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Reviews
Bud Abbott and Lou Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948)
Comedy meets horror.
A true goth classic. Abbott and Costello meet the original Dracula - Bela Lugosi and the original Wolfman - Lon Chaney Jnr. Glen Strange plays Frankenstein's monster faithfully and Vincent Price makes a brief addition to the film as the voice of the Invisible Man. The film has one other gimmick and that is a female mad doctor. A very nice touch.
There are some wonderful albeit short animation sequences particularly as Dracula changes between a bat and himself. The comic playoff between Abbott and Costello is comedic genius. Abbott although short, fat and stupid has two women after him while Costello relies on his rejects.
If you're not sure if it's comedy or horror call it goth.
Chinatown (1974)
A 1970s film noir
In my books this film is a successful, later film noir in colour. All the elements of the old 1940's film noir are there. Private Detective Jake Gittes thinks he has a run of the mill adultery investigation on his hands when Mrs Mulray the wife of a Water Company executive hires him. The case quickly turns to set ups, conspiracy and murder.
Jack Nicholson and Faye Dunnaway play this movie perfectly. A private detective needs to be played as street smart and cool. The street wise must ooze from him without being overplayed and ruining his cool. Jack Nicholson is almost a natural and Faye Dunnaway compliments him beautifully wealthy woman with a dark secret.
This film is a true classic and perhaps it is Roman Polanski's own dark experiences that have him pulling off a film noir in the seventies.
The Big Steal (1949)
A classic chase caper film noir
Halliday and Chiquita meet while both chasing Fiske. She's after him for breaking their engagement and taking $2000 and he's after him for an army payroll robbery that his superior officer has blamed on him. The superior officer is chasing Halliday and the Inspector General becomes involved. A great chase with a climatic finish. Robert Mitchum and Jane Greer are brilliant and you can see the sparks fly.
They Won't Believe Me (1947)
What should happen to an unfaithful husband?
I like the ending to this film even though it probably was made to satisfy the censor. A philanderer is on trial for murder. The film is basically a flashback of his testimony. He needs to convince the jury that his lover died in a car accident and his wife threw herself over a cliff after he left her even though he lied to police. So how does it end? Well I guess he thought "They Won't Believe Me". Well, what should happen to all unfaithful husbands? The cast is great. Especially Jane Greer.
The Hunger (1983)
Undead, undead, undead...
This film is a goth classic. It includes the Bauhaus song Bela Lugosi is Dead plus plenty of blood and lesbian sex. I might add though that as a female - what is the male pre-occupation with lesbians? I'm not fascinated with gay male sex myself and nor are females generally. Hmmm... The original novel is by Whitley Strieber who also wrote Communion. This movie really does The Hunger justice while I felt the movie of Communion was not as good.
David Bowie needs a mention here as does Catherine Deneuve. Bowie is a great and severely underrated actor. The whole cast is great though and the film is beautifully shot. It is very atmospheric and visually stunning.
Dracula (1931)
I want to suck your blood
The original Dracula is still the best. I think it's better in black and white and this is a masterpiece. It's creepy and atmospheric and beautifully shot. Sometimes the film is criticised for being played out like it is on stage rather than like a film. You can see what people are saying. Early films, and this is an early sound film as well, sometimes have these problems.
The film actually sticks quite close to the book but not as close as Bram Stoker's Dracula from 1992. Of course Bela Lugosi is brilliant in the lead role as Dracula. Although it is from 1936 and the erotic and sexual overtones are more subtle, you would certainly say that Dracula is a romantic figure in this film. Highly recommended.
Dark Passage (1947)
A convicted murderer escapes. He says he wants to prove his innocence. Or does he want revenge?
I love Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall in almost every film I've seen them in together. They had chemistry like no Hollywood couple today has and they chose roles with bite. In this film Bogart plays a convicted murderer on the run from prison who is innocent and Bacall helps him escape and hides him. It seems a little naive and dangerous for her to help a murderer and believe he is innocent but a similar thing happened to her father. Bogart ends up getting plastic surgery. In the film up to the part where he gets the surgery we never see Bogart's face and most of it is shot from his POV (point of view).
So he is out to prove he's innocent but when he finds out who killed his wife and framed him... well what would you do? I highly recommend this little mystery. I love a good mystery in black and white made at least 40 years ago. Especially one with Bogie and Bacall.
The Postman Always Rings Twice (1946)
A man marries a younger woman believing he has got it all. But he may get murdered.
Nick Smith is a guy who owns his own restaurant and has a lot to offer a woman. But he offers it all to a younger woman. She doesn't really love him. He knows that and almost strikes up a deal with her. He wants a sexy young blonde wife and she wants money and security. Then one day he hires a handy man - Frank. Frank and his wife Cora start having an affair. Then they plot to murder him to keep the restaurant and the money.
Will they succeed? In the afterlife would Nick learn from his mistakes? He had it all - his own business, money, a beautiful young wife. Is sex and money enough for you? Would you get yourself into a loveless marriage? Nick is materialistic but will he learn the hard way?
The Quiet American (2002)
The politics of love
The Quiet American had many delays in its release one of them after September 11. It was felt that the film was 'un-American' in the climate post 9/11. While the story is of a love triangle set in French colonial Vietnam the underlying politics are what grabbed me. The film makes statements on colonialism, communism and the reasons for US involvement that followed and the tactics of the CIA. I found the author and filmakers were not afraid to reveal that the CIA will often sell explosives and arms to militia and groups who are in opposition to their 'enemy'. However you can not control these groups and the explosives sold in this film were used in a car bomb that killed innocent vietnamese. The car bomb was then blamed on the communists, making them look bad. The reality that this does happen punched me in the face.
I was shocked when someone told me that Ronald Reagan starred in the original and was not surprised to find this person mistaken. Audie Murphy and Michael Redgrave star in original version of this film. While I enjoyed the major plotline of the love triangle I found the subplots and other elements of the film to be honest and thought provoking.
Quicksand (1950)
Ever told a lie and needed to cover it up with more lies?
If you have then this film is for you. Mickey Rooney plays a mechanic who wants to take a waitress out on a date but doesn't have enough cash to impress her with. He steals and then needs to commit more crimes and bigger crimes to cover his tracks. Finally his walk on the wildside ends in murder. But is the guy dead or just knocked out?
Without giving away the ending a similar film is Detour which had a lot of trouble with the censors for its own ending. In my opinion braving the censors gives Detour more punch. But Quicksand is still an enjoyable Film Noir and one of my favourite Mickey Rooney films. We see Rooney in too many musicals and family films. Quicksand gives him a dark side.
A Walk in the Sun (1945)
Based on the novella of the same name by Harry Brown.
I really enjoyed the book "A Walk in the Sun", finding it printed in its entirety in "The Giant Book of WWII Stories". It is a classic story and an equally classic movie. The movie sticks quite closely to the book with only a few changes. Some of the dialogue is lifted straight from the pages of the novella. It is the story of a platoon in WWII trying to capture a farmhouse. The characters are all strong and what they talk about while in the middle of a war is what grips you. I highly recommend both the book and the film.
Rear Window (1954)
A Hitchcock masterpiece where a man with a broken leg for 6 weeks, a pair of binoculars and a rear window add up to trouble.
A man witnesses what he believes is a murder in an apartment building behind his. The romance makes for an interesting subplot also showing up its era. Grace Kelly plays a society sweetheart who has fallen for a photographer. She wants to marry and he doesn't. She imagines him as a fashion photographer in a suit and married to her. James Stewart plays the 'louse' who declares she could never follow him through the middle east photographing on dangerous assignments and he could never fit into her ideal. Far from wanting to break-up he asks her to keep things 'status quo'. There's an interesting scene between his police detective friend and her overnight bag. But this is the movies - he has to marry her!
Mildred Pierce (1945)
A spoilt snide puss ruins her mother's business and marriage.
Mildred Pierce is the best example of the 'old wisdom' in pre-60's society and cinema. A mother spoils her daughter only to have her turn on her as a young adult. Ending in the extreme with the mother losing her business in a web of betrayal and finally murder, Mildred Pierce reminds us of how simple it all is. These days we are all so aware and complex psychologically. Maybe it's just this simple.