Movies, Mom & Me

    I performed some serious updates, including links, basic word editing when I noticed errors, as much label editing as I noticed, whew! I'm glad that's done, at least for awhile.
    I expect to have to do brief dusting, from time to time, as links go awry or I notice problems I didn't previously notice. And, of course, there will very likely be additions and deletions (one of which happened two days ago) as the years continue.
    As I worked through this part of the journals, things came to mind about our movie collection or movies in general that I meant to mentally tag and mention in this post, but I can't seem to recall those mental tags, at the moment, probably because I need an editing break. Anyway, I've got errands to run. When I return and my mind is movie-rested, perhaps I'll scan the journal to jog my memory of some of the items that caught my attention and upon which I wanted to comment in an overall post. We'll see.

    I was just cleaning up after today's input of movies into my catalogue and realized I have no movies beginning with the letters "X" and "Z". I performed a quick search on Wikipedia and found some interesting entries for X, two of which I've actually seen, and, no, the two I've seen are not X-Men movies. Z has loads of interesting looking movies, so many they are categorized by second letters after Z. There is a Z movie I love: "Z", a politically rigorous Costa-Gavras movie fantastically made and acted. My local library branch has a copy of it which I check out about once a year. No need to own it.     So, it may be awhile before those letters appear in my own movie list to the left. Maybe never. Who knows.

• 
  Commentary:  This collection, dear Reader, is my prize. I stumbled across it while looking for a copy of one of my all time favorite movies, A Face in the Crowd. After Donald Trump was elected U.S. President, I couldn't get this movie out of my head. I was not alone in this. Four Films That Explain the Rise of Donald Trump, a thoughtful article written by Sean Mulvihill on the Roger Ebert website, meditates on this, as well. Interestingly, long before Donald Trump was elected U. S. President, I owned all of the four films Sean Mulvihill talks about. Our library, at the time I was ravenous to watch A Face in the Crowd, didn't have a copy (it does, now; I suspect there were several people requesting it after Trump's election). Every copy I found for sale was horribly expensive. Then, I noticed this collection that included this movie. It was priced out of my range but I kept my eye on it, day after day, month after month. Finally, it dropped by half, which brought the price down to just under $2.00 a movie. That I could afford. I scanned the collection of the other 14 movies. Some I'd seen, some I hadn't, two I already owned (which meant I could give copies of those movies to my actor niece, both of which are classics). I knew of all of them and was excited about seeing all of them. The list below is what was contained in the collection. There are still four (or, maybe five, I can't remember) that I haven't seen. Owning this collection is a delight. I'd never paid much attention to Elia Kazan as a director. Now, I'm much better educated!
  • 
    A Letter to Elia:  The collection includes an "intensely personal and deeply moving tribute" to Elia Kazan by Martin Scorsese and a coffee table type book about the films and Kazan's development. The tribute is pretty much a vanity project, but the book is interesting and the tribute is not a complete waste of time.
      Here's a link to the Wikipedia write-up of the film.
      Release Date: 2010
  
  
  • 
    A Tree Grows in Brooklyn:  Under construction.
      

    Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role
    Dorothy McGuire	Katie Nolan	Joan Blondell	Aunt Sissy	James Dunn	Johnny Nolan	Lloyd Nolan	Officer McShane
    James Gleason	McGarrity	Ted Donaldson	Neeley Nolan	Peggy Ann Garner	Francie Nolan	Ruth Nelson	Miss McDonough
    John Alexander	Steve Edwards	B.S. Pully	Christmas Tree Vendor	Ferike Boros	Grandma Rommely	Charles Halton	Mr. Barker

    
      Here's a link to the Wikipedia write-up of the film.
      Release Date: 1945
  
  
  • 
    Boomerang:  Pretty interesting legal drama. Made me wonder if this created a standard by which all legal dramas are now measured.
      Arthur Miller appeared in this movie as a suspect in a police lineup.
      

    Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role
    Dana Andrews	Henry L. Harvey	Jane Wyatt	Madge Harvey	Lee J. Cobb	Chief Harold F. Robinson	Cara Williams	Irene Nelson
    Arthur Kennedy	John Waldron	Sam Levene	Dave Woods	Taylor Holmes	T. M. Wade	Robert Keith	Mac McCreery
    Ed Begley	Paul Harris	Karl Malden	Det. Lt. White	William Challee	Stone	Lewis Leverett	Whitney

    
      Here's a link to the Wikipedia write-up of the film.
      Release Date: 1947
    → film-noir1; lee-j-cobb
  
  
  • 
    Gentleman's Agreement:  Dated but engaging film about anti-Semitism in the U.S. Disturbing despite its datedness.
      

    Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role
    Gregory Peck	Philip Schuyler Green	Anne Revere	Mrs. Green	Dorothy McGuire	Kathy Lacey	June Havoc	Elaine Wales
    John Garfield	Dave Goldman	Albert Dekker	John Minify	Celeste Holm	Anne Dettrey	Jane Wyatt	Jane
    Dean Stockwell	Tommy Green	Nicholas Joy	Dr. Craigie	Sam Jaffe	Prof. Fred Lieberman	Harold Vermilyea	Lou Jordan

    
      Here's a link to the Wikipedia write-up of the film.
      Release Date: 1947
    → gregory-peck
  
  
  • 
    Pinky:  An unusual take on discrimination in the U.S. South. Shows, obliquely, how idiotic, and yet how powerful, it is.
      

    Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role
    Jeanne Crain	Patricia "Pinky" Johnson	Ethel Barrymore	Miss Em	Ethel Waters	Dicey Johnson	William Lundigan	Dr. Thomas Adams
    Basil Ruysdael	Judge Walker	Kenny Washington	Dr. Canady	Nina Mae McKinney	Rozelia	Griff Barnett	Dr. Joe McGill
    Frederick O'Neal	Jake Waters	Evelyn Varden	Melba Wooley	Raymond Greenleaf	Judge Shoreman	Juanita Moore	Nurse

    
      Here's a link to the Wikipedia write-up of the film.
      Release Date: 1949
  
  
  • 
    Panic in the Streets:  An early plague movie with a film-noir twist. Engaging.
      

    Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role
    Richard Widmark	Lt. Cmdr. Reed, M.D.	Paul Douglas	Cpt. Tom Warren	Barbara Bel Geddes	Nancy Reed	Jack Palance	Blackie
    Zero Mostel	Raymond Fitch	Alexis Minotis	John Mefaris	Dan Riss	Nef	Guy Thonajan	Poldi

    
      Here's a link to the Wikipedia write-up of the film.
      Release Date: 1950
    → film-noir2; jack-palance
  
  
  • 
    A Streetcar Named Desire:  My write-up, including Actor/Role table, is linked to the title.
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  • 
    Viva Zapata!:  Under construction.
      

    Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role
    Marlon Brando	Emiliano Zapata	Jean Peters	Josefa Zapata	Anthony Quinn	Eufemio Zapata	Joseph Wiseman	Fernando Aguirre
    Arnold Moss	Don Nacio	Alan Reed	Pancho Villa	Margo	Soldadera	Harold Gordon	Francisco Ignacio Madero
    Lou Gilbert	Pablo	Frank Silvera	Victoriano Huerta	Florenz Ames	Señor Espejo	Richard Garrick	Old General
    Fay Roope	Porfirio Díaz	Mildred Dunnock	Señora Espejo	Henry Silva	Hernández	Ross Bagdasarian	Officer

    
      Here's a link to the Wikipedia write-up of the film.
      Release Date: 1952
  
  
  • 
    Man on a Tightrope:  Under construction.
      

    Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role
    Fredric March	Karel Černík	Terry Moore	Tereza Černík	Gloria Grahame	Zama Černík	Cameron Mitchell	Joe Vosdek
    Adolphe Menjou	Fesker	Robert Beatty	Barović	Alexander D'Arcy	Rudolph	Richard Boone	Krofta

    
      Here's a link to the Wikipedia write-up of the film.
      Release Date: 1953
  → marlon-brando
  
  
  • 
    On the Waterfront:  I am ashamed to admit that I have not watched this yet. I keep avoiding it, despite my curiosity. I'm not sure why but will report back when I've watched it.
      Yes, Roger Ebert christened this movies as one of his Great Movies.
      Yet another movie, by the way, that has actors who were later stars playing small, uncredited roles.
      

    Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role
    Marlon Brando	Terry Malloy	Karl Malden	Father Pete Barry	Lee J. Cobb	Michael J. Skelly	Rod Steiger	Charlie Malloy
    Eva Marie Saint	Edie Doyle	Pat Henning	Timothy J. Dugan	John F. Hamilton	Pop Doyle	Ben Wagner	Joey Doyle
    Fred Gwynne	Mladen Sekulovich	Martin Balsam	Gillette	Pat Hingle	Jocko	Nehemiah Persoff	Cab Driver

    
      Here's a link to the Wikipedia write-up of the film.
      Release Date: 1954
    → pat-hingle; nehemiah-persoff; marlon-brando; lee-j-cobb
  
  
  • 
    East of Eden:  My write-up, including Actor/Role table, is linked to the title.
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  • 
    Baby Doll:  This is a dark, satirical romp that is multi-layered. I've watched it twice in astonishment. Each time I notice something else bizarre. Everyone performs exquisitely.
      

    Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role
    Karl Malden	Archie Lee Meighan	Carroll Baker	Baby Doll Meighan	Eli Wallach	Silva Vacarro	Mildred Dunnock	Aunt Rose Comfort
    Lonny Chapman	Rock	Eades Hogue	Town Marshal	Madeleine Sherwood	Nurse	Rip Torn	Dentist

    
      Here's a link to the Wikipedia write-up for this movie.
      Release Date: 1956
    → southern-gothic; eli-wallach
  
  
  • 
    A Face in the Crowd:  Watch this movie because Donald Trump is President of the U.S. Watch it because Andy Griffith's performance will blow you away. It will make you wonder how the hell he got stuck in Mayberry.
      

    Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role
    Andy Griffith	Larry Rhodes	Patricia Neal	Marcia Jeffries	Anthony Franciosa	Joey DePalma	Walter Matthau	Mel Miller
    Lee Remick	Betty Lou Fleckum	Percy Waram	Gen. Haynesworth	Paul McGrath	Macey	Rod Brasfield	Beanie
    Marshall Neilan	Sen. Worthington Fuller	Kay Medford	1st Mrs. Rhodes	Lois Nettleton	Nurse	Rip Torn	Barry Mills

    
      Here's a link to the Wikipedia write-up of the film.
      Release Date: 1957
  
  
  • 
    Wild River:  Under construction.
      

    Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role
    Montgomery Clift	Chuck Glover	Lee Remick	Carol Garth Baldwin	Jo Van Fleet	Ella Garth	Albert Salmi	R.J. Bailey
    Jay C. Flippen	Hamilton Garth	James Westerfield	Cal Garth	Barbara Loden	Betty Jackson	Frank Overton	Walter Clark
    Malcolm Atterbury	Sy Moore	Bruce Dern	Jack Roper	Robert Earl Jones	Sam Johnson	Ross Apperson	Attorney Armstrong

    
      Here's a link to the Wikipedia write-up of the film.
      Release Date: 1960
    → southern-gothic; pat-hingle
  
  
  • 
    Splendor in the Grass:  The first time I saw this movie I was unmoved. After I received this collection I watched it again and became surprisingly caught up in it. The final scenes are perfect.
      Both TCM and Emmanuel Levy have a flurry of pages about this movie. I've linked the title of the movie to the TCM posts. A list of Emmanuel Levy's posts about this movie is here. They all look interesting.
      In addition, DVD Savant has a review well worth reading in this post about the Natalie Wood Signature Collection. The review for this movie can be found as the third movie reviewed down the page.
      

    Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role
    Natalie Wood	Wilma Dean Loomis	Pat Hingle	Ace Stamper	Audrey Christie	Mrs. Loomis	Barbara Loden	Virginia Stamper
    Zohra Lampert	Angelina	Warren Beatty	Bud Stamper	Fred Stewart	Del Loomis	Joanna Roos	Mrs. Stamper
    John McGovern	Doc Smiley	Jan Norris	Juanita Howard	Martine Bartlett	Miss Metcalf	Gary Lockwood	Allen Tuttle
    Sandy Dennis	Kay	Crystal Field	Hazel	Marla Adams	June	Lynn Loring	Carolyn
    Phyllis Diller	Texas Guinan	Sean Garrison	Glen	Mark Slade	Rusty	William Inge	Reverend Whitman

    
      Here's a link to the Wikipedia write-up of the film.
      Release Date: 1961
    → pat-hingle
  
  
  • 
    America America:  Haven't watched this yet but I suspect I am going to fall in love with it. It's an old world/new world historical drama with an emphasis on character; right up my alley. I'll report back.
      

    Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role
    Stathis Giallelis	Stavros Topouzoglou	Frank Wolff	Vartan Damadian	Harry Davis	Isaac Topouzoglou	Elena Karam	Vasso Topouzoglou
    Estelle Hemsley	Grandmother Topouzoglou	Gregory Rozakis	Hohannes Gardashian	Lou Antonio	Abdul	Salem Ludwig	Odysseus Topouzoglou
    John Marley	Garabet	Joanna Frank	Vartuhi	Paul Mann	Aleko Sinnikoglou	Linda Marsh	Thomna Sinnikoglou

    
      Here's a link to the Wikipedia write-up for this movie.
      Release Date: 1963
    

Labels: carroll-baker, eli-wallach, elia-kazan, film-noir1&2, gang-movie, gregory-peck, jack-palance, karl-malden, lee-j-cobb, marlon-brando, martin-scorsese, melodramaB, natalie-wood, nehemiah-persoff, pat-hingle

• 
  Commentary:  I'm putting no labels on this collection other than the "collection" label, since this write-up includes four very different movies. It is interesting to note that the collection is named "Romantic Dramas" by TCM, who put it together, which I like because, having watched all of these movies at least once, they are romantic in the old tradition. Yes, they include relationship material, but in a much more complicated way than we tend to think of "romance" today. In addition, each of these films, in one way or another, follows the old, nuanced definition of "romantic": "marked by the imaginative or emotional appeal of what is heroic, adventurous, remote, mysterious, or idealized". This is not a collection of Pretty Woman fantasy type romantic dramas. This is a collection of "real life" romantic drama.
  Update 5/26/21:  Well, I put another label on this collection, popcorn-and-soda2, which is appropriate to all four movies, especially if watched on a binge-worthy afternoon.
  Update 8/3/21:  And, another label, I finally relented and placed these in the romance4 category.
    This Collection Includes:
  
  
  
  East of Eden:  To my mind, this is a good adaptation of the second half of the novel. My preference is for the novel, but the film is excellent, as well, and handy to keep in mind as you read the novel.
    

  Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role
  Julie Harris	Abra Bacon	James Dean	Caleb Trask	Raymond Massey	Adam Trask	Richard Davalos	Aaron Trask
  Burl Ives	Sheriff Sam	Jo Van Fleet	Kate Ames/Cathy Trask	Albert Dekker	Will Hamilton	Harold Gordon	Gustav Albrecht
  Nick Dennis	Rantani	Lois Smith	Servant Anne	Timothy Carey	Henchman Joe	Barbara Baxley	Nurse

  
    Here's a link to the Wikipedia write-up of the film.
    Release Date: 1955
    Directed by Elia Kazan.
  → lois-smith, elia-kazan
  
  
  
  Cat on a Hot Tin Roof:  This is my favorite film adaptation of this play. Sometimes film adaptations of Tennessee Williams' plays don't hold my interest, but this one does. Paul Newman adds a vulnerability to Brick that is hard to beat and Elizabeth Taylor as Maggie is perfect. The convolutions revealed, as lies unravel, is compelling. This is a true troubled family drama. The only characters outside of family who appear in this are the clean-up crew, so to speak.
    

  Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role
  Elizabeth Taylor	Margaret Pollitt	Paul Newman	Brick Pollitt	Burl Ives	Harvey Pollitt	Judith Anderson	Ida Pollitt
  Jack Carson	Cooper Pollitt	Madeleine Sherwood	Mae Flynn Pollitt	Larry Gates	Dr. Baugh	Vaughn Taylor	Deacon Davis

  
    Here's a link to the Wikipedia write-up of the film.
    Release Date: 1958
    Directed by Richard Brooks.
  → southern-gothic, paul-newman
  
  
  
  A Streetcar Named Desire:  Although I enjoyed the acting, it's certainly stellar, I studied this play in college and found the film adaptation confusing and lacking. Read the play, or see it in the theater, before watching the movie.
    Here's what Three Movie Buffs have to say about this film. Interesting, informative reviews from all three.
    In addition, look! Another 1951 film I didn't even realize I had!
    

  Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role
  Vivien Leigh	Blanche	Marlon Brando	Stanley	Kim Hunter	Stella	Karl Malden	Mitch
  Rudy Bond	Steve	Nick Dennis	Pablo	Peg Hillias	Eunice	Wright King	Collector
  Ann Dere	Matron	Edna Thomas	Mexican Woman	Richard Garrick	Doctor	Lyle Latell	Policeman

  
    A miscellaneous note ripped from the Wikipedia page, linked below: As of May 2022, Mickey Kuhn, who played The Sailor and is not listed in the Actor/Role table, above, is the last surviving cast member of this movie.
    Here's a link to the Wikipedia write-up of the film.
    Release Date: 1951
    Directed by Elia Kazan
  → marlon-brando, southern-gothic, birth-year, elia-kazan
  
  
  
  Rebel Without a Cause:  Perhaps I wasn't the right age when I first saw this movie, well into my 50's, but it just doesn't attract me. As far as James Dean's acting is concerned, my favorite movie is Giant. That one makes me wish his life had been longer so he could develop as an actor. This movie, well, I'm sure it was a money maker, and I guess he acted well, but I found the story tedious and his character nothing to write home about. I know. It's sacrilegious to say that, but, well, I'm glad he got two other really involving films under his belt before he died.
    Roger Ebert christened this movie as one of his Great Movies. I've linked his review to the of this movie.
    

  Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role
  James Dean	Jim Stark	Natalie Wood	Judy	Sal Mineo	John Crawford	Jim Backus	Frank Stark
  Ann Doran	Carol Stark	Corey Allen	Buzz Gunderson	William Hopper	Judy's Father	Rochelle Hudson	Judy's Mother
  Edward Platt	Ins. Ray Fremick	Marietta Canty	Crawford Family Maid	Virginia Brissac	Grandma Stark	Dennis Hopper	Goon
  Jack Grinnage	Moose	Frank Mazzola	Crunch	Ian Wolfe	Dr. Minton	Beverly Long	Helen
  Robert Foulk	Gene	Jack Simmons	Cookie	Tom Bernard	Harry	Nick Adams	Chick

  
    Here's a link to the Wikipedia write-up of the film.
    Release Date: 1955
    Directed by Nicholas Ray.

Labels: birth-year, elia-kazan, karl-malden, lois-smith, marlon-brando, natalie-wood, paul-newman, popcorn-and-soda2, romance4, southern-gothic

• 
  Commentary:  There's an excellent possibility that I won't be owning this first season of Designated Survivor long. I was thoroughly disappointed in it, but my expectations were uninformed, to say the least. After having read short descriptions of the second season episodes that have aired, I have no intention of watching, let alone purchasing, it. Why am I writing it up, then, if I'll soon be donating it to the library (which, as of right now, does not have a copy of the first season and I'm sure would like one)? In order to complain, frankly. When I learned from my Colorado brother-in-law that he had begun watching a series called Designated Survivor on TV and it began with a full Capitol Dome explosion in which almost everyone in government was murdered, I was excited. I have, off hand, for years, decades, even, wondered what the effect would be of such an event. I've wondered, too, if the effects might be salutary, since it seems that this country is stuck in oligarchy and can't wrench itself away from plutocratic control, seeing as how strict democracy has been killed, and all. When the first season became available I purchased it, sight unseen, especially since my brother-in-law was enthusiastic about it. We had not discussed, however, what I was expecting from such a series versus what he was seeing. Big mistake. I had imagined a series in which the entire idea of government, particularly in the U.S., was suddenly subjected to severe scrutiny and questioning. I was surprised that this might happen on U.S. network TV but impatiently looked forward to it. Of course, this is not the thrust of the series. The idea, structure and operation of government is never questioned in the series. It continues as usual, with different people. The group that perpetuated the disaster is presented as a fanatical, farcical out-group that, of course, would never be taken seriously, except for the violence it produces. The "dilemmas" that are featured in each episode could have been taken directly out of the womb of 24 impregated by The West Wing. I only watched a few episodes of 24 and found it full of violent silliness. I liked The West Wing. Their child, though, is ugly and ill-gotten. I know the U.S. imagination is better than this because my imagination is better than this. It is, I think, this populist U.S. imagination, though, that network television, being headed by people whose literal fortunes are tied to our present government, would never allow, let alone acknowledge. So, the library will be getting this DVD set. I'm sure they'll be pleased. I imagine there are lots of people inquiring about the possibility of checking out this series.
  Update 2/10/18:  That's right, folks. I did it, two days ago. I donated this DVD series 1st season to my library.
    

  Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role
  Kiefer Sutherland	President Thomas Kirkman	Natascha McElhone	First Lady Alexandra Kirkman	Adan Canto	Aaron Shore	Italia Ricci	Emily Rhodes
  LaMonica Garrett	SSA Mike Ritter	Tanner Buchanan	Leo Kirkman	Kal Penn	Seth Wright	Maggie Q	Hannah Wells

  
    Here's a link to the Wikipedia write-up of the film.
    Release Date: 2015-2019
    Various directors for this season, one of whom is female.

Labels: drama4, female-director1, political2, presidential, TV1

• 
  Commentary:  This movie is a very recent purchase. I've been unaware of it for decades because I don't typically watch or like westerns. I own very few. About a month ago, though, I was idly looking up some information on Charlton Heston, wondering if he ever acted in anything in which he didn't indulge in "spectacle acting", you know, like The Ten Commandments or Ben Hur (admittedly, less so the latter movie), movies I own primarily because of my mother's love for them, although I have to admit, they have fostered in me an appreciation for spectacle acting. Anyway, this movie came up. I checked it out, watched it and decided I had to own it as an example of why Charlton Heston had a reputation for being a good actor. It made me realize that the art of spectacle acting has probably been lost, that's probably a shame, but, in the meantime, Charlton Heston made a western that I really like, this one! Joan Hackett is in it, too, and I love her work.
    And, an added bonus: Donald Pleasence, whose work I always love, in anything.
    

  Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role
  Charlton Heston	Will Penny	Joan Hackett	Catherine Allen	John Gries	Horace Greeley Allen	Donald Pleasence	Preacher Quint
  Lee Majors	Blue	Bruce Dern	Rafe Quint	Ben Johnson	Alex	Slim Pickens	Ike Walterstein
  Clifton James	Catron	Anthony Zerbe	Dutchy	Roy Jensen	Boetius Sullivan	G. D. Spradlin	Anse Howard

  
    Here's a link to the Wikipedia write-up of the film.
    Release Date: 1968
    Directed by Tom Gries.

Labels: charlton-heston, drama4, historical2, joan-hackett, period2, revisionist-western, romance1

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  Commentary:  I initiated a new category for this movie, "women's-movie", directly at the suggestion of one of the special features on the movie disk that talks about how this movie is one of a genre of women's movies that went through a heyday in the 40's. I'm sure I have other women's movies in my scroll to the left. I'll be searching them out and tagging them as soon as I publish this write-up.
    The friendship described in this movie between Kit Marlowe and Millie Preston is, in spirit, the exact duplicate of a friendship of which I'm a part: begun in childhood for reasons other than mutual attraction; carried on throughout the years partly through habit, partly because one of the members insists and the other does not refuse; one member painfully self-aware, the other dangerously clueless. I'll bet every woman has had (or still has) one such relationship. That, I think, is the attraction of this movie. Even if the superficial details diverge, the emotional details do not. This kind of relationship is superbly presented in this movie, including the ending in which the viewer, I think, is likely to feel sorry for Kit, even as her bravery in this relationship is understood and approved.
    

  Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role
  Bette Davis	Kit Marlowe	Miriam Hopkins	Millie Drake	Gig Young	Rudd Kendall	John Loder	Preston Drake
  Dolores Moran	Diedre Drake	Phillip Reed	Lucien Grant	Roscoe Karns	Charlie Archer	Anne Revere	Belle Carter
  Esther Dale	Harriet	Marjorie Hoshelle	Margaret Kemp/Fan Club Leader	Francine Rufo	Child Diedre	Ann Doran	Music Store Saleslady

  
    Here's a link to the Wikipedia write-up of the film.
    Release Date: 1943
    Directed by Vincent Sherman.

Labels: bette-davis, drama4, miriam-hopkins, popcorn-and-soda2, women's-movie1

• 
  Commentary:  What am I doing with this disgustingly dated soap opera in my collection? Why would I deign to own it? Good question. It belongs to that category of movies which includes the likes of Valley of the Dolls, the better of which is, for instance, The Group. The Best of Everything, even though in many circles it is considered a classic of the genre, it is also, in my opinion, one of the worst. And one of the most fascinating. I was not raised by this era's dictates, although I have an elder sister who got in on some of them and I remember my mother's fascination with, for instance, gloves, hats and dresses of the style featured in the movies. I escaped all that, somehow. But it is the memory of my mother's fondness for the fashion and attitudes of this era (even though she was not a classic 50's woman, or mother) that allows me to be captivated by this movie. This movie is a perfect encapsulation of what it was like to be a young woman in the 50's. It is what the women of Mona Lisa Smile imagined for themselves and often achieved. The interesting thing about this movie is that it was made, picture perfect and spot-on, as the era was waning, unbeknownst to the characters in the movie or the eager viewers in 1959. The women portrayed in this movie, a mere few years later, read The Feminine Mystique, The Second Sex (usually in that order), and catalyzed Second Wave Feminism.
    I, born in 1951, announced stalwartly to my mother when I was tottering on puberty, in the early 60's, that I was not going to get married or have children because I wanted to have sex with more than one man in my life. I was too young to understand that this was not my primary reason for shying away from marriage, children, mutual housekeeping, but I got the trajectory of my life right, blessedly. Not a 50's attitude, but surely an attitude marking the era in which I came of age.
    Because I saw enough of the dregs of the 50's women's lives, though, despite the fact that I was never interested in that, I was (and still am) drawn to considering the life that us young women of the 60's were eschewing. I think it has something to do with how era begets era. This movie is an encapsulation of the era that birthed mine. I think my attraction to this movie is based on that recognition. The following snippet of conversation between Mike Rice (played by Stephen Boyd), an editor-in-chief of a Fabian publication, and Caroline Bender (played by Hope Lange and possessing an interesting and appropos-to-the-period character last name), a secretary at Fabian later promoted to reader, then editor, illustrates what the era previous to mine wanted from its women:
  
    Mike Rice: Don't you get caught, Caroline.
    Caroline Bender: Caught in what, Mr. Rice?
    Mike Rice: In a bind, Caroline. Or in a bottle, Caroline. In Fabian's (the publishing company for which they both work) publishers of quality, Caroline. Get out quick. Work six months or a year. Prove whatever you have to prove. Then marry the med student or the law student and "love" happily ever after.
    Caroline Bender: I plan to.
    Mike Rice: No business career? No fame? No fortune?
    Caroline Bender: No.
    Mike Rice: No ambition?
    Caroline Bender: None.
    Mike Rice: How Wonderful.
  
    I remember the first time I saw this movie, when my mother was alive, I was flabbergasted at the structure of women's lives it displayed and guffawed as I told my Florida sister about the movie. I no longer guffaw when I watch it. I, rather, contemplate it and how it is, exactly, that my generation and generations since emerged from it. And wonder, are we likely to repeat it in some future incarnation?
  Update 8/3/21:  You'll notice, since I wrote this, I've acquired The Group and Valley of the Dolls. With pleasure. Extra credit question: What does this say about me?
  Update 6/4/22:  I'm telling you, everything in this movie is up for analyzation grabs. As I'm entering this in my movie journal I notice that "the boss" of Fabian Publishing is named "Fred Shalimar". Shalimar is the name of a suffocatingly heavy perfume that was popular in the late 50's and early 60's (and other periods of time). Much to my chagrin, I proudly owned a bottle when I was a young teenager; saved my own money for it; loved it so much I took it on vacation, one year. It broke under the lack of pressurization in the airplane baggage hold (and stunk up everything in my suitcase, by the way, which was fine with me). I immediately replaced it at our first vacation stop, Honolulu, HI.
    

  Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role
  Hope Lange	Caroline Bender	Stephen Boyd	Mike Rice	Suzy Parker	Gregg Adams	Martha Hyer	Barbara Lamont
  Diane Baker	April Morrison	Brian Aherne	Fred Shalimar	Robert Evans	Dexter Key	Brett Halsey	Eddie Harris
  Donald Harron	Sydney Carter	Louis Jourdan	David Savage	Joan Crawford	Amanda Farrow	Ted Otis	Dr. Ronnie Wood

  
    Here's a link to the Wikipedia write-up of the film.
    Release Date: 1959
    Directed by Jean Negulesco.

Labels: 20th-century-chick-flicks1, drama4, joan-crawford, popcorn-and-soda2, romance1

• 
  Commentary:  I originally saw this movie when it was first released outside of Australia in 1971 under the name Outback. It made such an impression on me that I will always think of it by that name. It is an unrelentingly horrifying film and purely Australian. Couldn't have been made anywhere else. Seeing this film marked the beginning of my fascination with Australian cinema and filmmakers.
    I was terribly young when I saw it; not yet 20. For years after that single theater viewing I unsuccessfully searched high and low for further showings of this movie. When DVDs became available I regularly looked for this movie under the title by which I'd known it. Couldn't find it anywhere, in libraries or for sale. Turns out, it was released in 2012 as Wake in Fright. I didn't realize this until I performed yet another search for it a few weeks ago, found a blue ray transfer of it and promptly bought it. Under that name, one of the branches of my library system has a copy. But, that's okay. I needed to own a copy. It is just as startling and unsettling as I remember it. More so, in a way, because I now know, through a special feature on the disc, how the kangaroo hunts were filmed.
    I wouldn't willy nilly recommend this film to just anyone. I'm glad I have a copy, though. It is, only slightly arguably, the bravest, most frightening piece of cinema I've ever seen. Leave it to the Australians.
    In my Movie Cabinets, by the way, it is filed under "Wake in Fright".
    

  Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role
  Gary Bond	John Grant	Donald Pleasence	Clarence F. Tydon	Chips Rafferty	Jock Crawford	Sylvia Kay	Janette Hynes
  Jack Thompson	Dick	Peter Whittle	Joe	Al Thomas	Tim Hynes	John Meillon	Charlie
  John Armstrong	Atkins	Slim De Grey	Jarvis	Maggie Dence	Hotel Receptionist	Norman Erskine	Cook Joe

  
    Here's a link to the Wikipedia write-up of the film.
    Release Date: 1971
    Directed by Ted Kotcheff.

Labels: action1, adventure1, drama4, haunting1, horror1, suspense1, thriller1, tragedy1, violence2