June 2020 Round-Up
TOTAL FILMS SEEN IN JUNE: 20
(see the film posters at the bottom of the post, arranged in watching order)
NEW-TO-ME: 20
REWATCHES: 0
SEEN ON THE BIG SCREEN: 0
MOST WATCHED ACTOR: Herbert Marshall (7 in total)
MOST WATCHED DIRECTOR: Robert Wise (4 in total)
MOST WATCHED ACTOR: Herbert Marshall (7 in total)
MOST WATCHED DIRECTOR: Robert Wise (4 in total)
June is the month that we finally completed the move to our new apartment in Barcelona. It's our 4th apartment since we moved here in February 2017 and the second one very close to the beach, and we couldn't be happier with our little piso. It's also the month that the state of alarm in Spain came to an end and we regained our freedom of movement. The Filmoteca opened its doors again at the end of the month and I missed the screening of Touch of Evil (deliberately). I still can't see myself sitting in a closed-off area just now with lots of other people. Even though the theater wasn't running on full capacity, I saw the photo of the viewing room with the attending audience on Instagram and it looked pretty crowded to me.
June also marked the change of seasons and we're in full summer now. The warm weather is really here to stay and we're enjoying it to the fullest on our new small terrace (in the shade!). Still not working (going back to my old job next week) but towards the end of June I spent more time reading and studying the craft of creative writing than watching films. Which means that I ended the month with a slightly disappointing figure of 20 films watched in total. Zero films watched at the theater and zero rewatches.
Breaking the 20 watched films down in decades:
1910s - 0
1920s - 0
1930s - 9
1940s - 6
1950s - 5
1960s - 0
My most watched actor is Herbert Marshall (I simply love him) and my most watched director is Robert Wise. There were a couple of actresses that I saw 2 films of: Patricia Neal, Shirley Temple, Brenda Marshall, Constance Bennett, Elizabeth Allan and Gertrude Michael.
Let's start with the Herbert Marshall films, 7 in total. Here's the list, in watching order:
Till We Meet Again (with Gertrude Michael)
Blonde Venus (with Marlene Dietrich, Cary Grant and Dickie Moore)
Kathleen (with Shirley Temple, Laraine Day and Gail Patrick)
Make Way For a Lady (with Anne Shirley and Gertrude Michael)
Outcast Lady (with Constance Bennett and Elizabeth Allan)
Accent on Youth (with Sylvia Sidney)
The Solitaire Man (with Elizabeth Allan, Mary Boland, Lionel Atwill and May Robson)
Of these films I enjoyed Blonde Venus and Make Way For a Lady the most.
Herbert Marshall looks distractingly handsome in Blonde Venus, in a less suave role than usual and all serious. I haven't seen that many Marlene Dietrich films and I do like her, but I just don't think she's that special. She's good here, though (especially in the emotional scene on the train's platform where she's parted from her child), and she's photographed beautifully. She also has good rapport with little Dickie Moore and these scenes feel very real. Cary Grant as the millionaire elicits some sympathy because he seems genuinely fond of Dietrich. I didn't care much for the musical numbers but there's no denying the infamous Hot Voodoo number is something else. I liked this drama quite a lot but found it a bit uneven in tone and pace. And though I didn't find it all that believable that the very bitter Marshall takes Dietrich back (excuse me for swooning over his anguished looks), I still welcomed the happy ending. Filled with pre-code signs and the gorgeous cinematography by Bert Glennon, I'm glad to have seen another Josef von Sternberg film.
Make Way For a Lady stars Anne Shirley, and though I love her, here her character with a wild imagination (reminiscent of Anne with an e, her signature role in Anne of Green Gables) and the way Shirley portrays her becomes a bit overbearing. Marshall as Shirley's father is the best thing about this film and also the reason for me to watch this. He looks soooo good and is so charming! His chemistry with Gertrude Michael is wonderful (she looks radiant by the way) and I love their playful interaction and how their relationship developed. This film could definitely have used more of them and a little less of Shirley. Marshall played this single father role in Kathleen (also seen this month) and in the highly enjoyable Mad about Music with Deanna Durbin. As a whole this film was entertaining and it just made me want to see more Marshall films.
I also enjoyed Till We Meet Again, a nice little spy film, with Gertrude Michael again playing Marshall's leading lady (I watched this prior to Make Way For a Lady). Unfortunately I was sleepy so I didn't pay full attention. Yet the final act was thrilling and I was completely awake again. Like in Make Way For a Lady Marshall and Michael have great chemistry. Marshall is his usual dashing and charming self, especially in the first part, yet maybe not entirely believable as a spy. I really like Michael and Lionel Atwill gives good support. Also some nice photography by Victor Milner (DP of Trouble in Paradise, The Lady Eve, The Strange Love of Martha Ivers and The Furies) with a great last shot.
Kathleen is an enjoyable Shirley Temple vehicle where she is a bit older and therefore less cute. Kathleen longs for the affection of her widowed father (Marshall) who doesn't pay enough attention to her. Because she's a 12-year-old teenager, she's naturally bratty yet still likeable, and I thought Temple played her role well. Laraine Day is the child psychologist who is hired to spend the summer with the family and falls (very quickly) for the attractive father. Who in fact is planning to get married to Gail Patrick. Patrick as the other woman is actually funny at times and I liked her. I had a considerably good time with this film, even though the romance between Day and Marshall wasn't properly developed and their happy ending came awfully rushed. Their chemistry is pretty much non-existent (and not because of the age gap) and it's noteworthy that a year earlier Marshall played Day's father in Hitchcock's Foreign Correspondent.
Outcast Lady is another Marshall film I watched, this time with Constance Bennett as his leading lady. There's a lot wrong with this film and it's pretty melodramatic, yet somehow strangely compelling.
I had expected to like The Solitaire Man more than I did, but the dialogue was stilted (it's based on a play) and it all felt stagy and somewhat uninspired. The airplane setting looked really fake, in fact the production values were pretty low. I like May Robson and Mary Boland, though Boland was a bit overbearing. Well, anyway, I was sleepy again and might return to this some other time to see if I'd like it any better. Still worthwhile for Marshall. I could listen to him talk forever!
The worst of the Marshall films was Accent on Youth. I'll watch anything with Marshall but I really shouldn't have bothered with this one. There was little chemistry between him and Sylvia Sidney and I didn't really like the lead characters nor the plot development. Will probably never watch this again.
I also watched films directed by Robert Wise. My sister and I wanted to explore Wise's filmography because she received a review copy of the book Robert Wise: The Motion Pictures from the author J.R. Jordan for her blog (you can read her review here). I had intended to see more of his films but in the end I only watched 4.
They are, in watching order:
The House on Telegraph Hill (with Richard Basehart, Valentina Cortese and William Lundigan)
The Day the Earth Stood Still (with Michael Rennie, Patricia Neal, Billy Gray and Hugh Marlowe)
Three Secrets (with Patricia Neal, Eleanor Parker, Ruth Roman and Frank Lovejoy)
Odds Against Tomorrow (with Harry Belafonte, Robert Ryan, Shelley Winters, Ed Begley and Gloria Grahame)
They were all pretty good. I enjoyed Three Secrets the most. It's well paced and well acted and it tells a compelling story in flashback (three women wonder if the sole survivor of a plane crash is the son they gave up for adoption). The strength of this drama lies with its three female protagonists, played by three great actresses (Eleanor Parker, Ruth Roman and Patricia Neal). The stand-out performance is by Neal whose character I liked very much (she has a bigger role than the other two women). She's very good in showing both her strong-willed, independent side and her vulnerable side. I wished her a happy ending with Frank Lovejoy, just because I liked her so much and wanted her to be with the man she loved, but Lovejoy's views on working women were a bit outdated and she was probably better off without him. The identity of the little boy's real mother was not so difficult to guess and even the surprise twist at the end my sister and I had anticipated. Good direction by Robert Wise and some nice photography by Sid Hickox. I also liked the shots of the press conference with the actual members of the Sierra club playing the rescue team, and the interviews taken by a real-life journalist in documentary style.
The Day the Earth Stood Still is one of those sci-fi films that I've been meaning to see for some time and now I finally watched it because it's part of Wise's filmography. It wasn't the masterpiece sci-fi I had hoped for, and to be honest I was a bit underwhelmed, but it's still a fun watch. The music score by Bernard Herrmann with the use of the theremin is great. The instrument has that typical spooky sound and is often used in sci-fi films and therefore associated with aliens and flying saucers. Good production design and also fine cinematography by Leo Tover (who also shot The Heiress and The Woman on the Beach). "Klaatu barada nikto!"
Odds Against Tomorrow is a good film dealing with racial tension, considered to be the last film noir from the Old Hollywood era. Can't help feeling slightly disappointed because I had expected more due to the high ratings. The pacing is a bit slow, all the action comes near the end, and the focus is very much on the characters and their motives. The performances are good, especially Robert Ryan's, but Gloria Grahame is a bit wasted here. What I love is the film's gritty and gloomy mood, the beautiful photography by Joseph C. Brun and the jazz score by John Lewis. And Harry Belafonte is a fine singer. I also love the opening credits and opening sequence, and there's an ending reminiscent of White Heat.
The House on Telegraph Hill is my least favourite of the Wise films seen. It begins as a mistaken identity story where Valentina Cortese assumes the identity of a dead woman whom she befriended in a concentration camp. She travels to the United States to take care of the dead woman's son and from there on the film turns into a mystery tale reminiscent of Rebecca and Suspicion. Cortese becomes the new mistress of the mansion on Telegraph Hill and has to deal with the boy's nanny (who made me think of Mrs. Danvers). And what about the husband (Richard Basehart), is he to be trusted? Is the glass of juice poisoned? Fortunately we have handsome William Lundigan standing by our heroine. It's only with him that her stolen identity is mentioned again and he seems to accept it. Despite some predictable plot points I still had a good time with this film and it's beautifully photographed by Lucien Ballard. Trivia: Basehart and Cortese met on this film for the first time, fell in love, married in 1951 and divorced in 1960.
Furthermore I watched a couple of B-programmers and minor films, listed in watching order:
Our Little Girl (with Shirley Temple, Joel McCrea and Rosemary Ames)
Seven Keys to Baldpate (with Phillip Terry, Jacqueline White and Eduardo Ciannelli)
The Smiling Ghost (with Wayne Morris, Brenda Marshall and Alexis Smith)
Background to Danger (with George Raft, Brenda Marshall, Peter Lorre and Sydney Greenstreet)
Smashing the Spy Ring (with Ralph Bellamy and Fay Wray)
Tail Spin (with Alice Faye, Constance Bennett, Jane Wyman, Charles Farrell, Nancy Kelly and Joan Davis)
Of the above-listed films I enjoyed Tail Spin, The Smiling Ghost and Background to Danger the most.
Tail Spin I watched for Constance Bennett after having seen her in Outcast Lady. I also like aviation films and was especially interested in this one because of the predominantly female cast. Here the pilots are women participating in air races, flying cool-looking aircrafts. The women are all beautifully photographed, and of course I had to look up the cinematographer's name. He's Karl Freund, DP of Metropolis and Key Largo. There's some predictable drama (thanks to Nancy Kelly), with lighter moments interspersed (courtesy of Joan Davis) and Alice Faye throwing a song in. Bennett shows her dramatic side again and is not bad at it. I still haven't decided what I think of her. I definitely prefer her sister Joan. Jane Wyman is here too, spunky and blond, and handsome Charles Farrell is criminally underused.
The Smiling Ghost is one of those mystery comedies that are easy to digest and easy to forget. Neither scary nor funny, it still manages to entertain. I watched this for Brenda Marshall who is lovely here. Alexis Smith has the less likeable role but looks good too. Our leading man Wayne Morris is really a dope, he's almost annoying, but fortunately he sort of grows on you and also shows some muscles in the final fight. Willie Best is making the most of the racial stereotype servant role he's been cast in (again) and elicits some laughs. Also with nice moody photography by Arthur L. Todd.
Background to Danger I also watched for Brenda Marshall but she doesn't have much to do. I was very sleepy while watching this and kept losing track of the espionage story. I like George Raft — he has kind eyes — but he is pretty wooden and at times it sounds as if he's just reading his scripted lines. His delivery is so monotonous here. His romance with Marshall is not developed at all, which is a shame. Sydney Greenstreet playing a German Nazi and Peter Lorre playing a Russian spy didn't seem all that believable to me. I'm a sucker for nice cinematography and fortunately it's the great Tony Gaudio (DP of The Letter, High Sierra and The Adventures of Robin Hood) who shot this film.
Our Little Girl, Seven Keys to Baldpate and Smashing the Spy Ring do have their moments and are mildly enjoyable, but as a whole I didn't enjoy them as much as Tail Spin, The Smiling Ghost and Background to Danger.
Our Little Girl is not the best of Shirley Temple. She is a bit too cute, too sugary, laying it on too thick, if that makes sense. This film — telling the story of a married couple heading for divorce, with their little girl caught in the middle — is not your typical Shirley vehicle. There are no musical numbers, just the lullaby sung by Shirley to her doll (which was kind of sweet). The divorce theme is a serious one but neither the short running time nor the script leaves room for character or story development, and the focus is on the cuteness of Shirley anyway. Even though the disintegration of the marriage happens slowly, the actual break-up still feels abrupt. The adult actors give decent performances — it was nice to see Joel McCrea play again — and Shirley has some cute moments with her dog.
Seven Keys to Baldpate is apparently a well-known story of a writer making a bet that he can finish writing a story in 24 hours (then only finding himself repeatedly interrupted by different characters at his writing residence Baldpate Inn), but I wasn't familiar with it nor with the multiple other screen versions. The story premise sounds appealing and I like those silly and short B-mystery programmers. I watched this for Phillip Terry but he's pretty bland here and gives a lackluster performance, not really good in the scenes where light comedy is required. There's also little chemistry between him and his leading lady Jacqueline White. The first part of the film where the mood is set with the lead characters arriving at the inn during the storm is the best part and the mystery is the strongest then. The suspense dwindles down pretty fast and I found the lead characters rather silly. Margaret Lindsay has a small role and is clearly at the end of her career. I was very sleepy throughout the film, which may have affected my enjoyment. Probably the best thing about this is the nice photography by Jack MacKenzie.
Smashing the Spy Ring is a short film of an hour where Ralph Bellamy breaks up a spy ring and Fay Wray doesn't have a whole lot to do, unfortunately. It's the standard fare but well paced and fairly entertaining. Watched this for Bellamy.
Three films left, more well-known:
Keeper of the Flame (with Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn)
Father of the Bride (with Spencer Tracy, Joan Bennett and Elizabeth Taylor)
Moontide (with Jean Gabin, Ida Lupino, Thomas Mitchell and Claude Rains)
Keeper of the Flame stars Hepburn and Tracy and it was nice to see them play together again. But this George Cukor mystery drama (with some nice photography by William H. Daniels) is a slow burn. It takes a while to get into this and before long you already suspect what has happened. So when the big reveal presents itself, it doesn't surprise. Yet that last scene in the little stone building with Tracy and Hepburn is the best moment of the film, also Hepburn's finest hour. (By the way, I really liked child actor Darryl Hickman.)
I watched Father of the Bride the day before Father's Day was due in my native country The Netherlands. I really enjoyed Spencer Tracy's performance as the father of the bride finding himself in a constant state of panic and anxiety. (Even I got an attack of anxiety watching the costs of the wedding rise with every added guest or item). Elizabeth Taylor is gorgeous and young and it was great to see Joan Bennett in the role of the mother. The last scene with Tracy and Bennett dancing to the song Goodnight Sweetheart somehow got me emotional and teary-eyed. I was thinking of times gone by and never coming back again.
Moontide is another film I had been meaning to see for some time. Unfortunately I was disappointed with the predictable plot and its development. It was actually very slow-paced in the beginning and I was almost bored. When Ida Lupino makes her first appearance, things get better (because Jean Gabin just didn't make my pulse beat faster). I did like the romance once Lupino and Gabin have fallen in love but the lead-up to their romance fails to convince. Strong point is the cinematography by Lucien Ballard and Charles G. Clarke. The scene where Lupino sits in a chair at the waterside looks artificial but has a beautiful dreamlike quality. Also, artist Dalí was hired to design a dream sequence in which a drunk Gabin is hallucinating. An uncredited Fritz Lang directed at first and Archie Mayo took over (both Lang and Ballard left production earlier). Claude Rains is underused here and I don't really like Thomas Mitchell playing such a creep, yet he's doing a good job of it. I read people commenting in their reviews on the gay subtext, regarding Mitchell's character. I didn't really pick up on that, though the scene in the shower where he slaps Rains' naked body with a towel is a bit dubious. This film makes me want to see some of Gabin's early and famous French work.
Well, that's another round-up! See you all next time, hopefully I've made some trips to the Filmoteca by then. Stay safe and healthy! And if you go outside and cannot keep the required social distance, wear your face mask! But don't rob anything! (haha)
PHOTOS/GIFS IN THIS POST FROM TOP TO BOTTOM:
*Herbert Marshall, most watched actor of the month;
*Blonde Venus (1932) with Marlene Dietrich and Dickie Moore;
*Blonde Venus (1932) with Marlene Dietrich and Herbert Marshall;
*Blonde Venus (1932) with Marlene Dietrich and Herbert Marshall;
*Make Way For a Lady (1936) with Herbert Marshall and Anne Shirley;
*Make Way For a Lady (1936) with Herbert Marshall and Gertrude Michael;
*Till We Meet Again (1936) with Herbert Marshall and Gertrude Michael; (screenshot by me)
*Kathleen (1941) with Herbert Marshall, Shirley Temple, Laraine Day and Gail Patrick;
*Outcast Lady (1934) with Constance Bennett, Herbert Marshall and Hugh Williams;
*The Solitaire Man (1933) with Herbert Marshall and Elizabeth Allan; (screenshot by me)
*Accent on Youth (1935) with Herbert Marshall and Sylvia Sidney;
*Three Secrets (1950), publicity shot with Ruth Roman, Patricia Neal and Eleanor Parker;
*Three Secrets (1950) with Ruth Roman, Patricia Neal and Eleanor Parker; (gif by me)
*The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951), on the set;
*The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951) with Michael Rennie and Patricia Neal;
*Odds Against Tomorrow (1959) with Harry Belafonte, Robert Ryan and Ed Begley;
*The House on Telegraph Hill (1951) with Richard Basehart and Valentina Cortese;
*Tail Spin (1939) with Jane Wyman, Joan Davis, Alice Faye, Constance Bennett, Nancy Kelly and Joan Valerie;
*Tail Spin (1939) with Joan Davis, Constance Bennett, Alice Faye and Charles Farrell;
*The Smiling Ghost (1941) with Wayne Morris and Alexis Smith;
*The Smiling Ghost (1941) with Brenda Marshall; (screenshot by me)
*Background to Danger (1943) with George Raft, Brenda Marshall and Peter Lorre;
*Our Little Girl (1935) with Shirley Temple, Joel McCrea and Rosemary Ames;
*Seven Keys to Baldpate (1947) with Phillip Terry, Jacqueline White and Eduardo Ciannelli;
*Smashing the Spy Ring (1938) with Ralph Bellamy and Fay Wray;
*Keeper of the Flame (1942) with Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn; (3 photos)
*Father of the Bride (1950) with Joan Bennett and Elizabeth Taylor;
*Father of the Bride (1950) with Spencer Tracy and Joan Bennett; (gif by me)
*Moontide (1942) with Jean Gabin and Ida Lupino; (gif by me)
*Moontide (1942) with Ida Lupino and Claude Rains; (gif by me)
*Odds Against Tomorrow (1959) with Harry Belafonte, Robert Ryan and Ed Begley, with face masks!