The Naked City (1948)

The plot of The Naked City (1948) is pretty straight-forward noir fare. A young model is killed in New York City and detectives are on the case to find out who committed the crime. As far as plot go, it's pretty unremarkable. However, the film itself was ground-breaking. It's the first movie ever to be filmed on location in New York city. Scenes were shot in the streets, in real apartments, in real buildings and with real people. The "extras" were real bystanders walking the streets. The movie was a sort of documentary/film hybrid. The story is fictional but the locations and all their elements are very real.

The film is narrated by Mark Hellinger, the producer. In the very beginning he introduces the movie, himself, the director Jules Dassin, etc. all by name. How many movies acknowledge within the context of the narration it's existence as a film and those responsible for its creation? What movie ever acknowledges itself as a movie? Occassionally, the acknowledgement comes as a joke buried deep within the center of the plot, however, The Naked City introduces itself in all seriousness as a movie. Reality is juxtaposed with fiction to create a vehicle unseen by moviegoers at that time.

This is the city as it is. Hot summer pavements, the children at play, the buildings in their naked stone, the people, without makeup.

These words are read by Hellinger at the end of the film's introduction and they are important. The film is stripped down of any of the glamour Hollywood was known for. It is literally a film without makeup. None of the actors in the film are particularly glamorous or showy. None are big name stars. They look like average folk working their way through a naked and gritty version of New York City. In fact, the only glamour in the film is killed off in the very beginning. The young model is murdered in her apartment and she is seen only in shadow and darkness. Her jewelry and other baubles are stolen and we never see them. Even the model's friend, who works in the same industry, is seen in a less glamorous light than one would expect. She is more victim than celebrated beauty. In this film, fanciness was removed and the grit was exposed. What we see throughout the rest of the movie are slices of the lives of the working class and shots of the city in all its naked, bare beauty. These elements make this not only an excellent film noir, but a superb movie all-around.

Sad Note: Producer/Narrator Mark Hellinger died of a heart attack in 1947, but survived long enough to have seen a preview of the ground-breaking film.

Happy New Year!

Or as Ginger Rogers would say it in her fake Swedish accent in Bachelor Mother (1939):

'Appy Nuuu Chyea!

2008 was a strange year, mostly bad but not without its good points. I got my Master's degree (read my post about that here), I learned to knit, this blog really took off and I made lots of great new blogging friends. So many of the classic film bloggers and classic film fans I have gotten to know are witty, intelligent, kind and fun folks. I hope I get to learn even more about you in the New Year! And I look forward to lots of new blogging projects in 2009.

Good Heavens: All That Heaven Allows (1955)

All That Heaven Allows (1955) is a classic Douglas Sirk melodrama. It was the second time Sirk paired stars Jane Wyman and Rock Hudson together, the first time being in Magnificent Obsession (1954). The story is about a wealthy widow (Jane Wyman) whose two children are college-bound and she finds herself falling in love with her much younger gardener (Rock Hudson) to the dismay of the uppity society she exists in. It's a shame that I had to sum up such a fantastic movie with such a pathetic boiled down sentence such as that one, but there it is.

This film does what a social drama should do; expose the injustices of a society, whether it be society at large or a particular type of society. In this case, it's the suburban, upper-crust, country club society of the 1950's. The main character, the widow Cary, is oblivious to such injustices until she gets to know and falls in love with her gardener Ron. Sometimes it takes someone from a different world for one to understand one's own world; it allows for a sort of eye-opening introspection. This film was cast off as simple weepy melodrama for many years until people began to understand the film's underlying social commentary.

Some who watch the film may think it's over-the-top, but I think it's quite an effective movie. We are first introduced into Cary's world, then we fall in love with Ron and learn to appreciate his rebellion and then we hate everyone who is trying to keep Cary and Ron apart. And c'mon, who wouldn't fall in love with Rock Hudson? What's more romantic than seeing him feeding a lone deer on a snowy morning? If that isn't enough to make a gal weak in the knees, I don't know what is.

I read the featured article on this film on TCM's website and found out something about the film I hadn't been aware of before. To demonstrate Cary's entrapment in her world, Jane Wyman is often shown "framed" whether it be a mirror, window, doorway, etc. My favorite is the shot of her framed in the television which is presented to her as a future "companion".

And watch for a older Conrad Nagel in the film, playing the role of Harvey, Cary's would-be suitor.