Archive Review: The Philadelphia Story (1940) - 4/5 Stars

Three of the brightest stars in the golden years of cinema converge in "The Philadelphia Story," a romantic comedy of great wit and sophistication. Although it would be unfair to say that the talent makes this film, Cary Grant, Katherine Hepburn and James Stewart are far and away its best feature.

"Philadelphia Story"" was adapted from the stage production of the same name by Philip Barry. The play was written with the intention of reviving Hepburn's stage career. It was brought to the screen with the help of Hepburn's boyfriend Howard Hughes who purchased the rights for her as a gift.

Full of fast-talking highbrow humor, the material is unquestionably aimed at an upper-class audience, but not only in terms of taste, but also thematically. Created during the latter half of the Great Depression, "Philadelphia Story" makes the statement that class is insignificant, that it's a non-existent social framework that purports itself as an indication of character. We obsess over class, something that couldn't have been more true during the depression, and it's a theme all the more impressive considering the film's popularity and story of celebrity gossip and intrigue.

Hepburn stars as rich socialite Tracy Lord, who is about to marry working-class hero George Kittredge (John Howard), only her wealthy ex-husband, the wealthy and fantastically-named C.K. Dexter Haven (Grant) plans on spoiling the big day by sneaking in a tabloid writer (Stewart) and photographer (Ruth Hussey). The jig is up pretty quickly, but not without making things dreadfully difficult on Tracy.

Stewart might have won the Oscar, but this is Hepburn's film. I'd agree with what Stewart once said: that the statuette was "deferred payment" for losing out in "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington," an undeniably superior role. Hepburn should have seen the glory for this film for her magnetizing and moving performance. Whether its her distinct and powerful voice or her variety of facial expressions, she's got us tied on a string and she just plays with us throughout the ups and downs of her character. Tracy is not unlike Hepburn herself as a major public figure that feels worshipped more than truly loved or appreciated.

Stewart and Grant, however, deserve their due. Stewart pilots the best scene of the film when he pays a drunken visit to C.K.'s place late at night. Grant works his charms in a more subdued way as C.K. is more the subtle mastermind than the flashy performer of his schemes. Also worthy of mention is the dry and snide humor of Hussey's character. She adds a really nice touch to the cast and keeps it balanced.

Although a bit sharper, more sophisticated and dialogue-heavy than most romantic comedies, "Philadelphia Story" is still a classic and it makes its class argument through those weaknesses in ways, making it a terrific film.

4/5 Stars

"The Philadelphia Story" (1940)

Directed by: George Kucor

Written by: Donald Ogden Stewart (screenplay), Philip Barry (play), Waldo Salt (uncredited)

Starring: Katherine Hepburn, Cary Grant, James Stewart

New on Blu-ray: North by Northwest (1959) - 4.5/5 Stars

My first Hitchcock movie makes its way to Blu-ray today. Of all the oldies to work in high def, this could be one of them.

There's something so timeless about "North by Northwest" and it's not necessarily that it will echo with any generation. Cary Grant's Roger Thornhill, for example, feels a little foreign among today's thriller protagonists (accent aside) as a 50-year-old everyday man thrown into a mess of a government situation. The action is certainly not big-budget like modern films either with the exception of one explosion. The "it" that "Northwest" has is something more unique and a lot of it stems from great thriller writing and of course the direction of Sir Alfred Hitchcock.

"Northwest" follows the story of how Thornhill is taken against his will and accused of being a man named George Kaplan. These men try and kill Thornhill results in him rushing to prove his innocence, which actually leads him deeper into the mystery of George Kaplan. The writing of Ernest Lehman is absolutely terrific and it seems a shame that Hitchcock never collaborated with him again. The dialogue is not only very pointed and helpful to the plot, but also the plot movement with its twists and turns and clever way of revealing information to the viewer is simply classic--no film in this film's nearly 50 year old shadow has been able to eclipse it.

Then there is Hitchcock's signature directing. No one seems to choose better moments to employ certain shot techniques than Alfred HItchcock. He knows how to turn the best parts of the film into highly memorable and often times unforgettable scenes. The crop-duster attack is easily one of the greatest scenes in thriller movie history. Conceptually, but especially direction-wise as it could be potentially boring or over-directed to be more intense. Instead, it finds its intensity from Hitchcock's decision to let it build and fall back as the plane flies by and circles around again.

Perhaps the immediate impact of this film made it an instant classic and nobody wanted to borrow any obvious ideas or techniques--although the two-faced femme fatale played by Eva Marie Saint is certainly an archetype of a lot of these kind of movies. "North by Northwest" simply still stands out through its inventiveness and will always continue to do so.

4.5/5 Stars

"North by Northwest" (1959)

Directed by: Alfred Hitchcock

Written by: Ernest Lehman

Starring: Cary Grant, Eva Marie Saint

Archive Review: City Lights (1931) - 4.5/5 Stars

Wish that today's romantic comedies full of superficial blabber and polluted ideas about love and sex would just -- shut up? Hold on to your ten dollars and rent the Charlie Chaplin classic "City Lights," a heart-warming romance and physical comedy -- where no one talks.

It seems like the era and even the idea of the silent love story has been long gone and forgotten. Relationships and courtship are full of drama, selfish sexual desire and prejudices and attitudes about what's attractive. In a modern context, "City Lights" can be viewed as an hour and a half trip back to innocence.

The already famous Chaplin returns to the screen in "Lights," his first silent film in the dawn of the "talkie" era. Chaplin once again plays the Tramp, this time befriending a suicidal drunken rich man and taking a fancy to a blind flower salesgirl. As a social commentary, Chaplin picks on the snootiness of the upper class and their fancy parties that only mask their unhappiness, as well as championing those who are not as wealthy but don't create social prejudice. But "Lights" is a love story at heart.

Maybe it's only because he knows she won't judge him by his appearance that the Tramp is immediately infatuated with the blind flower seller, but his unblinking kindness toward her is just heart-warming. As he tries to find the money to pay for her rent, (leading to some hysterical scenes, namely a boxing fight) you know deep down that he'll never fully be repaid for his kind deeds. That is until the classic ending that could win even the coldest of fish over with its simple but perfect execution.

There's plenty opportunity here for us to laugh at the Tramp too, but it's just not what you take away most from "City Lights.' You can name the classic comedy scenes without problem, but the impression does not follow them. It's the beautiful story of two seemingly nobodies who treat each other with unconditional kindness amidst a city of superficial and judgmental people that makes you stop and wonder. The fact that in all honesty we still search for that ideal today despite an even greater setting promoting the opposite, and that's what makes "City Lights" a classic.

4.5/5 Stars

"City Lights" (1931)

Directed and Written by: Charles Chaplin

Starring: Charles Chaplin, Virginia Cherrill

Archive Review: The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951) - 3.5/5 Stars

It's not unfair initially to dismiss "The Day the Earth Stood Still" as sci-fi pulp from an era full of it, but the film's anti-war message given the Cold War context it was released in makes it nothing short of a classic. Its commercial exterior featuring posters with Gort the space robot pales in comparison to the social/diplomatic values it preaches at its core. Sure, it's not all that suspenseful or riveting for science-fiction, but it represents one of the first pop culture films to reflect important moral values.

Borrowing from the lucrative UFO alien movies before it, TDTESS begins with a flying saucer landing in the Washington mall and producing an alien with a human appearance named Klaatu (Michael Rennie) and his robot protector Gort, a goofy-looking man in a shiny suit with the ability to disintegrate anything with a beam from his eye. For starters, Klaatu is greeted by military bullets that destroy a gift he intended for the president that would give us the ability to study life on other planets. That's the example of the strict satirical tone taken by writer Edmund H. North (based on the short story by Harry Bates).

Despite humorous special effects and the cheesy running and screaming you see in pulp alien invasion movies, TDTESS manages to expose many of our flaws including our fear of the unknown and our propensity to resort to violence. It warns of the dangers of nuclear energy and outwardly scorns war. In the beginning years of the Cold War, such a message getting out to the public is an accomplishment that must be lauded.

TDTESS isn't only good for its messages, though it certainly is what makes the film stand out. Rennie is a terrific Klaatu. He's intriguing, friendly but also very frank, winning our sympathies but still convincing us of his other-worldly nature. The relationship he develops with the young Bobby Benson (Billy Gray) is the film's most interesting subplot next to Klaatu helping a scientist out with an equation that will lead to interplanetary travel.

Rarely does a film become a classic solely because of its message, but TDTESS certainly does. It's so frank, but speaks such an undeniable truth that in the form of cheaply made science- fiction, resonates in a way that straighter films can't. That's the beauty of the genre and why TDTESS is its first classic.

3.5/5 Stars

"The Day the Earth Stood Still" (1951)

Directed by: Robert Wise

Written by: Edmund H. North, Harry Bates (story)

Starring: Michael Rennie, Patricia Neal, Hugh Marlowe

Archive Review: Touch of Evil (1958) - 4/5 Stars

With all the cop drama TV shows and films that have come out over the years and the corruption thrillers, revisiting an old noir thriller such as "Touch of Evil" about cops taking justice into their own hands can be unexciting. There's very little that those of a younger generation haven't seen before, so what separates "Touch of Evil" from the pack? Good film-making. In the long tracking shot that consumes the opening scene, you understand right away that Orson Welles is serious about his finest directorial effort, and that no matter how un-thrilling the story might be, that this what good movies look like.

I watched the 1998 re-release featuring scenes that the studio cut that Welles wanted to keep in, always the best way to watch a classic in a time where this was even more common practice than it is today. Welles' style is reminiscent of Hitchcock, only choosing close-ups in critical scenes so that they have a big dramatic impact. I can only speculate, but I wouldn't be surprised if "Touch of Evil" got actress Janet Leigh her unforgettable role in "Psycho" two years later.

"Touch of Evil" stars Charlton Heston fresh off the heels of "The Ten Commandments" as Mike Vargas, a (unconvincing) Mexican narcotics official that's wanted dead by a Mexican narcotics dealer gets caught playing a role in a murder investigation when a car explodes when he and his wife Susie (Leigh) are on Honeymoon in a Mexican border town. The infamous local police captain Hank Quinlan (an almost unrecognizably overweight Welles) suspects a Mexican national and soon Vargas is on to Quinlan, accusing him of planting evidence. Meanwhile, Susie is kidnapped by the dealer's nephews to be used as a bargaining chip.

Not just directing and writing, but from an acting standpoint, this is Welles' film too. Not only does Quinlan take up much of the screen, but his old crooked persona makes him easily the most interesting character. He's a cop struggling between right and wrong, operating on a false sense of justice. It's not highly original, but Quinlan is our main draw to the story. It's certainly not Heston pretending to be Mexican.

Quick pacing and suspenseful, shadowy direction is the real signature Welles leaves on the film. There's no particular emotional investment in the story or characters, just intrigue in knowing when everything is going to finally get nasty and dangerous instead of the continuous verbal accusations. Welles does deliver and brings the film to a thrilling climax that confirms our suspicions of what was really the most important part of his film.

4/5 Stars

"Touch of Evil" (1958)

Directed by: Orson Welles

Written by: Orson Welles, Whit Masterson (novel), Paul Monash and Franklin Coen (original screenplay)

Starring: Charleton Heston, Janet Leigh, Orson Welles

Archive Review: Harvey (1950) - 4/5 Stars

A story of a man talking to a tall imaginary rabbit seems like a child's film, but "Harvey" is anything but. In fact, it challenges our tendency to dismiss it as such. It is a case study of a perfectly delusional but perfectly charming middle-aged man who despite those around him believing him insane, ends up making them drive themselves crazy.

Based on Mary Chase's Pulitzer-winning play (Chase also had a hand in the screenplay), "Harvey" tells the story of Elwood P. Dowd (James Stewart), who as mentioned appears to have an imaginary friend rabbit who accompanies him to the bars where he meets people and invites them to have drinks at his house sometime. He appears to have no job and his older sister Veta (Josephine Hull) is embarrassed by his behavior, enough to the point where she finally takes him to a mental hospital to be committed, where farce-like humor ensues.

Stewart, who has always fallen nicely into roles involving naive people passionately committed to something, is an ideal choice for Elwood. He gives the role a dreamy quality few of the other great actors of the '40s and '50s could have. Elwood is warm, kind-hearted, complimentary and other than drinking a lot and talking to an imaginary rabbit, seems devoid of any other vices or character flaws.

As the doctors and nurses at the mental hospital get involved, we learn more about Elwood. The film is like a psychological case study in which we become so focused wanting to know what is triggering his delusion that we miss the point. That is until Chase's wonderful script makes sense of it toward the end.

The film has the vibe of a very straight play adaptation. My guess would be that little of script changed; there's a lot of expository dialogue in the beginning. There's also not a whole lot of interesting visual storytelling. About the best thing director Henry Koster does other than not actually show Harvey is include where Harvey 'is' in the frame of his shot, which as I read was suggested by Stewart. The film relies mostly on the talents of Stewart and of Oscar-winner Hull as the completely whiny and over-dramatic old coot of a sister and the thoughtful and simplistic wisdom of Chase's script that preaches that normality is relative and that kindness is the true measure of character.

4/5 Stars

"Harvey" (1950)

Directed by: Henry Koster

Written by: Mary Chase (play, screenplay), Oscar Brodney, Myles Connoly

Starring: James Stewart, Josephine Hull