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I put I Remember Mama on my Netflix queue for next Saturday, and I'll probably watch a couple more before than.
1940's Hall of Fame II
Body and Soul (1947)
Dir. Robert Rossen
Starring: John Garfield, Lilli Palmer, Joseph Pevney
I'm not a fan of boxing, and might even go as far as saying that I find almost everything about it repulsive. Fortunately, none of that bias had any impact on my enjoyment of Body of Soul, which is as much a film about corruption, hubris, and the seductive powers of success and money as it is the story about a poor Jewish kid who becomes a World-class boxer. The plot is nothing new, but it's told in a very engaging manner which captivated me from beginning to end.
There's a lot of great cinematography in this film, particularly with how some of the shots are aligned. The height disparity between certain characters stood out to me, such as Roberts asserting his power by standing over Charlie on the stairs before the last match, and I also enjoyed the framing of Charlie in the interior window when he visits his mother early in the film. While the revolving wall in Charlie's apartment was a little gimmicky, I did like the visual symbolism and how it reflected Charlie himself throughout the film.
Body and Soul is something I likely never would have watched if it hadn't been nominated, so I'm very glad that it was. I was a little apprehensive going in, due to its association with a sport I don't like, but the only thing I walked away dissatisfied with the fact that Garfield looked far too old to be called a kid so often, but since that's a common problem with films from this era (and sometimes today still, really), I'm not going to hold that against it.
There's a lot of great cinematography in this film, particularly with how some of the shots are aligned. The height disparity between certain characters stood out to me, such as Roberts asserting his power by standing over Charlie on the stairs before the last match, and I also enjoyed the framing of Charlie in the interior window when he visits his mother early in the film. While the revolving wall in Charlie's apartment was a little gimmicky, I did like the visual symbolism and how it reflected Charlie himself throughout the film.
Body and Soul is something I likely never would have watched if it hadn't been nominated, so I'm very glad that it was. I was a little apprehensive going in, due to its association with a sport I don't like, but the only thing I walked away dissatisfied with the fact that Garfield looked far too old to be called a kid so often, but since that's a common problem with films from this era (and sometimes today still, really), I'm not going to hold that against it.
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Neat piece of trivia on Body and Soul...
"To get a more fluid camera movement in the boxing ring, cinematographer James Wong Howe filmed the fight while holding the camera and being pushed by an assistant as he wore roller skates."
"To get a more fluid camera movement in the boxing ring, cinematographer James Wong Howe filmed the fight while holding the camera and being pushed by an assistant as he wore roller skates."
I requested all of the films that I needed to. Now it is just having to wait for them to come in (I had to put off requesting them because I had too many things on hold - which I picked up yesterday - and I couldn't request anymore until now).
I don't plan on going back until Thursday. Hopefully the other movies will be returned by then. The only problem is that one of them is due on Thursday. Plus they will get a 3 day grace period. Essentially, the person won't bring it back until the weekend.
Anyway, we'll see how things turn out with it all, but I will try to get the ones watched, that seem to be watched so far, to keep up with everyone else the best that I can.
I don't plan on going back until Thursday. Hopefully the other movies will be returned by then. The only problem is that one of them is due on Thursday. Plus they will get a 3 day grace period. Essentially, the person won't bring it back until the weekend.
Anyway, we'll see how things turn out with it all, but I will try to get the ones watched, that seem to be watched so far, to keep up with everyone else the best that I can.
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I became insane, with long intervals of horrible sanity - Edgar Allan Poe
I became insane, with long intervals of horrible sanity - Edgar Allan Poe
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Is anybody having a hard time finding Mr. Lucky (1943)? I had a hard time finding a link but did find one. Also it's available on iTunes, YouTube, VuDu, and Google Play. Let me know if you can't find it.
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Is anybody having a hard time finding Mr. Lucky (1943)? I had a hard time finding a link but did find one. Also it's available on iTunes, YouTube, VuDu, and Google Play. Let me know if you can't find it.
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His Girl Friday
I have seen this film twice. Partly because I remembered so little of it the first time round, but I’m not sure why as the second time it certainly stuck with me. Perhaps it’s because they all talk so fast I missed what they were saying!
A sharp, snappy kind of a film, with the sort of charming but largely amoral characters Cary Grant does so well. There’s some great witty dialogue in this - the bit where somebody says Walter has a lot of charm, and Hildy replies that he has it naturally, his grandfather was a snake sticks in my mind. You can’t really root for him because he’s such a - well, a snake - but by the end of the film there’s the definite feeling that he and Hildy deserve each other, for better or worse.
The climax of this film is frankly a little ridiculous, in true screwball comedy style. In fact, none of it is in the least bit plausible and it’s all rather theatrical but then that is the style of film it is. I think your mileage will depend on your tolerance for the things in this film that could be irritating, and to be honest it did cross that irritating line for me more than once.
It seems like it was a bit of a thing in older films to have ex-husbands and wives getting back together. See also The Philadelphia Story, The Awful Truth, Private Lives and any number of others. I do wonder why it was so popular. But then I suppose exes rekindling some kind of flame is a trope that hasn’t entirely gone out of style these days either.
I have seen this film twice. Partly because I remembered so little of it the first time round, but I’m not sure why as the second time it certainly stuck with me. Perhaps it’s because they all talk so fast I missed what they were saying!
A sharp, snappy kind of a film, with the sort of charming but largely amoral characters Cary Grant does so well. There’s some great witty dialogue in this - the bit where somebody says Walter has a lot of charm, and Hildy replies that he has it naturally, his grandfather was a snake sticks in my mind. You can’t really root for him because he’s such a - well, a snake - but by the end of the film there’s the definite feeling that he and Hildy deserve each other, for better or worse.
The climax of this film is frankly a little ridiculous, in true screwball comedy style. In fact, none of it is in the least bit plausible and it’s all rather theatrical but then that is the style of film it is. I think your mileage will depend on your tolerance for the things in this film that could be irritating, and to be honest it did cross that irritating line for me more than once.
It seems like it was a bit of a thing in older films to have ex-husbands and wives getting back together. See also The Philadelphia Story, The Awful Truth, Private Lives and any number of others. I do wonder why it was so popular. But then I suppose exes rekindling some kind of flame is a trope that hasn’t entirely gone out of style these days either.
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Body and Soul (1947)
There's a lot of great cinematography in this film, particularly with how some of the shots are aligned. The height disparity between certain characters stood out to me, such as Roberts asserting his power by standing over Charlie on the stairs before the last match
Good call, I didn't notice that when I watched it, but I could see that being very effective.
Ahh, I did notice that shot and yup it was impressive. I would have liked that shot even more if we couldn't hear what they were saying in the kitchen, but we seen the emotions change on the mother's face from somber to happy.
I think the wet bar rotated out of sight as it was prohibition time and the alcohol needed to be hid in case of the cops
and I also enjoyed the framing of Charlie in the interior window when he visits his mother early in the film.
While the revolving wall in Charlie's apartment was a little gimmicky, I did like the visual symbolism and how it reflected Charlie himself throughout the film.
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His Girl Friday
It seems like it was a bit of a thing in older films to have ex-husbands and wives getting back together. See also The Philadelphia Story, The Awful Truth, Private Lives and any number of others. I do wonder why it was so popular. But then I suppose exes rekindling some kind of flame is a trope that hasn’t entirely gone out of style these days either.
It seems like it was a bit of a thing in older films to have ex-husbands and wives getting back together. See also The Philadelphia Story, The Awful Truth, Private Lives and any number of others. I do wonder why it was so popular. But then I suppose exes rekindling some kind of flame is a trope that hasn’t entirely gone out of style these days either.
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2. TWO MOVIES ABOUT BOXING? WHAT IS GOING ON?
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When I got home from work earlier I watched His Girl Friday, but haven't had a chance to write much about it yet. I think it might be a little too late in the day now to get anything good out on paper (as it were), but I'll try anyway haha.
I particularly liked that line as well. 
His Girl Friday
There’s some great witty dialogue in this - the bit where somebody says Walter has a lot of charm, and Hildy replies that he has it naturally, his grandfather was a snake sticks in my mind.
There’s some great witty dialogue in this - the bit where somebody says Walter has a lot of charm, and Hildy replies that he has it naturally, his grandfather was a snake sticks in my mind.
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Wanna hear a mind-blowing fact ? William Conrad, an actor who played Quinn in "Body and Soul" was only 26 year old at the time of shooting. I was shocked when I found that out. He looked like he could legitimately pass for a fifty.
Jesus^^, that reminds me of Max Von Sydow in The Exorcist. For years I thought he really was elderly.
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This is what he looked like when he was 50. 
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I would venture a guess, and say that was a way to have a married couple being 'naughty' and still have the film pass the Hays Office.
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He looked like this in The Killers which was a year earlier. He and Charles McGraw were the title characters. The problem with Conrad in his early movies is he almost always had a hat on, but he did normally have dark (black) hair.
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His Girl Friday
This was my second time watching this movie and I feel the same way. It's a strong case of a movie I don't find much fault in, but one I just don't love in any way. There's not a whole lot of old comedy that I love besides Some Like it Hot, yet I think the comedy it has is reasonably effective. I feel like the movie is trying to be too many things in a short amount of time. If it were largely a love story with a touch of comedy, or a love story mixed with the story of the inmate, I may have loved this movie. Each option has the love story, so obviously that's where I find the most promise. The two leads have plenty of chemistry. I always like watching Cary Grant, even if this particular character was not his most likable. I'm not otherwise familiar with Rosalind Russell, but I thought she was fantastic. I didn't really think any of the supporting characters stood out. So yea, I think every aspect of the movie is solid, but I would have liked to have seen more focus. Just as an aside, Howard Hawks is some director to have such a wide variety of excellent films. The Big Sky, which is not one of his most well known, happens to be my favorite, with Sergeant York, Red River, and To Have and Have Not close behind.
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His Girl Friday (1940)
Dir. Howard Hawks
Starring: Cary Grant, Rosalind Russell, Ralph Bellamy
His Girl Friday is filled to the brim with very clever, quick-fire dialogue. Being from a region known for its hurried-sounding speech, it almost feels as if I've been training my whole life to easily follow and understand this film. The performances and delivery of those lines really drew me in, and while I didn't like Walter Burns very much during his first scene, he did grow on me very quickly afterwards. I laughed out loud numerous times throughout the film, and didn't even notice how ridiculous and nonsensical the plot was at times until I was thinking about it later. It didn't bother me at all because I was completely on board with it.
The film is a not-so-subtle commentary on journalism, and while that's a topic that is not quite new or unique, I thought it was very well done, and thoroughly engaging. Some of the subjects it touches upon were definitely a bold choice for a screwball comedy, but I think that just adds to the film's charm and helps it to stand out. The film had a kind of rudeness about it that I found strangely endearing, much like its main characters. Unfortunately I don't have anything else to say, since I was too enamoured with the dialogue and performances to notice much about the cinematography, and that's certainly a compliment.
The film is a not-so-subtle commentary on journalism, and while that's a topic that is not quite new or unique, I thought it was very well done, and thoroughly engaging. Some of the subjects it touches upon were definitely a bold choice for a screwball comedy, but I think that just adds to the film's charm and helps it to stand out. The film had a kind of rudeness about it that I found strangely endearing, much like its main characters. Unfortunately I don't have anything else to say, since I was too enamoured with the dialogue and performances to notice much about the cinematography, and that's certainly a compliment.
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