“An American Dream' ... is a private nightmare of lust, violence and murder! ... Where a bed is a battlefield and love is armed combat...!” (tagline)
Stagy and overacted (not to mention self-involved), An American Dream is interesting only as a time capsule of the mid-60’s and reflective of Norman Mailer’s larger than life vision of himself. The story involves a talk show host (Stuart Whitman) who kills his wife (or at least was slow in stopping her from jumping off their balcony 30 stories to the street).
The plot is eerily like a scene from the biography of Mailer; an exercise in life imitates art, and art imitates life. In 1960, Mailer stabbed his second wife Adele with a penknife after a party, nearly killing her. He was involuntarily committed to Bellevue Hospital for 17 days; his wife would not press charges, and he later pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of assault, and was given a suspended sentence.
Over the entire movie is a messy adaptation of Norman Mailer's novel, with Stuart Whitman as the ruthless TV commentator who implies that the cops are in the pay of the Mob, only to find himself winding up on his wife’s murder charge. It would like to be nightmarish and Kafkaesque, instead it's just tediously violent.
Eleanor Parker as Whitman's embittered and alcoholic ex-wife, brings the thing to life in her scenes, but otherwise it's a long haul. The film, with a strong beginning intensified by Parker's powerful portrayal of the wife, deteriorates into a cynical look at 1960s society. Janet Leigh is totally wasted as the “whore” who sells him out to the mob. The song "A Time for Love" was nominated for an Oscar. On the upside there are several scenes shot on location shots in and around downtown Los Angels in 1966.
In many ways the look (especially the set design and art direction), feel and attitude (and violence) is reworked the following year in John Boorman’s thriller Point Black with Lee Marvin from the same year; with much better effect.
My Son John (1952, Leo McCarey) *** Opening in April 1952 and capitalizing on the “Red Scare/McCarthyism”, Robert Walker reprises his character from Strangers On A Train, as Bruno Anthony-like John. This time he’s a sociopathological communist (weren’t they all?). The son of all American parents (Helen Hayes and Dean Jagger), John is an over educated “egg head” (“I love humanity Mother, I love the down trodden, the helpless minorities … ”) who becomes ‘pinko pawn of Stalin and his cronies’ in this often heavy handed reaction to the blacklist in 1950’s Hollywood. More successful at the box office than with the critics, it did manage an AA nomination for best motion picture story (this the seventh of eight nominations and three lifetime wins for McCarey). My Son John is a pitch perfect production for and of the period with a masterful performance from Helen Hayes; the first on film since 1935. And yes, she was both a great actress and a great movie star. All caped with riveting climax at the Lincoln Memorial and a heartfelt cry for redemption; what could be better woven into the fabric of the American self image? What makes the movie all the more interesting is the fact that Robert Walker died during production and some of his coverage is done with a body double using shots from behind. In the final scene we hear John seeking redemption from the grave, delivering an anti-communist speech. The closing shot is a tape-recorder lit with a halo playing. Van Heflin plays the dogged FBI agent trailing both mother and son. This is a wonderful candidate for Ron’s Cinematheque’s series of propaganda films.
Judy Holliday and Paul Douglas reunite (after their Broadway triumph in Born Yesterday) in this George S. Kaufman and Howard Teichmann comedy with a fantastic supporting cast (and voice – of the narrator that is; who provides a running commentary throughout). At the end of Kaufman’s long and brilliant career this play lacked the verve and madcap nature of his earlier works (like The Man Who Came To Dinner and You Can’t Take It With You).
This film isn’t well remembered among classic movie fans and even fans of Julie Holiday as it compares to Born Yesterday or The Bells Are Ringing.
But more likely it’s because the role was changed from that of a “sweet little old lady” in the Broadway production of 1953 staring Josephine Hull (Arsenic and Old Lace) to that of … well Judy Holiday when the play went to Hollywood. And in the process it became pretty much a generic ‘Judy Holiday vehicle’.
The New York Times Review, “One of the more original slogans of the movie industry is, "Never underestimate the power of Judy Holliday." She's an actress who has the ability to move mountains and indifferent shows. She also has no hesitation to rush in where angels fear to roam. And she proves it again by making something wholly diverting and her own role of the lady in "the Solid Gold Cadillac" that was played on the stage by Josephine Hull.”
No matter. This movie is significant more for its value as a time capsule; about the way “we” wanted life to be in Eisenhower’s America. Or in the terms of Ron’s Cinemetheque, Americana or the way we wanted America to be or have been.
Narrated by George Burns the film opens, “Ladies and Gentlemen, in this country today more people are investing in the stock market than ever before. I imagine some of you folks own stock in one company or another. But for those of you who don’t let me explain…”
This story of a populist who upends her Wall Street counterparts animates the American myth that anyone can do anything if they put their mind to it (and if their heart is in the right place).
Here we have the all-American homily of the little guy triumphant. Laura Partridge (Judy Holiday) who owns a paltry ten shares of the company is able to bring the board-of-directors to their knees catapulting her to a corporate position as head of shareholder relations. Here we see Mr. Smith goes to Washington played out as Mrs. Main Street goes to Wall Street. The common sense of the common (man) woman prevails. What could be a better social commentary for the economic post-war boom Americans were experiencing in the 1950’s. Life was good in Eisenhower’s America.
Great character actors: Fred Clark (“I guess I’m the fella you either like or dislike judged by the value of your dividend checks.”), John Williams, Ray Collins, Arthur O’Connell, and Richard Deacon fill out the cast along with the unmistakable voice of George Burns.
This film was a perennial favorite on “The Fabulous 52” when I was a kid.
The Uninvited (1944, Lewis Allen) **** An old-fashioned romantic ghost story with Ray Milland and Ruth Hussey playing a brother and sister who buy a haunted house replete with every trope of the genre; also features an early performance from Gail Russell. To my knowledge this is one of the first Hollywood films of the to portray a haunting as an authentic supernatural event; rather than for laughs (The Ghost Busters, The Ghost Goes West, Topper, etc.) The American pop standard, “Stella By Starlight” was written for this movie. Ray Milland narrates the opening sequence, "They call them the haunted shores, these stretches of Devonshire and Cornwall and Ireland which rear up against the westward ocean. Mists gather here, and sea fog, and eerie stories. That’s not because there are more ghosts here than in other places, mind you. It’s just that people who live hereabouts are strangely aware of them." Beautifully shot the film was nominated for an AA for best cinematography.
Many consider 1939 to be the penultimate year of movie making.
I think 1962 was the best single movie year of my lifetime.
A Taste of Honey (Tony Richardson)
Advise and Consent (Otto Preminger)
Birdman of Alcatraz (John Frankenheimer)
Cape Fear (J. Lee Thompson)
Days of Wine and Roses (Blake Edwards)
How the West Was Won (Henry Hathaway & John Ford)
Jules et Jim (Francois Truffaut)
Lawrence of Arabia (David Lean)
Lolita (Stanley Kubrick)
Lonely Are the Brave (David Miller)
Long Day's Journey Into Night (Sidney Lumet)
Ride the High Country (Sam Peckinpah)
Sweet Bird of Youth (Richard Brooks)
The Longest Day (Darryl F. Zanuck)
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (John Ford)
The Manchurian Candidate (John Frankenheimer)
The Miracle Worker (Arthur Penn)
The Music Man (Morton DaCosta)
To Kill A Mockingbird (Robert Mulligan)
Whatever Happened To Baby Jane? (Robert Aldrich)
The Killer That Stalked New York (1950, Earl McEvoy) ** • Excellent and little seen film noir involving a woman (B-movie Queen Evelyn Keyes) trying to smuggle diamonds in from Cuba has been infected with small pox (“a thousand ugly sores that break through and a fever that burns you up!”). And acting as a cotangent she is infecting everyone she comes in contact with – hence the “killer stalking New York” – the mortality rate “1 out of 3 die and if you live you look like this!” This is a dark ride to be sure. A similar plot was the subject of an early Elia Kazan film Panic In the Streets (one can’t help thinking this was its inspiration). Soon to be recognizable names are featured: Lola Albright, Jim Backus and Dorothy Malone. Plus “A” list “B-Movie” stars like Whit Bissell, Connie Gilchrist, Barry Kelley, Richard Egan, Art Smith and William Bishop.
“All battles are fought by scared men who would rather be someplace else.”
John Wayne, Kirk Douglas and Henry Fonda fight ‘the Japs’ (sic) in WWII in what Douglas’ character describes to Wayne whom he calls Old Rock of Ages, “We've got ourselves another war. A gut bustin', mother-lovin' Navy war!” And gut bustin’ it is. With Patricia Neal as love interest to Wayne; she brings out depth in the Duke’s performance. They have real chemistry – watch out for fireworks. This movie is another marker for the changing of the guard in Hollywood with its fresh faced crop of co-stars -- Tom
Tryon, Paula Prentiss, Brandon De Wilde and Jill Haworth.
Preminger departs from the “John Ford History of America” and the story of the fighting the war in the Pacific with a less altruistic cast of characters who never bore. But the Americana themes prevail and the tradition of apocryphal storytelling continues. In step with the idea of early ‘60’s realism and pushing the envelope with the signature Preminger titillating touch.
The movie improves with each viewing. Perfect for a weekend matinee.
An improbably delicious, overblown and bloviated anglophile telling of the boxer rebellion in China in the early 1900’s; Charlton Heston plays American cowboy to England’s Sir Arthur in the form of David Niven. Both compete for the affections of Ava Gardner in the confines of the of the legations district of Peking (where the headquarters of the various colonial powers were located). This movie was a Road Show Movie produced by Samuel Bronson and had the royal treatment when it was released in 1963. I witnessed this from afar in Redlands; seeing the ads and reading the hoopla in the Los Angeles Herald Examiner. The movie played at a single LA/Hollywood location for a long period. Then it was cut down to a more manageable length for exhibitors and sent out to play in the hinterlands. I thought about the film for months as I poured over the entertainment section of the Herald Examiner every afternoon. 55 Days At Peking never made to Redlands. I first saw it on a first generation rental VHS cassette in my apartment on Texas Avenue around 1980. This is the first time I’ve seen it since. We know today what a train wreak the movie was for Nick Ray (in effect ending his career) and has been out of circulation since the early VHS days. The plot is absurd by today’s standards and seems comedic for both Niven (after “The Guns of Navarone”, 1961) and Heston (after “El Cid”, 1961) except it’s played for serious action and adventure with historical overtones. Ava Gardner serves as well dressed atmosphere. Besides Charlton Heston wanted Jeanne Moreau for the role of Baroness Ivanoff. Urban legend has it that she was drinking heavily in her first major outing since “On the Beach”. The movie is remarkable for its extravagant battle and action sequences and forgettable when it comes to story, character and performance. This is more a curio because of the demise of Ray, the last Samuel Bronson “blockbuster” and its star-studded cast. This one didn’t see The Sand Pebbles coming. And how.
The intent is to make random posts about movies that roughly fall into the following categories.
• Ron’s Nifty Fifty/Classics • Curiosities/Time Capsules • The American Myth/Our Story • Comfort Food/Guilty Pleasures • Farce, Fantasy and Horror
My hope is to invite many of you to sample movies you may have missed. That said, I do plan to cover the "usual suspects" (by way of the classics) in addition to the forgotten and unknown gems.
May your Netflix Queue never run dry!
Movies are graded on a ***** scale; reflecting how well the movie stacks-up against others that would be considered in the same genre or category. But as my comments suggest, that’s only part of the story.
Five Star Final (1931, Mervyn LeRoy) *** This is a wonderful example of pre-code Hollywood (open discussion and depiction of casual sex, prostitution, illegal use of bootlegged booze, suicide and illegitimacy – this film couldn’t have been made after the Hayes Code was enforced) and the muckraking sensibility of the tough and gritty pictures that were being turned out by Warner Brothers in the 1930’s. An indictment of “yellow journalism” that causes tragedy for many “innocent” people with Edward G. Robinson as the ruthless editor out to increase his papers circulation with sensational headlines and stories; a tragedy all around and an excellent commentary on the “class warfare” of the day. (“Now you listen to me, Hinchecliffe. It'll be for the last time. I'm through with your dirty rag, and I'm through with you. Oh, I'm not ducking any of the blame for this thing. You thought of the murder and I committed it. But I did it for smaller profit. For wages. You did for circulation.”) The title refers to an era when competing newspapers published a series of editions during the day, in this case marking its final edition front page with five stars and the word "Final." Nominated for Best Picture. Another reason to watch; great pre-Frankenstein performance from Boris Karloff as Isopod, ruthless stooge to editor Robinson.
I love movies. I was born in 1953 and grew up on movies. The films I didn’t see on the “big screen” at the Fox Theater in Redlands, CA I watched on TV. Be it the Early Show (KNXT), Million Dollar Movie (KHJ), Ben Hunter’s Matinee (KTTV) or The Fabulous 52 Saturday nights at 11:45 pm (KNXT). I watched every movie I could. Today I collect movies and presently have over 2000 titles in my collection.
