The Shawshank Redemption - Updated (1994)

This film originated from a Stephen King novella called Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption. The actress actually does play into this movie and her famed hair flip from Gilda even makes a memorable appearance. However, the shortening of the title not only simplifies things but it refocuses the film on what it is all about. You guessed it. At its core Shawshank is about the redemption of one man who would never let his hope or ardent spirit be quelled. That man is the memorable but generally unassuming Andy Dufresne (Tim Robbins).

His story began back in 1947 when he was put on trial after being acussed of riddling his unfaithful wife and her lover with bullets in his drunken rage. We see bits and pieces of what happened, but not everything. Andy quietly claims his innocence, but he is dealt two back to back life sentences in the Shawshank state penitentiary.

When he gets there initially who looks to be a pushover, not ready for the dark recesses and harsh reality that is prison life. In his typically smooth mode of voice-over Morgan Freeman as camp grifter Red recalls when he first set eyes on this man. He didn't know it then but Andy would prove to be a life changing acquaintance and he also proved to have more guts than Red was expecting.

They first cross paths when Andy comes to Red inquiring about getting a rock hammer and Rita Hayworth. Red obliges and these trinkets allow Andy to shape rocks to form a chess set. The poster goes up on his wall and others soon follow. He's a man who always strives to stay busy and he never lets his circumstances get him down.

It doesn't come easy though because the local prison gang christened "the sisters" who are used to getting their way with any inmate they cross paths with. Andy is not one such individual and he pays the price receiving beatings on multiple occasions. Still he keeps on living and ultimately makes a name for himself by providing tax advice for one of the most notorious guards. Its after this specific moment when he wins a round of beers for his mates that they begin to see the extraordinary individual in their midst. He goes by the credo, "Get busy living or get busy dying."

Following his own words to a tee Andy begins to prove his worth and earn respect as he gives tax advice to many of the prison attendants and guards. Even the hypocritical warden uses his services to keep his finances and office in order.

Andy is also transferred from doing grunt work to helping the aged prisoner Brooks in the library. It's a step up and unprecedented in the history of the prison, but then Andy is truly special. After Brooks is released and tragedy strikes his life, Andy continues to improve things. He regularly writes his representative for funding so he can get more books and his work finally pays off. He also sets up a program so prisoners and workers alike can gain the equivalent of a high school education.

As the years pass the prisoners get older and the posters change on Andy's wall from first Rita, to Marilyn, and finally Raquel. About that time a young prisoner named Tommy finds himself in prison and all the old timers like his energy. Andy resolves to get the young man an education and Tommy in turn shares some potentially life changing evidence with Andy. But it all comes to naught. The warden maintains his tyrannical reign and the defenseless Tommy is ultimately struck down.

Andy begins to lose some of his privileges as the warden begins to clamp down on him again by throwing him into solitary confinement for two months. When he gets out Andy's hope is still alive sharing with Red about his dream of someday going to Zihuuatanejo in Mexico to live in solitude. Red thinks it's all folly, but agrees to do something for him even he ever gets out.

Then during an upcoming roll call all of a sudden, just like that, Andy Dufresne is gone for good. To add insult to injury he used his business acumen to stick it to the warden who is investigated by the police. Andy has the last laugh.

After so many rejections and denials, Red finally gets his parole and he looks like a mirror of Brooks a man who grew to know the Shawshank as his only way of life. It looks pretty fast and grim on the outside now. But Red has a purpose that Brooks did not in Andy. He keeps his promise to Andy and rendezvous with his old friend.

Shawshank is a thoroughly engaging film and it works because of the performances of Tim Robbins and Morgan Freeman. Robbins acts as such a bright light despite his solemnity and subtlety. He is innocent and upright,  the perfect contrast to this prison which is a vile disgusting place full of corruption and violence. Freeman is the cynic and in many ways he stands in for the audience. He wants to believe in a man like Andy as much as us, but the world tells him he cannot initially. However, Andy proves Red and the world wrong, by redeeming what has fallen. I can never get over that because that is such a powerful message told in such a engaging way. 

4.5/5 Stars

The Sure Thing (1985)

The Sure Thing is one of the early works of both director Rob Reiner and young teen star John Cusack and it proved to be a success for both parties. In the film Walter Gibson and his friend Lance are heading off to college. Gib is heading to a stuffy school on the East Coast while Lance is heading off to the sun-soaked southern California shores with the female prospects at an all time high. It doesn't help Gib who has recently been striking out with the opposite sex, because to put it bluntly they don't buy his astronomy inspired pick-up lines. He's just too much of a jerk.

And so the two friends go off to their separate spheres and for Gib things do not end up too bad. His school's not a bore, but he's not getting the kind of action Lance has, not yet. That is until his friend tells him about a "sure thing." The girl who is one out of a million and who is available just waiting for Gib in California. So as any red-blooded American college student would do, Gib begins the cross country trek over his Christmas Break.

The catch is this. He's forced to travel with an overly enthusiastic couple obsessed with singing show tunes and that's not the worst of it. His backseat companion is fellow classmate Alison Bradbury (Daphne Zuniga)who happens to be very attractive, but she also hates his guts.

She and Gib happen to be polar opposites and they did not get off to a good start at school. She already has a boyfriend. She is always on top of her academics and she never does anything outrageous. Gub is a showboat, prone to wildness that includes shotgunning beers and trying to pick up girls.

Their constant bickering and nagging finds them sitting on the roadside in the middle of nowhere trying to thumb their way to California. And so it looks like they will go their separate ways, but they end up traveling together, broke, wet, and starving. Somehow they get there and along the way they begin to genuinely appreciate each other. There does not have to be anything between them. Of course right before they get to their final destination a disagreement leaves them at odds. However, after spending so much time with someone like Alison, a sure thing just does not have the appeal it once did to Gib. He proves to himself that's he's not quite as shallow as he thought he was. If only Alison could know that.

The enjoyment of this film is not so much in discovering the result, because any Joe-Smo who has seen at least a handful of romantic comedies knows how the story is supposed to end. The true joy in the experience is how we arrive there with these two characters. In the back of our minds there is a kind of peace of mind because although they seem so far apart and at odds we know where they will end up. We can take a little bit of enjoyment out of every single moment they spend together mundane or not. In many ways the road movie feel of The Sure Thing brought to mind other similar story lines like Train, Plains, and Automobiles as well as It Happened One Night. I have to say I was pleasantly surprised by this Cusack vehicle an Daphne Zuniga was fun as well.

4/5 Stars

L'Atalante (1934)

Here is perhaps one of the greatest wedding processions we could ever hope to see. Buster Keaton is more outrageously funny in Seven Chances, but this one is solemn, and somehow still funny in it's own way. And that's what is most striking about L'Atalante (which also serves as the name of the boat of choice). This film seems so serious and strait-laced you might say, and yet it brims with comedy. It's the type of everyday comedy that makes us laugh even now. Funny looking characters, odd voices, a plethora of cats all over the place. There's no way for that to get lost in translation and it remains quirky and engaging 80 years later.

It also happens to be a beautiful film exemplified by a newly-wedded bride walking the prow of a boat with the fog billowing around her. Or perhaps it's two lovers embracing passionately and a smile bursting on the face of the woman. It's so visceral, so engaging in its displays of love, energy, and emotion. In this way it brings to mind other love stories of the age like Sunrise, It Happened One Night, and certainly the early works of Jean Renoir. Except the thing here is that director Jean Vigo never made another film after L'Atalante. He entered bad health even during filming and died soon after in his early 1930s, but he left behind a masterpiece.

In short the story revolves around four main characters living life together on a boat named L'Atalante. Jean is the captain and groom who has picked a beautiful  wife named Juliette who is going to share his existence on the sea. His first mate is the weathered and scruffy Pere Jules. He might have a rough exterior, but he and his cabin boy are full of bumbling and buffoonery that endears them to all.

For the two lovebirds Paris is the enchanting destination for a fantastic makeshift honeymoon, but it also proves to test their relationship from the get go since Jean is extremely jealous and a street peddler openly flirts with Juliette. It's a tragic turn in their love story which leads to Juliette looking for a way home and Jean sinking into a state of depression aboard his boat. That's what makes their ultimate reunion all the sweeter.

Thus, L'Atalante blends a timeless topic like love with little scenes of magic that bubble up from the within these scenes. Whether it is Juliette walking the streets window shopping or Pere Jules giving a lens into his past with all the souvenirs he has accrued over the years. Without a doubt he was my favorite character. I have never quite seen anything like him.

4.5/5 Stars

Young Mr. Lincoln (1939)

Hailing from a year laden with numerous American classics, Young Mr. Lincoln is undoubtedly overlooked in deference to other titles like Gone with the Wind and The Wizard of Oz. Even John Ford's own Stagecoach starring John Wayne overshadowed this autobiographical work headed by Henry Fonda. Then the next year they came out with The Grapes of Wrath and that title garnered praise for both. But again it seems like most have forgotten about Young Mr. Lincoln.

It really is a shame, because this feels like a quintessential Ford film and Henry Fonda gives an iconic turn as one of the great historical giants of all time. Except instead of focusing on his major accomplishments, trials, or fatal death, this story contents itself with a simpler story. The focus is the fledgling law career of Abraham Lincoln, who back in 1857 is only a lanky country boy with a hankering for learning. He sees tragedy at a young age when people pass away around him and yet out of those formative years rises a man who is wise beyond his years, because he understands his fellow man and cares deeply about justice.

Lincoln is hardly a lawyer of any repute and he seems hardly a political figure compared to the likes of the great Stephen Douglas, but the people respect him because he wins them with his common sense and homespun witticisms. Aside from his ubiquitous top hat, he willingly judges pie eating contests, and play the Jew's harp with feet reclined at his desk.  One of his dear admirers in the young socialite Mary Todd who takes an immense liking to him. He's the kind of figure that the elite and common folk alike can truly respect.

So when two brother's are accused of murdering another man after a fight one night, it is Mr. Lincoln who avoids a lynching and appeals to the morals of the locals. He in turn promises the mother of the boys that he will do his very best to win their freedom and he does all he can to gain her trust.

When the trial begins he carefully picks the jury and faces off against a venerable prosecutor with much greater experience than himself. The mother of the accused saw the squabble, but she cannot bear to implicate her sons. Lincoln pleads on her behalf.  It also looks like the key witness and friend of the deceased man will put a seal on the case, but young Mr. Lincoln is not done yet.

Thus, the film ends and Lincoln is most certainly on the rise, but we get to imagine his future knowingly on our own because none of that length of the story is told. In that way it's rather interesting to juxtapose Ford's film with Spielberg's more recent biography Lincoln, starring Daniel Day-Lewis. They represent different generations of film making, because the latter film takes a monumental moment in history, the passing of the 13th amendment, and places a magnifying glass to it. Focusing on all the individuals involved and it is certainly going for an amount of period realism, starting with the impressive performance by Day-Lewis as our 16th president.

Young Mr. Lincoln is a lot simpler, because it does not need to focus on the highlights. It takes as great of an interest in Abe's origin story so to speak. On his part Henry Fonda, plays the role wonderfully using his mannerisms and plain speaking delivery to give a homey quality to Lincoln. He's believable, but in a different way than Day-Lewis. It's not better or worse necessarily, just different. That being said, Young Mr. Lincoln deserves a place among the exulted classics of that legendary year of 1939. Hopefully it will continue to receive the respect that it deserves, because it a moving and surprisingly very funny film. Probably in the way Abraham Lincoln was.

4.5/5 Stars

99 River Street (1953)

This is a Sam Fuller type crime film that's not pretty, it's full of gritty realism, and it ends up being an unassuming little gem that is really enjoyable. However, instead this film comes from director Phil Karlson pairing him with John Payne. In film-noir boxers always seem to take a center stage and it is never the champs. It's the near misses or the bums. Ernie Driscoll (Payne) falls into this category as well.

After his big fight and an unfortunate conclusion to the bout, Driscoll is all washed up and he and his wife know it. He relives the moment in agony and dejectedly takes a job as a taxi driver while he tries to figure out a future without boxing. You can tell his wife is fed up with this way of life and she's getting awfully snappy. Driscoll is unhappy with his marriage going down the tubes so his only encouragement comes down at the coffee counter with his buddy Stan and the bubbly actress Linda.

Things get worse when Ernie sees his wife with another man who also happens to be a real thug. Ernie is humiliated  and looking for revenge, but on the bidding he follows Linda to the theater because she is in desperate trouble. He obliges and yet again he feels like he's been made a fool of. He cannot even seem to trust her.

Ernie wants desperately to get back into the ring against the better judgment of his former manager. But he still is caught up in the whole mess with the cunning tough guy Victor Rawlins who stole Driscoll's wife. The man shows how little the girl meant to him in comparison to the money and after getting a payoff for a fat load of diamonds he waits for a freighter to take him away.

Linda wants to help Ernie after what happened on the stage, but she cannot stop Rawlins. It's up to Ernie to duke it out on the docks and it turns into a real brawl where he struggles not to get his bell completely rung after a gunshot to the chest. It's the biggest fight of his career and somehow he wins. Really 99 River Street sounds like a run of the mill noir, but Payne's performance is rather good. It feels rather like Edward G. Robinson in Scarlet Street where no one seems to be on his side. However, he does ultimately have two solid allies in the faithful dispatcher Stan and the always vibrant Linda. Ernie finally follows Stan's earlier advice and whispers sweet nothings into the ear of his love. It's a happy ending for a noir.

The cast is rounded out nicely by a wonderful group of character actors including Brad Dexter, Jack Lambert, and Jay Adler who all work as the scum of the earth dwelling in New York. The contrast of the bubbly Evenlyn Keyes with the more aloof Peggie Castle was also very effective within the film. Now I need to see Kansas City Confidential as well.

4/5 Stars

The Miracle of Morgan's Creek (1944)

Preston Sturges was a revelation when I first saw Sullivan's Travels and then The Lady Eve. His scripts are always wildly hilarious and full of memorable characters whether they are headliners or just supporting the stars. The Miracle of Morgan's Creek (1944) was a lesser known film to me starring Eddie Bracken and Betty Hutton, but I was ready to see what this screwball could deliver.

With the start of the war there began a push on the home front to strengthen morale by throwing parties and drinking victory lemonade in honor of the boys going overseas. Young Trudy is intent on dancing the night away with a lot of soldier boys. She just wants to do her part in the war effort after all. Her grumpy and domineering daddy Mr. Kocklenlocker (William Demarest) forbade her from taking part in such a shindig.

She sullenly goes to the movies with Norval Jones (Eddie Bracken), the young man who has been infatuated with her since they were kids. However, she somehow talks Norval in letting her go off to a party and she spends the night living it up while he waits dejectedly at the theater. When she finally returns its late morning of the next day and Norval knows her father will kill him.

However, Trudy also discovers a ring on her finger signifying that she married a soldier in her wild stupor the night before. The only problem is she cannot remember who it was, there were so many soldiers that she danced with after all. On top of that add the prospect of a baby and you have a real doozy that has small town scandal written all over it.

Norval tries his best to help remedy things for Trudy only to wind up in jail with a big to do building up that even makes its way to the governor. Things don't look good for poor Norval until Trudy gives birth and it's a MIRACLE! When he finds out about what happens he has a little fainting spell.

That's the craziness that is the Miracle of Morgan's Creek thanks to the rapid fire dialogue and caricatures created by Preston Sturges. William Demarest is especially memorable as the hard apple Mr. Kocklenlocker who is always bossing his daughters around, but he's not all bad. By now Morgan's Creek looks dated, but all the same it is still a memorable piece of WWII home front cinema. Supposedly it was standing room only back in the day and honestly it's surprising that this film ever got past the censors. Bigamy, pregnancy and so much more all mentioned in a 1940s film. Who would have thought it?

4/5 Stars

Stage Door (1937)

Watching Stage Door was one of the pleasures of film, because its an unassuming classic that very easily could be overshadowed by other films. It's main stars are Ginger Rogers and Katharine Hepburn who both arguably have numerous films more well known than this one.

However, this story about a boarding house for aspiring stage actresses is a light piece of sassy fun while still finding moments for poignancy. Rogers is a cynical dancer named Jean and she is not too pleased to be getting a new roommate. The last one moved elsewhere after constant fighting. But the new girl, Terry Randall, is different. She is from a well to do family, but she is pursuing a career in acting so that she might stretch herself.

The other girls looks with an air of contempt thanks to her fine clothes and pristine manners. She doesn't fit the mold of many of the other struggling actresses looking for their big break. Many spend their evenings trying to grab hold of a sugar daddy such as famed theatrical producer Anthony Powell (Adolph Menjou). Several of the girl have their eyes on him as they try and land a role in his next big production.

Kay Hamilton is the most well-liked girl in the house and arguably one of the most gifted performers. She opened the year before in a production that won her rave reviews, however a year later she has yet to get another break and she is running out of funds. Powell's show is her last big chance. Thus, when Powell cancels last minute for a trivial reason, Kay faints and an irate Terry bursts into his office to confront him. He is initially turned off, but then he chooses her for the lead role of the upcoming Enchanted April.

Although the girls were beginning to warm to Terry, Jean has trouble forgiving her as tragedy strikes. In fact, Terry almost refuses to go on stage altogether and yet she goes out and gives an emotional performance that is hailed by critics. However, in the end Terry and Jean are reconciled which is far more important than any type of fanfare.

In many ways Gregory La Cava's Stage Door feels in some ways similar to The Women (1939). Both films have casts with women in the primary roles and the stories are at times volatile, with so much drama and zinging comebacks. Some of this was courtesy of the supporting cast which included such legendary comediennes and Lucille Ball and Eve Arden. Ann Miller is even present, but at its core Stage Door is Ginger and Katharine's film. Did Just curious, did Fred and Spencer ever do a film like this?

4/5 Stars

Heaven Knows, Mr. Allison (1957)

From John Huston comes another film about a woman of principle and a man who seems to be everything she is not. This time instead of Katharine Hepburn and Humphrey Bogart aboard The African Queen in WWI, we have Deborah Kerr and Robert Mitchum stuck on a desert island together during WWII.

Kerr is Sister Angela who was on the island only a few with a priest before he passed away. Now she is alone taking care of herself in solitude. That is until castaway Marine Mr. Allison washes up on her shore in a raft. For a time it is just the two of them as the Sister offers the marine food after his long arduous journey. But after getting rest and some nourishment, he returns the favor proving his resourcefulness at scrounging up food on the island. For awhile they live in relative ease like this.

But they are reminded that the war is still going when the Japanese set up camp on the island. The unlikely pair find themselves living in a cave together. Allison invades the camp on the sly to acquire food for them and they continue to manage in hiding. Once the enemy are gone the exuberant marine gets drunk on some sake and professes his love to the novice nun. Although the situation had never quite been awkward up to that point, it quickly becomes so. Sister Angela in a tizzy flees out in the pouring rain and winds up getting sick as a result.

To add to the predicament, the Japanese forces return, and back to the cave it is. This time Mr. Allison must kill a soldier in order to get a blanket for Sister Angela. Soon the Japanese are burning the underbrush in pursuit of the culprit. It's dire straights certainly, but then help comes.

Mr. Allison once again proves himself and regains the faith and admiration of Sister Angela. Once the marines roll in Mr. Allison is able to leave the island on a stretcher with the faithful novice by his side. They are a strange pair, but their relationship makes this story actually engaging. In a way the life of a marine and a nun have some similarities although they fall at completely different ends of the spectrum. In the same way Mitchum and Kerr are adept at playing their roles to that degree. Allison is rough around the edges, a Joe Palooka type, and yet he means well. The nun is devoted to her calling, proper, and it never seems as if she could ever approve of Mr. Allison. And yet in the midst of all the divides that seem in place, a true bond forms. It's a fun relationship and these two stars as well as John Huston made it thoroughly enjoyable.

4/5 Stars

Rear WIndow (1954) - Updated

Who in their right mind would make a film that takes place in a courtyard? Rear Window has always been fascinating from a technical standpoint and Alfired Hitchcock is certainly not The Master of Suspense for nothing. He uses the confined space of a single Greenwich Village courtyard with an incapacitated individual to truly build the tension to immeasurable heights. The events within the film are often highly bemusing as Hitchcock has a wicked sense of humor whether Jefferies is trying desperately to scratch that itch or the conversation turns morbid as he tries to eat breakfast.

The script has so many great little moments of back in forth repartee; some supplied by the always dynamic Thelma Ritter who plays the nurse with a lot of advice and opinions about rear window ethics: "We've become a race of peeping toms. What people ought to do is get outside their own house and look in for a change. Yes, sir. How's that for a bit of home-spun philosophy."

James Stewart is always a pleasure, but this time around he is perhaps at his most constrained as famed photographer L.B. Jefferies, who is laid up in his apartment for weeks on end with a leg in a cast. He got the injury thanks in part to his last big photo shoot where he ran in front of an incoming race car. With nothing better to do he spends his idle moments people watching and getting to know his neighbors. That's one way to put it at least. As an actor Stewart is stuck and relegated to conveying his whole performance through his gaze and the dialogue he speaks to those few who come in and out to see him. Most of what he's doing is simply looking across the way and yet it works.

His neighbors are as follows: 

There's Ms. Torso who is an aspiring dancer and always the target of many men. There's Ms. Lonelyheart who never can find the love she so desires. A washed-up composer spends the entire film trying to figure out his newest project (even getting a visit by Hitchcock himself). There the newlyweds who hardly ever leave there bedroom, because they're doing something... Then, comes the older couple on the second floor with a cute little dog and the sculptor who lives below.

Most interesting of all is the couple directly across the way from Jeffries, because that''s where a long-suffering husband and his wife live. All seems normal to begin with, however, Jeffries begins to have his suspicions thanks to circumstantial evidence and no sign of Mrs. Thorwald. His first thoughts immediately shoot to murder, but it seems highly unlikely. Day and night he continues to watch seeming to get more evidence, only to have his theories crushed, and then gain new hope through more evidence. 

The interesting part is that as an audience we are fully involved in this story. We see much of the picture from Jeffries apartment, because there is no place to go and so we stay inside the confines of the complex. In this way Hitchcock creates a lot of Rear Window's  plot out of actions occurring and than the reactions that follow. We are constantly being fed a scene and then immediately being shown the gaze of Jeffries. It effectively pulls us into this position of a peeping tom too. Danger keeps on creeping closer and closer as he discovers more and more. The narrative continues to progress methodically from day to night to the next day and the next evening. 

In the climatic moments he finally faces the man who he always looked in at from the outside and yet by the end the roles are reversed with Jeffries space being fully invaded and yet he can do little to flee, because of his cast. Hitchcock cuts it in such a choppy and chaotic way which breaks with the smooth continuity of the rest of the film, but it works so wonderfully in stark juxtaposition.

This is one of the main appeals of Rear Window, because it has this Hitchcockian story of murder, mystery, and suspense. However, I am constantly eager to revisit this story, since there are so many other intricacies that are of interest. 

Although the film uses a score by Franz Waxman, the majority of the sounds heard are diegetic and they either are street noises or music wafting around the courtyard from one of the apartments.  Also, there is only one small outlet to the outside world. At times it becomes fun to survey what is going on whether it is kids playing on the street corner or cars passing back and forth. It builds this sense of realism suggesting that this world that has been created is larger than this one set full of apartment buildings. 

Another important element is themes of romance and love. Jefferies comes into the film with issues in his own love life. His girl is the elegant and refined Liza Fremont who seems perfect, too perfect in his estimation. In his mind, they just don't seem compatible enough and he cannot see marrying her. It's something they have to work through because she truly loves him.

Really every character essentially has a different outlook on love and different struggles, because romance is never an easy thing. Like the lyricist's song it is so often fragmented, but in this case Jefferies and Lisa seem to figure things out just like the song finally gets finished. The moment where you can see it in Jefferies' face that he is both impressed and worried for Lisa's safety seems to be the time when things change. He realizes his love for her since she is very dear. He quits his thinking and his analyzing of their relationship, as gut-wrenching emotions take over when she is caught. In a sense he listens to Stella's earlier advice: "Look, Mr. Jefferies, I'm not an educated woman, but I can tell you one thing. When a man and a woman see each other and like each other they ought to come together - wham! Like a couple of taxis on Broadway, not sit around analyzing each other like two specimens in a bottle."

Wendell Corey in his supporting role as Jefferies' friend and the police detective is a man who can be a skeptic and still prove his loyalty as a friend. They can be at odds and still poke fun at each other with mutual affection. It feels real. Raymond Burr as the villainous Lars Thorwald works well too, because he is certainly an angry, unfriendly grouch, but he does not seem altogether evil. It shows how easy it is for the lines to be blurred. 

Above all Grace Kelly shines opposite Jimmy Stewart. There's no one quite like her, so elegant, eloquent, with a touch of playfulness and adventure. She is willing to fight for her man and even go out on a limb for him (ie. breaking into Thorwalds' apartment). One of the film's most extraordinary images out of many has to be when a shadow covers the face of Stewart as he rests. Then there is a closeup of Kelly, her face slowly descending towards him. It's hard to forget and for the rest of the film she attempts to not let him forget her. 

It's not often easy for me to make statements like this, but Rear Window has to be close to my favorite film of all time. Yes, I said it. It never gets old for me and I pick out new things every time. It's more than just a mystery thriller. Hitchcock made it a technical marvel that is also steeped in themes of love and ethical questions. The players are the best of the best from James Stewart, to Grace Kelly, to Thelma Ritter, all down the line. It's at times deliberate, but never boring, completely immersing the viewer into this drama as a firsthand witness. It's the type of cinema we just don't get everyday because it has everything and it cuts to the core, to the most visceral level. That is the sign of cinematic greatness, 

5/5 Stars

The Pink Panther (1963)

I came into the Pink Panther with a bit of prior knowledge about the franchise and Henry Mancini's legendary theme music. In all honesty the first film I ever saw in the series was A Shot in the Dark (1964). Peter Sellers' Inspector Clouseau is the undisputed star of that film which came out only a year later.

That's why this initial installment from Blake Edwards was rather surprising to begin with. This is a David Niven vehicle having him playing a modern Don Juan of sorts who also is a world renown thief known as the phantom. He and his female accomplice have their eye on the equally well known diamond christened the Pink Panther. It now is in the position of a beautiful young princess (Claudia Cardinale), but the people of country believes the diamond belongs to him. Into this seemingly serious story of theft and international relations waltzes in the ever bumbling but good-natured Inspector Clouseau. 

Sir Charles Lytton (David Niven) has his eyes on Princess Dala surveying her every movement. What he doesn't know is that his young nephew (Robert Wagner) is up to some tricks of his own and he flees the United States in search of his uncle. Clouseau leaves France with his lovely wife Simone (Capucine) and follows the princess to a ski resort to see if he can sniff out the culprit. They turn out to be a lot closer than he realized.

It's during a chaotic masquerade ball when the diamond is in jeopardy with several costumed apes seeming to have their eye on it. The bumbling Clouseau clumsily tries to set a trap and yet he unwittingly stumbles upon the culprits leading to a chaotic car chase. In fact, the Pink Panther has a rather odd ending with the culprits getting away and Inspector Clouseau getting the blame. Don't be too worried however, because Sellers brought the character back numerous other times.

Despite being initially relegated to a supporting role there is no doubt that Sellers steals his scenes with his ad-libbing and numerous brilliant pieces of slapstick. He might be stepping on his Stradivarius in the dark or getting his hand jammed in a beer stein.  It's all the more funny when everyone else is playing the scenes relatively straight. There were some other humorous sequences of deception as the culprits try and pull the wool over the Inspector's eyes so to speak. It's not all that difficult, because he's an utter buffoon. But lovable. Did I mention that?

3.5/5 Stars 

Monkey Business (1952)

I always was under the assumption that the screwball comedy died off in the 1940s with homages coming out years later. Is there such a thing as neo-screwball comedies? Anyways after watching Monkey Business I feel it is necessary to reevaluate that general conclusion. Here is a film from Howard Hawks that channels a great deal of the mad cap craziness that you see if his earlier works like Bringing up Baby (1938). For lack of a better term it is very screwy indeed. Right from the opening credits you have the voice of God (Hawks himself) breaking the fourth wall and calling Cary Grant by his real name.

Then the film actually opens and we meet the quintessential absent-minded genius Barnaby (Grant) and his loving wife Edwina (Ginger Rogers). They are meant to go to a social gathering and yet he is so caught up in his work that they stay behind. You see he is trying to develop an elixir of youth so to speak. His experiments are of interest to the business minded and much older Oliver Oxly (Charles Coburn), who only sees the positives of such a discovery. Barnaby tries to explain to him that it's not so cut and dry. In fact, his work could have dire effects if careful precautions are not taken.

Little does Dr. Fulton know that one of his lab chimps got lose in his lab and tampered with some chemicals, dumping them in a water cooler. After this absurd moment, Barnaby unknowingly consumes the rejuvenating concoction and his whole demeanor takes a turn.

Soon he's out buying flashy clothes, getting a flamboyant car, ice skating, and driving like a speed demon down the thoroughfares with an astonished secretary Ms. Laurel (Marilyn Monroe). Cary Gran even shows of his impressive acrobatic skills performing a cart wheel and a few other tricks.

Only when the concoction does he figure out what happens and he resolves to be more careful next time. Except next time turns out to come sooner than he was expecting when Edwina willingly drinks some of the substance so Barnaby can observe her. Just like that she is a prank pulling schoolgirl with insatiable energy.

Once more Barnaby takes the elixir while Edwina is sleeping off the effect. However, when she wakes up a misunderstand leads to more mayhem as she tries to get help from Mr. Oxly. What develops is a spiral into more hilarity. Barnaby and Edwina are reunited, Edwina's old flame is incensed, Ms. Laurel is petrified, and chimps and man alike are taking part in some Monkey Business.

3.5/5 Stars

They Were Expendable (1945)

There's nothing very intriguing about a film entitled They Were Expendable. In essence we already know what the conclusion of the film is, however it is important to understand when this John Ford World War II docudrama was coming out. In 1945 the Nazis and Japanese had finally been quelled and the Allies could look back at the sacrifices that had been made.

One such example was in the Philippines after Pearl Harbor. Despite, being undermanned and without much support, the brave men in the navy wreaked havoc against the enemy trying to hold onto their strongholds as long as possible before being forced to evacuate. It is far from a glamorous moment in the war, because the war seemed to favor Japan and our forces were made to flee. However, in those moments of distress and tragedy, bravery seemed to flourish and our resolve only greatened. General Douglas MacArthur summed up the sentiments of every man when he promised, "I shall return."

That being John Ford's They Were Expendable is not always easy to follow, it can feel slow and deliberate, however it exudes a gritty realism that is hard not to appreciate. It certainly is patriotic, but it does not often over sentimentalize war with high drama. We see it for what it often is. It means smoke, explosions, ship wrecks, death. It means breaking apart friends, crews, and men and women who care about each other.

Part of that realism is probably helped by Ford's work filming a documentary of the Battle of Midway and lead Robert Montgomery who plays Lt. Brickley also fought on a P.T. boat during the war. Although he was not ever in the military, John Wayne always has a knack for reflecting American ideals of grit and determination. That's why he was made for westerns as well as war films. This time around playing the fiery but loyal Lt. Rusty Ryna. Donna Reed on her part has a rather small role, and yet it is an integral part, because she represents the brave nurses who support the military. She is the lifter of morale, the girl next door, all these ideals that fit this pretty young lady from Iowa. It's hard to know if she's just playing herself or not.

At times it's hard to follow the film, because it often seems to jump or skip events. Maybe it happens in an attempt to cover more story or maybe Ford did not want to hold his viewer's hand, I'm not sure. I do know that I am far less of an informed viewer about this time period or this moment in World War II history. It often seems like most of the limelight is given to mainland Europe and not the Pacific.

However, as much as I was drawing connections and finding similarities, this film is far from McHale's Navy. The story is far more somber, more real and at times depressing to watch. It's the kind of film that could only be made after we had won. It affirms our American resolve and honors those who paid the ultimate sacrifice. That and the film's beautiful low lighting make it worth watching. The cinematography makes numerous scenes far more interesting by layering characters in darkness and accentuating the shadows in a hospital corridor for instance. Rather than making everything feel stylized, it only helps to augment the realism that makes They Were Expendable a worthy testament to WWII.

3.5/5 Stars

Breathless (1960) - Updated

Breathless is such a fresh, smooth piece of cinema that feels as cool now as it was back then. The transcontinental French vibe paired with the revolutionary production is strangely still appealing. It does so many things with such style that is always unique but never quite off putting. Not to mention the score which is playfully in an elegant sort of way. The film has an array of quick cuts, it's discontinuous, abrupt, and it literally jumps between images. Actions like shooting a cop or sitting in a room with a girl become more interesting than we could ever give them credit for.

Godard is known for saying all that you need for a film is a girl and a gun and that's basically all Breathless is. Michel (Jean-Pierre Belmondo) is a low down, no good hood who also happens to be quite funny at times. He shoots a cop for no good reason and after that the police are after him on the streets of Paris.

He's also broke and all his buddies are either unavailable or in some trouble of their own. He swipes money from one girl and rendezvous with his latest fling, the aspiring American journalist Patricia (Jean Seberg). They do very little except drive around the city or lounge around her room. In one memorable shot jump cuts piece together scenes of the back of Patricia's head as she sits in the passage seat observing the world around her pass by.

Michel on his part seems only to want sex and yet he says he's never loved a girl before. He seems continually drawn to Patricia and he never can quite pull himself away.

She meanwhile has another man with an eye on her and she hopes to propel her fledgling journalism career. Her one assignment happens to be interviewing the highly philosophical and somewhat pompous Mr. Parvulesco (Jean-Pierre Melville).

The billboards around town even foreshadowing the impending doom of Miche. Patricia later learns from the police that her lover is wanted for murder and she must decide what to do about it. In a memorable scene Patricia is shown pacing around the room in a wide circle. In the end she does turn in the hood to prove to herself that she doesn't truly love him.

Michel looks utterly pitiful, like a wounded deer after he gets winged by the place and collapses in the middle of a quiet avenue. Patricia stares straight at the camera giving the queerest of looks as Michel breathes his last.

In some ways Jean Seberg's iconic look reminds me a young Audrey Hepburn another gamine glamour girl. The photography of Seberg is iconic from the reflection in her sunglasses to her donning Michel's hat. Breathless proves film is not just entertainment, but it can also be lastingly stylish. There's nothing wrong with that and it still seems to work after 50 years. Honestly, Breathless helped open up all of European cinema to me and to that I am indebted to Godard and The French New Wave.

4.5/5 Stars

Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)

Back in 1984 a strange life form came to earth in search of Sarah Connor and ultimately left a trail of destruction. It's the same terminator (Arnold Schwarzenegger) who now shows shows up in the year 1991 intent on getting the right clothes, transport and weaponry and cool shades to aid in the completion of his new mission. It's the same terminator except not really because he has been reprogrammed to protect young John Connor who will be the future savior of civilization as we know it. Right now he is a 10 year old juvenile delingquent living with foster parents. His mother the aforementioned Sarah Connor is locked up tight in a mental institution after the events in the previous film.

But there also is a second more highly advanced terminator that Skynet has sent to assassinate Connor and it becomes obvious that he is in grave danger. Both cyborgs converge on his location and he flees with the help of his new found guardian. The terminator is programmed to listen to him and over time they form a bond with John teaching him slang (ie. the famed hasta la vista baby) and perhaps more importantly that he cannot kill everyone he sees.

They go to rescue Sarah from captivity on John's bidding, but the other terminator has the same idea. The resourceful mother has plans of her own that are disrupted by witnessing her former executioner with her son close in toe. It's all very confusing as they must alert her to the real danger and escape the present dangers.

Sarah leads them out of the city to the home base of a loyal friend who can give them resources and above all weapons. She sets her sets on Miles Dyson the man who unwittingly developed the technology that would end in "Judgment Day." In a fit of vigilantism she mercilessly goes after the innocent man, for his work which would cause millions of future deaths. It takes the arrival of John and the Terminator to get her to calm down.

With Dyson's help they head to his office to destroy the prototypes for good, but they get a little company and it turns into a fireworks show complete with pyrotechnics and blockbuster explosions.

Yet again the shift-shaping, poly-alloy terminator pursues the trio once again and this time they are trapped inside of a steel works. It's a fitting locale for a desperate showdown with a wounded Sarah, battered Terminator, and a thoroughly frightened John. Some last ditch heroics finish off the futuristic assassin, but that is hardly the end of the story. John must say goodbye to his friend and probably the best male role model he's ever had. He was a faithful companion to John and he in turn came to understand why humans cry. There's just some things that cannot be expressed through words, protocol or any type of rationale. The future is still to come, but at least for the present is safe.

I am unabashed to call Terminator 2 thoroughly enjoyable, because it embraces the fundamentals of a great sci-fi blockbuster while never quite losing its human component. Perhaps we could have used more character development and less action, but the characters played by Linda Hamilton, Edward Furlong and Arnold Schwarzenegger have enough depth to make them work. In fact now they are icons by now and I can understand why. James Cameron certainly knows how to develop thematic spectacle to the enth degree and this installment is no different. This sequel is bigger and better than the original 1984 film, which is a testament to not only the special effects, but the story and characterizations. Hasta la vista Baby. Until next time anyways.

"If a machine, can learn the value of human life, maybe we can too" ~ Sarah Connor

4.5/5 Stars

You Only Live Once (1937)

There are two types of lover-on-the-run narratives. There's the Bonnie and Clyde/Gun Crazy extravaganza full of shoot-outs and bloodshed. Then you have the more sensitive approach of a film like They Drive By Night. You Only Live Once fits this second category thanks to two bolstering performances by Henry Fonda and Sylvia Sydney. Fonda is forever known for his plain, naturalistic delivery full of humanity. He has that quality as 3 time loser Eddie Taylor certainly, but he also injects the role with somewhat uncharacteristic rage. In many ways he has a right to be angry at a world that so easily writes him off and is so quick to pronounce guilt. There is very little attempt to rehabilitate the reprobate and Taylor is an indictment of that.

Secretary Jo Graham (Sylvia Sydney) is positively beaming the day they are releasing her boyfriend Taylor, because he is finally getting the second chance he deserves. A glorious marriage follows soon after until reality breaks into the lovers paradise. Few people aside from Father Dolan and a few forward thinkers are willing to give Taylor grace. He is prematurely fired from his job and has no way to make the payments on the house that his wife has been sprucing up for him. Adding insult to injury a brazen bank robbery is committed which he is wrongly accused of. It's back to the clink and then the electric chair.

Jo is beside herself and Taylor is angered at the way the law deals with him. This justice is the most unjust imaginable and he is about to pay the price. But Jo desperately gets him help and he tries to make a break for it.

That's what makes a wire proclaiming his innocence all the more ironic, because he will have none of it. He takes a man's life and now his acquittal goes down the drain as quickly as he got it, because he has murder to his name. Eddie and Jo go off on the road together looting banks and surviving the best they can with their newborn son. This is not two joy riding youngsters trying to get rich without an honest days work. Fritz Lang develops a more complex story with people who tried to live by the rules and found they were dealt an unfair hand.

As one of Lang's earliest works in America, you can see some remnants of German Expressionism here with foggy clouds of mist engulfing the screen at times. His tale also has an interesting ambiguity suggesting that crime is not always black and white. Perhaps it has less to say about the moral degenerates or corrupt individuals in our society and more about the faulty structures that our justice system often get built around. It's mind-boggling to think that this film came soon after the Depression meaning the bitter taste of those years was still fresh in peoples' mouths. Nevertheless this film is an interesting crime-filled character study.

4/5 Stars

Purple Noon (1960)

Right off the bat there are two things that stick out about Purple Noon. Firs, you cannot help to notice the colors because the blues and reds pop like some vibrant 1960s paintings. Then's there's Alain Delon who at the age of 23 made his rise to stardom thanks to this film and Rocco and his Brothers (1960). As Tom Ripley he finds a role that is fascinating in more ways than one.

During the first interludes of Rene Clement's thriller based off the Patricia Highsmith novel, I didn't really know what I was watching or what to think. Tom was sent to Italy to bring back the wealthy Phillipe Greenleaf back to San Francisco at the wishes of the man's father who is paying Ripley. Their story begins as an entertaining jaunt through the city. They lounge at cafes, take carriage rides and generally have fun living it up at night.

Tom is nothing like Greenleaf. He's far more poor coming from a humbler background, but he is also much more resourceful and clever. When he takes a trip with the wealthy young man aboard his yacht, he finally hatches a plan to get what he wants. He abruptly stabs Greenleaf during a game of cards and the whole trajectory of the film changes in an instant. It began playfully absurd and quickly switches gear as a thriller involving murder, stolen identity, and deception.

He plays up the tiffed between Greenleaf and his girlfriend Marge, telling her that he is still angry and so he went off somewhere else without her. Thus, begins Rippley's transformation into Greenleaf forging a passport and signatures until he can pass off as the man himself. He starts dressing differently, spending more money and continually acting as if he actually is Greenleaf. But things get difficult when he nearly runs into folks he knows and Marge is desperate to know where her love is. These all prove problematic and yet Rippley skirts most of these entanglements with relative ease. It's when a friend of Greenleaf named Freddie Miles figures out his charade that things begin to escalate, because Tom's only option seems to be murder. He commits the act coolly and plans his next move with calculated ease.

The police are after  a murder, but it looks as if Tom has tied up all the loose ends and we find him relaxing reclined on the beach. He doesn't know that the game is up, because of what the police found at sea.

The visuals of this film definitely do justice to the young Delon who is strikingly handsome with piercing eyes, but his turn is interesting in his own right, because he was always so adept at playing the coolest of characters. He's no different here and Purple Noon proved to be the initial boost to his great career.

4/5 Stars

All That Heaven Allows (1955)

When I first saw the work of Douglas Sirk, I was immediately struck by how well it seemed to personify 1950s Hollywood. All That Heaven Allows (1955) is little different in its opulence and superficial soap opera tonalities. Except this one at times feels a little like it should be apart of a Norman Rockwell Saturday Evening Post cover. Perhaps it glides a slightly more interesting line between high society country club members and quintessential middle America.

The two alternatives are contrasted in our screen couple played by Jane Wyman and Rock Hudson.
Cary Scott (Wyman) is a well to do, middle-aged widow with two grown kids off at school. She is often lonely and always sensible when it comes to the life decisions she makes. After all she doesn't want the local gossip blabbing about her life to all their local society friends.

That changes rather gradually thanks to her seasonal gardener and professional tree-trimmer Ron Kirby (Hudson). He is a different sort of spirit who seems to be content with nature and his place in it as nurturer. Their acquaintance begins over a harmless cup of coffee, turns into an excursion to his humble abode. Over time Cary is introduced to Ron's brands of friend who are all charming, down-to-earth folk, who live life to the fullest without worrying about wealth or societal pressures. This is what she has been looking for and the man who she needs. So when Ron proposes marriage she ultimately accepts.


Now comes the task of putting it before the kids and then showing Ron to the local snarks. The socialites are no different with their sniggering and pointed remarks. There is no mercy for Cary and Ron. In fact, they are appalled by such a scandalous romance. The children who normally are rational and kind, do not mince words with their mother. Ned talks about the family honor, the legacy of their father, and their home. He cannot bear for his mother to supposedly throw all that away. Kay on her part is always getting caught up in psychoanalysis, but this time all rationale goes out the window after her boyfriend breaks up with her.  Under this built of pressure Cary reluctantly breaks off their marriage, mostly for the sake of the children.

Except she is never quite the same and never feels like she did with Ron. Cary is resigned to staying in her lavish home, while reluctantly accepting the newest form of modern entertainment -- a television. Christmas time is especially hard when she runs into Ron, but then the kids come home. That's when she realizes the grave error and what comes next is exactly what you expect, with a few small diversions. Cary turns back to Ron, who has been a funk of his own. Following an accident that was induced by Cary's presence, Ron is bedridden and Cary rushes to his aid. This is the life she was meant for no matter what society says of her.

It's pretty gushy, weepy stuff is a sense. That's the superficial level of second rate romance and picture perfect technicolor. In fact, All That Heaven Allows is visually beautiful in a sickening sort of way. The town is too pristine, the seasons are too perfect, the snow too puffy. And yet it all seems to be a perfect supplement to Sirk's moral drama. Ironically, this is not a moral tale about unbridled love between a woman and her younger lover. That would make complete sense. Instead Sirk subverts that wonderfully, by suggesting the weight of the blame is on society and the peer pressure that permeates the upper crust.

Even if this film is a little to syrupy in its sweetness, I can manage a spoonful or too because there is seemingly a greater meaning to this frivolity. All That Heaven Allows is certainly an acquired taste.

4/5 Stars

The Big Heat (1953) - Updated

The Big Heat is not a Noir where the darkness comes from the shadowy visuals, but from within its characters themselves. In fact, some of these individuals are so subtle in their corruption that it easily gets overshadowed. Homicide cop Dave Bannion is ironically the straight-arrow trying to do what is right and he becomes the most vengeful character in Fritz Lang's film. It's a subversion of the typical noir arc, because his greatest help ultimately comes from the former femme fatale. That's not how it's supposed to happen, but then again a lot of things happen a little differently in The Big Heat.

The film opens and within a second a man has shot himself and left a confession his desk. The cues tell us that he's a cop and he's just committed suicide. His wife comes down stairs strangely composed and shuffles through the pages he has written. She goes to the phone, not to call the police, but she talks to a third party. We quickly forget what's she's done, but the fact is Mrs. Duncan represents the corruption that reigns supreme in this film. She's used a juicy piece of blackmail to receive large payoffs from someone and she's not the only sellout.

Bannion (Glen Ford) is a cop by day and  a family man at night with a loving wife and a beautiful little girl. By convention he is supposed to be the moral compass of this film -- the emblem of good versus evil. He takes on the straightforward case of officer Duncan's death, but it gets convoluted when a B girl named Lucy Chapman calls him up to say she knew the deceased and he would never kill himself. Initially Bannion, like us originally, takes little heed of this girl because she is hardly as respectable as Mrs. Duncan or so society says.

He gets pressure from his superior Wilks to lay off, but Bannion is discontent with lose ends especially when he receives news that the Chapman girl has been brutally murdered. This can't all be all coincidence and he begins sniffing out the truth like a bloodhound. Bannion leads us into the home of this empire of crime literally. He confronts local businessman/crime boss Mike Laganna, who he accuses of involvement in the corruption. Things are beginning to heat up and they begin to infiltrate the sanctity of his home life. The dark recesses of the noir world can never be subdued and Bannion dives deeper into the labyrinth that is created by his own obsessive vendetta. He has no tolerance for his colleagues who don't take a stand in favor of a pension. He can't stand tight-lipped locals who give him no help and most of all he hates Laganna's guts.

At the local shady nightclub The Retreat Bannion has his first run-in with the hired thug Vince Stone (Lee Marvin). Afterwards Vince's girl Debby is genuinely impressed by Bannion's methods, but he will not give her the time of day. He expects her to be the same superficially ditsy dame that we have all seen before. Hardly a femme fatale, but still there is the potential to be deadly. The one character who seems to conform to the stereotype is Stone, and yet he is even more brutal than most burning girls with cigarette butts and splashing scalding coffee on Debby's face.

Bannion gets to one of the other hired guns Larry and both Stone and Laganna decide that something must be done to stop Bannion in his tracks. The obvious target is his little girl, but this time the family life prevails over the noir world. His family and colleagues rally around him and yet Bannion is not done with his obsession.

In fact, it is Debby who actually finishes off Bannion's work by paying a visit to Mrs. Chapman and then too Vince to pay her respects. Bannion arrives soon after to reprimand Vince, but Debby has already done the dirty work. The nightmare is over and everything that is good and right comes to the forefront. Debby proves her allegiance, the criminals are put away and Bannion gets a new position with homicide. But underlying this seemingly happy ending is still a sense of tension. The film ends as Bannion heads out on a new homicide case with the cycle continuing and it seems like he will never be free of it. The world will continue ripping away the ones he loves before he is left with only his personal vengeance to drive his future. Bannion very easily could cross the line between righteousness and corruption. He already almost strangled two characters and was not opposed to slugging it out with others. It's only a matter of time before he totally blows his cool and collected cover. It's a dark assumption, but then again that is a lot of what film-noir is. Fritz Lang seems to get this and that's what makes his characters here so powerful, because he knows that the root of all evil can be in everyone.

4.5/5 Stars

Gun Crazy (1950) - Updated

Bart has an intense obsession for guns. It's what his life revolves around. It's the only thing he wants to do as a boy and the only things he seems to think about. It becomes a problem when he breaks a store window, but during the following hearing his sister and friends vouch for his character. He would never take a him life or kill. That's not in his nature.

No matter, it is decided Bart should be sent off to a special preparatory school and he only returns years later as a grown man recently off a stint in the army.  He's back in his home town not quite sure what his future plans will be, but his buddies are glad to see him. They shoot some, drink a few beers and decide to take a jaunt to the carnival for a night of fun.

Their Bart meets the girls of his dreams. There's a quality to John Dall that makes Bart into a pure victim of a character. He's quickly infatuated with the gun slinging and sensuous Peggy, who seems to share his one love. A goofy smile is plastered on his face as he faces off against her in an act of skill. He makes her uneasy and ultimately beats her. 

He gets a job with the carnival and spends as much time as he can with her when he's not shooting guns. They are fed up with their boss and leave the migrant life behind. Marriage is on their radar and they live it up with the money they have. But Peggy wants more and she wants to keep living the high life. 

She wants to rob a gas station. It's one little idea that soon blows way out of proportion. They are holding up banks, gas stations and any place with money that they can lay their hands on. The pair are fugitives with exploits plastered all over the front pages and roadblocks waiting to stop them up. All the while Bart makes Peggy promise not to shoot anything, because he still is totally opposed to killing people. 

It seems like things might end peaceably, except once again the gun-toting lovers are nearly flat broke so Peggy coaxes Bart into one last job to end all jobs. For the first time, despite their planning, just enough goes wrong to nearly botch their mission. Bart drives off and Peggy shoots a guard. He's not the only one. 

When Bart finds out after the fact he realizes they have just stepped up a level with murder stuck on them. The game is winding down and the only place Bart can turn is his home town where his sister is. For good reason she cannot stand Bart or Peggy who she sees as poisoning her brother. And it's true Bart seems different now, so paralyzed by fear that he even pulls a gun on his old friends.

The last ditch effort of Bart and Peggy is to literally head for the hills. The dragnet is sent out and the hounds are let loose. They hardly have a chance before dropping from exhaustion in a swamp. They're trapped and a crazed Peggy looks to shoot it out to the death. But for once Bart breaks with her remembering his friends. It doesn't help him much.

Gun Crazy is a B-film and yet it is easy to forget or at least the way Joseph Lewis constructed this film is impressive in its economy. One scene that reflects this so beautifully is the long take from the back of the car. The camera does not change positioning and so we see a bank job from the outside and it only helps to build up greater tension.

 We also have enough time to care about certain characters. We have enough time to see Peggy is really no good. Yet with her keen marksmanship she is a different shade of femme-fatale who is still as deadly as any of her contemporaries. Along with They Live by Night (1948), this is one of the archetypal Bonnie and Clyde-esque films. Thank goodness this film's title was changed from Deadly is the Female to the more apt Gun Crazy. That it is. 

4/5 Stars

While the City Sleeps (1956)

While the City Sleeps has a brilliant cold open followed by a pounding title sequence courtesy of Fritz Lang that brings to mind a bit of Diabolique and Psycho. The rest of the film turns into a case to find the wanted lipstick murderer (based on a real killer), but that only holds part of our attention.

When newspaper magnate Mr. Kyne dies suddenly his begrudging son Walter (Vincent Price) takes over intent on shaking up the status quo and putting his mark on the company. He soon turns three men against each other as they desperately fight for the new position of executive director. The first is veteran newspaper editor John Day Griffith (played by the always memorable character actor Thomas Mitchell). The second candidate is chief of the wire service Mark Loving (George Sanders) who is Griffith's main competitor. Finally, in the third spot is Harry Kritzer who happens to have a secret ace in the hole. Each of them is tasked with finding out the real scoop about the serial killer and it turns into a real tooth and claw ordeal. Within the glass cubicles everything can be scene, but not everything is heard and that's where the secrets get disclosed.

On the outside looking in so to speak is star TV reporter Edward Mobley, who agrees to help his friend Griffith by doing a little digging around about the murderer. He gets some tips from a cop friend Lt. Kaufmann (Howard Duff) and Mobley tries to spoke the killer out on air. However, it leads to the potential endangerment of his fiancee Nancy, who also happens to be Loving's secretary. Loving has his love directed towards a female reporter named Midred Donner (Ida Lupino), who attempts to needle Mobley for info. At the same time the killer is on the move once more, with Nancy being an obvious target. Mr. Kritzer's own romantic entanglements get him in trouble because he is seeing Kyne's beatiful but detached wife Dorothy (Rhonda Fleming). Mildred finds out about them and they have some talking to do. Mobley also has some making up to do with Nancy after she finds out Mildred came to see him.

Mobley juggles everything from his love life to the big scoop and they apprehend the killer, but things at Kyne's don't wind up exactly the way they expected. Mobley looks to move on from the paper with Nancy, but even he cannot get away that easily.

While the City Sleeps is an underrated tale from Lang that is positively stacked with big names. It's pacing can be deliberate at times, but it is just as much a indictment of journalism as it is a thriller. The office is a web of deception with so many interconnections between these work factions. Those you would normally expect to be scrupulous seem to give up their honor in the face of this new promotion. In a sense Mobley seems to be outside of this fray and yet he cannot help, but get involved in it. It doesn't help that nothing turns out the way it's supposed to. Everybody seems to gain something, but nobody really wins the game.

I must say it was great to see Dana Andrews in one of these leading roles again and although their roles were smaller Ida Lupino and George Sanders still had a deliciously stuffy and corrupt pair. I was never a fan of Vincent Price due to the roles he normally plays, but I was inclined to like Howard Duff (Lupino's real-life husband) in his turn as the policemen. It goes without saying that Rhonda Fleming is positively beautiful, but she also cannot be trusted. I guess that applies to about every character in this film. It's certainly a cynical world out there that Lang paints, where the killer might be caught, but corruption is never fully quelled.

4/5 Stars