Category: Classics

“In a Lonely Place” (1950)

EmmaLeave a comment

cops

This film is considered to be one of Humphrey Bogart’s finest by many critics.  He is very engaging as a passionate, dark, anti-hero with a checkered past.  As always, Bogie becomes the character, making acting look effortless.  (“He’s so interesting, isn’t he?” my dad commented after a particularly intense scene.)

Bogart plays middle-aged, famous, and jaded LA screenwriter, Dixon Steele.  He’s a man who likes drinking, fighting, and speaking whatever is on his mind.  One night, he is approached by Mildred Atkinson, a pretty young coat check girl.   She gushes about the movies he’s written, and wants to know more about famous people.  Steele grudgingly takes her home to talk more (she kept insisting), but grows weary of her praise, naivete, and chattiness.  Politely, he sends the girl on her way, saying he’s had a very long day.

squeeze

The next morning, one of his friendly local cops comes to his apartment.  We learn that the coat check girl was murdered just a few blocks from Steele’s home.  He is their number one suspect, and has a history of getting rough with people (indcluding an ex-girlfriend).

interest

But his new neighbor, an aspiring actress named Laurel Grey (Gloria Grahame), says she saw him at his door after the girl left.  Laurel boldly comments (in front of some detectives, including Steele’s friend Captain Lochner) that she finds Steele’s face “interesting.”  They quickly become a couple.

doubts

The writer and actress are a swell pair for a few weeks.  He gets a burst of creativity; she takes care of  his home/meals/friends.  But Steele seems to have “a strange fascination with death,” as Captain Lochner’s wife comments after a dinner party.  (The scripts he writes include creative ways to murder people, we learn.)  Eventually, Laurel starts to get suspicious because of Steele’s sudden mood swings and bursts of violence.  Could Steele have killed Mildred?  And even if he’s not a murderer, should Laurel stay with such an unpredictable man?

A recent review of the film:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/kim-morgan/please-dont-let-me-love-y_b_236463.html

“Portrait of Jennie” (1949)

Emma3 Comments
The opening of the film- WOW!
The opening of the film- WOW!

This is one of the MOST beautifully lighted movies I’ve ever seen!  It also has an unusual, engaging, and (unapologetically) romantic storyline.  If you liked The Ghost and Mrs. Muir, you should check out Portrait of Jennie.  Eben Adams (Joseph Cotton) is a struggling artist in NYC, hoping and waiting for a spark of inspiration.  He paints for a living, earns some money, BUT wants to create a great piece. 

"I wish you were older."
"I wish you were older," Eben tells Jennie.

One day in Central Park, Eben meets an unusually pretty, cheerful young girl named Jennie Appleton (Jennifer Jones).  They chat as she skates across the pond.  Eben is captivated by Jennie’s face, and wants to paint her portrait.  But Jennie has to leave.

jennie_4

Eben tells his friends, art dealer, and gallery owner (played by Ethel Barrymore) about Jennie; she has become his inspiration.  He looks for her in the park for several days.  When he sees Jennie again, she has grown a bit older!  How can that be?  Eben asks to meet her parents, so he can get permission to paint her.  Jennie says that her parents died in a high-wire accident.  She doesn’t give her address.  Eben does some research to find out more about this mysterious girl.        

jennie_3
The third time Jennie appears, she’s in Eben’s studio.  She’s a full-grown woman, ready to attend convent school (college).   Eben, overjoyed and in love, can finally work on her portrait.
We always want what we can't have!
We always want what we can't have!
Before the portrait is finished, Jennie has to go away again.  She’s gone for some time, and Eben despairs of ever seeing her again.  He waits by a park bench as night.  When she does come again, Jennie (a sophomore in college) admits that she’s in love with Eben.  They walk through the streets of NYC all night, talking and wishing they could stay together for longer.
 
The finished portrait
The finished portrait

This film has an aura of mystery, suspense, and sweetness.  Is Jennie a ghost?  And is there any way for these lovers to be together?

“Notorious” (1946)

EmmaLeave a comment
notorious_close

This is one of my mom’s fave classic films, BUT I just recently watched all of it.  It’s Hitchcock, but also VERY romantic (note the lighting).  And we get the pleasure of seeing Hollywood’s two most GORGEOUS, sophisticated, and talented actors working together!  

 

Alicia Huberman (Ingrid Bergman) is a beautiful/young/strong-willed Miami socialite who has turned to drinking and carousing since the imprisonment of her father.   At a party one night, she gets very drunk, and has to be driven home by T.R. Devlin (Cary Grant). 

 

Grant and Bergman have insta-chemistry!
Grant and Bergman have insta-chemistry!

Devlin learns that Alicia, who loves America, is bitter that her father worked as a German spy.  Devlin proposes that Alicia work as a spy for the American government on a special assignment in Rio de Janeiro.  The country could use someone w/ her background and talents, Devlin’s superiors say.   

 

NOT merely contact and spy!
NOT just contact and spy!
Even before the plane lands in Rio, Dev and Alicia are deeply into each other.  She quits drinking, resigned to be a better person.   That night, she says she’s in love with Dev.  But the new romance is suddenly halted when Dev learns what Alicia will be required to do IF she accepts the assignment.  She’ll have to get VERY close to wealthy businessman Alexander Sebastien (Claude Rains), one of her father’s close friends.  Devlin’s bosses explain that Sebastien was in love w/ Alicia years ago, and is eager to see her again!        

Out of the Past (1947) starring Robert Mitchum & Kirk Douglas

Emma1 Comment

past4

This is a 4 star classic film noir that you MUST-SEE!  Out of the Past reminded me of A History of Violence.  It has snappy dialogue, interesting characters, twists and turns, and gorgeous lighting.  Because of censorship laws of the ’40s, some events are (cleverly) hinted at, instead of shown outright.  This adds to the originality of the film!

Small town USA

Jeff Bailey (Robert Mitchum) has lived for 2 yrs in a small California town running a gas station.  His assistant is a deaf/mute teen boy.  Jeff (a seemingly normal, quiet guy) often goes fishing w/ a pretty, sweet local lady- Ann Miller.  He plans to marry her in the near future.  One day, a big-city guy drives into this little community and starts asking questions about Jeff.  This stranger (from Jeff’s old life) is surprised to learn about his (now ordinary) life.

The femme fatale
Jane Greer: The femme fatale

Jeff confides in Ann after seeing the man from his past.  No so long ago, he was a sort of private detective in San Francisco.  Jeff and his partner, Brodie, got in over their head when they started working w/ crime boss Whit Sterling (Kirk Douglas).  Whit paid them to look for his runaway girlfriend, Kathie Moffat (Jane Greer), even AFTER she tried to kill him!

Kirk Douglas: the former boss
Kirk Douglas & Robert Mitchum

Jeff traveled to Mexico, met the mysterious/beautiful Kathie, and quickly fell in love w/ her.  After 2 weeks, Whit showed up w/ a group of his men.  Jeff met w/ them, but then ran away w/ Kathie.  But that’s NOT the end of this story!

The lighting in this film noir is AWESOME!

Unlike the song, Kathie was not “easy to love,” but Jeff went out of his way to protect her from Whit.  We find out in the last 1/3 of the story that Kathie is NOT as defenseless as she seems.  Even after 2 yrs, she’s NOT completely out of Jeff’s system!   Can Jeff have a normal life w/ Ann, or will Kathie cause the undoing of him?  This was (no doubt) a juicy role for Mitchum, who we know has the tough guy exterior, but also a sly humor and normal guy demeanor.  Just a magnetic actor!  

Three “Outside the Box” Movies: Oleanna, Millions, and Melinda & Melinda

EmmaLeave a comment

Oleanna (1994)

A play by David Mamet as a film
A play by David Mamet as a film

This intense, smart, thought-provoking, and perhaps controversial,  film centers on just 2 people: John (William H. Macy), a middle-aged college professor who struggles to understand (and be understood by) one his undergrad students, Carol (Debra Eisenstadt).  It takes time to get into it b/c David Mamet’s speech is NOT your everyday movie dialogue.  This movie will bring up a LOT of issues (depending on what YOU make of it)… and make every viewer think!  (IMHO, one of the key themes is the danger of being TOO politically correct.)

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0110722/

Millions (2004)

A film directed by Danny Boyle
A film directed by Danny Boyle

This is an eccentric, fun, and original film.  It’s shot in beautiful locations w/ a great group of UK actors, including many kids.

millions_handsup

Damien, who recently lost his mother, is an ADORABLE, sensitive, and bright boy living in suburban Ireland w/ his dad and older bro.  He has a great knowledge of saints and martyrs, and imagines them as part of his everyday life.  When a large bag of money falls on his playhouse, Damien thinks it’s a gift from God.

millions_bros

Damien sets about giving his share to the poor (using various methods), while his brother Anthony spends his half like there’s no tomorrow.

Melinda and Melinda (2005)

A film directed by Woody Allen
A film film directed by Woody Allen

This film is actually split into 2- a comedy (which features Will Farrell as a neurotic character actor) and a tragedy (where Chewitel Ejiofor plays a charming composer).  Manhattan looks beautiful in the hands of Woody Allen- of course!

mm_smiles2

Melinda (petite/blonde/Australian Radha Mitchell) is the center of both stories.  She does a GOOD job of portraying 2 different women w/ a range of emotions/issues.

mm_smiles

mm_3gals