Made months before the U.S.’s entrance into World War
II, “All Through the Night†(1941) stars Humphrey Bogart as “Gloves†Donahue, a
New York Irish gangster battling Nazi fifth columnists. “Gloves†runs a bookie
operation and he’s got the world by the tail until he gets a frantic call from
his mother (Jane Darwell) who is upset because Herman Miller, the baker who
makes “Gloves’ †favorite cheesecake is suddenly missing. “Glovesâ€- with his
gang which includes William Demarest, Jackie Gleason, Frank McHugh, and Phil
Silvers- rush over to the bakery and find the baker stuffed in one of the
pastry bins in the basement. A mysterious blonde (Kaaren Verne) shows up and
disappears when the cops arrive.
Gloves and his pals can’t understand why anyone would
want to harm poor old Mr. Miller, but Gloves’ mother tells him that the blonde
who disappeared must know something, and she tells him to find her. Gloves
doesn’t have a clue where to look and is not inclined to pursue the matter
further. But Mom is last seen asking a peanut vender outside the bakery if he
noticed the girl. “Gloves†and his boys
go to his expensive apartment to relax, and no sooner does he light up his
cigar than he gets an angry phone call from Marty Callahan (Barton MacClain),
another Irish mug who owns a nightclub. He’s irate because “Gloves’“ mother is
there raising a ruckus.
“Gloves†and his boys run down to the club and his
mother insists that the girl who was in the bakery works at the club. How she
knows this is never explained. But I guess the peanut vendor must have known. We’ll
never know since his dialogue ended up on the cutting room floor. It’s an annoying gap in the continuity but it really doesn’t matter. The corkscrew script by
Leonard Spigelgass and Edwin Gilbtert is intended to keep the audience guessing
with one surprising reversal after another. What’s more little plot hole more
or less?
Meanwhile, the mysterious blonde is there on the stage
singing the “All Through the Night†theme song written by Johnny Mercer. “Glovesâ€
recognizes her, likes what he sees and tells his mom to go home. He investigates
and in the process of trying get to the girl, “Gloves†finds nightclub manager
Joe Denning (Edward Brophy) shot. Denning holds up the five fingers of his hand
as if trying to tell “Gloves†something. Witnesses see “Gloves†kneeling over the
body so naturally he has to scram. On his way out he sees a cab carrying the
girl and some shadowy figures rushing out of an alley. Through pals he knows at
the cab company, “Gloves†finds the address the cab went to and continues his
investigation.
And that’s just the beginning. It turns out Denning holding up five fingers
was a warning that there was a fifth column movement of Nazis right there in
New York. The mysterious blonde is part of the movement (or is she?), which is
being run by Conrad Veidt and his pal Peter Lorre. They are planning to blow up
a battle ship in New York Harbor. To think, it all started because “Glovesâ€
couldn’t get his favorite cheesecake!
Movie studios had been under pressure for years by
isolationists in Congress to refrain from making films that would incite the
country to war. But with the growing threat of Nazism, the rumors of horrors
occurring in Germany, and the known presence of Nazis in cities all over the
U.S., by 1941 the atmosphere had changed. “All Through the Night,†according to
director Vincent Sherman who shares an interesting alternate audio commentary track
on the DVD with film historian Eric Lax, was an attempt by Warners to make an
anti-Nazi comedy. Sherman admits that reaction to it was mixed. I suppose audiences
weren’t sure what to make of a movie that plays like Damon Runyon meets “Watch
on the Rhine.â€
The idea for the story is based on some fact. There
were Nazis in Brooklyn and other parts of New York in the late 1930s and the
only ones concerned about them were the local gangsters and newspaper men. The
general public and the police couldn’t have cared less. So the ending of “All
Through the Night,†with rival gangs of Irish gangsters uniting and battling
German saboteurs is not as far-fetched as it might seem.
“All Through the Night†is a chance to see a big cast
of Warners’ regulars at or near their peak in a lively film that more than puts
them through their paces. It’s not Bogart’s greatest film, but it continue to
help elevate him up from the B-movie gangster films and westerns he’d once been
relegated to. It would be only a short time later that he would once again be
battling Nazis Veidt and Lorre in “Casablanca.†By then the isolationists were
silent and the country was already at war.
“All Through the Night†presents a good many extras to
enjoy on the DVD release. The audio commentary by Sherman and Lax is highly
informative. Lax presents the historical facts and Sherman tells what it was
like to work under the Warners studio system. The place was loaded with sets
made for earlier movies. All he had to do was walk around and pick what he
needed to make a movie. In those days film makers rarely left the back lot. In
addition to the commentary, there is a cartoon, newsreel a trailer for
“Gentleman Jim†and a comedy short subject about quitting smoking. There’s a lot
to see and hear on this disc. It will definitely keep you watching “All Through
the Night,†and maybe the next night, too.
Monsters come in various forms. Those found in fictional literature or film can be chilling enough but, inevitably, it is the real life monsters that strike the most fear in our hearts. People routinely joke about the fact that whenever a heinous crime is committed, those who knew the perpetrator seem to mouth the same cliches such as "He was a quiet man" or "He was a good family man". Yet there is a disturbing truth to this generalization. Some of the worst people in history have been rather nondescript types who would never stand out in a crowd. Such a man who was destined for infamy was Heinrich Himmler, whose homely personal appearance bordered on the comic. He has been described as someone who looked like a character from a Marx Brothers movie. Yet there was nothing the slightest bit amusing about Himmler, as the new documentary The Decent One makes painfully clear. Directed by Vanessa Lapa, the movie has just been brought to DVD by Kino Lorber. Himmler's life and crimes have proven to be well-worn territory for any number of previous documentaries but The Decent One is unique in that it tells his story entirely from his own perspective, along with that of his wife Marga. This was made possible by the discovery of an archive of personal letters between the couple that were looted from Himmler's home by American soldiers who occupied the place at the end of the war. Somehow the stash of letters and diaries ended up in a historic archive in Tel Aviv where Lapa and her researchers were allowed access to them. They revealed a treasure trove of photos and correspondence that provide fascinating insights into the lives of one of the Third Reich's most notorious war criminals. Virtually the entire film is told through narration of the letters between Himmler and Marga, although the film does begin with an all-too brief vintage interview with Marga that appears to be a debriefing by Allied intelligence officers at the end of the war. There are some other comments made from letters written by the Himmlers' daughter Gudrun, who grew up during the war years.
The film begins with comments from young Himmler's diary. As a teenager, he was among the many disaffected Germans who resented their nation's capitulation to the Treaty of Versailles in the wake of Germanys that saw Germany's defeat in WWI. The terms of the treaty were so severe that they caused widespread economic decline in Germany, which was made a scapegoat by bearing the entire responsibility for a war that was so complicated and unnecessary that scholars are still debating its causes today. From these early days, Himmler viewed himself as an outsider. "People don't seem to like me", he writes more than once in his diary. A key inspiration in his life was reading Adolf Hitler's manifesto, Mein Kampf, which called for a revolution in Germany against the flawed but democratic Weimar Republic. Himmler was an early member of Hitler's National Socialist Party, which espoused a far-right political philosophy that was nativist in tone and intolerant in practice. Himmler had always harbored anti-Semitic prejudices and Hitler's ranting political speeches only galvanized others with similar feelings. Around this time Himmler fell in love with Marga, a woman eight years his senior. The two married in 1924 just as Himmler's stock was rising in the Nazi party. Before long, he would be given increasing responsibilities and would emerge as one of Hitler's most trusted and reliable confidants. The film humanizes Himmler through the correspondence with Marga, from their dating period through their marriage. The couple engages in some overtly sexual banter that seems to imply that to some degree an S&M element may have been present in this aspect of their relationship. (They both bizarrely refer to lovemaking as "revenge" on each other and imply that Himmler has been naughty and should be punished.) Following the birth of the couple's daughter Gudrun, Himmler was distressed to learn that Marga could not bear him any other children. As a key element of Nazi philosophy was that couples should have as many children as possible, the Himmler's adopt a young son, Gehbard. The correspondence makes clear that the couple had little enthusiasm for the lad and were frustrated by what they believe is his errant behavior. At one point, Himmler advises Marga to refrain from signing her letters to Gehbard, who was in boarding school, as "Mother". The film follows the Nazi party's rise to political power. Although Hitler is only seen occasionally in photos and newsreel clips, his presence dominates much of the Himmler's personal life. Himmler is there for "the boss", as he refers to him, day and night and his absence from home ultimately leaves Marga frustrated, though Himmler is dutiful in writing letters and sending presents.
The turning point comes with Hitler's disastrous decision to betray his ally Stalin and launch the massive invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941, a strategy that achieves remarkable success initially but which would lead to disastrous consequences in the long run. It represents the first time that Marga addresses the fact that Germany may be in real peril, despite her husband's increasingly meaningless platitudes that Hitler can never be defeated. The Allied invasion of Normandy three years later wreaks havoc on the nation. In correspondence written by the astute Gudrun, the child is distressed that Germany is now without any allies and is on its own. Throughout the entire war, Himmler is only a fleeting presence at home but Gudrun clearly adores him even as Gebhard is never fully accepted as his son. In his duties as right hand man to Hitler, Himmler thrives on his new responsibilities to deal with indigenous populations in conquered countries. He starts off by rounding up suspected homosexuals and incarcerating them in concentration camps with orders to ensure that all are shot while "trying to escape". He organizes death squads to exterminate entire villages in conquered Soviet territory. The most ambitious plan, however, is the "Final Solution" to "the Jewish problem". Himmler enthusiastically oversees the implementation of widespread genocide on a scale that is still hard to fathom. During this time, he continues to extol the virtues of the average Nazi, who he maintains has remained "decent" despite the unsavory tasks they must perform in order to keep the Germanic population free of "human animals". Indeed, Himmler seems to never stop bragging about his regard for ethical behavior despite all evidence to the contrary. He insists that members of the Master Race remain pure in every way- even as he engages in a extra-marital affair that sees him impregnate his mistress. He condones confiscating all the property and wealth of doomed Jews but warns that no German can ever personally benefit from this booty- even as he sends some of it home as gifts to his family.
"The Decent One" is an intriguing experience precisely because it reiterates what we already know: some of the most demonic people on the planet can hide behind the guise of being rational, compassionate individuals. Since the film is restricted to telling Himmler's story only through his own words, it does not serve (or attempt to serve) as a chronological diary of the German experience in WWII. Some key events are only glossed over in the interest of time while others are ignored altogether. (It would be interesting to know what Himmler thought of the July 1944 assassination attempt on Hitler by his own generals.) The film ends with a scene of Himmler dead on the floor with a British sentry standing over him. Placards at the end of the movie inform the viewer that he had been captured two days previously but had escaped trial by taking a cyanide capsule. We are also advised that his wife Marga died in 1967. His son remained haunted by his fractured relationship with his father and died only a few years ago. His daughter is still alive and donates to an organization that defends convicted Nazi war criminals. Apparently time and history has taught her nothing.
The film and its director have been criticized in some quarters for utilizing the device of having the entire story told through the words of the subjects themselves. The knock against Lapa is that this fails to provide context to the events that are unfolding on screen. I feel these critics miss the point. The most intriguing aspect of the movie is precisely that there are no distractions between the words of Himmler and his family members. It offers the kind of perspective that a standard format would deny the viewer. The Kino Lorber release features some interesting extras. They include an introduction by esteemed documentary maker Errol Morris, who also discusses the film in a Q&A session at Brandeis University. There are also some compelling featurettes that show researchers looking through the files containing Himmler's correspondence and photos. There are visits to relatives of Himmler, who are not in sympathy with him in any way and who discuss the negative connotations that the surname still evokes today. An original trailer is also included.
"The Decent One" should be seen by everyone who believes the old adage that those who ignore history are condemned to repeat it.
When
Orson Welles died in 1985, he was known to the younger generation for his
adverts, his chat show appearances and for voicing a giant robot in Transformers:
The Movie. His early successes more than forty years earlier were often
over-looked, the larger-than-life raconteur having allowed his legend and
personality to become bigger than his numerous cinematic achievements.
Thankfully
Magician serves as a much-needed reminder of just how talented Orson
Welles was. A true polymath, it did not seem to matter what Welles turned his
hand to, he would be better at it than you. He was an established artist,
actor, theatre actor and director all before reaching twenty years old. Before
creating what is still generally accepted as the greatest film ever made, Citizen
Kane (1941), he was a popular radio presence, both as the voice of The
Shadow and through his own Mercury Theatre productions. It was with the
latter that he produced what is still considered one of the most controversial
radio dramas of all time: his contemporary adaptation of The War of the
Worlds in 1938, which terrified audiences by forcing them to realise that
they could not always trust what they were listening to on the wireless. Anyone
who had achieved such amazing success at an age where most of us still don't
know what we want to do with our lives could be forgiven for relaxing somewhat
after that. But not Welles. He spent his entire working life going from one
creative project to another, whether it was film, theatre or television.
Frustrated by the lack of control afforded to him by the studio system, and in
particular by the disappointing way The Magnificent Ambersons (1942) was
treated, he became in effect an independent film director, raising money
wherever he could to fund projects which were often left unfinished. Yet it was
during this time that some of his greatest films were made, in particular The
Trial (1962) and Falstaff: Chimes At Midnight (1965). He funded
these films by putting in memorable appearances in other director’s work, such
as his Harry Lime in The Third Man (1949), a role which he later
recreated for a successful radio series.
Sadly
the complicated nature of the funding means that some of Welles films are still
in legal dispute, and a high quality copy of Falstaff: Chimes At Midnight is
still not commercially available. Clips from this and many examples of his
other work are included here which reminds us just how visually impressive his
films were. The documentary includes interviews with friends, family and
colleagues, both newly shot and archival. Most importantly Welles is given the
opportunity to speak for himself, with clips taken from various points
throughout his career. Time and time again he was frustrated yet he always
seems philosophical as he considers his failures as well as his achievements.
This
documentary was given a brief theatrical run before being released on DVD by
the BFI. Extra features include an extended interview with the actor Simon
Callow, who has written three volumes of biography on Orson Welles, whose
research has helped to sift through many of the legends to get to the truth of
the man. Magician is as thorough and engaging a documentary as one would
hope for, and ought to lead to a resurgence of interest in Welles' work. It may
perhaps help to finally resolve the legal limbo in which many of his films
still sit.
Like most Anglo-European co-productions, the 1968 caper film They Came to Rob Las Vegas deserves plaudits for not using any subtlety in its title. You know instantly what it's about as the protagonists, well, they come to rob Las Vegas. The ring leader is Tony Ferris (Gary Lockwood), a casino craps dealer who uses his inside observations to organize an outrageous plot. The casino's daily monetary takes are hauled off to banks courtesy of seemingly impregnable armored cars owned by Skorsky (Lee J. Cobb), an obnoxious tycoon with mob connections who prides himself on the fact that his armored cars are unique in their design. Each one is a virtually Sherman tank with devices that automatically lock if any attempt to open the doors is detected. Inside the car are heavily armed guards who can live for an extended period of time (there's even a bathroom inside!). Additionally, the drivers can activate armor mechanism and machine guns from within the cab. Still, petty crook Ferris believes he has the perfect plan to knock off one of these trucks and capture the millions inside. He organizes a gang of crooks, each of whom has their own specialized talent, to literally kidnap the truck and secrete it in an underground hideaway in the desert. It goes without saying that there are some flies in the ointment and things don't go as smoothly as planned.
The 1969 comedy The Maltese Bippy has been released on DVD by the Warner Archive. What is a bippy? If you're of a certain age and grew up in the 1960s, you need not ask. A bippy was an undefined thing that nevertheless, it was insinuated, had a rather naughty or distasteful element to it. The phrase was coined by comedians Dan Rowan and Dick Martin on their hit TV series Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In. The show is rarely discussed today but there is no underestimating its impact on American popular culture when it premiered in January of 1968, replacing The Man From U.N.C.L.E., which had been canceled after three and a half seasons. The premise of the show capitalized on the youth movement and sexual revolution that characterized the era. There was no structure to the show, which largely consisted of rapid fire one-liners and short comedy sketches that often pushed the limits of network censorship. Rowan and Martin had been a popular comedy team that had nonetheless not reached the top rungs of their profession. That would change with the premiere of the show. Their shtick was not unlike those of other comedy duos: Dan Rowan was the sophisticated straight man and Dick Martin was the naive, goofy partner who got most of the laughs. The two men were improbable hosts for what became TV's hippest "must see" comedy show. Not only were they middle-aged, but they adhered to the then popular tradition of hosting their show while clad in tuxedos. Nevertheless, Rowan and Martin introduced envelope-pushing humor that became a sensation. The Smother Brothers had tried the same thing on CBS and got canceled for their efforts largely because they were so sarcastic about LBS's Vietnam War policies. But Rowan and Martin skewered all of the politicians and even included some of them on the show as part of its tradition of showcasing unlikely people spouting one-liners. Mitch Ryder and the Detroit Wheels may have had a hit record titled "Sock It To Me, Baby", but it was Laugh-in that immortalized the phrase. In fact, it played a role in the 1968 presidential election. Richard Nixon, back from the political graveyard, was the Republican nominee for president, squaring off against the Democratic nominee Vice President Hubert Humphrey. The Democratic convention in Chicago had been a disaster, marred by riots and police brutality. Nixon had based his campaign on a calm, law-and-order message that resonated with middle class, white voters. However, he was notoriously lacking in humor or personalty. When his advisers convinced him to make a five second cameo on Laugh-In in which he phrased "Sock it to me" as a question, voters saw a side of Nixon they didn't know existed. Whether he ever knew the relevance of the show or not, his poll numbers started to rise and he eeked out a narrow victory over the surging Humphrey in the November elections. Other phrases popularized on the show included "Here comes da judge!", "Veerrry interesting" and "You bet your sweet bippy", which was routinely used as a retort to almost any question posed to Dick Martin. The show's impact over its five year run included making household names of then unknown actresses Goldie Hawn and Lily Tomlin. Seemingly all the major stars wanted to film cameos for the show. These included such eclectic talents as Johnny Carson, Jack Benny, Henny Youngman and John Wayne. The show also made a short-term superstar of eccentric crooner Tiny Tim.
In 1969, MGM signed Rowan and Martin to a feature film, The Maltese Bippy. This was not their first time on the big screen. In 1958 they appeared in a forgettable comedy, Once Upon a Horse. The Bippy movie did not replicate their success on television and vanished rather quickly, though it has developed a cult following over the decades. The Maltese Bippy begins amusingly enough with footage from a sword and sandal movie that then morphs into Rowan and Martin doing their standard stand-up routine! You have to give the writers credit for at least thinking outside the box. The film proper begins with partners Sam Smith (Rowan) and Ernest Gray (Martin) trying to eek out a living by convincing a busty, 18 year old airhead to appear in a sexlpoitation film with Ernest as the leading man. The amusing sequence finds them filming this "epic" in the confines of a small office with incredibly shoddy pull down paintings serving as scenery. The office is raided and they are evicted for non-payment of rent. Back at Ernest's Victorian era house, his only remaining financial asset, the pair snipe at each other as they try to come up with some other method of making a living. From this point, the story goes into very bizarre directions. It would be pointless to try to connect all the disparate plot angles. Suffice it to say that over the course of the remaining running time, we are introduced to a series of eccentric supporting characters. These include Robin (Carol Lynley), a young college girl who is boarding at the house. Ernest has the hots for her but her innocent nature may be a ruse and she appears to have an ulterior motive for her presence in the house. This could be rumors that the place holds an ancient treasure that is the motivation for less scrupulous characters to pay visits to Sam and Ernest. These include Mischa Ravenswood (Fritz Weaver), a menacing Romanian nobleman who is always in the company of his mentally deranged sister Carlotta (Julie Newmar). They seem to be after the treasure that the household is said to contain. Added to the mix is another wacky boarder, Axel (Leon Askin of Hogan's Heroes). Then there is Ernest's long-suffering housekeeper Molly (Mildred Natwick) who may not be what she seems. An unrelated subplot has the victim of a vicious murder discovered near Ernest's house. It appears the dead man may have been killed by an unknown animal and this results in extended sequences and gags in which Ernest begins to believe that he is actually a werewolf!
The film lumbers along under the direction of veteran Norman Panama but every now and then a genuinely funny gag comes along that makes you laugh in spite of yourself. The film's greatest asset is the spirited performances and the film provides a treasure trove of goofy characters for well-established actors to have fun with. (It's great to see Fritz Weaver in a rare comedy role.) Ironically, the movie mostly comes alive in the final act in which virtually the entire cast kills themselves off. It's a bizarre but funny premise and is well-executed. Despite its flaws, The Maltese Bippy is an enjoyable romp.
The failure of The Maltese Bippy at the boxoffice ensured that Rowan and Martin never appeared on the big screen again. Dick Martin, who had already established himself as a successful supporting actor and comedy director, had a thriving career until his death in 2008. Dan Rowan retired in the early 1980s partly due to health problems. He passed away in 1987 at age 65. Is it safe to say that Rowan and Martin's legacy as major influences on American comedy in the 1960s is secure? You bet your sweet bippy.
In
jihadist-occupied Timbuktu, a militiaman climbs off the back of a motorcycle
and, in a daily ritual, uses a megaphone to remind the population about the
mandates of the occupiers’ harsh Sharia law: “Important information! Smoking is forbidden. Music is forbidden. Women must wear socks!†Initially, these scenes in director
Abderrahmane Sissako’s “Timbuktu†(2014) recall the scenes of the PA system
announcing the day’s recreational activities at the 4077th’s field hospital in
Robert Altman’s “MASH†(1970). The
harsh, amplified sound of the delivery system gives the message a heft of
authority. In contrast, the message
itself is absurd, like the logic-twisting quips that one of Groucho Marx’s old
characters would spout. In Altman’s
film, the inane whine of the PA system provided ironic relief from the intense scenes in the
surgical tent. In Sissako’s, the viewer
initially laughs at the nonsensicality of the words, but as the film
illustrates, the jihadist tyranny is nothing to snicker at. Caught singing, a young woman is publicly
punished with 40 lashes. For adultery, a
man and a woman are stoned to death in a particularly horrific way. They are buried in a sand pit up to their
necks, unable to move, and then bystanders batter their unprotected heads with
rocks.
The
invasion depicted by Sissako actually occurred in recent history. Jihadists mobilized by al-Queda and its affiliates seized control of Timbuktu in
2012 and remained in power for a year before Malian and French troops drove
them out. In some ways it was a
forerunner of the present aggression by ISIS in Iraq and Syria. Like the footage we now see every day from
that front on the web and cable news, Sissako dramatizes the heavy hand of
Timbuktu’s oppressors with shots of his gun-wielding militiamen cruising the
ancient streets in open vehicles, black banners flying. A compassionate imam (Adel
Mahmoud Cherif)
challenges the invaders’ dictates. In
one instance, his resistance is successful as an armed patrol barges into his
mosque during prayer, and he orders them to leave. In another, trying to reverse the forcible
marriage of a teenaged girl to a young militiaman, he fails. “It was a legal marriage based on Islamic
law,†the jihadist administrator (Salem Dendou) rules. But there was no guardian at the ceremony to
look after the girl’s interests, the imam contends. “We are the guardians of all deeds since we
arrived in this territory,†the administrator sternly counters.
The
oppression of Sharia law, or its interpretation by the extremists, is
reinforced by the fact that interpreters are needed for communication between
the Arab-speaking invaders and the natives of Timbuktu, who speak mostly French
and Bambara. The crushing weight of
fundamentalist rule also falls heavily on Kidane (Ibrahim
Ahmed dit Pino), a herdsman who has attempted to live apart from the invaders
with his wife, daughter, and tenant in an idyllic desert refuge. Kidane’s story forms the core of the film and
builds to a tragic conclusion, which in Western eyes is likely to be all the
more troubling because of Kidane’s fatalistic acceptance of events (“it is
willedâ€). In an American production,
Dwayne Johnson would have saved the day, or Jamie Foxx as Kidane would have
shot his own way out.
A nominee for the 2015 Academy Award in the Best Foreign Movie
category and for the
Palme d’Or as Best Picture at Cannes, “Timbuktu†looks gorgeous
in the new, hi-def Blu-ray edition released by the Cohen Media Group. Detail is sharp, and the colors of the exotic
tribal clothing worn by Kidane’s wife (Toulou Kiki) and other characters are so
vivid they seem to jump out of the TV screen. Some critics thought the movie was too pretty. However, arguably, Sissako is telling his
story through the eyes of his indigenous characters, and this is the world as
they see it. The Blu-ray disc includes
English subtitles for the multi-lingual dialogue track, and there are two extras:
a theatrical trailer and a thoughtful interview with Sissako at a public
screening of “Timbuktu.â€
There’s a scene in John Ford’s “The Man Who Shot
Liberty Valance†(1962) when a newspaper man says “This is the west, sir and
when legend becomes fact, print the legend.†Screenwriter Ben Hecht and
director Jack Conway seemed to have followed that sentiment in their biopic,
“Viva Villa!†(1934) which presents a highly fictionalized version of the life of Mexican
revolutionary Pancho Villa. Though not historically accurate, it’s an
entertaining and worthwhile film, and in its own way presents the truth about what
it means to be oppressed and to finally decide you’ve had a belly full and rise
up against it.
The opening scenes show the peones being told by Porfiro Diaz’s soldiers that their land is
being taken away from them. When they protest, the leader of the protesters is
given 100 lashes. His young son watches as the last lash is delivered and it’s
discovered the man is dead. “It must have been too much,†an officer says
derisively. The boy follows the man who wielded the whip into an alley and
stabs him to death. The boy is Pancho Villa.
Grown to manhood, the adult Villa (Wallace Beery) has
become a bandit, partners with another ruthless hombre, Sierra (Leo Carillo).
Beery plays Villa as a larger than life character of gargantuan appetites. He
drinks, eats, and kills as the impulse strikes him. Every beautiful woman he
sees he must have, and he marries each of them. As his reputation grows, a
contemplative little man named Francisco Madera starts a revolution and his friends,
wealthy landowner Don Felipe (Donald Cook) and his sister Teresa (Fay Wray), enlists
Villa in the cause. Villa recruits hundreds of villagers to fight and they free
city after city from the cruel dictator’s grasp. His exploits are recorded by an
American newspaper man, Johnny Sykes (Stuart Irwin), who helps create Villa’s
legend.
Things start to go wrong when Madera, a dreamy
idealist, thinks Villa’s tactics are too brutal, and puts him under the command
of General Pascal (Joseph Schildkraut). Pascal is an opportunist who uses both
Villa and Madera, until the day he can seize power for himself. Despite all
that Villa did for him, Madera excludes Villa from the government he forms in
Mexico City after Diaz resigns. Villa and Sierra return home to the hills of
Chihuahua, where they take up bank robbing again. For his crimes Madera has him
thrown in jail, and Pascal arranges for him to be executed. Madera stops the
execution but not before Pascal humiliates him by making him crawl in the dirt.
There’s a lot more to this big, sprawling story, and
Hecht’s script is tight, full of visual metaphors, most of which revolve around
the land that everyone’s fighting for, down to the last handful of dirt
clutched in a dying man’s hand.
Stories abound regarding the filming of “Viva Villa!â€
For example, the movie began with Howard Hawks directing and Lee Tracy playing
reporter Johnny Sykes. But Tracy had a drinking problem and apparently urinated
off his hotel room balcony, while screaming insults at a group of military
cadets. Tracy was hustled out of the country and Hawks was called back to
Hollywood by producer David. O. Selznick. The two of them got in a fight over
Tracy. Hawks wanted to keep him in the picture and he socked Selznick in the
nose and himself out of the picture. He was replaced by Conway. All previous
scenes were reshot.
Despite this setback, the reassembled cast and crew
managed to turn in solid performances in all the key roles. It’s arguably
Beery’s best film, and Schildkraut turns in a world class performance as a
vicious snake. Conway’s direction is solid and straightforward. The black and
white cinematography by James Wong Howe is first rate, highlighted as usual by
his use of sharp contrast in the bright daylight scenes shot in the Mexican
desert.
There are other films about the Mexican revolution,
including Elia Kazan’s “Viva Zapata,†(1952) which is more historically
accurate, and “Villa Rides†(1968) an adventure film played almost for laughs
with Yul Brynner as Villa and Robert Mitchum (script by Robert Towne and Sam
Peckinpah). But “Viva Villa!†has a timeless quality to it that holds up well
today and manages to show its influence on the films that followed. The Warner Archive has done a first rate job
of transferring the film to DVD. The original theatrical trailer also appears
on the disc. Recommended.
(John M. Whalen is the author of "Hunting Monsters is My Business: The Mordecai Slate Stories" . Click here to order the book from Amazon)
The Warner Archive has released the 1951 comedy Callaway Went Thataway. The film is a low-key but delightful tale that has more than a wisp of Frank Capra in its story line. The movie opens with a montage of scenes showing young boys and girls glued to their television sets as they watch the adventures of singing cowboy Smoky Callaway (Howard Keel). They don't realize they are actually viewing old "B" movies from the 1930s. Not that it matters. Callaway has found a new audience with a younger generation and they have made him America's favorite TV hero in these early days of the medium.(Since so many households did not have televisions in 1951, the film shows a common sight during this era: people crowded around department store windows to watch TV broadcasts). Network brass and sponsors immediately want to keep the gold train rolling by initiating more new films starring Smoky. The only problem is that no one has seen him in ten years. The network enlists a marketing firm owned by partners Mike Frye (Fred MacMurray) and Deborah Patterson (Dorothy McGuire) to track down Smoky and sign him up for an exclusive contract that will also see an explosion of merchandise with his name and face on it. Everyone stands to get rich including the marketing firm- but finding Smoky seems to be an impossibility. Mike hires a private eye, George Markham (Jesse White) to turn over every stone to find the unwitting superstar. Ultimately, they assume Smoky must have passed away, alone and forgotten. By happenstance, they come across Stretch Barnes, an amiable young cowboy who is an exact look-a-like for Smoky. The ever-opportunistic Mike convinces him to pose as the real Smoky and sign the relevant contracts that will make everyone a fortune. The ruse works. Network executives and sponsors are delighted and kids enthusiastically look forward to meeting Smoky during his nationwide personal appearance tour. The only problem occurs when Stretch goes before the cameras. Lacking any acting experience, his performance is awkward and unprofessional. However, the executives attribute this to simply having been out of the business for a while and decide they can edit around the footage to make him look like his old self. In the course of accompanying Smoky on public appearance stops, Deborah finds that the simple but sincere country boy has fallen in love with her. He even gives her an engagement ring and tells her to hold on to it until the day she feels he would make a good husband.
The funniest bits in the movie occur late in the story when Markham ends up finding the real Smoky (Keel in a dual role). It turns out he's a far cry from his old image. He's a hopeless alcoholic and womanizer and he's greedy as well. He blackmails Mike and Deborah by threatening to have them arrest for identity theft if they don't fire the phony Smoky and hire him. This leads to some genuinely funny sequences. Mike, stalling for time, agrees to the terms on the proviso that the real Smoky dries out in at a fitness farm. Here, Smoky manages to mix his exercise routine with getting drunk via some well-hidden bottles of booze he has stashed around the facility. Things finally come to a head when Smoky is required to make a charity appearance before 90,000 fans. The real Smoky is too crude to pull it off and Stretch, feeling ashamed of his role in all this deceit, intends to go back to his farm. The finale may be predictable but it's quite entertaining with Keel squaring off in a fistfight with himself!
The performances are very entertaining. MacMurray has long been underrated as an actor, remembered primarily for his late career string of Disney films and starring on the sitcom My Three Sons. However, he was an actor of great depth. He could play villains (The Apartment, The Caine Mutiny, Double Indemnity) and lovable cads with equal skill. McGuire is very charming in the only prominent female role and Keel steals the film in a part that surely would have been played a decade earlier by either Gary Cooper or James Stewart. The movie moves at a brisk pace thanks to collaborators Norman Panama and Melvin Frank, who co-wrote and co-directed the film. The movie is charming throughout and the Warner Archive DVD boasts not only an impressive transfer but an original trailer as well. There is also an unintentionally amusing explanation at the end of the film assuring viewers that MGM meant no disrespect to any contemporary western star and that the studio is well aware of the wonderful social values Hollywood cowboys instill in America's youth!