168. LAURA (1944)

Running Time: 88 minutes
Directed By: Otto Preminger
Written By: Jay Dratler, Samuel Hoffenstein, Elizabeth Reinhardt, from novel by Vera Caspary
Main Cast: Gene Tierney, Dana Andrews, Clifton Webb, Vincent Price, Judith Anderson
Click here to view the trailer

OBSESSION

Watching from the old side slightly out of order, as it was meant to be "Meet Me in St. Louis" before "Laura", but I only had about an hour and a half to kill last night and so I went with the shorter choice. At this moment, I'm kind of glad I did, because "Laura" was a spectacular film that I'd put off for far too long.

Laura Hunt (Tierney) is dead and it's up to detective Mark McPherson (Andrews) to find out who did it. It won't be an easy task, however, because he has a suspect list as long as his arm. Perhaps the murderer, who gunned down Laura on Friday night, using a shotgun loaded with buckshot, is Shelby Carpenter (Price), her unfaithful fiance, who may have had more to gain from Laura's death than from her continuing to live. Perhaps it was Ann Treadwell (Anderson) or  Diane Redfem, two women who Shelby has a history with and one of whom is in love with him. Or perhaps it was Waldo Lydecker (Webb), a friend of Laura's, a sort of mentor to her. While Waldo's motives aren't terribly clear, anything is possible as McPherson digs deeper and deeper into the case of Laura Hunt and begins, himself, to fall deeper and deeper under the mysterious, drawing spell of the beauty of Laura Hunt.

SPOILER ALERT!!

I didn't want to give too much away with the plot synopsis, because this movie is full of twists, turns & unexpected events and it's a movie that should be experienced without an amateur critic giving away those surprises. In fact, what can I even say about "Laura", besides to tell you how good it is. Sure, it isn't the best thing I've seen this season or anything, but it was very good and a bit of a surprise, especially considering I actually started "Laura" a couple of years ago and then stopped it because I just wasn't in the mood for a classic noir. Boy, what was I thinking? Anyway, one of the main things that "Laura" needs to be lauded for is it's intricate story, which incorporates all those twists & turns I mentioned above and it all makes sense. In other words, it isn't twists & turns for the sake of twisting and turning - we're talking about an age of movies where they didn't do that. Nowadays, the presumed dead character can reappear, without any explanation, other than to mess with the audience's head and that's just stupid. In "Laura", it all makes sense. Did anyone else think that McPherson was going to wake up at some point and realize that Laura was actually still dead and it was only in his dreams that he envisioned actually meeting the girl that everyone spoke so highly of? After all, Laura's reappearance did happen as McPherson woke up from a nap, in Laura's apartment, just after gazing at her portrait. Even though that didn't happen, it was still good that you had that option in your head, as your list of outcomes that could possibly come true. It only helped to keep you guessing and guessing right down to the bitter end. THE BOOK also makes a good point, in posing this question: Was Lydecker in love with Laura, killing her because he could never have her or did he want to be Laura, killing her because he couldn't?

The other must be lauded quality of "Laura" is the cast. Can I just say what a shame it is that my generation only remembers Vincent Price for his voice work in Michael Jackson's "Thriller". He was amazing in this movie and instead of remembering him for his voice box, we should be remembering for his acting chops, because Shelby was one of the most interesting characters in the picture and the way Price played him was memorable. Everyone else does an outstanding job too and I mean that in the literal sense of that word - meaning they're performances stood out from other movies and were impossible not to recognize as amazing. Clifton Webb, Dana Andrews and Gene Tierney were all great and together this cast put out a movie that's going to be difficult to forget come TOP 20 time, even if it doesn't nab one of the top spots.

RATING: 7.5/10  Really good stuff, but it's sparring within a really amazing season and whether or not it can overcome that will have to be seen.

MOVIES WATCHED: 677
MOVIES LEFT TO WATCH: 324

May 8, 2013  11:58am

281. Carmen Jones (1954)

Running Time: 105 minutes
Directed By: Otto Preminger
Written By: Harry Kleiner, from the novel Carmen by Prosper Merimee
Main Cast: Dorothy Dandridge, Harry Belafonte, Pearl Bailey, Olga James, Joe Adams
Click here to view the trailer

DANDRIDGE IS DYNAMITE!

I had to halt the "Ozu Hat Trick" festivities, in order to check out "Carmen Jones", a movie that is currently streaming via Netflix, but that is scheduled to stop streaming as of March 1. Not wanting to have to add it to my "At Home" queue, I decided to just go ahead and knock it out.

For the unaware, "Carmen Jones" is a musical and opens with Cindy Lou (James) arriving at an Army base in North Carolina to visit her man Joe (Belafonte).  On the army base, is also a parachute factory, where the free-spirited Carmen Jones works. Carmen is an independent woman and if she lived in this day and age, she'd probably be called a "diva". Carmen could have any man she wants and when she spots Joe, eating lunch with Cindy Lou, she decides she wants him. Joe wants no part of Carmen Jones, however, as he's committed to Cindy Lou. When Carmen, oozing with sass, picks a fight with one of her co-workers, Joe is selected to drive her to a nearby town, where she'll be brought up on charges and jailed. When she tries to get away from him, Joe chases her down, even jumping a moving train and finally tackling her & tying her up and when his Army Jeep breaks down, Carmen invites him to her neighborhood, which they happen to be near. At Carmen's house, Joe finally gives into temptation and allows himself to be seduced by the beautiful Carmen. The next morning, however, she's gone, citing that she just can't allow herself to be cooped up. Joe is put in the stockade for allowing his prisoner to escape and when he's released he finds Carmen working at Billy Pastor's, a Louisiana nightclub. After Joe knocks out a superior officer in Louisiana, the two hop a train to Chicago, courtesy of Husky Miller, heavyweight boxer and another would-be suitor for the vivacious Carmen, where they plan to hide out while Joe's trouble blows over. Can Carmen bring herself to be "cooped up" with Joe and can she resist the lavish lifestyle that a life on the arm of Husky Miller would allow her?

Fun Fact: I had no idea this was a musical until the opening credits started to roll and I spotted the name Hammerstein, put two and two together and came to a realization. It's hard to believe that the same man who directed Jimmy Stewart in "Anatomy of a Murder" and Robert Mitchum in "Angel Face", was also the same man who directed Dorothy Dandridge in "Carmen Jones". Honestly, I wasn't gaga about this film or anything, but a lot of little things added to the amazing abilities of Dorothy Dandridge gets it at least a mild recommendation. Let me just say that Dandridge OWNED the screen! Without her, this movie would have totally failed with me and let me just say that I thought she was brilliant. She was nominated for an Academy Award at the 1955 ceremony and while I haven't seen any of the other nominees from that year, I have a hard time believing that anyone had as much of a powerful screen presence as Ms. Dandridge. And hey, don't let me gloss over the talents of Mr. Belafonte either - he was a fine casting choice and held his own very well standing beside the great actress. THE BOOK poses the question as to why Dandridge and Belafonte's voices were dubbed and I second it. I really didn't know whether or not Dorothy Dandrige was a singer (apparently she was), but as I watched, I knew that Harry Belafonte WAS and wondered why he was being so obviously dubbed.

Now, again, despite the performance of Dandridge, I'd only really be able to give this one a mild recommendation. The story is good, but my main problem is with the music, which, more often that not, hinders the progression of the film, instead of helping it along, as it should be doing. Aside from Pearl Bailey's rendition of "Gypsy Song" and Dandridge's initial rendition of "Habanera", the rest of the songs I REALLY could've done without. Also, like I mentioned above, the voices are so obviously dubbed that it's more distracting than enjoyable. Give this one a shot, but being a fan of musicals is going to help you (not entirely though, as I'm a mild fan of musicals and the musical aspect here was lost on me) and don't go in expecting a run of the mill Preminger vehicle. Instead, go in expecting a dynamite performance from Dorothy Dandridge and a decent story with a good ending.

RATING: 6.5/10  Good, but just misses out on the '7', a number that would mean that it crosses the threshold from good to great.

MOVIES WATCHED: 621
MOVIES LEFT TO WATCH: 380

February 27, 2013  1:47am

244. Angel Face (1952)

Running Time: 90 minutes
Directed By: Otto Preminger
Written By: Chester Erskine, Oscar Millard, Frank S. Nugent
Main Cast: Robert Mitchum, Jean Simmons, Mona Freeman, Herbert Marshall, Leon Ames
Click here to view the trailer

MITCHUM DISAPPOINTS...SOMEHOW

Back to work, but feeling pretty spry for having just done absolutely nothing for the span of one week. Last night, as my vacation came to a close, I took the time to take in one last movie before heading back to work - "Angel Face".

This time around the shadowy, film-noir block, Mitchum stars as Frank Jessup, an ex-race car driver and current ambulance driver who, after taking a call at the wealthy Tremayne residence, strikes up an interest in Diane Tremayne (Simmons), daughter to Charles Tremayne and step-daughter to Catherine Tremayne, the latter of which controls the checkbook. Frank already has a girl on the string, Mary (Freeman), but she isn't exciting enough for him and instead he takes the time to pursue Diane and even lands himself a new job because of it, when Diane offers him a position as the Tremayne chauffeur. Maybe I should back track a little bit here and explain that the reason Frank was called to the Tremayne residence, on the night he initially met Diane, was because someone had triggered the gas in Catherine Tremayne's room. It was either a huge accident or someone was trying to kill her. As the film continues, Frank starts to piece things together and makes no qualms about telling Diane his suspicions of her and her role on the "accident" with the gas. Frank tries over and over again to reunite with Mary, who represents a normal, content life, but can't break free of the exciting like that Diane represents. At about the halfway mark of the film, Charles and Catherine Tremayne are killed when their automobile goes in reverse over the side of a cliff, the reaction of an apparent car tampering. From there, Frank and Diane are hauled into court, where they stand trial for the murder of Charles Tremayne and Catherine Tremayne.

SPOILER ALERT!

Well add "Angel Face" to the list of biggest BOOK disappointments, right up there with "The Hustler", because ever since seeing "Out of the Past", I'd been looking forward to another Robert Mitchum film and this one just didn't stack up in the slightest. My main problems with "Angel Face" were pretty much the same problems I had with "The Postman Always Rings Twice", where things just got waaaay too out of hand, which lead to too many contrivances. There was also the problem of Mitchum and Simmons' chemistry, of which, in my opinion, there was none. I just didn't buy these two as lovebirds and I was never fully sold on their relationship. They just didn't give off the sparks necessary to lead me to buy into the rest of the story. Once we got into the courtroom (and don't get me wrong, the courtroom scenes are some of the best in the film) the movie had blown into too big of a circus and I no longer cared about these characters.

It's a real shame too, because when the film opened up and I realized that Mitchum wasn't playing a private detective, an insurance investigator or an ex-cop, I was pretty excited. Here you had a noir that wasn't going to seem to fall into the standard stereotypes, introducing a regular Joe, an ambulance driver and it all seemed to set up so perfect. I've realized, after being burned by "Angel Face", that when it comes to film-noir and your truly, there's no middle ground - I either love 'em or I don't and I didn't love "Angel Face". Keep your eyes peeled for the courtroom scenes, where Leon Ames shines and the two car crashes, the first of which totally caught me off guard (I saw the ending coming out as it did and I really liked it), however, the rest of the film you can feed to the dogs.

RATING: 5.5/10  That was a pretty harsh write-up for a '5.5', but I was disappointed dammit!! I'll be checking out "The Night of the Hunter" later this season and hopefully Mitchum can win me back over.

MOVIES WATCHED: 618
MOVIES LEFT TO WATCH: 383

COMING SOON
Salt of the Earth (1954 - Herbert J. Biberman)
Silver Lode (1954 - Allan Dwan)
A Streetcar Named Desire (1951 - Elia Kazan)
The Quiet Man (1952 - John Ford)

February 20, 2013  8:35pm

342. Anatomy of a Murder (1959)

Running Time: 160 minutes
Directed By: Otto Preminger
Written By: Wendell Mayes, from novel by John D. Voelker
Main Cast: James Stewart, Lee Remick, Ben Gazzara, George C. Scott, Arthur O'Connell

STEWART vs. SCOTT ON THE COURTROOM FLOOR

I've had "Anatomy of a Murder" sitting at my desk, from Netflix, for the better part of the past month, but kept putting it off because other movies seemed to be more pressing. "Anatomy of a Murder" has been a film that I've wanted to see for the longest time and today I was finally able to check it out...I wasn't disappointed.

Paul Biegler (Stewart) is a former district attorney, who now spends his days fishing and handling mostly divorce proceedings. When Biegler returns home from another weekend fishing, his colleague Parnell (O'Connell) informs him that there's a case he simply must take. The case involves Frederick Manion (Gazzara), a U.S. Army Lieutenant who is being held for the murder of Barney Quill. Manion's excuse for killing Quill, is that Quill raped and beat Mrs. Manion (Remick) and that in a state of "irresistible impulse" he murdered Quill without having no definite recollection of the events a.k.a. temporary insanity. Biegler eventually decides to take the case and gains a bit of confidence when he and Parnell find a precedent of irresistible impulse. However, any confidence that the defense had, goes right out the door when the prosecuting attorney brings in a big shot lawyer from nearby, big city Lansing to assist, in the form of Claude Dancer (Scott). Once the film establishes the facts, it's time for us to sit in along with the fictitious jury and develop our own ideas (as viewers) as to whether or not Mr. Manion is guilty, not guilty or insane.

POSSIBLE SPOILER ALERT!

I remember when I was a kid and a night would come where my Mom and Dad would get up the desire to watch a movie. We'd all head down to our local video store and we'd spend the next half an hour or so flipping over cellophane covered, VHS cases in search of that great film that we'd take home and watch. I remember my Dad used to LOVE courtroom dramas and usually whatever he picked, I'd end up watching as well. I watched a lot of courtroom dramas when I was a kid and whether I understood them or not was irrelevant. Too bad my Dad wasn't a fan of older movies, or this one would've been a top contender to take home on one of those evenings.

This is probably one of the best courtroom dramas I've ever seen and I'm glad that we get right down to it when it comes to getting inside the courtroom, calling witnesses and yelling objections. I like the structure of this film and how we spend about an hour or so getting all the facts, basically following Biegler around and getting as much information as he does, uncovering things right along with him. We're not sure, just as he's not sure if his own client is guilty or innocent, but as viewers we form our own opinions. I, for one, would like to think that Mr. Manion was guilty and that he had control of all of his faculties when he killed Quill. Laura Manion never really seemed to me to portray a woman who has recently been sexually violated. The two as a couple really didn't even seem all that close and sometimes Mr. Manion would give her little glances that seemed to say, "If I ever get outta' here, you're in for it!"

Or maybe Frederick Manion was innocent and for that short period of time when he killed Quill, he was "out of it". That's the beauty of "Anatomy of a Murder", you basically get to experience what it feels like to be on a jury and because it's a movie, it's going to be more exciting than any real life court case. You're going to be treated to surprise witnesses and judges who make little comical comments at random times throughout the case. Stewart and Scott both did excellent jobs, in my opinion. Stewart seemed to break his "aw shucks" persona, just a little bit and threw words like panties around and banged on table tops with the palm of his hand. Scott, while his role wasn't huge, also delivered a dynamite performance and was even intimidating me a little, as he'd get two inches away from a witnesses face and assault them with a barrage of questions.

If there was anything I didn't like about the film, I'd have to say it was the ending. As far as I'm concerned, the film should've been over when the jury read their verdict. Instead we get a scene that really feels tacked on and irrelevant, as Biegler and Parnell go to The Manion's home to collect their debt and find they'd skipped town.

RATING: 7.5/10 Not perfect, but very good and how can you knock a courtroom drama that allows George C. Scott and Jimmy Stewart to verbally duke it out and show off their acting muscle.

MOVIES WATCHED: 252
MOVIES LEFT TO WATCH: 749

April 13, 2011 5:13pm