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Post by topbilled on Oct 26, 2022 17:49:51 GMT
Reviews for Universal films will be placed here.
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Post by topbilled on Oct 31, 2022 16:06:08 GMT
This neglected film is from 1932.
Tales from the sarcophagus
I was a bit relieved to discover that several contemporary reviewers did not write favorably about this classic horror film when it was released. Relieved because I struggled to suspend disbelief during the most important scenes, and was glad that I was not alone. It’s not that I wanted to dislike a motion picture others may enjoy. I certainly gave it ample opportunity to transfix me.
The biggest problem I have with Universal’s original version of THE MUMMY is how it tries to give its audience an education on Egyptian artifacts. Obviously, the screenwriter and the producer knew the average moviegoer wasn’t an Egyptologist, so the dialogue has to explain many things that will be referenced or used as plot devices. Because the information has to be broken down into layman’s terms, a lot of the expository dialogue seems juvenile.
Another issue I had was the lack of tension in scenes that should contain a great deal of nail-biting suspense. Instead, we get moments so bound up in the historical aspects of ancient Egypt, it feels like Universal is attempting to do a Cecil B. DeMille type treatment of the subject. But even DeMille knew when to drop the history lesson, take dramatic liberties and provide the audience with rousing entertainment. THE MUMMY fails to be the type of spectacle it could and should be.
What I do consider film’s main asset is its central performance. Only Boris Karloff can take a clunky script and present us with a truly creepy character. Most Universal horror flicks are driven by macabre characterizations, and Karloff seems to know this better than anyone. He elevates strangeness to an art form in how he enunciates, in how he walks and in how he does things.
As for leading lady Zita Johann, she comes across suitably possessed when her character is supposed to be under Karloff’s spell. But I feel she is too modern in appearance. So while she’s able to convey a troubled Depression era woman, there is nothing in her performance to suggest the timeless qualities of a woman reincarnated from several thousand years ago.
Her scenes with handsome leading man David Manners are acceptable. But I don’t feel any real connection between her and Karloff. As in the SVENGALI tale, our delicate heroine should be shamefully drawn to the monstrous man, but that is not in evidence.
Director Karl Freund was known more for his work as a cinematographer. He does well to keep the story looking sinister enough, providing the requisite shadows and lighting tricks. But he and Karloff are let down by a talky screenplay and an actress who doesn’t fully connect with the material and is unable to infuse it with the heart and soul it needs.
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Post by Fading Fast on Oct 31, 2022 16:49:38 GMT
The Mummy from 1932 with Boris Karloff, Zita Johann and David Manners
In the 1920s, the discovery of the tomb of King Tutankhamun set off a round of "Egyptomania," a popular craze for all things ancient Egypt. In this first "Mummy" movie, director Karl Freund wraps a tale of ancient Egypt around a contemporaneous love story with elements of a horror flick to make an engaging and innovative, albeit uneven and at times, hokey movie.
The Mummy opens in 1921 at the site of a British expedition digging in Egypt where a mummy is discovered and accidentally brought back to life when a young scientist reads out loud the words of an ancient Egyptian text.
Eleven years later, we see that mummy, played by Boris Karloff and looking like a dessicated-and-deeply-aged-by-the-sun human, guide a new British expedition team to the tomb of his former lover, the Princess Ankh-es-en-amon (yes, there was a little illicit ancient Egyptian canoodling going on a few thousand years ago).
But his Princess, we learn along the way, has been reborn throughout the ensuing millennia and is living in present day Egypt. Played by Zita Johann, she has a British father and Egyptian mother, and is falling in love with one of the young scientists from the dig, played by the early 1930s "we need a generically handsome man" actor David Manners.
Karloff's mummy, through the use of ancient spells and arts, tries to bring his former lover and Princess to him. Manners and the senior scientists on the dig try to help oddly behaving Johann as, at first, they think she's just ill. Only slowly do they begin to understand what is happening to her.
Karloff uses all his ancient powers to get the Princess to come to him so that he can, then, kill her, embalm her and bring her back as a mummy to live with him in his otherworldly state for eternity. Yes, that's his plan. Manners, spurred on by love and professional inquisitiveness, along with the other scientists, learning as they go, try to save the Princess.
The climax is an impressive mix of ancient Egyptian mysticism, special effects, revealing costuming and girl power that's fun in an early Hollywood way. And that's the best way to approach this entire effort: to see it as 1930s Hollywood beginning to play with the elements of what would become the horror genre.
Most impressive of those is Karloff's interpretation of the titular mummy. It is incredibly engaging for its subtlety as, other than the aforementioned desiccating makeup, it's just Karloff's eyes and his eerily quiet, yet foreboding mien - along with some outstanding camera work - that give his version of the mummy scary gravitas.
This approach and style is from the less-is-more school of horror, something rarely appreciated in our present-day CGI, big-budget modern movie-making world.
The other joy in the cast is Zita Johann in the incredibly difficult role of a modern woman carrying the eternal soul of a 3700-year-old Egyptian princess inside her.
She, too, plays it low key, but her haunting and confused appearance when "called" by the mummy Karloff is effective. She also ramps it up nicely in the final scene where she is scantily clad (it's a pre-code movie, after all) and fighting for her life.
David Manners is given the difficult role of being the straight good-guy to all the otherworldly forces swirling around. It's not a standout performance, but that he made it believable does him credit.
To a modern audience, The Mummy might seem slow, but appreciated as one of the original horror-genre movies, the mummy's makeup, the scenery (very 1930s Hollywood does ancient Egypt on elaborate sets) and story are impressive considering the production team had all but no template from which to work. Plus, once you get into it, it's a reasonably exciting tale with some engaging acting and plenty of entertaining "Egyptomania" hokeyness. |
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Post by topbilled on Nov 12, 2022 16:18:04 GMT
This neglected film is from 1939.
Desperate measures
The most desperate character in this entertaining oater from Universal seems to be the sheriff (Russell Simpson). He’s desperate to get his hands on money being transported on the stagecoach; he’s desperate to rustle cattle; and he’s desperate to push a lovely lady (Frances Robinson) off her ranch.
Yes, the local community has a corrupt man wearing a badge. And he’s desperate not to get found out. Fortunately, a territory marshal has just sent a federal agent to clean things up.
The agent is played by Johnny Mack Brown, appearing in the first of 28 modestly budgeted westerns for the studio. The actor, known as Mack to family and friends, was no longer the A-lister he had been earlier in the decade at MGM. But the former football player turned Hollywood star was still popular enough with audiences to gain a contract at Universal.
Starting with DESPERATE TRAILS, he found his stride as a B-western hero. He would make dozens more such pictures until his eventual retirement in the 1960s. In many of these adventures, Mack would be paired with Fuzzy Knight who functioned as his comic sidekick.
The camaraderie of the two men is superb, and it’s believable that they’re pals. In addition to Mr. Knight, Mack also shares scenes with pretty boy crooner Bob Baker. Interestingly, Baker had been featured in his own series of westerns, but was now appearing mainly in a supporting capacity.
In this film, Baker doesn’t come on until the 24-minute mark when he performs a specialty number inside a cantina. When Universal decided not to renew Baker’s contract a year later, Mack was joined by Tex Ritter who took over singing duties.
The plot for this production is not too taxing, which I think is part of its charm. Films like these are enjoyable to watch on a Saturday after a long and stressful work week. As I’ve already mentioned, the sheriff is the bad guy, and he has some dangerous cronies. But of course, they are no match for Mack.
Though some of what happens on screen is fairly predictable and routine as far as these things go, there are still some clever touches. I especially liked the part where three of the sheriff’s henchmen have their attempt to rob the stage foiled by Mack, who as the good guy robs the coach first, then makes sure the money gets where it belongs.
There are also some fun moments where Fuzzy brings Mack to stay at the ranch Miss Robinson owns. Mack enters the wrong bedroom after having a bit too much fun in town…and ‘meet cute’ advances to the next level. But our leading man and leading lady remain fairly platonic until the end. The production code doesn’t allow them to get too desperate.
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Post by topbilled on Nov 19, 2022 15:14:02 GMT
This neglected film is from 1943.
Musgrave ritual
Nigel Bruce and Basil Rathbone first teamed up in 1939. Though other performers had already played Dr. John Watson and Detective Sherlock Holmes, these two became most associated with the characters. A series of adaptations began at 20th Century Fox, and these were “A” films with larger budgets.
Sometimes the featured actors at Fox were bigger names than Rathbone and Bruce, meaning that although Rathbone and Bruce were playing the lead characters, they were not necessarily top-billed. After two such pictures, Fox dropped the series– probably because it still had the Charlie Chan and Mr. Moto franchises and the Holmes “A” pictures didn’t do as well as the studio hoped.
A few years later, Universal secured the rights and kept Rathbone and Bruce in the main roles. However, Universal allocated a smaller budget, so these were definitely “B” productions. The first few Holmes-Watson titles at Universal dealt with topical war-related concerns. SHERLOCK HOLMES FACES DEATH, which hit screens in 1943, still references the war but contains less propaganda. It is more in the vein of the mysteries Sir Arthur Conan Doyle had written.
In fact this film is based on Doyle’s 1893 story ‘The Adventure of the Musgrave Ritual.’ It’s one of Doyle’s earlier pieces, and Watson is actually the narrator, describing a case where his close friend Holmes was challenged to decipher the meaning of an obscure family document. Several people have been killed because of the document, since it’s very valuable and affects the Musgrave family’s fortunes and everyone’s prospects going forward.
In the Universal production, Watson is directly involved in the action and no longer narrating it. In fact, Holmes does not appear until the 11 minute mark (it’s a 68-minute flick); so the first segment shows Watson meeting the people involved in this case. Instead of visiting the Musgrave family, Watson is visiting a patient who suffered war wounds.
The patient is engaged to the Musgraves’ daughter, but her brothers disapprove of the relationship. One brother is murdered, then the second brother is murdered a short time later. Naturally, it looks as if the patient has some sort of psychosis and is killing off anyone who opposes his relationship to the girl.
After the first murder, Watson has called Holmes who joins him in figuring out who may be responsible for the deaths and why. They do not believe the patient is the culprit, and our sympathies as the viewing audience are meant to correlate with Holmes and Watson, rooting for the young couple to overcome this situation and eventually marry.
Ultimately Holmes and Watson realize another doctor that is checking on patients with Watson is the one behind the killings. This other person has been setting up the war veteran, in order to get him out of the way and marry the girl himself, since she now stands to inherit a great deal.
The Universal production has a wholly invented ending that deviates from Doyle’s original story, where Holmes conducts an elaborate chess game to smoke out the killer. But Doyle doesn’t go that route, and in fact, the main death in Doyle’s story might have just been a tragic accident. Doyle’s story also focuses more on the quaint rituals of the Musgrave family, and how certain things are passed– or not passed– from one generation to the next.
SHERLOCK HOLMES FACES DEATH is on YouTube. And ‘The Musgrave Ritual’ episode from the 1984 TV series starring Jeremy Brett is on Britbox. Brett’s show is more faithful to Doyle’s original material, but both versions are fine examples of how the Holmes-Watson dynamic can be used to entertain audiences. And with this particular story, we are able to ponder what it means to face death and go beyond it.
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Post by Fading Fast on Nov 19, 2022 16:32:26 GMT
Over the years, owing to pictures like "Suspicion," I've come to really enjoy Nigel Bruce as an actor.
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Post by topbilled on Nov 19, 2022 17:27:43 GMT
Over the years, owing to pictures like "Suspicion," I've come to really enjoy Nigel Bruce as an actor. |
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Post by Fading Fast on Nov 19, 2022 18:10:13 GMT
Over the years, owing to pictures like "Suspicion," I've come to really enjoy Nigel Bruce as an actor. |
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Post by topbilled on Nov 27, 2022 16:45:41 GMT
This neglected film is from 1939.
Deanna Durbin as a musically-inclined Cinderella
The pictures Deanna Durbin made at Universal are all special. Though the ones from the beginning of her career are probably the best. FIRST LOVE is a fantastic early vehicle for the actress. It borrows from Charles Perrault’s classic fairy tale Cinderella, which means the audience is able to quickly see where the plot’s headed. But with Miss Durbin playing Cinderella, nobody’s gong to complain.
In addition to providing a basic romantic storyline, FIRST LOVE features musical numbers that showcase Durbin’s vocal skill. More importantly, the script allows her to grow up on camera. She gets her first kiss in this movie, something the studio milked for a lot of publicity when it was originally released in late ’39. The prince charming who kisses her is 20 year old Robert Stack in his motion picture debut.
The story begins with Durbin’s character graduating from an all-girls finishing school. She’s an orphaned teen who has no real family of her own. Seeing the other girls’ parents at a commencement ceremony causes her to have a meltdown. But with prodding from a crotchety headmistress (Kathleen Howard), she pulls herself together. She agrees to go to New York City for the summer to spend time with her uncle (Eugene Pallette) and his family. The uncle generously paid for her education.
The sequence where she arrives at the uncle’s posh mansion presents her as a fish out of water, and also introduces a unique set of supporting characters. Through the servants, we see how household activities are conducted. We learn how the uncle is perceived by employees, and just as interestingly, how the uncle’s wife and two bratty kids are viewed.
Durbin does her best to get along with them, but she’s seen as a nuisance and hanger-on by her female cousin (Helen Parrish), who’s a year older. The older male cousin (Lewis Howard) loafs around and seems to derive a sadistic pleasure from the way his sister treats everyone. Meanwhile auntie (Leatrice Joy) is an airhead into astrology, and there are good running gags with her. But I’d say the most interesting person at the mansion, aside from Durbin, is the uncle. He goes out of his way to avoid his wife and kids, and he hides in the den most of the time.
The love interest isn’t introduced until the end of the first act. Stack’s character is initially presented as the intended love interest of the female cousin. There is a mix-up at an equestrian club…Durbin is almost run over by a horse, gets mud on her face and makes quite an impression. But both of them are smitten.
In true Cinderella fashion, there’s to be a ball held at Stack’s home. Durbin’s invited as a courtesy, but of course nobody expects she will want to attend. But she does, as it means she will be able to see that handsome lad again. Soon the household staff has helped come up with a beautiful dress, one that looks more exquisite than the cousin’s gown. When the cousin sees it, her jealousy takes hold, and she devises a plan to ensure that Durbin stay home and miss the ball.
We know that Deanna Durbin’s character will make it to the ball, because what’s the point of the film if she doesn’t go to the dance and get her first kiss. The household staff are upset by the cousin’s schemes and are determined to do something. With everyone else at the ball, Durbin feels quite alone in this huge mansion.
The home’s mausoleum-like quality is conveyed with spacious sets constructed on the Universal soundstage. Production designers have gone to great lengths to show how opulent, yet austere the home is. The mansion set is spectacular, and it’s easy to see why the film was nominated for an Oscar for best art design. Director Henry Koster uses some elaborate tracking shots with characters going up and down the humongous staircase.
In the next part of the story, Durbin gets to the dance with asssitance from a police escort. This occurs while aunt, uncle and cousin are detained along the road in their car, supposedly driving without proof of ownership. Those three end up going in front of a judge.
Meanwhile Durbin shows up at the ball, makes new friends and sees Stack again. There’s a particularly funny scene where an opera singer, the night’s entertainment, is being introduced and Durbin thinks they heard she can sing. So she performs an aria, which is beautifully sung, while the temperamental diva storms off.
After the aria, it’s clear that everyone’s been charmed by Durbin. Stack has definitely fallen for her. This leads to a delightful waltz scene with other couples fading in and out of view…where it’s just our young couple dancing alone.
Stack says there are too many people around, and he takes Durbin outside on the balcony for some air. And of course, that’s where he kisses her. It’s been a perfect evening. Until she realizes what time it is and how she needs to get home. Of course, she loses a slipper on the way out.
At the same time the female cousin has finally arrived. She glimpses Durbin running off and becomes incensed to learn Stack danced with her. She heads to the mansion for a big confrontation.
At the mansion Durbin learns that the undle had arranged for the police escort. He also arranged for his family to be jailed. Though he wishes they hadn’t gotten out.
Durbin admits she went to the ball and that she loves Stack. In anger the cousin fires the staff and Durbin leaves the next morning. The whole household has been turned upside down. Astrology-minded auntie blames everything on a bad constellation. But she believes the stars will be back in alignment soon. Of course the stars will not be properly aligned until you-know-who finds the girl who lost her slipper.
The uncle storms into the room where his wife’s astrology books and charts are located, and he trashes everything. He’s upset his niece left the house and tells his wife to stop obsessing about the stars and get back down to earth, or she’ll really be seeing stars! He then gives his spoiled daughter a spanking and kicks his lazy son so hard in the derriere that he flies through a set of French doors. A comeuppance for each one of them.
Meanwhile Durbin’s taken a train to her old school to teach music. The headmistress welcomes her back to become a spinster like herself.
In the last sequence, Durbin meets some of the new students. She is asked to sing ‘One Fine Day’ from a Puccini opera. Of course we know she can’t end up an old maid. Cinderella got her prince in the end, and so will she.
During the final scene, while she’s singing from Puccini, Stack shows up (with the other slipper). We learn the headmistress arranged for him to find out where Durbin had gone. He comes into the room, and Durbin sees him while finishing the song. She rushes into his arms. They leave together…
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Post by Fading Fast on Nov 27, 2022 18:26:17 GMT
This neglected film is from 1939.
Deanna Durbin as a musically-inclined Cinderella
The pictures Deanna Durbin made at Universal are all special. Though the ones from the beginning of her career are probably the best. FIRST LOVE is a fantastic early vehicle for the actress. It borrows from Charles Perrault’s classic fairy tale Cinderella, which means the audience is able to quickly see where the plot’s headed. But with Miss Durbin playing Cinderella, nobody’s gong to complain.
In addition to providing a basic romantic storyline, FIRST LOVE features musical numbers that showcase Durbin’s vocal skill. More importantly, the script allows her to grow up on camera. She gets her first kiss in this movie, something the studio milked for a lot of publicity when it was originally released in late ’39. The prince charming who kisses her is 20 year old Robert Stack in his motion picture debut.
The story begins with Durbin’s character graduating from an all-girls finishing school. She’s an orphaned teen who has no real family of her own. Seeing the other girls’ parents at a commencement ceremony causes her to have a meltdown. But with prodding from a crotchety headmistress (Kathleen Howard), she pulls herself together. She agrees to go to New York City for the summer to spend time with her uncle (Eugene Pallette) and his family. The uncle generously paid for her education.
The sequence where she arrives at the uncle’s posh mansion presents her as a fish out of water, and also introduces a unique set of supporting characters. Through the servants, we see how household activities are conducted. We learn how the uncle is perceived by employees, and just as interestingly, how the uncle’s wife and two bratty kids are viewed.
Durbin does her best to get along with them, but she’s seen as a nuisance and hanger-on by her female cousin (Helen Parrish), who’s a year older. The older male cousin (Lewis Howard) loafs around and seems to derive a sadistic pleasure from the way his sister treats everyone. Meanwhile auntie (Leatrice Joy) is an airhead into astrology, and there are good running gags with her. But I’d say the most interesting person at the mansion, aside from Durbin, is the uncle. He goes out of his way to avoid his wife and kids, and he hides in the den most of the time.
The love interest isn’t introduced until the end of the first act. Stack’s character is initially presented as the intended love interest of the female cousin. There is a mix-up at an equestrian club…Durbin is almost run over by a horse, gets mud on her face and makes quite an impression. But both of them are smitten.
In true Cinderella fashion, there’s to be a ball held at Stack’s home. Durbin’s invited as a courtesy, but of course nobody expects she will want to attend. But she does, as it means she will be able to see that handsome lad again. Soon the household staff has helped come up with a beautiful dress, one that looks more exquisite than the cousin’s gown. When the cousin sees it, her jealousy takes hold, and she devises a plan to ensure that Durbin stay home and miss the ball.
We know that Deanna Durbin’s character will make it to the ball, because what’s the point of the film if she doesn’t go to the dance and get her first kiss. The household staff are upset by the cousin’s schemes and are determined to do something. With everyone else at the ball, Durbin feels quite alone in this huge mansion.
The home’s mausoleum-like quality is conveyed with spacious sets constructed on the Universal soundstage. Production designers have gone to great lengths to show how opulent, yet austere the home is. The mansion set is spectacular, and it’s easy to see why the film was nominated for an Oscar for best art design. Director Henry Koster uses some elaborate tracking shots with characters going up and down the humongous staircase.
In the next part of the story, Durbin gets to the dance with asssitance from a police escort. This occurs while aunt, uncle and cousin are detained along the road in their car, supposedly driving without proof of ownership. Those three end up going in front of a judge.
Meanwhile Durbin shows up at the ball, makes new friends and sees Stack again. There’s a particularly funny scene where an opera singer, the night’s entertainment, is being introduced and Connie thinks they heard she can sing. So she performs an aria, which is beautifully sung, while the temperamental diva storms off.
After the aria, it’s clear that everyone’s been charmed by Durbin. Stack has definitely fallen for her. This leads to a delightful waltz scene with other couples fading in and out of view…where it’s just our young couple dancing alone.
Stack says there are too many people around, and he takes Durbin outside on the balcony for some air. And of course, that’s where he kisses her. It’s been a perfect evening. Until she realizes what time it is and how she needs to get home. Of course, she loses a slipper on the way out.
At the same time the female cousin has finally arrived. She glimpses Durbin running off and becomes incensed to learn Stack danced with her. She heads to the mansion for a big confrontation.
At the mansion Durbin learns that the undle had arranged for the police escort. He also arranged for his family to be jailed. Though he wishes they hadn’t gotten out.
Durbin admits she went to the ball and that she loves Stack. In anger the cousin fires the staff and Durbin leaves the next morning. The whole household has been turned upside down. Astrology-minded auntie blames everything on a bad constellation. But she believes the stars will be back in alignment soon. Of course the stars will not be properly aligned until you-know-who finds the girl who lost her slipper.
The uncle storms into the room where his wife’s astrology books and charts are located, and he trashes everything. He’s upset his niece left the house and tells his wife to stop obsessing about the stars and get back down to earth, or she’ll really be seeing stars! He then gives his spoiled daughter a spanking and kicks his lazy son so hard in the derriere that he flies through a set of French doors. A comeuppance for each one of them.
Meanwhile Durbin’s taken a train to her old school to teach music. The headmistress welcomes her back to become a spinster like herself.
In the last sequence, Durbin meets some of the new students. She is asked to sing ‘One Fine Day’ from a Puccini opera. Of course we know she can’t end up an old maid. Cinderella got her prince in the end, and so will she.
During the final scene, while she’s singing from Puccini, Stack shows up (with the other slipper). We learn the headmistress arranged for him to find out where Durbin had gone. He comes into the room, and Durbin sees him while finishing the song. She rushes into his arms. They leave together…
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Post by topbilled on Nov 27, 2022 18:33:37 GMT
This neglected film is from 1939.
Deanna Durbin as a musically-inclined Cinderella
Two interesting items...Number one: I originally watched this film a few years ago, and when I logged on to the IMDb this morning, I noticed I had given it a perfect score of 10...something I usually don't do with her films, so this one really affected me! And number two: I realize that I am not the intended audience. I am sure it was devised for her fans at the time, mostly teen girls who idolized her and wanted to be like her, or like the characters she played.
In some of her films she is paired with Franchot Tone, who was too old for her. But Robert Stack is just the right age.
As you say, she also did well with character actors like Herbert Marshall and Charles Laughton. |
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Post by Fading Fast on Nov 27, 2022 18:46:55 GMT
Excellent review, it's very enjoyable to read. I've seen several Durbin films, but not this one. It is amazing how similar the plots of most of her movies seem. There are element of the Durbin movies' "Mad About Music" and "Because of Him" in "First Love." It probably explains why she became frustrated with Hollywood and the parts she was getting. FYI, in "Because of Him," Durbin shares screen time with the incredible Charles Laughton and the two have amazing on-screen chemistry; the movie is worth watching for that alone, plus its a fun movie.
Two interesting items...Number one: I originally watched this film a few years ago, and when I logged on to the IMDb this morning, I noticed I had given it a perfect score of 10...something I usually don't do with her films, so this one really affected me! And number two: I realize that I am not the intended audience. I am sure it was devised for her fans at the time, mostly teen girls who idolized her and wanted to be like her, or like the characters she played.
In some of her films she is paired with Franchot Tone, who was too old for her. But Robert Stack is just the right age.
As you say, she also did well with character actors like Herbert Marshall and Charles Laughton. |
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Post by sagebrush on Nov 28, 2022 15:26:25 GMT
Two interesting items...Number one: I originally watched this film a few years ago, and when I logged on to the IMDb this morning, I noticed I had given it a perfect score of 10...something I usually don't do with her films, so this one really affected me! And number two: I realize that I am not the intended audience. I am sure it was devised for her fans at the time, mostly teen girls who idolized her and wanted to be like her, or like the characters she played.
This is probably true. I never saw any of her films until I was an adult, but knew of her and saw many photos of her and how beautiful she became as an adult. As someone who was always interested in singing, this is what drew me to her films and why I like them. Also, I think she had a keen sense of comedic timing. |
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Post by topbilled on Dec 14, 2022 7:15:07 GMT
This neglected film is from 1957.
Western Colorado scenery
The emphasis in this Universal western is on the journey the main characters make– especially the one played by James Stewart. He’s a man on a mission to restore his family’s good name as well as his own sense of self worth. We learn that he once had a good job with the railroad which he lost. He’d like to get it back.
We also learn he has a younger brother (Audie Murphy) who is known as a notorious outlaw, the Utica Kid.
Supposedly Stewart’s frequent western director Anthony Mann quit the project in the early stages, because he objected to the casting of Murphy as the villainous sibling. I would also slightly object, as Mr. Murphy works best playing a troubled hero, not a thief or killer.
Many of Murphy’s scenes are with fellow gang member Dan Duryea. Certainly, Duryea knows how to play a baddie.
In addition to Stewart, Murphy and Duryea, the other main attraction is the scenery in western Colorado– Durango to be specific. The locomotive scenes featuring Stewart riding in the great outdoors with a juvenile tagalong (Brandon deWilde) are a highlight of the picture.
Though this was not quite a rehash of SHANE, deWilde’s character bonds with Stewart similar to his bonding with Alan Ladd in the earlier hit.
Along for the ride is Jay Flippen, the tycoon owner of the railroad. His character devises a plan to ensure that his business be successful despite a series of hold-ups by Duryea, Murphy and company. He hires Stewart to carry a wad of dough, ten grand, so that when the outlaws strike, there’s no money in the train’s safe. But things get complicated when Murphy grabs deWilde and rides off with him, while Duryea decides to kidnap Flippen’s wife.
At the end of the track is Paul Fix who plays one of the laborers. Ellen Corby is on hand as Fix’s crotchety wife, in what surely seems like a warm-up for her role as Grandma Walton.
At the same time there’s a waitress (Dianne Foster) who works at a local cafe. She is friendly with Stewart and has a past with his fugitive brother. Though of course, we know which one she’ll wind up with at the end of the movie.
One of the more intriguing subplots is Stewart’s determination to save deWilde from the influence of the gang. And how this mirrors his despair about losing his kid brother to lawlessness.
NIGHT PASSAGE is not a spectacular western drama. But it’s still a very watchable one, because it manages to give us plenty to contemplate when all is said and done.
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Post by topbilled on Dec 25, 2022 15:15:45 GMT
This neglected film is from 1945.
Murder she said
LADY ON TRAIN is a Christmasy crime yarn that Deanna Durbin made at Universal in 1945. She was married to Felix Jackson the film’s producer. Five years later, after she retired from motion pictures and moved to France, she married Charles David, the director. Both men had a hand in guiding her performance, and LADY ON A TRAIN is one of her better films.
The plot finds Durbin as a young woman who witnesses a murder while traveling on a high speed locomotive. Incidentally, Agatha Christie’s 1957 novel ‘4:50 from Paddington’ copies this idea, with Miss Marple also glimpsing a murder while taking a journey by train. The Christie-Marple version has the killing occur on another train that is passing by at the same time; while the Durbin film, which is based on a story by Leslie Charteris, sets the grisly act in a nearby building.
In addition to the interesting plot, we have stunning set pieces; atmospheric lighting; and memorable musical selections. Tunes include Durbin’s rendition of ‘Silent Night’ as well as ‘Night and Day.’ Plus as we’ve come to expect, Universal throws in a top-notch cast of supporting players. These performers include Edward Everett Horton; Ralph Bellamy; Dan Duryea; Elizabeth Patterson; and William Frawley.
It would be Bellamy’s last film for ten years. And Horton was about to take a short break before transitioning to television.
After witnessing the murder, Durbin’s character goes into amateur detective mode. This provides a series of amusing scenarios into which she is plunged, while trying to find information about the culprit.
She totally involves herself in the drama, using ingenuity to stymie crooks and persuade a debonair mystery writer (David Bruce) to help with her sleuthing. Maybe the film’s greatest strength is its deft handling of more than one genre. It works as a musical, a holiday film, a romantic comedy, and a murder mystery. There are even elements of horror, which Universal did so well in the 1930s and 1940s.
Deanna Durbin comes of age in this movie. She sheds her school girl image but still manages to maintain her wholesomeness and charm. And by the time the picture ends, she has tracked down the bad guy. Just as if she had been trained to do it.
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