The Man Who Shot LIberty Valance (1962)

Ok lot's of people worship John Wayne, others can't stand him. I think this is a movie that can appeal to both. First of all it is very much a Jimmy Stewart movie as much as it is a John Wayne movie. Secondly, Wayne plays a role that is perfect for his on screen persona, but gives him some serious heart as well. It's kind of fascinating too, in light of today's politics. I can't go into detail without a spoiler alert, but how one becomes a successful politician may not have changed that much since the last century. It's a western, but it's not a "shoot 'em up" it's very thoughtful. Overall it's a must see movie because it is referred to often by movie buffs.

Synopsis:

Senator Stoddard (James Stewart) attends the funeral of a man from his state named Tom Doniphon (John Wayne) in a small Western town. He is immediately contacted by a local reporter seeking to find out, in part, what the connection is between Doniphon and Stoddard. Stoddard first found the fame that led him to politics as the man who shot Liberty Valance (Lee Marvin), a villainous thief and determined defender of the lawless west that those seeking state-ship are trying to suppress. It quickly becomes clear that Doniphon assisted by his employee "Pompey" played brilliantly by one of the most famous African-American actors of his generation (Woody Strode), was connected to the conflict between Stoddard and Valance in multiple ways. Director John Ford uses the story of this group of small town people to give us a fascinating look at life on the frontier as it was being "tamed". All of this unfolds as Stoddard is interviewed by the reporter, who's last line is a cinema classic.

Primary Cast:

John Wayne ...........................Tom Doniphon
James Stewart ........................Ransom Stoddard
Vera Miles ..............................Hallie Stoddard
Lee Marvin ............................Liberty Valance
Edmond O'Brien ....................Dutton Peabody
Woody Strode ........................Pompey
Andy Devine .........................Link Appleyard
Ken Murray ...........................Doc Willoughby
John Carradine ......................Maj. Cassius Starbuckle
Jeanette Nolan .......................Nora Ericson
John Qualen ..........................Peter Ericson
Willis Bouchey .....................Jason Tully - Conductor
Carleton Young .....................Maxwell Scott
Denver Pyle ..........................Amos Carruthers
Strother Martin ......................Floyd
Lee an Cleef ..........................Reese
Joseph Hoover .......................Charlie Hasbrouck - Reporter for 'The Star'
 

WWII Propaganda and "The Seventh Cross (1944)

The war department went to Hollywood early in WWII for help. They raised war bonds, they raised money and they raised spirits with blatantly propagandist movies. Some of the propaganda, like say Mrs. Miniver, would have been hits anyway and some never should have seen the light of day, but others are in a never land - not really fantastic movies, but worth seeing for what they say about the war, and what we knew about the war AT THAT TIME. This particular film is an excellent example of what can be learned from this genre, both of world history and of cinema history.

Synopsis:

Seven men escape from a concentration camp (hello, reality check number one - but I digress). Seven crosses are constructed to hold their hanging corpses after they are caught. The escaping prisoners are played by basically six unknown actors and Spencer Tracy. Of these, only one, Felix Bressart really "looks jewish" as that would be viewed in 1944 - remember great care was taken not to make World War II about the Jews until we found out what really happened to them. Guess which one narrates the escape and is the last one left alive. If you guessed Spencer Tracy - you pass obvious questions 101. Most of their deaths happen quickly so that the real supporting actors are those who continue to help Spencer Tracy despite the danger. One of the first people to help him is a woman who runs a costume shop, played by Agnes Moorehead. He knows about her because she is friends with one of his fellow escapees - a trapeze artist - who helps him with new clothes. Does she know who he is? It isn't clear, maybe she does but she thinks he's an artist like the other escapee - she is human, and humane so she helps. Soon we meet are Hume Cronyn and Jessica Tandy - old acquaintances of Tracy who take him in not realizing he is a wanted man. they have heretofore been a-political, but after helping Tracy and being called in by the Gestapo because of it, they see the world differently. Meanwhile Tracy's old anti-Nazi friends are working tirelessly trying to guess where he will go so that they can help him get out of Germany. This group is made up of some well known character actors and as a group they dedicate themselves to finding Tracy and helping him escape Germany. The final angel on Spencer's shoulder is a chambermaid in the hotel where he stays one night. He's moved there so that he will not get Hume Cronyn in trouble. Because he is friendly and kind to her early in the day when she comes to change the sheets, she warns him when there are Nazi's in the hotel and helps him evade them as he makes his escape.

As you can see the "message" of this movie is hardly subtle and it clearly is designed to put a happy face on the war in 1944 when it was released. This movie says - don't worry, all humanity is not dead in Germany - look they are helping Spencer Tracy aren't they. The moral is even put into words for those who prefer the direct route. Tracy explains to the chambermaid that he will be in Holland or somewhere "paying back" everyone who helped him get there because thanks to those kind people, "I know that no matter how cruelly the world strikes at the souls of men there is a God given decency that will come out if it is given half a chance. That's the hope for the human race, that's the faith we must cling to, the only thing that will make our lives worth living. In other words, don't worry, when we beat Germany (which we are about to do) we will still find kind people. Of course, this is before the reality of concentration camps was disclosed and knowing that now changes EVERYTHING about this movie and to me that's what makes if so fascinating. That and the fact that it is a brilliantly acted, well directed solid piece of film in addition to all of the extraneous elements.

Director ........................................................Fred Zinnemann

Writers ..........................................................Helen Deutsch
            ..........................................................Anna Seghers

George Heisler ..............................................Spencer Tracy
Toni ...............................................................Signe Hasso
Paul Roeder ...................................................Hume Cronyn
Leisel Roeder .................................................Jessica Tandy
Mme. Marelli .................................................Agnes Moorehead
Franz Marnet .................................................Herbert Rudley
Poldi Schlamm ...............................................Felix Bressart
Wallau ...........................................................Ray Collins
Zillich .............................................................Alexander Granach

His Girl Friday (1940)

Based on the classic play The Front Page by Ben Hecht and Charles MacArthur I think this actually does the play one better by changing one of the characters from a man to a woman. Rumor has it that it was Howard Hawks, the director, who noticed that the relationship between the two lead characters in The Front Page was like a love story and had the idea of adding that element to the play. The result is this brilliant fast paced comedy with a little romance thrown in for good measure.

Synopsis:

The movie begins with former reporter and ex-wife Hildy Johnson Rosalind Russell, calling on her ex-husband Walter Burns, Cary Grant, to tell him she's going to get married again. Her intended is an insurance salesman from Albany named Bruce Baldwin, Ralph Bellamy. Burns clearly has no intention of letting her go, though whether he will miss her more as a wife or as a reporter is not clear. He lures her back in by agreeing to buy a large insurance policy if she will do one final interview with a prisoner scheduled to be hung the next day for having shot a policeman. Hildy gets the interview but then tears it up when Walter has Bruce robbed and unfairly thrown in jail. Just when Hildy is leaving her colleagues in the press-room for good, Earl Williams escapes and she is pulled back in by her love of the story. She is alone in the room when Earl Williams shows up at the window. She hides him in a desk, calls Burns and that's when the action really begins.

The pace of this movie is what everyone talks about. The conversation comes so fast and furious that you really have to listen closely to keep up and get all the joke. In fact, one viewing is really inadequate, you will notice lines you never noticed before each time you see it. Most of this comes directly from the play by the famous team of Hecht and MacArhur. In addition to The Front Page the team wrote several other plays including Billy Rose's Jumbo and 20th Century, separately and together they wrote dozens of screenplays, including Wuthering Heights, Scarface, Nothing Sacred and Angels with Dirty Faces. As fast paced as the play is, Hawks managed to speed it up a little. Howard Hawks is one of the best directors of romantic comedies ever to work in Hollywood, having directed Twentieth Century, the quintessential screwball comedy, Bringing Up Baby, Ball of Fire, To Have and Have Not and dozens of others. Add to this the brilliant performers. Bellamy does such a good job playing the milquetoast insurance salesman that the straw man third party in romantic comedies became referred to as the Ralph Bellamy role. Gene Lockhart plays the crooked Sheriff, and the men in the newsroom is a collection of character actors that any director would kill for. The combination is positively combustible and makes for a truly unique movie experience.

Director ...............................................................Howard Hawks

Writers ................................................................Charles MacAruthur (Play)
               .............................................................Ben Hecht (Play)
              ..............................................................Charles Lederer (Screenplay)

Walter Burns .......................................................Cary Grant
Hildy Johnson ......................................................Rosalind Russell
Bruce Baldwin .....................................................Ralph Bellamy
Gene Lockhart .....................................................Sheriff Hartwell
Porter Hall ...........................................................Murphy
Ernest Truex ........................................................Bensinger
Cliff Edwards ......................................................Endicott
Clarence Colb .....................................................Mayor
Roscoe Carns .....................................................McCue
Frank Jenks ........................................................Wilson
Regis Toomey .....................................................Sanders
Abner Biberman .................................................Louie
Frank Orth .........................................................Duffy
John Qualen .......................................................Earl Williams
Helen Mack .......................................................Molly Malloy
Alma Kruger ......................................................Mrs. Baldwin
Billy Gilbert ........................................................Joe Pettibone

Top Hat (1935)

OK so there are certain film categories that everyone needs to sample at least one of. Fred and Ginger movies is one of those categories. No question that Top Hat is the creme de la creme of this category so I strongly recommend this one. It's plot is light as are the plots of all of the Fred and Ginger movies but it is funny, the supporting acting is good and the numbers are FANTASTIC, set to Irving Berlin music and choreographed by Fred and his longtime partner Hermes Pan.

Synopsis:

It is difficult to summarize the plot as it's more of a series of setups for songs than it is a plot. Nonetheless, here goes: Fred plays, song and dance man from New York, Jerry Travers (such a stretch), who has arrived in London to star in a show produced by Mr. Horace Hardwick, played by perennial Fred & Ginger co-star Edward Everett Horton. The two meet at Mr. Hardwick's stuffy British club where the rule of silence is scrupulously followed until Fred can't stand it anymore and tap dances his way out of the club. They return to Hardwick's hotel where we meet his valet, Bates, played by Eric Blore. It is not at all clear whether Hardwick or Bates is in charge - most likely Bates. Hardwicke then tells Jerry that his wife is expecting them in Italy the week-end after their opening to meet up with a friend of hers. Jerry insists he isn't ready for a set up since his is "Fancy Free and free for anything fancy..." When he moves into the tap portion of this number he awakens a woman on the floor below - namely Dale Tremont, Ginger Rogers. When she comes upstairs to complain Fred is immediately smitten. He even switches to soft shoe sand dance to lull her back to sleep in an early use of white noise.

The next morning he orders every flower in the place to be sent to her room and billed to Horace Hardwick.  Then he hijacks her horse driven cab that is to take her to the riding stables. They are caught in a downpour which provides an opportunity for Isn't this a Lovely Day (to Be Caught in the Rain). Though the song wins her over, there is an unfortunate identity mix up when the desk clerk attempts to point out Mr. Hardwick to her and she sees Fred instead. From then on she believes Fred to be married to her good friend Madge whom she is going to see in Italy that week-end. Meanwhile we learn that Ginger's relationship with a man named Beddini, which the florist thought was romantic, is actually pure business, he's a designer and she' his model. Unfortunately, Hardwick believes that she and Beddini are romantically involved too, so he convinces Fred to forget her.

Soon an enthusiastic Horace and reluctant Fred, Ginger and Bates are headed to the Venice Lido (after Fred's show opens and we see the title number - the best collection of men in white tie and tail coats ever). In Italy we meet Horace's wife Madge, Helen Broderick, and Dale tries to tell her that her husband was flirting with her only to find that Madge doesn't care. She trusts Horace - insists his flirting doesn't mean anything. Of course, she's talking about her actual husband and Dale is talking about Fred... well you get the idea. The rest is all ironic and or confused encounters based upon these misunderstandings until all is straightened out but not until after Fred and Ginger have danced Cheek to Cheek and Ginger almost gets married to Beddini. Finally we get a paean to Venice, The Piccolino, the movie's biggest production number.

As you can see the plot is so light it could fly away. The important information is what numbers are in this movie. The other important part is the way Fred and Ginger dance, and boy are they magnificent. Don't over-think this one - just watch it. You will be amazed at how much of it you have already seen in clips. And what you haven't seen is really enjoyable. I dare you to keep from smiling ear to ear by the end.

Director ..................................................Mark Sandrich

Writers ...................................................Dwight Taylor
             ..................................................Allan Scott

Principal Cast:
Jerry Travers ..........................................Fred Astaire
Dale Tremont .........................................Ginger Rogers
Edward Everett Horton ..........................Horace Hardwick
Erik Rhodes ...........................................Alberto Beddini
Eric Blore ...............................................Bates
Helen Broderick .....................................Madge Hardwick

My Favorite Year (1982)

If you like The Dick Van Dyke Show, or clips you may have seen from Sid Ceasar's shows, or if you are a fan of Peter O'Toole or if you are a fan of old swashbuckling movies, you will love this movie. This movie was made by alumni of the great Ceasar's shows and like the Dick Van Dyke show is a look at that era. In this case a week when an Errol Flynn -ish character came to co-star.

Synopsis:
We begin by following Benjy Stone (Mark Linn-Baker)describing 1954, his favorite year that he spent as part of the writing staff of the King Kaiser comedy cavalcade and specifically the week his idol Alan Swann (Peter O'Toole) was going to guest-star on the show. A major turning point for him, he says. We meet the other writers and see clips from Swann's alleged movies then we cut to Swann waking up next to a beautiful, very young girl and promptly going into a horrible hacking cough. We also meet the object of Benjy's affections, not thus far reciprocated, King Kaiser's secretary K.C. Downing (Jessica Harper). We meet producers, including the great songwriter and sometime actor, Adolphe Green. Then we meet the great King himself (Joseph Bologna) as he berates the head writer's monologue in front of the whole crew. Finally, the great Alan Swann shows up to set only to pass out. The decision is made to replace him but Benjy argues against it. King relents but assigns Benjy to watch him for the week, Swann has to be at every rehearsal, sober, or Benjy pays. That's when the fun really begins.

The key to this movie is the casting. With any actor less larger-than-life than Peter O'Toole it would be hard to believe that all that follows really could happen, but O'Toole makes you believe it. You believe his escapades and you believe his humanity. He not only takes Benjy on drunken hijinks throughout the city he dedicates himself to helping him win over K.C. and even agrees to dinner with Benjy's relatives in Brooklyn. We also learn some of the self-loathing that just may be part and parcel of the alcoholism - Swann, it seems has a daughter he has been unable to face for years. The final face-off comes the night of the show when Swann find out for the first time that the show is done live. He panics and leaves threatening everything that he and Benjy have built over the week. Mostly the movie is very, very, funny with each character cast perfectly. The director is the actor Richard Benjamin of Goodbye Columbus fame.

We really get the feel of early television and all that it entailed.There are little things that harken back to the Sid Caesar show specifically, for example, there is a writer that only whispers comments to his colleague who then voices them. This allegedly hearkens back to the behavior of Neil Simon on the Ceasar show who would speak so softly someone else would have to repeat them to the room. This type of inside baseball makes the movie all the more authentic and funny.

Director ............................................................Richard Benjamin

Writers .............................................................Norman Steinberg
              ...........................................................Dennis Palumbo

Alan Swann ......................................................Peter O'Toole
Benjy Stone ......................................................Mark Linn-Baker
K.C. Downing ..................................................Jessica Harper
King Kaiser ......................................................Joseph Bologna
Sy Benson ........................................................Bill Macy
Belle Carroca ...................................................Lainie Kazan
Alice Miller ......................................................Anne De Salvo
Herb Lee .........................................................Basil Hoffman
Uncle Morty ....................................................Lou Jacobi
Leo Silver .......................................................Adolph Green
Alfie Bumbacelli ..............................................Tony DiBenedetto

Modern Times (1936)

I know most people hear silent movie and their eyes glaze over. There aren't many that I would argue you must see, but at least one Chaplin movie is essential just to see this genius in action. Charlie Chaplin is an icon for a reason. His voice was unique and brilliant. He was a true auteur before the term became vogue. He not only wrote, directed and acted in his pictures, he wrote the music and even did most of the editing. Which is his best movie? Many would say the one before this, City Lights, I can't really argue with that, it's also a wonderful movie, but this is my personal favorite, maybe because his co-star is his then wife Paulette Goddard. For whatever reason I prefer it, so I am writing about this first. I might also add that this is not an entirely silent movie. The leads do not speak, (though the tramp does sing -- in french) but some of the minor characters do - only, interestingly enough, those with power.

Synopsis:

The movie begins by looking a bit of an homage to Metropolis. It shoes sheep being herded then shows factory workers from a similar angle looking the same as the move from subway to factory floor. Meanwhile the president of the company is doing a jigsaw puzzle and reading the comics in the newspaper. He gives orders to speed up the line forcing the workers, including charlie to work faster than it would seem to be humanly possible. The Tramp's (Charlie's) job is to tighten two nuts on each piece of machinery that passes by. He does this act so often that when his brake comes he can't stop moving his hands in that motion. The dehumanizing conditions in the factory only go downhill from there. After being caught in this machinery of capitalism (literally) for too long Charlie finally has a break down and loses it on the factory floor.

Next we see Charlie being released from the hospital cured, but unemployed. Almost immediately after his release he lands, unfairly, in jail. Meanwhile, we meet the delightful "gamin" (Paulette Goddard) (too old to be playing a gamin but we can overlook this) as she steals food for herself and other hungry waterfront kids. Despite hers and her unemployed father's best efforts, her two youngest sisters are taken away to an orphanage.

Charlie is let out of jail when his innocence is determined but he regrets the loss of the steady meals and a bed. In his efforts to get sent back to jail, he tries to take the fall for Paulette when she is caught staling a loaf of bread. They are two of the poorest of the poor, unemployed and without prospects who find themselves joining forces first as friends then, maybe, as something more. Charlie convinces her that one must smile and carry on even during the hardest of times, a popular message during the depression and the idea that led to the lyrics of the song "Smile" the music of which is first heard here.

This is a lovely, moving film that manages to combine romantic comedy and social commentary brilliantly. Keep in mind this came out in the depths of the depression, union fever was growing as workers became more discouraged by conditions. Rather than being a diatribe against the owners, the movie uses comedy and satire to make it's point. Meanwhile, Paulette Goddard is such an engaging presence that one cannot help getting caught up in the romance. It's interesting the limited way that Chaplin experiments with sound in this movie. By 1936 almost no one else in Hollywood was making silent pictures and one get's the sense of a compromise being struck in this movie between Charlie, worried that the tramp character could not survive the shift to sound and the forces arguing for modernization. It's the last gasp for Charlie, however, as his next film The Great Dictator is largely a talking movie (another great Chaplin movie if you just can't handle silent).The movie is short by today's standards, only 87 minutes so it won't take much investment to see what all the idolatry of Charlie is all about.

Director .........................................................Charles Chaplin

Writer ...........................................................Charles Chaplin

Charles Chaplin .............................................A Factory Worker
Paulette Goddard ..........................................A Gamin
Henry Bergman .............................................Cafe Proprietor
Tiny Sandford ...............................................Big Bill
Chester Conklin ............................................Mechanic
Hank Mann ..................................................Burglar
Stanley Blystone ...........................................Gamin's Father
Allan Garcia .................................................Factory President

Born Yesterday (1950)

OK, first thing I need to say about this movie is NOTE the date - do not accidentally rent the remake starring Melanie Griffith and Don Johnson. That movie is terrible, this movie is wonderful. Judy Holliday died when she was only 43 which is a shame because she was one of the greatest comedic actresses ever. Luckily she left us with a dozen or so sweet and funny movies, almost all romantic comedies like this one. I personally think this is one of the best.

Synopsis:

The movie begins with arrival of Harry Brock (Broderick Crawford) and his girlfriend Emma 'Billie' Dawn (Judy Holliday) in Washington, DC. The amount of luggage they have and the multiple furs that Billie hands to a porter immediately identify them as rich. Then Brock complains that he's only being given a wing of the hotel instead of an entire floor. His accent and his attitude immediately make it clear that he is not old money. A reporter named Paul Verrall (William Holden) tries to ask him a question as he gets in the elevator and is brusquely rebuffed. Soon Brock's lawyer Jim Devery (Howard St. John) arrives to go over the 'business' that Brock has in Washington. We learn that Brock owns a number of salvage yards throughout the country and is town looking for a favor from Congress to improve business and is planning to bribe a congressman to get his way. Devery has set up an interview with the very reporter who was shut down at the elevator. He is clearly suspicious of Brock and interested in exposing him, but he also manages to charm Brock by showing he's not afraid of him.

After a disastrous dinner that night with the congressman and his wife, Devery and Brock decide that Billie needs to be smartened up and Brock decides that Verrall is just the man for the job. Devery warns against it but Brock likes him so he hires him for an astronomical sum and introduces him to Billie. She takes an immediate liking to him in a much less cerebral way, making a pass immediately. Holden demurs and pursues Brock's plan showing Billie all around Washington and giving her reading about the country and the government. A crash course in civics and macroeconomics apparently. Billie's education soon grows out of control however and begins to endanger Harry's plans much more than her prior crassness ever had. And Holden's interest in her becomes less and less cerebral them more time they spend together.

This is a marvelous romantic comedy. It's based upon the play by Garson Kanin which he helped to adapt for the screen though he wasn't given credit. The comedy part of romantic comedy is as strong as the romantic part which makes it so much fun to watch. Holliday had starred in the Broadway version and frankly it's difficult to imagine any other actress ever playing this role. She and Holden were both masters of romantic comedy and their chemistry here is lovely. Crawford is wonderful playing the kind of gruff character he was known for and is a great foil for both Holliday and Holden. George Cukor, another master of the genre is the director and he gets perfect performances out of all of his players, including the supporting ones. This is a perfect date night movie, I promise.

Director ......................................................George Cukor

Writers ........................................................Garson Kanin (Play)
                 ....................................................Albert Mannheimer (screenplay)
             
Judy Holliday .............................................Emma 'Billie' Dawn
Broderick Crawford .................................. Harry Brock
William Holden ......................................... Paul Verrall
Howard St. John .........................................Jim Devery
Frank Otto ..................................................Eddie
Larry Oliver ............................................... Congressman Norval Hedges
Barbara Brown ...........................................Mrs. Hedges
Claire Carelton ...........................................Helen

Annie Hall (1977)

This is a great movie, one of Woody Allen's best done at a time when he had really found his voice. It stars Woody and his then-partner Diane Keaton, making it pre- Mia Farrow so there's no need to get into any of the thorny issues arising from that relationship. Also it was made in an era when Woody could still play the heroes of his movies before he started casting stand-ins like Owen Wilson and John Cusack. Both perfectly good performers but not better at being Woody, than Woody.

Synopsis:

Woodie begins the movie with two jokes one of which about not wanting to be a part of a group that would have him as a member he says sums up the problems he's had with women. Then he tells us that he and Annie have broken up, which he can't believe. The rest of the movie we see his relationship with Annie in flashbacks - out of order glimpses of times in their relationship in an effort to see what went wrong. We don't just look at the time he was in the relationship, we look at Woddy's childhood, we get a glimpse of Annie's when they go to her family's Midwestern home. we even see part of his relationships before he met Annie to see how they colors the later relationship. There are wonderful moments and painful moments and through it all we get a really good picture of the relationship.

Review:

Because he has been so prolific, chances are you have seen at least one Woody Allen movie by now. However, if you have not seen this movie you really haven't seen the best Woody Allen film. It won the Oscars for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actress and Best Original Screenplay. That is an unheard of number of awards for a comedy. Comedies are notoriously overlooked at award time - not given the respect of hard core dramas, and even though this counts as part drama, part comedy it still was an amazing feat to win those awards. This is one of Woody's best scripts and that is saying something because no matter what one might think of him - the man can write ..... and direct. The performance of Diane Keaton is brilliant and charming. Not for nothing was her quirky clothing style from the movie copied by every woman in America that year. The clothes became a phenomenon because her performance was phenomenal. The supporting players are also excellent, including Carol Kane as the old girlfriend, Tony Roberts, a Woody Allen regular for years as Woody's best friend, Shelley Duvall, Colleen Dewhurst, and even Christopher Walken in a small but HILARIOUS part. The most notable supporting cast member is Paul Simon - the Paul Simon the songwriter - that alone makes it worth seeing. I promise that this is the quintessential Woody Allen movie, so if you see it and you don't like it you have an excuse not to see any others.

The American President (1995)

The movie that gave birth to the TV show The West Wing because Aaron Sorkin's research for this movie led him to admire the people who work in the White House so much that he decided to dramatize what they saw. That piece of trivia aside, this movie is a real stand out all by itself. If you know The West Wing or A Few Good Men or anything else that Aaron Sorkin has written you know that he is probably the most talented writer working in Hollywood today. Add to that some brilliant performances and a great and unusual love story and you have a really wonderful movie to watch.

Synopsis:

The movie opens with President Andrew Shepherd (Michael Douglas) is being briefed about his itinerary for the day - we begin to get a behind the scenes look at his life while also learning key information about the current state of his democratic presidency. We also learn that the President is a widower and that he has a teenaged daughter. He is joined gradually by more and more members of his staff. Meanwhile across town at an environmental lobbying group a new political strategist is being hired, Sidney Ellen Wade (Annette Bening). As the President is ushered from one meeting to another, Ms. Wade and a co worker arrive at the White House to meet with the Chief of Staff (Martin Sheen). While they are in the meeting with the Chief of Staff, Ms. Wade gets particularly tough on the administration just as the President pokes his head in. He then asks her to step into the oval office and discusses the issue with her further. There is an immediate spark between the two although she is as much in awe of the office as she is attracted to the man.

Soon the President decides to ask her out - or rather over to the White House - for a date. The occasion of the date is an upcoming state dinner so the publicity is immediate. Soon after that they are dating in earnest and soon the press, the opposing party, her boss and his staff are following the romance and all of its fallout. The rest of the movie deals with the issues that arrive when a modern day president is dating as well as the issues that arrive between the two of them.

Review:

This is a wonderful and unusual romantic comedy. Unusual because the situation is unique. Beautiful because it is well written, well acted and well directed. Aaron Sorkin has a turn of phrase that is memorable and lyrical. His characters talk like we all wish we could, sounding both down to earth and erudite at the same time. These actors are all tops in their field and give fantastic performances. Martin Sheen does such a great job as Chief of Staff in this movie that he got promoted to President for The West Wing. Annette Bening is so much more than beautiful, she has an obvious intelligence that can sometimes be lacking in the lead of a romantic comedy. Michael Douglas is at his liberal best with a presence that is unmatched on screen. The director of all of this is Rob Reiner who not only is a great director, he knows his politics having been an activist for years. If you like any of these people you owe it to yourself to see this movie.

Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939)

This movie is so well known that it's title has become a cliche used to describe any relatively inexperienced person recently elected to national office. Political reporters regularly use this as the frame of reference for filibusters - assuming that people have seen the filibuster from the movie. In reality, many have seen clips of the filibuster but not the actual movie and that's a shame. It is a wonderful look at the capital as it used to be which, sadly, is not that different from how it is now, except the news moves much, much faster. There is corruption involving moneyed interests, cronyism, scapegoating and all the greatest hits. Unlike life, however, the movie was directed by Frank Capra so you know it will all turn out OK in the end.

Synopsis:



The movie centers around Mr. Jefferson Smith (Jimmy Stewart) who is appointed to the Senate after the junior Senator from an un-named western state dies.  He's chosen because he's a local hero who is seen as too green to object to some of the slimier deals that already exist between the head of the State's political machine (Edward Arnold), the State's bumbling Governor, and the other Senator from the State (Claude Rains).  The very wise secretary of the dead Senator (the sublime Jean Arthur) is ordered to babysit Jeff Smith and be sure he doesn't get into any trouble - or uncover any trouble for the public. Instead she becomes so disgusted with her job and feels so sorry for this sap that she put him wise as only the hard charging broad from a movie in the 30s could do.  Jeff decides to fight and stand up for the people (hardly a surprise given his resume).  His fight culminates in the famous filibuster scene - can you imagine someone putting a filibuster scene in a movie today!  

Review:

Mr. Smith was nominated for 11 Oscars - only two fewer nominations than Gone With the Wind received. Though it won only for screenplay - it's important to keep in mind that 1939 is widely regarded as the best year in history for movies so competition was steep. Besides which, Jimmy Stewart frankly admitted in his life that he believed the Oscar he won for Supporting Actor for The Philadelphia Story was given to him at least in part because he did not win in 1939. Furthermore, the reason he did not win in 1939 was not the powerhouse that was Gone With the Wind, it was the performance by Robert Donat in Goodbye Mr. Chips in which he didn't portray Mr. Chips he really seemed to become Mr. Chips. All of this is to say that this is probably the best performance of Jimmy Stewart's career and that is saying something. He even had a method actor moment on this film choosing to stay up all night and take something to sound more horse when doing the filibuster scene.

Just as important is the performance by Jean Arthur. She was one of many tough, sometimes tough-talking women who were real stars of the movies they were in in the 30s and early 40s. These women were not simply the girl waiting to be rescued by the hero. These were true partners on screen even if it all ended in very traditional marriages. These were, to use the vernacular, broads and Jean Arthur was one of the best. She joined Katherine Hepburn, Rosalind Russell, Irene Dunne and to some extent Ginger Rogers. This is a great vehicle for that kind of woman. Think of some of the great political roles for women that now exist on TV, in VEEP and House of Cards there are at last women of this strength level on screen again, but this was the 1930s!! Her character Saunders knows so much more than Jimmy Stewart does about Washington it's not clear they are on the same planet. Yet she isn't hard, from the beginning her humanity shows through and her vulnerability. That's hard to do but she does it with aplomb and she too was nominated for an Oscar. The other smaller parts are well done as well - particularly Claude Rains playing the senior senator who long ago gave up his ideals in order to get re-elected. His interactions with Stewart's Jefferson Smith bring those ideals back to him in a very uncomfortable way.

The Usual Suspects (1995)

Check it out a movie that's actually from the lifetime of people who use social media - I'm so proud of myself. More important than it's relative newness, however is the fact that this movie meets my two primary criteria for inclusion on this list, 1) it is a brilliant movie and 2) not enough people have seen it. It has a cast of people who have, for the most part only become more popular and in demand than when they did the movie, but most importantly it has Bryan Singer as director. If you love the X-Men movies you owe it to yourself to see what Singer did with a more terrestrial script.

Synopsis:

The action of this movie is told almost entirely in flashback. The only exception is the very stylized, very brutal murder of one man by another. They clearly know each other, but it is not clear, how or how well. Immediately after the murder the boat is lit on fire and explodes. We are immediately transported to the interview of Roger 'Verbal' Kint (Kevin Spacey) who says the story began six weeks prior when a hijacking of a truck in New York caused the police to round up several criminals with connections to hijacking and to put them in the line up. In other words, they rounded up the usual suspects. (For those who don't know the title is taken from Casablanca in which the hapless police of Vichy France were told on more than one occasion to round up the usual suspects) We then see, in flashback the lineup these guys were put in and through that scene (which is very funny) we meet our other main characters including the man who was shot in scene on on that boat, Dean Keaton, played by Gabriel Byrne, a former cop who went REALLY bad. Michael McMannus played by Stephen Baldwin, is the regular crime partner of Fred Fenster, played by Benicio del Toro before he became really famous. Finally we meet Todd Hockney played by Kevin Pollack a loaner with a very colorful vocabulary. We see that Verbal has a bad limp and no use of one hand and it isn't clear what he's doing there with these more serious criminals.

As this group of criminals are cooing their heels in a holding cell after the line up, McMannus and Fenster decide that now might be a good time to recruit partners for a score they have in the works.  Dean Keaton wants nothing of the plan insisting that the whole line up was a set up and that he is going straight. The others are interested however and Verbal comes up with a plan but it requires 5 guys so he talks Keaton into joining them.

Soon we cut away to the blown up boat. We are told there are 15 or so fatalities and the only survivors are a cripple being talked to by the D.A. whom we recognize as Kint, and a man in a coma at the hospital. We are introduced to two investigators Dave Kujan of US Customs (played by Chazz Palminteri) and FBI agent Jack Baer (Giancarlo Esposito). Kujan is primarily interested in the involvement and death of Dean Keaton - they have history and he's not sure about the story he's heard Kint told the authorityes. (There are simply too many unanswered questions - why did so many people die for dope that wasn't there? It's all very confused but it is clear that  cares about Dean Keaton and him only, at least at first. He manages to gain access to Verbel Kint and question him one on one.  And Kint tells him the whole story - interspersed with parts of his own personal history the he throws in to apparently obfuscate his primary story. The rest of the film unfolds as Kint tells Kujon the story.

Review:

This really is one of those serendipitous movies in which everyone is at the top of their game and it all comes together in a taut. terrifying, fascinating thriller that you will talk about long after you see it. Because it is one of those stick to your ribs movies you will find that friends who have seen it reference the movie often. That is one of the reasons I would put movies on this list if they are conversation producers. But this is so much more. This is one serious tour-de force by Kevin Spacey. The plot is so complicated there is a very good chance that two viewings will be needed. I heard a story shortly after it's release indicating that even Gabriel Byrne was confused about a major plot point until he saw the final cut.  In addition to bringing many of these actors, and the wonderful director, to the fore for the first time, the screenwriter is engaged in his first big hit as well. It's a modern movie (ok absent cell phones and social media) with a real old fashioned film noir feel to it. I cannot recommend it highly enough.

Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964)

OK so once upon a time (1958) a man named Peter George wrote a novel called Red Alert. It was a serious novel about the possibility that the madness of one low level military general could lead to all out nuclear war. Stanley Kubrick was intrigued by the novel and it's concept, but the more he thought about it the less possible it seemed to take the disastrous circumstances seriously. Consequently, for a serious interpretation of the book, one must turn to the rather turgid movie Fail-Safe. Kubrick instead decided to present the blatant absurdity that mankind could choose to annihilate itself.

Synopsis:

The action begins with General Buck Turgidson (George C. Scott) being informed of the crazy actions of Brigadier General Jack Ripper played by Sterling Hayden (yes even character names are absurd in this movie). He has issued an order for his bombers to drop their nuclear bombs over the Soviet Union. He was able to do so thanks to a loophole that was designed to allow us to blow up the Russians even if the first assault against us managed to take out the President and other people in the chain of command. The Brig. Gen then goes incommunicado, making it impossible to obtain the recall codes without which the planes will, indeed, drop their bombs on Russia. Soon all the powers that be have been assembled in the war room (a FAR more impressive location than the White House situation room) in order to brainstorm - and I use the term very loosely -- about how to stop the attack. Not everyone, I should point out wants to stop the attack, some, notably Scott's Turgidson believe that the U.S. should take advantage of this inevitable first strike to push ahead and finish off the enemy. Others, most importantly President Merkin Muffley (one of three roles played by Peter Sellers) disagree. Can and will the attack be stopped in time???

Now nuclear war may not sound that funny but with Terry Southern's script, Kubrick's direction and the madness of Peter Sellers it is HILARIOUS! Now don't get me wrong - it isn't hilarious like the three stooges or even the hangover it's dry as dust humor and humor you have to think about a minute. But I promise it is hilarious. In addition to the mealy mouthed president, Sellers plays a rather demented nuclear scientist (Dr. Strangelove) who was clearly a Nazi before he joined the U.S. team (not unlike many of our actual nuclear scientists and rocket scientists in the 60s), and he plays the only truly sane character in the movie, Group Captain Lionel Mandrake who spends most of the movie trying to pry the recall codes from the mouth of the brilliantly insane Sterling Hayden. There is the Russian Ambassador played by Peter Bull who not only has his own role to portray but also gets to relay the words of Soviet Premier Kissoff who has been raised on the red phone as part of the effort to avert disaster. The interaction of all these men (and they are all men with the exception of brief moments with Buck Turgidson's secretary/girlfriend there are no women in the movie) most of whom seem determined to prove their manhood, by destroying their lives and everyone else's, is hilarious because it is just so stupid.  This really is a movie you will find people reference regularly, meaning it's worth seeing just so you know what they are talking about. Fortunately, it's also very fun to watch.

Chinatown (1974)

I recently had a friend tell me that they did not really think that Jack Nicholson was that great an actor, then she admitted that she had never seen Chinatown. That is unacceptable. I don't think Nicholson has ever been better (even though he didn't win an Oscar until One Flew Over the Cuckoo's nest the next year) or better looking. Faye Dunaway had not yet started chewing the scenery as she has in most, if not all, of her post Mommie Dearest roles. Roman Polanski was still living in the United States, and Robert Towne, still one of the best writers in Hollywood, when he feels like it (we won't count Mission Impossible II) wrote one of the best scripts ever.

The basic idea behind the movie was to do a crime drama about the really big crimes perpetrated by men who don't go to jail, instead they get their names on buildings. Towne took the basic narrative of the men who created Los Angeles by solving it's water problem and added some VERY dramatic fictions, then drops a Sam Spade-esque private investigator in the middle of it and in a position where he feels he must unravel it all. It's the 1930s, the depths of the depression and J.J. 'Jake' Gittes (Jack Nicholson), former cop and PI is making a living specializes in sleazy matrimonial work - meaning spying on cheating husbands. Hired for what appears to be just another job catching a cheating spouse by Mrs. Mulwray he instead finds himself in the headlines, threatened with lawsuits, attacked with a knife, attacked by a crazy family of farmers trying to guard their water, falling in love, and threatened by one of the most powerful men in town. It's a fascinating and complicated plot.

Every time I watch this movie (and that's a lot of times) I notice something I never noticed before. A couple of years ago I noticed a song that was playing in a restaurant scene between Nicholson and  Dunaway and in the next scene, which was undoubtedly shot weeks later or earlier, Nicholson is humming that song as if it got stuck in his mind when he was in the restaurant. That's the kind of touch that tells you this is a really special movie. The performances are hard to beat and Polanski's direction is probably why people in Hollywood have been unable to condemn him for his personal faults. The powerful man that Gittes comes up against is played by John Huston, legendary director and father of Nicholson's real-life long term lover Angelica Huston. This adds an interesting dimension to the scene they play together. I cannot stress enough that if you haven't seen this movie you must see it soon.

Henry V (1989) or (1944)

Actually the technical title of Olivier's Henry V - the 1944 movie is The Chronical History of King Henry the Fift with his Battel fought at Agincourt in France but that is just too much of a mouthful for me to deal with so I will treat both as being titled Henry V. I just returned from Forest Park in St. Louis where I was rained out from seeing Henry IV so I had Shakespeare on the brain. While there are no really famous movies of Henry IV these two versions of Henry V are both excellent and well worth seeing.

Synopsis:

When he is Prince Hal in Henry IV this member of the British Royalty was very worrisome to his relatives - running around with a bad crowd, drink, debauchery and even some law breaking. Now however, his father has passed and Prince Hal is Henry V faced with an important decision. Should he go to war with France winning back the territory originally held by his Norman ancestors - thereby continuing what would become known as the 100 years war? He decides that God is indeed on his side and the side of his ancestors and so he raises an army and invades.

Meanwhile in a MUCH seedier part of London, Sir John Falstaff, Henry's close friend in Henry IV, dies. The other former friends of the younger Prince Hal decide to follow their former friend to war. Meanwhile, in France, Charles VI and his son the Dauphin disagree about how big a threat is posed by Henry V. The Dauphin still views Henry as the playboy from Henry IV, while his father takes the threat more seriously. Next the action moves to the battlefield in France. We see not only the battle, but all of the doubts and worries that fill the minds of the various players the night before.

After the battle, (Spoiler alert if you don't know history) in which the British win handily over the numerically superior French forces, Henry and the daughter of the French King Charles VI meet and decide to marry, meaning that Henry's heir will be heir to France as well.

This is one of Shakespeare's best known history plays and both movies really do it justice. They are both faithful to the text (for the most part, there is always need for some cutting when Shakespeare is filmed to avoid a four hour movie) Despite Olivier's iconic status when it comes to filming Shakespeare, I personally prefer the 1989 version filmed by Kenneth Branagh. He was more age appropriate for one thing (Branagh was 29 which is exactly the same age Henry was while Olivier was in his 50s.) Furthermore, Olivier's version begins as if it were being performed on stage at the Globe - a device praised by many but one I find off-putting and distracting. Either way though, the play/movie is a must see. You won't believe how many well known lines originate in the play. The casts are excellent though most of the names in the Oliver version will be unknown to today's audience, Branaugh's version includes Derek Jacobi, Ian Holm, Paul Scofield, Judi Dench and Branagh's then-wife, Emma Thompson.The direction of both could not be better as each is a demonstrated master of film directing.

Charade (1963)

Some of you may recall seeing Director Stanley Donen tap dance at the Oscars a few years ago at age 80+. The tap dance was a hearkening back to his days as a choreographer and director of musicals. However, he was also one of the most versatile directors ever. With Charade he made what I'd call the only non-Hitchcock directed Hitchcock movie. This is an excellent thriller worthy of Hitch, but it's not a clawing homage like many of Brian DePalma's movies or a direct copy like that ridiculous Psycho remake from a few years ago.

Synopsis:

Charade begins with Audrey Hepburn, as Regina Lampert, has just decided to divorce her husband. Unfortunately by the time she returns from the vacation where she makes this decision - he has clearly left her and then been murdered. Even more unfortunately for Regina, it turns out that the men who killed her husband failed to get what they wanted from him first. He allegedly stole money from a motley group of them (played by George Kennedy, James Coburn and Ned Glass) and since he didn't have it on him when he was attacked the reason that she must have the money and they go after her. Her only allies are Cary Grant and Walter Matthau. As allies go, of course, They're pretty good, but they may not be what they seem.

This movie will keep you on the edge of your seat the whole time you are watching. For one thing there is a constant question mark about Cary Grant and whether he is really on Regina (Reggie's) side. In addition to the suspense this is a very funny and fairly romantic movie - great for date night. And did I mention the whole thing is shot in Paris! What more could you want? Speaking of the romantic aspect, when the movie was just being put together, Cary Grant felt that it would be unseemly for him at age 59 to pursue Audrey who was then 34 (and age difference that sadly wouldn't cause today's male leads a moment's hesitation), so he, Donen and screenwriter Peter Stone solved the problem with a rewrite that had her pursuing him romantically. Her pursuit includes arguably the best lines ever about Cary Grant - I'll leave it to you to find out what that is.

All About Eve (1950)

One of my all time favorites and, in my opinion, among the cleverest screenplays ever written. When I think of the word witty I think of this screenplay - would that we could all communicate this well in real life.

Spoiler free synopsis:

Bette Davis stars as Margo Channing, a Broadway star, when being one really meant something. She's at the top of her career and is madly, mutually in love with her regular director who happens to be 8 years younger than her. The director is played by Bette's soon to be real life husband Gary Merrill. Anne Baxter plays Eve, the young girl who's fascinated (perhaps too much so) with Margo and manages to insinuate herself into her life as well as those of her friends. Only Thelma Ritter, playing Birdie, former Vaudeville performer turned personal assistant to Margo, sees through her at least at first.  Other characters include the author of most of Margo's hit plays, Hugh Marlowe, his wife, Celeste Holm, and a delightfully evil theater critic, George Sanders.

Although the setting here is the theater with all the drama that implies I would guess that most people have worked with an Eve-esque brown-noser at some point. That's what gives this movie a universal appeal, so don't worry if you aren't that into show business stories - this could happen anywhere. As noted above, the screenplay is a gem. No doubt you have seen, in some Oscar montage at least, Bette speaking its most famous line which is only the beginning of the bon mots in this screenplay by Joseph Mankiewicz, who also directed. Mankiewicz was one of the truly great Hollywood auteurs of all time. (his great nephew is now a host of Turner Classic Movies so the hollywood gene continues.) For extra laughs there is Marilyn Monroe's first notable performance. She plays and actress friend of George Sanders.

Question

I'm thinking of renaming this page "What to Rent". What do you think (is there anyone out there to think? Please comment just yes or no will do.

Raising Arizona (1987)

The Coen brothers (Ethan and Joel) are two of the most creative and most demented people working in hollywood today. For anyone who doesn't know they are a writing and directing team that is responsible for a series of mostly hilarious movies with the occasional horror tinged movie thrown in.  Their most popular movie with younger viewers is probably The Big Lebowski with the iconic character Dave the dude. But it was Raising Arizona that got it all started. Actually, Blood Simple pre-dates Raising Arizona but that is a serious movie with fewer of the well known Coen brothers quirks than Raising Arizona has so I stand by my characterization.

Synopsis (spoiler free)

Before the opening credits ever run in the movie we are treated to the meeting and courtship of H.I. McDunnough and his future wife Edwina - the fact that the courtship takes place as H.I. is having his mugshots taken by Edwina is classic Coen brothers. They are filled with hope for the future until they find out that Edwina cannot have children. Coincidentally, the wife of local businessman Nathan Arizona has quints  and is quoted in the newspaper as saying that she basically too many. H.I. and Ed decide to even things out a bit for both families and that is when the action really begins. Believe it or not all of this information and exposition doesn't spoil the movie - so much happens after they decide to get one of the babies it would be nearly impossible to summarize here.

This movie is quite simply hilarious. Funny lines, funny images, funny accents, funny characters, memorable lines .... all are part of a Coen brothers movie in general and Raising Arizona in particular. I'm not usually a big Nicolas Cage fan but he is genuinely hilarious in this movie as is Holly Hunter. This is John Goodman's first appearance as a Coen brother's staple. Academy award winner Frances McDormand (Mrs. Joel Coen) is also present here as the quirkiest and most hilarious supporting character. I wholeheartedly recommend this for the first time or the fifteenth - it just seems to get funnier every time I see it.

Pre-Production Code shockers - Baby Face (1933) and Red Headed Woman (1932)

In 1930 The Motion Picture Producers and Distributors of America adopted the productione code to govern the making of motion pictures. For the next 34 years it controlled what could and could not be shown in the movies. Not just language and nudity were proscribed - the movies were required to show positive messages - evil people always had to get what was coming to them and sex could only be hinted at. For this reason, I fear many people have come to believe that no one really had sex outside of marriage prior to the sexual revolution (which just happened to coincide with the end of the production code. Luckily, we still have several pre-production code movies that prove otherwise.  Two of the best are featured here.

Red-Headed Woman synopsis:


Anita Loos wrote the screenplay for this tale of a blatant social climber. The film begins with a brief montage of Lillian or Lil Andrews, played by Jean Harlow, telling us just what kind of woman we are dealing with - dyed red hair and see through clothing! Determined not to live her whole life on the wrong side of the tracks, she first seduces her boss then. Then continues to manipulate him into finally leaving his wife for her. Her goal is to become part of high society. Unfortunately, despite all of her discussion of Louis  Quinze chairs they are having none of her - remaining loyal to the first wife. Her answer is to try to climb higher but she has trouble up there - all of her own making.

Baby Face synopsis:

The climb to the to of Barbra Stanwyck's character, Lily (oddly enough), in Baby Face is, amazingly enough, more directly linked to her sexuality than Jean Harlow's is in Red-Headed Woman, though the basic idea is the same. Born to a bar owner and abandoned by her mother, she grows up in the bar and becomes, as she calls herself, a tramp. She decides to change things after she gets a pep-talk from a professorial customer and his interpretation of Nietzsche. He urges her to use her beauty, which he assures her gives her power over men. Soon she has moved to New York. Taken by a high rise bank building and the money that must be inside, so she proceeds to sleep her way into and to the top of that building, literally. Meanwhile, she internalizes the professor's version of Nietzsche - determined to stay cold and distant.

The primary difference between these two movies is that Baby Face is on the side of the social climber (more or less) while Red-Headed Woman is more on the side of the climbed upon. The behavior of Jean Harlow's, Lil is presented as shocking at every turn. No one wants anything to do with her, including to some extent her husband. Their union is presented as one of lust alone from the beginning.

In Baby Face on the other hand, Stanwyck's Lily is presented as cold and manipulative but her conquests are presented as being in love. She appears to get everything she seeks at each step, the only question being is what she seeks really what she wants.

Both scripts are very good making their points very succinctly. Loos was one of the great playwright/screenwriters of her day culminating in her famous book Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. Baby Face was written by the tea of Gene Markey and Kathryn Scola, a team so successful that Markey managed to marry Joan Bennet, Hedy Lamarr, AND Myrna Loy.  Besides you have to love the mere mention of Nietzsche in a movie, let alone making his philosophy a primary plot point is amazing. The directing is also top notch with Baby Face it was Alfred E. Green a solid journeyman director under the tutelage of Darryl Zanuck - one of the most hands-on producers of that era. Red-Headed Woman's director is Jack Conway a key director at Irving Thalberg's MGM who went on to direct higher brow material with even bigger stars (though it was hard to get bigger than Harlow).

Both movies really rise and fall on the backs of their female stars, however and you couldn't ask for two better. Barbra Stanwyck was marvelous in everything she did even this early outing. Be careful not to mistake her character's coldness at the beginning with bad acting. Harlow took Hollywood by storm with her first leading role, in Hell's Angels Howard Hughes magnum opus about World War I. Her sexuality was blatant from the beginning, but her performances got better and better with each film she did as did the camera's love affair with her.

I've linked these movies not just because they are so similar but because the would make a great double feature Neither is very long, Red-Headed Woman runs 79 minutes and Baby Face is 71. Basically you could see both in the same time you could see any single current movie and you'll have plenty of time to discuss afterward. I think the sexual and class politics involved should make for a lively discussion - particularly if there are lots of couples in the audience.