I went into this with a relatively open mind, not knowing much about it except it was an early Bob Clark work and has claim to being the first slasher film. Many of the tropes it either introduced or was one of their to exploit are highly familiar now - obscene phone calls, creepiness in the attic, POV of the killer, the phone call coming from inside the house, sorority girls - and maybe they were familiar then, I'm not that across the history of the genre, but it is very well directed - genuinely spooky and I got chills watching some scenes.
There is lots of effective poking around the house at night and going up to the attic and down to the basement etc. The logic of the script doesn't really hold up but if you go with it like I did you'll have a good time. Good use of obscene phone calls and an unexpectedly pseudo feminist bent as most of the bad characters are trying to oppress women - the killer is misogynist, Keir Dullea wants Olivia Hussey to have his baby even though she doesn't.
Hussey is a perfect slasher film heroine - beautiful, likeable, vulnerable (she looks so scared you have no confidence she'll survive). Margot Kidder has fun as the obligatory slutty friend, Keir Dullea is appropriately creepy and John Saxon does a cool turn as a cop (most of his scenes done in the one set, the cop shop). I didn't mind the ending.
Sunday, January 31, 2016
Saturday, January 30, 2016
Movie review - "The Hour Before the Dawn" (1944) ** (warning: spoilers)
Veronica Lake had a hot streak matched by few other actresses in the early 1940s - she became a star very quickly with I Wanted Wings then appeared in a series of classics - Sullivans Travels, I Married a Witch, This Gun for Hire, The Glass Key. Her hair was a natural phenomenon, but the government asked her to cut it off because apparently it was harming productivity; she did, then gave hints she had potential as a dramatic actress in So Proudly We Hail.
This movie was her big shot as a proper drama star - it flopped and she was shuttled off to comedies and noirs. It's a crap movie but it's not really her fault - yes she's not very good, uncomfortable with an accent and not really capable of conveying too much depth, but lots of other people are bad too. Franchot Tone is less convincing as a Pom than Lake is as an Austrian refugee; the kid actor David Leland is truly shocking; John Sutton, a super wet drip got on my nerves something fierce as Tone's brother; the actors playing Lake's fellow agents all ham it up. There's some painful plucky Britons acting during an air raid.
There is novelty in Tone playing a conscientious objector but it also means he's passive for most of the running time, unaware his wife is up to no good. There's no chemistry between him and Lake - you never feel he loves her, or she feels anything for him other than contempt. Frank Tuttle's direction lacks atmosphere. And what's with that ending where Tone murders Lake - okay yes she's tried to kill him but she's run out of bullets so its murder - then cut to him happily flying in a bomber? This film is more irritating the longer it goes on.
This movie was her big shot as a proper drama star - it flopped and she was shuttled off to comedies and noirs. It's a crap movie but it's not really her fault - yes she's not very good, uncomfortable with an accent and not really capable of conveying too much depth, but lots of other people are bad too. Franchot Tone is less convincing as a Pom than Lake is as an Austrian refugee; the kid actor David Leland is truly shocking; John Sutton, a super wet drip got on my nerves something fierce as Tone's brother; the actors playing Lake's fellow agents all ham it up. There's some painful plucky Britons acting during an air raid.
There is novelty in Tone playing a conscientious objector but it also means he's passive for most of the running time, unaware his wife is up to no good. There's no chemistry between him and Lake - you never feel he loves her, or she feels anything for him other than contempt. Frank Tuttle's direction lacks atmosphere. And what's with that ending where Tone murders Lake - okay yes she's tried to kill him but she's run out of bullets so its murder - then cut to him happily flying in a bomber? This film is more irritating the longer it goes on.
Movie review - "The Great Gatsby" (1949) *** (re-viewing)
A fascinating movie that was hard to see for a long time, which was a shame because there were plenty of good things about it and it was a decent enough 40s Hollywood attempt to tackle F Scott Fitzgerald. It was a passion project for writer-producer Richard Maibaum who had made OSS with Alan Ladd and became convinced he was just the guy to bring Gatsby to life - and you know what he was right. Ladd is very well cast as an insecure guy with a ruthless streak who could become a gangster and pine after a long lost love, and feel ill at ease among high society.
As an actor he had his limitations, there's no denying it - he needed a better director than Elliot Nugent, someone who could protect him more. I wish this had been directed by John Farrow who apparently left the film after a disagreement with Maibaum over casting - Farrow wanted Gene Tierney not Betty Field, and I feel he was right. Field has her moments but got on my nerves; Tierney would've been just right.
Maibaum had to make dumb script things to get this pass the censor - the opening scene at Gatsby's grave with Carraway quoting proverbs, Nick Carraway doing a lot of "voice of conscience" acting. Others are simply shoddy writing such as the exposition when we first meet Daisy and they talk about Tom's past.
Other bits of this are clunky too - Ruth Hussey got on my nerves as Jordan (all that female golfing and apparent cynicism; I never believed she was into MacDonald Carey for a second); I wasn't sure what was the point of Gatsby's lustings over the wife of his mentor Henry Hull (it cheapened his love for Daisy showing this). (I would've loved to have seen more of Gatsby's rise to riches via being a gangster).
But much of it is superb - MacDonald Carey is perfect as Nick Carraway, Howard da Silva moving as George Wilson, Tom Sullivan is very good as Tom, Shelley Winters perfect as Myrtle, Ed Begley Jnr is great as Lupus and I always enjoy Elisha Cook Jnr. There's fantastic moments like Gatsby's reuniting with Daisy, the death of Myrtle and revenge of Wilson, and the climax. It's very much a half-good adaptation but it should've been better known and I wish Ladd had made more films along this line.
As an actor he had his limitations, there's no denying it - he needed a better director than Elliot Nugent, someone who could protect him more. I wish this had been directed by John Farrow who apparently left the film after a disagreement with Maibaum over casting - Farrow wanted Gene Tierney not Betty Field, and I feel he was right. Field has her moments but got on my nerves; Tierney would've been just right.
Maibaum had to make dumb script things to get this pass the censor - the opening scene at Gatsby's grave with Carraway quoting proverbs, Nick Carraway doing a lot of "voice of conscience" acting. Others are simply shoddy writing such as the exposition when we first meet Daisy and they talk about Tom's past.
Other bits of this are clunky too - Ruth Hussey got on my nerves as Jordan (all that female golfing and apparent cynicism; I never believed she was into MacDonald Carey for a second); I wasn't sure what was the point of Gatsby's lustings over the wife of his mentor Henry Hull (it cheapened his love for Daisy showing this). (I would've loved to have seen more of Gatsby's rise to riches via being a gangster).
But much of it is superb - MacDonald Carey is perfect as Nick Carraway, Howard da Silva moving as George Wilson, Tom Sullivan is very good as Tom, Shelley Winters perfect as Myrtle, Ed Begley Jnr is great as Lupus and I always enjoy Elisha Cook Jnr. There's fantastic moments like Gatsby's reuniting with Daisy, the death of Myrtle and revenge of Wilson, and the climax. It's very much a half-good adaptation but it should've been better known and I wish Ladd had made more films along this line.
Friday, January 29, 2016
Movie review - "Saigon" (1948) (re-viewing) **1/2
A film that feels cobbled together from elements of previous Paramount hit films, particularly ones starring Alan Ladd: he's a war veteran in the third world (as in Calcutta); he's a pilot tight with members of his bomb crew (Calcutta, The Blue Dahlia); one of the flyers is terminally ill (You Came Along); there's a dodgy criminal (Morris Carnovsky), his henchman (Luis Van Rooten) and mysterious police chief (Luther Adler); Veronica Lake is co star (The Glass Key, The Blue Dahlia); Ladd is kind of in love with his best male friend and they also both love the same girl (The Glass Key).
Normally Ladd's co stars are William Bendix and Howard da Silva and John Farrow directs. Here his best friends are played by Wally Cassell and Douglas Dick and the director is Leslie Fenton. Actually everyone does a decent job - Cassell is no Bendix but is amiable and Dick is effective in the most sympathetic role (the terminally ill friend who falls for Lake. Ladd's performance is a solid star effort - the role fits him like a glove, a tough guys guy who has had his heart broken in the past.
The story is better than I remembered, or at least starts off that way: Ladd finds out that Dick is terminally ill and decides to show him a great time; to finance it they take an expensive job from Carnovsky and winds up flying from Shanghai to Saigon with Carnovsky's secretary, Lake, and a mysterious suitcase. Dick falls in love with Lake but she loves Ladd. So far so interesting, and the film throws in a mysterious French policeman (Adler).
Then the movie gets murky. Ladd discovers that Adler and Lake are smugglers, which should come as a shock to no one, especially Ladd who clearly took the job to make easy cash - it feels unfair he doesn't return the money to Carnovsky; he agreed to do a job, why not do it? Carnovsky stays out of the action far too long - he appears at the beginning and then at the end, and the movie lacks a villain for the in between bit. I kept expecting Adler to do this but he's actually a decent copper when the film needed someone more enigmatic (or another character). There's too much stuff of our characters chugging along down river chatting when another complication was needed (a former Nazi, another baddy).
Wally Cassell sees Lake and Ladd kiss but there's no dramatic pay off - then Cassell saves Ladd's life and dies, which is a downer. The final fight where Carnovsky fights Dick who is conveniently killed feels underwhelming. Dick never finds out that Ladd and Lake have fallen in love so there's no confrontation.
The movie feels chopped up a bit, the victim of rewriting and or editing/shooting. Carnovsky has this great entrance talking about how he's a coward and pays his employees well, then never does anything interesting again. It seems as though Ladd is going to con Van Rooyen to betray his boss but he never does.
So for the first half I was going 'hey this is pretty good' then it goes down hill.
Normally Ladd's co stars are William Bendix and Howard da Silva and John Farrow directs. Here his best friends are played by Wally Cassell and Douglas Dick and the director is Leslie Fenton. Actually everyone does a decent job - Cassell is no Bendix but is amiable and Dick is effective in the most sympathetic role (the terminally ill friend who falls for Lake. Ladd's performance is a solid star effort - the role fits him like a glove, a tough guys guy who has had his heart broken in the past.
The story is better than I remembered, or at least starts off that way: Ladd finds out that Dick is terminally ill and decides to show him a great time; to finance it they take an expensive job from Carnovsky and winds up flying from Shanghai to Saigon with Carnovsky's secretary, Lake, and a mysterious suitcase. Dick falls in love with Lake but she loves Ladd. So far so interesting, and the film throws in a mysterious French policeman (Adler).
Then the movie gets murky. Ladd discovers that Adler and Lake are smugglers, which should come as a shock to no one, especially Ladd who clearly took the job to make easy cash - it feels unfair he doesn't return the money to Carnovsky; he agreed to do a job, why not do it? Carnovsky stays out of the action far too long - he appears at the beginning and then at the end, and the movie lacks a villain for the in between bit. I kept expecting Adler to do this but he's actually a decent copper when the film needed someone more enigmatic (or another character). There's too much stuff of our characters chugging along down river chatting when another complication was needed (a former Nazi, another baddy).
Wally Cassell sees Lake and Ladd kiss but there's no dramatic pay off - then Cassell saves Ladd's life and dies, which is a downer. The final fight where Carnovsky fights Dick who is conveniently killed feels underwhelming. Dick never finds out that Ladd and Lake have fallen in love so there's no confrontation.
The movie feels chopped up a bit, the victim of rewriting and or editing/shooting. Carnovsky has this great entrance talking about how he's a coward and pays his employees well, then never does anything interesting again. It seems as though Ladd is going to con Van Rooyen to betray his boss but he never does.
So for the first half I was going 'hey this is pretty good' then it goes down hill.
Movie review - "The Blue Dahlia" (1946) ****
I've seen this film a bunch of times now and the first half is easily the most vivid - Alan Ladd, William Bendix and Hugh Beaumount as veterans back in LA; Bendix ordering "bourbon with a bourbon chaser" and showing off the metal plate in his head; Ladd meeting his wife Doris Dowling and seeing she's got a lover Howard da Silva; Dowling telling Ladd how she accidentally killed their son; Ladd being picked up as a hitchhiker by Veronica Lake; Will Wright as the slimy hotel detective; the revelation of Dowling's murder.
The second half of the film things get murkier - Raymond Chandler supposedly wrote this while drunk and while I thought that was a Hollywood urban legend the film does feel like a movie written by a super talented man getting increasingly drunk. Ladd gets abducted and is slapped around a lot; the police sort of become protagonists; Bendix thinks he dunnit; the cops shoot the killer plain dead.
It all gets messy but because its Raymond Chandler it's always entertaining - the dialogue is first rate, George Marshall's handling is vigorous and the cast is sublime. Warner Bros did the best tough guy movies of the 30s and 40s but Paramount grouped together their A team for this one: Ladd, Lake, Bendix, da Silva, Dowling, and Wright stealing the show at the eleventh hour. Lots of booze, infidelity and corruption but also mates looking out for each other and the "cleanest" Ladd-Lake romance out of their four main teamings. Easy to watch.
The second half of the film things get murkier - Raymond Chandler supposedly wrote this while drunk and while I thought that was a Hollywood urban legend the film does feel like a movie written by a super talented man getting increasingly drunk. Ladd gets abducted and is slapped around a lot; the police sort of become protagonists; Bendix thinks he dunnit; the cops shoot the killer plain dead.
It all gets messy but because its Raymond Chandler it's always entertaining - the dialogue is first rate, George Marshall's handling is vigorous and the cast is sublime. Warner Bros did the best tough guy movies of the 30s and 40s but Paramount grouped together their A team for this one: Ladd, Lake, Bendix, da Silva, Dowling, and Wright stealing the show at the eleventh hour. Lots of booze, infidelity and corruption but also mates looking out for each other and the "cleanest" Ladd-Lake romance out of their four main teamings. Easy to watch.
Movie review - "Two Years Before the Mast" (1946) (re-viewing) ****
This was made in 1944 but not released until 1946 whereupon it became one of Alan Ladd's biggest hits. And deservedly so because it's a vigorous, pleasing adventure tale, with Ladd a little awkward in a cravat but actually trying to stretch himself as the spoilt son of a wealthy ship owner who gets shanghaied on the ship.
I've never read the original book - I know I should because its a classic and all that, but I have the feeling it's very boring full of descriptions of ships and locations, and that Seton I. Miller added the drama. This is only a guess - a dangerous thing when it comes to screenwriter contributions, but Miller knocked The Sea Hawk into shape and his name is on a lot of fine films - in that he knew structure very well but wasn't very original. Two Years Before the Mast the film is full of tropes that are thoroughly road tested, but effective - there's the spoilt rich man's son who is shanghaied; the apparently loyal first mate who has a crisis of conscience; the tyrannical captain; the third act mutiny; a beautiful Spanish girl who comes on board (just like The Sea Hawk!); the cabin boy whose illness prompts the crew to get whipped up; the decent author who records all the action; a comic relief Irishman.
Everyone brought their A game: John Farrow's direction always had a bit more spark in tales of the sea; Ladd is a sturdy hero (as in many of his classic films eg The Blue Dahlia, The Glass Key he gets beaten up); William Bendix is excellent in a very strong role as the torn first mate; Barry Fitzgerald and Brian Donlevy are effective; Darryl Hickman is likable. Most of all there is Howard da Silva's superb performance as the captain - driven, not unsympathetic, scary. Production values are outstanding.
There are flaws - it gets less exciting when things should heat up, and why not resolve Ladd's romantic subplot, or reveal what happened to the mutineers? But its an entertaining yarn and one of the best films Ladd made.
I've never read the original book - I know I should because its a classic and all that, but I have the feeling it's very boring full of descriptions of ships and locations, and that Seton I. Miller added the drama. This is only a guess - a dangerous thing when it comes to screenwriter contributions, but Miller knocked The Sea Hawk into shape and his name is on a lot of fine films - in that he knew structure very well but wasn't very original. Two Years Before the Mast the film is full of tropes that are thoroughly road tested, but effective - there's the spoilt rich man's son who is shanghaied; the apparently loyal first mate who has a crisis of conscience; the tyrannical captain; the third act mutiny; a beautiful Spanish girl who comes on board (just like The Sea Hawk!); the cabin boy whose illness prompts the crew to get whipped up; the decent author who records all the action; a comic relief Irishman.
Everyone brought their A game: John Farrow's direction always had a bit more spark in tales of the sea; Ladd is a sturdy hero (as in many of his classic films eg The Blue Dahlia, The Glass Key he gets beaten up); William Bendix is excellent in a very strong role as the torn first mate; Barry Fitzgerald and Brian Donlevy are effective; Darryl Hickman is likable. Most of all there is Howard da Silva's superb performance as the captain - driven, not unsympathetic, scary. Production values are outstanding.
There are flaws - it gets less exciting when things should heat up, and why not resolve Ladd's romantic subplot, or reveal what happened to the mutineers? But its an entertaining yarn and one of the best films Ladd made.
Tuesday, January 26, 2016
Book review - "Warren Oates" by Susan Compo (2009)
Warren Oates was a grizzly character actor who has inspired a devoted cult for a few reasons: genuine talent, a hard drinking lifestyle, collaboration with auteurs like Monte Hellman and Sam Peckinpah, and some odd cult-y movies on his resume (Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia, Two Lane Backdrop, Cockfighter). He's been given a wonderful biography from Susan Compo - every actor should be so lucky to have a biographer as tenacious as her, you really couldn't wish for a more definitive account.
Oates came from Kentucky, spending the first few years of his life in a small town, the moving to the larger Louisville. Oates always looked like a former soldier and indeed spent two years in the Marines although it was in peacetime. It meant he could attend college where he got the theatre bug. He moved to New York where he succeeded in getting an agent and some work, plus making friends (including a young Steve McQueen), developing a drinking problem and a tendency to womanise.
What really got his career going was moving to Hollywood in the late 1950s. It was the heyday of the TV Western and Oates' rough, beady-eyed look made him perfect to play rustlers, outlaws, etc - once he hit town he was rarely out of work, even if it was often not particularly distinguished. He was lucky enough to find Sam Peckinpah, a director who liked Oates and used him well; his career also got a fillip from the TV series Stoney Burke and a stage performance of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (which I was unaware he'd done) plus the leads in some Monte Hellman Westerns like The Shooting.
In the early 70s Oates became kind of a star - maybe "character leading man" would be a better description. He played the leads in a number of movies, few of which were hits but all of which had a certain critical cachet today - The Hired Hand, Two Lane Backdrop, Kid Blue, White Dawn, Alfredo Garcia, 92 in the Shade. His biggest hits were more consciously trashy: Race with the Devil, Drum. He was greatly admired by the Movie Brat generation and worked with John Milius (Dillinger), Walter Hill (The Thief Who Came to Dinner), Spielberg (1941), Terence Mallick (Badlands), Dennis Hopper (Kid Blue).
To many people he was kind of a 70s Bogart - a character actor who developed into a star. Indeed, he played many Bogart like roles - Dillinger and a TV remake of The African Queen. But he never had a really popular star making vehicle like Bogart had with The Maltese Falcon or High Sierra and drifted back into support roles - though good ones since he was such a strong actor and so castable (Stripes, The Border). He died relatively young at 53 but considering how he punished his body with booze, drugs and alcohol, he had a decent innings.
I didn't know a lot about Oates but this fills in all the gaps - constant womanising; a surprising ability to get good looking women (he had an affair with Millie Perkins, which is a pretty good score); theatre scene of the mid west during his college years; the bo ho life of LA in the 60s, living on a boat in Marina del Rey and having drinks with Steve McQueen; the Montana scene of the 70s where you had Oates, Thomas Guane and Dennis Hopper running around sleeping with each other's wives; a surprisingly hippy nature.
Oates does come across as a bit of a wanker at times - a not very good father, lover or husband, irresponsible and clownish. But he was an artist and so much of his art remains and he's lucky to have been the subject of such a good book.
Oates came from Kentucky, spending the first few years of his life in a small town, the moving to the larger Louisville. Oates always looked like a former soldier and indeed spent two years in the Marines although it was in peacetime. It meant he could attend college where he got the theatre bug. He moved to New York where he succeeded in getting an agent and some work, plus making friends (including a young Steve McQueen), developing a drinking problem and a tendency to womanise.
What really got his career going was moving to Hollywood in the late 1950s. It was the heyday of the TV Western and Oates' rough, beady-eyed look made him perfect to play rustlers, outlaws, etc - once he hit town he was rarely out of work, even if it was often not particularly distinguished. He was lucky enough to find Sam Peckinpah, a director who liked Oates and used him well; his career also got a fillip from the TV series Stoney Burke and a stage performance of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (which I was unaware he'd done) plus the leads in some Monte Hellman Westerns like The Shooting.
In the early 70s Oates became kind of a star - maybe "character leading man" would be a better description. He played the leads in a number of movies, few of which were hits but all of which had a certain critical cachet today - The Hired Hand, Two Lane Backdrop, Kid Blue, White Dawn, Alfredo Garcia, 92 in the Shade. His biggest hits were more consciously trashy: Race with the Devil, Drum. He was greatly admired by the Movie Brat generation and worked with John Milius (Dillinger), Walter Hill (The Thief Who Came to Dinner), Spielberg (1941), Terence Mallick (Badlands), Dennis Hopper (Kid Blue).
To many people he was kind of a 70s Bogart - a character actor who developed into a star. Indeed, he played many Bogart like roles - Dillinger and a TV remake of The African Queen. But he never had a really popular star making vehicle like Bogart had with The Maltese Falcon or High Sierra and drifted back into support roles - though good ones since he was such a strong actor and so castable (Stripes, The Border). He died relatively young at 53 but considering how he punished his body with booze, drugs and alcohol, he had a decent innings.
I didn't know a lot about Oates but this fills in all the gaps - constant womanising; a surprising ability to get good looking women (he had an affair with Millie Perkins, which is a pretty good score); theatre scene of the mid west during his college years; the bo ho life of LA in the 60s, living on a boat in Marina del Rey and having drinks with Steve McQueen; the Montana scene of the 70s where you had Oates, Thomas Guane and Dennis Hopper running around sleeping with each other's wives; a surprisingly hippy nature.
Oates does come across as a bit of a wanker at times - a not very good father, lover or husband, irresponsible and clownish. But he was an artist and so much of his art remains and he's lucky to have been the subject of such a good book.
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