Raymond Benson (see also Criterion Corner)
Entries from June 2021
“A
COMEDY OF ERRORSâ€
By
Raymond Benson
Alastair
Sim was a national treasure in Great Britain, a comic actor who never failed to
make one smile or outright guffaw. His Scrooge (1951, aka A Christmas
Carol) proved that he could also take a serious turn as well. This reviewer
likens him to an early sort of John Cleese—an irreverent player who could do
irony, surrealism, farce, wicked delight, and pure outrageousness within the
confines of a somewhat realistic human being of a character.
As
the star of The Green Man (1956), Sim plays an assassin named Harry
Hawkins. Yes, that’s right, Alastair Sim is a mad bomber who takes it
upon himself to get rid of the pompous blowhards in Britain, whether they be
boring politicians or unctuous professors. He even has a Peter Lorre-like
assistant, McKechnie (John Chandos), who is willing to obey Harry, even when it
comes to the murder of the innocent.
Add
the very funny George Cole into the mix to confound Harry’s latest plot to blow
up Sir Gregory Upshott (Raymond Huntley), and you have the makings of a classic.
Harry
has romanced Upshott’s spinster secretary, Marigold (Avril Angers), so that he
can learn the politician’s movements, but Marigold gets wise to Harry. When she
arrives at Harry’s home, McKechnie has switched the name of the house with the
empty one next door, and that’s where Marigold meets her end.
But
wait! Ann Vincent (Jill Adams) and her husband, Reginald Willoughby-Cruft
(Colin Gordon) are about to move into the murder house. Determined vacuum
salesman William Blake (Cole) also mistakes the house for the address of his
appointment with Harry’s housekeeper next door. Thus, William and Ann discover
the murder and take it upon themselves to stop Harry’s scheme. Did we mention
that the uproarious Terry-Thomas (as “Charles Boughtflowerâ€) also appears to further
stir the proceedings?
Of
course, it’s much more crazily complicated than that, with numerous mistaken
identities and locations, characters being in the wrong place at the wrong
time, and plans going awry. It’s all hilariously funny. In short, The Green
Man is British farce at its finest.
The
movie is superbly written by the brilliant team of Frank Launder and Sidney
Gilliat (The Lady Vanishes, The Belles of St. Trinian’s). A
formidable outfit by this time in British cinema, they also produced the
picture. It is directed by cameraman Robert Day in his debut (word on the
street is that Basil Dearden had an uncredited hand in it).
Kino
Lorber’s new Blu-ray presentation looks marvelous in a 4K restoration from the
original camera negative. It comes with an audio commentary by film historian
David Del Valle, and it also sports the theatrical trailer for this and other
Kino Lorber releases.
Highly
recommended, The Green Man will color a grin upon your face and keep it
there.
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By Raymond Benson
The witty, controversial, and
fabulous actress/comedienne Mae West displays her jewelry to the coat check
girl. “Goodness, what beautiful diamonds!†the girl exclaims. Mae West coolly
replies in her sultry, New York-accented signature voice, “Goodness had nothing
to do with it, dearie.â€
The line was also the title
of West’s memoir, published in 1959, and is one of her many memorable
utterances, along with “Come up and see me sometime.†(However, the first time
this one is spoken, in She Done Him Wrong, she actually says, “Why don’t
you come up sometime and see me?â€)
Kino Lorber has just released
in restored, high-definition presentations every Mae West film made between
1932-1940—the Paramount years, plus one with Universal. This review will cover
the first four out of nine titles, with the remaining five to come in a later
“Part Two.â€
Hollywood knew that Mae West
would be trouble (but a possible box office winner) before she was invited to
the west coast to star in films. She had made her name in New York vaudeville
as a bawdy, talented, sexy, and very funny lady. West could sing and deliver
one-liners with the best of them; she wasn’t so much a dancer, but she did have
the ability to sashay with aplomb. West transitioned to Broadway, writing and
starring in her own shows to great success. One, though, the 1926 play entitled
Sex, got her into hot water with the morality police and she was
arrested for indecency charges. West quickly bounced back, having garnered even
more publicity because of the raid, and became more popular than ever. That’s
when Hollywood, namely the more adventurous Paramount Pictures, came calling.
Paramount tended to push the
envelope in the pre-Code days with violent gangster pictures, sex comedies, and
the early movies by the anarchic, surreal Marx Brothers. Mae West fit in quite
well at Paramount, where she quickly took control of her screen career. What is
truly remarkable is that West was 39 when she made her first picture. For a
Hollywood studio to introduce any actress at that age was unheard of,
before and probably since.
All of West’s movies follow a
formula established by the second one, which was such a success that it saved
Paramount from bankruptcy. Usually there are crime hijinks going on involving
former and current boyfriends. West acquires a flirtatious love-hate
relationship with the wealthy leading man. All the men try to hoodwink West and
each other, and she does some sneaky trickery to foil their plots. At the end
West always ends up with the leading man, even after it seemed that they were kaput.
Oh, and there are some musical numbers thrown in for good measure.
Herewith are the first four
titles released on Blu-ray by Kino Lorber, all of which look spectacularly
“new†and blemish-free.
Night After Night (1932) is really a melodrama/gangster flick starring
George Raft and Constance Cummings. Mae West appears in a supporting role as
Maudie Triplett, but she steals the movie. In fact, Raft in later years is
known to have said, “She stole everything but the cameras!†Joe Anton (Raft) is
the owner of a speakeasy (it was still Prohibition at the time), and he must
handle conflicting love affairs and competition from rival mobsters. Maudie is
a former girlfriend (now just a friend) who comes to the club for a good time.
Her scenes with Mabel Jellyman (Alison Skipworth), the matronly woman who is
teaching Joe how to speak “properly†and develop more high-class manners, are
worth the price of admission—almost. The picture is all right, but without
West’s debut, Night After Night would likely have dropped into
obscurity. The Blu-ray comes with an audio commentary by film historians Alexandra
Heller-Nicholas and Josh Nelson, plus the theatrical trailer.
She Done Him Wrong (1933) has the distinction of being the shortest movie
(66 minutes) ever to be nominated for the Best Picture Oscar (it lost to Cavalcade).
It also features young Cary Grant as the leading man, just a few months after
he appeared with Marlene Dietrich in Blonde Venus (1932). Since both
movies were in production around the same time, West and Dietrich publicly
feuded over “who discovered Cary Grant first.†She Done Him Wrong is a
comedy-gangster piece and is without a doubt the quintessential Mae West motion
picture—the pre-Code suggestiveness in her dialogue and actions was cause for
alarm for the Puritanical-minded in the country, paving the way for the Hays
Office to initiate the Production Code on July 1, 1934. West is Lady Lou, a
risqué singer in an 1890s Bowery saloon (New York City), where the owner and
sometimes boyfriend, Gus (Noah Beery Jr.), is also running a prostitution ring
(heavily implied) and counterfeit money operation. Captain Cummings (Grant) is
an FBI man masquerading as the director of the mission next door. While he’s
investigating the crimes undercover, Cummings and Lou become attracted to each
other. For a movie that’s just a little over an hour, the plot is seriously
complex! Nevertheless, it’s grand entertainment—it’s West at her best. The
Blu-ray disk comes with two audio commentaries—one by film historian David Del
Valle, and the other by film historian Kat Ellinger. There is also an
introduction from Turner Classic Movies by Robert Osborne, as well as a vintage
Walter Lantz cartoon starring Pooch the Pup, “She Done Him Right,†that borrows
heavily from the style and tone of the Fleischers’ Betty Boop cartoons. The
theatrical trailers and other West trailers round out the package.
I’m No Angel (1933) is still ensconced in sassy, sexy pre-Code
sensibilities. It was West’s most financially successful picture, coming after
the previous hit. Cary Grant co-stars once again. This time, West is Tira, a hootchy-cootchy
singer/dancer in a circus sideshow, but she also doubles as a lion tamer (!).
In one sequence she puts her head in the mouth of a lion (obviously done with
rear-screen projection, but there are scenes in which West is in the cage with
real lions and pets one). The sideshow impresario, Big Bill Barton (Edward
Arnold) is a crook, Tira’s beau Slick (Ralf Harolde) is just as bad, and Tira
wants to break away from the show and be on her own. She succeeds, goes to New
York, and meets the cousin of a rich beau, Jack Clayton (Grant), who is trying
to keep his relative away from Tira. They fall in love instead, of course. Look
for future Oscar winner Hattie McDaniel in an uncredited role as a maid. Mae
West was known for insisting on parts being given to African American actresses
and actors. Unfortunately, in those days, the only roles for black performers
in Hollywood were as maids, butlers, train conductors, and Tarzan natives. I’m
No Angel is second in ranking only to She Done Him Wrong, with Mae
West in top form in a very entertaining picture. The Blu-ray comes with an
audio commentary by film historian Samm Deighan, plus the theatrical trailer.
Belle of the Nineties (1934) was originally supposed to be titled It
Ain’t No Sin, but the Production Code went into effect just as production
finished. The censors forced West to revise some dialogue and change the title.
It’s a shame, for the remainder of West’s films in the 1930s, while still
entertaining, were sadly neutered of their frank boldness and—let’s face it—the
daring and evocative innuendos that made Mae West movies something to see. In
this one, she plays Ruby, a singer in the 1890s (again), this time in St.
Louis. Her boyfriend, boxer Tiger Kid (Roger Pryor) finds that he has rivals in
wealthier, “classier†men (who are all crooks, though). She moves to New
Orleans for a better position, only to become embroiled in fight fixing
shenanigans. Belle is a tangible step down from the previous two
pictures. While directed by comedy stalwart Leo McCarey (Duck Soup, The
Awful Truth, and later, Going My Way), Belle sort of plods
along and doesn’t produce the expected belly laughs. It does, however,
introduce the jazz standard, “My Old Flame,†sung by West and accompanied by
Duke Ellington and his band on screen. The Blu-ray comes with an audio
commentary by film historian Samm Deighan, plus the theatrical trailer.
Certainly a boon for film
history lovers and aficionados of 1930s Hollywood, these new Kino Lorber
Blu-ray releases are terrific. Cinema Retro will review the remaining
five Mae West titles—including one co-starring W. C. Fields—in a coming piece.
To be continued!
CLICK HERE TO ORDER “NIGHT AFTER NIGHT†FROM AMAZON
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CLICK HERE TO ORDER “I’M NO ANGEL†FROM AMAZON
CLICK HERE TO ORDER “BELLE OF THE NINETIES†FROM AMAZON
MISSISSIPPI BLUES
By
Raymond Benson
Robert
Altman’s 1974 crime drama, Thieves Like
Us, when viewed today, seems to
be a cross between Bonnie and Clyde (which
preceded Thieves) and O Brother, Where Art
Thou? (which appeared twenty-six years later). It’s the Depression-era
story, based on the novel by Edward Anderson, of a trio of escaped convicts who
go on a bank-robbing spree. But it’s also a love story between one of the
thieves, Bowie (played by a young Keith Carradine), and a country girl, Keechie
(portrayed by a young Shelley Duvall), and this is the aspect of Altman’s film
that truly shines. The novel was also the source inspiration for Nicholas Ray’s
1949 film noir, They Live By Night,
starring Farley Granger and Cathy O’Donnell. As much as I like 1940s and 50s
film noir, for my money, Altman’s is the better version.
Altman,
who had a decidedly hit-and-miss career over six decades, was on a roll in the
early seventies. Thieves Like Us is
indeed one of his hits—from a critical standpoint—although it didn’t
necessarily do bang-up box office. Filmed on location in Mississippi, Altman
and his production team managed to find authentic 1930s settings, lending a
you-are-there feel to the period piece. More importantly, Altman chose not to
use a traditional musical score but instead relied on vintage radio programs to
fill out the ambiance. That part was a stroke of genius.
The
director also often utilized a stock company of actors, many of whom appeared
in multiple pictures. In this case, besides Carradine and Duvall—who are
terrific in their roles—there is John Schuck and Bert Remsen as the other two
thieves, and Tom Skerritt as a shady service station owner. Louise Fletcher, in
a pre-Cuckoo’s Nest performance, is
effective as Remsen’s sister-in-law, who aides and abets the criminals until
she has a change of heart.
But
the picture belongs to Carradine and Duvall, whose love scenes are intimate,
honest, and endearing. Their characters are extremely likable and exude an
innocence that is a counterpoint to the violence depicted in the rest of the
picture. The fact that these two relatively unknown actors (at the time) were
cast as leads attests to the New Hollywood attitude of allowing auteurs do their thing. It’s too bad
that the studios clamped down on risk-taking after the 70s.
Kino
Lorber’s Blu-ray has A high-definition transfer of the film—which looks fine—and the theatrical trailer and a commentary by
Altman himself as extras. The location scenery—especially the muddy roads, the
rain, and the back-country hills and shacks, are strikingly beautiful, thanks
to Jean Boffety’s soft cinematography.
One
of the better “lovers on the run†pictures, Thieves
Like Us is worth grabbing.
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“TOMORROW’S
NEWS TODAY!â€
By
Raymond Benson
One
wonders if Bond villain Elliot Carver (Tomorrow Never Dies, 1997) ever
saw the 1944 comedy-fantasy, It Happened Tomorrow. Carver’s evil plot
involved making bad news happen so that his newspapers could scoop the
headlines before other media outlets even learned about the events. “Tomorrow’s
News Today!†was his slogan.
In
the fanciful and entertaining It Happened Tomorrow, a newspaper man receives
tomorrow’s news today, allowing him to write the piece and get it ready to go
to the presses before the incident occurs.
French
filmmaker René Clair had come to Hollywood in the early
1940s after working for a time in the U.K. He made a handful of pictures for
different studios, namely I Married a Witch (1942) and And Then There
Were None (1945). In-between those notable titles came It Happened
Tomorrow, which was based on an unproduced screenplay by Hugh Wedlock and
Howard Snyder, as well as a stage play, The Jest of Haha Laba,†by Lord
Dunsany. A new script, by Clair and Dudley Nichols, with additional dialogue by
Helene Fraenkel, ensued, and the picture was greenlit by producer Arnold
Pressburger. The resulting delightful film was a modest success in the USA and
did extremely well overseas.
Journalist
Larry Stevens (Dick Powell) is astounded when kindly “Pop†Benson (John
Philliber), an older employee at the newspaper, gives him a copy of tomorrow’s
edition before it has gone to press. A frontpage article with Stevens’ by-line
concerns a robbery at an opera theater. Figuring that he has nothing to lose,
Stevens asks Sylvia Smith (Linda Darnell) on a date to the opera. Sylvia is
half of a mind-reading act with her Uncle Oscar (Jack Oakie), but even she
admits that it’s a lot of hooey. Sure enough, though, the robbery occurs,
Stevens writes it up—and Police Inspector Mulrooney (Edgar Kennedy) suspects
that Lawrence was in on the crime. As time moves forward, Stevens receives even
more future editions of the newspaper, so he continues to pursue the stories
before they happen. Eventually, of course, he is unable to explain to his boss,
the police, and even his girlfriend how this is possible. When a headline predicts
Larry’s own death, things become complicated!
This
whimsical, cautionary tale is well directed and cleverly written. Cinema buffs
might liken it to the works of Frank Capra (who had originally been attached to
the project) or Preston Sturges. Dick Powell carries the picture with
confidence and humor. The actor was just beginning to transition out of
musical-comedy roles into more serious ones (Murder, My Sweet was
released the same year). While Powell displays his good-natured comic talent in
It Happened Tomorrow, there are hints of the pathos and thoughtfulness
to come. Jack Oakie is always hilarious, as is Edgar Kennedy. Linda Darnell is
easy on the eyes, to be sure, but her role is perhaps the only underwritten
aspect of the movie. Still, there are plenty of laughs and a potent message to
boot.
The
Cohen Media Group has issued a marvelous Blu-ray restoration from a 4K scan. It
looks wonderful, despite a few instances of artifacts and scratches. There are
optional subtitles for the hearing impaired, plus the theatrical trailer. Alas,
there are no supplements.
It
Happened Tomorrow should
appeal to fans of fun, time-bending fare such as Groundhog Day.
Recommended.
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