Across the Pacific (1942)

(from Film Noir Photos)

What an excruciatingly boring film. I could not get into it no matter how hard I tried. The story was convoluted, the characters were not interesting and I quickly lost interest. In my research of Bogart's connection with Ben Affleck (don't ask), I discovered that Bogie wore a toupee for many years. I spent most of the movie watching his hair. He wore a fedora throughout the film so the moments in which his head were exposed were what kept me watching this movie until the end.

Kate Gabrielle over at Scathingly Brilliant makes these beautiful Etsy Treasuries including one inspired by one of my favorite films Come September (1961). She gave me some advice on how to make them and since I have nothing to say about Across the Pacific instead of a big fat yawn, I decided to take elements from the film and turn them into a treasury. 

Brother Orchid (1940) and the Battle Between Selflessness and Selfishness

I'm going to Europe, see?

It's not easy being selfless in a society that rewards selfishness and promotes individualism. Take Little John Sarto (Edward G. Robinson) for instance. He's a top-notch gangster who has always gotten what he wanted by elbowing his way towards the big prize. He leads a group of gangsters, including Jack Buck (Humphrey Bogart), in a racket that coerces companies, both sellers and buyers, into joining "protection associations". If any buyer wants to buy from a seller, both parties have to be in the association. That means both parties have to kick back a fee to the association for this so-called "protection". What a great scam. Sarto needled his way into an already existing market and found a way to make money without doing anything other than intimidating people.

Check out that halo!

So when everyone turns on Sarto and he find himself badly injured and in front of a monastery, he is taken in by selfless, charitable men who want nothing but to see him get well. They want no compensation in any form. Just to see him heal. What's with this racket? How do they make a profit? They grow flowers, sell them, and any money leftover after overhead goes to charities. There is one particularly heartbreaking scene which I was hoping to provide as a clip to you but alas it was not meant to be. The brothers are giving Sarto (now Brother Orchid) a haircut when Brother Superior walks in and proclaims that he shall give all of the brothers a special treat since they earned 2 extra dollars off of their rose sales. They'll have watermelon for Thursday evening's dinner. Oh swell! Sarto/Orchid looks on with disdain. Watermelon? Big flipping deal. Then a young boy, shoeless and destitute walks in. The brothers take pity on him and give him the $2 for a new pair of shoes and scoff at the thought of watermelon. That scene just tore my heart right out of my chest.

Milking cows is an okay racket.

It also makes me terribly ashamed. I used to do a lot for other people but have become a bit battle hardened over time. For example, I used to go out with a group of friends to parties, dinners, and other outings. They would drink, I wouldn't and I would always try to drive the ones I could home to make sure they got there safe and sound. Even though it was out of my way, I would always offer and wouldn't take no for an answer. It would make me happy to be of help. However, most of those friends never did anything for me in return. They never pitched in for gas. They never offer me any means of transportation anywhere. And at one point I got fed up. I started to see them as leeches and instead of denying them rides, I started to refuse to go on outings altogether. How can I be like the monks? How can I offer kindness to others when all I see around me are opportunists? How can I get joy from simply helping out another person? I wish I could be like that again. I wish I could find what Brother Orchid did.

This film touched me in so many ways. It very quickly became a top favorite and I proceeded to watch it two more times, even though I have so many other films to watch. I couldn't put it in my Bogie marathon because this isn't about Bogie. It's about Edward G. Robinson's character. That's all that really matters.

In a Lonely Place (1950)

Switching things up here a little bit. Because I felt Brother Orchid (1940), which is in the Humphrey Bogart: The Essential Collection boxed set, was a film that I wanted to write about with some detail, I replaced it with In a Lonely Place (1950) which is much more a Bogie film than Brother Orchid would ever be.

In a Lonely Place stars Humphrey Bogart as screenwriter Dixon Steele. Steele has been in the business for a couple of decades, supported by his devoted agent Mel Lippman (Art Smith), but has been down on his luck lately. He's been taken to drink, punches and ladies but not so much to his craft. One night, he invites a hat check girl, to whom he lent a copy of a novel he has to adapt, back to his place to talk about the novel. His neighbor, Laurel Gray (Gloria Grahame), witnesses a bit of the interaction between the two that night and flirts with Steele from afar. The next day, the girl winds up murdered and Steele is the #1 suspect with Gray as his only alibi. Steele and Gray develop a close yet volatile relationship which starts to spin out of control as the murder investigation heats up.

While we were watching this film, Carlos noticed that the storyline shifted focus from the murder investigation to the love story between Steele (Bogie) and Gray (Grahame). He wondered why it didn't get back to the main plot point. I explained that these scenes were really important to the plot overall. It was crucial for the viewer to see the love story develop between the the two main characters for various reasons. 1) It allows the audience to develop some sympathy for both characters. 2) Our sympathy is crucial for caring about the two characters when complications arise later in the plot. 3) It's a slow point in the story that gives the audience a break from all the tension that transpires from the murder investigation. Carlos asked how I knew so much about the movie. I actually didn't know anything about In a Lonely Place but I do know a lot about narrative flow and I'm an amateur deconstructionist who appreciates the power of opposites. Movie goers only have so long of an attention span so they need breaks. Why do you think most musicals have a slow number before the big finale? It's a perfect time for a 3-5 minute mental snooze. You can't be wowed all the time. You need some respit. If you don't, you'll be overwhelmed and may lose interest. Also, how will you fully appreciate the tension of a situation when you don't know what it's like when it's not tense? You'll sense the tension much more accutely when you've had some time to relax. Also, if the film skipped over the love story, how would the audience recognize the importance of the love between the two characters when it becomes jeapordized later if you don't see the love blossom in the first place! While Carlos likes to look at the visual details of the movie, I love the more abstract details. It's two very different ways of appreciating film.

*weirdo fact - Gloria Grahame was married to the film's director, Nicholas Ray. She was estranged from him during the shooting of the film and later married his son. Awkward!

High Sierra (1941)

I can really sympathize with the guy.

Humphrey Bogart's career as an actor with Warner Bros. studios wasn't all peaches and cream. He struggled with delayed stardom and languished at 3rd and 4th billing parts. Bogart got stuck many roles that were beneath him. It wasn't Bogie's fault. It wasn't really Warner Bros. either. They didn't know what it was they had with him or how to capitalize it. He did so well in The Petrified Forest (1936) as Duke Mantee that they just kept giving him similar parts in films for the next few years. Why mess with a sure thing, right? Besides, they had a lot of big stars like Paul Muni, James Cagney, Edward G. Robinson and George Raft who all had big money contracts and Warner Bros. had to use their talents in order to make those contracts worth their money.

Along comes W.R. Burnett's novel High Sierra, with Warner Bros. salivating over it wanting to make it a big picture. At first they wanted Paul Muni, but Muni didn't agree with John Huston's script and flat out said no. Then Warner Bros. considered George Raft but as my friend Paul from Art, Movies, Wood and Whatnot... says Raft didn't made several bad career choices that allowed others to thrive. Bogie read the novel, loved it, wanted the part of Roy "Mad Dog Earle" and sent this telegram:

Bogie saw an opportunity and seized the moment. This telegram reminds me very much of the e-mail I sent inquiring about a new position that I later applied for and acquired. Bogie was fed up and wanted to do something with his career. He sent the telegram, got the role (not sure exactly what happened in between) and slapped on some skunk stripes and off he was to the Sierra Nevadas. Even upstaging, first-billed Ida Lupino couldn't steal Bogie's thunder. High Sierra was his time to shine.

Invisible Stripes (1939) Screen Caps

This movie just lent itself to screen caps. I had several "WTF", "OMG" and "FTW" moments while watching the film and there were just way too many choice images I wanted to capture. And here they are! Enjoy.

Naked. I fully expect to get traffic from "George Raft Naked" and "Humphrey Bogart Naked" Google searches after this.

I beg your pardon, but aren't you Humphrey Bogart? 

Baby-faced William Holden and his pinch-able cheeks!

And the angels sing on high

You'll never see a bunch of teenagers fight this hard over going to work.

Eh. East Side Kid. No. Dead End Kid. No I got it! Bowery Boy! 

Hey Nancy, get your trusty wrench and hit this criminal over here on the head.

Just curious as to why Bogie got hit in the leg if the bullets were clearly aiming for his head.

Here's looking at you... tramp.

Invisible Stripes (1939)

The stripes are invisible because even though they are no longer in jail, they will never be free.

Invisible Stripes (1939) watches a lot like another Bogie movie that came out that same year: Roaring Twenties (1939). Instead of James Cagney and Bogie coming home from World War I you have George Raft and Bogie coming out of jail. The plight they face when they come home is the same. Any opportunities that were available before the left are not there when they come back. Bogie, in both roles, knows that going/staying bad is the only way to get by whereas both Cagney and Raft make a valiant effort at going straight. George Raft plays Cliff who tries everything he can to get a decent job but finds nothing but opposition. No one wants to have an ex-con from Sing Sing on staff. His little brother Tim (William Holden - wait, what? William Holden? OMG! That was him? I didn't even recognize him. He's so young. Why didn't anyone tell me...) wants to marry his longtime girlfriend Peggy (Jane Bryan) but he can't make ends meet enough to be able support a wife and a family. Tim is very tempted by the criminal life that people like Chuck (Bogie) lead; taking what they want, when they want and making no excuses. Cliff will do everything possible to give his little brother and his mother (Flora Robson) a good life, even if it means sacrificing a life for himself. Bogie is as well represented here as he was in Roaring Twenties. He's in a supporting role, has fourth billing but his part is significant enough that although another actor carries the movie you still get the Bogie experience.

They Drive By Night (1940)

This scene never happened. But it's a great shot nonetheless!

Poor Bogie. By 1940, he was fed up with all the roles Warner Bros. had been giving him. They Drive By Night (1940), might have been the last straw. Bogie got fourth billing after George Raft, Ann Sheridan and Ida Lupino. Not only that, Ida Lupino, a newcomer to Hollywood, stole the picture from veterans Raft and Bogart with her performance as the evil and downright crazy Lana Carlsen. Bogie played gangsters, a Mexican Bandito, Irish horse handler and has been killed or maimed in a movie in every which way imaginable. They Drive By Night is a good precursor for High Sierra, Bogie's breakout role because this may be the lowest Bogie's career had sunk before he made it big. I mean, c'mon, the guy loses an arm, his job and the means to support his family within the first 30 minutes. And all because his character fell asleep on the job. Then he disappears for the rest of the picture until the very end. Not quite worthy of the great Bogie in my opinion. It was time for Hollywood to wake up and see Bogie for what he really was. In watching this film, I thought it was interesting that the role of Lana Carlsen, a sultry and manipulative wife of a trucking magnate, was given to newcomer Ida Lupino rather than Ann Sheridan who was quite good at playing/being a seductress. At first Sheridan's character Cassie is a wise-cracking tough waitress but she softens into a plain jane/prospective wife when she falls for George Raft. It seemed to me Lupino would have better in that role but I like that Lupino played Lana because boy did she do a good job! George Raft was pretty decent as a good guy trying to make it by in a harsh world. However, every time I see Raft on screen I'm always reminded of his supposed mob connections and of his whirlwind affair with Norma Shearer. The documentary that came with the DVD mentioned that this film is really made up of two different stories. So in a way, you get two movies for the price of one! Or a 1/4 Bogie movie for the price of two non-Bogie films. It's hard to tell if we've been cheated out of a great Bogie performance or treated to a fine Lupino one. It all depends on how you look at it.

Dark Victory (1939)

Dark Victory (1939) is a tear-jerker to end all tear-jerkers. Judith Trahearne (Bette Davis) has been diagnosed with Glioma by Dr. Frederick Steele (George Brent). Glioma is a type of brain tumor that when malignant almost certainly means a death sentence. It's pretty serious and we as the audience are full aware of this as we watch Judith deal with her impending death at the tender age of 23. This film showcases Bette Davis' talent as an actress. She's expressive, emotive, delivers dialogue well and her character is so believable that it seems only Bette Davis was meant for this role. In the role department, Humphrey Bogart didn't fare as well as George Brent or Geraldine Fitzgerald in this movie. Bogie plays Michael O'Leary (he again tries an accent, this time Irish and doesn't quite manage to get it right), Judith's resident stable man and horse trainer. He looks after her prize racing horse, tends to all the horses in the stable as though they were his children and coaches Judith in her equestrian pursuits. He appears in the beginning of the film, a couple of times throughout and towards the end but only has one notable scene towards the climax of the film when Judith is in utter despair. It's at this point Michael reveals his love (in my opinion it's only lust) for Judith and she in turn reveals her tragic fate. It's not the best role for Bogie but he did well with it. The role is definitely not as bad as Ronald Reagan's character Alec who is a perma-drunk party-goer who acts like a leech around Judith, filling her (and himself) up with drinks and only sticking around when the going gets fun. At least there is Ann King (Geraldine Fitzgerald) as the voice of sympathy and caring to balance things out. This really isn't Bogie's movie, it's Bette Davis'. It's a movie that almost didn't get made because Jack Warner didn't want to make it. Lucky for us, Bette Davis didn't take no for an answer.

Virginia City (1940)

Bogie? As a Mexican Bandito? What the heck was Warner Bros. thinking?

It's interesting that a 24-movie boxed set devoted to Humphrey Bogart showcases various films in which Bogie is overlooked or misused. Case in point, Virginia City (1940) a Michael Curtiz movie that would have been another Errolivia (Errol Flynn & Olivia de Havilland) vehicle were it not for de Havilland being fed up with Errolivia pictures altogether. Curtiz wasn't an actor's kind of director. He didn't care for them and they didn't care for him. And Jack Warner, one of the heads of Warner Bros. studio, wasn't an actor's kind of guy either. Jack Warner was particularly notorious for making actor's lives miserable by "guiding" their careers with a heavy hand. Olivia de Havilland had quite a difficult time with him and she had to fight tooth and nail to be lent out to play Melanie in Gone with the Wind (1939). And Bette Davis's career was put on hold when she went into an all out battle against Warner Bros. and what she deemed were the pathetic roles they were giving her (I actually prefer the blonde and spunky Bette Davis to the older more cynical brunette Bette). Humphrey Bogart didn't have the greatest time with Warner Bros. either. They didn't know what to do with him and tossed him around from picture to picture giving him a variety of small roles. Eventually the movie-going public caught on to the wonder that is Bogie and his fame exploded. But before then, he was stuck in roles like Mexican bandito John Murrell in Virginia City (1940). Paul, over at Art, Movies, Wood and Whatnot... loves this movie and recommended it to me after I watched Dodge City (1939). Dodge City is a Curtiz-Errolivia picture which in my opinion is better than Virginia City. Both films are very similar and seeing as they are 1 year apart, I felt like Virginia City was a follow up to Dodge City. Each film is named after a city although Dodge City spends more time in the actual city whereas Virginia City has more wanderlust. Both films feature the save-the-day hero Errol Flynn who has an appropriate (if not fiesty) love interest. Both also feature a young boy being hurt (the death of innocence out in the West?) and a bandit or troublemaker who takes the law into his own hands. But it's only in Virginia City in which you will see see Bogie, with a Spanish-style mustache trying to talk in a Mexican accent but failing miserable as his iconic New York accent breaks through.

The Amazing Dr. Clitterhouse (1938)

It's the movie that Humphrey Bogart dubbed "The Amazing Doctor Clitoris" so would it be appropriate to say that this film tickled me pink? Perhaps not.  All joking aside, this is probably one of my top favorite films. Edward G. Robinson plays Dr. Clitterhouse, a well-dressed and highly-intelligent doctor who services the society crowd of New York City. He's developed a scientific fascination with crime that starts with him robbing wealthy ladies of their jewelry why they are distracted by champagne (or other drinks) and conversation during lavish parties. Then he takes it another step further, joining a group of criminals, including Rocks Valentine (Humphrey Bogart). He takes their temperature, draws their blood, checks their blood pressure and monitors their physical reaction to their criminal activity. But he gets in too deep and Rocks (Bogie) is about to make things really difficult for him. Robinson is exquisitely dressed with fine suits, scarves, cuff links, pocket squares, starched collars, white bow-ties, the works. Even Bogie, as a less well-off racketeer, is dressed very well. In fact, I stopped and asked Carlos (who works in the men's clothing industry)  what exactly Bogie was wearing on his collar and tie. Turns out he wore a Tie Pin and a Collar Pin, both are practical items but in this case they have an added dose of bling. Here you have a two-bit criminal who likes to show off his success in stealing jewels and furs by displaying a bit of sparkle on his person. I hadn't noticed all the accoutrement until this viewing which just goes to show you that all viewings are not created equal.

The Brothers Warner (2008) Documentary

The Brothers Warner - documentary
The Brothers Warner - book

This documentary follows the history of the Warner Bros. studio through the lives of the 4 brothers who founded it: Harry, Sam, Albert and Jack. It's written and directed by Cass Warner Sperling, granddaughter of Harry Warner and daughter of writer/producer Milton Sperling, and features interviews (some previously recorded) by various family members and industry people, including Dennis Hopper, who had worked with or were familiar with the brothers. Because this documentary is presented by someone from the Warner family, produced by Warner Sisters Productions and distributed by Warner Bros., there is going to be a little bias about the studio and the brothers. However, I think this documentary is very enlightening and informative and you'll walk away from it with a greater knowledge of film history and the great contributions Warner Bros. made to said history. The documentary is kind of choppy. At certain points it doesn't flow very well, I think mostly during the interviews. However, overall it felt cohesive and structured.

Something I learned about the original Warner Bros. studio that I didn't know before is that they would make socially conscious pictures even at the cost of profit. That's pretty much unheard of these days and it went against the notion of profitability in those days as well. The brothers took risks to provide audiences with movies that would "entertain, educate and enlighten". Their investment in Vitaphone and in the production of The Jazz Singer was mocked even by big studio heads like Irving Thalberg. Their attempt to enlighten the public about Nazi activity with films like Confessions of a Nazi Spy brought them severe criticism and even death threats. They took risks that paid out big. They put their money in many pots rather than all in one pot which saved them during difficult times. Now the documentary didn't say much about Warner Bros. treated their actors. Bette Davis, Humphrey Bogart, Olivia de Havilland were among numerous actors who fought against Warner Bros. However, it did reveal a lot about Jack Warner and how show business and wealth turned his heart to stone over the years. I highly recommend watching this if you are a serious classic movie buff and want to know more about the studio system!

Make sure you stop by the excellent blog Dear Old Hollywood and check out Robby's post "An Evening with Cass Warner."

The Roaring Twenties (1939)

The Roaring Twenties (1939)

The 1920s gets a lot of love, even today, decades later. We see the 1920s in shows like Boardwalk Empire, in Halloween flapper costumes, in artwork, fashion, books, movies, etc. We love bootleggers, speakeasies, dancing the Charleston, fringe dresses, rolled stockings, Cloche hats, and saying things like "the bee's knees", "and how" and "the cat's meow". We will love the '20s even when we reach the 2020s (boy won't that be confusing). So when did this nostalgia for the 1920s begin? I imagine it started even before the 1920s were over. The Stock Market Crish of October 1929 put an end to the carefree culture of the 1920s. Ten years later, Raoul Walsh would direct a nostalgia picture that reminisced about the old days of bootlegging and gangsters. It would also serve as a big send off for James Cagney, who had been playing gangsters for years and was ready to move on. Cagney plays Eddie Bartlett, a World War I soldier who comes home from France to find a very different America, a land without opportunity, waiting for him. Bartlett is a victim of his circumstances. He's a good guy trying to stay straight in a world that won't let him. He first becomes a bootlegger and then runs a night club. It's Prohibition and the party-loving culture of the 1920s that makes Bartlett successful. And while he still longs for the innocence of his past and sees that in soft, doe-eyed Jean (Priscilla Lane) he's is in too deep in his racket. He takes on fellow soldier George (Humphrey Bogart) who is still blood-thirsty even years after World War I ended. Although this is Cagney's movie, Bogie plays a significant part and this is considered one of his last supporting roles. This film comes at an important time. America has been in the grips of the Great Depression for nearly a decade and World War II had just begun. It's a scary time and perhaps looking back at the previous decade gave people hope that America could once again be a land of opportunity and place to pursue happiness.

Super Rare & New Interview with Doris Day

Bobby Rivers  recently alerted his Twitter followers of this radio interview with Doris Day. I also got a notice from a Publicist about it. Doris Day does not give interviews so this is a very rare treat for Doris Day fans. It's over an hour and unlike some radio or podcast interviews that are very structured, this one is very relaxed. Schwartz doesn't have a set of questions to ask and doesn't cut off Doris Day every couple of minutes. He lets her talk and what we get is an hour of Doris Day chatting. It's simply wonderful. It's like you stopped by her house and she sat you down for tea and just talked about her life and career. It feels very personal in a way but removed since it's a radio interview. Take a moment to listen to it. I embedded the audio into this post but you can also go to the website which is listed below. Enjoy!

From the Publicist:

Over the weekend, WNYC aired a special episode of The Jonathan Schwartz Show, featuring a rare interview with DORIS DAY. The Hollywood legend spent some time with Jonathan, looking back at her life and career.

• Among the stories she shares –
• How she can’t read sheet music
• How a car accident curtailed her stint as a dancer
• Why she turned down the lead in the film South Pacific
• The time “Young At Heart” co-star Frank Sinatra came to her defense at a birthday party

 You can listen to the full interview and check out a slideshow of historic photographs here: http://culture.wnyc.org/articles/features/2010/oct/30/celebrating-hollywood-legend-doris-day/ 

Full Disclosure and Reviewing Products

Attention all Classic Film Bloggers!

You may have noticed that in the past year or so several classic film bloggers, including myself, have been getting free books and DVDs for review (or giveaway). I work in the book industry and we are no strangers to blogger reviews. And because I work with some bloggers in my day job I know a lot about process of product reviews on blogs. I just want to relay some important information to those of you who are classic film bloggers and are either already reviewing products or want to review products in the future.

If you receive a product for free from a company and you review it on your blog, no matter what it is, you are obligated BY LAW to reveal the source.

As of 10/15/2009, the FTC (Federal Trade Commission) published updated guidelines concerning endorsements and testimonials. The update reads:

Bloggers who make an endorsement must disclose the material connections they share with the seller of the product or service.

It is really important that when you write a review about a product that you must reveal where the product came from. It can be as simple as thanking the company or person that sent it to you. Or you can include a standard disclaimer in your post that is always the same except for the source. I know some book bloggers who will go as far as to reveal where they got every book even if they bought it themselves, borrow it from the library or a friend, or got it in a swap. Just note this is for product reviews. There is a difference between reviewing a movie versus reviewing the DVD/Blu-Ray and package it came in.

I have made sure that any of my reviews after October 2009 include Full Disclosure and I highly recommend for bloggers out there to do the same. It's being fair to your readers. For more information about the FTC guidelines on Full Disclosure, make sure you visit this page: http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2009/10/endortest.shtm

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So how does one get free products for review in the first place?

1) They'll contact you. Warner Bros. has been doing extensive blogger outreach. While you can't contact them for reviews, if you know someone who has a contact at the company ask them to recommend you.

2) Contact them! I really wanted to review a couple of titles from Northwestern University Press so I asked them if they could send me a book. And they did! It doesn't hurt to ask.

3) Sign up for a PR service. There are numerous PR services on the web that allow media outlets to contact publishers (including bloggers). You chose which category of pitches best suits your blog and you'll start to receive pitches via e-mail. Depending on the service you chose you may get a trickle or a flood. Just don't feel obligated to jump on every opportunity. Be selective.

4) Sign up for giveaways. For example, Goodreads, a booklovers social networking site, runs giveaways daily. Recently they had copies of the new bios on Frank Sinatra and Sal Mineo up for grabs. Also, Warner Archive runs several giveaways on Facebook and Twitter.

I've been very overwhelmed with pitches and products for review and have decided to scale back. There are so many pitches I pass over on a regular basis. I've decided to start sharing those pitches with other classic film bloggers who want more opportunities to review products. I'll pitch the pitches on my Twitter account @QuelleLove or you can contact me via e-mail if you want me to look out for something in particular for you.

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Reviewing products is not as glamorous as it seems. Yes you do get  the products for free and that itself is a great thing. I'm relatively poor and still trying to pay off student loans from Grad school (I can't even afford TCM) so it's nice to receive a book or DVD boxed set that I wouldn't have been able to purchase otherwise. However, when you get a product to review you have a deadline. Publishers and Distributors want reviews up around the time of the products release to the public. If you take too long to review a product or don't review it at all, they'll keep that in mind and pass you over next time. If you have too many products to review, then you don't have time to read or watch what you want. It will eat into your leisure time. It's basically like blog homework. However, as classic film bloggers, our opinion about these products count. A lot. So it's really good to get your opinion and voice out there because a good or bad review really does matter.

As always, please feel free to contact me with any questions or inquiries. I'm always happy to help out a fellow blogger.

*apologies for disallowing comments for a while. I was getting some opportunists leave shout outs. I'm allowing comments for now but I will be deleting any ones I feel are inappropriate.

San Quentin (1937)

The 1930s were a great time for prison dramas. Films such as 20,000 Years in Sing Sing (1932), The Big House (1930) and I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang (1932) graced the screens satisfying the taste buds of movie-goers who wanted a taste of the clink. San Quentin (1937) is exactly what you'd expect out of a prison drama with the added benefit of a love story and the presence of Humphrey Bogart. San Quentin is an unruly prison with issues. The prisoners have been lashing out at captain Druggin (Barton McLane) whose been giving them extra doses of punishment to satisfy his own selfish desires. With mutiny imminent, the prison needs to bring order to this unruly crowd. Whom better to bring order to chaos than someone from the most disciplined service there is: the army. Captain Jameson (Pat O'Brien) is hired for the gig but on the eve of his first day on the job he swoons for lounge singer May (Ann Sheridan). Trouble is, May is the sister of Red Kennedy (Humphrey Bogart), San Quentin's newest prisoner. I enjoyed how the love story complicated the prison story. And how the story dipped out into the real world ever so often. It made me want to stay in the real world more and the prison world less. And isn't that how I'm supposed to feel?

Trivia: Humphrey Bogart's character Red Kennedy is described as 5'10" in the film. This turned on a dusty lightbulb in my brain and I declared to an empty room "no he's not!". If you'll recall my previous post about Leading Men shorter than Richard Widmark, Bogie was actually 5'8". Ha!

Marked Woman (1937)

Living in a culture that glorifies stupidity, I am always happy to watch brains win over brawn. In the case of Marked Woman (1937), Mary (Bette Davis) is a party girl at Club Intimate (I don't need to elaborate anymore do I). She's a smart dame but chose the hapless job because it makes a lot of money. Money which Mary uses to fund her young sister's college education. Club Intimate has been taken over by Vanning (Eduardo Ciannelli), a mobster with a toe dipped into pretty much every seedy and profitable business in the city. Vanning sees that Mary is smart. He tells her so as do other characters. What Mary has is the ability to see things for what they are and see where they are going and to keep herself out of trouble. Vanning is the source of trouble but his major flaw is that he's blood hungry and stupid. When he buys Club Intimate, he asks what the word "Intimate" means.  Why don't they just call it what it is? Just say it in English! Vanning's got a lot of brawn. He muscles and kills his way through everything with the help of his even dumber goons. But this time he's met his match. Because Mary's got brains and so does the District Attorney (Humphrey Bogart). This is a great film, one that really showcases Bette Davis' natural spunk and draws out a softer yet still hard-nosed performance out of Bogie. 

The Petrified Forest (1936)

The Petrified Forest (1936) is an English major's delight. For those of use who use literature and poetry as a filter through which we see the world. Sometimes we feel isolated when everyone around us takes life as is and doesn't try to see some other type of meaning. So I can sympathize with Gabrielle (Bette Davis) and her plight. She stuck in the middle of the desert working at a Gas Station/Bar-B-Que Joint. She reads the poetry of Francois Villon and dreams of going to Bourges, France where her like-minded mother is from and currently resides. Gabrielle is surrounded by people who are perfectly content with what fills their lives, even if it is clouds of dust from a sandstorm. It's just her luck that a wandering novelist, Alan (Leslie Howard), stumbles upon Gabrielle's oasis, hungry for food and intellectual stimulation. They find themselves in each other and in the poetry and literature they love, while everyone else around them is pretty oblivious to what they share. After Alan goes on his way, criminal on the lam, Duke Mantee (Humphrey Bogart) brings the couple back together in a way that only a true literature-phile could appreciate. Oh this is a film I can watch over and over again. Anyone who has big dreams but is stuck in their situation due to whatever circumstances can see themselves in Gabrielle. What a way to kick off this marathon!

Doesn't Bogie look a little Ben Affleck here?

Hail, Hail, Euphoria! by Roy Blount Jr.

Hail, Hail, Euphoria!

Presenting the Marx Brothers in Duck Soup

The Greatest War Movie Ever Made

by Roy Blount Jr. 

HarperCollins/It Books

9780061808166

October 2010

$19.99 US

I recently read a review that claimed this book was a scene-by-scene look at the classic Marx Bros. movie Duck Soup (1933). First of all, that reviewer must have jumped to that conclusion and written the review before reading the actual book because his statement couldn't be further from the truth. Hail, Hail, Euphoria! is more than just a book about a movie. It's also about the lives of the Marx Bros., Leo McCarey (the director of the movie), the cultural and historical circumstances that allowed for the movie's inception, the methods of comedic style employed by each of the brothers and lots of other fun tidbits and trivia. This is a book that any classic film fan would love to devour and it's a lot of fun to read. Roy Blount Jr., of NPR fame, has a natural sense of humor that lends itself to writing a book about a funny movie made by some funny guys.

The book is both structured and structureless. While it's not a scene-by-scene play on the movie, it does follow the flow of the movie discussing scenes in the order in which they appear. The text flows with information stopping along the way to look closely on a scene before it moves on. There are no chapters and not a lot of breaks. The book is relatively short, 145 pages, and you could easily read it in one sitting. Make sure when you start it that you are near a computer because there is a YouTube clip, an online radio recording of Harpo plus a few other links you'll need to check out before you can proceed.

The book's subtitle claims that Duck Soup was the greatest war movie ever made. While this is never really explained in the book, the author does give us various insights into why Duck Soup was an effective anti-war film and why it's a good example of the time period it represents. What I liked about the book is that reading it was like going on a treasure hunt, finding goodies along the way including: links to various clips (you have to type the URLs out on your computer because no you can't click on the page!), the reason why the book is called Hail, Hail, Euphoria! instead of Freedonia!, the meaning of the phrase "duck soup", etc.

Duck Soup is not my favorite Marx Bros. movie but I do enjoy parts of it (mirror scene anyone?). What bothers me about it is how it treats war. Basically, war is a huge joke. Two countries go to battle for ridiculous reasons and people die as a result. It hits a little too close to home. So maybe, in that way, it is the greatest war movie ever made because it can make people think about the absurdity of war in a way that no other film has done: through comedy.

Make sure you stop by On Point Radio and listen to the podcast interview with the author, Roy Blount Jr.

Special thank you to HarperCollins, who is my second favorite publisher after the company I work for currently, for sending me this book for review. They are an amazing powerhouse of book publishing and they come out with some great books!

Browse Inside this book Get this for your site

Other reviews of the book:

Classic Film Freak
Classic Movies

Happy Halloween!

This crazy still is taken from Riptide (1934) in which Norma Shearer and Herbert Marshall don ridiculous bug costumes for a party. Swell!

DVD Boxed Set Review~ Humphrey Bogart - The Essential Collection

And the angel sing on high...

Now I've reviewed quite a few boxed sets but this one trumps them all. This one puts all the others to shame. This is a veritable masterpiece. It is the stuff that classic film enthusiasts salivate over. It is by far one of the most beautiful things I have ever beheld. I feel like it is a privilege to be in its presence.

Enough with my gushing. Let's get on to talking about this boxed set. Humphrey Bogart: The Essential Collection is a 24-movie/12-disc set which contains a selection of Bogie's films with Warner Bros. The movies include:

The Petrified Forest (1936)

Marked Woman (1937)

Kid Galahad (1937)

Black Legion (1937)

San Quentin (1937)

The Roaring Twenties (1939)

Dark Victory (1939)

Virginia City (1940)

The Amazing Dr. Clitterhouse (1938)

Invisible Stripes (1939)

High Sierra (1941)

They Drive By Night (1940)

The Maltese Falcon (1941)

Across the Pacific (1942)

Brother Orchid (1940)

Action in the North Atlantic (1943)

Passage to Marseille (1944)

To Have and Have Not (1944)

The Big Sleep (1946)

Dark Passage (1947)

Key Largo (1948)

Casablanca (1942)

The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948)

Chances are you own some of these movies already. That's probably why Warner Bros. beefed up the set with a ton of extras. There is a 13th disc which contains The Brothers Warner documentary. A companion book and a package of goodies. Each DVD is given a great menu design and each film comes with extras. 16 of the films have commentaries and there are bonus newsreels, short documentaries, radio shows, cartoons, etc. that beef up the set.

Other than Casablanca and The Maltese Falcon, I don't own any of these films on DVD. I have some on VHS, recordings from TCM including The Amazing Dr. Clitterhouse which my friend Kevin is still holding hostage. I've seen 10 out of the 24 films so this is a real treat for me. I really love Humphrey Bogart as an actor. He had great delivery and range and was just plain cool.

I think my only complaint about the set is that it came with a duplicate DVD so I'm missing 2 of the movies. If you buy this set, make sure you check all the DVDs so that you have all 24 movies. If you don't, ask for an exchange!

Purchasing Information: Warner Bros. told me that the street date is October 5th. Trouble is Amazon.com, Classicflix, WBShop, TCM, etc. are not shipping it right now. My guess is that they caught some kind of mistake and are either reworking stock or reprinting new boxed sets. Or they sold out really quickly and are reprinting. So there may be a delay if you order it. If I find out anything, I'll make sure to let people know.

Now it's not enough for me just to tell you about this delightful boxed set. Let me SHOW you. Here is my first ever Vlog. Enjoy!

Special thank you to Warner Bros. who sent this boxed set to me for review (which I would have purchased anyways because it's so awesome). And stay tuned to this space because I'll be reviewing the documentary and will be hosting a 24 Bogie Movie Marathon with short reviews of each of the 24 films.

And the winner of King Kong (1933) on Blu-Ray is...

Ron!

His fact: Blu-Ray discs are specially clear coated with a special sealant to help avoid against scratches that would otherwise cause play-back issues of the Blu-Ray disc.

Thank you to everyone who participated and provided great facts. Here are the other ones! Enjoy.

• 191 Movies ~ "Blu-Ray players, even expensive ones, have been sold without providing enough physical memory. Which often means basically you can't stop the movie, shut off the player and then hope to find the scene you were watching without going back to the menu - an annoying waste of time! On the other hand (there's always another hand) Blu-Ray is still worth it for some films. The Godfather, for instance, the Bourne movies, Treasure Of The Sierra Madre, Zulu. The studios have taken a great deal of time and effort to get the images right on Blu-Ray and the effect is amazing and makes buying the Blu-Ray worth it!"
• John ~" The sound used for King Kong's roar was the combination of a lion's and a tiger's roar played backwards." 
• Amanda ~ Blu rays can be played on my hubby's PSP3.  I think King Kong's big doors were burnt in the Gone WIth The Wind scene of Atlanta burning.  And to qote IMDB "The 56-cm-high model of King Kong used in the film sold at auction in 2009 for about $203,000 (US). It was originally covered in cotton, rubber, liquid latex, and rabbit fur, but most of the covering has decomposed over the decades"
• Tom ~ I wouldn't exactly call this a fact, but I feel that the 1926 edition of The Lost World was a test run for King Kong.
• Tommy ~ Blu Ray is cool because of the storage capacity of 50gb that allows so many extras and much better sound and video quality than DVD. 
• Arnold ~ King Kong was the film which inspired a 13-year-0ld Ray Harryhausen to enter the film industry.  Harryhausen's fascination with Willis O'Brien's masterful visual effects led him to seek out O'Brien and, eventually, work alongside him on 1949's Mighty Joe Young.
• Adam ~ Blu-Ray films typically run at 24 frames per second, the same as film.  So unlike DVDs, you're only seeing pictures that the director shot.
• David ~ The difference between blu-rays taken from 35mm sources and 70mm sources is stunning.  Sleeping beauty and 2001 are the demo discs - even above the Pixar ones.  Seriously, put in Sleeping Beauty and skip to "Briar Rose in the Woods" and tell me if ytour jaw doesn't drop.
• Jeff ~ Blu-Ray is a fantastic technology and when classic films are released in a proper manner, this format is the best way to seem them! But you need to be careful which BD player you buy, as not all are created eaul regarding their firmware. As to KING KONG itself, well it's a seminal film that launched many a kid's monster-feuled fantasy in the decades since it premiered. There's something about the tactile nature of Willis o'Brien's special effects (you can see the hairs on the Kong model flicker from o'Brien's (and others) fingers manipulating it for each stop-motion shot. This classic handmade effect  is totally endearing in the age of CGI.