Say Hello to a Great Director--Alfred Hitchcock

I watched "Stage Fright" (1950) today, for the first time. I did not know until the opening credits that it was directed by Alfred Hitchcock. Hitchcock got into the business when directors were directors; they were not also producers, writers, and actors. Back in the day, most people in the business found what they did well and stuck with it. And Mr. Hitchcock directed very well. While I believe he contributed to writing most of the stories he directed, he did not take credit. In addition, he did not list himself in the acting credits, although he made a cameo appearance in every film he directed. It was kind of a game with his fans, trying to find the cameo in each film.

"Stage Fright" did not disappoint me, on the whole. I was disappointed to see Marlene Dietrich in a major role, because I really don't care for her, but I suppose she was box office gold, at the time. I was delighted to see Alistair Sim in a prominent role. I suppose he is most famous for playing Ebenezer Scrooge in the 1951 version of "A Christmas Carol". This movie came out the year before, and I wonder if he was well known prior to "Stage Fright". He appeared in many movies that I have not heard of before "Stage Fright", and I imagine they were mostly British movies, and he was probably quite famous in Great Britain were he was born and died.

This was the first movie that Pat Hitchcock, Alfred's daughter, appeared in. She was to appear in several of her father's movies, as well as his television show, "Afred Hitchcock Presents", but she also appeared in other films not associated with her father. I was also delighted to Jane Wyman in this movie, an actress for whom I continue to develop an admiration. She gave some wonderful performances throughout her stellar career, but I am not here to talk about Jane Wyman's achievements. Let's talk some more about Alfred.

If you have a favorite Hitchcock movie, why not comment about it here? What follows is a listing of my favorite Hitchcock films, with a brief explanation of why I like each one.

"Rebecca" (1940) - The first movie in which I saw Laurence Olivier as a young man, and I fell hard for him. What a gorgeous man he was! This is a great story that keeps you guessing until the end.

"Shadow of a Doubt" (1943) - Joseph Cotton usually played the nice guy, but he plays a vicious criminal in this film, and he will blow you away. Awesome, creepy film.

"Spellbound" (1945) - With Gregory Peck, and the first Hitchcock-directed film starring Ingrid Bergman, whom I adore! Another one that keeps you guessing.

"Notorious" (1946) - Another one starring Ingrid Bergman, this time with Cary Grant. This is one of my all-time favorite movies--wonderful acting, great story, and fantastic ending. Love Claude Rains' performance!

"Strangers on a Train" (1951) - I watch this one just for Robert Walker's chilling performance.

"Dial M for Murder" (1954) - The best thing about this one is it stars Ray Milland, one of my favorite actors. It also stars Grace Kelly, which is probably why everyone else likes it.

"Rear Window" (1954) - This is probably my favorite Alfred Hitchcock film. One of the most suspenseful films you'll ever see. Starring Grace Kelly, again, with Jimmy Stewart, this time, and the great Thelma Ritter.

"The Wrong Man" (1956) - An obscure film starring Henry Fonda. It is very interesting. I have only seen it once, but would watch it again. A great example of awesome directing.

"North by Northwest" (1959) - Another favorite Hitchcock movie. It stars Cary Grant and Eva Marie Saint, another wonderful actress. It also stars James Mason, an actor I'll have to talk about on this blog sometime. What a great voice, and Eddie Izzard thinks he's God. Then there's Martin Landau, who starred in the Mission: Impossible TV series a few years later. And Leo G. Carroll, who would later head up the United Network Command for Law and Enforcement on TV's "The Man from U.N.C.L.E." (but this was after he was killed in "Tarantula").

"Psycho" (1960) - Okay, I guess everyone knows this one. My point is, Hitchcock made lots of films before "Psycho" that were just as innovative and maybe even better. Don't get stuck on one movie. The whole point of this blog is to get you to become familiar with films you may not have heard of before. If you haven't seen "Psycho", you should watch it, but please look at some of the others, as well.

"The Birds" (1963) - Probably as famous as "Psycho", and it has some creepy moments, but it never blew me away. Probably because it was built up so much by everyone before I saw it. When I finally saw it, it was like "what's the big deal?"

You might also enjoy watching some episodes of "Alfred Hitchcock Presents", which was a very innovative TV show, hosted by Alfred, himself. His introductions were usually tongue-in-cheek and hilarious.

I really gotta run now ... "Mister Roberts" is coming on! You'll find it listed on my blog about James Cagney.

I'm "On the Waterfront" with Marlon

Tonight, I'm watching "On the Waterfront". I love this movie in so many ways. This post will be full of history and trivia, in the hopes of peaking your interest and compelling you to watch it for yourself.

Frank Sinatra was originally cast as Terry Malloy, the part eventually given to Marlon Brando, for which he won his first Oscar. Believe it or not, Frank held a grudge and was not friendly toward Marlon, even when they were filming "Guys and Dolls" together. However, I believe Marlon got the part that Frank wanted in that movie, as well. I find it interesting that one actor would hold a grudge against another actor for being a more talented actor. Anyway, this has been heralded by many as Marlon's best performance, and I agree, although "A Streetcar Named Desire" comes close. John Turturro said that if he asked a girl to go see "On the Waterfront" and she declined, he would not have anything else to do with her. Speaking of John Turturro, his character, Herbie Stemple, in the movie "Quiz Show" was asked to give a wrong answer to the question, "Which movie won the Academy Award for Best Picture in 1955?' "On the Waterfront" was the winner that year, and Herbie was told to say "Marty".

This was the first movie for Eva Marie Saint, who would later star in "North by Northwest". It was also the first movie for Fred Gwynne, who would later become famous for playing Herman Munster, and also appeared in "The Boy Who Could Fly" and played the judge in "My Cousin Vinny". I would say this was also the first substantial role for Rod Steiger, who gives an incredible performance as Terry's older brother, Charley.

This movie is probably most famous for the scene in the back of a taxi, where Terry explains to Charley why he won't be a mug for the union anymore. He says, "You don't understand. I coulda had class. I coulda been a contender. I coulda been somebody, instead of a bum, which is what I am, let's face it." It's a heart wrenching scene that really sticks with you. That line may seem corny, taken out of context, but, when you watch the movie from the beginning and see Terry's struggle, it becomes one of the best scenes in the film, one I look forward to every time I watch. Right after this scene,Terry breaks down Edie's apartment door to convince her she loves him. Love that!

This movie was directed by Elia Kazan, who won the best director Oscar for doing so. He also received an honorary Oscar in 1999. At that time, much of Hollywood protested his receiving such an award, based solely on his actions before the House Un-American Activities Committee in 1952. This committee was chaired by Joseph McCarthy, who was intent on finding and punishing famous people who were communists. Kazan was the first in Hollywood to cooperate with the committee, and is credited with ruining the careers of many people in Hollywood who were communists. I believe Kazan stood by his actions the rest of his life.

The music for the film is by Leonard Bernstein, who is probably most famous for writing the music for "West Side Story". The music fits perfectly with the movie. It's somewhat thematic, but mainly just there to help your emotions along.

This is one of those films that seems perfect. I can't imagine that it would have been so, had anything been different. The acting, directing, music, and screenplay are exactly as they should be. If you've never seen this film, I highly recommend it. If you haven't seen it, and you want to, and you live near me, I'd love to come to you or have you over to my place so we can enjoy it together! It is a movie that I hope will become as memorable to you as it will always be for me.

And, John Turturro, if your current wife ever dies, I'm available.

Allow Me to Introduce, James Francis Cagney

Born July 17, 1899, in New York City
Died March 30, 1986

He was the second recipient of the American Film Institute's Lifetime Achievement Award, and the first actor to receive it. I remember watching the event on TV. It was 1974, and he hadn't made a movie since 1961. As he walked down the steps, he did the same little tap and shuffle he did on the White House steps in "Yankee Doodle Dandy" over 30 years before. I was 17 years old, and I absolutely adored Jimmy Cagney, but I didn't know why, exactly.

Looking back, and watching one of his movies today ("The Mayor of Hell"), I think it was because he always played characters who had no fear. He was 5'6" tall, but bigger than life. I saw an interview with Joan Leslie, his costar in "Yankee Doodle Dandy", and she stated that Jimmy asked that any characters he had to fight with in his films be played by actors who were taller than he was. It doesn't seem like that would be hard to do, since he was so short, but, when you watch him knocking people down in film after film, it's believable. There's an actor currently in the business who reminds me of Cagney -- Jackie Earle Haley, who actually measures an inch shorter than Jimmy. Jackie also believably portrays guys you wouldn't want to cross.

Cagney appeared in his first film in 1930, but it was a starring role in "The Public Enemy" in 1931 that shot him to stardom. In this film, he is cruel to men and women alike. His character, Tom Powers, is the scum of the earth, but you might find yourself rooting for him to win. After "The Public Enemy", he was consistently cast as a gangster, maybe because he played the part so well.

I haven't seen every James Cagney film, but I have enjoyed every one I have seen. If I've peaked your interest in James Cagney, here's a list of films to get you started. (Unless otherwise noted, he plays a gangster or hoodlum of some sort):

"The Public Enemy" (1931)
"The Mayor of Hell" (1933)
"A Midsummer Night's Dream" (1935) (yes, the Shakespeare play--no gangsters)
"The Roaring Twenties" (1939)
"The Bride Came C.O.D." (1941) (romantic comedy, with Bette Davis)
"Yankee Doodle Dandy" (1942) (introduced to me by my Daddy; a musical biography of George M Cohan)
"White Heat" (1949)
"The West Point Story" (1950) (musical)
"Love Me or Leave Me" (1955) (a musical where he plays a gangster in love with a singer, played by Doris Day)
"Mister Roberts" (1955) (a comedy)
"Man of a Thousand Faces" (1957) (biography of Lon Chaney)
"One, Two, Three" (1961) (comedy)
"Ragtime" (1981) (drama where he plays a police chief)

So, pick up whatever movie you can find and join me in celebrating the acting genius of Jimmy Cagney -- a short guy I shouldn't like, but who had my heart from the moment I first saw him.

Fail-Safe vs. Dr. Strangelove

 

I watched "Fail-Safe" today, a movie which I had not seen before. It was released by Columbia Pictures, in the fall of 1964, when Americans thought a lot about whether or not Russia would launch nuclear bombs to completely destroy us. This was known as the "Cold War". Earlier the same year, Stanley Kubrick's "Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb" was released by Columbia Pictures, on Kubrick's insistence that his movie be released first.

These two movies eerily follow the same plot line. Unfortunately for "Fail-Safe", "Dr. Strangelove" is a satire. "Fail-Safe" is dead serious. It is said that moviegoers laughed at "Fail-Safe" because it was so much like "Dr. Strangelove". I have seen "Strangelove" a few times, and it has never impressed me to the extent that "Fail-Safe" did today. I have never been a great fan of Stanley Kubrick, who also directed "Spartacus", "Lolita", "2001: A Space Odyssey", "A Clockwork Orange", "Barry Lyndon", "The Shining", "Full Metal Jacket", and "Eyes Wide Shut". Of these films, I was riveted by "A Clockwork Orange", and thoroughly enjoyed "Barry Lyndon". The others I could take or leave, particularly "The Shining", because it is so far removed from the book that I think anyone watching it who had not read the book would not get the movie. A TV miniseries of "The Shining", which aired in 1997, and for which Steven King wrote the teleplay, is a much better adaptation of the book.

"Fail-Safe" was directed by Sidney Lumet, a brilliant director, many of whose films I love, and a man who died earlier this year. Sidney Lumet got his start directing television. His feature film directorial debut was "12 Angry Men". He also directed "Serpico" (my first R-rated movie), "Murder on the Orient Express", "Dog Day Afternoon", "Network", "Equus", "The Wiz", "The Verdict" (hands down, my favorite Paul Newman movie), and "The Morning After" (one of the few Jane Fonda films I have enjoyed, probably because it stars Jeff Bridges, whom I adore).

If you have a hankering to watch both of these cold war movies, I would suggest watching "Fail-Safe" first. That way, it won't be funny, and you can appreciate the humor and satire of "Dr. Strangelove". I recommend "Fail-Safe", if you're in the mood for a serious thriller. Be prepared to avoid distractions, as missing any part of the plot can be confusing.

I had a similar experience with two other movies that had nearly identical plots, one meaning to be serious, and the other satirical. In this instance, I laughed at the serious movie, because it seemed so ridiculous. The serious movie was "Zero Hour". The satire was "Airplane". I later learned that the Zucker brothers, who wrote and directed "Airplane" with Jim Abrahams, bought the rights to "Zero Hour" so that they could remake it as a comedy. There are scenes in these two films that are identical, including the dialogue, which is delivered by the actors seriously in "Zero Hour", and comically in "Airplane". The characters all even have the same names.

Until next time, keep your ear to the ground and keep watching the skies!

Welcome!

While this blog is mainly devoted to classic movies, I will also talk about more recent films. My approach to writing about movies may be different than what you are accustomed to reading. It has been my experience that professional movie reviewers will recite the plot of a movie, then share their opinions about it.

In 1978, I went to the movie theater with my steady guy, not sure which movie we were going to see. We bought tickets for a movie called "The Deer Hunter", which neither of us had heard anything about. It turned out to be a great experience, not having any preconceived notions about the film, not knowing who was in it. From then on, I avoided reading reviews and tried to look for movies to watch that hadn't been heavily promoted. As the years have gone by, this has become much harder to do.

With this blog, I am attempting to introduce today's twenty-somethings, thirty-somethings, and even 40-somethings, to older movies, actors, and directors, that they may have never heard of or seen. So, "come on along, come on along, let me take you by the hand"* and show you some of my favorite films and the people who made them great.

*Quote from the song, "Alexander's Ragtime Band", written by Irving Berlin, and used in the movie by the same name, released in 1938.