May 2019 Round-Up

May 2019 Round-Up

• 8.6.19

TOTAL FILMS SEEN IN MAY: 26

(see the film posters at the bottom of the post, arranged in watching order)

NEW-TO-ME: 25

REWATCHES: 1

SEEN ON THE BIG SCREEN: 3

MOST WATCHED ACTOR:  Robert Young (11 in total)

MOST WATCHED ACTRESS: Doris Day (5 in total)

Let me start this new round-up post with a photo of hunky Robert Mitchum, from the noir western Blood on the Moon, one of the best and most enjoyable films I've seen this month. Just look at that face and smile .... He makes me forget my latest crush on Alan Ladd. I'll tell about the film later on in this post.

What did I watch this month? Unfortunately not an average of one film a day but I was pretty happy with the 26 films I did see. I binge-watched Robert Young films, something I didn't deliberately set out to do. Shirley Temple was actually the one who instigated this. After watching the short Temple films Just Around the Corner and Baby, Take a Bow, I wanted to see a film with a short running time again (before sleeping), and why not watch another Temple vehicle because there are so many I haven't seen yet and they are so easy to digest. So I watched Stowaway. I liked Robert Young here and this film made me want to see more of him. I also still had Robert Mitchum on my mind because of Blood on the Moon and decided to kill two birds with one stone and checked out the noir Crossfire. Although I wouldn't have minded watching more Robert Mitchum films, I was totally impressed by Young's performance in Crossfire and all of a sudden found myself binge-watching his films. I love it when seeing one film leads me to other films I hadn't planned to watch and unexpectedly makes me explore an actor's filmography. 

While I was watching Robert Young films, Doris Day sadly passed away on my birthday, the 13th of May, so I decided to divide my attention between the two actors. In the end I didn't watch that many Day films, only five, but I'm hoping the Filmoteca will dedicate a retrospective to her. So I steered away from films that I would love to see for the first time on the big screen (like Love Me or Leave Me).

First I will list the films seen this month that don't star Robert Young or Doris Day and that I haven't seen on the big screen at the Filmoteca:

The Footloose Heiress (with Ann Sheridan and Craig Reynolds)
They Live by Night (with Farley Granger and Cathy O'Donnell)  

Blood on the Moon (with Robert Mitchum, Walter Brennan and Barbara Bel Geddes)
Just Around the Corner (with Shirley Temple and Charles Farrell)

Baby, Take a Bow (with Shirley Temple, James Dunn and Claire Trevor)  

Two in a Crowd (with Joel McCrea and Joan Bennett)

The Lady Takes a Sailor (with Jane Wyman and Dennis Morgan)

Of these films They Live by Night and Blood on the Moon are by far the best. 

They Live by Night is an impressive debut feature by Nicholas Ray. Cathy O'Donnell and Farley Granger make a great screen couple and they are totally believable in their depiction of innocent love. And I love film noirs with their great cinematography. Credit for this film's beautiful photography goes to George E. Diskant. The last shot of the light on O'Donnell's face fading and leaving only a silhouette is wonderful. 

I've been meaning to watch Blood on the Moon for some time and so glad I have now. It's a very entertaining noir western with the beautiful dark cinematography by Nicholas Musuraca (I was very excited to see his name with the opening credits). The story premise is interesting, though a bit convoluted, but it kept me engaged. I love the little romance between Robert Mitchum and Barbara Bel Geddes. And Mitchum looks really good in this film. Bel Geddes' character is feisty and I like that. Added bonus is Walter Brennan in a likeable and serious role. I felt so sorry for Walter when his son died and I got a bit teary-eyed.

The three Shirley Temple films I watched this month are all enjoyable. 

Just Around the Corner is worthwhile for seeing Shirley dance with Bill 'Bojangles' Robinson and also for seeing Charles Farrell play because I like him a lot. 

The story premise of Baby, Take a Bow is a bit more interesting than the one of Just Around the Corner and even allows for suspenseful moments. How the pearl necklace changes hiding places is quite thrilling. And Shirley with that big knife .... Oh my ..... But my fave moment of the film is the scene where Claire Trevor and Shirley are doing a morning work-out. I also love the rooftop birthday party and the song/dance number Shirley is sharing with James Dunn. Dunn and Trevor have nice chemistry and I love both of them. And Shirley is adorable. 

I also saw another Temple film, Stowaway, but I will come to that in my listing of Robert Young films. 

I also watched three light comedies: The Footloose Heiress, Two in a Crowd and The Lady Takes a Sailor. Both The Footloose Heiress and Two in a Crowd are pretty unremarkable. 

The Footloose Heiress is seriously flawed and only mildly enjoyable. Leading man Craig Reynolds is not very appealing. When he made his appearance, I was at first pleasantly surprised by his contemporary looks and his Indiana Jones-like outfit. But I quickly fell out of 'like' because his acting leaves a lot to be desired and he gets a bit annoying. I also didn't like his eyes (I read afterwards that he portrayed villains a lot which makes sense) nor his character's behaviour towards Ann Sheridan, even though she's insufferable herself at times. It's a comfort that she looks great. 

Two in a Crowd is about two people who both find half of a 1,000 dollar bill and have to stay close to each other because of this. But I was so sleepy that I missed parts of the film. Joel McCrea and Joan Bennett have good chemistry and it's too bad they only made one more film together, Private Worlds, also with Charles Boyer and Claudette Colbert. I still need to see that one and might do so very soon. (McCrea also made 4 films with Joan's sister Constance). 

Of the three comedies The Lady Takes a Sailor starring Jane Wyman and Dennis Morgan is the most enjoyable. I chose to watch this because I had just seen Morgan in a Doris Day film (It's a Great Feeling) and wanted to see him play in another film. I love Jane Wyman, particularly at the film's beginning when Morgan's submarine collides with her boat and he takes her on board of his vehicle. Her hair is wet and tousled and she looks lovely. I was sleepy (again!) while watching this so I really need to see it another time since I didn't register all of it. But I think I enjoyed most of it.

Now on to the films I've seen this month starring Robert Young, a grand total of 11 films. Films seen in watching order: 

Stowaway (with Shirley Temple and Alice Faye)

Crossfire (with Robert Mitchum, Robert Ryan and Gloria Grahame)

Relentless (with Marguerite Chapman)

Slightly Dangerous (with Lana Turner)

Joe Smith, American (with Marsha Hunt)

The Shining Hour (with Joan Crawford, Margaret Sullavan and Melvyn Douglas)

Death on the Diamond (with Madge Evans)

Secret Agent (with John Gielgud and Madeleine Carroll) 

They Won't Believe Me (with Susan Hayward and Jane Greer)

Vagabond Lady (with Evelyn Venable)

The Second Woman (with Betsy Drake)

Of the Young films seen, the best was undoubtedly Crossfire. Like I said earlier, after seeing Stowaway with Shirley Temple, I wanted to see more of Robert Young, and because I also wanted to check out more Robert Mitchum films, I chose Crossfire (starring both). Another added bonus was that this film also features Robert Ryan. So 3 Roberts for the price of one! Young has first billing over the other two Roberts and it is a well-deserved top billing. He really carries this film with his assured and impressive performance, a role that could have been played effortlessly by the likes of Fredric March or Spencer Tracy. I like Young like this, a bit older and more serious. Not to say that Mitchum and Ryan aren't performing well, because they do. Ryan is very convincing in his role (it won him an Oscar nomination for Best Actor in a Supporting Role) and I love how Mitchum portrays his likeable Sergeant in his usual laid-back style. Besides these three actors this noir also benefits from a great performance by Gloria Grahame (also nominated for an Oscar for Best Actress in a Supporting Role). The film's original theme (based on a novel) was homophobia but due to the Hays Code was changed into hatred against Jews. The message of the dangers of religious or racial intolerance might be a bit heavy-handed and preachy for the noir genre but its deliverance by Young is very strong. More Academy Award nominations for Best Director (Edward Dmytryk), Best Writing, Screenplay (John Paxton) and Best Picture. Though not nominated, also fine cinematography by J. Roy Hunt.

I checked out Relentless because I wanted to see Young in a western and again in a more serious role. I was pleasantly surprised with this above average western (it was my second best rated Young film after Crossfire) and I like the story as well as Young's performance and his character. He also looks really good here. Another nice surprise was Marguerite Chapman. I like women to be independent and feisty and in westerns I prefer them in pants and not in those frocks with frills. So Chapman wears pants here, but still, when she wears a dress, Young doesn't notice and she looks unhappy about it. I liked their interactions and it's also nice that Young agrees with Chapman being independent and travelling alone instead of thinking that she needs to take care of a man and stay at home. It was just a nice romance (yes, I'm a romantic at heart!). Special mention goes to the wonderful location shots and the great cinematography by Edward Cronjager (who was also the DP of Canyon Passage). Love western scenes on snowy plains. A nice subplot is the one with the cute donkey and foal.

I did like Slightly Dangerous with Lana Turner but I was really disappointed with Young's dopey character and seeing him in silly slapstick scenes. I hadn't expected this, so maybe if I had been prepared I wouldn't have minded so much. Turner gives a nice performance as the soda girl who is tired of her job and pretends to be the long lost daughter of millionaire Walter Brennan. But Lana is not the best of comediennes so this film lacks the lightheartedness and screwball comedy touch a comedienne like Carole Lombard would have given it. Undoubtedly Lana's best moment occurs at the beginning of the film in a sequence where she proves that she can do her job at the soda fountain blindfolded. Reportedly this delightful scene was directed by an uncredited Buster Keaton. This is also the part where Lana looks her best with the dark hair. Her blond hairdo with the fake curls after the makeover is much less attractive. Nice supporting roles by Brennan, Dame May Whitty and Ward Bond as the bodyguard. All in all an enjoyable watch but still disappointing, mainly because of Young's role.

Secret Agent, They Won't Believe Me and The Second Woman are all enjoyable with serious roles for Young. 

Secret Agent is one of the highest regarded of Young's films, directed by Hitchcock. I knew his role was a supporting one and he gives a fine performance as the suave American, yet he doesn't have a lot of screen time and that was a bit of a bummer. But John Gielgud was a nice surprise, unrecognisable being this young, and his pairing with Madeleine Carroll seems very natural and I love Carroll. Peter Lorre's performance is a bit over the top and I found him creepy, not in the sense of scary but just very unpleasant. Definitely not one of Hitchcock's best and not really suspenseful but it's still enjoyable. Also some nice photography by Bernard Knowles. 

They Won't Believe Me is an enjoyable noir with a fine performance from Young. His acting is subdued and subtle and allows the viewer to feel sympathy for his character, even though he is a philanderer and a heel. All three women give good performances as well, Susan Hayward's character being far more interesting than Jane Greer's sweet girl role and Rita Johnson eliciting sympathy for her long-suffering wife character. I didn't know anything about this film beforehand so the twists and turns kept me fully engaged but the surprise ending is a bit far-fetched. Still, the story premise is interesting, having a lead character who is legally innocent but morally guilty. 

The Second Woman is at times reminiscent of Rebecca and I enjoyed it. Young gives a solid performance as he keeps us guessing whether he is a good guy or not. I also find him much more attractive when he plays a serious role. But I would have liked to see another actress in the lead because Betsy Drake started to get on my nerves a bit and she is really bland. Fortunately the plot moves forward at a steady pace and there are some nice twists to keep the viewer entertained.

Of the other Young films (Stowaway, The Shining Hour, Death on the Diamond, Vagabond Lady and Joe Smith, American) Stowaway was the most enjoyable and it led me to binge-watch Young films in the first place. Shirley Temple is so cute in her Chinese outfit and I love the way she speaks Chinese and recites ancient Chinese proverbs in English. I looked up the film's Wikipedia page and apparently Shirley learned forty words in Mandarin Chinese for the film. It cost her six months of instruction but the extras on the set spoke a south Chinese dialect so it was hard for Shirley to communicate with them (though forty words would hardly be enough to have a real conversation). The film is fun while watching it but easy to forget afterwards. I liked the pairing of Young and Alice Faye and started to like them individually as well. Their romance here is nothing special but I liked it. And that little dog is just too cute. According to Wikipedia, the dog (a miniature Chinese Pekinese) was owned by the wife of a local photographer and given to Shirley in exchange for a photograph posed with her father. Shirley renamed the dog Ching-Ching after her character in the movie. 

Joe Smith, American is a propaganda WWII film starring Young as the all-American Joe who doesn't succumb to pressure and torture at the hands of the enemy and keeps military secrets to himself. The film doesn't outstay its welcome with a running time of a little over an hour and there's even a bit of grim suspense in the scenes where Young receives a beating. This sequence is also nicely 'noirish' lit. Marsha Hunt is solid as the wife and I liked the young actor who plays the son and his interactions with Young are enjoyable. 

Vagabond Lady was more entertaining than I thought it would be. Though Young's character is a bit annoying in the beginning (he's a bit of a loafer), I grew to like him more as the film progressed, especially in his bickering scenes with Evelyn Venable. Their physical fight on the boat is childish and surprisingly brutal but somehow also kind of enjoyable. And Young looks particularly nice in his casual boat outfit. 

The Shining Hour was the biggest disappointment of the Young films because it had such potential to be a good melodrama, having such a stellar cast, a great director and a good story premise. But what a waste of talent. The problem here lies with the characters. There is no character development (this film could definitely have benefited from a longer running time) and their behaviour is often inexplicable and erratic. For instance, Young suddenly has a thing for his sister-in-law Joan Crawford whom he disliked shortly before and there is nothing to indicate his change of heart. Same goes for Fay Bainter. She hates Crawford, even burns down her new house but at the end of the film she totally has changed her mind, without any scenes to make that change the least credible. It was really ridiculous. I found Margaret Sullavan's performance to be the best, even though her self-sacrificing devoted wife role is hard to swallow at times. I watched this for Young and was disappointed with his role, even his performance. 

Of a B-programmer like Death on the Diamond I had no expectations at all and it wasn't very good. I can imagine this would have been more enjoyable to watch for fans of baseball but I was watching this for Young, and to be honest, there was not enough of him here. I think Paul Kelly as the sport reporter has more screen time. Young and Madge Evans definitely have chemistry but don't share enough scenes. And the identity of the killer comes out of the blue. It's nice when there is an element of surprise but the guilty party here is really far-fetched.

So that rounds up my list of Young films. While watching his films, I also wanted to read up on him and learn more about him as a person. You can read about it in this post.

Now continuing with Doris Day! I was sad to hear the news of her passing and wanted to give tribute to her and dedicate a post to this wonderful lady. You can read about her here. 

These are the DD films seen this month, in watching order:

Romance On the High Seas (with Jack Carson, Janis Paige and Don DeFore)

Tea For Two (with Gordon MacRae and Gene Nelson)

Lullaby of Broadway (with Gene Nelson and S.Z. Sakall)

It's a Great Feeling (with Jack Carson and Dennis Morgan)

April in Paris (with Ray Bolger)

Of these Doris Day films Romance On the High Seas was by far the most enjoyable. I chose to watch this because I knew one of my fave Doris songs It's Magic is featured here. I had no expectations of the film and was pleasantly surprised that it was thoroughly enjoyable. Doris Day has fourth billing but it's really her show, it's also her debut film. I'm not a fan of Jack Carson but he's okay here and I like the mistaken identity story (even though I usually don't like mistaken identity stories at all). Great songs, Doris is sassy (I have my doubts about her dresses, though), and this is just overall fun. 

Tea For Two is not as good as Romance on the High Seas but still entertaining and I loved to see Doris in dance scenes and doing it well. (Still, she is a far better singer than dancer!) The film is a pleasant Day/MacRae vehicle with nice songs, the title song Tea for Two being the most memorable. And great support from S.Z. Sakall and Eve Arden. 

Like in Tea for Two, Doris Day is dancing in Lullaby of Broadway. She's especially good in the last dance number, the finale with the title song, dancing up and down the stairs in a gold lame gown (a difficult routine and she and Gene Nelson make it look so easy). Of course Doris is not a dancer in the same league as Ginger Rogers, Eleanor Powell or Ann Miller but she is certainly skilled and can hold her own among the more professional dancers she's sharing the stage with. I also really like Nelson's dancing and it's a shame he never made a bigger name for himself as a dancer. He's certainly very talented and athletic. On the whole this is an enjoyable musical in beautiful Technicolor with nice roles by S.Z. Sakall and Gladys George. And as a bonus Doris is also singing You’re Getting to Be a Habit with Me from 42nd Street, a song I love very much, and the dance that follows with Nelson is great too. 

Another fun film is It's a Great Feeling, because of the behind-the-scenes look at Warner Bros and the numerous cameos. I like the cameo of Joan Crawford in particular. The story premise of a girl (Day) wanting to make it big in Hollywood is nothing special but it's nice to see Jack Carson and Dennis Morgan play themselves, trying to make a film with Doris as the leading lady. Both men compete for Doris' affection but neither of them gets the girl. Doris prefers to go back to Gurkey's Corners, Wisconsin, and marry local sweetheart Jeffrey Bushdinkle who happens to be an Errol Flynn look-a-like. This means that her aspirations of becoming a star in Hollywood go out of the window, just like that. All in all, it's an enjoyable watch with funny moments and Doris gets to show how great she is at comedy. She and Dennis also get to sing some nice songs. 

Of the five Day films seen, April in Paris was the least enjoyable. It had everything to do with Ray Bolger, the Scarecrow from The Wizard of Oz, who plays opposite Doris. To me he's unappealing and not leading man material. Doris is lovely but has zero chemistry with Bolger. The only thing that surprised me about Bolger is the fact that he's a really skilled dancer and his drunken dance scene is very entertaining. But it couldn't save the movie for me (with its flimsy and silly plot) nor could Doris and her infectious smile and charm.

Almost coming to the end of this post but let's not forget the couple of trips I made to the Filmoteca this month. There were only three visits but I didn't mind so much since I was watching Robert Young's films and those of Doris Day. Also my younger sister came to visit us in Barcelona and I had a short holiday with family in Pineda de Mar at the end of the month. 

Of the three films I saw on the big screen one was a rewatch, the only one of this month (Two For the Road). The other two films Hangmen Also Die! and Tomorrow, the World! were first watches and actually not really high on my watchlist.

Two For the Road was shown on a wide screen in a good print. The story premise of a relationship/marriage falling apart is very recognisable and its depiction here is bittersweet and rather sad. I love the more uplifting moments, the ones at the beginning of the relationship, and Albert Finney and Audrey Hepburn have great chemistry and are totally believable as a couple. I remember that the first time that I saw this I was confused with the non-linear narrative but paying attention to Audrey's hairstyle and clothing will tell you where you are in the story. Lovely melancholy score by Henry Mancini and memorable fashion by Mary Quant among others, even though some of Audrey's outfits are a bit over the top and ludicrous. The funniest scenes are the ones with William Daniels and his wife and child-from-hell.

Hangmen Also Die! was the first film seen this month, on Labour Day, a fiesta, and the viewing room at the Filmoteca was packed. This Lang film has a running time of more than two hours, a bit overlong and it could have done with some editing, but it still managed to hold my attention. I didn't know much about this film beforehand and nothing about the assassination of Reinhard Heydrich. Apparently the full details of the real event weren't known when Lang made this film so most of it is fictionalised. Brian Donlevy's leading role is actually quite small but his performance is okay. I can't say the same for Anna Lee. In a lot of scenes she's terrible, especially in her hysterical outburst aimed at Donlevy. This film never gets the dramatic and serious story premise fully across because of the cartoonish characterisation of the German officers. It really got on my nerves. The Gruber character looked like Poirot. The only one who gives a decent dramatic performance is Walter Brennan. But despite its flaws, I enjoyed most of it, especially the last part where the Czech people plot against the enemy by executing a frame job. Also great cinematography by James Wong Howe.

Tomorrow, the World! was shown at the same time as Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (of course in separate viewing rooms) but chances are the Kubrick film will be shown again in the foreseeable future, so I chose to watch this obscure Fredric March film, even though it has some bad reviews. Most memorable here is Skip Homeier as the Nazi youth and how annoying he is. Therefore it came as a surprise that he managed to deliver a good scene near the end where he breaks down, but overall his performance is pretty bad. The story premise itself is promising but the execution is not up to par and it is clearly a waste of talent of two fine actors, Fredric March and Agnes Moorehead. I did like the roles by Joan Carroll and Betty Field, and how feisty their characters are. Will probably never see this again but it makes me want to watch more of Fredric March and preferably in a good film. By the way, the music score of this film is terrible. And I really mean terrible!

So that's another round-up again! Hope to see you next time!

PHOTOS/GIFS IN THIS POST FROM TOP TO BOTTOM:

*Blood on the Moon (1948) with Robert Mitchum;

*Stowaway (1936) with Robert Young and Shirley Temple;

*Just Around the Corner (1938) with Charles Farrell and Shirley Temple;

*They Live by Night (1948) with Farley Granger and Cathy O'Donnell;

*Blood on the Moon (1948) with Robert Mitchum and Barbara Bel Geddes;

*Baby Take a Bow (1934) with Shirley Temple, James Dunn and Claire Trevor;

*Stowaway (1936) with Shirley Temple; (2 photos)

*The Footloose Heiress (1937) with Ann Sheridan and Craig Reynolds;

*Two in a Crowd (1936) with Joel McCrea and Joan Bennett;

*The Lady Takes a Sailor (1949) with Jane Wyman and Dennis Morgan;

*Crossfire (1947) with Robert Young, Jacqueline White and Gloria Grahame; 

*Crossfire (1947) with Gloria Grahame; 

*Crossfire (1947) with Robert Young, Robert Mitchum and Robert Ryan;

*Relentless (1948) with Robert Young and Marguerite Chapman;

*Slightly Dangerous (1943) with Robert Young and Lana Turner;

*Secret Agent (1936) with Robert Young, Peter Lorre, John Gielgud and Madeleine Carroll;

*They Won't Believe Me (1947), publicity still with Robert Young, Susan Hayward and Jane Greer;

*The Second Woman (1950) with Robert Young and Betsy Drake;

*Stowaway (1936) with Robert Young and Shirley Temple;

*Joe Smith, American (1942) with Robert Young, Marsha Hunt and Darryl Hickman;

*Vagabond Lady (1935) with Robert Young and Evelyn Venable;

*Death on the Diamond (1934) with Robert Young, Madge Evans and David Landau; 

*The Shining Hour (1938) with Robert Young and Joan Crawford;

*The Shining Hour (1938), behind the scenes with director Frank Borzage, Robert Young and Joan Crawford;

*The Shining Hour (1938) with Joan Crawford, Melvyn Douglas, Fay Bainter, Margaret Sullavan and Robert Young;

*Tea for Two (1950) with Doris Day and Gordon MacRae;

*Romance on the High Seas (1948) with Doris Day and Jack Carson;

*Lullaby of Broadway (1951) with Doris Day and Gene Nelson;

*It’s a Great Feeling (1949) with Doris Day;

*It’s a Great Feeling (1949) with Doris Day; (2 screenshots by me)

*It’s a Great Feeling (1949) with Joan Crawford; (screenshot by me)

*April in Paris (1952) with Doris Day and Ray Bolger;

*Two for the Road (1967) with Audrey Hepburn and Albert Finney; (2 photos)

*Hangmen Also Die! (1943) with Brian Donlevy and Anna Lee;

*Tomorrow, the World! (1944) with Fredric March, Skip Homeier, Agnes Moorehead, Joan Carroll and Betty Field.