Dad's Movies: The Hill

 Up today:  The Hill (1965).

I think this was part of another DVD box set so I don't really know if this is one my Dad sought out. The rest of the films don't seem to be in the same league as this one, at least emotionally. The box set is called "The World War II Collection, Vol. 2: Heroes Fight for Freedom" which is a bit of a stretch for this movie. 

I somehow had the idea going in that this was at least somewhat a WW2 combat film; the film's title is vague enough for this idea.

Instead, this turned out to be a fantastic prison drama that points its spotlight at the English military and abusive authority. The movie takes place during the war but confines its subject to the central characters and the cruel system they are all trapped in.

The film mostly takes place in one location set but never feels stagey. The screenplay is tight and Lumet really paces the film well and lets the cast do their best. 

That cast is something else. Everyone is great and yes, at times the performances are almost over the top but no one chews the scenery; the high voltage scenes and emotional dialogue are all earned.

Connery is so good here; one of his very best performances with a lot more range than he usually had in his acting. It's kind of hard to believe he did this movie while making his iconic Bond films. I picked this movie, which I'd not seen before, to mark the passing of Connery and I'm very glad I did. I like him in anything he did but this movie really stands out. 

This is one of the few times I've had to turn on the English subtitles in an English language film. The location (I assume) dialogue recording can get a little muddy and the accents get thick for me when the actors are screaming at each other.

The Hill is sometimes hard to watch and of course a very tense 2 hours but I am looking forward to revisiting. It deserves to be better known.

Dad's Movies: Cheyenne Autumn

I'm back at it, or back in the saddle so to speak with more of Dad's Movies. This time I'm covering the 1964 John Ford film, Cheyenne Autumn. I don't know that Dad was much of fan of this movie; I think it was part of a box set of John Ford movies so I'll give him a pass. :-)

This might be the weakest I've watched so far and is definitely the worst Ford film I've yet seen (there are a number of his movies I've yet to see though). I don't know that Dad was much of fan of this movie; I think it was part of a box set of John Ford movies so I'll give him a pass. :-)

Ford was very obviously going for a sympathetic take on the plight of Native Americans which he hinted at in earlier Westerns. However, the movie is a real slog to get through and feels every bit of its 154 minute running time. The pacing is poor and the story very episodic with little character development. The American Indian characters are given some story time but the leads, all played by non-native actors, are so undeveloped as characters that its very hard to empathize with them even when the white leading character, Captain Archer (!), played decently enough by Richard Widmark endlessly tells us we should via a lot of droning voice overs. Sure, I always like seeing Ricardo Montalban work but he's pretty much wasted playing a tribal leader.

The one woman who has much of a character isn't bad (Carroll Baker) but she too gets the job of explaining to us how badly the Indians are being treated. Karl Malden plays a cartoonish German post commander with some awkward Nazi German characterization...watch that accent, Karl!

There is also this sequence in the middle of the film that takes place in (Artful) Dodge City with James Stewart plunge Wyatt Earp. The section was cut shortly after the movie's premiere and I think it was a good move. This part is very jokey - a tonal clash with the other parts of the movie and seems to have little to do with the rest of the film, plot wise. No one would miss the section and the lazy acting that goes along with the scenes.  Speaking of jokey, as Ford was prone to do, there is an Irish character, the post doctor but at least he isn't as silly as some of the similar sidekicks Ford populated his Westerns with.

I think it's fair to wonder what kind of progressive Western could have come out of Hollywood in 1964 and don't get me wrong:  this movie is pretty progressive for the time. The fact that it's acknowledged that white people treated Native Americans badly and cheated them out of their lands is a step in the right direction but the movie is so clumsy and well, boring that it comes off as a lame lecture or a mediocre documentary. How boring? One of the credit title cards reads, "Edward G. Robinson as the Secretary of the Interior"! Oof.

The musical score is decent (Alex North) and the 70mm Monument Valley (which stands in for the Dakotas in parts, LOL) cinematography is beautiful. I don't know how this movie could have really worked without some serious re writes and is now a somewhat sad footnote to Ford's output of films. This makes me wonder if Ford needed to retire earlier. 

Dad's Movies: A New Leaf (1971)

Today, it's A New Leaf (1971), an odd but very well done comedy from Elaine May whose career was sadly cut short after the financial disaster of "Ishtar". 

I sometimes tire of Walter Matthau in some roles but he's great in this film. Apparently the original version of this movie, before the studio took control of it from May, was longer and had Matthau's character murdering two people. This would have definitely moved this film into very dark comedy territory, much further than it is in the version we have now. The film does have an edge to it but there is a sweetness to the whole thing that is satisfying and the character does still work for me, even knowing that there was more range perhaps in May's version. I suppose it's a matter of what kind of story you want to tell here for the movie as it is now makes it hard to buy that Matthau's character would actually kill people. Sure, he fantasizes about getting rid of his new wife but you don't actually think he'd go there as there's noting in the lead up that would make us think he'd do that. Again, it would probably be a different kind of movie so probably an apples/oranges thing. 

In any case, the movie we have is really fun. May's performance is fantastic; her character is genuinely irritating at times and hard to warm up to which makes the later part of the movie work. We like her more and she's a developed character with an arc just like Matthau's - it's a rare movie that can balance the sweet with the cynical/sarcastic.

Dad's Movies: Command Decision (1949)

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!").

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

Dad's Movies: "Captain From Castile" (1947)

I watched this one a few months back but thanks to our ongoing pandemic, I am getting around to writing a few words about these "fillums".

So we have another Tyrone Power movie:  Captain From Castile (1947)

This is one of the better Power movies and much better than the average Golden Age Hollywood historical epic. I've probably said it before but I find the older historic/period pieces of 30s-40s Hollywood studios to not age as well as some of the other genres. This one holds up better due to its location shooting in Mexico and its willingness to at least somewhat portray the cruelty of the Spanish conquests in Central/South America. The Catholic Church gets a more whitewashed treatment here for obvious reasons:  the Inquisition is portrayed as Evil but the Church is less directly connected with it; a few bad apples so to speak. It is usually a mistake to ascribe modern attitudes to 70+ year old movies but this one tries a little harder than most. There is almost a recognition in Power's character that what he and his fellow Spaniard Cortes is doing just might be wrong.

The cast is very good. Power mostly fits his character well and Jean Peters, whom I don't remember from other movies I've seen, is also good. Cesar Romero might be the best however as the killer Cortes. Cortes comes off as a smooth and simultaneously brutal operator.

One aspect that was attractive to my Dad:  the musical score by Fox stalwart Alfred Newman. The score is typically over the top and dramatic but is one of his best ones I've heard and usually fits the movie.

I watched this on a DVD rip but am tempted to get the BD-this big budget Technicolor production would be great to see in HD.