January 2020 Round-Up
TOTAL FILMS SEEN IN JANUARY: 10
(see the film posters at the bottom of the post, arranged in watching order)
NEW-TO-ME: 8
REWATCHES: 2
SEEN ON THE BIG SCREEN: 2
MOST WATCHED ACTOR: Barry Sullivan (4 in total)
MOST WATCHED ACTRESS: Joan Crawford (4 in total)
The new year started with a sad movie count, just like last year. I only visited the Filmoteca twice and at home I hardly watched any movies. This month I started a new project with my current employer and the job is not very exciting (this is really an understatement!) so I guess my overall mood was one of restlessness. On top of that we're apartment hunting again which only adds to the restlessness. I also want to get back into novel writing and dedicated some free time to studying the craft. So basically I had less time to watch films than during the previous two months (when I watched a lot of films) but I guess I also had less desire to do so.
I watched a meagre total of 10 films, including the two films seen on the big screen which were also the only rewatches this month.
Let's start with the theater viewings!
Mildred Pierce (with Joan Crawford, Jack Carson, Zachary Scott, Ann Blyth and Eve Arden)
Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans (with George O’Brien, Janet Gaynor and Margaret Livingston)
I was really happy to be able to see Mildred Pierce on the big screen in a very good print. This is a wonderful mix of melodrama and film noir and Joan Crawford gives an unforgettable performance as the titular Mildred Pierce. Her likeable role as housewife and mother turned successful businesswoman deservedly won her an Oscar. Ann Blyth is also great as the self-centered daughter who longs for money and status. The confrontation scene on the stairs with Blyth slapping Crawford is very memorable and one of my fave moments. Eve Arden as Mildred's friend has the best lines and wisecracks her way through this film. Huge credit goes to the amazing black-and-white cinematography by Ernest Haller.
Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans is a beautiful and haunting silent classic which looked fantastic on the big screen. When it comes to the dark parts — the beginning and the ending — it really is a masterpiece. I absolutely love those parts. But the happy stuff I like less and it bothers me a bit that Janet Gaynor forgives George O’Brien so quickly after his attempt to kill her and some of the humorous scenes drag (e.g. the drunken piglet). It's a bit of a shame because the built-up tension in the beginning is so superbly done that the slack middle takes the pace out of the film. Still, the rest is really outstanding with good performances, a fine music score and great intertitles. The stand-out is the brilliant cinematography by Charles Rosher and Karl Struss (they won the first Academy Award for Best Cinematography). The first scene that comes to mind right now is the boat search for Janet Gaynor with the lanterns, but there are numerous scenes that are beautifully photographed and there are also great tracking shots. Director Murnau is a master of visual storytelling and this is storytelling at its best.
Mildred Pierce led me to watch three other Joan Crawford films: Flamingo Road (with Zachary Scott, David Brian and Sydney Greenstreet), Queen Bee (with Barry Sullivan, Betsy Palmer, John Ireland, Lucy Marlow and Fay Wray) and The Damned Don’t Cry (with David Brian, Steve Cochran and Kent Smith).
The plot of Flamingo Road is a bit convoluted and Joan Crawford seems to be too old for the part but this melodrama is still mild fun. Sydney Greenstreet is convincing in his sleazy role, although I found him mostly annoying. Zachary Scott and David Brian are okay, yet both in fairly colourless roles.
Queen Bee is a family drama with Crawford playing the calculating mistress of the house whose cousin, nondescript Lucy Marlow, comes to live with them. Barry Sullivan is Crawford's alcoholic husband, with a scar on his cheek and nicknamed Beauty. Crawford is always watchable and the film is enjoyable but it's nothing exceptional. I did like the unexpected ending and the cinematography by Charles Lang is beautiful.
Fortunately The Damned Don’t Cry, a rags-to-riches drama, was surprisingly good, at least I hadn't expected it to be this good and compelling. Crawford gives a great performance as a woman exploiting men while climbing the ladder of success in a shady world ("He's promised me the world, Marty, and I've got to have it"). The story is well crafted and the script is above average. David Brian, Steve Cochran and Kent Smith all give good support. Admittedly, the ending is a bit disappointing, but I didn't really mind because I like happy endings. Also great cinematography by Ted D. McCord.
Because of Queen Bee I decided to watch more Barry Sullivan films because I really like him. I watched: No Questions Asked (with Arlene Dahl, George Murphy and Jean Hagen), Loophole (with Charles McGraw and Dorothy Malone) and Payment on Demand (with Bette Davis, Jane Cowl, John Sutton, Frances Dee and Otto Kruger).
In No Questions Asked Barry Sullivan gives a good performance as an insurance investigator wanting to make a quick buck to keep his money-loving girlfriend Arlene Dahl happy. Lovely Jean Hagen is the girl who works for Sullivan and is in love with him. It doesn't take a whole lot of guessing which girl will end up with our leading man. Really enjoyable noir and the underwater struggle at the end of the film was quite thrilling and well shot. I had been wondering whether the scene where the crime boss is timing how long he can hold his breath underwater served a purpose and it did in the finale. Script co-written by Sidney Sheldon.
Loophole is another B-noir with Sullivan, taking place mostly in the day-time. It has a thrilling story premise of a bank teller coming up short $49,000 and not reporting it right away. Though suspicion of theft initially falls on him and he gets fired from his job, most people believe in his innocence except insurance investigator Charles McGraw who relentlessly pursues Sullivan and his wife Dorothy Malone. There's enough tension to make this an exciting watch, even though the cinematography is rather uneventful and the opening narration is annoying. But Sullivan and Malone play likeable characters and make a cute couple.
Payment on Demand is a solid drama with good performances from the leads Sullivan and Bette Davis, even though they lack chemistry and don't seem a likely couple. I thought the beginning was a bit slow-paced and it took me some time to get into this film. Two great scenes: the one where the divorce settlement is discussed with Davis in top form; and the one with the great Jane Cowl telling Davis about loneliness and old age ("When a woman starts getting old, time can be the avalanche and loneliness a disaster"). Another thing stood out, namely the scene transitions to the flashbacks with windows turning into walls, et cetera. They were beautifully done. I also liked the open ending, Bette is really good in that final scene.
Two more films to mention, the first two films I watched this year.
I started the new decade with Dark Journey starring Vivien Leigh and Conrad Veidt. I had just seen parts of Gone With the Wind showing on Dutch television at my mum's place during the holidays and craved a Leigh film. So I downloaded Dark Journey to watch on the plane ride back to Barcelona. Unfortunately I was very sleepy but I did notice how beautiful and young Vivien Leigh looked. The story of double agents was a bit confusing to me and I had a hard time following it. What stuck out was the underdeveloped and unconvincing romantic relationship between Leigh and Veidt. There was hardly any build-up and it was rushed. Besides, the chemistry was also a bit lacking. And that ending was bad. Still, I'm glad to have watched another Leigh film since I've only seen Gone With the Wind and Waterloo Bridge. Sadly this film cannot compete with either of them.
Mad Holiday is an enjoyable little B-programmer with Edmund Lowe playing an actor who's tired of playing a film detective. He takes a vacation and of course stumbles upon a dead body. I love Lowe and he has nice chemistry with Elissa Landi. Nothing special but with some fun moments. Also with Zasu Pitts and Edmund Gwenn.
Well ... that's a round-up again! The first of the new year and the new decade. Here's to many more films, hopefully with a staggering amount in February!
PHOTOS/GIFS IN THIS POST FROM TOP TO BOTTOM:
*Mildred Pierce (1945) with Joan Crawford and Ann Blyth; (3 gifs)
*Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans (1927) with George O’Brien and Margaret Livingston;
*Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans (1927) with George O’Brien and Janet Gaynor;
*Joan Crawford reading Flamingo Road by Robert Wilder;
*Flamingo Road (1949) with Joan Crawford and Zachary Scott;
*Flamingo Road (1949) with Joan Crawford and David Brian;
*Queen Bee (1955) with Joan Crawford, Barry Sullivan, Betsy Palmer and Lucy Marlow;
*Queen Bee (1955) with Joan Crawford and Barry Sullivan;
*The Damned Don’t Cry (1950) with Joan Crawford, David Brian and Kent Smith;
*The Damned Don’t Cry (1950) with Joan Crawford and David Brian;
*No Questions Asked (1951) with Barry Sullivan and Jean Hagen;
*Loophole (1954) with Barry Sullivan and Dorothy Malone;
*Bette Davis and Barry Sullivan celebrating Bette's birthday in April 1950 with the cast and crew of Payment on Demand (1951); (2 photos)
*Payment on Demand (1951) with Bette Davis and Barry Sullivan;
*Dark Journey (1937) with Vivien Leigh and Conrad Veidt;
*Mad Holiday (1936) with Edmund Lowe and Elissa Landi.
ALL GIFS in this post are made by me!
