Wednesday, July 15, 2020

Phantom Lady: Hollywood Producer Joan Harrison, The Forgotten Woman Behind Hitchcock by Christina Lane


Phantom Lady
Hollywood Producer Joan Harrison
The Forgotten Woman Behind Hitchcock
by Christina Lane
Chicago Review Press
Hardcover ISBN: 9781613733844
400 pages
February 2020

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"Alfred Hitchcock would not have become 'Hitchcock' without her." — Christina Lane

I first learned of Joan Harrison when I saw her name pop up in the title credits for The Alfred Hitchcock Hour television show. I was deep into my binge watch of that series when I noticed that Harrison was replaced by Norman Lloyd as executive producer. It was only when I read Christina Lane's excellent biography Phantom Lady: Hollywood Producer Joan Harrison, The Forgotten Woman Behind Hitchcock that I learned why Harrison left the show. While Harrison had been fully involved in the original series Alfred Hitchcock Presents, she was less enthused with the new format coupled the pressure to find original stories that would work for the hour long presentation. According to Lane, Harrison "was a woman who liked to be in control." If she didn't feel the work was suited to the best of her abilities or that she could do better elsewhere she removed herself and moved on. This is a woman I needed to learn more about.

Christina Lane's biography offers readers a portrait of a headstrong woman with a passion for both storytelling and the business of movie making. Harrison refused to take the path set for her as a woman. She wanted more and she was determined to get it. Harrison got her start in the business when she answered Alfred Hitchcock's want ad for a personal assistant/secretary. She was a terrific writer, editor and visionary and she quickly rose in ranks to writer and eventually to producer. According to Lane, Harrison "championed women's stories and alternative narrative methods." She believed that films should have complex and dynamic female characters. Highly collaborative, she oversaw continuity of story and vision and had a hand in procuring stories as well as launching writer's careers. Harrison helped groom Jane Greer for her career at RKO (but quickly left when Harrison saw Hughes was bad news) and was instrumental in Robert Mongtomery's career at Universal. She was nominated for two Oscars in the same year, for best adapted screenplay for Rebecca (1940) and best original screenplay for Foreign Correspondent (1940). I admire the fact that Harrison felt strongly against the blacklist and when she transitioned to television work, producing shows like Janet Dean, Registered Nurse and the two Alfred Hitchcock anthology series, she used the opportunity to help blacklisted talent get back to work.




“She was realizing that the women’s angle -- the persistent search for filmic ways to penetrate the mind of a sympathetic female character -- was her greatest motivation.”— Christina Lane

Phantom Lady is an exquisitely written and thoroughly researched biography of an extraordinary woman. Author Christina Lane is an associate professor of film studies at the University of Miami and writer. Lane offers readers tons of interesting information, beautifully crafted sentences and thoughtful observations. There are extensive interviews with surviving members of Lane's circle of friends and colleagues including living legend Norman Lloyd. Films discussed include: Rebecca (1940), Foreign Correspondent (1940), Suspicion (1940) (lots of information about that darned ending!), Phantom Lady (1944), Nocturne (1946), Ride the Pink Horse (1947), Once More, My Darling (1949), etc. There are plenty of spoilers so if you're not familiar with the film plots you may want to skip ahead a paragraph or two when the synopsis is discussed in the text. There is quite a bit of information about Harrison's love life which may or may not be interesting to the reader. Lane offers juicy tidbits while being careful not to cross over into the territory of salaciousness.

I'm particularly interested in learning more about people behind the scenes of film making, beyond actors and directors. The role a producer is not fully understood or appreciated by many and there was much to learn from here through Harrison's involvement in various projects. Lane does an excellent job deciphering what Harrison's contributions as a screenwriter and producer would have been based on research but also educated guesses where information was lacking.

A truly enlightening and empowering read. Highly recommended!

Thank you to Chicago Review Press for a copy of Phantom Lady for review.



This is my first review for my Summer Reading Challenge.


Friday, July 3, 2020

The Assassination Bureau (1969): Review by Kate Gabrielle




The Assassination Bureau (1969) is an energetic, suspenseful, and imaginative romp through an alternate version of turn-of-the-century Europe where the chair of a secretive murder-for-hire organization, Ivan Dragomiroff (Oliver Reed), teams up with feminist journalist Miss Winter (Diana Rigg) to prevent World War I. Sure, he might be partially to blame for the Archduke Ferdinand's accidental assassination by tossing him a bomb concealed inside of a large sausage, but his heart is in the right place!

This dark comedy begins with Miss Winter seeking out The Assassination Bureau to commission a hit on Ivan Dragomiroff himself! Miss Winter believes that his demise will put an end to the increasing number of senseless murders being committed, and her first assignment as a newly minted journalist will be to trail Dragomiroff and cover his ultimate end for the paper. Driven partially by amusement at the offer and a desire to reset the moral compass of his increasingly mercenary institution, Dragomiroff accepts Miss Winter's request, with one caveat. If he is able to kill the other members of the board - corrupt men willing to trade an indefinite number of human lives in exchange for more power or wealth - then The Assassination Bureau can remain intact with him as chair, and restore its original mission to only eliminate those who are really and truly deserving of death.

Bedecked in a series of outlandish disguises, the members of the board all begin drawing up dastardly and inventive ways to kill each other off. A match sparked in a gas-filled room, bombs in briefcases, bombs in headboards, the aforementioned bomb in the sausage, and a particularly surprising death by helium! As Dragomiroff traipses across Europe leaving fiery, smoking buildings in his wake, Miss Winter follows along to cover the story and - predictably, but nonetheless adorably - becomes increasingly worried about the safety of the man that she just paid twenty thousand pounds to kill!

Diana Rigg and Oliver Reed have great chemistry here - in one scene when they are still in the verbal sparring stage of the "mismatched romantic duo" trope a hotel porter mistakes them for a married couple, and you could easily see how he could make that mistake. Dragomiroff remarks "it seems we have a married look ... because you're after my blood, no doubt." Of course, she's not the only one after his blood! Dragomiroff's second in command, Lord Bostwick (Telly Savalas) is so determined to see Miss Winter's hit carried out that he offers an additional ten thousand pound bonus to the person who does the deed. Savalas plays Lord Bostwick as a congenial villain, a man who delights in the game of death as much as the power he stands to gain from it. He is the perfect foil for Reed, who manages to portray an idealistic and upstanding hero with his characteristic devil-may-care flippancy.

The Assassination Bureau is as visually bright as the humor is dark - so many rich velvets, and so much attention to detail! In particular I was fascinated by a series of paintings lining the walls of the Bureau's conference room (a round room hidden behind beautiful curved bookcases) that depict famous assassinations throughout history, and a duo of beds in a brothel that are built to look like a swan and a peacock. Combining colorful, jaunty imagery with inset vintage newsreel footage, The Assassination Bureau puts a groovy 1960s twist on a fun turn of the century story.




The Assassination Bureau is available to purchase through the official



Kate Gabrielle is an illustrator and classic film fan. You can find her classic movie inspired artwork on her website, kategabrielle.com, and 10 years of film musings on her blog The Films in My Life.

Wednesday, July 1, 2020

The Titfield Thunderbolt (1953): A Review by Kyle Edwards




The Titfield Thunderbolt (1953) is an early-1950s British comedy which tells a story similar to many real occurrences throughout the world. After Britain's large, nationalized railroad company "British Railways" decides to cease operations over a rural branch line, a small group of concerned locals spring into action to buy the lot of it and save their treasured train. Despite seemingly insurmountable obstacles, the ragtag group manages to defy the odds and preserve the rail line.

This film is the Orient Express of cinema, providing a scenic, entertaining connection between varied points; these being suspense, clever humor and heartwarming satisfaction. The primary antagonists in the film are a pair of gentlemen who wish to gain from the closure of the rail line by offering bus service in place of the train. After these men fail to block the new railroad from gaining government approval to operate, they take matters into their own hands. Several devious attempts at sabotaging the railway are made — all appear successful at first. However, the ingenuity, determination and teamwork displayed by the group aboard the train prevails every time. Throughout the film, the rails are blocked, the critically essential water tower is ruined and drained, and the entire train is even set loose and forced to derail. Wherever the bus company men do their worst... the railroad men and women do far better.

The Titfield Thunderbolt has a captivating storyline, solid cinematography and a skilled cast. The plot itself, though fictional, is based on the story of the Talyllyn Railway in Wales — which became the world's first railway to be preserved by volunteers in 1951. In a broader sense, the film is very representative of things to come in the years that followed. As railroads around the globe experienced increasing overall decline throughout the 1950s, 60s and 70s, many groups appeared from thin air and saved historic railways and equipment from total destruction. In this film, there's some truth behind the added element of the seemingly-evil bus operators trying to destroy the railway. Motorcoach, trucking, automobile and airline companies all applied heavy pressure on the railroad industry in their formative years — both directly and by pushing for government regulations that lined their pockets at the expense of the high iron.

This movie beautifully captures the inherent nostalgia of the railroad and the love that many people — of all ages — have for the steam train. Although many historic rail lines have been lost forever, The Titfield Thunderbolt's success story, though fictional, provides a burst of joy that makes the viewer grateful for the existing real-life success stories. As with the preservation of any object, machine or place, there must be a lot of care and determination for there to be any resulting positive outcome. This film, though light and humorous, highlights the perseverance of those who wish to save things that are at risk for obliteration. Just like a real rail line, this film has plenty of ups, downs and unexpected twists. But it's fun, thrilling and very much worth the ride.





The Titfield Thunderbolt (1953) is available on Blu-ray from Film Movement.

Thank you to Film Movement for providing a copy for review.



Kyle Edwards of Trainiac Productions

"I enjoy long walks on the beach, but prefer to study railroad history, photograph the giant machinery in action and enjoy any films from days gone by. I love to create as much as I love to enjoy the creations of others."

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