It's back to WWII with Command Decision (1949).
This is an interesting one: a movie about WWII bombing that doesn't really have any depiction of combat or other action. Loading bombs onto B-17s and one scene of an emergency landing make up the bulk of the action. No, this is a very talky show about the importance of strategic bombing during the war and the (according to its author at least) need to just let those military men do their damn jobs! The main idea here is that Clark Gable's General Dennis character has a secret mission: the destruction of a German facility that is working on new jet fighters that, according to the movie will tip the balance in the war (this is pretty exaggerated here as the German jet capacity wasn't nearly as large as the movie portrays). The problem is that the facilities are deep in Germany and the bombers have to fly beyond the range of fighter support, leaving them vulnerable to attack so each mission is racking up heavy casualties. Those losses and the pressure by visiting politicians and reporters to minimize the numbers of American dead are the conflicts here. Dennis truly believes in the mission but his superiors and a wary press are questioning it.
In the end, the film clearly comes down on the side of not questioning the people making the "command decisions". The reporters come off as weak and the civilian elected leaders are meddling fools who must be talked to like children. Now, I don't doubt that there is truth in this and things do change during a war setting but the film is very one sided about this. It's also conveniently free of any concern about the horrible civilian losses during the war due to the gazillion tons of bombs that were dropped on cities. I wouldn't expect this kind of perspective in a film made during the war, but this was a few years later and in that context, it seems already retrograde and a little bit propagandistic. By 1949, America was more ready to hear a better balanced story of the war (again, this is probably all present in the source play). Still, it's an interesting show and is different from most movies I've seen of the genre. I think the most powerful parts are the drama about Gable's character dealing with the pressure of having so many men in his command sent to their graves every day; the scenes where he is dealing with this are good.
This was based on a broadway play and it doesn't seem as though it was changed a whole lot for its film adaptation. Most of the movie is confined to a few static sets with the characters delivering long winded speeches. The show is slow going at the beginning but comes more alive in the second half.
Gable is actually good here, even in a non action role. Van Johnson plays a snarky, proto-Radar O'Reilly sergeant and Walter Pigeon as Gable's boss. Pidgeon rattles off his speeches well but seems exactly the same as his Dr. Morbius character from Forbidden Planet ("The Krell must not be allowed to develop jets!").
Tuesday, May 26, 2020
Friday, May 8, 2020
Dad's Movies: The Bitter Tea of General Yen (1933)
Today we have The Bitter Tea of General Yen (1933)
This movie came up conveniently while I am reading this book on director Frank Capra (this was one of his earlier films, perhaps the earliest important one) and it was an interesting choice as it's not really the stereotypical Capra movie like It's A Wonderful Life or Mr. Smith Goes to Washington.
This is mainly an "exotic" romantic drama, set as it is during a Chinese civil war. The film is tough sledding for a modern audience as you'd expect given the time it was made, the casting of a Swedish actor to play the Chinese general, and the usual colonialist dismissal of other cultures. However, again given the context of the time, the movie does push some boundaries here and there.
The American missionaries aren't perfect and there is doubt expressed in the dialogue about whether their work in China is worthwhile (this is much more prominent in the source novel which doesn't have the romantic angle but is instead more focused on the philosophical differences between Western and Chinese culture) but the biggest thing here is the potential for a relationship between Stanwyk's character, the fiancee of an American missionary, and the Chinese general. In fact she even has a dream sequence where Yen comes to her bed in the night and is clearly meant to be sexual. This was a pre-code film so anything even suggesting of desire between a white woman and any man not similarly white was soon to be forbidden in American movies which makes this movie an interesting watch.
The performances are actually good. This was an early performance in Barbara Stanwyck's career and while she's good here as Megan, she got better in future movies with a great long-lasting run of movies and television. Nils Asther, as Yen is pretty wooden but I suspect it's the part he was playing. I will say that while he's not the most interesting guy, he does at least have some amount of depth. However, I felt it was a stretch to see what Megan finds desirable about him other than his being so exotic but maybe that's the point here. It also helps that her fiancee is sympathetic if uninteresting.
This is also one of the most artistic films Capra did before settling into his usual style which would, at least for a while, serve him well. There are interesting readings of this movie regarding Capra's mental makeup: frustrated romance and suicidal ideas emerge here and did in at least one earlier Capra movie plus several future ones (Wonderful Life being a prime example of Capra's use of suicide in his movies). The book I'm reading about Capra also mentions that Capra had been having an affair with Stanwyck that had recently ended around the time this movie was made. The implication seems to be that Capra projected his own self into the character of Yen: this thing between me and Megan/Stanwyck isn't going to be possible so I no longer have anything to live for. At least that's the idea. The film also has a lot of visual flair with a fairly dreary mood; much of the movie seems to take place on rainy nights.
So, an interesting movie that I'd tentatively recommend if you can look past the problematic issues and definitely worth seeking out for anyone interested in Capra's lesser known movies.
This movie came up conveniently while I am reading this book on director Frank Capra (this was one of his earlier films, perhaps the earliest important one) and it was an interesting choice as it's not really the stereotypical Capra movie like It's A Wonderful Life or Mr. Smith Goes to Washington.
This is mainly an "exotic" romantic drama, set as it is during a Chinese civil war. The film is tough sledding for a modern audience as you'd expect given the time it was made, the casting of a Swedish actor to play the Chinese general, and the usual colonialist dismissal of other cultures. However, again given the context of the time, the movie does push some boundaries here and there.
The American missionaries aren't perfect and there is doubt expressed in the dialogue about whether their work in China is worthwhile (this is much more prominent in the source novel which doesn't have the romantic angle but is instead more focused on the philosophical differences between Western and Chinese culture) but the biggest thing here is the potential for a relationship between Stanwyk's character, the fiancee of an American missionary, and the Chinese general. In fact she even has a dream sequence where Yen comes to her bed in the night and is clearly meant to be sexual. This was a pre-code film so anything even suggesting of desire between a white woman and any man not similarly white was soon to be forbidden in American movies which makes this movie an interesting watch.
The performances are actually good. This was an early performance in Barbara Stanwyck's career and while she's good here as Megan, she got better in future movies with a great long-lasting run of movies and television. Nils Asther, as Yen is pretty wooden but I suspect it's the part he was playing. I will say that while he's not the most interesting guy, he does at least have some amount of depth. However, I felt it was a stretch to see what Megan finds desirable about him other than his being so exotic but maybe that's the point here. It also helps that her fiancee is sympathetic if uninteresting.
This is also one of the most artistic films Capra did before settling into his usual style which would, at least for a while, serve him well. There are interesting readings of this movie regarding Capra's mental makeup: frustrated romance and suicidal ideas emerge here and did in at least one earlier Capra movie plus several future ones (Wonderful Life being a prime example of Capra's use of suicide in his movies). The book I'm reading about Capra also mentions that Capra had been having an affair with Stanwyck that had recently ended around the time this movie was made. The implication seems to be that Capra projected his own self into the character of Yen: this thing between me and Megan/Stanwyck isn't going to be possible so I no longer have anything to live for. At least that's the idea. The film also has a lot of visual flair with a fairly dreary mood; much of the movie seems to take place on rainy nights.
So, an interesting movie that I'd tentatively recommend if you can look past the problematic issues and definitely worth seeking out for anyone interested in Capra's lesser known movies.
Tuesday, April 28, 2020
Dad's Movies: Cat People (1942)
My dad wasn't a fan of cats so this one is kind of funny.
When I was growing up, we kids would ask why we didn't get a cat and our mother often told us our Dad was allergic to cats.
He wasn't.
But this shut down our pesky questions about getting a cat, plus dogs are better!
Oh yeah, the movie. This was in a box set of 1940s RKO horror/thrillers so I'm not 100% sure that Dad was a fan of this movie but it is actually decent for what it is.
This was made in the period when the RKO studio changed management at the same time as they kicked out Orson Welles and ruined one of his films (The Magnificent Ambersons); going internally with the motto, "showmanship instead of genius". The producer Val Lewton was tasked with making a series of low budget thrillers and horror movies at this time at the studio. It's a happy coincidence that many of these films, including this one, often transcended their quick, cheap production values.
The performances are generally good with the French across Simone Simon being the standout with a memorable, eccentric take as the cursed Cat Woman. The film has some great photography which really makes the most of the limited sets and really sets the weird and creepy atmosphere for the movie. At 73 minutes, it's also very tightly paced. There is also some aspects of psychology that work reasonably well here. Hollywood discovered psychotherapy in the 1940s and often exploited it as a silly gimmick. The psychologist character is not very sympathetic here and the subject is definitely treated with skepticism (Ebert described it as "The Vincent Price school of psychology"). Even though the balance between human psychology and the supernatural tips in favor of the Cats, there is some interesting human nature gold to be mined within the film (sexual repression perhaps?).
The movie was very influential and worth watching for sure. I watched this on a DVD which looked OK; Criterion has a blu ray for this one which is probably much better.
Roger Ebert wrote a good essay for this movie in his Great Movies collection:
https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/great-movie-cat-people-1942
When I was growing up, we kids would ask why we didn't get a cat and our mother often told us our Dad was allergic to cats.
He wasn't.
But this shut down our pesky questions about getting a cat, plus dogs are better!
Oh yeah, the movie. This was in a box set of 1940s RKO horror/thrillers so I'm not 100% sure that Dad was a fan of this movie but it is actually decent for what it is.
This was made in the period when the RKO studio changed management at the same time as they kicked out Orson Welles and ruined one of his films (The Magnificent Ambersons); going internally with the motto, "showmanship instead of genius". The producer Val Lewton was tasked with making a series of low budget thrillers and horror movies at this time at the studio. It's a happy coincidence that many of these films, including this one, often transcended their quick, cheap production values.
The performances are generally good with the French across Simone Simon being the standout with a memorable, eccentric take as the cursed Cat Woman. The film has some great photography which really makes the most of the limited sets and really sets the weird and creepy atmosphere for the movie. At 73 minutes, it's also very tightly paced. There is also some aspects of psychology that work reasonably well here. Hollywood discovered psychotherapy in the 1940s and often exploited it as a silly gimmick. The psychologist character is not very sympathetic here and the subject is definitely treated with skepticism (Ebert described it as "The Vincent Price school of psychology"). Even though the balance between human psychology and the supernatural tips in favor of the Cats, there is some interesting human nature gold to be mined within the film (sexual repression perhaps?).
The movie was very influential and worth watching for sure. I watched this on a DVD which looked OK; Criterion has a blu ray for this one which is probably much better.
Roger Ebert wrote a good essay for this movie in his Great Movies collection:
https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/great-movie-cat-people-1942
Friday, April 17, 2020
Dad's Movies: Carnegie Hall (1947)
Up next: Carnegie Hall (1947)
This is another oddity, a filmed valentine to Carnegie Hall and the world of music (at least classical music) from director Edward G. Ulmer. I have to say I was surprised to see his name on this film as I mainly associate him with movies like The Black Cat and the noir classic Detour. But it turns out that Ulmer did a lot of different genre films that were all over the map: like The Man From Planet X (1951)!
Like "A Song is Born", the main attraction of this movie is all of the musical talent on display. The movie was made with legendary conductor Fritz Reiner and has many famous musicians. Musically this movie is more satisfying than "Song" as there is simply more music; the performances are allowed to go on longer. The plot involves an Irish immigrant mother who gets a job cleaning floors or something at the Hall and has a son. She is so moved by all of the music she is immersed in that she does everything she can to make sure her kid is a successful classical pianist. As luck would have it, once the son ventures out of the sheltered life of Carnegie Hall, he's immediately tempted to take a job playing for Vaughn Monroe's band which is completely unacceptable to his mother (she should have been more upset that he chose Monroe and not held out for Benny Goodman etc). The son and mother are brought back together when he performs at the hall as a famous jazz/classical composer/performer appearing with Harry James. Aww.
The non-musical elements of this film are better than "Song" but the story/characters are still pretty two dimensional and that's okay. It's just fun to see all of the great music being filmed well.
This is another oddity, a filmed valentine to Carnegie Hall and the world of music (at least classical music) from director Edward G. Ulmer. I have to say I was surprised to see his name on this film as I mainly associate him with movies like The Black Cat and the noir classic Detour. But it turns out that Ulmer did a lot of different genre films that were all over the map: like The Man From Planet X (1951)!
Like "A Song is Born", the main attraction of this movie is all of the musical talent on display. The movie was made with legendary conductor Fritz Reiner and has many famous musicians. Musically this movie is more satisfying than "Song" as there is simply more music; the performances are allowed to go on longer. The plot involves an Irish immigrant mother who gets a job cleaning floors or something at the Hall and has a son. She is so moved by all of the music she is immersed in that she does everything she can to make sure her kid is a successful classical pianist. As luck would have it, once the son ventures out of the sheltered life of Carnegie Hall, he's immediately tempted to take a job playing for Vaughn Monroe's band which is completely unacceptable to his mother (she should have been more upset that he chose Monroe and not held out for Benny Goodman etc). The son and mother are brought back together when he performs at the hall as a famous jazz/classical composer/performer appearing with Harry James. Aww.
The non-musical elements of this film are better than "Song" but the story/characters are still pretty two dimensional and that's okay. It's just fun to see all of the great music being filmed well.
Tuesday, April 14, 2020
Dad's Movies: "The Longest Day" (1962)
Yes, friends, I did sit through this epic: The Longest Day (1962)
This is one of those somewhat (well maybe less so today) well known movies I had been meaning to get to for years. I would see it pop up here and there, either on a video rental shelf or a Netflix screen and think that yes, I should watch this sometime. Sometime... That time finally happened and I am glad I waited to catch it on Blu Ray. This film benefits a lot from a larger/clearer image and good sound. I can't imagine sitting through the whole thing on VHS/analog television. It's a 3 hour long, wide screen black and white movie that is part subtitled.
Let's talk about the subtitles. This has to be one of the earlier American movies that had extended sequences where there are foreign languages being spoken, certainly one of the first WW2 movies to show Germans actually speaking German. As entertaining as it can be for Nazis to be portrayed by charming English actors, this does give the movie a more realistic feel for sure (also in this case, French!).
The film does in some ways try to really document the whole D Day event. There is lots of detail given about the planning and execution of the attacks and the enemy is much more fleshed out than I'm used to seeing in generally one-sided American or British WW2 movies. The black and white cinematography helps here as well.
Where the movie fails in the Realism Department is the massive use of international star actors. Go look at the cast list for this movie; it's quite astounding and in some ways makes the movie worth watching to see so many stars (some of them European) in one sitting. Where else can you see both John Wayne and Gert Fröbe (aka Goldfinger)?! Some of the cast is fine but can be distracting to see so many famous faces. It frequently took me out of the story and counteracts the "just the facts" nature that the (three) directors were, I believe going for.
I think the root of the issue here is that the film is at odds with what it's trying to accomplish. If they really wanted a star-filled spectacle, then the overall production needed to reflect that. If it's supposed to be the definitive Hollywood account of D Day, then ditch most of the stunt casting and focus on the details of the events and a few key characters. I really have no idea why they aren't calling me for movie production advice!
So, if you appreciate the history angle and the novelty of seeing all of them thar stars, check this one out for sure-I found it best to watch over 2 nights.
This is one of those somewhat (well maybe less so today) well known movies I had been meaning to get to for years. I would see it pop up here and there, either on a video rental shelf or a Netflix screen and think that yes, I should watch this sometime. Sometime... That time finally happened and I am glad I waited to catch it on Blu Ray. This film benefits a lot from a larger/clearer image and good sound. I can't imagine sitting through the whole thing on VHS/analog television. It's a 3 hour long, wide screen black and white movie that is part subtitled.
Let's talk about the subtitles. This has to be one of the earlier American movies that had extended sequences where there are foreign languages being spoken, certainly one of the first WW2 movies to show Germans actually speaking German. As entertaining as it can be for Nazis to be portrayed by charming English actors, this does give the movie a more realistic feel for sure (also in this case, French!).
The film does in some ways try to really document the whole D Day event. There is lots of detail given about the planning and execution of the attacks and the enemy is much more fleshed out than I'm used to seeing in generally one-sided American or British WW2 movies. The black and white cinematography helps here as well.
Where the movie fails in the Realism Department is the massive use of international star actors. Go look at the cast list for this movie; it's quite astounding and in some ways makes the movie worth watching to see so many stars (some of them European) in one sitting. Where else can you see both John Wayne and Gert Fröbe (aka Goldfinger)?! Some of the cast is fine but can be distracting to see so many famous faces. It frequently took me out of the story and counteracts the "just the facts" nature that the (three) directors were, I believe going for.
I think the root of the issue here is that the film is at odds with what it's trying to accomplish. If they really wanted a star-filled spectacle, then the overall production needed to reflect that. If it's supposed to be the definitive Hollywood account of D Day, then ditch most of the stunt casting and focus on the details of the events and a few key characters. I really have no idea why they aren't calling me for movie production advice!
So, if you appreciate the history angle and the novelty of seeing all of them thar stars, check this one out for sure-I found it best to watch over 2 nights.
Thursday, April 9, 2020
Dad's Movies: "A Song Is Born" (1948)
Up today: A Song Is Born (1948)
This is an odd one; a musical remake of the classic 1941 Howard Hawks/Billy Wilder film Ball of Fire. The earlier film is one I haven't seen yet but I have to imagine that it's a lot better than this one, despite it also being directed by Hawks. The remake seems to exist to update the older version in color and add a lot of musical stars of the era. The non-musical scenes are pretty goofy, and not in a good way. I generally found myself waiting for the next appearance of one of the music world stars though it was funny to see Benny Goodman having to read dialogue as one of the "professors".
However, if you're a fan of jazz/pop music from the 1930s-40s, the movie is worth watching for all of the famous people who show up including Louis Armstrong (whom I'd watch in just about anything), Benny Goodman, Lionel Hampton, Benny Carter, and Tommy Dorsey.
I've come to the conclusion that Danny Kaye, while a big draw in his day, hasn't aged well for me. He can be charming in small doses but for me wears out his welcome in leading roles. He's one of the reasons I find the film White Christmas so inferior to its earlier version, Holiday Inn, but that's another story.
Virginia Mayo and the other non-musical cast are fine in their fairly stock characters. We really just want to hear more jam sessions with the musicians; there's way too little time spent with them.
This is an odd one; a musical remake of the classic 1941 Howard Hawks/Billy Wilder film Ball of Fire. The earlier film is one I haven't seen yet but I have to imagine that it's a lot better than this one, despite it also being directed by Hawks. The remake seems to exist to update the older version in color and add a lot of musical stars of the era. The non-musical scenes are pretty goofy, and not in a good way. I generally found myself waiting for the next appearance of one of the music world stars though it was funny to see Benny Goodman having to read dialogue as one of the "professors".
However, if you're a fan of jazz/pop music from the 1930s-40s, the movie is worth watching for all of the famous people who show up including Louis Armstrong (whom I'd watch in just about anything), Benny Goodman, Lionel Hampton, Benny Carter, and Tommy Dorsey.
I've come to the conclusion that Danny Kaye, while a big draw in his day, hasn't aged well for me. He can be charming in small doses but for me wears out his welcome in leading roles. He's one of the reasons I find the film White Christmas so inferior to its earlier version, Holiday Inn, but that's another story.
Virginia Mayo and the other non-musical cast are fine in their fairly stock characters. We really just want to hear more jam sessions with the musicians; there's way too little time spent with them.
Monday, April 6, 2020
Dad's Movies: "Run Silent, Run Deep" (1958)
I skipped ahead on the list when I saw this pop up on BD a while back.
So, Run Silent, Run Deep (1958) doesn't need much commentary from me. This is one of the influential submarine movies which seems to have influenced many TV shows (Star Trek, anyone?) and films. A wartime pressure cooker which pits two strong personalities against each other. Clark Gable's commander goes against orders to carry out a revenge mission and his second in command, Burt Lancaster, does not approve.
I think in movies like this, we know what we are getting with leads like these; whether you enjoy this is mostly dependent on whether you like these actors, especially Gable who played similar versions of the same character throughout his career. The other key is for larger than life leading actors to be put into appropriate characters. This film nails that criteria for sure.
Robert Wise directs and keeps the movie tight and the performances aren't out of control. This isn't Das Boot or anything but for the late 1950s, it has a good degree of realism. Very entertaining.
So, Run Silent, Run Deep (1958) doesn't need much commentary from me. This is one of the influential submarine movies which seems to have influenced many TV shows (Star Trek, anyone?) and films. A wartime pressure cooker which pits two strong personalities against each other. Clark Gable's commander goes against orders to carry out a revenge mission and his second in command, Burt Lancaster, does not approve.
I think in movies like this, we know what we are getting with leads like these; whether you enjoy this is mostly dependent on whether you like these actors, especially Gable who played similar versions of the same character throughout his career. The other key is for larger than life leading actors to be put into appropriate characters. This film nails that criteria for sure.
Robert Wise directs and keeps the movie tight and the performances aren't out of control. This isn't Das Boot or anything but for the late 1950s, it has a good degree of realism. Very entertaining.
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