13 Nights of Shocktober: Peeping Tom

 by A.J. 

This is my favorite time of year, second only to Christmas. Autumn has arrived, the weather is cooling down, and October becomes the month-long celebration of scary movies called Shocktober. So, for the days leading up Halloween I’ll be posting some horror movie recommendations to help you celebrate Shocktober.

Night 9: Psychological Horror

“Taking my picture?”

Peeping Tom

Whether you are interested in horror movies, classic movies, or film history in general, eventually you find Peeping Tom. It is a peculiar film: made in a classic style, shot in bold technicolor, and made at a time when horror, like other genres, was beginning to touch on darker subjects and themes. Too dark for many in 1960. Peeping Tom was so reviled by critics and audiences that it was pulled from theaters and essentially ended the career of Michael Powell, the renowned British director of many revered classics such as The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp, The Red Shoes, Black Narcissus, and The Thief of Bagdad. Powell and Peeping Tom were ahead of their time; a cliché but true. Only eight years later Rosemary’s Baby, a much much darker film, would achieve mainstream success with critics and audiences. In the decades since it’s disastrous release, Peeping Tom has been recognized as a classic, and you’ll find it on many underrated, overlooked, or “best movies you’ve never seen” lists. Of course the standards of what is shocking and vile change so much that the visuals and set pieces in Peeping Tom would be considered tame by the next decade. The real horror in Peeping Tom is in what you don’t see, in what it implies, and in its themes which retain their disturbing and dreadful shock value. 

In a way, Peeping Tom is about making movies. It is certainly about watching movies. Our main character is Mark (Carl Boehm) , a young, handsome Austrian man, who works as a focus puller at a British movie studio. He also moonlights as a smut photographer for pornographic magazines. Also, he is a serial killer who films his victims at the moment of their death. As memorable as Freddy Kruger’s glove with knives or Leatherface’s chainsaw is Mark’s weapon of choice: a knife hidden in the leg of his camera’s tripod. As he moves in for a close up, so does the blade. 

Mark owns the building where he lives, inherited from his father, but he cannot afford the upkeep so he rents the other rooms. His apartment is unassuming, but there is, as you might imagine, a back room where he develops and screens the films of his murders. In the apartment below him live Helen (Anne Massey) and her mother (Maxine Audley). In the excitement of her 21st birthday, Helen invites Mark to her apartment. When he hesitates, she goes to his apartment where she, and we, learn his backstory. We learn that Mark’s father, a famous psychologist, conducted and filmed experiments on Mark as a child to learn about children’s reactions to fear. We see “home movies” of him harshly waking up Mark in the middle of the night by shining a light in his face or dropping  lizards on him. Mark’s killings are part of of own his own documentary on fear and death. It is not until the climax that we realize the full scope of Mark’s documentary of death.

Helen is shy, like Mark, but also full of life. She is a strong enough force on him that she convinces him to go on their date without bringing along his beloved camera. However, after Helen kisses Mark, he responds by kissing the lens of his camera as though he is compelled to do this. Perhaps this is because Mark was not able to film their kiss, or perhaps because experiences are only real for him if is his camera “sees” them, or perhaps because Mark sees himself as a camera. That Peeping Tom allows for multiple pathways to explore its themes and subtexts is what makes it a great film and explains why it has endured through the decades despite its initial unwelcome reception. 

Perhaps the film’s signature sequence involves Mark and Viv (Moira Shearer), an extra in the film currently shooting at the studio, sneaking on set at night. Viv believes they are there so Mark can film her dance. Mark, and we, know the real reason she is there. Shearer, who starred in Powell’s The Red Shoes, dances as Mark rearranges the set and adjusts the lights, making sure everything is just right for the camera. Shearer is so full of life that we feel the full weight of the impending tragedy yet we accept it as a fulfillment. 

It is worth noting that Peeping Tom was released in not only in the same year, but mere months before Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho. The reaction to the two films could not have been more different. Roger Ebert speculated in his Great Movies essay on Peeping Tom that this was “because audiences expected the macabre from Hitchcock” while Powell was known for “elegant and stylized films.” It’s hard not to compare and contrast the films once they are linked. Both films feature psychologically damaged young men but while Psycho only flirts with voyeurism, Peeping Tom is expressly about voyeurism. Powell employs the POV (point of view) shot that not only shows us exactly what Mark sees when he commits the murders, but implicates the audience in the crime. Countless slasher films from the 1980’s onward would use the POV shot to either not reveal the identity of the killer or for pure sensation. Powell uses the POV shot not only for sensation but as part of an attempt to explore the life and mind of a person who would commit such crimes. However, unlike Psycho, shot in black and white, Peeping Tom is shot in bold and vivid technicolor. I believe that this is major reason why audiences had such an intense negative reaction. 

The saturated technicolor look which Powell had mastered through the 1940’s and 50’s implied a warm, uplifting picture. It was generally used by musicals and comedies while noir films and prestige dramas where shot in black and white. Even dramas shot in technicolor tended to be broad melodramas, well done soap operas on the big screen, like the films of Douglas Sirk (Imitation of Life, Magnificent Obsession, Written on the Wind). Peeping Tom showed people in full technicolor something they would rather leave in the shadows.

Peeping Tom airs on TCM on Sunday, October 30th at 7PM CT and is streaming free on Tubi and the Roku Channel. 

13 Nights of Shocktober: Sisters (1972)

by A.J.

This is my favorite time of year, second only to Christmas. Autumn has arrived, the weather is cooling down, and October becomes the month-long celebration of scary movies called Shocktober. So, in the days leading up Halloween I’ll be posting some horror movie recommendations to help you celebrate Shocktober.

Night 2: Thriller Night

“I saw a murder, and I'm going to prove it.”

Sisters (1972)

Brian De Palma’s Sisters is a murder mystery that has enough suspense and violence to firmly qualify it as a horror film. The plot is heavily influenced by Alfred Hitchcock’s Rear Window and Psycho, which is no surprise since De Palma is so heavily influenced by Hitchcock. He even hired Bernard Herrmann, the composer of numerous Hitchcock films, to create the score for Sisters. However, De Palma's own artistic flair makes this movie feel like a new version of a familiar story. 

The film begins with Margot Kidder as Dannielle, a French Canadian model, on a date with a man she met through a game show. Their pleasant night together comes to a gruesome end when Danielle’s psychotic sister, Dominique (also Kidder), brutally murders the man. Danielle’s ex-husband, Dr. Breton (William Finley), helps cover up the crime, but a reporter, Grace (Jennifer Salt), witnesses them from her apartment across the street.

Like Psycho, this is a film in two parts with the second part being an investigation of the first. Grace tells the police what she witnessed, but since she previously investigated police abuses of power they are not willing to believe or help her. She turns to a private detective, played by Charles Durning, to help her investigate. Her mother, played by Mary Davenport, also helps and has some memorable moments. There are more than a few twists and turns to the plot, which, if you’ve seen some Hitchcock movies, you’ll see coming from a mile away. We may know what Grace’s investigation will turn up, but Sisters is well crafted and well-acted enough to still be thrilling and suspenseful as the pieces come together. 

The violence in this movie is sparse but sudden and bloody when it happens. Instead of relying only on shock value, De Palma creates suspense whenever and however he can. He employs split screen several times to intensify dramatic tension. The best use of split screen comes when on one side of the screen we see Grace trying to get the police to believe her about the murder as the detectives slowly make their way to the crime scene while on the other side of the screen we see the murder being cleaned up. There is one creepy sequence in which Grace finds herself paralyzed by the nefarious Dr. Benton. The scene is shot from Grace’s point of view with a close up on Dr. Benton’s face as she is hypnotized.

Sisters was released through AIP (American International Pictures) which distributed many, many low budget exploitation films, including the work of the legendary producer-director Roger Corman. This certainly feels like an exploitation picture, but the style and skills on display make it feel a step above other exploitation films. This is a great example of how the ideas and techniques of the “New Hollywood” of the late 60’s/early 70’s also helped change the horror genre. The murder mystery angle combined with the macabre twists make this a great film for any horror fan, or even the horror hesitant viewer, to watch on any Shocktober day or night.

13 Nights of Shocktober: Deep Red

by A.J.

This is my favorite time of year, second only to Christmas. Autumn has arrived, the weather is cooling down, and October becomes the month-long celebration of scary movies called Shocktober.  So, in the days leading up Halloween I’ll be posting some scary movie recommendations to help you celebrate Shocktober.

Night 5: Argento Night

“I can feel death in this room!”

Deep Red     

  

Italian filmmaker Dario Argento is most famous for his work in the horror genre, namely Suspiria, but he began his career writing and directing films known as giallos, an Italian subgenre of violent murder mysteries and thrillers. This genre, which takes its name from pulp novels printed on yellow paper (giallo is Italian for yellow), often skirted the line between thriller and horror. Giallo plotlines would be murder mysteries or who-done-its but sometimes also followed the structure of a slasher movie, with the violence to match. For this reason, many, if not all, giallo films can be considered horror movies, including Dario Argento’s Profondo Rosso, or Deep Red.

David Hemmings plays Marcus, an English pianist visiting Rome who witnesses the brutal murder of Helga Ulman (Macha Meril), a famous psychic. He teams up with a persistent reporter, Gianna (Daria Nicolodi), to solve the murder. They interview potential witnesses, collect clues, and are pretty competent detectives. The police seem to be only slightly involved in the investigation and mostly just help Marcus conduct his own investigation. At the initial crime scene, Marcus asks the police if they touched or moved anything in the dead psychic’s apartment. It’s a peculiar choice but it allows Marcus to be at the center of the action.

Dario Argento’s directorial style is, well, being stylish. The auditorium where Helga demonstrates her psychic abilities for an audience (mentioning that she can only read people’s thoughts and see their past, not predict the future... hence her bloody murder with a cleaver) has lush red curtains and table where she sits is draped in the same bold red. The production design and color palette are bold and eye catching in every scene. Blood in Deep Red, and there’s a lot of it, is actually a bright, bold red bordering on orange-red in certain scenes. It looks completely fake, but it’s stylish to the point of turning the murder scenes into gruesome tableaus. The progressive synth rock score by Goblin is creepy and thrilling in all the right ways and of course, gives the movie a stylish soundtrack. The cinematography by Luigi Kuveiller is a feast for the eyes; every shot is well composed and photographed. Even a scene with not much happening visually, like Marcus and his friend Carlo talking on a deserted street with a Roman statue in the background looks impressive. Light and shadow, close-ups, and POV shots are used to great effect. Not only do they create a distinct look, but they also create an atmosphere of mystery and suspense. In a particularly effective scene, we see extreme close ups of the inner workings of a piano as Marcus composes a song followed by a POV shot of the killer approaching Marcus. Then we see a wide shot of the room and a shadow covers Marcus and his piano.

In its best moments, Deep Red is reminiscent of an Alfred Hitchcock film: an excellent blend of style and suspense. Also like in a Hitchcock film, Hemmings plays an everyman caught in an extraordinary situation that he has to solve (mostly) on his own. Like the protagonists in Argento’s previous films The Bird with the Crystal Plumage and Cat O’Nine Tails, Marcus must solve a murder by picking apart his memory. While the supernatural sets up the premise for Deep Red, the rest of the movie is a straightforward mystery. However, the gruesome deaths, an increasing body count, and creepy touches like the killer playing a recording of children singing, a random ghastly faced automaton firmly plant Deep Red in the horror genre. It is not without lighter moments, usually of Marcus and Gianna being at odds, and bizarre moments, like Gianna mistakenly stabbing a bird in midair. All of that style takes the dread out of the violence and makes Argento’s macabre mystery a thoroughly engaging picture.

Classic Movie Picks: July 2017

by Lani

Each month, I scour the Turner Classic Movies schedule for upcoming films that I can't miss. The highlights are posted here for your reading and viewing pleasure! (All listed times are Eastern Standard, check your local listings or TCM.com for actual air times in your area. Each day's schedule begins at 6:00 a.m.; if a film airs between midnight and 6 a.m. it is listed on the previous day's programming schedule.)

7/4, 4 AM - Miss Firecracker (1989)
This slice of Southern Americana is perfect programming for the Fourth of July, if you are in the mood for something slightly bittersweet and satirical. Holly Hunter stars as Carnelle, a young misfit obsessed with winning the annual beauty contest in her small town of Yazoo City, Mississippi. After seeing her elegant cousin Elain (Mary Steenburgen) win the pageant 10 years earlier, subsequently marry up, and become a local celebrity, Carnelle is sure that the title of Miss Firecracker will be her ticket to a new life outside her hometown. 
While not her first film, Miss Firecracker may be the first time I saw Holly Hunter on screen. Mild-mannered child that I was, Hunter's intensity and energy, not to mention her flame red hair, were a bit frightening; however, I did admire her determination and spirit. The highlight is the performance by Hunter, as well as a very strong supporting cast including Steenburgen, Alfre Woodard, and Tim Robbins. The film was adapted from an off-Broadway play, and while far from perfect, it - like Carnelle - is worth giving a chance. 



7/7: Hitchcock in the UK
8 PM - Number Seventeen (1932)
9:30 PM - The Man Who Knew Too Much (1934)
11 PM - The 39 Steps (1935)
12:45 AM - The Lady Vanishes (1938)
TCM is spotlighting filmmaker Alfred Hitchcock on Wednesdays and Fridays this month, moving chronologically from 1927's The Ring on July 5 to his final film, 1976's Family Plot, on July 28. You're sure to find something interesting on any evening devoted to Hitchcock's work, but I've chosen to focus on this batch of films from the 1930s. At the time Hitchcock was working in England making films with steadily bigger budgets and production value, and not only gaining acclaim in the UK, but in America with his first trans-Atlantic hit, The 39 Steps. 
The 39 Steps also made a film star of British stage actor Robert Donat (four years later Donat would win an Oscar for Goodbye, Mr. Chips). Donat plays that favorite Hitchcock character: an innocent man accused. After a spy is killed, and Donat blamed, he goes on the run across Scotland, all the while handcuffed to the woman who turned him in; together, they must discover the real killer and expose a spy ring. 
Among the other films tonight is the original version of The Man Who Knew Too Much, a big hit in Britain and the first English-language film for character actor Peter Lorre. Hitchcock liked this story about a vacationing family accidentally drawn into international espionage so much, he remade the film in 1956.
The low-budget thriller Number Seventeen is not one of Hitch's most celebrated works, but it is notable for possibly introducing the director's signature gimmick, the "Macguffin" - an object that drives the plot, but is basically irrelevant to the overall story. In this case, the Macguffin is a stolen necklace which draws the characters to a spooky old house where they encounter a string of mysteries, including a man's corpse.
1938's The Lady Vanishes was Hitchcock's biggest hit to date and helped him to secure a lucrative Hollywood contract. The plot - including a sudden disappearance, a plucky heroine, secret agents, and plenty of sly humor - is a treat for any Hitchcock fan.

7/25: Lili Damita Double Feature
10:45 AM - Friends and Lovers (1931)
12 PM - The Woman Between (1931)
French actress Lili Damita was one of the many foreign beauties brought to Hollywood during the silent era - including Pola Negri, Greta Garbo, and Marlene Dietrich - to play exotic temptresses. Cast for their ability to give meaningful glances rather than speak lines, not all the imports made a successful transition to talkies. However, Garbo, Dietrich, and, yes, Damita were among the few who did. Today she's remembered as Errol Flynn's first wife; although, when they married in 1935, Flynn was just a handsome newcomer and Damita was the star. An old-fashioned gal, Damita gave up her career after marrying Flynn...which may be why she's better known for the divorce which bankrupted Flynn than for her own movies, but that's a story for another day.
Today's double feature includes two films made in 1931 with director Victor Schertzinger for RKO Studios. In Friends and Lovers, Damita flirts her way through British society in India, blackmailing her conquests under the (monocled) eye of her unscrupulous husband, played by Erich von Stroheim. Adolphe Menjou and Laurence Olivier, in his first American film, star as young British officers ensnared by Damita's charms. 
In the second film, Damita is the titular Woman, this time unintentionally coming between a father and son. Happily married to a rich older man, Damita is shocked when her husband's son returns from WWI and it is revealed that her stepson is also her former lover. (Since we're all thinking it, I'll just say that I have found no evidence that this film was the inspiration for the classic 1997 TV-movie My Stepson, My Lover.) You may recognize O.P. Heggie, who plays Damita's husband, as the blind hermit from Bride of Frankenstein.

7/27: Star of the Month Ronald Colman
8 PM - A Double Life (1947)
10 PM - Random Harvest (1942)
12:15 AM - The Talk of the Town (1942)
The suave British actor Ronald Colman is TCM's Star of the Month with his films scheduled in primetime each Thursday in July. Colman was a top leading man from the silent era through the 1940s, equally popular with men and women for his dashing manner and handsome good looks. I plan on watching several of his movies this month, including early hits like Bulldog Drummond (1929) and Raffles (1930), but I am recommending three of his most popular films from the 40s.
In the politically-tinged comedy The Talk of the Town Colman shares leading man duties with Cary Grant. Grant plays an accused arsonist on the lam who hides out in the home of schoolteacher Jean Arthur. He enlists Arthur's help to convince Colman, a respected law professor, of his innocence. Of course both men develop romantic feelings for the lovely Ms. Arthur and the film leaves you guessing until the end as to which man she will choose. This may be the only instance in which a love triangle involving Cary Grant felt equally weighted. Apparently alternate endings were filmed, one in which Arthur chose Grant and one in which she chose Colman; see if you agree with the final outcome. 
The Talk of the Town was Oscar-nominated for Best Picture and breathed new life into Colman's career and he followed it with another hit, the romantic drama Random Harvest. The plot is a bit convoluted, but basically it involves Colman getting amnesia - twice! - and forgetting the love of his life, played by Greer Garson. Director Meryn LeRoy quipped that "the English language was never spoken more beautifully on film." The film received seven Oscar nominations including Best Picture, Director, and Best Actor. However, most of the awards that year went to Garson's other hit, Mrs. Miniver; Colman lost out to James Cagney in Yankee Doodle Dandy.
For Colman, fourth time was the charm when he finally won the Best Actor Oscar for A Double Life playing an actor in a production of Othello opposite his own wife who finds his character's jealousy seeping into his own psyche. Married writing team Ruth Gordon and Garson Kanin originally wanted Laurence Olivier for the lead role, but jumped after Colman when their first choice was unavailable. It was Colman who wasn't sure if he was right for the role; despite a stage background, he had never been a Shakesperean actor. However, the Kanins got Colman to sign on by promising him that the role would earn him that elusive Oscar - and they were right! 

Classic Movie Picks: February 2017

by Lani

Each month, I scour the Turner Classic Movies schedule for upcoming films that I can't miss. The highlights are posted here for your reading and viewing pleasure! (All listed times are Eastern Standard, check your local listings or TCM.com for actual air times in your area. Each day's schedule begins at 6:00 a.m.; if a film airs between midnight and 6 a.m. it is listed on the previous day's programming schedule.)


It's award season in Hollywood, which means it's time for TCM's "31 Days of Oscar" programming. Each day in February (and a few in March, too) will feature films which were Academy Award winners or nominees. This year, the films are being shown from A to Z starting with Abe Lincoln in Illinois on February 1 and ending with, well, Z on March 3. The alphabetical order creates some interesting programming blocks of films you might never see on a double feature except during 31 Days of Oscar. I've chosen a few of my favorite groupings this month.

2/1: A is for archetype
8 PM - All About Eve (1950)
10:30 PM - An American in Paris (1951)
12:30 AM - Annie Hall (1977)
What better way to start the month than with the film which holds the record for most Oscar nominations, All About Eve? It's 14 nominations have since been tied by Titanic and this year's awards frontrunner La La Land; however, there were fewer categories in the 50s, so All About Eve's record is even more impressive. The film won 5 awards: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best Costume Design, and Best Supporting Actor for George Sanders. In his autobiography Sanders said of winning an Oscar, "I was grateful and flattered to get mine, but apart from making my already large ego one size larger it did absolutely nothing for me." The film's star, Bette Davis, might disagree. Davis and co-star Anne Baxter were both nominated for Best Actress, the first time two lead actresses had been nominated for the same film; however, the award that year went to Judy Holliday for Born Yesterday. The film is the ultimate backstage story, centering on an established stage actress threatened by an ambitious younger woman with her sights set on stardom. Davis's powerful performance as Broadway star Margo Channing and Baxter's equally good turn as the cunning upstart Eve Harrington, plus the bitingly witty dialog by writer /director Joseph Mankiewicz, make this one of the best of all time.

Though musicals had been popular since silent films became talkies, it was rare for a musical to win best picture. An American in Paris broke the trend garnering 8 nominations and 6 wins, including Best Picture. Gene Kelly stars as an American painter living in Paris who has a complicated romance with a French girl. The charming performances of the cast, particularly Kelly and love interest Leslie Caron, beautiful dances choreographed by Kelly, and the iconic music of the Gershwins, make An American in Paris a true delight. One of the most memorable sequences is the 17-minute "dream ballet" which ends the film. The power of this sequence must have stuck in the minds of the Academy voters because while director Vincente Minelli lost out to the director of A Place in the Sun, George Stevens; Gene Kelly was given an honorary award "in appreciation of his versatility as an actor, singer, director and dancer, and specifically for his brilliant achievements in the art of choreography on film." I would give credit to both Minelli and Kelly for the creative vision which made this film one of the crowning achievements of MGM's golden age.

Annie Hall received 4 Academy Awards for Best Picture, Woody Allen's direction, the screenplay by Allen and Marshall Brickman, and Best Actress for Diane Keaton. The only nominated category it didn't win that year was Best Actor, in which Allen lost to Richard Dreyfuss for his performance in The Goodbye Girl. Comedy is another genre which is not often recognized by Oscar. Annie Hall was the first comedy since 1963's Tom Jones to win Best Picture (beating out Star Wars along the way); and I'm not sure there's been another since then...maybe Shakespeare in Love?  The story is a simple one in which boy, comedy writer Alvy, meets girl, aspiring singer Annie, but the two quickly complicate matters with their neuroses and insecurities. With this film, Allen created the blueprint for modern romantic comedy. 

2/8: F is for force
12 AM - The French Connection (1971)
2 AM - Friendly Persuasion (1956)
The French Connection was the big winner of 1971, with 8 nominations and 5 wins, including Best Picture. The film, which follows two Brooklyn narcotics detectives tracking a drug kingpin, is memorable for a breathless car chase sequence and Gene Hackman's forceful portrayal of brutish cop Jimmy "Popeye" Doyle. No surprise then that the film picked up Oscars for Best Editing and Best Actor, in addition to awards for its director, William Friedkin, and screenplay by Ernest Tidyman.

Friendly Persuasion proves that you can also make an impact through the rejection of violence, a sentiment echoed by this year's Oscar nominated film Hacksaw Ridge (ironically, an extremely violent film). The story centers on a Quaker family in Indiana whose commitment to peace is tested during the Civil War. The film received 6 nominations for Best Picture, Screenplay, Sound, and Director, as well as for the featured song "Friendly Persuasion (Thee I Love)" and supporting actor Anthony Perkins. Though set against the tumult of the Civil War, this is also a sentimental film about a family kept together by their strength of will and faith. But despite box office popularity, able direction by William Wyler, and strong performances by Gary Cooper and Dorothy McGuire, Friendly Persuasion lost the big prize that year to the star-studded spectacle of Around the World in 80 Days filmed in ultra wide screen Todd-AO.

2/11: H is for hysteria
10 PM - A Hard Day's Night (1964)
11:45 PM - Harvey (1950)
Put together quickly to capitalize on worldwide Beatlemania, A Hard Day's Night is much better than it has any right to be and ending up getting two Academy Award nominations. The filmmakers were secretly worried that the Beatles could be a passing fad; therefore, the film needed to get to theaters quickly. The filming was completed in six weeks and the finished product premiered only three months after filming began! The hilarious, and Oscar-nominated, screenplay by Alun Owen focuses on a day (or so) in the life of the band  as they talk to the press, evade hordes of screaming fans, and generally goof around, all in the lead-up to a performance on a television show. The screenplay is further helped by the innate charm of John, Paul, George, and Ringo, as well as a crack supporting cast of British character actors, most notably William Brambell as Paul's crotchety, mischievous grandfather. Of course another big reason to watch the film is the music, including the title song and other hits like "Can't Buy Me Love" and "All My Loving." Producer George Martin received the film's second Oscar nomination for the score. (Note: the category of "musical score - adaptation or treatment" was only around from 1963 to 1968, and most nominees were films which had been adapted from Broadway musicals with existing scores.)

Harvey received two Oscar nominations, Best Actor for star James Stewart and Best Supporting Actress for Josephine Hull (which she won). However, it's a shock to me that the screenplay, adapted for film by Mary Chase and Oscar Brodney from Chase's Pulitzer Prize winning play, was completely overlooked. The concept -- that a small-town eccentric (or drunk, depending on your opinion) is accompanied everywhere by a 6'3" invisible rabbit to the embarrassment and dismay of his family -- is so out there, it takes a masterful touch to make it work. Stewart gives one of his most memorable comedic performances as the gentle iconoclast Elwood P. Dowd, though he lost the Oscar to Jose Ferrer's starring performance in Cyrano de Bergerac. The play had been a hit on Broadway for five years and the filmmakers imported most of the original cast, including Hull as Dowd's increasingly desperate sister. A couple of interesting facts about the film -- though it is implied that Elwood is an alcoholic, due to the film production code he is never shown taking a drink; many of the shots in the film are intentionally wider than they need to be to allow room for the invisible Harvey.

2/19: N is for nominee
6:30 AM - North by Northwest (1959)
9 AM - Now, Voyager (1942)
11 AM - The Nun's Story (1959)
They say it's an honor just to be nominated. Sometimes a really great film can pick up a few nominations, but in the end lose to that year's juggernaut. That's what happened to Alfred Hitchcock's spy thriller North by Northwest, which picked up 3 nominations for Art Direction, Editing, and Screenplay; unfortunately for Hitch, his film was up against Ben-Hur which would set a record that year with 11 wins. (The record still stands, but is shared with Titanic and Lord of the Rings: Return of the King.) The original screenplay award that year would go to the Doris Day-Rock Hudson comedy Pillow Talk. Combining many of Hitchcock's signature elements -- mistaken identity, a glamorous blonde, diabolical villains, and fear of those people and institutions we should trust -- plus favorite leading man Cary Grant, North by Northwest is the quintessential Hitchcock picture. The famous crop duster scene is so well done, it is suspenseful no matter how many times I watch it. However, one of the best parts of the movie didn't even get a nomination: Bernard Hermann's memorable score.

Also coming up empty at the 1959 Oscars was The Nun's Story, directed by Fred Zinnemann and starring Audrey Hepburn. This moving portrait of a nun who must repress her natural independence first as a novice, and later on a mission to Africa, was one of the most popular movies of the year. The strength of the film lies in the star power of Hepburn, and she gives a superb performance as Gaby/Sister Luke; playing against her fashion-plate image, she spends most of the film covered up in a nun's habit. Hepburn was nominated for Best Actress, but lost to Simone Signoret, the polar opposite of a nun as an unfaithful wife in Room at the Top. The film received 8 nominations in all, including Best Picture, Director, Cinematography, Editing, Sound, Score, and Adapted Screenplay. I'll admit that the film might sound dull at first, but The Nun's Story is so well-crafted it will pull you in and keep you captivated.

Now, Voyager is an emotional drama about a plain, put-upon woman who comes into her own through the help of a psychiatrist and her chaste love for a married man. It was Bette Davis's biggest hit of the 1940s and provided many quotable lines, including "Don't ask for the moon, we have the stars." The brilliant Bette Davis was again nominated for Best Actress, but did not win. (Lest you're feeling sorry for her now, she had already won the award twice in the 1930s for her performances in Dangerous and Jezebel.) Gladys Cooper, who played Davis's domineering mother, received a Best Supporting Actress nomination. Both the Best Actress and Supporting Actress Oscar would go to the stars of that year's big winner Mrs. Miniver, Greer Garson and Teresa Wright, respectively. However, Now, Voyager did manage one win for the elegant score by Max Steiner.





2/22: R is for romance
8 PM - Roman Holiday (1953)
10:15 PM - A Room with a View (1986)
Roman Holiday is an effervescent romp through the streets of Rome which made Audrey Hepburn a star. She plays a princess on an official tour of Europe, who runs away from her duties and has an adventure with an American reporter (played by Gregory Peck). The film received 10 Oscar nominations, including Best Picture, Director, Cinematography, Editing, Art Direction, Screenplay, and Supporting Actor for Eddie Albert. It won in three categories: Best Actress, Costumes, and Motion Picture Story. It is interesting to note that, at the time, "motion picture story" was a separate category from screenplay; so, Dalton Trumbo's original story (perhaps inspired by England's rebellious Princess Margaret) won the Oscar, but the completed screenplay did not. Hepburn's chic, modern clothes and gamine haircut were copied by women around the world, which probably helped costume designer Edith Head grab the win over other films with more elaborate costumes.

It's back to Italy with A Room with View, a delightful period comedy about a young Englishwoman torn between her straitlaced fiance and an impetuous Bohemian she meets in Florence. The film received 8 Oscar nominations, tying that year's ultimate Best Picture winner Platoon. It won in three categories: Adapted Screenplay, Art Direction, and Costume Design. A Room with a View was the first worldwide hit for producer Ismail Merchant, director James Ivory, and writer Ruth Prawer-Jhabavala, who adapted the story from the E.M. Forster novel. If you think "Merchant-Ivory film" means a stuffy costume drama, this film may surprise you. It pokes fun at the buttoned-up aspects of Edwardian culture, but never dips into farce; while the romance is handled with deft delicacy. 

Classic Movie Picks: September 2013

by Lani

Each month, I scour the Turner Classic Movies schedule for upcoming films that I can't miss. The highlights are posted here for your reading and viewing pleasure! (All listed times are Eastern Standard, check your local listings or TCM.com for actual air times in your area. Each day's schedule begins at 6:00 a.m.; if a film airs between midnight and 6 a.m. it is listed on the previous day's programming schedule.)

The Story of Film: An Odyssey (2011)
This 15-episode documentary, directed and narrated by Mark Cousins and adapted from his 2004 book, was originally broadcast as a TV series in the UK and (as far as I know) this is its U.S. broadcast premiere. The series takes a comprehensive overview of the history and art of motion pictures, spanning over 100 hundred years and focusing not just on Hollywood, but on cinema from around the world. Monday nights in September we'll get the first five installments of the series, which will continue through December. Tuesdays in primetime will feature films which are related to that week's "chapter."

9/2, 4:15 PM - Pitfall (1948)
Insurance investigator Dick Powell and crooked private eye Raymond Burr clash as they both investigate an embezzler -- and fall for the man's girlfriend, played by Lizabeth Scott. Straight-arrow Powell should know better than to fall for a femme fatale, but when has that ever stopped a noir hero? This film just become available on DVD, due to exposure received at the Telluride Film Festival in a retrospective of films of director Andre de Toth. Today, it's being shown as part of TCM's annual tribute to the festival.
BONUS: 9/2, 8 AM - History is Made at Night (1937)
Charles Boyer and Jean Arthur star in this lush romance which is also part of the Telluride tribute. He's a suave and chivalrous waiter, she's a society lady with a maniacally jealous husband -- together, can they find true love and happiness?

9/14, 8 PM and 9/22, 11:30 AM - Lifeboat (1944)
Alfred Hitchcock's 1944 film Lifeboat is showing twice this month, once as an installment of "The Essentials" on 9/18, and again on 9/22 as part of TCM's month-long "Sundays with Hitch" programming. When thinking about Hitchcock's best films, Lifeboat is generally not the first, or even tenth, film to come to mind. However, it is one film from Hitch's "golden age" of the 40s and 50s that I have not seen, and the premise is very intriguing. After their ship is sunk by a Nazi U-boat, a group of passengers aboard a lifeboat must survive each other and the sea. The technical constraints of this story require the hand of a master to make the film work -- so I can't wait to see what Hitchcock was able to do.

9/24, 9 PM - L'Atalante (1934)
This is the only full-length film by French director Jean Vigo who died in 1934 at the age of 29 of tuberculosis. He died thinking he was a failure, but history has named him a master poetic realism. In L'Atalante, Luminous Dita Parlo plays a new bride who finds that life aboard her husband's barge is not the adventure she hoped for and they nearly lose everything when she sneaks off to experience Paris nightlife. The film has gone through many restorations over the years because of editing done by the original distributor. The final missing piece was found in an Italian vault in 1990 and since then the film has been receiving accolades along the lines of "greatest film ever made."

Friday Night Spotlight - Future Shock!
Film critic Michael Phillips of the Chicago Tribune hosts this month's Friday night series presenting visions of the future on film. The films include Fritz Lang's early classic Metropolis, as well as more recent sci-fi fare like Steven Spielberg's A.I.: Artificial Intelligence and Minority Report. Sometimes the best part of watching a film set in the future is being able to compare its vision to what actually happened. My favorite film in the line-up is Escape from New York (1981); director John Carpenter creates a wonderfully spooky atmosphere and Kurt Russell is simply iconic as the tough anti-hero Snake Plisskin. Luckily by 1997, when Escape is set, New York City had not been converted into a maximum security prison, so that film's depiction of the future remains, thankfully, fictional. On the other hand, Total Recall (1990), another film in the Future Shock series, was eerily accurate in its depiction of some of the aspects of future life -- video phones, full body security X-rays, TV ads on the subway...one character even plays tennis with a device similar to the Nintendo Wii. (Check out our From the Vault review of Total Recall for more of that film's predictions of the future.) If you are looking for a more kid-friendly movie from this series, try The Time Machine (1960), a well-made adventure starring Rod Taylor as the time traveler.

Not-So-Fresh New Releases #4

It is officially movie awards-season, when all the high-profile Oscar bait is released into theaters. Last year, I could barely keep up with all the new releases; however, this past weekend I couldn't muster any enthusiasm for the selection at my local multiplex (aside from the films that I have already seen and enjoyed, such as the latest Harry Potter installment). I've decided to highlight two of new releases I find to be most egregiously unnecessary, which coincidentally have two of the worst ratings on RottenTomatoes.com, and suggest some classic viewing alternatives.

The Tourist - 20% freshness rating

• Angelina Jolie is a glamorous woman of mystery, equally as adept at eluding the authorities as wearing designer frocks; Johnny Depp is a math teacher from Wisconsin drawn into her web in a whirlwind romp through Venice. The romantic escapism promised by The Tourist, when done well, gives one the exhilarated feeling that movies were invented solely to tell such stories. Unfortunately, The Tourist has exhilarated no one. If you want to see a movie about a sexy mystery woman teamed with an out-of-his-depth academic, I humbly suggest Arabesque (1966) directed by Stanley Donen and starring Sophia Loren as a beautiful spy and Gregory Peck as a university professor. This film takes a tongue-in-cheek approach to international intrigue revolving around Arab hieroglyphics, an assassination plot, and lots of costume changes for Sophia.
• Three years earlier, Stanley Donen directed another great romantic thriller, Charade (1963), in which Audrey Hepburn is pursued through Paris by several shady characters seeking her late husband's fortune. She must decide whether she can trust Cary Grant to keep her one step ahead. To paraphrase one of Hepburn's great lines: You know what's wrong with this film? Nothing.
• North by Northwest (1959) also stars Cary Grant, only this time he is the one pursued. Eva Marie Saint comes along for the ride as a cool, blonde secret agent. This film is one of director Alfred Hitchcock's best, combining his signature thrills with humor and sophistication.

The Nutcracker in 3D - 0% freshness rating

• This film adaptation of the well-known Christmas tale sets the action entirely in 1920s Vienna. It has received universally negative reviews, citing such misguided elements as a holocaust subtext, poorly executed 3D effects, and Albert Einstein. If you want to see a production of The Nutcracker during the holidays, please find a local performance of Tchaikovsky's ballet by a professional ballet company, a children's ballet school, or any other performing arts group. The live theater experience (in 3D!) will surely be more pleasant, cheerful, and memorable than this ill-conceived film.

But if you still want to venture out to the movies this week, luckily there are some well-made, interesting, and worthwhile films still in theaters including 127 Hours, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1, Black Swan, Made in Dagenham, and The Social Network.
Happy holidays and happy film-going!

The Great Ones

So, the other night I sat down to watch Vertigo for the first time. (I realize this calls into question my earlier claim about having seen most of Hitchcock's films, but I promise that I have! Vertigo was the only really famous film of Hitchcock's that I hadn't seen.) I was already familiar with the plot of the film, I even knew the characters' names, because Vertigo is one of those films often classified as "Great." The "Great" films are the ones in the canon, the ones that get dissected in college courses, the ones that always show up on the "ten best..." lists.

I started thinking, what other "greats" have I missed. First, I thought of the canonical films I had seen: Gone with the Wind, Casablanca, Citizen Kane, 2001: A Space Odyssey... I concluded I had seen most of the obvious titles, so I tried to think of the ones I hadn't seen that are also considered great. The titles that came to mind first were Bride of Frankenstein, McCabe and Mrs. Miller, and The Shining.

Of course, I have reasonable excuses for never watching these movies. Bride of Frankenstein, and Frankenstein for that matter, are so affliated with Halloween that they seem like seasonal films. I never feel like watching them until October, but by then they are checked out from the video store - because apparently everyone else has the same inclination. As for McCabe, well I'm not a big Julie Christie fan, so I've just never been motivated to see it. And The Shining is obviously far too scary for me to actually watch.

There are many places to find a list of great films. Some lists, like AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies or past winners of the Best Picture Academy Award, have slightly more credibility than others like IMDB's Top 250 . I decided to peruse Roger Ebert's The Great Movies because I thought there would be a variety of foreign and American films, as well as old and new films. I was pleased to see that out of the 315 movies on Ebert's list, I had seen 137. While that is a pretty respectable number, I still hadn't seen over half of the list.

It's not quite time for New Year's Resolutions, but I'm making one for 2010. Starting now and throughout next year, I will attempt to watch as many of The Great Movies as I can. Some will be easy - that Apocalypse Now DVD has been sitting on my bookcase for years. Others will be more difficult - I really don't want to watch El Topo. I think the real challenge will be choosing to rent Bergman's Winter Light (Great) when I actually feel like renting Cockfighter (non-Great). There may be almost 200 of Ebert's Greats left for me to choose from, but there are thousands of non-Greats begging to be watched, calling out to me with their Siren song.

Classic Movie Picks: November

Each month, I scour the Turner Classic Movies Now Playing guide for upcoming films that I can't miss. The highlights are posted here for your reading and viewing pleasure!
(All listed times are Eastern Standard, check your local listings or TCM.com for actual air times in your area. Each day's schedule begins at 6:00 a.m.; if a film airs between midnight and 6 a.m. it is listed on the previous day's programming schedule.)

This month TCM is showing two of their original documentaries from 2009. First up is Johnny Mercer: The Dream's on Me, featuring archival footage and film clips tracing the career of the famous lyricist. The doc debuts on 11/4 followed by Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, for which Mercer wrote the lyrics; it replays on 11/18 in honor of Mercer's birthday, along with 24 hours of films containing his songs. On 11/14, TCM will replay the excellent 1939: Hollywood's Greatest Year, an original doc about that legendary year in film which produced Gone with the Wind, The Wizard of Oz, Stagecoach, and many other beloved films.

Unofficially, TCM is also spotlighting Alfred Hitchcock this month. Catch thirteen Hitch classics, including all three collaborations with the ultimate "cool blonde" (and TCM Star of the Month) Grace Kelly.
11/2: Vertigo (8:00 PM), North by Northwest (10:15 PM)
11/7: Family Plot (10:00 AM)
11/9: Topaz (8:00 PM)
11/12: Dial M for Murder (8:00 PM), Rear Window (10:00 PM)
11/13: To Catch a Thief (8:00 AM)
11/14: Saboteur (8:00 PM)
11/16: Mr. and Mrs. Smith (4:15 PM)
11/23: The Man Who Knew Too Much [1934] (1:30 AM), Blackmail (3:00 AM), Jamaica Inn (4:30 AM)
11/26: To Catch a Thief (8:00 PM)
11/28: The Man Who Knew Too Much [1956] (2:00 PM)
11/30: Rear Window (2:15 AM)

Also this month:
11/7: Tonight's line-up highlights directorial debuts. I'm especially interested in The Duellists (1978) directed by Ridley Scott at 10 PM followed by Gumshoe (1971) directed by Stephen Frears.
11/15: Stay up late or wake up early to see A Matter of Life and Death (1947) at 4:00 AM. David Niven stars as an injured aviator who must argue before a heavenly court for the chance to go on living. Directors Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger bring a wonderful sense of fantasy and romance to this truly unique film.
11/20: An 11-film marathon dedicated to "society sleuth" The Falcon starts at 6:00 AM. The Falcon was first portrayed by the debonair George Sanders and the role was later taken over by Sanders's brother Tom Conway. The marathon includes 4 films starring Sanders and 7 starring Conway; however, they look and sound so alike that you may not notice the switch.

For the completist...

I was browsing my local video store with AJ, looking for something Halloween-ish (i.e. featuring ghosts, vampires, pumpkins, etc. or just any "scary" or suspenseful movie). I don't really enjoy horror movies, so I was on the lookout for something that could be more correctly classified as a thriller. I walked along the wall devoted to famous directors until I came to the Alfred Hitchcock shelves. Aah, Hitch - the king of the thriller, this is exactly what I was looking for! But as I surveyed the selection, I realized I had already seen all of these films. And as much as I love Hitchcock, I wanted to use my precious rental money for a "new-to-me" movie. (By the way, we ended up with The Monster Squad-kind of lame, honestly; The Parallax View-kind of boring, unfortunately; and Death on the Nile, really good, surprisingly.)

I had a similar experience last month while looking over the schedule for a film series of Billy Wilder's comedies. Wilder is a favorite director of mine, and he is especially adept at comedy, so of course I was excited. However, I had seen all of the films in the series except one, Avanti!. (I finally saw it last night. This film has alluded me for years as it seems to play exclusively in the 3 a.m. timeslot on Turner Classic Movies and I can never seem to stay up that late).

I love old films. Since my appetite for cinema first blossomed when I was a teenager, I have been devouring the classics. And since I tend to be a completist, if I happen to like a certain director or actor I will seek out all their films. So maybe it was inevitable that eventually I would watch all of Billy Wilder's films. But I had always thought about my completism in terms of the chase and discovery, rather than the end of the journey. Now I realize that if I've seen all of Billy Wilder's films, I'll never see a "new" Billy Wilder film again - and that makes me a little sad. While I will always enjoy watching his films again (and again, and again), there's no longer any mystery lying behind the title or that wonderful feeling of what-happens-next.

So, maybe I'll put off watching Buddy, Buddy for a little bit longer...