December 2020 Round-Up
TOTAL FILMS SEEN IN DECEMBER: 40
So we've come to the round-up of December! The last month of 2020, a very strange and turbulent year where a pandemic has controlled our lives. It's weird to think that with last year's December round-up post the world was still normal. Let's hope the vaccine will bring relief soon and 2021 will be a happy year again.
This year was the first time ever I didn't spend the Christmas holidays with my family (they live in The Netherlands) but I spent it with my sister in Barcelona, our hometown since 2017. Since a PCR test had been made mandatory for travel to Spain, a return journey just became too expensive and complicated. Also, the Dutch government didn't allow a household to have more than three guests a day so it became impossible to organise Christmas with the whole family together.
It wasn't exactly a punishment to stay in Barcelona because the winter weather here is of course better than in The Netherlands and we had lovely sunny days with agreeable temperatures (as I'm writing this the weather has turned significantly colder, with an unpleasant icy wind!). Fortunately we were finally able to visit the Filmoteca again. Yay! Staying in Barcelona during the end of December enabled us to see films on the big screen we would have missed otherwise. This month the Filmoteca also launched the Marilyn Monroe exhibition with photos by Milton Greene (still haven't visited but it's running until the 24th of February).
I managed to watch a total of 40 films. With this I have reached a year's total of 337 films. In my November round-up post I said this year was going to be the year with the most watched classics but I was mistaken, because in 2016 I watched 349 films. So this year comes in second place. (Going to try to beat 2016's record in 2021!)
My most watched actresses of December are Marilyn Monroe and Florence Rice, both with 3 films seen. There was not really a most watched actor but there were a lot of actresses/actors with 2 films seen this month: Sylvia Sidney, Melvyn Douglas, George Arliss, Ann Rutherford, Basil Rathbone, Katharine Hepburn, Natalie Wood, Montgomery Clift, Mickey Rooney, Judy Garland, Lana Turner, Gloria Grahame, Errol Flynn, Lucile Watson, Olivia de Havilland and Priscilla Lane.
Breaking the 40 watched films down in decades:
1910s - 0
1920s - 0
1930s - 16
1940s - 13
1950s - 10
1960s - 1
The films watched this month can furthermore be divided into three groups:
*Filmoteca viewings
*Christmas films
*Random films
Watching films at the Filmoteca during Covid-19 proved to be a more enjoyable experience than I had expected. With half of the theater's capacity available it means that only every other seat can be occupied and there is no one seated in front of you or next to you. The seats where you are not supposed to sit are marked as such. I love seeing the classics on the big screen but I hate packed cinemas (which fortunately doesn't happen too often with the Filmoteca since the target audience is fairly small). With everyone wearing the obligatory face mask during the entire duration of the film, facing the same direction towards the screen and nobody talking, I guess there's little risk of contagion involved. Still, I didn't want to overdo it and thus limited my visits.
The Filmoteca had a Marilyn Monroe special planned earlier this year but because of the lockdown it had to be cancelled. Fortunately they scheduled it this month anew. The Monroe films showing were: The Asphalt Jungle, Monkey Business, Niagara, Some Like It Hot, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, River of No Return, The Seven Year Itch, Bus Stop, Let's Make Love and The Misfits. I didn't go to see The Asphalt Jungle, Monkey Business, Some Like It Hot, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, River of No Return, The Seven Year Itch and Let's Make Love, either because of work or I didn't feel like going out or I had already seen it on the big screen (Monkey Business, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes and River of No Return).
I also missed: M and Sunset Boulevard (both already seen at the Filmoteca), The Secret Garden, The Wizard of Oz and Bonjour Tristesse.
The films I did see at the Filmoteca are, here listed in watching order (6 in total, 3 Marilyn Monroe films):
Niagara (with Marilyn Monroe, Joseph Cotten and Jean Peters)
The Adventures of Robin Hood (with Errol Flynn, Olivia de Havilland, Basil Rathbone and Claude Rains)
Ninotchka (with Greta Garbo, Melvyn Douglas and Ina Claire)
Bus Stop (with Marilyn Monroe, Don Murray, Betty Field and Hope Lange)
The Misfits (with Marilyn Monroe, Clark Gable, Montgomery Clift, Thelma Ritter and Eli Wallach)
The Heiress (with Olivia de Havilland, Montgomery Clift, Miriam Hopkins and Ralph Richardson)
Five of these Filmoteca viewings were rewatches. Only Bus Stop was a first watch.
Of these Filmoteca viewings The Adventures of Robin Hood was my absolute favourite. It's also my favourite film of the month — together with It's a Wonderful Life — and it's in fact one of my favourite classics of all time. What a cinematic Technicolor feast for the eyes! I have seen this film so many times I lost count and I can practically dream the proceedings but seeing it on the big screen was so amazing. It still held some surprises, like seeing little details I had never noticed before (e.g. the glittering sequins in Robin Hood's green costume). I love Errol Flynn as Robin, he's so cheeky and charming. Olivia de Havilland as Maid Marian is beautiful and the supporting characters are all great. Also love the uplifting music score by Erich Wolfgang Korngold and the cinematography by Sol Polito and Tony Gaudio. Required viewing!
I would have loved to see more of the scheduled Marilyn Monroe films but in the end I only watched three: Niagara, Bus Stop and The Misfits.
The best of these three Monroe films is The Misfits. I absolutely love this poignant story of loneliness and broken people, played by three actors who would soon meet their untimely death in real life (for Clark Gable and Monroe this would even be their last film, Montgomery Clift would make films until his death in 1966). What a great experience to see this at the Filmoteca with my sister. Had seen this before but love it even more now having seen it on the big screen (the large viewing room was pretty much sold out and I loved to see so many young people attend). Great performances all around, the best performance from Marilyn I've ever seen. She's so beautiful and mesmerising here and I couldn't stop looking at her. Every scene she's in I focused on her. She has this sadness that seems to stem from real life, and she's also vulnerable, childlike and sexy. The first time I saw this film I thought her performance was a bit inconsistent, that she was trying too hard, although she had some great moments too. Now I could hardly find fault with her performance. Sure, there are some instants that are overdone, with the lip quivering and all, but overall she's truly great and makes us partial to her loneliness and sadness. You catch glimpses of the real Marilyn. The scenes with the horses getting roped are at times difficult to watch but it's also really beautiful to see the horses being set free and running wild, no longer suffering. Outstanding photography by Russell Metty and also great score by Alex North. The screenplay is written by Arthur Miller, married to Marilyn at the time, so it explains why you get the feeling that Marilyn's character is not just acted. The film ends with a shot of eternal stars in the night sky, leaving me feeling melancholic and a bit sad thinking of these actors long gone with their sad pasts, but it's a comfort that these film stars will keep on shining bright in the Hollywood heavens.
Niagara was the first film I watched at the Filmoteca after a hiatus of a couple of months (the last film I had seen on the big screen was Lonely Are the Brave at the end of August). I had seen this film a long time ago and couldn't remember much of it. I knew there was going to be a murder but I didn't know who the killer was nor the victim. Well, it slowly came back to me as the film progressed. It was enjoyable but I don't really like Marilyn Monroe as a sultry femme fatale. I know it's common in classic films but Monroe sleeping with full makeup and glossy lipstick looks rather ridiculous, and her quivering lips are a bit too much. There's nothing natural about Monroe nor her performance (also the way she sings Kiss in a seductive way). To be honest, I preferred Jean Peters here, she looks so beautiful. I would have liked it if Peters would have ended up with Joseph Cotten (they had to alter the plot slightly, haha) because her darling husband is an absolute bore. Cotten gives a balanced performance, eliciting sympathy from the viewer while being both pitiful and menacing. Probably the star of the show is the location, the Niagara Falls, they are stunning and exciting.
Bus Stop I watched by myself because my sister didn't want to see this. Already anticipating that I might not like this film, I'd hoped that seeing it on the big screen in a 35mm print might add something positive to my viewing experience. Well, I did enjoy the CinemaScope format, the beautiful Technicolor and cinematography by Milton Krasner. But Don Murray .... seriously, he's the most annoying and stupid male protagonist I've ever seen in a classic Hollywood film. There's not much to the story so everything hinges on the characters and performances. Murray's performance would have benefited from the old saying less is more. While Marilyn is also mostly overdoing it, she has her good moments, even really funny ones, and her character is likeable. Small role for Hope Lange who shares a nice scene with Marilyn on the bus. (Lange and Murray were married from 1956 till 1961.)
Two more films seen at the Filmoteca: Ninotchka and The Heiress.
Rewatching the Lubitsch gem Ninotchka on the big screen was so much fun! Such a witty script written by Charles Brackett and Billy Wilder. Greta Garbo is great as Ninotchka, with her icy manner and deadpan remarks. I think Garbo should have made more comedies. Best scenes: the one where Melvyn Douglas tries to make Garbo laugh and the one where they are drunk. I also love Douglas in comedy, he's so suave and charming. By the way, it was nice to see such a good turnout at the theater and that the majority of the audience were younger people.
I was happy to see The Heiress on the big screen. I had seen this once before and was disappointed with Olivia de Havilland's performance, or part of it anyway. I was curious to know whether I would still feel the same and I'm afraid to say I did. The first part before her character's transformation — when she is shy and naive — the actress is trying too hard. I don't see a shy and mousy character but an actress who's trying to play one. (In comparison, Olivia's sister Joan Fontaine is much better in portraying such a character, evidenced in Rebecca.) Olivia finally nails it in the part after her transformation and also her voice (which she distorted to a lighter tone when playing shy) sounds normal again. But we have to wait quite a long time to get there. Miriam Hopkins as the hysterical aunt is good, Montgomery Clift is very handsome and believable as the suitor who's after Olivia's money (or is he?) and Ralph Richardson is good as well, though in my opinion too young to be playing Olivia's father. There's a great confrontation scene between Richardson and Olivia, with Richardson saying some truly hurtful things which no parent should ever say to his child. Great cinematography by Leo Tover, especially the final shot with Olivia ascending the stairs holding the lamp.
Coming to the Christmas films now. Some of them are real Christmassy but others have not much to do with Christmas at all and only have a Christmas scene in them (which is my sole requirement to be featured on this Christmas list). Of these films 11 are new to me and 2 are rewatches. Among the new ones is one short film.
The Christmas films are, here listed in watching order (13 in total):
Kind Lady (with Aline MacMahon, Basil Rathbone and Mary Carlisle)
The Holly and the Ivy (with Ralph Richardson, Celia Johnson, Margaret Leighton and Denholm Elliott)
The Miracle on 34th Street (1955) (with Thomas Mitchell, Macdonald Carey and Teresa Wright)
Junior Miss (with Peggy Ann Garner, Allyn Joslyn, Michael Dunne and Mona Freeman)
Backfire (with Virginia Mayo, Edmond O'Brien, Gordon MacRae, Viveca Lindfors and Dane Clark)
Miracle on Main Street (with Margo and Walter Abel)
Room for One More (with Cary Grant and Betsy Drake)
Love Finds Andy Hardy (with Mickey Rooney, Lewis Stone, Judy Garland, Lana Turner and Ann Rutherford)
Never Say Goodbye (with Errol Flynn, Eleanor Parker, Lucile Watson and S. Z. Sakall)
Tomorrow Is Forever (with Claudette Colbert, Orson Welles, George Brent, Natalie Wood and Lucile Watson)
Star in the Night (short) (with J. Carrol Naish and Donald Woods)
The Lemon Drop Kid (with Bob Hope, Marilyn Maxwell, Lloyd Nolan and Jane Darwell)
It’s a Wonderful Life (with James Stewart, Donna Reed, Lionel Barrymore and Thomas Mitchell)
Let's start with the rewatches, only two: Never Say Goodbye and It's a Wonderful Life.
I'm trying to watch It's a Wonderful Life every year in December since it's absolutely one of my favourites and fortunately I managed to see it before the year was over. What can I say? No matter how many times I've seen this before it always captivates and brings a smile and a tear. Jimmy Stewart is so wonderful as George Bailey. One of my favourite scenes is the one where he is at the lowest point in his life, breaks down in tears and prays to God to show him the way. Also, with this viewing I noticed for the first time how odd it is that cop Bert (Ward Bond) fires his gun after George Bailey who has just slugged him and runs away. Was Bert really aiming to hit George? It just seemed an outrageous thing to do for having only received a blow to the jaw.
I really like Never Say Goodbye, a delightful comedy, which I rewatched because of the Christmas setting and Errol Flynn playing Santa Claus. The scene in the restaurant with Flynn and S.Z. Sakall trying to fool Eleanor Parker, while Flynn is also having dinner with his model, is so funny. Parker and Flynn have great chemistry and I like Parker when she's a little bit neurotic. Both actors should have done more comedy. Especially Flynn has a flair for it. He's cheeky, charming and at the same time can be such a baby. His scenes with Forrest Tucker reminded me a bit of The Awful Truth with Tucker in the Ralph Bellamy part and Flynn in the Cary Grant part. Flynn's Bogart impersonation with Bogart's actual voice is unexpected and great. Also love the little girl Patti Brady as Flip.
Of the 11 new-to-me Christmas films five can really be considered Christmas films: The Holly and the Ivy, The Miracle on 34th Street, Miracle on Main Street, Star in the Night (a short) and The Lemon Drop Kid.
With The Holly and the Ivy I had hoped for a Christmas classic to add to my list of favourites but alas. This British drama about a dysfunctional family reuniting for the holidays kept me engaged but I didn't love it. Based on a play it felt stagy and little attention has been paid to sets and photography. It looked like it was made for television. The performances are good, although young Denholm Elliott is really overacting in his confrontation scene with Ralph Richardson. I think the weak link is Richardson as he is too young to play the elderly parson, it was not believable. Celia Johnson as his eldest daughter is only 6 years younger than he is (seen Richardson this month also as Olivia de Havilland's father in The Heiress). Undoubtedly the film's best scene is shared by Margaret Leighton and Celia Johnson. Their talk in the kitchen while doing the dishes feels very real and their acting is great and natural. Not a Christmas film I will likely rewatch next year but still glad I finally watched it.
The Miracle on 34th Street is a TV-film and basically a shorter version of the famous Christmas classic of the same title starring Edmund Gwenn, Maureen O'Hara, John Payne and Natalie Wood. It follows the original closely but it's crammed in a much shorter runtime. I did enjoy it because of the casting. Thomas Mitchell does a fairly good job as Kris Kringle and I find Teresa Wright and Macdonald Carey a natural and believable couple. I saw them of course in Shadow of a Doubt and also in the noir Count the Hours and thought it was a shame they hadn't made more movies together. Well, this film is a small comfort. Their performances are nothing special but it was nice to see them together. The little girl (Sandy Descher) in Wood's role is my least favourite person here — she gets a bit annoying — whereas I love Wood in the original version. Still an okay holiday watch.
I had never heard of Miracle on Main Street before but found it on a Christmas movies list. Too bad the film as a whole is pretty underwhelming. I had expected a redemption story tugging at your heartstrings, something sugary sentimental, but it all stays meek and the performances are lackluster and uninspired. Also, the romance between Walter Abel and Margo is so unconvincing. The only performances I like are those by Wynne Gibson and Veda Ann Borg. The girls have spunk and I especially like Gibson, also when she got educated and spoke refined with a rolling r.
I sought out Star in the Night because of favourable reviews on Letterboxd and because it's an Oscar-winning film (for Best Short Subject - Two-Reel) but I was not so impressed with this Christmas retelling and found nothing special about it. I don't mind it's hokey but I had expected something extraordinary in the way the story was told or the way the characters were depicted. I did like Donald Woods as the hitchhiker. J. Carrol Naish's best moment is the end shot while looking out the window. I'll give it another try next year.
According to Letterboxd The Lemon Drop Kid is my first Bob Hope film (while I thought I had seen him in a film before but I've probably seen bits and pieces of his films). Still, I had already made up my mind that I find Hope and his humour mostly annoying. (Or am I just confusing him with Red Skelton?!) Anyway, I would never have chosen to watch a Hope film if it wasn't for the fact that this film features on many Christmas lists and I found a crisp print online. Surprisingly, Hope didn't annoy me as much as I had expected. At times he was funny and mostly likeable despite being a crook. There are some heartwarming moments in this film (courtesy of the old ladies) and it also features the first rendition of the Christmas song Silver Bells sung by Hope and Marilyn Maxwell. Not a must-see Christmas film but enjoyable enough and Silver Bells really brings one in the Christmas mood.
The following titles are not Christmas films but have Christmas scenes in them: Kind Lady, Love Finds Andy Hardy, Tomorrow Is Forever, Junior Miss, Room for One More and Backfire.
Of these I enjoyed Kind Lady, Love Finds Andy Hardy and Tomorrow Is Forever the most.
I chose Kind Lady for its Christmas setting. It has an interesting story premise and I love Aline MacMahon. I had read beforehand what this was about but it would have been better if I wouldn't have had any prior knowledge of the film's content. Basil Rathbone is quite charming and courteous in the beginning and it was a pity I already knew he was a crook so I was basically waiting for him to con MacMahon. I have to say that the way the story developed was unsettling and chilling which I hadn't expected. There was also a bunch of weird supporting characters. Both MacMahon and Rathbone are excellent in their roles, as can be expected. Christmas doesn't play a big part here, yet MacMahon's generous act of inviting a stranger from the cold into her home and offering him tea matches the Christmas spirit of goodwill towards one's fellow man.
Love Finds Andy Hardy I also chose for its Christmas setting. This is the fourth installment in the Andy Hardy series but the first one I've seen. I really like Mickey Rooney as a teenager and I love his relationship with his father Lewis Stone. Yet the best thing this film has to offer is young Judy Garland as Betsy. She's lovely and endearing and also gets to sing two songs. I especially love In Between. Rooney gets himself mixed up with Lana Turner and Ann Rutherford as well but here they pale in comparison with Garland.
Tomorrow Is Forever had been on my watchlist for a while and also has a Christmas scene. Its story premise has been done before: soldier is presumed dead in the war, his widow remarries and said soldier returns. You can argue whether it's straining credibility that Claudette Colbert doesn't recognise Orson Welles as her supposedly deceased husband, because voice, eyes and manner can betray more than a face covered with a beard. But I completely went with it and was swept in the story and it moved me emotionally. Great performances by Welles and Colbert. I'd never seen Welles in such a likeable role and he got my sympathy. George Brent is ... what can I say ... George Brent, wooden and all, but I love him just the same. Lucile Watson gives solid support as Brent's aunt and little Natalie Wood surprises in her first credited role, playing a German orphan and also speaking German. She was such a remarkable child actress. The film's ending came as a surprise but was unnecessary.
Junior Miss and Room for One More I also enjoyed but less than Kind Lady, Love Finds Andy Hardy and Tomorrow Is Forever.
Junior Miss I also found on a Christmas movies list and decided to watch it immediately. Indeed, it's set around Christmas time and New Year's Eve and follows the affairs of a family with two teenage daughters. It was great fun, I have to say. I like both Peggy Ann Garner and Mona Freeman and they suited their roles as bickering sisters well. I also liked Allyn Joslyn as the father with his dry humour. It was fun to see Mona's numerous suitors coming and going and also Garner's best friend Fuffy (Barbara Whiting) drops in unannounced multiple times. I loved the fact that Garner and Whiting are classic film fans and constantly make references to films and film stars in relation to their own lives. They even refer to film stars who supposedly played together in a film but after I had looked it up online I couldn't find any films in which mentioned actors had played together. Garner is a teenager with a wild imagination who's overdramatising stuff but naturally everything turns out fine in the end. Well-paced and with a satisfying conclusion, this film has a lovely Christmas scene with the family sitting around the tree and unpacking presents.
I also had a pretty good time with Room for One More, a gentle family film about foster children. Hadn't expected to like it but the story is appealing and it was great to see Cary Grant (I liked his role and performance) and he has nice chemistry with his then-wife Betsy Drake. I also chose to watch this because there is a Christmas scene and it was rather touching that the children gave their presents back so their elder sister could have her dream party dress.
Backfire was the least enjoyable of the Christmas films and also the worst and lowest rated film of the month. Again, I came here for the Christmas setting. For the rest I shouldn't have bothered. I started watching this late at night in bed, kept falling asleep, then watched the rest the next day while working from home. So this noir never got my undivided attention, but I'm sure it doesn't deserve it. Its plot is pretty convoluted, with confusing flashbacks, and the whole film feels disjointed. I couldn't make much sense of it. The scene with Edmond O'Brien and Viveca Lindfors leading up to their kiss is pretty bad, also acting-wise, and the ending with O'Brien wearing a back brace and walking like Frankenstein's monster was ludicrous. I did like Virginia Mayo in a sympathetic role and it was also nice to see Gordon MacRae in a non-singing part. His off-screen wife Sheila MacRae, credited as Sheila Stephens, plays in this film too and they also share a scene.
Now coming to the random films watched this month.
They are, here listed in watching order (21 in total):
Mary Burns, Fugitive (with Sylvia Sidney, Melvyn Douglas and Alan Baxter)
The Nuisance (with Lee Tracy, Madge Evans and Frank Morgan)
Seven Sweethearts (with Kathryn Grayson, Marsha Hunt, Van Heflin and S.Z. Sakall)
Mystery in Mexico (with William Lundigan, Jacqueline White and Ricardo Cortez)
A Successful Calamity (with George Arliss, Mary Astor, Evalyn Knapp and Randolph Scott)
The Working Man (with George Arliss and Bette Davis)
Under Cover of Night (with Edmund Lowe, Florence Rice and Nat Pendleton)
Four Girls in White (with Florence Rice, Una Merkel, Ann Rutherford and Alan Marshal)
Doctors Don’t Tell (with John Beal, Florence Rice, Edward Norris and Ward Bond)
Undercurrent (with Katharine Hepburn, Robert Taylor, Robert Mitchum and Edmund Gwenn)
Driftwood (with Natalie Wood, Walter Brennan, Dean Jagger and Ruth Warrick)
A Family Affair (with Lionel Barrymore, Mickey Rooney, Cecilia Parker and Spring Byington)
Yes, My Darling Daughter (with Priscilla Lane, Jeffrey Lynn, Roland Young, Fay Bainter and May Robson)
The Meanest Man in the World (with Jack Benny, Priscilla Lane and Eddie 'Rochester' Anderson)
Lady for a Day (with Warren William, May Robson, Glenda Farrell and Guy Kibbee)
The Bad and the Beautiful (with Kirk Douglas, Lana Turner, Barry Sullivan, Dick Powell, Gloria Grahame)
Don’t Tell the Wife (with Guy Kibbee, Una Merkel, Lynne Overman and Lucille Ball)
The Clock (with Judy Garland and Robert Walker)
Top Gun (with Sterling Hayden, William Bishop and Karen Booth)
Sabotage (with Sylvia Sidney, Oscar Homolka and John Loder)
Pat and Mike (with Katharine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy)
Of these randomly picked films I enjoyed Undercurrent, Driftwood, Lady for a Day and The Clock the most.
I had actually planned to see Undercurrent for Noirvember but wanted to watch this with my sister, so I postponed watching it till now. I had some expectations for this film because of its cast, director and favourable ratings on Letterboxd and I wasn't disappointed. The runtime is a bit long but I liked how the story developed, despite the fact that I had read the synopsis beforehand. What I liked most was the fact that Katharine Hepburn fell for Robert Mitchum without having met or seen him. I can imagine how this can happen when you learn about a certain person and you like what you hear, and then you spend some time in this person's home, feel the atmosphere and love the things he loves, his home interior, taste in music and books/poetry. And really, Mitchum's home looks great, wouldn't mind living there myself. Robert Taylor's transformation from good to bad guy (trying to run Hepburn off the road with his horse and wanting to smash her head in with a huge rock) was a bit sudden despite ample foreboding. Directed by Vincente Minnelli and with nice cinematography by Karl Freund, this was a very enjoyable watch.
I really enjoyed Driftwood, a small town tale with a lovely performance by Natalie Wood playing a precocious bible-quoting orphan with a disarming honesty (I like child actress Natalie better than adult actress Natalie). There's a dog trial incorporated in the story and also a spotted fever epidemic. I like Dean Jagger as the doctor, looking pretty good this young. Walter Brennan is reliable as ever in a supporting role. The photography is by John Alton but the visuals are not very memorable except for the opening sequence with the dilapidated church and subsequent desert scene. A likeable feel-good film with a nice and lovable cast.
I chose to watch Lady for a Day for its Christmas setting but there wasn't any. Apparently its remake Pocketful of Miracles does have a Christmas setting and I wanted to check that out as well but in the end I didn't. Reviewers commented on Lady for a Day saying it's typical Capra-corn and too sentimental. I didn't find it too sentimental, it's supposed to be sweet and heartwarming because it's kind of a fairytale, a Cinderella type of story. May Robson gives a balanced performance and I didn't think she was overacting the sentimental bits. Yet I preferred her in her scenes as streetwise Annie. This film benefits from a strong supporting cast but there's way too little screen time reserved for Glenda Farrell. Too bad she didn't end up with Warren William. I love him.
The Clock had been on my watchlist for ages. Because of an internet problem at home I had to watch one of my downloads so I chose this romance story and watched it with my sister. At first nothing remarkable, just a story of a soldier on leave meeting a girl. It all moves pretty slowly but I like both Robert Walker and Judy Garland and also the film's mood. Then it picks up speed as the two fall in love, lose and find each other again at the station (a very romantic scene where they embrace and kiss and Walker asks Garland to marry him). The pace literally accelerates when they race against the clock to get a blood test and marriage license. (The blood test and limited time frame reminded me of the current PCR test and time frame before travelling!) Their wedding ceremony in front of a judge is rather ugly but afterwards they stumble upon a happy church wedding and they enter the church and find the ceremony's text and read it to each other out loud. It becomes their own wedding ceremony and is beautiful and touching (also beautifully shot by George J. Folsey). The ending when Garland sees Walker off and then walks out of the train station reminded me very much of the ending of My Reputation where Barbara Stanwyck sees George Brent off who's also reporting for duty. Despite the slow start it's altogether a lovely and rewarding film with great performances by the leads. They have good chemistry and make their romance seem very real.
I had a good time with Seven Sweethearts, The Working Man, Under Cover of Night, A Family Affair, The Meanest Man in the World, The Bad and the Beautiful, Sabotage and Mary Burns, Fugitive.
Mary Burns, Fugitive I had been meaning to see for a while but there were only bad copies available online so I decided to wait for a good print. And finally! This was an enjoyable drama with Sylvia Sidney who must have had the saddest eyes in Old Hollywood. She gives a good performance as a woman getting into trouble because of her criminal lover. Why she felt the need to confess to being an accomplice to his crime was beyond me. Anyway, she ends up in prison and escapes and then while being on a job in the hospital meets grumpy Melvyn Douglas who's there as a patient. I love grumpy Melvyn! The two leads have nice chemistry and share a sweet little kiss later on in the movie. Alan Baxter is the weak link since he's not menacing enough and he hardly instills fear. Also with Brian Donlevy as another gangster and Wallace Ford as the cop and there's good photography by Leon Shamroy.
Seven Sweethearts is undoubtedly too sugary sweet, but I enjoyed this musical and especially liked young Kathryn Grayson. She's different here from her later musical roles, well ... younger anyway. Her singing gets a bit too much at times, in particular these high notes, and the songs are not very memorable. I always like Van Heflin, his role reminded me a bit of the one he has in Presenting Lily Mars with Judy Garland. Clearly he was destined for other and more challenging roles but he can definitely pull off a comedy part. He's portrayed as a bit of a dopey guy. I like Marsha Hunt a lot and she plays the bad sister who is redeemed in the end. I also love Donald Meek as the minister who in the final scene performs the wedding ceremony of all seven sisters and their beaus and it's very funny how confused he gets because all sisters have boys' names. Totally forgettable film but fun while it lasted. Fun fact: the film is set in Little Delft, Michigan, during the tulip festival, and all Dutch stereotypes are in place. The traditional costumes and funny hats, the wooden clogs, the tulips and the windmills. Being Dutch myself I couldn't help but laugh about it.
I chose to watch The Working Man with George Arliss, after having seen him in A Successful Calamity (will talk about that film in a bit). The Working Man has an added bonus, namely it stars a young and blond Bette Davis and I like her in her early films. The story premise also appealed to me and I actually liked this better than A Successful Calamity.
Under Cover of Night is an enjoyable B-mystery with a good cast, headed by Edmund Lowe who really could have used more screen time. The film is nicely paced with a solid plot, though there are few surprises. Dog Benny was really cute and it wasn't nice of Henry Daniell to throw him out of the window. I like Florence Rice (too bad she's not Lowe's love interest but instead she's fallen for dull Dean Jagger) and will definitely check out more of her films.
A Family Affair is the first film in the Andy Hardy series with Lionel Barrymore and Spring Byington playing Mickey Rooney's parents. This would be the only film for them in these roles. Not as lovable as Love Finds Andy Hardy but still enjoyable.
The Meanest Man in the World I watched for Priscilla Lane and chose this because of its short runtime under an hour and the positive write-ups. I thought it was really entertaining, with an appealing story premise, and I wouldn't have minded if it would have lasted a bit longer. Jack Benny was pretty funny and had nice rapport with Eddie 'Rochester' Anderson. I also liked Anne Revere as Benny's bored secretary.
Though I found The Bad and the Beautiful enjoyable, I was also a bit disappointed as it was one of those well-known praised classics I hadn't seen yet and I had expected more from the star-studded cast and the acclaimed director Vincente Minnelli. There are three key characters here (Lana Turner, Dick Powell and Barry Sullivan) who recall in flashback what a heel film producer Kirk Douglas is. Yet it's not going anywhere and the whole film feels a bit disjointed. Gloria Grahame's Oscar is mind-boggling because there's nothing special about her performance. I had also expected this to be more dramatic, with Douglas being more loathsome. I thought the overall tone was fairly light and the cutesy ending baffled me. Best scene was Lana Turner going crazy in the car, beautifully shot by Robert Surtees.
Sabotage is one of those British Hitchcock films I hadn't seen yet. I had expected a bit more but it's still an engaging watch. Had no idea that there was an infamous controversial sequence in this, involving a bomb and a kid. And yes ... when we come to the said scene I was a bit in shock and I can only imagine how contemporary viewers must have experienced it back then. Hitchcock's first choice for Mr. Verloc was Peter Lorre but the part went ultimately to Oskar Homolka and he's well cast. Sad-eyed Sylvia Sidney and John Loder (who replaced Robert Donat at the last minute) make an okay couple but their romance and happy ending was contrived and didn't make much sense. No cameo appearance for Hitch this time. By the way, I loved the set with the cinema and the apartment behind it.
The Nuisance, Mystery in Mexico, A Successful Calamity, Four Girls in White, Don’t Tell the Wife, Top Gun, Pat and Mike and Yes, My Darling Daughter are also enjoyable yet pretty standard fare.
Lee Tracy is well cast in The Nuisance as the fast-talking scheming lawyer, profiting from streetcar accidents and recruiting clients on the spot. I did enjoy this movie to some extent but I sometimes get tired of Tracy's brashness. All characters involved in the scheming (including Frank Morgan and Charles Butterworth) are portrayed in a sympathetic way, though they're basically all crooks. Morgan's performance as the alcoholic doctor, Tracy's accomplice, is good and rather affecting. I like Madge Evans and she has good chemistry with Tracy. My favourite person was Butterworth, he was really funny.
Mystery in Mexico is an early Robert Wise mystery film. Entertaining but lacking in excitement and suspense. I like William Lundigan (even though he is pretty dull), but here he gets a bit annoying, the way he hits on Jacqueline White. Ricardo Cortez has a small role and of course he turns out to be the bad guy. Pushing 50 in this film he definitely looks much older and less fit and handsome than in his pre-code days. I loved the fact that the Mexicans actually spoke Spanish and that I could understand what they were saying.
I chose to watch A Successful Calamity for Mary Astor and because the story appealed to me. George Arliss plays a millionaire who longs to spend time with his family. Only to find out that they're too busy and their agenda is filled with one social event after the other. When he asks his butler how hís family deals with this, the butler says: "The poor don't get to go very often." Which gives Arliss the idea of pretending to be ruined so there won't be any money for his family to lead a full social life outdoors. I was a bit surprised how his wife and two grown-up children (who seem like selfish people) immediately were very worried about him and were trying to come up with solutions to help out. Though it becomes a bit corny, at the same time it's heartwarming. I'd never seen an Arliss movie before (I watched this before the already mentioned The Working Man) and he's okay but didn't completely win me over and to me he's not in the same league as, for instance, Roland Young. I kept imagining Young in the role. And what's with his lipstick anyway? (Glad he didn't wear lipstick in The Working Man.) Astor is lovely, though, and I also really liked Evalyn Knapp. Grant Mitchell is rather touching as the butler and Knapp's love interest is being played by a young Randolph Scott in a very small role.
I enjoyed Yes, My Darling Daughter more than I thought I would, even though it's very dated. For its time it was progressive by displaying feminist views. The scenes with our romantic leads Priscilla Lane and Jeffrey Lynn are the least enjoyable parts of this comedy. I liked the supporting cast and particularly love Roland Young. He's delightful as always, preferring to be locked up in prison over spending time with the weird family.
Don’t Tell the Wife is a short B-film I chose to watch before going to sleep and because I love Una Merkel. Guy Kibbee is well cast and Lucille Ball has a small speaking part as the secretary. Enjoyable while it lasted.
Top Gun was the only film I had downloaded on my phone when the internet at home wasn't working so I watched this in bed before going to sleep. A run-of-the-mill western that's completely forgettable but still has the benefit of having Sterling Hayden in the lead. He's not the world's greatest actor and sometimes so wooden in his delivery, but he stands tall and looks so handsome. So forgive me for swooning over Hayden's looks. The female lead Karin Booth is really unremarkable and not a good match for our hunky hero. Also with young Rod Taylor in a villainous role.
Pat and Mike is a slow-paced Katharine Hepburn/Spencer Tracy vehicle with too lengthy golf and tennis scenes. Hepburn is believable as a sportswoman and I did enjoy some of the sport scenes. I was sleepy while watching this so missed the bit with the mobsters, among them a young Charles Bronson. Though one of their lesser collaborations, it's still fun to see Hepburn and Tracy together.
Doctors Don’t Tell was the least enjoyable and the lowest rated of all random films watched. I chose this for Florence Rice (seen 3 Rice films in total this month, together with Under Cover of Night and Four Girls in White). This one caught my eye because it is directed by the acclaimed Jacques Tourneur. Despite not having favourable reviews I gave it a try, also because I found a clear print online. This film has tonal issues (the comedy and the crime part aren't mixed well) and as a whole it's a little lifeless. The lead actors John Beal and Edward Norris are pretty bland, also Rice as the girl the guys fight over has a dull character. And Ward Bond's trigger-happy thug is such a dimwit, not a believable character at all.
Well, that's it! The last round-up of 2020. Stay tuned for my yearly round-up.
And here's to a lot more classic movie-watching in 2021!
PHOTOS/GIFS IN THIS POST FROM TOP TO BOTTOM:
*Marilyn Monroe in wintery settings (couldn't find any Christmas pictures); (2 photos)
*Niagara (1953) with Marilyn Monroe;
*The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938) with Errol Flynn; (gif by me)
*The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938) with Olivia de Havilland;
*The Misfits (1961), behind the scenes with Marilyn Monroe and Clark Gable;
*The Misfits (1961) with Marilyn Monroe, Montgomery Clift and Clark Gable;
*Niagara (1953) with Marilyn Monroe;
*Niagara (1953) with Jean Peters and Max Showalter;
*Bus Stop (1956) with Marilyn Monroe;
*Bus Stop (1956) with Marilyn Monroe and Don Murray;
*Ninotchka (1939) with Greta Garbo and Melvyn Douglas;
*The Heiress (1949) with Olivia de Havilland and Montgomery Clift;
*It’s a Wonderful Life (1946);
*It’s a Wonderful Life (1946) with James Stewart;
*Never Say Goodbye (1946) with Errol Flynn and Eleanor Parker;
*Never Say Goodbye (1946), behind the scenes with Errol Flynn and Eleanor Parker;
*The Holly and the Ivy (1952) with Margaret Leighton and Celia Johnson;
*The Miracle on 34th Street (1955) with Teresa Wright and Macdonald Carey;
*Miracle on Main Street (1939) with Margo;
*Star in the Night (1945);
*The Lemon Drop Kid (1951) with Bob Hope and Marilyn Maxwell;
*Kind Lady (1935) with Aline MacMahon and Basil Rathbone;
*Love Finds Andy Hardy (1938) with Mickey Rooney, Judy Garland, Lana Turner and Ann Rutherford;
*Tomorrow Is Forever (1946) with Orson Welles and Natalie Wood;
*Tomorrow Is Forever (1946) with Orson Welles and Claudette Colbert;
*Junior Miss (1945) with Peggy Ann Garner and Mona Freeman;
*Room for One More (1952) with Cary Grant, Betsy Drake and kids;
*Room for One More (1952) with Cary Grant and Betsy Drake;
*Backfire (1950) with Virginia Mayo, Gordon MacRae and Edmond O'Brien;
*Undercurrent (1946) with Katharine Hepburn and Robert Taylor;
*Undercurrent (1946) with Katharine Hepburn and Robert Mitchum;
*Driftwood (1947) with Dean Jagger, Natalie Wood and Ruth Warrick;
*Lady for a Day (1933) with Warren William, May Robson, Guy Kibbee, Glenda Farrell and Jean Parker;
*The Clock (1945) with Judy Garland and Robert Walker;
*Mary Burns, Fugitive (1935) with Melvyn Douglas and Sylvia Sidney;
*Seven Sweethearts (1942) with Kathryn Grayson and Van Heflin;
*Seven Sweethearts (1942) with Marsha Hunt and Louise Beaver;
*The Working Man (1933) with George Arliss, Bette Davis and Theodore Newton;
*Under Cover of Night (1937) with Edmund Lowe and Florence Rice;
*A Family Affair (1937) with Mickey Rooney, Lionel Barrymore and Cecilia Parker;
*The Meanest Man in the World (1943) with Priscilla Lane and Jack Benny;
*The Bad and the Beautiful (1952) with Lana Turner, Dick Powell and Barry Sullivan;
*The Bad and the Beautiful (1952) with Lana Turner and Kirk Douglas;
*Sabotage (1936) with Sylvia Sidney and John Loder;
*The Nuisance (1933) with Lee Tracy and Madge Evans;
*Mystery In Mexico (1948) with William Lundigan and Jacqueline White;
*A Successful Calamity (1932) with Evalyn Knapp, George Arliss and Mary Astor;
*Four Girls In White (1939) with Alan Marshal, Buddy Ebsen, Florence Rice, Una Merkel, Ann Rutherford and Mary Howard;
*Yes, My Darling Daughter (1939) with Priscilla Lane, Jeffrey Lynn and Fay Bainter;
*Don’t Tell the Wife (1937) with Una Merkel and Lynne Overman;
*Top Gun (1955) with Sterling Hayden and Karin Booth;
*Pat and Mike (1952) with Katharine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy;
*Doctors Don't Tell (1941) with John Beal, Edward Norris and Florence Rice; (screenshot by me)
*Doctors Don't Tell (1941) with John Beal and Florence Rice.
