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National Velvet (Clarence Brown, 1944)
To me, this is a perfect movie. It's a Wizard of Oz-type flick. It's the kind which a normal family would sit around the TV or the dinner table and watch, and they would fully understand what it means to be a family and whether or not they qualify as a loving one. However, even if it's a perfect movie, the family isn't exactly perfect. There are always going to be members who think they're more important than others or who think that newcomers (forgive me, but unless someone is proselytizing me, I consider them one of God's Angels. I'll admit that I never knew that so many of God's Angels were drunkards before... ), but I have to make choices on how to "support" those less-fortunate than I. I'm not sure how I got from National Velvet to this, but actually I do. Nowadays, everyone is suspect, a drunk for no good reason, etc, while back in the day, people just panhandled. Well, I know they still do, and my father and my father-in-law will NOT give them anything when they ask, but I always do, and my wife says that's one of the reasons she loves me.
The film contains so many people's dreams and how they relate to each other that it's a perfect example of a mainstream screenplay which should still appeal to those of you who have felt that you've left those all behind. The screenplay is mainstream but the direction (presentation) borders on subversive. For a film which desires a happy ending, it punctures every single cliche along the way to ensure there is no happy ending. Even so... National Velvet is a traditional piece of storytelling. It also tries to support the idea that things are not all black and white, so, of course, that makes me think even more highly of it. Before I shut down, I have to mention ALL the performances. They're incredible. Not just Mickey Rooney, Liz Taylor, Academy Award winner Anne Revere, Donald Crisp, Angela Lansbury, Jackie "Butch" Jenkins, etc., but straight through to the announcers of the Grand National. This is a true family film, if you still have one to watch it with.
To me, this is a perfect movie. It's a Wizard of Oz-type flick. It's the kind which a normal family would sit around the TV or the dinner table and watch, and they would fully understand what it means to be a family and whether or not they qualify as a loving one. However, even if it's a perfect movie, the family isn't exactly perfect. There are always going to be members who think they're more important than others or who think that newcomers (forgive me, but unless someone is proselytizing me, I consider them one of God's Angels. I'll admit that I never knew that so many of God's Angels were drunkards before... ), but I have to make choices on how to "support" those less-fortunate than I. I'm not sure how I got from National Velvet to this, but actually I do. Nowadays, everyone is suspect, a drunk for no good reason, etc, while back in the day, people just panhandled. Well, I know they still do, and my father and my father-in-law will NOT give them anything when they ask, but I always do, and my wife says that's one of the reasons she loves me.
The film contains so many people's dreams and how they relate to each other that it's a perfect example of a mainstream screenplay which should still appeal to those of you who have felt that you've left those all behind. The screenplay is mainstream but the direction (presentation) borders on subversive. For a film which desires a happy ending, it punctures every single cliche along the way to ensure there is no happy ending. Even so... National Velvet is a traditional piece of storytelling. It also tries to support the idea that things are not all black and white, so, of course, that makes me think even more highly of it. Before I shut down, I have to mention ALL the performances. They're incredible. Not just Mickey Rooney, Liz Taylor, Academy Award winner Anne Revere, Donald Crisp, Angela Lansbury, Jackie "Butch" Jenkins, etc., but straight through to the announcers of the Grand National. This is a true family film, if you still have one to watch it with.