6 Films – 6 Decades

6 Films – 6 Decades

• 5.6.21

Last May several of my favourite film blogs were participating in the blogathon 6 Films – 6 Decades, hosted by Classic Film & TV Café, in celebration of National Classic Movie Day, an annual event held on the 16th of May. Hereby I'm participating unofficially (the blogathon date has already come and gone anyway), giving myself the sheer impossible task of selecting only 6 films of all pre-1970 films logged in my Letterboxd account (a total of 1,884 films as of this writing). The original assignment was listing one favourite film from each decade from the 1920s through the 1970s (or one film per decade from the 1930s through the 1980s). Since I only watch and log films pre-1970, my six decades will run from the 1910s through the 1960s.

I didn't want to go for the most obvious choices, and I also didn't want to choose films that have already been featured on one of my lists of favourites (lists published prior to this post). I could have spent endless time on selecting titles but I made quick decisions and didn't think about it too long, so I might have chosen differently on any given day. No matter what, these choices are films I have enjoyed enormously (all films I've seen only once except for The Night of the Iguana) and they made a lasting impression. I'm sure they will become real favourites with repeat viewings. 

So here goes!

1910s: TRUE HEART SUSIE (1919)

It wasn't so difficult to come up with my 1910s entry since I've only seen 13 films in total (up till now) from this decade and the majority of them are Charlie Chaplin shorts. The only feature films are Broken Blossoms and True Heart Susie, both starring Lillian Gish, and Lois Weber's Shoes (just watched yesterday). It was immediately clear to me which film to choose. I've only seen True Heart Susie once, but I love it. It's a simple story about a plain girl, Susie, who's secretly in love with her neighbour William, played by Robert Harron. They are good friends — it reminded me a bit of the friendship between Anne Shirley and Gilbert Blythe from Anne of Green Gables — and when William wants to go to college, Susie raises funds for him to make it possible and even sells her beloved cow Daisy (without him knowing this). He finishes his studies and returns, ending up as the town minister. He then falls for flirty Bettina (played by Clarine Seymour) and marries her. Meanwhile sweet Susie is still yearning for him and hopes that one day he will return her feelings (which he eventually does). This is such a sweet and tender film, with Lillian Gish giving a heartwarming performance as Susie. You feel her hurt and sadness and really wish her all the happiness in the world. I love how she subtly displays her emotions. I also liked Robert Harron as a teenager but when he grows up with a moustache he's less appealing and his character could have used more backbone. Still, I'm happy for Susie she got her happy ending! 

On a sad side note: two of the leading actors would meet their untimely death not long after this film. Robert Harron succumbed to a gunshot wound in 1920. While he was hospitalised and seemed to be on the mend, the wound proved to be fatal. Despite his own denial, rumours about an attempted suicide continued. In April 1920, Clarine Seymour fell ill due to a condition called 'intestinal strangulation' and had to undergo an emergency operation. Shortly thereafter she contracted pneumonia and died as a result. 

1920s: STREET ANGEL (1928)

There are many silent films from the 1920s that I love. But thé film that made me fall in love with the silents is Lucky Star with Janet Gaynor and Charles Farrell. At one time I was very fortunate to see it on the big screen with live music (in Amsterdam). Since I had already featured Lucky Star on the list of My 10 Favourite Classic Romance Films, I decided to choose one of their other films for this 1920s decade, one I've only seen once but also fell in love with. In this Frank Borzage silent, Janet Gaynor steals money in order to buy medicine for her dying mother. She gets caught and arrested, but escapes. Hiding with a travelling circus and working with them, she meets impoverished painter Charles Farrell and the two fall in love. But then her past catches up with her and things take a dramatic turn. Once again I found myself totally absorbed in a Gaynor/Farrell/Borzage collaboration and I'm mesmerised with Gaynor's screen presence and how very touching she is in her emotional scenes. Everything is beautifully captured on celluloid by cinematographer Ernest Palmer. With the city cloaked in shadows and fog, Palmer's photography really enhances the dreamlike quality of the film. This is a wonderful romance, one I'll be seeing again for sure!

1930s: FIRST LOVE (1939)

I'll make no secret about it: I love Deanna Durbin! I like her voice (speaking and singing), her bubbly energy, the sparkle in her eyes, her youth, her sassiness. I'll watch anything with her and fortunately haven't seen all of her films yet. My favourite Durbin movie is without a doubt It Started with Eve. It's the one I know from my childhood and have seen multiple times. First Love is my second favourite film. I've seen this only once in its entirety but ever since that first viewing I've come back to this gem to watch favourite parts. It's a retelling of the famous Cinderella story and the way it is told is simply adorable. Durbin plays an orphan who, after her graduation from boarding school, is sent to live with her wealthy uncle and aunt. Like in the fairytale, there is a ball, a nasty relative trying to prevent Durbin from going to the ball, and an ensemble of endearing characters coming to the aid of our heroine. And then, of course, there is Prince Charming. Durbin is so delightful, and the household servants — especially the butler played by Charles Coleman — are very sweet. Eugene Pallette as the uncle and head of the family is adorable too. The whole film has this feel-good vibe. I also really like Helen Parrish as the bad cousin and I think she and Durbin share a physical resemblance. It's a shame Robert Stack as Prince Charming has little else to do than flashing that white-toothed smile but he gives Durbin her first screen kiss and that's memorable enough. 

1940s: THE VOICE OF THE TURTLE (1947)

I think most people know Eleanor Parker from her role as the Baroness in The Sound of Music, trying to steal Christopher Plummer away from Julie Andrews. Probably her most memorable moment as the Baroness is when she accepts her defeat, with her head held high. Parker often portrayed strong-willed women, like the Baroness, so it was nice to see her portray a neurotic character like the one she plays in the very charming The Voice of the Turtle. Here she's a struggling stage actress, unlucky in love, going out on a date with a soldier on leave (Ronald Reagan) who's been stood up by her friend Eve Arden. With no place for him to go, she offers him to stay in her apartment (all very innocently), and of course a romance ensues. Margaret Sullavan played Sally Middleton on the stage (I can totally see Sullavan in the part) and one can argue whether Parker was the best choice for the screen adaptation (she even has her hair modelled after Sullavan). Reportedly leading man Ronald Reagan had wanted June Allyson for the part. Although Parker might not seem a likely choice, she really succeeds in making her daffy character believable. Her Sally is completely endearing and lovable. The reason this film also works is thanks to Reagan. He's not the world's greatest actor, but his role doesn't demand much of him. He just needs to be the amiable and ordinary guy he is, and fortunaly he has good chemistry with Parker. I loved their scenes together and the supersweet ending warms my heart. There's also a lovely score by Max Steiner and some nice cinematography by Sol Polito. Totally recommended!

1950s: STATE SECRET (1950)

I absolutely love this underrated and little-known British thriller, which feels very Hitchcockian. No wonder, since it's directed by Sidney Gilliat who worked together with co-producer Frank Launder on almost 40 movies and they also co-wrote Hitchcock's The Lady Vanishes. I've seen this film in 2016 when I was binge-watching films of Douglas Fairbanks Jr., and I still remember large parts of it. With a plot reminiscent of The 39 Steps and The Lady Vanishes, the film is set in a fictitious European country Vosnia and tells the story of a couple on the run holding a dangerous state secret. An American doctor (played by a suave Fairbanks Jr.) is being lured to Vosnia in order to perform surgery on the Vosnian dictator. When the dictator dies and is replaced by a look-alike, the authorities don't want this fact to be known and the doctor is pursued by the secret police. He eventually escapes with the help of a dance hall girl (the very lovely Glynis Johns). Fairbanks Jr. and Johns have nice chemistry and play well off each other. Though I like a clear romantic subplot, here the relationship between the leads is never explicitly amorous which I think serves the story better. You still know that they will end up together without them being in lovey-dovey scenes. My favourite scene is when they hide on a boat and make themselves comfortable for the night, with Fairbanks Jr. putting an arm around Johns' shoulder while they're having a personal conversation and she nestles closer to him. The leads are ably supported by Herbert Lom and Jack Hawkins, and there's also enough suspense and excitement, enhanced by the great cinematography by master DP Robert Krasker. I love how beautifully the mountain sequence is photographed, as well as the excellent car chase scene. Noteworthy is that a special Vosnian language was developed for this film and the actors took lessons to speak it. It really gives more credibility to the story and Johns seems very fluent in it.

1960s: THE NIGHT OF THE IGUANA (1964)

The first time I saw this film was a long time ago, on Belgian television. When I had the opportunity to rewatch it on the big screen in July 2017, I couldn't remember much of it other than that I had liked it and fortunately I still did. But I didn't remember it being so funny. This John Huston film, based on the play of the same name by Tennessee Williams, tells the story of a minister (Richard Burton) expelled from the church and finding himself as a tour guide in Mexico for a bus load of spinsters. Among the passengers is also the nymphet Sue Lyon who has her eyes set on Burton and tries to seduce him. When Lyon's jealous lesbian chaperone finds her in Burton's room, she vows to have him fired. In order to prevent this, Burton steers the bus to a seedy hotel run by an old friend of his, Ava Gardner, and have them all stranded there. Enter virginal spinster Deborah Kerr who arrives with her elderly grandfather. With her wisdom and outlook on life, Burton starts to re-evaluate his life. 

This film has many strengths: great acting, complex and memorable characters, beautiful cinematography by Gabriel Figueroa, great location shooting, good dialogue and humour to boot. And it has one of my favourite performances of Ava Gardner. The role fits her like a glove and I can imagine her off-screen persona resembling her character here. She's so in her element, walking barefoot, hair a mess, wearing comfortable clothes, and she seems to have a good time. In fact, the entire cast seemed to be getting along fine, leaving the press without juicy stories. Apparently many actors had brought their partners and lovers along (Elizabeth Taylor accompanied Burton, their extramarital affair being highly publicised), and some of them had previous personal relationships with others (e.g. the assistant of Burton’s agent, Hugh French, was there too; he was none other than Michael Wilding, former husband of Liz). The paparazzi was hoping for this explosive combination (of different personalities, remote location and tropical heat) to result in sensational tabloid stories. But in the end everything went 'smooth as silk' as Huston himself said. Still, the media bomb put Puerto Vallarta on the map (like the media coverage on Pandora and the Flying Dutchman had done with Tossa de Mar, see here) and made the town into the famous tourist destination it is nowadays. The sets from The Night of the Iguana remain well-visited tourist attractions.

PHOTOS IN THIS POST FROM TOP TO BOTTOM:

*True Heart Susie (1919) with Lillian Gish and Robert Harron;

*True Heart Susie (1919) with Lillian Gish;

*True Heart Susie (1919) with Lillian Gish and Robert Harron;

*Street Angel (1928) with Janet Gaynor and Charles Farrell;

*Street Angel (1928) with Janet Gaynor;

*Street Angel (1928) with Janet Gaynor and Charles Farrell;

*First Love (1939) with Robert Stack and Deanna Durbin;

*First Love (1939) with Deanna Durbin, Helen Parrish and Leatrice Joy;

*First Love (1939) with Deanna Durbin and Helen Parrish;

*The Voice of the Turtle (1947) with Ronald Reagan and Eleanor Parker;

*The Voice of the Turtle (1947) with Eve Arden and Eleanor Parker;

*The Voice of the Turtle (1947) with Wayne Morris, Eve Arden, Eleanor Parker and Ronald Reagan;

*State Secret (1950) with Glynis Johns; (screenshot by me)

*State Secret (1950) with Douglas Fairbanks Jr. and Glynis Johns; (screenshot by me)

*State Secret (1950) with Douglas Fairbanks Jr. and Glynis Johns; (screenshot by me)

*The Night of the Iguana (1964) with Ava Gardner and Richard Burton;

*The Night of the Iguana (1964), publicity shot with Sue Lyon, Deborah Kerr, Ava Gardner and Richard Burton;

*The Night of the Iguana (1964) with Deborah Kerr and Richard Burton.