Review - Fear in the Night (1947 - Dir. Maxwell Shane)

I was expecting all of the films listed in 'Nightworld' to contain some kind of monster or other, for example the umbrella creature in Not of This Earth. But no, this one only relates to the book by its title. No stupid low-budget monsters. Shame.

Vince Grayson (DeForest Kelly in his first film role) is a banker who has a rather nasty nightmare in which he kills a fellow in an octagonal mirrored room. Soon after he begins to suspect that it wasn't really a dream and maybe he actually killed the man. (He even says, "I'm a banker, not a murderer," at one point. Well, okay, that's a lie. He doesn't.) His brother-in-law Cliff (Paul Kelly) is a cop and decides to look into his case.

Based on a story by Cornell Woolrich called "Nightmare", Fear in the Night is a film noir thriller with the obligatory narration and moody shadowy atmosphere. The plot was probably quite original at the time but now it all seems pretty obvious what's happening from early on in the proceedings. Even so, I couldn't help but be gripped when the two blokes and their lady friends took shelter from a storm in a house, only for it to turn out to be the one from Vince's dream. There was a certain sense of inevitability about it all and I hoped that the rest of the film would be set in the nightmare house. It isn't though and a fair bit of atmosphere is lost from that point on. Especially when we learn the secret of the nightmare.

Again in 1947 the secret was only too plausible and scary. Yet now, it's common knowledge that the reason for his sleep walking murder spree just doesn't happen. It's a bit like a film's finale requiring the audience to believe that the world is flat. It wouldn't work in these enlightened times. So to enjoy the latter stages, a certain amount of "going with it" needs to be done.

Dr McCoy is great. One of the classic TV characters ever. Yet here DeForest Kelly looks a little wet behind the ear. His acting isn't entirely convincing and his narration seems forced rather than being a natural flow of thoughts emanating from his head. Fortunately the narration stops fairly early on and the more experienced Paul Kelly takes a more prominent role as the gruff no-nonsense cop.

On a positive note there are some quality screen cracking animations, similar in style to the one at the finale of City of the Living Dead. If that's not a selling point, I don't know what is.

Not the greatest of films then, seen in today's light but it is entirely suitable for a late Friday night. Switch off your brain for a while and it's not too bad.
4/10
evlkeith 

If you like this you could also try:
Hollow Triumph, Somewhere in the Night.

Review - Portrait of Jennie (1948 - Dir. William Dieterle)

I was chatting to someone today about a film that I'd watched last night. When the subject of it being a black and white film came up, the person in question said, "I don't watch black and white films." I knew he liked horror stuff so I enquired as to whether he'd seen Psycho. Nope. 

Black and white photography is fine and often seen in wedding albums. It is even referred to as contemporary. 

But black and white films are rarely made, probably due to the fact that they won't make any money. I've seen eyes glaze over and brains switch off as soon as a black and white film appears on the telly. 

There is a huge barrier that could all be down to the perception of black and white films as being dull. Granted, the pace is slower, but the stories are arguably better than anything that's being knocked out today. How many films have you seen that have a great start, then peter out towards the end as the writer discovers they haven't got a clue what the film is about. They just had a great initial idea.

Crikey, I better get round to the film: Portrait of Jennie. This could be a perfect entry point for black-and-white-o-phobes because the end scenes have been colour tinted. In green. And some are even in red. There's even one shot that's in full technicolour. Ooooh. (An even easier entry point could be Pleasantville. It was made relatively recently and it's got some colour scenes too. I spoil you.)

Eben Adams (Joseph Cotten) is a struggling artist trying to bring home the Pek. One day he meets a girl, Jennie (Jennifer Jones) in a park and is inspired by her. Now, I'm not entirely sure how old she's supposed to be, but let's be generous: she's 16. He looks about 45. If not 50. Eben becomes obsessed with Jennie. You can see where this is going. Let's not forget the time that this was made in. Couples were supposed to wait until marriage before they started doing rudes. So the occurrence of an older man falling in love with a younger girl and then waiting for her was fine at the time. A similar relationship appears in Random Harvest. So everything's fine... Oh, okay. He's a paedo.

But there's a fantasy element to this seedy tale. What starts out as a dubious love story evolves into a mystery and then an adventure as Eben tries to discover just what the hell is going on with Jennie. By the end we are treated to some miniature work which results in the emotional climax of the film. Pretty affecting stuff. The impact of the final colour shot is fairly huge too. If it had all been in colour, it would hardly be noticed. The contrast is attention grabbing. (The Hindenburg pulls a similar trick with even greater aplomb.)

Watched with eyes in 1940s mode, ignoring the slightly dodgy perversions of the main character, Portrait of Jennie would make an interesting double bill with Vertigo. All of the actors perform admirably too (Ethel Barrymore is a treat as always as the owner of an art studio). It turned into something that I wasn't expecting, which pumps up the rating, especially when the something else is better than what came before. So if you're like the fellow at the start of this review, dive into the world of black and white and see what you think. It's like olives. The more you eat, the nicer they get.
7/10
evlkeith



If you like this you could also try:
The Mist (black and white version), Psycho, Vertigo, Anatomy of a Murder, The Whisperer in Darkness

Review - Random Harvest (1942 - Dir. Mervyn LeRoy)

John Smith (Ronald Colman) is a John Doe character, who lost his memory fighting in World War I. He is in an asylum and in a kind-hearted way is subjected to meeting people who might be his parents. One night, he escapes. And embarks on a murderous rampage. Ah, sorry... wrong film.

He meets a lady, Paula (Greer Garson). Funnily enough he falls in love. But what follows isn't as predictable as you might think. Black and white romantic film: shouldn't be too hard to work out what going to happen. But no, it's no Avatar. In fact, it's pretty darned twisty. At 126 minutes, it's not the shortest of films but it holds the interest throughout.

The acting goes a long way to help with this. Ronald Colman transforms from a stuttering amnesiac to a confident writer, and then to something entirely different. Highly impressive. Greer Garson also has to play her character in different ways and is believable throughout. The only blip in the cast is an initially irritatingly plucky Susan Peters as Kitty. Fortunately she loses some of her pluck as she ages.

This brings us to a minor issue of suspension of disbelief: to think that John Smith (Colman was 51 at the time) would be looked upon favourably by a 21 year is a tad preposterous to say the least. Although he was loaded, so maybe not. I might be interested in a 51 year old bloke if he had the money to buy me a massive Scalextric set.

One thing that I really liked about this film was that once it had reached its natural conclusion, it finished. No messing about tagging extra little bits on there, just cut to The End. Great stuff. I even had a little cheer when it did it. 

It does lack some pace in parts but it is still well worth sticking with. So, if you want something relaxing, yet unpredictable (for the most part) give it a go. Plus, my Gran liked it.
7/10
evlkeith

If you like this you could also try:
Mrs Miniver, Since You Went Away, Lost Horizon.

Review - Mrs. Miniver (1942 - Dir. William Wyler)

I was initially a little disappointed by this. This Happy Breed tells a similar story but from a working class point of view. Mrs. Miniver is all silly posh hats, flowers shows and the Lady of the Manor. All very middle/upper class and to me this felt less real.

As time went on and the film unfolded I began to see that regardless of class, the people alive during World War II all lived through similar situations and emotions. My heart was warmed slightly by this revelation. (It's now at 0.01 degrees above absolute zero. Toasty.)

Mrs. Miniver (Greer Garson) is the mum in your average middle class family of the time. She has a husband Clem (Walter Pidgeon) and three children. One of the children Vin (Richard Ney) has just come back from Oxford University and has plenty of ideas about the world. They also have a cook and a nanny, so Mrs. Miniver was free to play 'Black Ops II' all day against her buddies in the Women's Institute.

The film doesn't kick off until about forty minutes in when the inevitable war starts. This should have created a pretty dull first section. Instead we get to know all of the characters and two sub-plots are introduced to keep our attention: Vin's blossoming relationship with the granddaughter of the Lady of the Manor, Carol (Teresa Wright) and the peculiarly interesting tale of the rose competition at the local flower show. By the time the war begins in earnest we are fully invested in these characters, forty minutes well spent.

When the war starts, Vin joins the RAF as a fighter pilot and Clem dodges about in his little boat at Dunkirk. We get to see life from the person-left-behind's point of view (in a similar way to Since You Went Away). There is a brilliant scene of life in an air raid shelter that is cleverly recreated through the use of sound effects and some big burly blokes shaking the set. Not that you get to see the large rotund fellows, that's all part of movie magic.

It is clear from the start that this could be a tear jerker, but the writing is so good the tears (admittedly more a tear in my eye rather than full blown histrionics) come from unexpected places. One emotional moment is from the climax of the flower show. (I never thought I would think those words, never mind write them.) I won't spoil the other scene.

Although, Mrs. Miniver won me over I still prefer This Happy Breed, but it is a solid film. One of the character's arcs is particularly pleasing and appealed to my sense of fairness. Again, I won't spoil the moment for you. Also it has one of the most rousing church services I've ever heard. (That's something else I thought I'd never write.) Definitely recommended.
7/10
evlkeith



If you like this you could also try:
This Happy Breed, Since You Went Away.

Review - This Happy Breed (1944 - Dir. David Lean)

Not much happens in This Happy Breed. Well, that's not strictly true. There are some major life changing situations but the characters deal with it all in such a British stiff upper lip kind of way that the film seems uneventful. It is anti-melodrama. 

Based on the Noel Coward play, it is a very gentle film centering on the life of the Gibbons family in the period between the two world wars. The film does betray its theatre origins at times (in a similar way to Harvey). It does feel like they have just filmed a play. Get over that, and you've got a fantastic film for a Sunday afternoon that shows a slice of life from simpler times.

As previously mentioned, the acting is brilliantly understated. You would expect great things from Celia Johnson (Brief Encounter), Robert Newton (Treasure Island) and Sir John Mills (Hobson's Choice) and they all deliver. Also, Stanley Holloway is top fun as a neighbour who comes round and gets tanked with the father of the family (Newton). Malarkey a-go-go as they get discovered by the mother (Johnson) and both promptly salute her. Great stuff. Amy Veness plays the grandmother and she is basically my mum. When one of the characters comes in wearing a hat for a wedding she says, 'Oh.' And then proceeds to say something along the lines of, 'Well, if you're happy with it.' My mum to a tee. 

This Happy Breed is a history lesson in easily digestible form. (I severely dislike history and I enjoyed it.) The family leave the back door open and think nothing of it. The ladies make their own dresses for the weddings with paper patterns. They eat oranges on Christmas day and not chocolate ones neither. This film works really well in partnership with Since You Went Away which shows the effect on family life when the father goes to war and with Glorious 39, a story about appeasement and the British Secret Service. I'm just hoping for a Blu-ray release soon.

8/10

evlkeith

If you like this you could also try:
Since You Went Away, Glorious 39, Hobson's Choice, Ice Cold in Alex.

Review - Letter From An Unknown Woman (1948 - Dir. Max Ophuls)

Told from the perspective of Lisa (Joan Fontaine) this is a story of unrequited love. It is also a bit of a masterpiece. I can't say that I was really looking forward to it when I first watched it but it draws you in and sticks in your memory for a long time afterwards.

Stefan Brand (Louis Jourdan) is a concert pianist and a right one for the ladies. He comes into contact with Lisa throughout the film but he is so self-obsessed that he never actually sees her. We see the story through Lisa's memories of events, so her face is often bathed in light, as if she is his saviour. He sees her as just another notch on his Steinway. Because we are seeing her memories, Fontaine plays Lisa at every stage of her life, even down to the age of twelve. It is her perception of events and not reality we are watching.

Watching this makes you wish that black and white films were made more often now. The lighting and compositions are gorgeous with a great use of shadow. Echoes of past events are often used. Lisa watches Stefan enter his room, with yet another lady, from the top of a staircase. Later, we see her enter Stefan's room from the same viewpoint, telling us she is no different from his other lady friends.

I hadn't heard of this before and only came across it because I'd seen Rebecca, again with Joan Fontaine, and wondered what else she was in. I'm glad I did because this is a beautiful, poignant film that still holds up to this day.

7/10

evlkeith

If you like this you could try:
Le Plaisir, Rebecca, Gaslight, A Place in the Sun.

Review - Since You Went Away (1944 - Dir. John Cromwell)

Not your average American World War II film, this one. It centres on a family where the husband/father has gone away to fight in the war. He is only briefly seen at the start of the film and from then onwards you see how his family copes with the situation. 

The mother (Claudette Colbert) and her two daughters (Jennifer Jones and the surprisingly not irritating in this film, Shirley Temple) grow throughout the film as they cope with losses and the MIA status of the husband. There are quite a few 'Gee Whizz' moments and some cheesy sentimentality, but give it a break, it was made in 1944. Overall, it gets across the emotions of characters dealing with a very stressful situation.


The supporting cast are a lot of fun. Joseph Cotton plays a real ladies man who catches the eye of pretty much every lady in the film. The miserable Colonel (Monty Woolly) who rents a room in their house is also entertaining, especially his encounters with the family dog. Robert Walker (Strangers on a Train) plays Bill, the Colonel's Grandson, who is soon going off to war and becomes involved with the elder daughter is eminently watchable. An amusing 'fun for all the family' game that you can play is 'Who's a goner?' (Not to be confused with that other family favourite, 'Who's Dead?'. That game is mainly for viewers of Dad's Army and Carry On films.) When a new character appears predict whether they will survive or die. Great fun.


The film is long at 163 minutes but it does need that running time to explore their predicament and the story keeps moving throughout. I would have loved to see an English film based on a similar premise. You can't help feeling that it would have been more realistic and bleak. Never mind. I still enjoyed Since You Went Away and would recommend it to anyone who can put up with a smattering of cheesiness.
6/10
evlkeith





If you like this you could try:
A Place in the Sun, Gaslight, A Matter of Life and Death, This Happy Breed.