152. Casablanca (1942)

Running Time: 102 minutes
Directed By: Michael Curtiz
Written By: Murray Burnett, Joan Alison
Main Cast: Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman, Paul Henreid, Claude Rains, Conrad Veidt
Click here to view the trailer

AS TIME GOES BY

Technically, with the watching of "Casablanca" I've officially crossed the halfway mark and have already started into the second half, as 501 movies watched means that more than half of THE BOOK is complete. "Casablanca" was one of the heavy hitters that I arranged to squeeze in during this 100 and I intentionally saved it until the end, so that I could go out with a bang. Unfortunately, the bang kind of fizzled out.

The film takes place in unoccupied Africa, specifically Casablanca, during World War II, sometime after the occupation of France by the Nazi's. Rick Blaine (Bogart) owns a gin joint in Casablanca, an American expatriate, who commands a certain respect from his clientele. In fact, the main story really doesn't have anything to do with Rick, but rather Victor Laszlo (Henreid), a resistance leader who has escaped from a concentration camp and is a wanted man...very wanted. As the film begins, we learn that many people are trying to make their way to Lisbon and from there, catching a plane to America and the freedoms it offers. In order to get to Lisbon, you either have to have a valid visa or a letter of transit. Early on, we also learn that a stack of letters of transit have recently been stolen from a group of German officers and somehow find their way into the hands of Rick. The other story, the more memorable one, is the story of Ilsa (Bergman), Victor's wife and Rick's former lover, whom Rick was abandoned by in Paris. Rick's still a little bitter about the whole situation and buries his sorrows in the bottom of a glass, while his pal Sam plays "As Time Goes By" on the piano, reminding him of Paris and his days with Ilsa. Now, Victor plans to make for Lisbon with Ilsa in tow, but what will Rick have to say about their departure.

I remember watching this film a long time ago. It was about the time that I really started to take an interest in movies and since I had heard so much about the reputation of this film, I decided to give it a go. Well, the experience ended up turning me off of classic movies for a while. I remember watching and not being able to grasp what was so fantastic about this film. A great love story? Sure, but those were a dime a dozen. Were people finding appeal in this film because it mixed this great love story with a World War II backdrop? I don't know, but it wasn't doing anything for me. I remember I also watched "Citizen Kane" around the same time and I couldn't grasp that one either. As time has gone by, I've learned to appreciate "Citizen Kane" a little more, but, even after today's viewing and all of my changes in taste, I still can't find appeal in "Casablanca".

As I mentioned in earlier posts, for films like "To Have and Have Not" and "The Big Sleep", I just don't get Humphrey Bogart. I realized today that the guy really never shows any emotion. I mean, here you have this guy, Rick; he's had his heart stomped on by this woman, Ilsa, yet Bogart chooses to play it cool throughout, barely losing his temper and letting his cigarette dangle calmly from his lips. Rick should be furious, Bogart should be putting in some serious emotion, screaming at Ilsa, begging her to explain why she broke his heart, destroyed his hope for love. I just can't get into the guy or his performances. I'll be the first to admit, he's one cool customer. In fact, he may be the coolest damn customer to ever grace the big screen, but what's cool? Maybe being cool was enough to get you by in the 1940s, but cool just doesn't work for me, unless there's a little more to it. There are still many Bogart films remaining in THE BOOK ("The Treasure of the Sierra Madre", High Sierra", "The Barefoot Contessa", "Beat the Devil", "The African Queen" and maybe more) and I'm determined to find one that appeals to me, one that will change my mind about Bogart and make me want to see even more of his films, non-BOOK films. I'll be on the lookout for a good Bogart performance, I promise. And, honestly, it's not that he's bad, it's just that he doesn't work for me and here, that's what counts.

RATING: 4/10  The story was good enough and flowed well enough to get at least a '4', but I can't go any higher. That's gonna' wrap things up for this 100 folks. I'll be back with you either later tonight or tomorrow to present my 5th TOP 20 list and I hope you're as excited for it as I am.

MOVIES WATCHED: 501
MOVIES LEFT TO WATCH: 500

July 8, 2012  11:42am

7S REPOST: 176. Mildred Pierce (1945)

Running Time: 111 minutes

Directed By: Michael Curtiz

Written By: Ranald MacDougall, from novel by James M. Cain

Main Cast: Joan Crawford, Ann Blyth, Zachary Scott, Bruce Bennett, Jack Carson

Click here to view the trailer

SEVEN SHADOWS WEEK: DAY 2

NOTE: The following review first appeared on Shadows and Satin. It is being reposted here for completist purposes. 

One night later, the rainstorms in my town have come to a halt, but the week of tribute to the juicy genre of film noir is only just beginning. Tonight, I sunk my teeth into “Mildred Pierce” and came out a happy moviegoer.

Save for the beginning and the end, “Mildred Pierce” isn’t your typical piece of film noir, at least it’s not what I think of when I picture the genre. As the film opens, gunshots fill the air and a mustached man, whom we later learn is Monte Beragon (Scott), keels over dead, his last word: “Mildred!” From there we head to the police station where suspects are being filed in, Mildred Pierce Beragon (Crawford), now Monte’s widow, one of them. Mildred is sat in front of the police Captain’s desk and from there we’re into a flashback. We learn that Mildred wasn’t always married to Monte, as we travel back to the day she separated from her first husband, Bert Pierce (Bennett) due to a bunch of little problems; most notably Mildred’s handling of their two daughters – Veda and Kay. You see, Bert has just lost his job and Mildred tries her best to make a few bucks here and there, baking pies and selling them around town. Mildred wants nothing more than to be able to provide for her daughters and quickly realizes that her eldest, Veda, has expensive tastes. When Bert moves out, Mildred has to take a job as a waitress. She picks it up fast, making enough in tips to support her and the girls and being able to provide Veda with fancy dresses and singing lessons, among other things. Eventually Mildred becomes such a good waitress that she decides to open up a restaurant of her own – enter Monte Beragon, owner of a property that would be perfect for a restaurant. Along with friend and business consultant/real estate man Wally Fay (Carson), Mildred buys the property and opens up, what turns out to be, a booming restaurant called “Mildred’s”. In fact, the restaurant does so well, that Mildred turns it into a chain and makes a pretty good living for herself. All the while she’s being courted by Monte, whom Veda loves to flaunt about the town with, flaunting her wealth. I know it doesn’t sound like a piece of film noir, but don’t worry – soon greed, deception and murder rear their ugly heads and you won’t believe the outcome!

This was my first time seeing “Mildred Pierce” and boy, I didn’t know what I was missing having not seen it prior to tonight. This was a hell of a picture, no bones about it. “Mildred Pierce” uses it’s opening moments to show you a dark world – a man being murdered, Mildred ready to throw herself over a bridge, the introduction of Wally Fay and his following of Mildred back to her beach house, complete with a few drinks and a notion that he might get lucky. During the opening moments of the film, it really does feel like that greedy underworld that I often associate with film noir. Then we get to the police station and Mildred starts to tell her story. After a while, I started to forget those opening moments and allowed myself to be consumed by what was happening onscreen at any given time – Mildred being a typical housewife, baking pies, waitressing to make ends meet. Then, as we started to roll into the second half and everything still seemed pretty hunky-dory as far as the situations were concerned, I started to remember those opening moments again. I started to realize that, “Hey, there’s a murder coming and something so heinous that Mildred flirts with the idea of offing herself”. That’s when I started watching the clock. Not because I was bored and wanted it to end, but because I knew there were only twenty minutes left and in the flashback Mildred still hadn’t even married Monte!!  If I was the type who bit their nails, then certainly I’d be typing with bandages wrapped around my fingers, because by the time we got the payoff, I was ready for some answers. I won’t spoil anything here, but trust me; you need to check this one out!

Oh and let’s not forget the cast. Joan Crawford turns in a performance that won her an Academy Award and rightfully so. She’s so sexy here, but not in a blatant way – in a classy way. The rest of the cast is fine too, as I thought Zachary Scott and Ann Blyth were both marvelous. In fact, I can’t believe I had never even heard of Zachary Scott before, but there was something about him that made me want to listen when he spoke. Before I got to the computer tonight, I was saying to myself, “The character of Veda Pierce may be one of the nastiest villains I’ve seen on film in a while” and I’ll be damned if the character wasn’t nominated for the “AFI 100 Years…100 Villains” list. Oh and how about Michael Curtiz, who’s shown me some great versatility as I’ve worked my way through the book and knocked my socks off with films like this, “Captain Blood” and “Angels with Dirty Faces”. I’m not a fan of “Casablanca”, but why is it that director’s always seemed to get recognized for the wrong picture? When people remember Curtiz they should be citing one of the films I named above, not the movie set in Morocco with Bogey and Bergman.

So basically what I’m getting at is that this film is really a breath of fresh air and one that I’d recommend to people who aren’t fans of classic or black & white pictures. It’s one of those old movies that really makes you forget that it was made in 1945 and just comes across as what it is -  a damn fine film!

RATING: 9/10  I can’t go the full ‘10’ because as of press time I’m just not feeling it. Or maybe I’m just hoping that film noir gets even better than this and want to save my ‘10’ for one of the next five. Next up: “The Postman Always Rings Twice”. 

MOVIES WATCHED: 444
MOVIES LEFT TO WATCH: 557

April 1, 2012  12:30am

RE-POSTED: May 8, 2012  12:37pm

156. Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942)

Running Time: 125 minutes
Directed By: Michael Curtiz
Written By: Robert Buckner, Edmund Joseph
Main Cast: James Cagney, Joan Leslie, Walter Huston, Richard Whorf, Jeanne Cagney

THE LIFE AND TIMES OF GEORGE M. COHAN

Years before I began working my way through the "1001" book, I started another movie list watching project that I never finished. It was the "AFI 100 Years...100 Movies" original list. I remember #100 on the list was "Yankee Doodle Dandy" and I intended to watch them in order from 100 to 1, watching Cagney's performance as George M. Cohan first. I remember loving it and I remember thinking: "Wow, if the rest of the movies on the list are as good as this, then I'm in for a real treat!" I never watched "Yankee Doodle Dandy" again until today, and unfortunately it didn't hold up as the glorious movie that I remembered it being, although James Cagney is still great in it.

As I mentioned above "Yankee Doodle Dandy" tells the story of George M. Cohan (Cagney), a prominent singer, dancer, composer, producer, theatre owner, choreographer and actor, who hit his peak in the early 1900s. The film is told in flashback format as Cohan tells his life story to Franklin D. Roosevelt, whom he is meeting on insistence from the President. We hear George's ENTIRE life story, from his birth to his early touring with his father Jerry Cohan (Huston), his mother Nellie (Rosemary DeCamp) and his sister Josie. We follow George as he is cast as the main character in the play "Peck's Bad Boy". As George becomes more of a star, he begins to develop an air of cockiness and confidence, which his father attempts to shun. George grows up and meets aspiring singer/dancer Mary, whom he befriends and tries to help get her start. More growing up is done, as the Four Cohan's lose work, mostly due to George's bad reputation and George breaks away from his family and tries to make a start for himself, with Mary in tow. George begins writing his heart out and trying to get his scripts read all over New York. With no luck and no future in sight, George sees an opportunity to team with Sam Harris and produce a play called "Little Johnny Jones", which he does and it becomes a smash hit. The team of Harris and Cohan is born and they produce Broadway plays in numbers that have never been seen, earning George the moniker of "The Man Who Owns Broadway"! Cohan would gain huge fame and later, a Congressional Medal of Honor for his patriotic songs, "Yankee Doodle Dandy", "Grand Old Flag", "Over There" and "Give My Regards to Broadway".

I should've watched this on Independence Day, as it is one of the most patriotic films I've ever seen. The book makes mention of Cagney's performance saying and I quote: "...so much, do we care for this man we forget we are watching a performance. Cagney has become Cohan..." I am in total agreement with that statement, for if someone today were to show me a picture of the real George M. Cohan, I'm afraid that it would be utterly impossible for me to wipe away the face of Cagney when pondering the life of George Cohan. Cagney seemingly has a passion for this piece and you can really see that oozing out of him as he sings songs like "Over There" or the title song. It seems as though Cagney energizes the entire cast, as everyone seems to be at the top of their game and I have a feeling that's a result of Cagney's powering energy. I should also probably mention Walter Catlett, whom I saw here and remembered from "Bringing Up Baby". I love this guy and really need to see what else he's in and seek it out.

With all of those gushing sentiments about "Yankee Doodle Dandy", I will say that it does linger on the boring side. The film is quite long for a musical and eventually there comes a point where I'm all sung and danced out. The movie of Cohan's life becomes a bit repetitive too, much like the real life of Cohan, as he produced hit after hit and his star kept rising. As Cohan's star raised in the film, so did my attention decrease. While I love Jimmy Cagney and his performance here, I will say that this movie takes some patience and it's pace varies from steady to slow and dull. This movie will have you singing some classic Cohan songs when it's over, but when you're sitting in the middle of it, there are moments when you want the singing to stop and the credits to roll.

RATING: 5.5/10 I was gonna' go '6', but I'm thinking that would be a bit too generous. We'll leave it at a '5.5' and say farewell to James Cagney and his time in the "1001" book.

MOVIES WATCHED: 185
MOVIES LEFT TO WATCH: 816

November 7, 2010 3:17pm

115. Angels with Dirty Faces (1938)

Running Time: 97 minutes
Directed By: Michael Curtiz
Written By: Rowland Brown, John Wexley, Warren Duff
Main Cast: James Cagney, Pat O'Brien, Humphrey Bogart, Ann Sheridan, George Bancroft

"LET'S SAY A PRAYER, FOR A BOY WHO COULDN'T RUN AS FAST AS I COULD"

So Netflix finally shipped "Angels with Dirty Faces" and it always turns out that the movies I'm forced to skip over, end up being so good when I finally get to see them. This was a FANTASTIC gangster film, that was more than just a gangster film and one that I really enjoyed.

Rocky Sullivan (Cagney) is a gangster who's been in and out of prison for most of his life, for various reasons, ranging from robbery to assault. The film starts out with Rocky as a young kid, hanging out with his pal Jerry Connolly. They're bumming around one day and decide to pick a lock on a freight train and steal some fountain pens from the cargo. The cops end up busting them and they take off running, Jerry makes a clean getaway, but Rocky is caught. Jerry visits Rocky in the juvenile detention center and tells Rocky that he wants to give himself up too, so they'll go a little lighter on Rocky. Rocky won't hear of it and sends Jerry away. The film flashes through to Rocky's adulthood and he's being let out of prison for the umpteenth time. When he gets out he's planning to receive a large some of money from his lawyer, Frazier, to the sum of $100,000. He goes to see Frazier and get his money, but Frazier tells him that he doesn't have it yet, but he'll have it soon. Rocky then goes to visit Jerry, who he hasn't seen in ages and who is now a catholic priest. Rocky still thinks just as much of Jerry as he did when they were kids and the two are still good friends, despite their different lifestyles.

The movie goes through a phase in the middle, where Rocky tries to help Jerry out a bit, with some of the troubled youth in town. He takes up with a group of kids, a bunch of hoodlums and takes them under his wing. Teaching them the ins and outs of being a good criminal when Jerry's not around and trying to get them involved in Jerry's recreation center program, when Jerry is around. Rocky also takes up with a girl, one that he bullied when he was younger and who, after getting even with him, forgives him. Eventually, it's made known that Frazier has no intention of paying Rocky and Rocky must resort to some of his old street tricks in order to get his dough. Jerry ultimately swindles the money out of Frazier and his new associate, Keefer (Bancroft). The story comes to a climax, with Jerry telling Rocky that he's tired of all the crime and corruption in the city and doesn't want the kids to get wrapped up in the same things Rocky did. Jerry tells Rocky that even if he has to step on him, that he's making a big run at cleaning up the city and the criminals that populate it.

This movie has a great good vs. evil feel to it. Rocky Sullivan is a likable character, so I personally found myself, wanting to root for the bad guy here, in Rocky. However, you also have a very likable character in Jerry, and so you're torn between these two separate sides, that are in the form of two best friends, which makes it all the more interesting. Cagney plays Rocky perfect, not too rough, but very streetwise and I actually ended up liking this picture a lot more than "The Public Enemy" (which I originally gave a '10', but later lowered to a '7.5'). This is one of the definitive James Cagney pictures in my opinion and while I haven't seen a ton of his movies, this is probably my favorite, and it would take something STELLAR to topple this one, as far as Cagney pictures go. The scene of the film is tragic, and while I don't want to give away the ending here, the last line of the picture is sort of bittersweet: "Let's say a prayer, for a man who couldn't run as fast as I could" says Jerry Connolly, referring more than just to that day after they tried to steal the fountain pens, but also to the fact that Rocky couldn't outrun the dreaded hand of crime, and eventually he got wrapped up in it, until it lead to his demise. Fortunately, Jerry was able to outrun, and turned to the side of good.

RATING: 10/10 And that's not a rating that will be changing anytime soon, as this was really one of my favorite movies from the book, out of all of them.

NEXT UP: Olympia Parts 1 and 2...More Nazi propaganda from the mind of Leni Riefenstahl from the 1936 Summer Olympics.

February 23, 2010 11:52am

Revised: March 4, 2010 6:54pm

114. The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938)

Running Time: 102 minutes
Directed By: Michael Curtiz, William Keighley
Written By: Norman Reilly Raine, Seton I. Miller
Main Cast: Errol Flynn, Olivia de Havilland, Basil Rathbone, Claude Rains, Eugene Pallette, Alan Hale, Sr.

IN LIVING COLOR

I actually had no idea going into "The Adventures of Robin Hood" that it was a color film. I just always assumed, that due to it's age, it was presented, as most pictures were in the 1930's, in black & white. However, the color aspect of this film only adds to the greatness that it produces,
as I can't imagine seeing Errol Flynn don the Robin Hood garb and having to imagine it's green color.

When King Richard the Lionheart is captured by Leopold of Austria, his wily brother, Prince John takes over as presiding figure of England. He proceeds to oppress the Saxon people and raise their taxes, telling them that the raise is for King Richard's ransom, but actually not using it for such purposes. Finally, one man has seen enough oppression and decides to take a stand for the Saxon people. That man is Robin, Earl of Locksley a.k.a. Robin Hood. Robin starts by facing Prince John face to face, going to his castle during a large dinner party and crashing it. What proceeds is an exciting scene of escapism, as Robin takes on all comers and gets out of the castle, with his head still promptly on his shoulders, mostly due to his keen archery skills. Prior to being ambushed, Robin informs Prince John that he'll do everything in his power to see King Richard restored to his throne and that Richard is the only King he'll ever bow to.

After the escape, Robin decides that he needs to gather some allies, first recruiting a skilled staffsman and later, Friar Tuck, a skilled swordsman. Eventually Robin's band of merry Saxon's grow to a sizable number and they're able to take down a large party of Norman's on their way back to the castle with the "ransom" money. They take off with the loot and Maid Marian. When they throw a big feast with some of the money they stole and nourish the previously starving Saxons, Maid Marian and Robin take some time to get acquainted and the flame begins to take shape between the two. When Prince John has had enough, he and his court scheme up a plan to trap Robin. They hold an archery tournament, knowing that such a skilled archer as Robin won't be able to resist, especially when he learns that the grand prize will be a solid gold arrow, presented by the gorgeous Maid Marian. Robin, realizing the trap, but thinking that he's smarter than the Norman court, goes to the archer's tournament, wins it, but ends up being held captive in Prince John's chambers. However, that's not the end for a green donning hero, and the climax that follows is sure to put you on the edge of your seat.

Errol Flynn was a great action star, as he was really believable as someone who could pull off all of these daring feats and stunts. When watching this, I really allowed myself to be totally encapsulated by the magic that was being produced and in the scene where Robin is captured, you really want to believe that he'll get away and that he'll continue to raise hell and fight for the underdogs. If you allow yourself to get caught up in the film, then it's a real letdown when he doesn't escape and he's thrown into the dungeon where criminals are held. There were so many exciting and gripping scenes going on here: the scene near the beginning where Robin faces off with Prince John and makes a daring escape, the scene where Robin and his merry men ambush the Normans and take the gold marks, the archers tournament and the climax, it's all fantastic stuff and some of the choreography for the sword fights is right on par with anything today, be it, Pirates of the Caribbean or Lord of the Rings. Bottom line is that I had a whole lot of fun watching Robin run roughshod over the Normans and the ghastly villains of Nottingham.

RATING: 8/10 Errol Flynn is quickly becoming another favorite of mine, as is Michael Curtiz, a favorite director.

NEXT UP: Angles with Dirty Faces...Well that's a gangster title, if I ever heard one...Nothing else is set to arrive until Wednesday boys and girls, so I'll be back then with a set of reviews for 'ya.

February 23, 2010 3:27am

88. Captain Blood (1935)

Running Time: 119 minutes
Directed By: Michael Curtiz
Written By: Casey Robinson, from novel by Rafael Sabatini
Main Cast: Errol Flynn, Olivia de Havilland, Lionel Atwill, Basil Rathbone, Ross Alexander

ON MY JOURNEY I MET A MAN NAMED 'ERROL'

Despite having a hell of time getting this movie started (the DVD I recieved from Netflix was scratched and wouldn't play on any of my three DVD players), "Captain Blood" was a really fun movie, with some really great scenes and a dazzling performance by aussie Errol Flynn.

Flynn of course plays the title role of Capt. Peter Blood, an English doctor, who one night at the urgent request of rebel soldier Jeremy, goes to treat another wounded rebel soldier. Once their and once Blood tends to the wounded man, the doctor is interrupted by members of the King's court and Blood along with the other rebel soldiers that are present are taken into custody for treason. Once in court, Captain Blood is the only man who pleads not guilty, however his attempts at being set free go unheard and he's sentenced to serve as a slave in the Caribbean. Upon arriving at the Caribbean, many of Blood's comrades are purchased by Colonel Bishop for the sum of twenty pounds, but it's the Colonel's niece who ends up paying ten pounds for Captain Blood.

Peter, despite wanting no part of being on the Caribbean and still believing himself to be an innocent man, makes quick friends with the governor of Port Royal in the Caribbean and treats him for gout. When Peter puts the other doctor's on the island out of business, he then persuades them to help him get off the island, by paying him enough money to buy a boat and sail away. The doctors are more than eager to participate, as they're in dire straits, due to the medical expertise of Captain Blood. When pirates take over Port Royal, Peter and his comrades take over the pirate ship and commence in throwing Colonel Bishop overboard, before sailing away into the sunset, and deeming themselves pirates from that day forward. From there we get a very nicely put together montage of Captain Blood's rise to fame in the pirate community and soon Peter becomes the fiercest pirate to ever sail the seas. He eventually meets up with an equally unruly pirate, Levasseur and the two strike a bond, but it doesn't take long for Levasseur to break Blood's code and the two are soon engaged in a dazzling screen sword fight, with Blood striking the fatal blow on his wily foe.

I ended up having to watch this one on YouTube and I really wish I could've watched it on the DVD player, as there were some great scenes here that I'm sure weren't as dazzling on my small computer screen. "Captain Blood" is another case of "didn't expect much, but got a lot", as I really didn't think I'd enjoy a tale of 17th century pirates, but it turned out to be 100% enjoyable and Errol Flynn was a treat to watch. He and Havilland went very well together in this movie and they had a very nice chemsitry that apparently would last a long time, as they went on to make many more pictures together...pictures that I certainly wouldn't mind taking in. "Captain Blood" is really just a great story of a man who went from peaceful doctor in a war torn England to slave in the Caribbean, to menacing pirate and he makes by the end of the film, he takes on one more position of power and what a final scene this is. I won't spoil it for you here, but I assure you, if you see "Captain Blood" you won't be able to contain a snicker at the finale of this movie.

RATING: 9/10 I'm deducting a point for a few dull spots, but really nothing to get into a fit over, as "Captain Blood" is certainly a film that I want to see again someday.

NEXT UP: Mutiny on the Bounty...Charles Laughton and more Clark Gable. I'll likely recieve it today in the mail from Netflix, but probably save it to watch tomorrow.

February 1, 2010 11:06am