July 2022 Round-Up
TOTAL FILMS SEEN IN JULY: 5
(see the film posters at the bottom of the post, arranged in watching order)
NEW-TO-ME: 5
REWATCHES: 0
SEEN ON THE BIG SCREEN: 0
Summer is in full swing in Valencia. Actually, we've had summer weather and warm temperatures since we moved here on the 5th of May, but now the season has started officially. The beginning of July marked our search for a new apartment, but since we weren't very confident we would find a nice apartment before the end of the month, we asked our landlord if we could stay in our current apartment which we had initially rented till mid-December. (The prospect of finding an apartment not to our liking or having no apartment at all by the 31st of July was worse than the reason for wanting to leave.) So we can stay in our nice apartment till mid-December as originally planned and will start apartment hunting again from October on (which is a better time than during the summer months).
Margaret Sullavan, Fredric March, Frances Dee for So Ends Our Night
Thus ... July was much more relaxed than I had anticipated — since apartment hunting and moving house were postponed — but I still didn't manage to see more than 5 classic films.
I don't know why I didn't watch more classic films because my continuous adventure into Korean drama wasn't that fruitful either. I only watched another 3 series: Mother (16 episodes), When My Love Blooms (16 episodes) and The Ghost Detective (16 episodes). Fortunately I enjoyed them all. Especially Mother is very good. I also started a fourth series Pride and Prejudice and will be continuing that one in August. How I managed to watch so many series in April (I finished eps. 12 - 16 of Crash Landing on You and watched another 8 series!) beats me.
Ann Sothern and Marsha Hunt in Cry 'Havoc'
I didn't catch any films on the big screen at the Filmoteca, there were no rewatches, and sadly I didn't watch any silent films this month. However ... I díd finish Margaret Sullavan's small filmography (she made only 16 films) and finally watched the last three of her films I hadn't seen yet: Cry 'Havoc', So Ends Our Night and So Red the Rose.
My highest rated films of July are Cry 'Havoc' and So Ends Our Night.
Panic in Year Zero! is my worst rated film.
There wasn't really a screen couple to enjoy this month, not one that stood out. If I have to choose one film whose screen couple qualifies, it would be So Ends Our Night. And then not the pairing of Margaret Sullavan and Glenn Ford, but the couple Fredric March and Frances Dee because of that great scene at the market place.
Breaking the 5 watched films down in decades:
1900s - 0
1910s - 0
1920s - 0
1930s - 1
1940s - 2
1950s - 1
1960s - 1
NOW LET'S MOVE ON TO THE FILMS!
(read notes with caution as they might contain spoilers; with ratings going from ½ to ★★★★★ and watched date)
The sci-fi thriller PANIC IN YEAR ZERO! (American International Pictures, 1962) about a nuclear attack on Los Angeles has lead actor Ray Milland flee with his family into the mountains (they were already on their way to a camping site), while he's getting more ruthless by the minute. This film is a bit hard to get through, as there are few thrills, flat characters, dull cinematography and poor direction by Mr. Ray Milland himself. And don't get me started on the intrusive upbeat jazzy music score, typical of 1950/60s TV-series. Too bad Jean Hagen's character is pretty boring, and Frankie Avalon (the singer teen idol was popular at the time) as the son is not a very good actor (both pictured with Milland). I had this on my watchlist for some time now and was hoping it would be worth the watch. But I really should be more selective with choosing a film title as I hardly watch classic films nowadays, so it was a bummer this was such a complete dud without any redeeming qualities. ★½ / 10.07.2022
Watched THE SLEEPING TIGER (Astor Pictures Corporation/Victor Hanbury Productions/Anglo-Amalgamated, 1954) with my sister, chromecasted on our big TV-screen. We both like Alexis Smith and I have seen two other films by director Joseph Losey which I liked (The Prowler and The Lawless) but we shouldn't really have bothered with this noirish film. (By the way, Losey made the film in the UK under an assumed name after escaping the States because of McCarthy's blacklist.) The plot is pretty ludicrous: Dirk Bogarde plays a petty thief forcing himself into the home of psychiatrist Alexander Knox and instead of being sent to prison, he gets to stay as a guest in the doctor's house so the doctor can do experiments on him. Alexis Smith (pictured with Bogarde) plays Knox's neglected wife and soon enough we find her entangled in an illicit affair with Bogarde. There's little chemistry between the two and none of the characters are likeable. Also, the cinematography isn't rewarding either. Luckily, entertainment value increases towards the end when Smith gets mad and crazy. The film derails quickly but I found the ending to be the fun part. ★★ / 20.07.2022
I'm planning on finishing Margaret Sullavan's small filmography and chose to watch CRY 'HAVOC' (MGM, 1943) now. (After this one, still two more to go, So Red the Rose and So Ends Our Night.) Supported by a strong female cast, Sullavan stars in this WWII film about female refugees volunteering as aides at an army field hospital in Bataan. Sullavan gives a good and believable performance, while Ann Sothern, Joan Blondell, Marsha Hunt and Fay Bainter play the most important supporting parts (all pictured here). Apart from the drama of the war, Sullavan's difficult relationship with Sothern is the focus of the story and I loved the scene at the end where they make peace. By the way, I love Marsha Hunt and here her character is sensible and level-headed (at the age of 104, Marsha Hunt is still with us!!!). Unfortunately Ella Raines is underused but she did get the scene where soldier Robert Mitchum (with one scripted line) dies in her arms. Frances Gifford, Diana Lewis, Heather Angel and Dorothy Morris round out the rest of the cast. The drama could have been stronger but that ending is quite bleak. ★★★ / 21.07.2022
Despite the strong leading cast, SO ENDS OUR NIGHT (David L. Loew-Albert Lewin, 1941) is a rather tepid WWII drama about German refugees without a passport trying to escape the emerging Nazi regime. Unfortunately there's not nearly enough of Fredric March (he does have a couple of really good scenes, though), and I thought young and baby-faced Glenn Ford made an odd couple with Margaret Sullavan (both pictured, top photo). When March and Sullavan (both pictured, bottom photo) share a brief and friendly farewell kiss on the lips at the train station, it looks much more natural and they would have made a far more convincing couple. Sullavan is luminous as always. March actually makes a believable couple with Frances Dee as well, but her part as his wife is criminally small. There are a couple of memorable scenes. Probably the film's best part is the scene where March and Dee meet at the market place, not being able to openly talk to each other for fear of being watched. The moment they are facing one another and seeing each other from afar, with raw emotions displayed on their faces, is pretty heartbreaking. I also love the scene where Ford stands in the dark in front of the window of Sullavan's hospital room and lights matches near his face so she can see him. The film has some humorous moments and the cinematography by William H. Daniels is often beautiful, but overall it's not as compelling as I had hoped it would be. The performances of the leading cast are all good, though. Anna Sten and Erich von Stroheim can be seen in supporting roles and John Cromwell directed. Based on the novel Flotsam by Erich Maria Remarque. ★★★ / 27.07.2022
The low amount of watched films in July is nothing to be proud of, but at least I accomplished something classic-film-wise by watching the three left-over films of Margaret Sullavan's filmography. Directed by King Vidor, SO RED THE ROSE (Paramount, 1935) is not one of her best. I didn't have any expectations for this one, and knew I had to content myself with a blurry copy, and like they say ... it ís an inferior Gone With the Wind, although this being a story of a Southern belle, her family's plantation and the Civil War, is as far as the comparison goes. And I didn't think it was as bad as I thought it would be. It was interesting how they dealt with the plight of the newly freed slaves, more so than in GWTW. Sullavan stands before them and raises the issue of being free, but free to do what? It's not the promised land and freedom means they have to work for wages in order to eat. Though Sullavan can't hold a candle to Vivien Leigh's Scarlett O'Hara and her character isn't developed properly, she still manages to give a convincing performance. It's too bad the romance with Randolph Scott (portrayed with Sullavan) was rushed. Scott is okay as the leading man, at first reluctant to fight in the war but eventually taking up arms. Robert Cummings can be seen in a small supporting role, sporting a dreadful southern accent. Walter Connolly, Janet Beecher, Elizabeth Patterson and Dickie Moore round out the rest of the cast and give solid support. Further credit for the black-and-white photography of Victor Milner, there were some really nice shots. ★★½ / 31.07.2022
Well, that's a round-up again! I'm not sure I'll be blogging here next month. The thing is: my chromebook just broke down and I don't know whether I'm going to get a new one right away. Blogging on my phone or tablet has proven to be frustrating. Maybe it's a good thing I'm less into classic films now. Hopefully my appetite for the classics will come back eventually, though I have to say I'm getting more obsessed with K-drama and the watchlist of series is still growing. In any case, if I'm going to watch 5 classic films per month, and maybe watch 20 films in 4 months time, I might as well do one post covering 4 months. By that time I'm sure I've bought a new chromebook.
See you all soon and enjoy the rest of the summer!
