I am currently writing a 25 page essay in film studies, and I just got the idea to change the subject of it. I first thought about analyzing the female influence on the male characters of The Maltese Falcon from 1931 (Roy Del Ruth) and 1941 (John Huston), but I have sadly realized that there is already too much written on that subject. Instead, I remembered that I always got unmistakable incestuous vibes from Rick and Ilsa whenever I have watched Casablanca (Michael Curtiz, 1942), and I think that point of view can result in a substantial re-evaluation of the great classic, and a great essay.
Isn't it weird that Rick and Ilsa seem unreasonably uncomfortable with running into each other? Almost as if there were something else than just a regular heterosexual love affair to be anxious about.
Haven't we all wondered what Rick really meant with "We'll always have Paris?"
What we all do know is what Paris was infamous for back in those days. For example, there is one scene in Boardwalk Empire (Terence Winter, 2009-) where Jimmy asks his wife to fellate him, arguing that all women in Paris does it. And Boardwalk Empire takes place in the jolly 1920's - just imagine what happens in Paris 20 years later, in desperate war times.
I do also believe that the line "Here's a looking at you, kid" is an obvious reference to Leopold von Sacher-Masoch's Venus in Furs (publ. 1870), but I may have to check minor details.
This stance may not be the most popular one, but I do think I have enough evidence on my side to make this essay work. Any ideas?
In celebration of the 100th post on Amanda Cooper's classic film blog A Noodle in a Haystack, she has put a lot of effort into creating a classic film survey - and of course I'm eager to participate in it. So, ladies and gentlemen (I guess that includes most of you): here are my answers!
1. What is your all-time favorite Clark Gable movie?
When it comes to "favorites" in cinema discussions, I am that kind of a boring person that simply won't answer - I just can't. I can have a favorite at the time, but the next week I might be in a different mood and have another one. In short, favorites are never a consistent thing when it comes to me. Therefore I will answer this question with two favorite Clark Gable films, one bad-guy-role and one good-guy. A favorite Clark Gable bad guy film is Night Nurse (1931). Only Gable could pull off a line like "I'm Nick... the chauffeur" and make it sound threatening. As for the good guy film, I will pick the first Gable film I ever saw: Mogambo (1953).
2. Do you like Joan Crawford best as a comedienne or a drama-queen?
I never cared too much for Crawford at all, though I admit that she is a really good actress. I like her best in Grand Hotel (1932), but I have no idea if her performance there fits in in any of the categories comedienne or drama-queen. She is delightfully toned down, and her character is both cynical and slightly amused. I'd pick Flaemmchen any day.
3. In your opinion, should Ginger Rogers have made more musicals post-Fred Astaire?
I don't really have an opinion, but what she did she did good - and I can't say I ever wished for her to do more. Her post-Astaire dramatic roles are superb, so why go on more with musicals?
4. I promise not to cause you bodily (or any other serious) harm if you don't agree with me on this one. So please be honest: do you like Elizabeth Taylor? Hm?
Haha. Well, I'm quite indifferent. She's amazing in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1958), but she doesn't always make that great of an impression in her movies. I like to watch her, even though I wouldn't see a film especially for her being in it. But I wouldn't change her as Maggie the Cat for any other actress in the world.
5. Who is your favorite offscreen Hollywood couple?
Jesus Christ, what a difficult question. It seems like most off-screen Hollywood couples get a divorce after a year or so, which make it hard to get used to them as a couple. In that case I will choose Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward. They were married for 50 years until he died, and they look so genuine together. That's a couple I admire!
6. How about onscreen Hollywood couple?
Such hard questions to answer! Lauren Bacall and Humphrey Bogart (damn, weren't they my favorite off-screen couple too...?)- the obvious sexual tension between them in To Have and Have Not (1944) is fascinating - I could watch that "You know how to whistle, don't you, Steve?" scene over and over again for eternity.
7. Favorite Jean Arthur movie?
After having seen A Foreign Affair (1948) for the first time recently, I think I will choose Jean Arthur as the congresswoman Phoebe Frost as my favorite character of hers, and also my favorite movie of hers. I was fascinated by how close to reality the film was, and deeply regret that I hadn't seen it before.
8. What was the first Gregory Peck movie you saw?
I believe it was either The Guns of Navarone (1961) or Cape Fear (1962) - I didn't instantly like him though. I thought he was so over-the-top American, but now I have gotten used to him and like him a lot. He's handsome too!
9. What film made you fall in love with Alfred Hitchcock? (And for those of you that say, "I don't like Hitchcock" -- what is wrong with you?!)
I don't think I have ever met a person who has seen a Hitchcock movie and not liking him! No, it would be something disturbingly wrong with them if they didn't like him, or just trying to be original by hating something others love. Okay, I'll answer the question now! I fell in love the first time I saw a Hitchcock film, when my classic film devotion was newly born. I believe it was The Birds (1963) I saw first, or if it even was Psycho (1960). Or was it Vertigo (1958)? Anyway - I fell in love immediately.
10. What is your favorite book-to-movie adaption?
That one I can answer without a problem - Vladimir Nabokov's Lolita (publ. 1955) into Kubrick's Lolita (1962). It's extremely faithful to the book (which is one of the greatest books I've ever read), and it has managed to capture the feeling too, something that must be very difficult to manage. But of course, now that I think of it... There are more favorites. I recently read Emily Brontë's Wuthering Heights (publ. 1947), of which William Wyler's Wuthering Heights (1939) is a fantastic film adaption. He obviously decided to only include the first generation of the characters (the first half of the book), but in a film that is really wise choice. And Laurence Olivier raised the bar for Heathcliff characterizations to an unreachable height for everyone who ever tried to give a worthy performance of the character afterwards.
11. Do you prefer Shirley Temple as a little girl or as a teenager?
Ehrrmm... I haven't seen any Shirley Temple film! *trying desperately to avoid the rotten fruit thrown at me* But I have seen clips on YouTube, and from that I feel that Shirley Temple was best as a little girl. I can't believe that anyone anywhere in the world felt the need for her to grow up.
12. Favorite character actor?
Basil Rathbone! That is anyway the first name that pops into my head (naturally), but as to not complicate the answer I won't think about it further.
13. Favorite Barbara Stanwyck role?
Gaah! All these "favorite" questions! I can't do it! Okay, Baby Face (1933).
14. Who is your favorite of Cary Grant's leading ladies?
Katharine Hepburn, for sentimental reasons. The Philadelphia Story (1940) was one of the absolute first classic movies I ever watched. And re-watched. And re-watched again...
15. Bette Davis or Joan Crawford?
Bette Davis without a doubt. I never found Crawford interesting, while Bette Davis must be one of the most interesting persons in Hollywood history.
16. What actors and/or actresses do you think are underrated?
Laird Cregar is one who is probably not as underrated as he is forgotten. His acting is always close to magical. As for actresses my first thought is Gail Patrick. She always played "the other woman", while I have no problem thinking about her as a leading actress. Or was she one? I haven't seen too many of her films, but those I've seen always left me wishing for more scenes with her.
17. What actors and/or actresses do you think are overrated?
That was an interesting question! As much as I love Marlon Brando, I must say that he (and other method actors like Montgomery Clift) often are overrated. They are skilled, of course - but I think nowadays those are the actors that non-classic-film-devotees know the names of. And there are so many more great actors (and better) that are left out. As for actresses I'm tempted to say Joan Crawford. But perhaps I just don't like her because she neglected to wax her eyebrows in latter years.
18. Do you watch movies made pre-1980 exclusively, or do you spice up your viewing-fare with newer films?
I watch classics from every decade. Obvious classics, modern classics and will-probably-become-classics. It would be snobbish and foolish to pretend that good movies aren't made any more (even though you often have to turn your back to Hollywood to find them).
19. Is there an actor/actress who you have seen in a film and immediately loved? If so, who?
Haha, even though I just said that he was overrated - Marlon Brando in A Streetcar Named Desire (1951). God, how I drooled. And re-watched it. Drooled. Re-watched. And when that didn't satisfy me, I dragged my female friends down into the ditch of sin with me. I remember it as if it was yesterday: Three 16 year old girls having a house for themselves, watching A Streetcar Named Desire, drooling, swooning and eating popcorn. When I bought the film on DVD I gave away my VHS copy to one of them. She now has it as a decoration in her book shelf, to her boyfriend's frustration.
Another example is my favorite Swedsih drooling object Jarl Kulle. When I saw him as Count Malcolm in Smiles of a Summer Night (1955) the reaction was the same. That little trimmed moustache, that white shirt and that monocle, duelling for a lady's honor. Yikes. When I later saw another Ingmar Bergman comedy, The Devil's Eye (1960), I was lucky to find out that Bergman has cast Jarl Kulle as Don Juan - what a perfect choice!
20. Gene Kelly or Fred Astaire?
Fred Astaire. Even though Gene Kelly is talanted and funny, his perfectionism is felt right through the screen. Astaire isn't as good looking, but his charms and ease make him much more attractive and more comfortable to watch than Kelly.
21. Favorite Ginger Rogers drama?
I guess one can call Stage Door (1937) a drama, even though it's incredibly funny too. Anyway, she is adorable in it.
22. If you wrote a screenplay, who would be in your dream cast and what roles would they play? (Mixing actors and actresses from different generations is allowed: any person from any point in their career.)
I would like to see a film noir with Humphrey Bogart and Carole Lombard. I'd like to see her as a mysterious and dangerous temptress, smoking with a cigarette holder. She's accused for murdering her rich husband, and Bogart is the cynical detective that has to put aside his feelings of attraction towards Lombard in order to find out the truth about the case. Director: Billy Wilder. Or what do you think?
26. And now, the last question. What is your favorite movie from each of these genres: I'll answer this question from my present point of view, and what I would feel like watching today.
I just took a quiz, consisting of 20 questions resulting in a description of what kind of classic hero/heroine you are. Quite funny actually, you can find it here! If you are a man, you can always check out what kind of a classic leading man you are here.
Report back to me if you take the tests! It's essential.
I am, according to the test, the Myrna Loy type. The description of my character follows:
You are loaded with a quirky kind of class that people find irresistable. Men turn and look at you admiringly as you walk down the street, and even your rivals have a grudging respect for you. You usually know the right thing to say, do and, of course, wear. You can take charge of a situation when things get out of hand, and you do it with great poise and chic. Your wit and sense of fun endear you to your partner and every other man in the room. Your screen partners include William Powell and Cary Grant. You're quite a catch...if you want to be caught.
I especially like the last sentence! Watch out for me, boys and girls! Ha ha. Doing the manly test, I became Cary Grant - charming, smooth and debonair!
If it is something that I'm horrible at, it's obviously to reveal the results of my sporadic polls. I always seem to get distracted. (Not so difficult, thinking about this blogosphere...)
Anyways. Back in 1983 or so I asked you to vote in a 1930's Bette Davis performances poll. You got to pick three favourites, and here's (finally) the results.
(And I know that I keep changing the spelling of words like "favourite/favorite", "honour/honor" and "colour/color" - haven't yet decided if I'm a British or an American Swede.)
The misfits. (Click for larger picture. Yes, I love Photoshop.)
A striking blonde Mrs. Marie Roark in Bordertown (1935) only received 1 vote. But does it look like she cares?
There's a tie between Joyce Heath in Dangerous (1935) and Charlotte Lovell in The Old Maid (1939) with 3 votes each. Anyone besides me who'd like to see a catfight between Bette Davis and Bette Davis?
Bette Davis in Dangerous, and with her nemesis Miriam Hopkins in The Old Maid. (Click for larger picture.)
With 15% of the votes (4 votes), Mary in the crime drama Marked Woman (1937) starts to show that Bette Davis is something to count on. After all, co-acting with Humphrey Bogart can't give too bad of an outcome. Yes, "it's Bette Davis".
On the fifth place of the poll we find Lynn Mason in Fashions of 1934 (1934), with 5 votes. I bet it's the perfect gentleman William Powell who taught her well.
Lynn in Fashions of 1934. Absolutely fabulous, dahlin'.
Now it starts to get intriguing! On the fourth place, with no less than 7 votes, is a public favourite - Queen Elizabeth I in The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex (1939), with charming bad boy Errol Flynn as the Earl of Essex. That fat slap Essex receives from the queen is unforgettable - and so was the pain, according to Errol Flynn's autobiography My Wicked Wicked Ways (1959).
The bronze medal goes to Judith Traherne in Dark Victory (1939) with 8 votes, 30%. Not to bad, for a dying woman. Maybe she stands out like Ethel Barrymore in contrast to Bogart's unlikable Irishman? I won't complain - he's handsome as Satan.
On the second place, believe it or not, is another catfight! (9 votes each.) This time in the mud pit stands Mildred in Of Human Bondage (1934) and Gabrielle in The Petrified Forest (1936) (review). To this I have to say - poor Gabrielle. Her only chance is if Mildred suddenly collapses of a drug overdose in the middle of the battle.
Or what do you think? (Click for larger picture.)
Who's first? Who's first?
Of course it's the Southern beauty in the improper red dress - Julie from Jezebel (1938) (review). She flatters herself with the standing ovations for no less than 15 votes (that 57%, folks!), and I honor it by being so lazy that I just insert the colorized picture from the film that I used in my review post on it.
But I can at least give you the one without the "Colorized by Lolita"-railroad across it. But what if someone steals it? Well, let them.
Thanks for voting, and keep your eyes open for the next poll!
Even though it is officially Basil Rathbone week, I have to interrupt with the results of my latest poll - Which leading man had the best chemistry with Ingrid Bergman?
Alan Squier (Leslie Howard), a disillusioned, witty British writer, passes by an isolated diner in the middle of the American desert. Ordering some food, he meets Gabrielle (Bette Davis), who works at the diner owned by her father. Alan and Gabrielle quickly falls for each other, realizing that they share the same dreams of escaping the reality of their current lives. A gas-pumping boy called Boze (Dick Foran) is unfortunately also in love with Gabrielle, and the tension between the persons in the drama becomes even more tense when they all become hostages for a criminal on the loose and his gang - Duke Mantee (Humphrey Bogart). Along with the other hostages are a couple, Mr. and Mrs. Chisholm (Paul Harvey and Genevieve Tobin), their driver and the excited veteran Gramp Maple (Charley Grapewin), Gabrielle's grandfather.
This film covers a lot of genres. I don't know whether it is a drama, romance, comedy or an action. But I do know that it is an entertaining film with great actors. Leslie Howard's character must be one of the most interesting in his career, combining witticism and love making with an underlying sorrow and unsatisfaction with life. And Bette Davis is, as always, lovely. Two supporting characters I liked is of course the almost-senile grandfather, excited by the thought that he might see another killing since Billy the Kid's era, and Mrs. Chisholm, the unsatistfied, frustrated and sad glamour wife. The scene were she tells Gabrielle about making sacrifices for other people and the result of not thinking about oneself is really great.
The arrival of the hoodlums - Duke Mantee and gang.
This was also the magnificent breakthrough for Humphrey Bogart as an actor. He and Howard had played The Petrified Forest on stage, and when Warner Brothers wanted a film adaption of the play they wanted gangster film legend Edward G. Robinson for the part of Duke Mantee. Howard, however, refused to star in the film if Bogart wasn't cast as the villain. The Warner Brother's didn't have much of a choice, casted Bogart in the film (which they later on would be very grateful for!), and Robinson was just happy not having to play aother type cast character. Leslie Howard remained a long-time friend of Bogart and his wife Lauren Bacall, them naming their daughter Leslie in tribute to him.
Leslie Howard and Genevieve Tobin signing papers.
"Have a drink, black brother!"
Trailer: A wonderful trailer for the film, making a big deal of the re-uniting of Leslie Howard and Bette Davis after Of Human Bondage (1934).
The character of Duke Mantee was based on the real gangster "hero" (in that time the maffia was more or less glorified in the news and among the people) John Dillinger. Remember that I mentioned him earlier in my blog? Yes, the same John Dillinger that was shot to death after leaving a movie theatre showing Manhattan Melodrama the same year! My post on that film here.
Oh, and let's not forget the quotes. There are some wonderful to pick from this film!
Quotes:
Gramp Maple: But let me tell you one thing, Mr. Squier. The woman don't live or ever did live that's worth five thousand dollars! Alan Squier: Well, let me tell you something. You're a forgetful old fool. Any woman's worth everything that any man has to give: anguish, ecstasy, faith, jealousy, love, hatred, life or death. Don't you see that's the whole excuse for our existence? It's what makes the whole thing possible and tolerable.
Alan Squier: The trouble with me, Gabrielle, is I, I belong to a vanishing race. I'm one of the intellectuals. Gabrielle Maple: That, that means you've got brains! Alan Squier: Hmmm. Yes. Brains without purpose. Noise without sound, shape without substance.
Alan Squier: Let there be killing. All this evening I've had a feeling of destiny closing in.
Alan Squier: What's your story, Duke? What's your life been like? Duke Mantee: You know the story. Most of my life in jail; the rest of it dead!
Duke Mantee: Maybe you're right, pal. Alan Squier: Oh, I'm eternally right. But what good does it do me?
Gabrielle Maple: Petrified forest is a lot of dead trees in the desert that have turned to stone. Here's a good specimen. Alan Squier: So that was once a tree? Hmmm. Petrified forest, eh? Suitable haven for me. Well, perhaps that's what I'm destined to become, an interesting fossil for future study.
And I'm ending this post with a kiss. Like I always should.
