Change Your Image
glenndmiller
Reviews
I Wake Up Screaming (1941)
All hail Laird Cregar!
There is a lot of discussion as to those movie stars who died young (James Dean, etc.) and what would have become of them had they lived a long life. My number one candidate is the great Laird Cregar, who died at the age of 31.
The film is about a murdered up and coming actress, and the efforts of her sister (Betty Grable, in a rare dramatic role) and her promoter (Victor Mature) to try and solve the crime. But it is Laird Cregar, as the sinister detective assigned to the case, who dominates the movie with a performance that should have won him the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. He is focused on Mature as the killer, and his every action is to send him to the electric chair. His bulk dominates the screen; he speaks softly but with a sinister edge to every spoken word.
An early film noir that moves at a nice pace, with good work down by all the actors. But again, it is Cregar who is unforgettable. Watch and enjoy.
Dear Heart (1964)
I really want to like this film, but...
...I just don't. There are a lot of things right with the film: nice location shots of New York, good performances, and of course a wonderful title song. But the characters in the movie are all deeply flawed.
Tkae the Glenn Ford character. As the film begins, he is seen breaking off a relationship with his girlfriend. Why? Because his fiancee is coming to town. But this doesn't stop him from trying to pick up the girl at the card counter; and of course his meeting with the Geraldine Page character. The guy is a louse, and he's supposed to be a real nice guy.
Take Geraldine Page. She is flighty, a flibberty-gibbet, annoyingly talkative...she sends messages to herself, signed Bimbo Jones? Is that supposed to be amusing? She doesn't seem like a real person. Which is a shame, because she is a terrific actress and certainly deserved better.
And the character played by Michael Anderson Jr. I guess he's supposed to be a beatnik, but this ages the film tremendously. His dialogue is absurd (he refers to his mother as a "tomato"); a most obnoxious character. I guess the fact that his girlfriend is named Emile Zola Berkrandt is supposed to be good for a laugh, as well as the fact that she's always taking a bath.
And the Angela Lansbury character. As Glenn Ford's fiancee, she is so unsympathetic - indeed downright unlikeable - one wonders what Glenn Ford could have ever seen in her in the first place. No wonder he flirts with ever woman he meets. Her idea of life is to have all her meals catered; considering this film was made 56 years ago and Miss Lansbury is still alive...three meals a day, 365 days a year for 56 years...I hope Glenn Ford makes a lot of money.
Sorry, just don't get it.
The Trouble with Angels (1966)
One of my early favorites
I first saw the movie when I was eight, and thought it was the best movie I had ever seen. Many years later, I was pleased to find that it was still a warm and amusing film. The chemistry between Hayley Mills and June Harding is simply wonderful (the two are excellent; it is amazing that Harding's career seem to end with this one film). Highly recommended.
Gems of M-G-M (1930)
A tomato hurling horror
I happened to have my VCR on the "record" mode when this appeared on TCM. Judging from the film I'd say it was made in late 1928 - early 1929. Benny Rubin comes out in various guises (once in blackface; the 20's were such a tasteful time) and at one point introduces the Brox sisters. They appear to be wearing clothes made entirely of lace; they have pretty voices but the songs they perform, and their style of performance, is so far removed from our experience that one can't help but gape open-mouthed. I was waiting for three hooks to come out and snare them by their necks.
Dodsworth (1936)
One of the best movies of Hollywood's Golden Age
Simply outstanding. An adult, intelligent film which is not to be missed. Walter Huston is magnificent as the title character, a man who sees his carefully crafted life slipping away from him. As the vain, selfish Fran Dodsworth, Ruth Chatterton gives the best performance of her career. And Mary Astor--one of the best actresses ever to grace the screen--is both moving and beautiful as the warm divorcee who falls in love with Huston. Superbly directed by William Wyler. A truly great film.
Ruggles of Red Gap (1935)
A wonderful, winning film.
Charles Laughton was an incomparable actor (did anyone else ever go over the top as much as he did, yet still give brilliant performances?), and he's at the peak of his form in this classic. Laughton is just right as the staid butler who is won in a poker game by a couple from the Old West, circa 1908. Everyone is excellent--Mary Boland and Charlie Ruggles were one of the more popular screen couples of the day, and you'll see why--but it is Laughton who steals the film. His recitation of the Gettysburg Address is a demonstration of his mastery. It should fall flat, but it plays beautifully. See it.