the workers are where they belong...in the depths. Freder snaps back, bringing up the question of what would happen if the workers were ever to rise up and revolt against his father. Fredersen is interrupted by Grot, the chief foreman of the Heart Machine, the main power source of Metropolis, who shows Fredersen plans that he found on some of his workers, that seem to lead to somewhere.

In the meanwhile, Freder leaves and heads into the underground again, relieving a collapsed worker, of his post and taking over, as he feels sorry for the tired man. The worker is only known as 11811, and Freder tells him to leave the underground, get into his chauffeured car and head to the home of a colleague of Freder's.

Joh Fredersen, meanwhile, goes to the home of Rotwang, the master inventor of Metropolis, who unveils to Fredersen a female robot that he's created to replace his lost love. He claims that he only needs twenty four hours and the robot will be finished, and be created to look exactly like a human being. Fredersen also shows Rotwang the plans that we're brought to him earlier by Grot and Rotwang concludes that they are some type of map to the catacombs, the depths of the workers city. Rotwang leads Fredersen on a hidden path, underneath his home, to the catacombs.

Freder, finishes his ten hour shift and follows the workers into the catacombs, where they are holding secret underground meeting and being preached to by a pacifist by the name of Maria, the same woman who appeared to Freder in the beginning of the film. She preaches to them about peace and declares that someday a mediator will come, who will be able to help the hands (the workers) and the head (Joh Fredersen) unite in peace. After the meeting, Freder meets privately with Maria, and Maria sees Freder as the heart (the mediator) and rejoices at his presence.

The films finale comes when Rotwang finishes the femme bot and creates her in Maria's likeness, as ordered by Fredersen. He unleashes her on the underground workers and thinking that it's Maria, the workers hang on her every word, when she tells them to riot and kill the machines, thus killing Metropolis.

Visually this movie is a spectacle to behold. The sets are immaculate, some of the shots are innovative and some of the scenes that you'll see just make you go "WOW!". The scene of the workers burning the femme bot at the stake, the scenes of the camera swooping over the great city and the scene of the creation of the original Tower of Babel are all excellent and this film is a must see for the visual effects alone. As far as the enjoyment factor goes, this film lacks and maybe it's a case of "it just wasn't for me". In the parts of this movie, where there wasn't immaculate images on the screen to look at, I found myself very bored and for a movie that was less than two hours it felt a lot longer than that, in some parts. I don't know, it's just that something with this movie and me didn't click and although I really can't put my finger on why, I just didn't enjoy it that much.

RATING: 5/10 If I was rating this movie on a visual scale, I'd give it an eleven, but I'm rating them on a scale of how much I enjoyed them, so in that case we'll strike it right down the middle and call it a five.

NEXT UP: Sunrise...F.W. Murnau directs another film that is considered one of the great silent films. Comes tomorrow from Netflix!

October 14, 2009 12:54am

13. Dr. Mabuse, der Spieler/Dr. Mabuse Parts 1 and 2 (1922)

Running Time: 229 minutes

Directed By: Fritz Lang

Written By: Norbert Jacques, Fritz Lang, Thea von Harbou

Main Cast: Rudolf Klein-Rogge, Alfred Abel. Bernhard Goetzke, Gertrude Welcker, Aud Egede-Nissen

Note: Again we run across the issue of running time with this film, as basically everywhere you look there's a different running time listed for this picture, with the basic consensus being between 270-280 minutes. The version listed on Netflix has a running time of 229 minutes, which was the version that I'm set to review for you here. With a little bit of research, I find out that the only place the entire, 280 minute version of the film was released is in Region 2 DVD countries, thus excluding me from that area, and leaving me to settle with this version.

Now then...

DOCTOR, DOCTOR...GIMME' THE NEWS...

When I arrived at Dr. Mabuse I was pleasantly surprised to see that it was directed by Fritz Lang. I have previously seen "M" and loved it, so was all set and ready to see my second Lang film, Dr. Mabuse. I won't compare it to "M" at this time, because that particular film will be coming up in our journey, down the road. However, I will say that "Dr. Mabuse, Parts 1 and 2, was an absolutely boring and in my opinion, terrible film, that quickly turned my excitement to disappointment.

We kick off with the nefarious title character, and quickly realize that he is a master of disguise, who is bound and determined to cause as much trouble and swindle as much money as he possibly can. The film starts out with an ice breaker crime, to let the viewer know exactly the lengths that Mabuse will go to, to pull off his plans. Mabuse and his men, plot out a grand scheme where they steal a very important trade agreement that will have a huge impact on the stock market. They don't plan to use the information provided in the document, just cause a ruckus, long enough for them to make a few bucks in the stocks.

From there we meet Dr. Mabuse: The Gambler, as Mabuse dresses in different costumes and worms his way into any gambling parlor he can find, so that he can, basically mind fuck the other players and cleanup at the table. You see, he has some sort of hold over them, that really isn't fully explained to us, as the viewer, until nearly the end of the entire film. The players, when controlled by Mabuse, hold their heads and seem to be in La La Land, as he cleans up, takes off and they're left trying to piece the puzzle together of why their wallet is now empty.

Then, our hero is introduced, Norbert Von Weck, State Attorney, who has heard complaints of poker players saying that they've been playing with a particular man, and without even realizing what has happened they're broke. He's determined to investigate, so he goes undercover into the gambling parlors. When Mabuse tries to control Von Weck's head, it doesn't work, however Mabuse escapes and leaves Von Weck with definite evidence that someone is fucking over poker players.

The second part, kicks off with a lot of Von Weck trying to track down Mabuse and figure out who he is. I'll leave it at that for now and let you judge by what I've written, whether or not this flick is something for you or not.

To me, there is very little happening in this film and we're left until nearly the end of the movie, asking ourselves how Mabuse is controlling these people's minds. We see shot after shot of Mabuse, in different disguises playing cards and winning all the loot, but we're never told how he's doing it, which leaves each scene, in my opinion, pointless. Also, at nearly four hours, that makes the torture even worse and it is a definite chore to get through this very slow paced film.

RATING: 1/10 Gotta' go to tbe bottom of the barrel for this one, as I really didn't enjoy anything about it, and would welcome another view at the Birth of A Nation over this any day of the week. Hopefully my next Frtiz Lang flick will be better.

NEXT UP: Nanook of the North...The first documentary on our journey.

September 22, 2009 9:21pm