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Post by Slam_Bradley on Mar 16, 2022 13:58:14 GMT -5
Moving on to 1943. Sooo... The Ox-Box Incident. Is it a 1942 film or a 1943 film. Most sources will say 1943 based on its May8, 1943 premiere in New York City. But it did apparently play in St. Louis in December of '42. But the consensus is '43, so that's where I'm going. William Wellman gives us one of the great early psychological westerns and easily the best western since Stagecoach. The cast is universally stellar, headed by Henry Fonda (in one of the few roles he felt was good during his time at Fox), Dana Andrews and Harry Morgan (a shock for those of us who grew up with MASH). Still one of the great western films and a great movie about mob "justice." This isn't quite the slam dunk that 1942 was because there are some other films from '43 that I really like (or remember really liking) but it's pretty clearly the winner. Journey Into Fear - This is a great, if flawed, film noir. Like so many films attached to Orson Welles after Citizen Kane it had massive problems with production and studio interference. Eventually Norman Foster came on as the titular director, but by all accounts it was a very collaborative effort and Welles and Joseph Cotton's script shines through. Ultimately the whole is somewhat less than the sum of the parts. But Cotten and Delores Del Rio are great and it's clear there is a fantastic film buried in there that never quite made it out. Shadow of a Doubt - Another great film by Alfred Hitchcock and Joseph Cotton (dude was on fire). This was allegedly Hitchcock's favorite of his films and it's a taut, tight thriller. If I had any real complaints it's that, even at a fairly young looking 25, Theresa Wright was probably too old for the role of Charlie. Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man - It's honestly been a LONG time since I've watched this one. But the first time that two Universal monsters meet on screen is important for a whole host of reasons. Beyond its importance in establishing the Universal Monsters Universe, I do recall this being just a damn fun movie. There are, as usual, a number of films I remember really liking but it's been far too long since I've revisited them. That is certainly true of most of Jacques Tourneur's horror films, which in 1943 gave us I Walked With a Zombie and The Leopard Man. I know that I really liked Sahara with Bogart, but it is very vague after all these years. I had something of a love/hate relationship with the 1943 version of The Phantom of the Opera. Love Claude Rains and the production is wonderful. The music tends to kill it for me though. In animated shorts, Tex Avery absolutely slays with Red Hot Riding Hood. In some years it could easily win the prize. Donald Duck has issues with Herr Schickelgruber in Der Fuhrer's Face, a pretty atypical Disney short. The boys at Termite Terrace keep edging closer and closer to classic status with the likes of Wakiki Wabbit and Tortoise Wins by a Hare. But the Fleisher Brothers Superman is still the best overall short series. 1943 in film for those who want a look. |
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Post by commond on Mar 16, 2022 17:58:57 GMT -5
I think 1943 might be the weakest year yet, which was probably due to the war. My answer would probably be either The Ox-Bow Incident, The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp, Day of Wrath, or Shadow of a Doubt, but none of these films would make my top 50-100 of all-time.
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Post by badwolf on Mar 17, 2022 9:28:27 GMT -5
I have given Shadow of a Doubt and Le Corbeau (which I don't really remember offhand) the same rating.
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Post by Prince Hal on Mar 17, 2022 11:08:40 GMT -5
Shadow of a Doubt is a masterpiece and, like all great works of art, rewards frequent viewings. Joseph Cotten's nihilistic dinnertime diatribe is right up there with the great movie speeches, and the way it is ignored by everyone but Charlie is jsut one more indictment by Hitchcock (and screenwriter Thornton Wilder) of just how non-idyllic small town America is.
I have a soft spot for Arsenic and Old Lace. Sorry.
Jane Eyre is a damn good version of the novel, with fine portrayals by Orson Welles as the Byronic Edward Rochester and Joan Fontaine as the amazingly resilient Jane. For me, the best parts are the early scenes in the orphanage. Harrowing, especially the treatment of Helen Burns, played by an uncredited Elizabeth Taylor. The cinematography of George Barnes, who -- no surprise -- also filmed Rebecca (1940) tells much of the story, as does the score by Bernard Hermann.
Sahara is propaganda of a sort, but more realistic look at war you'll be hard-pressed to find. Another excellent ensemble cast, and a fine screenplay by the soon-to-be blacklisted John Howard Lawson. Beware progressive ideas!!!!
Edge of Darkness, with a surprisingly restrained Errol Flynn as the leader of the resistance in a Norwegian fishing village. No jingoistic hoopla, just a stark account of an attempt to fight back against an overpowering occupying force. The opening will remind you of Beau Geste, but the emphasis here is on guts, not gallantry.
Action in the North Atlantic is a fairly realistic look, all things considered, at the Merchant Marine that doesn't skimp on the propaganda, but also has some great dialogue, set pieces (the sinking and scenes on the raft) and acting. Crash Dive is more blatantly propagandistic, but also has some nice miniature work and action scenes during a preposterous raid on a German base by a submarine and its crew. Guadalcanal Diary may be the quintessential Hollywood World war two movie: the motley crew of guys in the platoon (William Bendix as the guy from Brooklyn; Anthony Quinn as the Hispanic guy; Eddie Acuff as Tex; Richard Jaeckel as the kid, etc.), the bravado, the moments of honesty before the battle starts, the chaplain and the non-religious guy, the rivalry with the army, and the out-and-out racism with which the Japanese are portrayed. But I grew up with all three of these movies shown all the time on local TV, so don't crucify me for recalling them fondly.
Hangmen Also Die is based on the assassination of Reinhard Heydrich, the Nazi administrator of Czechoslovakia and chairman of the infamous Wannsee Conference. He had established the SS-Einsatzgruppen to hunt and exterminate Jews in Poland and Russia. Hitler retaliated by annihilating the Czech village of Lidice. It's not a great film, but worth watching if only because it was directed by Fritz Lang. An effective meditation on when/if resistance is counter-productive, as after the assassination of the Heydrich figure, Czech citizens are being out to death until the assassin is turned in.
The Seventh Victim is another creepy entry from the Val Lewton unit at RKO. Suicide, murder and Satanism in Greenwich Village. A predecessor in many ways of Rosemary's Baby in tone, certainly, but also in effect. The Cat People is dreamlike; The Seventh Victim is a like a nightmare.
THE SLEEPER AWARD:
Try to find (it's occasionally on TCM) This Land is Mine, with Charles Laughton and Maureen O'Hara. I'd never heard of it till about four years ago. Riveting. Also a portrayal of a village under occupation by the Nazis, also focusing on the risks to the citizens inherent in taking action against the occupiers. The main characters are teachers, a namby-pamby momma's boy (Laughton) and his spirited but frightened colleague (O'Hara). One of the conflicts centers around book-banning and censorship. Laughton is heartbreaking; O'Hara inspiring.
Directed artfully by Jean Renoir. with an incisive screenpaly by Dudley Nichols, an old pro (Stagecoach; Bringing Up Baby) who rose to the occasion here. He never wrote a better script.
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Post by Slam_Bradley on Mar 17, 2022 11:40:21 GMT -5
I have a soft spot for Arsenic and Old Lace. Sorry. I like Arsenic and Old Lace a lot. But it's a weird movie as far as its filming and release. It was filmed in 1942 and was shown to overseas troops in 1943. But it was held back from U.S. theaters until 1944 because there was a proviso in the contract that it could not be released until the Broadway run was finished. So it's in a kind of gray area, but is generally viewed as being a 1944 film by most sources based on its general release in the U.S. |
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Post by Slam_Bradley on Mar 17, 2022 11:43:18 GMT -5
Hangmen Also Die is based on the assassination of Reinhard Heydrich, the Nazi administrator of Czechoslovakia and chairman of the infamous Wannsee Conference. He had established the SS-Einsatzgruppen to hunt and exterminate Jews in Poland and Russia. Hitler retaliated by annihilating the Czech village of Lidice. It's not a great film, but worth watching if only because it was directed by Fritz Lang. An effective meditation on when/if resistance is counter-productive, as after the assassination of the Heydrich figure, Czech citizens are being out to death until the assassin is turned in. THE SLEEPER AWARD: Try to find (it's occasionally on TCM) This Land is Mine, with Charles Laughton and Maureen O'Hara. I'd never heard of it till about four years ago. Riveting. Also a portrayal of a village under occupation by the Nazis, also focusing on the risks to the citizens inherent in taking action against the occupiers. The main characters are teachers, a namby-pamby momma's boy (Laughton) and his spirited but frightened colleague (O'Hara). One of the conflicts centers around book-banning and censorship. Laughton is heartbreaking; O'Hara inspiring. Directed artfully by Jean Renoir. with an incisive screenpaly by Dudley Nichols, an old pro ( Stagecoach; Bringing Up Baby) who rose to the occasion here. He never wrote a better script. I want to see Hangmen Also Die, but haven't had the chance. Heydrich was a fairly prominent character in a number of Philip Kerr's Bernie Gunther novels, so I'm a bit fascinated by those events. And now I want to see This Land is Mine. |
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Post by Prince Hal on Mar 17, 2022 12:12:21 GMT -5
I have a soft spot for Arsenic and Old Lace. Sorry. I like Arsenic and Old Lace a lot. But it's a weird movie as far as its filming and release. It was filmed in 1942 and was shown to overseas troops in 1943. But it was held back from U.S. theaters until 1944 because there was a proviso in the contract that it could not be released until the Broadway run was finished. So it's in a kind of gray area, but is generally viewed as being a 1944 film by most sources based on its general release in the U.S. That's right! I have read that and should have remembered. I'm glad somene else enjoys it, though. It's become thought of as such a theatre chestnut that the sheer silliness of it is forgotten. |
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Post by Prince Hal on Mar 17, 2022 12:28:36 GMT -5
I want to see Hangmen Also Die, but haven't had the chance. Heydrich was a fairly prominent character in a number of Philip Kerr's Bernie Gunther novels, so I'm a bit fascinated by those events. And now I want to see This Land is Mine. Sorry to go all Godwin here, but Heydrich reminds me of Stephen Miller. encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/reinhard-heydrich-in-depthPlease do try to find This Land. I think you will find it a cut above, not the least because it is eerily relevant, like the other films from 1943 about invasion, occupation and resistance. BTW, O'Hara adored Laughton. Laughton bought her contract after she co-starred with him in Jamaica Inn and brought her from England to make Hunchback in 1939. Afterwards he sold her contract to RKO. O'Hara has said that Laughton was an excellent teacher and mentor for her. (And today's a foin day to watch one of her other triumphs, The Quiet Man.) |
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Post by Deleted on Mar 17, 2022 12:31:57 GMT -5
1943 is a bit of a hole in my movie viewing. I haven't seen all that much from the year. I know I have seen Frankenstein Meets the Wolfman, and I am currently watching the '43 serial of Batman I recorded from TCM and am about 5 episodes in. There might be one or two more I've seen looking over the lists, but none of them stand out in my memory, so I am going to have to take the zero for '43, I just haven't see enough to have a favorite.
-M
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Post by badwolf on Mar 17, 2022 12:42:05 GMT -5
I thought Cary Grant was miscast in Arsenic & Old Lace. It just didn't work for me.
When I was pretty young I saw a live theatrical production of the play with Gary Sandy, Marion Ross and Jean Stapleton in the leads, and that tends to be the gold standard for me.
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Post by Prince Hal on Mar 17, 2022 13:59:41 GMT -5
I thought Cary Grant was miscast in Arsenic & Old Lace. It just didn't work for me. When I was pretty young I saw a live theatrical production of the play with Gary Sandy, Marion Ross and Jean Stapleton in the leads, and that tends to be the gold standard for me. Grant’s performance has often been criticized as hammy and too muggy. I guess I’ve grown used to it. I mean can you really go too far trying to alert a cop that there’s a serial killer in the house when you’re bound and gagged in a chair? |
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Post by berkley on Mar 17, 2022 14:50:57 GMT -5
I thought Cary Grant was miscast in Arsenic & Old Lace. It just didn't work for me. When I was pretty young I saw a live theatrical production of the play with Gary Sandy, Marion Ross and Jean Stapleton in the leads, and that tends to be the gold standard for me. Grant’s performance has often been criticized as hammy and too muggy. I guess I’ve grown used to it. I mean can you really go too far trying to alert a cop that there’s a serial killer in the house when you’re bound and gagged in a chair? Yeah, I saw it as a teenager - probably one of the first Cary Grant movies I consciously watched knowing who he was, etc - and I've always liked it. It's been criticised as a bit stagy for the screen but that never bothered me. |
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Post by Prince Hal on Mar 17, 2022 14:59:21 GMT -5
Grant’s performance has often been criticized as hammy and too muggy. I guess I’ve grown used to it. I mean can you really go too far trying to alert a cop that there’s a serial killer in the house when you’re bound and gagged in a chair? Yeah, I saw it as a teenager - probably one of the first Cary Grant movies I consciously watched knowing who he was, etc - and I've always liked it. It's been criticised as a bit stagy for the screen but that never bothered me. Me neither. And if Grant is over-the-top at times, the understated performances of Jean Adair, Josephine Hull (both from the original B'way cast) as the aunts and Raymond Massey as the sinister Jonathan Brewster more than balance him out. |
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Post by berkley on Mar 17, 2022 15:36:47 GMT -5
1942, as usual mostly from fairly distant memory:
All Through the Night - lightweight Bogart war-propaganda, but pretty fun if you take it for what it is
Pardon My Sarong - Abbott and Costello movie, not one of their better efforts from what I recall
You Were Never Lovelier - just saw this the other night so its impact is still fresh; I really loved it: fantastic dance numbers by stars Astaire and Hayworth; Hayworth is so beautiful, I could look at her all day
Gentleman Jim - I remember liking this as a kid but can't recall many details; Flynn knew how to fight so good idea casting him as famous boxing champ Corbett
Casablanca - it's Casablanca, what more can you say?
Ride 'Em Cowboy - another Abbott & Costello; I remember liking this one; the best part is a young Ella Fitzgerald singing A Tisket a Tasket on a bus
Gotta go with Casablanca, one of the best films of all time, not just 1942
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Post by Prince Hal on Mar 17, 2022 16:02:30 GMT -5
1942, as usual mostly from fairly distant memory: All Through the Night - lightweight Bogart war-propaganda, but pretty fun if you take it for what it is Pardon My Sarong - Abbott and Costello movie, not one of their better efforts from what I recall You Were Never Lovelier - just saw this the other night so its impact is still fresh; I really loved it: fantastic dance numbers by stars Astaire and Hayworth; Hayworth is so beautiful, I could look at her all day Gentleman Jim - I remember liking this as a kid but can't recall many details; Flynn knew how to fight so good idea casting him as famous boxing champ Corbett Casablanca - it's Casablanca, what more can you say? Ride 'Em Cowboy - another Abbott & Costello; I remember liking this one; the best part is a young Ella Fitzgerald singing A Tisket a Tasket on a bus Gotta go with Casablanca, one of the best films of all time, not just 1942 I can't believe I forgot All Through the Night! It's brilliant, like Preston Sturges doing a gangster movie. Really a wonderful satire of gangster and Nazi soy movies. Bogey spoofs himself beautifully. Great character work by Judith Anderson, Jackie Gleason, William Demarest, Peter Lorre and Conrad Veidt. Priceless scene: Bogey and Demarest in the cellar of a toy store; it's a like a Rube Goldberg invention with real people. Beautifully directed by Vincent Sherman, a solid director -- try Mr. Skeffington (1944) with Bette Davis and Claude Raines -- who lost his movie career because he told the HUAC that he would stand by his friend John Garfield and other victims of the blacklist. That was a real "cancel cuture." |
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