Bluebeard (1944)

Austrian-born director Edgar G. Ulmer was one of the few emigres to Hollywood in the thirties who did not convert his experience into a big career.  He spent his working life making B-movies for the poorest of the studios, yet everything he touched  was memorable.  He brought a real European sensibility to the most mundane projects; considering that there was probably very little money for this film, he does wonders with whatever was available, using camera angles and expressionistic shadows for effect.  John Carradine, he of the melodious voice and increasingly hammy roles, had one of his few leads here as a serial strangler and he plays it more or less straight. I've wanted to see this movie for a long time and I am so pleased to have finally caught up with it.

Geordie (1955)

This is another film that brings back strange memories, since I saw it in the cinema two nights in a row some years ago, because I was afraid to tell my "hot" date that I had seen it with my parents the day before.  Funny the idiotic things one remembers. Anyhow I have seen it several times since and it is still something of a charmer; it's not a brilliant movie by any means but the combination of glorious Scottish landscape, the always welcome appearance of Alastair Sim, and the cute story of Wee Geordie (the film's US title) growing from a scrawny youth to an Olympic champion through a Charles Atlas-type correspondence course add up to a winner. It also has something important to say about national identity and pride in one's community, which is not a bad thing either.

 

Wife vs. Secretary (1936)

The powerhouse cast gives us Clark Gable as a publisher, the lovely Myrna Loy as his wife, and the very sexy Jean Harlow as his efficient secretary.  The fourth lead is James Stewart, but this is an early role for him and his is really just a supporting part as Harlow's boyfriend.  Gable loves his wife and does not have designs on Harlow, but Loy can't help but worry when they spend so much time together.  That's about it, and since the end result is never really in doubt, it was no more than a pleasant but totally disposable entertainment.

Volere Volare (1991)

This is another Maurizio Nichetti film to go with "The Icicle Thief" and even nuttier.  The man is either a comic genius or seriously demented, and I'll opt for the former.  In this one he plays a man who dubs cartoons into Italian or rather just gathers weird sound effects for them (his brother and partner dubs porn flicks).  He becomes involved with a woman who provides fulfillment of fantasies, sexual and other, for a series of weird clients, but runs from the relationship when he finds himself changing into an animated cartoon.  You don't see that every day! 

None but the Lonely Heart (1944)

As far as I know, Cary Grant had his only Academy Award nomination for his role in this movie and he didn't win.  It remained one of his favourites but is way outside his usual sphere and, from that point of view, is of some interest.  Made during World War II but set in a very dreary East End of London just before the war, Grant plays a shiftless "Cocker-ney" drifter who occasionally reappears at his Mum's home.  The mother is played by Ethel Barrymore, lured back from the stage after a long interval, and she did win an Oscar here. He also goes into and out of the lives of a good girl and a bad one, the latter tempting him briefly into a career in crime led on by shifty George Coulouris. 

Adapted from the novel of the same name and directed by left-wing playwright Clifford Odets, this remains a curiosity.  It is also full of high-brow verbiage and anti-war sentiment that are somewhat out of place in the downbeat setting.

The Haunted Mansion (2003)

I wonder for whom this movie was intended as it is a little too scary for youngsters and a lot too idiotic for adults.  Eddie Murphy in his search for family-friendly fare continues his downward spiral.  Based on one of the better Disneyland rides, this film is no "Pirates of the Caribbean"; the effects are well done but are the whole show here.  Terence Stamp and Wallace Shawn add a touch of class to the procedings, but not enough to salvage things.  The funniest part, to me, is that one-time sexpot Jennifer Tilly is reduced here to a disembodied and annoying talking head.

The Icicle Thief (1989)

On the other hand, if you can accept subtitles, I can not recommend this Italian film too highly.  Conceived and directed by Maurizio Nichetti who also takes two lead roles, one finds a comic genius who is so much more talented than Roberto Benigni the Academy Award clown. From the title you may guess that this is a take on neo-realist films such as "The Bicycle Thief" and the director has an obvious love of cinema per se.  However he is also making a statement about the way that films are often treated on television, and this movie allows the frequent ads to bleed into the film and vice versa so that one no longer knows quite what one is watching or what the auteur's intention might have been initially. It's not exactly laugh-out-loud funny, although the smiles are frequent, but it is undeniably exceptionally clever.

Le Bal (1982)

If you would like to view a remarkable "foreign" film but can't put up with either subtitles or dubbing, then this Italian-French production is the one for you since it has no dialogue whatsoever. It is set in a dance hall in the present but then segues back to the same location during various points in French history -- pre-World War II, the occupation, the post war period and the revolution of 1968.  The ensemble cast assumes different roles for each period and the action is played out through the music and the dance. My only criticism is that it is a little on the long side, but it is such an unusual movie and so well done that this is a minor quibble. 

Invaders from Mars (1953)

A lot of people have fond recollections of this movie which was part of the paranoia sci-fi cycle of the 50's, especially since it is told from the point of view of a child.  However it is not really one of the better ones of that period.  The only saving grace is the occasionally striking production design by the director, William Cameron Menzies, who ekes out a few memorable effects on what is obviously a Poverty Row budget. This was the longer european version which has a different ending from the original American version (there, apparently, it was all a dream -- but about to happen).  Either way I think Tim Burton's "Mars Attacks" is more fun.

I Know Where I'm Going (1945)

What a difference between this movie and the British film of the same period that I watched a few days ago.  This little charmer, written, produced and directed by Powell and Pressburger, is everything that the other was not: beautifully photographed in the Western Isles to give a true sense of place and winningly acted.by all concerned.  Wendy Hiller plays a no-nonsense young lady travelling from Manchester to a Hebridean isle to marry a wealthy, older industrialist, and has no intention of letting anything stand in her way.  Her journey is interrupted by bad weather before the final crossing and she meets, among others, Roger Livesey an impoverished local laird on furlough from the navy.  From there onward we all know where the picture is going and we don't mind one little bit.

National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation 2 (2003)

Words nearly fail me.  I don't want to believe (but I do) that anything quite this bad can still be unloaded on the public.  Subtitled "Cousin Eddie's Island Vacation", this is so far removed from the National Lampoon heyday of "Animal House" that it beggars belief and goodness knows there have been some other National Lampoon labelled misfires in the meantime.  I am only amazed that the publication still lends its name to such rubbish or that anyone is willing to put up the money to continue churning out sequels.  Randy Quaid, who was funny once upon a time, plays the hopelessly stupid father of the family shipwrecked on a tropic isle; don't ask why they are there.  But the biggest embarrassment is Ed  Asner, who used to be a respected actor, playing his lecherous uncle. It's my fault of course for watching. 

The Singing Detective (2003)

This is a hard watch since Robert Downey Jr.'s make-up is so horrific that one is tempted to keep one's eyes averted; I don't recall the original television serial portraying the writer's ailment so graphically.  That apart the film is something of a parson's egg.  It was written for the movies by Dennis Potter before his death and the only major difference apart from shortening the tale is that the background fantasy and music have been moved from the 40's to the 50's. So one can't blame Hollywood completely for any failure.

Downey is, as always, pretty good -- if not in this instance totally watchable.  Mel Gibson, one of the producers, is nearly unrecognizable in a bald wig playing a doctor.  Robin Wright Penn is also masterful in a number of roles.  However it might be kind not to mention some of the others in the cast who are well over the top.  The musical numbers which are central to Potter's style are variable here from pretty effective to why bother. My verdict: get the DVD of the TV series.