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
A Summer Place 1959
Posted by spheer2002 | Filed under Films of the 1950's
“As for you Troy Donahue, I know what you wanna do!”
If you are Familiar with the ‘Notebook this is a must see this is the godfather of period thwarted teenage love ,but when they made this when it was actually based in its time, the dawning of the golden age of Camelot in American which ended abruptly with bye bye birdy and the assignation of JFK in 1963..
After 2o years of absence Ken Jorgenson (Richard Egan) comes back to Pine Island a Wealthy ,Exclusive Isolated community of the coast of Maine where he worked as a lifeguard as a teenager,Now A Millionaire he brings his family to the mansion belonging to the Hunters who’s servants quarters he used to sleep in . Now a Holiday House as the Hunters have lost their fortune Bart Hunter a chronic alcoholic ( Arthur Kennedy) is indignant at the prospect of having the former help Lord it over him, however when he arrives that is the very least of his troubles, and Old Flame between Ken and Barts Wife Sylvia (Dorothy McGuire) is rekindled and the Children of both Ken and Bart
Johnny (Troy Donahue) and Molly (Sandra Dee) fall madly in love, all Goes belly after Johnny and Molly spend the night washed overboard from a dingy alone on and island, when Molly’s Mother played Mercilessly by (Constance Ford) a morally bankrupt hypocrite , demands Molly have a Medical Examination by a doctor to see if her “Virginity” is in tact.After the examination Molly Runs away and Johnny threatens to kill Molly’s Mother because of whats shes made her daughter go through, its then revealed that Johnny’s Mother is Having an affair with Ken Molly’s dad.
The children are separated by the Lawyers the hatred for their family but Johnny and Molly Still Try to write to Each over despite that happens hoping upon hoping they will meet again someday.
This Film had Risque Dialogue and Subject matter for 1959 including infidelity, divorce and premarital sex , and you still feel for the who you consider to be the good people in this case the adulterous married lovers, and despise the morally superior and upper Middle Class for their greed and their selfishness .
The only things people will remember (if anything at all) about this film if the popular theme by Max Steiner (Gone with the Wind) and a little song from grease called ‘Look at me Im Sandra Dee” The Film may seem like a soap in all its 1959 CinemaScope glory , but it still has the desired affect,you do feel for Johnny and Molly and what terrible consequences brought the two together
and you hope against hope nothing will pull them asunder
Tags: Alcoholism, Based off Novel, Divorce, Forbidden Love, Infidelity, Lost Love, Love for Children, Love Triangle, Marriage, Max Steiner
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
The Devils 1971
Posted by spheer2002 | Filed under Film, Films of the 1970's
If you Like films about Crazy nuns and people who are absolutly Nuts this is for you, camp as a line of tents…….The Devils (1971) is a film directed by Ken Russell starring Oliver Reed and Vanessa Redgrave, and based on the 1952 book The Devils of Loudun by Aldous Huxley and the 1960 play The Devils by John Whiting, also based on Huxley’s book. Derek Jarman was responsible for the film’s production design. It tells the story of Urbain Grandier, a 17th century French priest executed for witchcraft.
watch out for Vanessa Redgrave .she is hysterical !
Tags: Accusation, Aldous Huxley, Based off Novel, Based off Play, Derek Jarman, Ken Russell, Madness, Nuns, Trial, Witch Hunt
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
My Cousin Rachel 1952
Posted by spheer2002 | Filed under Film, Films of the 1950's
Remember Melanie From Gone with the Wind..?
Imagine her now with a potential streak for homocide! When Philip Ashley’s (Richard Burton “Cleopatra” before hitting the bottle and Liz)much-loved (and rich) cousin Ambrose dies, he is convinced that Ambrose was murdered by his new wife Rachel (Olivia De Haviland “Gone With The Wind)to inherit his wealth. But when he meets Rachel he falls in love with her,He starts to second guess himself and places Rachel in Pride of place in his Household. A cloud soon descends upon the Ashley estate and it soon seems that dear Cousin Rachel is not all she says she is,Is it just paranoia or she seriously trying to use Philip to get at the estate Ambrose left to him instead of to her And will she ‘really’ capable of cold calculated murder!
Originally slated for Greta Garbo,with George Cukor Directing , Garbo which she Ultimately Rejected, next in Line was Vivian Leigh, but for what ever reason, She wasnt able to commit to it either, Enter Olivia De Haviland,having not done a film for a couple of years after her oscar winning performance in ‘The heiress” and she does a brilliant job, You spend all of the movie racking you brains wither or not she is a genuine loving human being or she is indeed out to do ill, which is the greatest thing about this film, With a score by Franz Waxman who strangely did the score for another Famous Daphne du Maurier Novel ”Rebecca” (see Blog) which Ironically starred De Haviland’s real Life Sister Joan Fontiane, Like Rebecca This is a Gothic Noir Film, that plays against the wild plains of the windswept English countryside, which is not that far removed from Wuthering Heights.
Its a Beautiful mystery but do not at any point assume anything about Rachel or what she does. all you need to remember is what Richard Burton says in the beginning of the film
Murder Begets Murder
Tags: Based off Novel, Daphne du Maurier, Franz Waxman, Gothic, Movies Garbo Rejected, Mysterious Death, Richard Burton, sickness, Victorian Era
Party Monster 2003
Posted by spheer2002 | Filed under Film, Films of the 2000's
Before Corey Worthington there was .. Michael Alig,
Set in the New York club scene of the late 1980’s thru the 1990’s, a tale which chronicles the rise and fall of club-kid promoter Michael Alig, a party organizer, whose extravagant life was sent spiralling downward when he boasted on television that he had killed his friend, roommate, and drug dealer, Angel Melendez. Originally from Indiana, Alig moved to New York, and came to be an underground legend, known for his excessive drug use and outrageous behavior in the club world
This Comes Highly recommended …
if anyone had any doubts about Macaulay Culkin in adult acting roles this will dispel them
Tags: Autobiographical, Based off Novel, Bi, Decadence, Drug Culture, Drugs, Gay, Murder, Party
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
