Reviews

A common fault made by contemporary critics of the early talkies is to contrast them with techniques that we have since become accustomed to. Audiences as well as actors once knew only stage productions. When films began to be shown in the same halls in which plays were performed, they conformed to the play format. The "drawing room" dramas were little else but filmed plays. Moreover, movable cameras did not always exist. Stage acting was highly stylized and preferred by audiences. For one, voices had to carry—and without the aid of microphones. Thus, diction had to be clipped and enunciation precise so that dialogue would not be muddled by the time it reached the ears of those in the back rows. This compensation remained a necessity in the early days of sound film as audio equipment had yet to be more developed. A later desire for "natural" acting was accommodated by more advanced sound techniques in movie making. Again, it was expected that actors "acted." Thespians were to be more emotive than ordinary people in ordinary conversation. Movie-goers did not pay to see—and later hear—people that they could see for nothing on any street corner. As to the plot of this drama, it had the elements wished for by the paying crowds. Movies then, like movies today, were and are a commodity. They either speak to their time or they go bust. Again to the plot: we have had exposure to nearly ninety years of filmmaking since "Inside the Lines" was released. Much that rings familiar now was new at that time. Plot devices we see coming were at this time novel. In defense of this production, it was well written, directed, and performed, according to one man's opinion.

This movie came out 63 years before the release of "Disinformation: Former Spy Chief Reveals Secret Strategies for Undermining Freedom, Attacking Religion, and Promoting Terrorism," by Ronald Rychlak and Lt. Gen. Ion Mihai Pacepa. The same points in this film which anti anti-communists and religious skeptics and bigots resent or deny have been more than confirmed by Pacepa's detailed and carefully constructed memoir. Pacepa, former acting chief of communist Romania's espionage service and senior person in the Soviet Union's "Dezinformatsiya" campaign, reveals what Communist disinformation accomplished and wrought. His account of Mindszenty's plight only substantiates the entire plot and dialogue of this movie. In fact, what we learn in this production is fact, as opposed to the highly fictionalized accounts of Che Guevara.

Reviewers refer to the team of art rescuers in "The Monuments Men" as "charmingly quirky crew," and "misfits." Such descriptions may well describe the characters in the film version of this operation; but they misrepresent the authentic assemblage of talented men whose job it was to rescue the stolen art treasures of Europe by the Nazis, and to prevent further pillaging. George Clooney tried matching his directorial talents to his artistic ego, and failed. Perhaps Clooney gets an A for effort and for his heart being in the right place. And perhaps "The Monuments Men" is an enjoyable movie for some or for many; but it is a poor portrayal of serious persons as entertaining pantomimes. A problem shared by many that exist in the insularity of Hollywood is a breakdown along the lines that separate reality from entertainment. Moviegoers tend to be less-and-less patient with reading and less-and-less finical about authenticity. Even the wading through title of Robert M. Edsel's non-fiction work, "The Monuments Men: Allied Heroes, Nazi Thieves and the Greatest Treasure Hunt in History and Saving Italy: The Race to Rescue a Nation's Treasures from the Nazis," they would find exhausting. By this, Clooney's undertaking will survive; but not nearly as well as the treasures at the center of this story.

Every few months I am compelled to re-watch this gem. I'm blessed at my age to forget enough of the plot to make the story fresh each time. Not that this would matter to me. I am time and again captivated by its fast-moving and evolving plot, a main character that darts through the story like the Mad Hatter—compelling me to chase after him—a brilliant supporting cast, wonderful black-and-white photography, ace direction, scads of original wit, and its captivating musical theme. Now about that Derrick De Marney: the man is second to none in giving flesh and voice to the irrepressible, seedy, but endearing Mr. Callaghan. The sleazier de Marney plays his role the more lovable he becomes. De Marney delivers the most disingenuous assurances with deadpan sincerity and utters in driest tones more implied meanings than an oracle in an uncooperative mood. Callaghan ceaselessly prods my curiosity until I ask, 'Where now goeth this man?'—and wonder what next he'll draw from a sleeve. The entire cast is impeccable. In his only and short appearance, Roger Williams, as Bellamy Meraulton, is as spectacular as to steal more than his share of the scene from de Marney—no small feat. None can be faulted for turning in a weak performance, from Michael Balfour as the coffee stall-keeper, to Trevor Reid as the inspector, to Belinda Lee as maid Jenny Appleby. Harriette Johns is divine and not enough can be said for Larry Burns as Darky. To the end, de Marney holds his character and Miss Johns captivates. There are forgettable movies and movies we forget; bad movies or splendid ones worthy of recalling. There are others which were tops in their time but cannot hold up in a later era. "Meet Mr. Callaghan" was tops, is tops, and shows not a spot of age. Even Eric Spears' theme is as delightful as when it had been initially released. I urge strongly that you meet Mr. Callaghan.

I agree with Alice. Why is no one putting out a DVD collection of this wonderful TV program? I am a devotee of the William Powell, Myrna Loy classics; this is to underscore that for me, the Peter Lawford, Phyllis Kirk re-working of "The Thin Man" requires no apologies for its contemporaneity. There were seventy-two episodes (twenty-four a season), far more than I had guessed. For those of my generation (these episodes ran during my junior high school years), there is doubtless a dear nostalgia for the time; but there is a smooth sophistication here which I am noting many much younger people are beginning to re-appreciate. The exigencies of DVD production has long made me wonder at the odd and inexplicable choices. Some awful turkeys show up both in single releases and in compilations, as fine productions are overlooked.

In 1945, "The Christophers" began their weekly half-hour radio program. The group was formed that year by Maryknoll priest Father James Keller. Beginning in 1952, the program began being aired on ABC TV with "You Can Change the World," with founder Fr. James Keller, Jack Benny, Bob Hope, Bing Crosby and others. Through many short television plays starring many of the top-billed names in show business, Father Keller sought to embrace not only those who accepted a Judeo-Christian faith, but in particular those he called the "hundred million"; those with no ties to any organized faith or whose personal convictions had soured through bitter experiences.

Any allusions made here to similarities to an Agatha Christie plot are inadvertently correct. Up to Nikki Collins' (Deanna Durbin's) departure from the train at the outset of the story, the plot line closely follows Agatha Christie's "4.50 from Paddington," (1957). The story was published in the United States with the title, "What Mrs. McGillicuddy Saw!" In 1961, Margaret (later Dame Margaret) Rutherford, filmed her first of five Miss Marple roles, "Murder, She Said," based on "4.50 from Paddington." Although audiences across the globe adored Miss Rutherford's indomitable antics, Agatha Christie took a dim view of the comedic aspect of her Miss Marple as rendered by Margaret Rutherford. One must wonder what the author had to say of the farce made of her story in this 1945 Universal Pictures version. Under various titles, and subsequent to the aforementioned Rutherford film, "4.50 from Paddington" was presented by the BBC in 1987 and starred the woman who played Mrs. Kidder in the original movie, Joan Hickson. In 2004, ITV presented"4:50" in a series of Miss Marple stories which featured Geraldine McEwan in the principal role. A 2008 French film, Le crime est notre affaire, is a late adaptation of the same Christie story

Perhaps the "Black Leather" song was intended to be awful. It sounds as if it is a dirge, an almost atonal portent of deathly things to come. As for the use of the teddy boys, it would appear that their use is twofold: a vehicle to depict the state of societal dissolution and a direct contrast to the tidy, ordered, and well-bred children being reared for one day mastering the human race. As to their utility for the plot, it is their thuggish pursuing of Simon Wells (Macdonald Carey) which leads Wells and Joan (Shirley Ann Field) to the compound, as well as King (Oliver Reed) and his gang. Hence, I do not see the lads as extraneous to the generation of the storyline. What is sorely lacking in the filmmaking of the past few decades is what is present in this drama; this would be the intellectual honesty required to withhold heavy judgment of either position. These children were born as they were and were not intentionally made so. The desire to see the human race survive is not intrinsically an evil one. On the other hand, the contrary sentiments of Freya Neilson (Viveca Lindfors) are not to be ill-considered.