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Post by Fading Fast on Sept 25, 2023 14:09:30 GMT
I went back through the "overview" thread for Sunday Live! and confirmed my first impression, "Letters" movie month has been my favorite of the year so far. Each movie was strong on its own and it was a nice blend of classics and kind of obscure ones.
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Post by topbilled on Sept 25, 2023 14:49:57 GMT
Yesterday I did something I don't ordinarily do. I watched THE 13TH LETTER earlier in the morning, so that when we watched it together, it was more of an encore viewing for me. I did this because I had found notes I had written ten years ago the very first time I watched it. I wasn't sure my notes were correct. So I didn't want to go into our group viewing with the wrong ideas about the film.
As a result of watching it earlier in the morning, I went from being "misled" by Boyer's character, the way the rest of the town (and the film's audience) are misled by his lies...to watching it the second time, knowing he was a liar and the actual letter writer. So every time he had a scene with Rennie, or when he was overseeing the handwriting analysis to help the police, I saw it from another perspective, almost like a silent accomplice of his! LOL And this second viewing yesterday helped me appreciate the intricacies of the plot, the devious minded nature of Boyer's character and the multiple psychological layers of the story.
I don't think this is a film you can just watch one time to fully make sense of it.
Otto Preminger had many battles in the 1940s and 1950s with the production code office. He detested the code and often worked to subvert it. I think this film's subject matter is perfect for him, because in a way he gets to act like Boyer's character...to take this seemingly innocent town, reveal the shadowy subtext and expose the upstanding citizens for the hypocrites they are. Ironically, some of the film's most realistic scenes take place inside the church...but these people are so sinful and have so many things to hide, that they are easy prey.
Kudos to Boyer for playing against type as such a despicable man. His next film, Columbia's THE HAPPY TIME, had him once again in Quebec, as a loving kind-hearted French Canadian patriarch, brother to Louis Jourdan and father to Bobby Driscoll. He usually played very likable characters, but in THE 13TH LETTER that is not the case at all.
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Post by topbilled on Sept 27, 2023 2:12:58 GMT
The Criterion Channel is featuring a bunch of Linda Darnell films in October:
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