419. My Fair Lady (1964)

Running Time: 172 minutes
Directed By: George Cukor
Written By: Alan Jay Lerner, from the play Pygmalion by George Bernard Shaw
Main Cast: Audrey Hepburn, Rex Harrison, Stanley Holloway, Wilfrid Hyde-White, Gladys Cooper
Click here to view the trailer

A DOUBLE SHOT OF CUKOR: 2 of 2

From an analysis of Quentin Tarantino's work & an extra long "Pulp Fiction" review to the second part of a George Cukor double shot & "My Fair Lady" - Welcome to 1001 Movies I (Apparently) Must See Before I Die!

Let's see here: Eliza Doolittle (Hepburn) is a "street urchin", a girl with a wicked cockney accent, who sells flowers in the street and was brought up with a less than classy upbringing, to say the least. Her clothes are tattered & torn and her manners are virtually non-existent. Enter Henry Higgins (Harrison), a professor of linguistics who hears Eliza's speech and deems it cringe-worthy and deems Eliza herself a draggle-tailed guttersnipe! Henry, boasting about how good of a professor he is, tells anyone who will listen that, if given the chance, he could turn Eliza from a bum into a duchess and no one would ever be able to recognize the dirty girl with the cockney accent. Everyone goes about their ways, but Eliza thinks about what the professor told her and decides she wants more for herself ("Wouldn't It Be Loverly"), therefore, she takes herself to see the professor and there, she begs him to teach her how to talk properly. Higgins, at first, laughs at the idea, but then accepts the challenge to transform the vagabond Eliza Doolittle and present her at the Embassy Ball, the swankiest of swanky events, which will go down in six months. Can Eliza overcome her own voice or will Henry Higgins and his assistant, Colonel Pickering (Hyde-White) go mad trying to help her.

In "A Star Is Born", George Cukor shied away from the musical numbers and well choreographed numbers and focused more on the story. In "My Fair Lady", Cukor more than made up for that lack of musical flair, by cramming as many songs and numbers into this picture as he possible could. Now, this would usually be a surefire turn off for me, because as much as I like musicals, I like it better when there's not a big Broadway number around every turn. However, despite a staggering FIFTEEN musical numbers in "My Fair Lady", I nearly enjoyed every second of it! I'd attest my enjoyment, partly, due to the high quality of the songs, as I found myself tapping toes and whistling along to over half of them. My personal favorite, you might care to know, was "With A Little Bit of Luck", because for some reason that song just went into my head and refuses to come out. In fact, "Get Me to the Church On Time" is also great, proving that Stanley Holloway knew how to add that extra bit of showmanship to his numbers and really make them pop.

But the real star of the show here is Rex Harrison, who was incredible as Henry Higgins. I won't go so far as to say that Audrey Hepburn shined, because I don't think she really did. However, her flaws weren't too obvious and the talent of her supporting cast helped to prop her up and make her look a bit better. Hepburn's performance was too fake, not genuine enough and I didn't for a second buy her as a "draggle-tailed guttersnipe". She did okay, but we'll leave it at that. Otherwise, the film is GREAT fun and I think even musical haters will find a few songs that they can tap toes too. The story is good enough (supported by the music) and the cast (sans Hepburn) is stellar. I'm really shocked at how well I took to it and I think you'll be to. Give it a chance!

RATING: 8/10  After a super long review yesterday, I decided to keep things short and to the point today. Apparently "Pulp Fiction" got the ball rolling though on what hopefully becomes a nice string of great pictures.

MOVIES WATCHED: 662
MOVIES LEFT TO WATCH: 339

April 21, 2013  4:36pm

Read More

275. A Star Is Born (1954)

Running Time: 176 minutes
Directed By: George Cukor
Written By: Moss Hart, from the 1937 screenplay by Alan Campbell and Dorothy Parker, story by William A. Wellman
Main Cast: Judy Garland, James Mason, Jack Carson, Charles Bickford, Tommy Noonan
Click here to view the trailer

A DOUBLE SHOT OF CUKOR: 1 of 2

Having already watched four George Cukor movies (five, if you count "Gone With the Wind") and, at least, liking the majority of them, I decided to clean up the other two - two long ones - with a "Double Shot of Cukor", taking care of his two musicals - one from the 50s and one from the 60s. First up, "A Star Is Born".

Actually, in a way, the plot of "A Star Is Born" resembles the plot of recent Best Picture winner "The Artist". The film tells of the rise in fame of Esther Blodgett a.k.a. Vicki Lester (Garland), a virtual nobody, who is discovered by big time Hollywood star Norman Maine (Mason). During a Hollywood event, in which Maine shows up drunk, he is saved from embarrassment by Esther, as she manages to hold him up long enough to incorporate him into her dance number. Maine, feeling grateful for the saving of face by Esther, tracks her down and when he listens to her with a sober ear, realizes that much talent lies in her voice. Norman convinces Esther to leave the band that she's been traveling with and let him take over her career, promising to shoot her to super stardom or die trying. After a while, Norman follows through with his promises, getting Esther a contract at the studio that handles him and it isn't long before she's starring in her very own picture. Meanwhile, Norman's star is falling, as he continually turns to the bottle, allowing his career to be washed away by the alcohol that consumes him. However, Esther, even as her star continues to rise and she becomes the studio's hottest commodity, never forgets Norman and eventually they get married. Following the marriage, however, the studio decides to drop Norman's contract, citing that they can no longer babysit a drunkard. This only forces Norman even further into the bottle, as he is now jobless and losing large amounts of his pride by the day, living off of the celebrity of his wife.

There, that outta get you up to speed. Now, doesn't that sound awfully bleak for a movie musical? It does to me and by the end of the picture, every time they'd begin another musical number, I'd have to keep reminding myself, "Oh yeah, this IS a musical, isn't it?"  Usually Hollywood musicals, especially those of yesteryear, are so happy that they nearly start tickling your gag reflexes and it gets to be a little too jolly for one to stomach. Here the musical numbers are heavily overshadowed by the plot that is unfolding: a pretty good love story;  the fall of a Hollywood superstar, as he buries himself in the bottle and the rise in celebrity of a young girl. In fact, I'd go so far as to say that the music in "A Star Is Born" barely has a voice and by the time the picture finished, I could barely remember a single song from the movie. There are no memorable songs, only memorable choreography. For example, as I sit here, I can remember Judy Garland dancing around her living room, showing Norman her new number and the two actors looking like they were having a blast shooting it, however, I can't, for the life of me, remember the tune that Judy was singing. Forgettable music sacrificed for a strong plot and decent choreography is how I'd sum up "A Star Is Born".

I was more excited to watch this that I would've been had I not watched "Bigger Than Life" and fell instantly in love with James Mason's acting abilities. I actually couldn't wait for another chance to check out Mason in action and it's a shame that I didn't recognize him a little earlier in my journey, for I may have liked "The Reckless Moment", "Odd Man Out" and "Lolita" a little bit more. He was great here, playing a drunken falling star to near perfection. Judy Garland on the other hand didn't really impress me that much and more annoyed me than anything. I could've done with a more talented actress in her role, as I think the picture would've benefited greatly from that...but who am I to doubt Judy Garland? It wasn't a particularly great movie, but it certainly had it's moments. For being three hours in length, I thought it used it's time wisely and honestly, it barely felt like three hours had gone by. I won't stoop to spoiling anything here, but what finally happens to the Norman Maine character took my by total surprise - was not expecting that, at all. I liked how the film ended and all in all, I'd say that I liked the bleakness of the whole affair. Had the music been better and Judy Garland been replaced, I think we could've been looking at a serious TOP 20 contender.

RATING: 7/10  But, as it is, this is barely a Ten Worth Mentioning contender and that '7' is probably me being just a sliver too generous. We shall see...

MOVIES WATCHED: 660
MOVIES LEFT TO WATCH: 341

April 18, 2013  4:21pm

Read More

217. Adam's Rib (1949)

Running Time: 101 minutes
Directed By: George Cukor
Written By: Ruth Gordon, Garson Kanin
Main Cast: Spencer Tracy, Katharine Hepburn, Judy Holliday, Tom Ewell, David Wayne
Click here to view the trailer

MAN vs. WOMAN, TRACY vs. HEPBURN

Believe it or not, this is the first Spencer Tracy film that I've watched for THE BOOK (unless I'm forgetting something) and wouldn't you know that it's alongside the lady he made a total of nine films with, Katharine Hepburn. Here, the two play dueling lawyers, in a comedy about the battle of the sexes.

The film opens with Doris Attinger (Holliday) tailing her husband Warren Francis Attinger (Ewell) through the subway, to the apartment of his mistress. When she arrives there, behind him, she pulls a gun from her handbag and fires, albeit with horrible aim, at her husband, striking him in the shoulder and sending his mistress screaming out of the room. We then cut to the bedroom of Mr. Adam Bonner (Tracy) and his wife, Amanda Bonner (Hepburn), as the two wake up to breakfast in bed, served by their housekeeper and a morning paper. As the couple sip their coffee and juice, they read about the attempted murder of Warren Francis Attinger via his wife Doris Attinger and the two split sides, Amanda siding with Doris and Adam siding with Warren. It also turns out that Mr. and Mrs. Attinger are both lawyers and when Adam arrives at work that morning, he finds out that he's been assigned Warren Attinger as his newest client. When he calls his wife to tell her the news, she breaks her neck to represent Mrs. Attinger and the movie is off and running. We then head into the courtroom, as the Bonner's wage war on the floors of justice and head home at night to try and keep their home life more civil than their professional battle.

SPOILER ALERT! 

There wasn't anything particularly wrong with "Adam's Rib", in fact, they got a whole lot of things right. I don't even have to tell you that the pairing of Hepburn and Tracy was a match made in heaven, as the two got along swimmingly and made you believe, for the duration of the film, that they were really a married couple. The chemistry that the two had was uncanny and I couldn't help but smile at the lifelike marriage that the two portrayed. According to THE BOOK, this film is actually based on real events. Apparently, in the real life story, the married couple actually went through with their divorce and ended up marrying their respective clients. After reading that tidbit, I was shocked that they didn't go with that ending. I guess when the filmmaker's thought about the idea of actually splitting up the loveable marriage of Hepburn and Tracy, they knew the audience wouldn't go for it. I bet someone like Preston Sturges could've gotten away with having it end with the couple marrying their clients and I'm sure we would've all been okay with it in the end too.

Anyway, I'm rambling. The film is funny and provides some unusual situations that I can't believe haven't been ripped off more than they have been. With the exception of the Hepburn/Tracy chemistry, there wasn't anything blatantly exceptional about the film. I found myself smiling many times throughout the picture, yet it wasn't anything that blew me away or anything. The situations do get a little bit corny and I couldn't help but think that if they had beefed up the courtroom drama aspect of the whole thing and played it as a half comedy/half drama, it would've worked out a lot better. They could've had strict drama in the courtroom and strict comedy when the couple returned home at night. Anyway, it was what it was and it wasn't bad. I think this is a film where the story matters less than just witnessing Hepburn and Tracy onscreen, together.

RATING: 6.5/10  At this point, I've seen so much good that these final few movies are going to have a really tough time winning me over.

MOVIES WATCHED: 498
MOVIES LEFT TO WATCH: 503

July 7, 2012  5:30pm

Read More

169. GASLIGHT (1944)

Running Time: 114 minutes
Directed By: George Cukor
Written By: John Van Druten, Walter Reisch, John L. Balderston, from the play Angel Street by Patrick Hamilton
Main Cast: Charles Boyer, Ingrid Bergman, Joseph Cotten, Angela Lansbury, Barbara Everest
Click here to view the trailer

A MURDER IN THORNTON SQUARE

Finally I get to this one, after announcing I'd be watching about a week ago. I began to watch this one sometime last week, when I fell asleep on it (my fault, not the film's) and for one reason or another didn't return to it the next night. Last night, I started it up again, when again I got drowsy and decided to stop it, as I didn't want my opinion of it to suffer, due to my sleepy state. Tonight I finally made it to the end and it was worth the wait.

The film opens by revealing that a murder has just been committed in Thornton Square in London, as the death of Alice Alquist, famous opera singer, is announced in the newspaper. We then cut to the Alquist residence, where Paula Alquist (Bergman), Alice's niece is being ushered out of her aunt's former home and into a waiting carriage. She's being taken to Italy to focus on her singing career and try and recoup after the death of her aunt, the woman who raised her. While in Italy, Paula meets and falls in love with Gregory Anton (Boyer), a pianist and the two are soon swept away on a whirling romance that ends in marriage. At the insistence of Gregory, the two return to London and the former home of Alice Alquist, which has been willed to Paula and reside there. After arriving back in London is when things take a more unusual turn, as Gregory begins acting stranger by the day, for instance, becoming infuriated when Paula begins to read a letter written to her aunt by a man named Sergius Bauer. However, for the most part the couple seem happy at first, Paula smitten with Gregory and Gregory overprotective of Paula. As the film continues, Gregory starts to suggest that Paula may be losing her mind, citing that she frequently misplaces items and forgets many things. Paula brushes off the notion at first, but is soon convinced that she's going mad. It becomes even more unsettling when Paula begins to hear noises coming from the attic at night and noticing the gas lights around the house going dim, when no one else seems to notice these things. But is there more to Paula's madness than meets the eye?

SPOILER ALERT!

The book notes that the plot of "Gaslight" is very thin and I'd be forced to agree with that assessment. What it really all boils down to is a desperate man searching for missing, valuable jewels and in the process he is forced to murder for them. The whole core of the film, of Gregory trying to convince Paula that she's going insane, is simply so he can have her committed, take control of her property and search for the jewels with freedom. It's as thin as a balding man's hair, but it still manages to work, thanks mostly to the cast and the direction. Charles Boyer is marvelous and I'm left wondering why more of his films aren't included in the book, because to my knowledge this is the only one. In fact, I have to admit that I'm pretty sure this was my first Charles Boyer film, as I was completely unaware of him prior to this evening. Ingrid Bergman grew on me, as I didn't care for her character at first, but by the end I realized that Bergman was really putting on a performance here and was able to give her her credit due. The rest of the supporting players were also fine and the only one that left me scratching my head was Joseph Cotten. Normally I love Joseph Cotten, and it's not that he was bad here, it's just that he was out of place. His role really wasn't that substantial and he was just kind of there, while he waited for his character to really shine in the final fifteen minutes of the picture.

The film does a fine job mixing up the genres of murder mystery, film noir and horror and it all makes for a really chilling little film where the viewer will be sure to have questions galore. In fact, you may even leave with some unanswered questions, as the film does leave a few loose ends untied. Why the hostility between Paula and Nancy? Why did the two exchange that mysterious look when they were first introduced? The film really leads you on, as far as what's actually happening in the film. I thought for sure the movie was going to pull a total 180 on me and reveal that, indeed Paula was going mad and Charles Boyer was the loving, protective husband who was just trying to help her this whole time. That's a credit to the film, that it can get you to convince yourself of two different outcomes and have you satisfied with whichever one actually happens. The film drops in so many different, little details too that your mind is left whirling and wondering what in the hell is going on with Gregory. It's really a whole lot of fun!


RATING: 7.5/10  Very good, but was it good enough to nab a spot on the TOP 20 or is it simply another really good film in a batch of really great films that won't get recognized?

MOVIES WATCHED: 474
MOVIES LEFT TO WATCH: 527

June 6, 2012  2:17am

Read More