Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde 1941
Posted by spheer2002 | Filed under Films of the 1940's
Freudian Horses
Directed By Victor Fleming
Although this is Considered to be the lesser film of the early Juggernaut made in 1931, directed by Rouben Mamoulian that ultimately won its actor Fredric March (the Best Years of Our Lives) a tied best academy award with Wallace Beery for ”The Champ” (,a feat which has only happened twice in the history of the academy awards), The 1941 Version should not be completely Overlooked.
Set in Victorian England Circa 1889
The Film Opens with a White Gothic Cathedral and The Minister standing at the pulpit singing the praises of Queen Victoria’s Reign and the ‘Moral’ values it has to greatest pride in displaying, this is quickly Interrupted the the ravings of a Mentally disturbed man sitting in the congregation shouting back at the minister and being Dragged out of the Church.
Dr Henry Jekyll (Spencer Tracy- Guess Whos Coming to Dinner)struggles to convince his peers of his radical theory of helping those who are mentally disturbed but extracting more of , what could be described as their ‘Good” Personality with Science,
As a result for his radical beliefs of Good and evil being a product of human nature and not that of God, he is ostracized by his future Father in Law, separating him from his Fiance Beatrix (Lana Turner - The Postman Always Rings Twice) who is very much in love with him, after a night on the town he runs into a man attacking a woman on the street, a Common bar girl Named Ivy (Ingrid Bergman - Casablanca), He is Sexually attracted to her, but feeling the pressure of being unfaithful to his fiance and worrying about what people may think, he separates himself from her.
In despair about his separation from Beatrix and that the scientific body will not allow him to experiment on live cases of Disturbed Patients, Jekyll Takes the Bold Move of testing his formula on himself.
The Result of Course goes wrong or perhaps works too well, The consequences for his actions are only too clear.
Like Most Hollywood Remakes of their earlier films, Not Much has changed in Hollywood when you Think about it ,
A remake with an all Star Cast, The Hot Director with a great films under his belt .. in this case Victor Flemming with films such as The Wizard of Oz , and Gone with The Wind (or most of it anyway) A rich, slick, decadent MGM look , A And a Sumptuous Film Score Provided By Legend Franz Waxman (Sunset Bvd, Rebecca).. What could go wrong?
Apparently Plenty…
The Film was considered to be a major disappointment, even by today’s standards , this is of course due to the fact that Spencer Tracy is not in the least frightening as The Infamous Mr Hyde,
While Fredric March in the original was completely convincing as a Monster, in his transformation while he roamed the streets of London , Looking like the ‘missing link’ he was legitimately frighting and disgusting in compassion to his Alter ego, Poor Mr Tracy , who generally did a lot better in films was ok as Dr Jekyll, but while still aggressive and animalistic , looked more like Robert Smith of the Cure ,a crazy looking middle aged man who hadn’t showered for a week , but nothing more.. he wasn’t at all scary,
The Film does Bring froward some treasures though
In both films there are of course significant changes to the novel (eg there are no Female leads , and heavy suggestions of Homosexual undertones)
in the 31 version two female characters were added as love interests, one for each personality, the Good has a pretty young respectful fiance, and bad has a cockney crude, prostitute named Ivy,
Of course in 1941 due to film censorship the Character of Ivy was changed from a prostitute to a Barmaid, an essentially good girl, a little rough around the edges that makes bad decisions.
When casting, strangely Spencer Tracy prior to meeting her making the film Woman of the Year (1942) and beginning his famous affair with her Spencer Tracy wanted Katharine Hepburn to play both the Good and the Bad roles, and in the end of the film the revelation was that she was in fact the same woman, of course this never happened, When final casting was done it was decided that Ingrid Bergman would play the Good Girl and the Tarty Barmaid would be played by the blond sultry Lana Turner. But after a string of films playing wholesome saintly milkmaid roles Ingrid wanted a change an opted strangely to play out of type as the earthy Barmaid Ivy and Lana would play Beatrix , The Fiance of Dr Jekyll, although the film fared badly Most People remember Ingrid Bergman for her role saying it almost rivaled the emotional intensity that was shown by Miriam Hopkins in the 31 version playing the rough as guts Prostitute before the Rules of Censorship came through in Hollywood,
The Films greatest Redeeming Feature is the Presence of Ingrid Bergman and what she does with her character if for No Other reason watch it for that!
Also worth mentioning are the film Montages when Tracy Transforms , unlike the 31 version where Fredric Marchs’s transformation is archived through Clever UV lighting by painting marks on the actors face, Tracys Transformation is done completely out of sight, The Montages which are meant to distract us this are for a better word out of this world, almost rivaling the dream sequences in Alfred hitchcocks Spellbound and Vertigo, they have Strong Freudian subtext and are astonishing to view , the most extraordinary being when Sprencer Tracys is whipping two horses, one white, one black they are transformed into his two girlfriends, the white being his Fiance , the Black being his Lustful Desire Ivy, the close up of Ivy and the Pan to Tracys Expression has he Whips her is a harbinger of her fate towards the end of the film.
But in hind site Tracy’s performance may have been in closer examination , more concise with the original concept of the story, A man who drinks a formula , not to bring out a cave man, but his true repressed Aggression , his Violent Sexual nature, Freedom of Expression, and to be able to do anything you can in public without caring about the concerns or the approval of others , Something that like in the book Dr Jekyll deals with in his repressed Victorian society, A society more concerned with manners, class distinction and ultra conservatism .
In this way you could say Tracy is Not frighting to us now as we live in a 21st century society where we are mostly free to do what in private and in public without concerns of silly ”Victorian Garden party Rules” or ”1950s paranoia and stupidity ” .
We have purposely over the course of the 2oth Century have pushed the boundaries of freedom of expression , Sex and self censorship, Violence, Aggression ,in one way or another, The fact that Tracys Mr Hyde is Not scary then , as is now, is that Tracys Mr Hyde is Us.. a citizen of the 20th century
not an ape man that roams London terrorizing people but an uninhibited soul
If you consider the raving man inside the Church at the beginning of the film, and that his inhibitions are because of a head injury due to an accident we have the basic idea from the start,
It is said that people who have an injury to the front of their brain due to an accident may have a slight change of personality, due to the weakening of the front of the brain where we exercise control of our emotions , Something that humans develop after two years of life after instruction from parents and life experience, when this is damaged sometimes traits of our personality , that we usually keep hidden away managed to come through, This Is what Dr Jekyll Believed anyway, and wanted to prove.
Jekyll is the product of extream society repression, whn he takes the forular he does not just ease into a gradualy state of freedom, its given to him all at once, and as he is unavble to deal rationally with his new freedom , it therefor becomes an inflicter of ill, so maybe to judge Tracys Hyde as lesser is infact the easy way to exclude this film, when on closer inspection, he may have been more true to the origional concept that we may already know,
Tags: Barmaid, Based off Novel, Franz Waxman, Freudian, Gothic, Ingrid Bergman, Lana Turner, Love Triangle, Multiple Personality, Murder, Noir, Psychological Thriller, Remake, Robert Louis Stevenson, scientific experiment, Sexual Repression, Spencer Tracy, Victor Flemming, Victorian Era
The Paradine Case 1947
Posted by spheer2002 | Filed under Film, Films of the 1940's
‘Disclaimer’ Any relation to ‘Body of Evidence’ is purely coincidental…
Highly successful London barrister Anthony Keane (Gregory Peck)takes on the case of Italian Maddalena Paradine (Alida Valli) who is accused of poisoning her blind military hero husband. Keane Starts by defending her but becomes increasingly bewitched by her, threatening both his marriage and his career. As as details in the case come to light ,Madame Paradines Veil begins to slip for all but her Champion , Her Lawyer
We have at least two love triangles in this film, and they not as obvious as you may think.
This is the Final Collaboration between Hitchcock and meddlesome Producer David O Selznick Who Brought him to America and Helped Create his first major American Film Rebecca , After The contract Expired with Paradine Hitchcock gained Creative Freedom of shorts and went on to experiment with new styles of editing such as in ‘Rope” and “under Capricorn”Hitchcock also pioneers the use of multiple cameras with live action almost a forerunner to what Television would do in Studios some Years later
Paradine was Considered in the “lesser Category” of the Cannon of Hitchcock However it does showcase his technique and the Entered of Louis Jordan is till one of the most startling is Cinema History. Gregory peck Plays Another Lawer, whos sexual frustration begins upon meeting the Beautiful Mrs Paradine Joan Tetzel Plays an Interesting role of the sudo lesbian Daughter of A Solicitor who dosnt wont the Market woman to hang as she ”hates breaking pretty things” louis Jordan Plays the Anti social Woman Hating Vallet of the Murded Mr Paradine Ann Todd aka Mrs David Lean as the Long Suffering ‘Good Wife’ Perhaps the Suspended Belief that Gregory Peck would Sacrifice everything for a Woman he had not even kissed seems a little slim, However as a Vehicle Created for the Mystique of Greta Garbo (who was offered the role first ) it may be been slightly more believable She Turned it Down after another film role Famously saying “No Mommies No Murderesses” ,Alida Velli Stills holds the attention of the Audience as the Mysterious Manipulative Passive Aggressive Madame Paradine , if you ever wondered what ‘Rececca’ may have been like in the flesh and why she seems to capture the hearts of Woman and Men give Mrs Paradine a look.
As well as a resemble to Mrs Paradine Gorgeous Music of Franz Waxman which dominated the film of Rebecca Suffocated the Paradine case in wonder and Mystery
Its is to be appreciated for the things which Hitchcock alone brings to the film even in the little scenes that make this a very engaging film to watch
Tags: Accusation, Bi, Femme Fatale, Franz Waxman, Hitchcock, Infidelity, Love Triangle, Movies Garbo Rejected, Mysterious Death, Trial
Mildred Pierce 1945
Posted by spheer2002 | Filed under Film, Films of the 1940's
Mink Clad Murder
Mommie Knows Best…..
In time middle of the night in a beach house on the upper side of town shots ring out, The Dead Man crys out……..Mildred!……and falls to the floor its seems an open and shut case,,,,but what really happened?
Mildred Pierce (Joan Crawford Strange Cargo)a housewife spoils her daughters Especially the eldest while husband Bert looks over the fence for some afternoon delight while his buddy Wally Fay(Jack Carson’A Star is Born) trys to get is paddle in(In Vain) . They soon divorce, leaving Mildred to raise the girls on her own. Elder postwar class driven daughter (Biatch)Veda (Anne BlythThe Great Carouso) goads her mother about their lack of money and in response Mildred proposes opening a small restaurant. one thing leads to another,and she becomes incredibly successful and even love seems to be around the corner, but money soons starts to by love in the manner of clothes, education, and payoffs all of which leads to the beginning of the film in classic noir style .Also in the cast a wonderfull sardonic Eve Arden (Grease) is the wise cracking sidekick to joan crawford to give humor to this black film.
Its only that sort of mother loving that Joan Crawford can deliver…….
What Price a Mothers Love ?
Tags: Alcoholism, Based off Novel, Divorce, Gun, james m cain, Joan Crawford, Love for Children, Love Triangle, Marriage, Max Steiner, Mother Daughter Relationship, Murder, Noir, Rise and Fall, Self Made Woman, Self Sacrifice
Notorious 1946
Posted by spheer2002 | Filed under Film, Films of the 1940's
The Keys to the Kingdom….
Notorious 1946 is a film Directed By Alfred Hitchcock
Following the conviction of her German father for treason against the U.S., socialite Alicia Huberman (Ingrid Bergman “Casablanca”)becomes a party girl. After a boozie night out she is approached by a undercover government agent T.R. Devlin(Cary Grant”North by Northwest”) who asks her to spy on a group of her father’s Nazi friends operating out of Rio de Janeiro. A romance develops between Alicia and Devlin, but after finding out the lengths Alicia will need to go through and the previous relationship between herself and the man they are trying to track (Claude Rains’ Casablanca) , Devlin cools off , this drives Alicia to the Very heart of Evil being prepared by the breakaway Nazi group and Her life hangs in the balance without anyone to help her.. Its got the humor and the man woman society incapability , with a great heightened suspence especially when Ingrids Veil Starts to slip, watch out also for Leopoldine Konstantin who plays Claude Rains Vindictive dominating mother, perhaps even a vision of what ‘Mrs Bates’ Could have been like when Alive.
This Film is always famous for “That Crain shot” which is one of the most remarkable zooms without editing or special effects in Cinema History.
check it out dont get caught!
Tags: Cary Grant, Espionage, Hitchcock, Ingrid Bergman, Love Triangle, Mystery, South America, Spy
Rebecca 1940
Posted by spheer2002 | Filed under Film, Films of the 1940's
Hitchcocks first American Film flooded with Lesbian Subtext and Gothic Noir Still Based of a Daphne du Maurier ,Novel, the troubled by the death of his first wife Rebecca,(Laurence Olivier r) falls in love with a shy introvert (Joan Fontaine “Suspicion” ). They get married, but the second Mrs. de Winter discovers that Rebecca still has a strong hold on everyone in the house, particularly on Mrs. Denvers, the housekeeper, who begins driving the young wife to madness.
rebecca Is Never seen in this film not even in a but she takes up a great chunk of it , who is this Bisexual human soul cannibal who still casts shadows on all who have lived around her and do you need to kill the living to destroy the dead?
Tags: Based off Novel, Bi, Daphne du Maurier, Franz Waxman, Gothic, Hitchcock, Mansion, Mysterious Death, Mystery, Of Lesbian Interest
The Woman in White 1947
Posted by spheer2002 | Filed under Film, Films of the 1940's
Credited as the First Real Mystery Novel and the inspiration for the writing style of Bram Stoker’s ”Dracula” The Woman in White is an Elaborate adaptation of Wilkie Collins’ 1800s novel Directed by peter Godfrey (”The Two Mrs Carrolls”, Hotel Berlin”)
Down and out drawing instructor Walter Hartwright ( Gig Young who won an oscar for ”they shoot horses dont they” 1969)
Walking up the driveway to his new house of residence , runs into a Pale panic stricken woman with dark circles under her eyes dressed entirely in White(Eleanor Parker) she Begs for his protection upon hearing someone coming she dissapers, Hartwright soon encounters a Count Fosco (Sydney Greenstreet’ Casablanca/ Maltese Falcon), a guest at the house looking for a woman whom he says has escaped a mental institution and seeks to bring her care,Hartwright denies seeing her and enters the house , The next morning he meets one of the two girls he is in charge of teaching only to see she is the very vision of the trouble woman he had meet on the drive the night before , a woman named Laura Fairlie , he soon falls for her but unknown to him she is already engaged to be married to a morally bankrupt character named Sir Percival Glyde (John Emery). Marion Holcombe the other girl Hartwright teaches (a gorgeous Alexis Smith who is in the closet in real life and seems to be visually offended by Gigs Advances) comes together with Hartwright to help Laura escape from a destructive marriage,all this time while the mysterious woman in white who roams the gardens at night also seems to have a strong interest in the future of Laura Fairlie.
Hartwright must find what the dark connection is that ties Laura and Fosco and ‘The Woman In White” together.
Its got some weird Gothic appeal and some great suspense , as well as sporting a pre Nancy drew character in Marion.
Although its been adapted before and since to film and tv notably in 1982 with Costumes by Edith Head in her last work on screen and in 1997 as well as a musical version by Andrew Lloyd Webber
this is the definitive version..
filmed in 1946, but Shelved strangely until 1948 ,It sports a score by Max Steiner (Gone With the Wind) and remains an benchmark of Gothic Horror.Eleanor Parker plays a Duel role that seems to for-run her Multiple personality character in Lizzy 1957 ten years later,Sydney Greenstreet , Usually ‘partnered’ with Peter Lorre holds his own here playing his usual sinister ”beadie eyed” self and has one of the most humorous unintentional punchlines in cinema history ”I can’t possibly be Evil,,, Im.. too fat!” and a Mostly Silent but Important role played by Anges Moorehead (Samantha’s mum in Bewitched)
As a story its well put together with twists filmed in lucious black and white , it still holds your attention
Tags: Based off Novel, Gothic, Madness, Max Steiner, Mysterious Death, Mystery, Victorian Era
Under Capricorn 1949
Posted by spheer2002 | Filed under Film, Films of the 1940's
Under Capricorn is a bit of a space oddity , Directed By Alfred Hitchcock, set in Australia in the earl 1800’s and Beloved by the French Critcs,Hitchcock fnished the decade the same as he did with the last , with a arty experiment, “Jamaica Inn ‘ this Like Rope has a series of unedited shots and is More of a psycho-Drama , Think Rebecca Downunder
but unlike rebecca the only thing that holds it is Ingrid and the many secret devils she deals with through drink and forgetfullness , its shot in colour and looks great,
dosnt really show any signs of be “hitchcokian’ till the last part of the film, Hitchcock only went down the period drama three times, ‘Waltzes from Vienna ‘ wich he only did for the money lets face it, “Jamaica Inn” has its moments but not many and ‘Under Capricorn’
its not widely seen so give it a go…
Tags: Australia, Hitchcock, Ingrid Bergman, Madness, Psychological Thriller, Self Sacrifice
All This And Heaven Too 1940
Posted by spheer2002 | Filed under Film, Films of the 1940's
Warning…. will empty a tissue box really quickly
This fits into the Mary poppins /sound of Music gene of Nanny comes into home and brings happiness to family with two exceptions, No singing and ends in a grisly Murder/ Based of a true event
a governess in 19th Century France, who lands a position working for Theo, Duc De Praslin (Charles Boyer) and his family. The childern adore the new, governess, but Boyer’s psycho bitch wife, the Duchesse (Barbara O’Neil), is resentful of the intrusion into the family. The new addition to the family works her magic on everyone but the Duchesse. Theo and Henriette, predictably, begin to fall in love, which further complicates things, sending the crazy wife into even more rages of insanity. All of this builds momentum until a climactic crime of passion takes a life.
its been forgotten but is really a good story, It shouldnt be remade but it is was it could win a swag of oscar
Tags: Accusation, Forbidden Love, Love for Children, Madness, Max Steiner, Nanny, Self Sacrifice, Trial
The Lost Moment 1947
Posted by spheer2002 | Filed under Film, Films of the 1940's
Directed by Martin Gabel
based off a Henry James Short Story
which is in turn based The actual incident involved a cache of love and private letters of by Lord Byron.
Robert Cummings (Dial M for Murder)is a publisher who is trying to find a trove of love letters that were supposedly written by one of early 19th Century great romantic poets, Jeffrey Aspern. - a sudo Lord Byron
He ends up in Venice, where he enters the house of Aspern’s still living lover over 100 years old (Agnes Moorehead) and her niece (Susan Hayward),where these famous letters are kept hidden away , as a lodger He succeeds better than he expects, because the letters do exist - but to get to them he has to be nicer and nicer to the niece who is a hard cold woman.During the Night there are noises of haunting piano scales echoing over the flowing streets of venice, there are things seen that should never been seen or heard of long buried in this Gothic drama
that brings the dead and the living together,
its really worth a look
Tags: Based off Novel, Henry James, Lost Love, Mysterious Death, Mystery, Poetry, Venice, Victorian Era
Nightmare Alley 1947
Posted by spheer2002 | Filed under Film, Films of the 1940's
With a bit of coaching from a seasoned vaudevillian , Stan Carlisle (Tyrone Power’The Rains Came’)) becomes Stanton the Great, spiritualist, seer, con man a bit like a John Edwards. His tutor is Zeena(Joan Blondell ‘Grease’), a soft-hearted carny seduced by Stan’s clean good looks and smooth spiel, seduced into giving up long-withheld trade secrets. Pete is her partner from the old days, a sad-eyed down-on-his-luck alcoholic whose best years are behind him. Stan’s wants to get Zeena to give up the privileged knowledge of their ‘Mind Reading act, after an accident claims the life of Zeenas Husband the Pair go Into business, This Noir is about the Danger of Believing your own Hype,
The Origins of the word ‘Geek’ surface in this film and let me say it bares little resemblance to’ Revenge of the nerds’ rather that of a frenzied lowest form of Human life ,a zombie fed on alcohol , whos mental deficiency has reached the lowest it can go, it plays an important role in the film, and sheds not only a dim craggy light on a type of macabre carnival life forgotten but the modern practice of taking advantage of grief stricken and lonely people through spiritual means
Top Noir here..
Tags: Based off Novel, Con Man, Magic, Noir
