[Movies] Black and White: Movie reviews from the great era of film – by Viking Prince

[Astaroth]

Author: Viking Prince
Original Thread: Black and White: Movie reviews from the great era of film – by Viking Prince

Black and White: Movie reviews from the great era of film – by Viking Prince

The following movie reviews are stored in this thread:

• Fifth Columnists and Spies, Oh My!!!
• Another Hitch -- Murder!
• How to star but nearly never actually appear in a movie!

[Astaroth]

Fifth Columnists and Spies, Oh My!!!

Fifth Columnists and Spies, Oh My!!!

Saboteur, 1942 release, Hitchcock directed, B&W, 108 minutes.



Saboteur is a high suspense and a high tension movie of fifth columnists and spies as only Alfred Hitchcock can direct. Spies are a favorite of this director and this film will not disappoint these fans. This black and white thriller was filmed a few months after Pearl Harbor, but is from a script that predates the USA entry into the war. The film is on a budget. The big names are not to be found in this movie, but you will enjoy the great character actors. I would suggest taking the cast listing and read up a bit on each of the actors prior to viewing this movie. Part of the fun for me is to spot the actor styles from other films. Speaking of finding the actors – the trademarked Hitchcock cameo is over halfway through the movie in a NY City street scene. Good luck in spotting him. I did not spot him the first time I watched this movie. I needed to read up and see the film another time before I was able to spot the ‘Hitch’ cameo.

Robert Cummings plays the lead, Barry Kane. Barry Kane is an airplane defense plant worker falsely accused of an act of sabotage which kills his friend and burns down the airplane assembly building. The character is quite similar to the Cummings role in the Devil and Miss Jones which was released one year earlier where he is also on the side of the common man, freedom, etc. There will be several political speeches in this movie given by Cummings in character. Hitchcock brought Dorothy Parker in to write these and other ‘political’ speeches. These speeches are the main reason I associate the Cummings character in both movies as so similar.

Another great character actor, Otto Kruger, plays the role of a sophisticated wealthy rancher who is also a key man in the ‘firm’. Otto Kruger’s trademark characters are likeable and friendly sorts whether they are one of the good guys or as in this film one of the bad guys. This was not Hitchcock’s first or even on a short list of choices for the role. Hitchcock thought Kruger would never surprise an audience. I agree, but sometimes surprise is not needed. He is the perfect man for the part in this movie. And before you ask, he is an American born actor but he is the nephew to the South African President, Paul Kruger.

Another actor of interest in this movie is Norman Lloyd who plays Frank Frye. Frye is the actual saboteur in the defense plant fire and you will see more of him later in the film. He also has a great story as both an actor and producer. You will note his name in the production company for this picture as well as many other Hitchcock productions over the years. He was also a part of the great family that Orson Welles put together with the Mercury Theatre group. A bit of the Hitchcock whimsy is present – look for the vampire teeth on Frye in the movie.

Unlike many of his earlier films, on scene location shots mixed in with studio sound stage scenes make this a great film for it’s time -- Nevada and the Hoover Dam, New York City in the Naval Yard and at the Statue of Liberty are obvious, but the little scenes such as kitchens and hotels are too detailed for anything but on location shots. Hitchcock is famous for mixing humor and irony into his scenes and the circus convoy in the night desert will not disappoint you. Great character actors in a great set of scenes repeats a theme that you will find throughout the movie. What does a saboteur look like? Can such a person be likeable, friendly, and good?

Another theme that will be presented over and over as well is the concept of innocent until found guilty. Many people are quick to judge the guilt of Barry Kane and without knowing a single fact. Other characters are just as willing to judge Barry to be innocent even when the evidence seems damning. The best political speech on this is in the circus convoy by another great character actor, Pedro de Cordoba who plays the role of the human skeleton.

This is not the best of the Hitchcock genius at work, but a great movie worth seeing for both the suspense as well as the character actors. I give this a rating of 3 fire extinguishers out of 5.

[Astaroth]

Another Hitch -- Murder!

Another Hitch -- Murder!

Murder!, 1930 release, Hitchcock directed, B&W, 104 minutes.



First I must mention a word about versions. Sound and picture quality vary quite a bit from issue to issue when the original film is no longer under copyright protection. I watched the Laserlight version. I believe the Lionsgate Home Entertainment version released in 2007 is supposed to be of better quality. It is a remaster of various portions of existing 35mm film. I have read the sound is much better, but the remaster does not clean up the dirt and scratches that was the case with the Laserlight verson. So I guess pick better sound or better picture.

Also, if you are interested -- Hitchcock as made a German language version with the same set and film crew but differant actors. I have not looked as to where or how to find a copy, but a comparision with the English version might be fun for the really attentive film buffs.

This is a very early Hitchcock talkie. This film also uses a favorite Hitchcock medium -- the threatre. There is a murder. A woman is killed and another is charged and convicted.

The hero of the story, Sir John, is played by Herbert Marshall. Marshall is an interesting English actor. Marshall is a WWI veteran. He lost one of his legs and yet he played the romantic lead opposite many of the great actresses in his day. My favorite is the Letter, but The Little Foxes and the Razor's Edge are more famous. His WWI unit had a few famous actors fighting along side Marshall -- Basil Rathbone, Claude Rains, and Ronald Coleman for the three most famous.

Back to the plot -- The woman is convicted by a jury. The scene in the jury room is well framed and very compact. You will see that Hitchcock is stilll using tricks from the silent era as well as sound. Little details such as the foreman collecting the slips and sorting them into guilty and not guilty as you are counting, for example. Sir John is one of three who first vote not guilty, but are then turned by the foreman to vote guilty. Just before Sir John is convinced the faces of each juror flash before him with arguments as to why the defendant is guilty.

Hitchcock was an innovator and this film is full of interesting tricks of the trade. The most obvious innovation had to do with Marshall (Sir John) shaving and looking in the mirror. His thoughts are a part of the soundtrack (a first for film) as well as mixing a "radio broadcast" of the news and music. His thoughts change pace as the music changes pace and mood. Eventually Sir John is convinced that they have convicted an innocent women and it is up to him to find the proof. Without the modern conventions of sound mixing, this all had to be done on the set with the shot.

The movie is really a story about economic and other class distinctions. How can a woman of such high station commit murder? Only Sir John, clearly upper class, has the resources to clear her name. Look for all of the hints to upper and working class throughout the movie.

A little twist to the original novel takes place in the movie. I believe this is to throw the censors off track. Handel Fane, played by Esme Percy, likes to wear woman's clothes. Near the end of the movie he is referred to as a half caste to explain the shame he wants to hide from the world. So the homosexual (yes I know it is only cross dressing) of the book is transformed into a mixed race issue.

This is not a fast paced film. There is a great deal of suspense and Hitchcock is the master of timing. I give this 3 sequined leotards out of five.

[Astaroth]

How to star but nearly never actually appear in a movie!

How to star but nearly never actually appear in a movie!

Lady in the Lake, 1947 release, Robert Montgomery directed, B&W, 105 minutes



This is the directorial debut for Robert Montgomery. The list is not long and this probably was not the first directorial opportunity, but it is the first one credited. The movie is based on a Raymond Chandler novel. Since today is July 23 and was the birth date of this author of detective crime mysteries back in 1888, I thought this would be a good time to post a review.

The film is often listed as a film noire, but being a black and white film does not make film noire. The main character is a hard boiled detective that does the right moves and makes the right moral decisions. Tough talk and tight situations is not film noire.

This movie is an experiment, and thus has a lower rating than you would expect. The movie is shot from the point of view of the protagonist. The main character, Philip Marlow, is heard but not seen except when Marlow is looking in a mirror. The trick works for this film, but I would not want to watch many movies shot from this perspective. Just to hear the great voice of Robert Montgomery makes this film a keeper for me.

The film is about Phillip Marlow responding to a request to discuss a story that he has submitted to a pulp fiction publishing house. The call is a ruse – the owners wife is missing and she must be found. Adrianne Fromsett (Audrey Totter) is the femme fatale of the firm and uses the story submission to get a detective that can do the job and works cheap.

And a cartoon femme fatale she is. Posing for the camera in many scenes including the opening where the POV of Marlow becomes self evident. Marlow is talking with Fromsett a secretary walks into the room and back out. .Marlow’s eyes and thus the camera follows the secretary’s moves and Fromsett’s speaking becomes background to the scene.

This brings up another bit of film style that is a part of this movie. There is not a soundtrack of music to the movie. There are moments with background music to provide drama, but the sounds you here are really just the sounds of the actors as well as the background noises of the scenes.

Another delightful actress in the film is Jayne Meadows listed among the little people. Her part is small, but her contribution and abilities are appreciated.

One of the other interesting aspects of the movie is the shooting angles that seem to make the actors a bit cartoonish characters leaping off the pages of a pulp fiction novel. The dialogue is obviously straight from the pen of Chandler. If you like the style of Raymond Chandler’s writing, this film will entertain you.

Since this is a murder mystery, I will not go through all of the scenes and spoil the suspense. I rate this movie 2 mirror reflections of Robert Montgomery out of 5.