Marriage Thrill is Gone

 LA NOTTE (1961)

Reviewed by Jerry Saravia

Michelangelo Antonioni's "L'Avventura" existed in a vacuum where life or death in modern society had no purpose, especially when a person goes missing. With Antonioni's "La Notte," a married couple feels that whatever purpose existed in their marriage is gone although everyone else seems to be having a better time. This couple is not engaged by anything, and only one person in this marriage knows it and is seeking fulfillment.

Bored, desperately unhappy Lidia (Jeanne Moreau) is married to celebrated author Giovanni (Marcello Mastroianni), and the two live a life in the busy, industrialized city of Milan. A dying friend of the couple is Tommaso (Bernhard Wicki, in the most emotional performance in the whole movie), also a writer and only Lidia seems affected by her dying friend who seemed to pay more attention to her than her own husband. Giovanni is caring but shows little emotion and would rather discuss his new book or Tommaso's letters. Giovanni jumps at the chance to sleep with a nymphomaniac in the same hospital wing before stopped by some nurses! Meanwhile Lidia is outside the hospital in tears and you get the impression that it is not just her husband crowding her, it is the city. 

A book party is attended by both and Lidia, again, takes off. She visits a run-down area where she tells the cab driver to wait for her. She observes a momentary brawl between two young men which she tries to break up, shocked by the brutal violence of one man pummelling another. Lidia is affected by everything around her and seems more inclined to engage, to let her emotions come to the surface (she is momentarily fascinated by young men firing rockets). When she calls Giovanni to pick her up, they head to a nightclub where a dancer is able to balance a glass of champagne on various parts of her body (it is amazingly shot). Next they go to an all-night party given by a billionaire though Giovanni is more interested in the billionaire's daughter (a spectacular Monica Vitti). Lidia is given to glancing at attractive men yet never gives in - she is married but she is not sure she's in love anymore. The fact that she's aware and may or may not act on it is Antonioni's shred of optimism in Lidia.

"La Notte" is not a frustrating experience though it can be for some - the repression of these characters can border on indifference to the average viewer. Antonioni has cast two normally lively actors, Mastroianni and Moreau, and has tempered their charisma and animated personalities to such a degree that they seem like boring stiffs. And yet both actors' still shine by mere suggestion, including disapproving looks and glances, and that is key to an exceptionally absorbing film about an increasingly diluted marriage that may be coming to an end. Lidia is connected to her life, she sees what Giovanni doesn't see or care to. The extended all-night party sequence is Lidia not willing to engage, not to socialize and to walk away when some men approach her. She is an acute observer and when she reveals the unraveling of their marriage to Giovanni using phrases from his own love letter, it is tantamount to closure. Shockingly he doesn't know who wrote the letter but she knows. "La Notte" could be read as a tale of tragic marital repression but I think Lidia will get past the limited romantic love she receives from her husband. Next time a man comes up to her, she may go for it. 

Mischief caused by Veronica Lake

 I MARRIED A WITCH (1942)

Reviewed by Jerry Saravia

A bonkers fantasy comedy starring Veronica Lake and Fredric March? Surprisingly it works though it is hardly a major hallmark in this genre, it still lead to the eventual "Bewitched" TV series. 

Puritans burn witches at the stake in nasty old Salem while March (miscast purposely, I imagine) is the Puritan Wooley who seems to have some misgivings about the witch's death. Of course, in the world of this movie, the witches are real. Nevertheless, years pass to the present day where one of the direct descendants, Wallace Wooley (March, again), is about to be elected as governor and get married to a wealthy sourpuss, Estelle Masterson (Susan Hayward). The dead witch and her father, a sorcerer, emerge from a tree as billows of smoke and burn a hotel to the ground. This gets the attention of Wallace who saves a woman in the hotel, a naked woman named Jennifer (Veronica Lake) who is of course the witch. Well, not totally naked you understand, this was 1942.

Shenanigans abound as she finds herself in his mansion frequently, always flirting and speaking of loving Wooley. This causes tension within him since he's getting married the following day. Wallace can't seem to get rid of Jennifer or her father who feigns getting shot during the wedding reception! Will Wallace marry the unhappy Estelle who feigns smiles for the cameras or will he settle for the allure of Jennifer?

Predictable to a tee, "I Married a Witch" is mostly charming and frequently amusing though Fredric March is not the actor I would have chosen for the paranoid Wallace (he seemed more adept to the comical surroundings of "Nothing Sacred" with Carole Lombard). He does not have the ringing chemistry that is central to the film's love story with lovely Lake (her whispers alone would make any man's heart melt). Still, Veronica Lake sells the film with her aura and unmistakable beauty and she has good comic timing (also thanks to Rene Clair's skillful direction). She's not devilish or evil, just simply a mischievous woman who wants nothing more than everlasting love. She's the witch that all men dream of.  

A Timeless Kiss

 SNOW WHITE AND THE SEVEN DWARFS (1937)

An Appreciation by Jerry Saravia

Taking a Brothers Grimm fairy tale and making it serenely beautiful, haunting, charming, funny and downright amazing in every single conceivable manner in terms of dazzling animation and simple storytelling without missing a beat is quite a major task. It is hard to do one more superbly and masterfully realized than 1937's classic "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs." 

Nothing new to report with its timeless story of the sweet, soulful princess Snow White (Adriana Caselotti) who is a basic maid living with her wicked, evil and jealous stepmother, the Queen (Lucille La Verne), in a castle. The Queen has black magic powers, speaks to a magic mirror, and conjures all sorts of spells to change her own appearance (more so in the Grimm tale than here). The Queen tells the Huntsman to kill Snow White and bring back her heart as evidence of her death. Oh, my, pretty dark Grimm tale indeed. The Huntsman is reluctant to kill the princess, tells her to run away, and he brings back a pig's heart instead. Thank heavens that Walt Disney and his incredible team of animators had chosen not to show the heart in a box when the Queen opens it. Then there's the singing Prince who wishes to court, or perhaps just marry, Snow White. Oh, and we cannot forget the seven dwarfs who live in a small house in the middle of the woods surrounded by all kinds of wildlife. My favorite dwarf is probably Grumpy because he is the one who has seen it all and can't find much joy in anything.

Of course, the depictions of the prince and Snow White hardly have personalities that stand out (Snow White is permitted in one scene to mimic Grumpy and his ways, and she does occasionally laugh). The Prince and the Princess are not exactly bland but not nearly as fully "animated" as the others and that includes the evil Queen with penetrating eyes that can pierce your soul (never mind the scary look of her as a wizened old woman with the poisonous red apple). The dwarfs are all distinctive and a colorful bunch of different personalities ranging from Sleepy to Bashful to Sneezy and Dopey and so on. Watching them all sing "Heigh Ho!" is simply wonderful and awesomely staged - every frame of this film is beautifully composed and truly three-dimensional with its innovative use of the multiplane camera. Nothing here registers as flat - everything in every frame comes alive with movement, color and variety especially in the depiction of all the woodland animals.

There are many Disney animated films but "Snow White" and (my personal favorite) "Fantasia" exceed what could be done with animation. "Snow White" is a fantastic, expertly told story and a masterpiece for all ages.   

Long live the apocatastasis!

 SIMON OF THE DESERT (1965)

Reviewed by Jerry Saravia

Living on top of a marble pillar and seeking penance for unexplored sinful actions of the past is unduly spiritual, but is it enough? Simon (Claudio Brook) is that pillar dweller, an ascetic who prays to God though he often forgets the lines of prayer. As any ascetic would, Simon abstains from any indulgences that includes rich foods (lettuce will do), flirtatious women, trimming his long beard, and almost anything that could shake his confidence in God. Simon also expresses his disgust over a cleanly presentable, shaven priest to whom he insists should have a beard and ought to be excoriated. Simon's tough.

Luis Bunuel's "Simon of the Desert" is often very funny in an offhanded way and also deeply spiritual in every sense of the word. Simon just prays to God and occasionally performs a miracle such as healing a shepherd with stumps that change into newly formed hands. Simon is also granted a higher pillar for his continued penance (6 years, 6 months and 6 days in the shorter pillar) and for performing other miracles. Bunuel does not point out the absurdity of all this nor does he mock religion - he is satirizing religion but not the practice of it. Prayer is taken seriously and it seems to have its own undisclosed rewards for Simon who just wants God to ascend his human body to a heavenly spirit. Occasionally, there are temptations from Satan in the form of a girl in a sailor suit, to a female bearded shepherd who holds a lamb and then kicks it out of frame and even a coffin that slides through the desert to the pillar revealing a woman holding her breast! Satan in her few incarnations is played with beaming, sexually carnivorous delight by Silvia Pinal. 

The ending is a howler but not necessarily a narrative obstruction as it leads to Simon with a trimmed beard, modern clothes and a pipe inside of some 1960's dance arena where young kids move to a rock n' roll dance called "Radioactive Flesh." Satan has brought him here temporarily but Simon is not amused or finding any joy in this. He clearly wants a simpler life without noise or music, simply no indulgences. He has a higher power as a healer and a worshipper of God but is he still human? For a wicked, some might say blasphemous comedy that certainly preceded the comic riches of "The Life of Brian" and the solemnity of "The Last Temptation of Christ," "Simon of the Desert" is a special kind of subversive comedy - essentially a dignified and equally comical cinematic treat.

Christopher Lee is tantalizing in draggy drama

 ALIAS JOHN PRESTON (1955)

Reviewed by Jerry Saravia

Forgettable, cheaply made Elstree Studios effort that will be only of interest to Christopher Lee fans. At 66 minutes, it is still an endurance test.

Lee is a wealthy businessman, John Preston, who arrives in the English town of Deanbridge. He matriculates himself in this sleepy area rather seamlessly as he buys a vast amount of real estate. Preston also has his eye on the bewitching Sally (Betta St. John) who is rather frigid with her former beau (Peter Grant), an amateur golf player. Sally is taken by Preston yet something is off about him - he snaps at her, snaps at the maitre-d of a local restaurant, and is always nervous, sweaty and anxious. Preston claims to have fought in World War II and hates France - the assumption being that he was a soldier during its German and Italian occupation. He intends to marry Sally yet is inclined to see a psychoanalyst (Alexander Knox) to deal with his recurring nightmare of a murder he may have committed under a different identity.

It does not take a genius to see where this is headed and thus suspense for this cumbersome drama is minimal. As an albeit brief psychological study of a man slowly losing his marbles, "Alias John Preston" has some tantalizing moments thanks to Christopher Lee's towering performance - he seems too big for this TV-style play yet is sometimes terrifying to watch. Alexander Knox is dead-on as the analyst who sees a lot more than he lets on. The film does drag a bit and most of it is as visually flat as a desert, yielding little surprise or imagination with its predictable story structure. For Christopher Lee completists, well worth checking it out at least once. Drink plenty of caffeine. 

Sleuthing through planes, cows and greenhouses

 NANCY DREW...TROUBLE SHOOTER (1939)

Reviewed by Jerry Saravia

Bonita Granville has the charm, the spirit, the joy and pure liveliness to play the favorite female sleuth of murder mysteries, Nancy Drew. Though Granville starred in only four Nancy Drew films, they are all fun and infectious. Although she is a little more ditzy than in the books, Granville still holds her own and has enough intelligence to find the clues to solve a mystery.

In "Trouble Shooter," she wants to clear her "Uncle" Adams, a farmer, who is suspected of murder. Naturally, stubborn Uncle Adams knows he is innocent and procures help from attorney Carson Drew (John Litel). Carson pretends to be going on vacation out in the country until the tight-lipped housekeeper lets the cat out of the bag to the curious Nancy (Granville). Nancy spends time uncovering a rare tropical plant on the grounds where the murdered victim, a ranch owner, is found. She and her semi-boyfriend Ted (Frankie Thomas), a typical klutz, go off gathering information on this darn plant that leads to a burning greenhouse and the pair trying not to fly a crop duster plane into the ground! There is also Nancy trying to clumsily make dinner for her father and his guest, a practically next-door neighbor he has a romantic interest in.

"Nancy Drew...Trouble Shooter" has enough laughs and action overall to please anyone, though the plot is rather flimsy and the whodunit is not exactly something that will leave you scratching your head. The racist caricature of Willie Best as the farm hand who steals chickens is obviously done for comic effect but it will prove deleterious and cringe-inducing to most (he was used to far more execrable effect in Harold Lloyd's "Feet First"). "Trouble Shooter" is still a pleasant diversion with the added treat of an angry cow.

Farewell to Arms

THE UNKNOWN (1927)

Reviewed by Jerry Saravia

Tantalizing, magnetic intensity fills every frame of Tod Browning's powerful and incendiary "The Unknown." Contributing to its power is no less than the legendary Lon Chaney, the Man of a 1000 faces who uses his own chiseled face, free of extreme makeup changes, to denote every note of his armless knife thrower "Alonzo the Armless."

Wait a minute, so how can an armless man throw knives and shoot a rifle with precision and never hit the woman, his partner? With his feet, of course, except Alonzo has a little dark secret. You see, he is not actually armless. Alonzo is a fugitive, a criminal whose crimes remains a mystery, and he has a different kind of disfigurement; a double thumb! Alonzo is a fantastic knife thrower working at a carnival where he has a deep love for Nanon (Joan Crawford), his partner who adores and cares for him but is not in love with him (she's also unaware that he really does have arms). Nanon's own devotion to Alonzo is put to the test by Malabar (Norman Kerry), the circus strongman who clearly has an affection for her. Nanon, though, has a fear of men's arms but she eventually gives in. This drives Alonzo crazy with jealousy and when Lon Chaney is the actor to drive home his character's deteriorating mental state, you know you are in for one rollercoaster ride.

"The Unknown" holds you in a vise-like grip from the first frame to the last, and you are left with a man of unsuppressed rage who can give you discomfort and the heebie-jeebies. Yet the fiercely captivating Lon Chaney shows humanity in his Alonzo - he really loves Nanon and you somehow hope she will see him as more than just a circus partner despite what we know of his unspoken criminal past. Then there is a haunting, devilishly gory twist that you will not see coming - let's just say, Alonzo opts to prove his love for Nanon in a way that might give you nightmares. Heavy, dark themes for a 1920's flick. 

Courage of his ignorance

 A FACE IN THE CROWD (1957)

Reviewed by Jerry Saravia

Andy Griffith's mammothly entertaining and animalistic debut performance as Lonesome Rhodes is unlike anything he's ever done, especially his noble Andy Griffith Show. In Elia Kazan's biting and ultimately lacerating portrait of celebrity in all its pitfalls and promises, Rhodes never stops selling himself, never shortchanges himself and is always aiming high beyond his reach. The nagging question is does Lonesome Rhodes have an ounce of sincerity to him? 

An enthusiastic Arkansas radio producer, Marcia Jeffries (thrilling played by Patricia Neal), is interested in capturing real folk of her town, real talk as it were. She's looking for authenticity and finds it at a small jail where the boozing, womanizing Larry (Andy Griffith) sings with his guitar and brings such a heavenly tinge of joy into the place that the other prisoners get excited. So does Marcia who marvels at Larry's gusto and country-boy spirit that far exceeds anything you might see in the Andy Griffith Show. She gives him the nickname of "Lonesome" and pretty soon Larry's TV antics and put-downs of politicians lands him in Memphis and beyond. He stands tall, loves and practically makes love to the camera, gets high ratings and becomes something of an institution (partially based on Will Rogers, Jr.). Lonesome Rhodes makes false promises to Marcia (who is intoxicated with him) and marries a baton-swirling teenager (Lee Remick) without thinking about it (it turns out he's already married to someone else and simply forgot). 

Andy Griffith's Lonesome Rhodes is the anchor of this somewhat satirical movie and Griffith makes every scene count. Kazan doesn't any stylistic flourishes or roving cameras because this guitar-playing, wise-cracking hillbilly is already a force of nature - he is in a whirlwind tornado of his own and he's spreading himself across the entire world. Everyone seems to love him because he is on TV and uses that box to manipulate his audience - he knows how to make people move from the comforts of their own home to swing to his animated presence. I am not sure there is another film about a TV celebrity that conveys those aspects as well as this one does. 

Director Elia Kazan and Budd Schulberg's screenplay evokes Lonesome as a tireless promoter of his own self-image - he has little regard for anyone else though he pretends to be interested in common folk and in tired politicians who could use his high-energy charisma. Lonesome Rhodes is lost in the world of his own making - he is an attention-getter but he is not very interesting beyond that with a scant educational background. Marcia starts to see it (she practically created this monstrous figure) and Lonesome's own writer Mel Miller (Walter Matthau) is tired of his shenanigans and see that there is a facade...and nothing else. That may be the most pointed brutal point "A Face in the Crowd" makes...a man like this is easy to make into a star and just as easy to take down a man with no inner life who may not even know it. That is the tragedy of Lonesome Rhodes.  

Storm brewing over America

 CONFESSIONS OF A NAZI SPY (1939)
Reviewed by Jerry Saravia

The narrative is two-fold in "Confessions of a Nazi Spy" and although the first half is heavy-going and repetitious, the second half is quite thrilling and definitely shows the investigation into a Nazi spy circle getting tighter by the minute. These FBI government agents did a thorough job nailing them, in this fictional adaptation and in reality, yet they couldn't see the grim future. Hell, it was only 1939. 

The movie begins with a narrator warning about the Nazi Party infiltrating America in various cities and towns. We see a giant swastika used as a wipe transition frequently, sometimes emerging in animated style over maps of Germany and the United States. Various Nazis do their "Heil Hitler" salutes, and one of them is even played by George Sanders! Their various inner circles try to listen in on Germans who dare to criticize Hitler's plans, economic and otherwise, planting agents of their own to determine who is obedient and who isn't. Some of this can go a long way and, though I imagine some of this is partially true, I doubt that a majority consensus was taken at clubs, restaurants, etc, but perhaps history professors might prove me wrong. Whoever dares to question Hitler's authority is sent back to Germany, possibly a concentration camp! It is true that as early as 1933, political prisoners were sent to the camps such as German Communists, Socialists, and Social Democrats so there is a speck of truth to this.

Once we are settled into the FBI investigation itself, with America historically still deciding not to join World War II, "Confessions of a Nazi Spy" really picks up steam and holds our attention. Edward G. Robinson is one of the FBI agents on the tail of the Nazi spy ring. The FBI has gotten ahold of irate German spy Kurt Schneider (Francis Lederer) and a sinister Dr. Kassel (Paul Lukas) thanks to an alert postman handling mail for Mrs. McLaughlin - she operates out of an unassuming Scotland house where she mails contents from the spy ring to certain Nazi Americans. Most of this second half of "Confessions of a Nazi Spy" is quite absorbing and we see just how deep these sinister connections are. Easy way to digest this crude form of entertainment - partly propaganda, partly fiction, mostly sinister and ends with flag-waving resolution. Of course, it turns out that the Nazi Party succeeded in the most harrowing genocide of the 20th century. The filmmakers could not have seen that coming. 

Hollywood always had it this bad

 THE BAD AND THE BEAUTIFUL (1952)

Reviewed by Jerry Saravia

Kirk Douglas as a headstrong, hot-shot movie producer would've been welcome in any movie but in "The Bad and the Beautiful," he is also egotistical, arrogant, showy and an irredeemable backstabbing son of a gun. The truth is that his character of a movie producer known as Shields wants to hurt people...and he can't help it. This movie could've been harder to take had the hard-as-granite charisma of Kirk Douglas not been cast.

Vincente Minnelli's star-studded production (how could it not be?) with writer Charles Schnee ("They Live By Night") has a flawless, unusual flashback structure. It begins with a writer who's both novelist and screenwriter with a cool detachment (perfectly cast Dick Powell), a spurned actress (Lara Turner) and a movie director's crooked history with Shields (played by Barry Sullivan) meeting with a Hollywood honcho (Walter Pidgeon) to discuss all three signing up for a new film project. This project is not what they expect since it means dealing with Shields, whom they all hate. Each of them tells of their different collaborations with Shields, none of which are memorably good experiences.  

Amiel, the director, is hired as one of many extras for Shields' father's funeral (no one would have attended otherwise) and he meets Shields (Douglas) whom he follows to an empty mansion. They sort of hit it off, becoming partners in B movies (one of them is based on the actual B-movie "Cat People") until Amiel wants to direct a serious picture that no studio wishes to finance. Shields, ever the clever producer, gets the financing yet backstabs Amiel by hiring someone else to direct. 

Meanwhile, there's the actress, Lila (Turner), who has a festering alcohol problem and performs bad screen tests. Nobody wants her to star in a film except for Shields. The film in question is some sort of period piece romance and it makes her into a major movie star. Then Shields walks out on her after presumably falling in love with her and we see him bedding a bit player - you know, how Hollywood normally works. They hire you, bed you, make false love promises and then abandon you. 

The novelist, Bartlow (Dick Powell), is indifferent to Hollywood and its machinations and has no interest in adapting his own best-selling book for Shields. Money talks and Bartlow proceeds but he is not the least bit dazzled by Hollywood glamor or parties - his Southern belle of a wife (Gloria Grahame in an Oscar-winning performance) is more than just dazzled. Tragedy does strike and Shields' manner of handling the tragedy will leave you wanting to strangle him. 

"The Bad and the Beautiful" is not a love letter to Hollywood - it is too acidic and dark to really do anything other than strike a nerve. It is an anti-Hollywood film in the sense that you are taken in by the riches of La La Land in terms of big, ostentatious parties and mansions and lots of booze but little else other than the cold, sterile emptiness of it all. Showbiz stories are almost always scandalous and scatalogical. Kirk Douglas embodies that frigid cruel demeanor and its both tantalizing and pathetic and yet, despite all the betrayal and dishonesty bestowed upon these three creative people whom we are sympathetic to, Shields still finds a way of entrapping them. Bad, beautiful and entrancing.  

Hooks On the Waterfront

 EDGE OF THE CITY (1957)

Reviewed by Jerry Saravia

Gritty New York City dramas shot in black-and-white always made me ecstatic. "Edge of the City" also fits the bill with strong, empathetic performances by John Cassavetes and Sidney Poitier in a story told simply and without much flash yet with ample enough verve to keep us riveted. Considering this is director Martin Ritt's astonishing debut, it is nothing short of a miracle in cinematic debuts - it is a bona fide treat.

Cassavetes is Axel Nordmann who wallows in a stupor as he jumps on board a boat headed somewhere, though we don't know where. He is visibly torn, unsure and uncertain of himself and his surroundings as he is looking for work as a longshoreman and is told to wait around till the following day. He tries opening a truck door and a freight container and we don't know what he's up to - are we following the story of a man who becomes helpless and homeless? The following day he is woken, sleeping between two containers, by Tommy Tyler (Sidney Poitier) a jokey, hard-working supervisor who works the waterfront hauling boxes with cargo hooks (he loves to actually break the monotony of the work with some tomfoolery and so do the workers when they throw his lunchbox around). Axel doesn't have the essential hook needed to haul these heavy boxes and is eventually given one. However, a rough supervisor named Malick (fantastic Jack Warden), "the blackest heart in town," who got Axel a job wants Axel working under his command - Malick hates Tommy and calls him and Axel "wise guys." The tension between Malick and Tommy is especially jolting and you feel it in every shared moment they have. Watch out for those hooks, I say.

Axel comes from Gary, Indiana and wishes not to reveal much of his past to Tommy or anyone, including a potential love interest introduced by Tommy named Ellen Wilson (Kathleen Maguire). Axel is nervous about talking to his mother or father back home, feeling shame and guilt over the loss of his brother. When he is unable to talk to his parents, he feels free talking to Tommy and they become fast friends. When it comes to Ellen who is attracted to Axel, the Indiana man freezes up and is reserved and has to be cajoled by Tommy into walking Ellen to her apartment after a night of dancing.

"Edge of the City" is riveting entertainment, always keeping us on the edge to the point where one feels they would lose their balance while watching it. Cassavetes was a gifted actor and plays this role perfectly with razor sharp often unblinking eyes that keep zoning in on others when they already have turned their backs or move away. I would say Cassavetes was as great an actor as Brando was during this 50's period (our sympathy for him grows when he tells the tragic story of his older brother and you can't help but gravitate towards him). Sidney Poitier cuts through with blazing energy and enough humor to make us see a man we would all want to befriend. Jack Warden exudes a rough demeanor, an imploding, bigoted man with no real values other than hard work. And it is a delight to see Ruby Dee as Tommy's wife - her final emotional wreck of a scene is as honest as movies get. For the 1950's, "Edge of the City" is tough but never cynical and just as shrewdly involving as the similarly themed "On the Waterfront."  

Petticoat Marshal given short-shrift

 TARGET (1952)

Reviewed by Jerry Saravia

Seen one B-movie western shot in a Hollywood backlot, seen them all. Tim Holt was a B-movie actor of many westerns (though I'll always remember him best as handsome and vulnerable George Minafer in Orson Welles' "The Magnificent Ambersons") and 1952's "Target" might not be so distinguishable from the average but it does score a couple of points for a hint of progressiveness.

It is the lawless town of Pecos, Texas, well, lawless in the sense that there is no marshal. A marshal is desperately needed due to the greedy businessman Conroy (Walter Reed) and his stalwarts who pay for land for next to nothing so they can have their railroad. In the first scene, a newspaper man or just a printing press employee (from the Sentinel, a "progressive" newspaper and also Chairman of the Town Council) is nearly killed by the men after painting a sign warning landowners of Mr. Conroy. Tim Holt (played by Tim Holt!) is a cowhand who comes to the rescue, along with his partner Irish-Mexican Rafferty (enthusiastically played by Richard Martin). They have come into town for a job with stubborn landowner named Bailey (John Hamilton), who refuses to sell his home for a cheap price just so they can build a freight terminal and a stockyard. Land-grabbing for a railroad - progressive times ahead.

Speaking of progressive, the daughter of an ailing marshal comes into Pecos so she can aid in some law and order. Naturally, everyone except Tim and his partner believe a woman (Linda Douglas) can become a marshal (I believe an actual line of dialogue spoken is "We don't need a petticoat marshal!") The female marshal doesn't do enough to justify such a position and the filmmakers I guess felt that such a marshal would never fire a gun (she figures out how to break out of a jail using a belt, a major cliche). As I said, a hint of progressiveness.

"Target" is a fitfully exciting and humorous enough western with the same old gunfights (they could've been shot with more pizazz), same old fistfights, cowboys on horseback running through town, etc. Nothing new here but it will keep you captivated during its short running time, plus Tim Holt is an appealing hero and I love Richard Martin as the flirtatious Rafferty, a recurring role he played in many westerns.    

Frivolous yet fun Powell entertainment

PRIVATE EYE 62 (1933)

Reviewed by Jerry Saravia

William Powell is so dashing and such a romantic in appearance, and clearly at heart, that it is hard to see him as anything but. "Private Eye 62" is not a special treat in Powell's filmography but I wouldn't write it off either. Some occasionally pungent dialogue and some stylized moments give it some weight to make it a slight cut above the usual mediocrity. 

Starting off with a visually pleasing and foggy view of the Eiffel Tower, we are introduced to Powell as Donald Free, a State Department diplomat who is caught stealing some French government papers. Free is deported to the U.S. until he gets wind that the French want him back (an extradition despite being deported that quickly?) so he jumps off a boat to swim to NYC. Before you start being inquisitive on the movie's plot, Free is in New York and injects himself as a partner for a failing detective agency called "Peerless." Dan Hogan (Arthur Hohl) is the main detective who is more than a mite incompetent and completely unethical. Nevertheless, a sassy socialite, Janet Reynolds (Margaret Lindsay), is making huge cash winnings at Bandor's Club. Is Janet really winning based on luck or is she cheating? The movie never quite answers that and assumes we will just buy that she has exorbitant luck. The detectives are hired to check on her and there is more than meets the eye.

A Depression-era and Pre-Code crime drama that seems more comedic early on than dramatic, "Private Eye 62" is consistently engaging. Arthur Hohl shows the corruption seeping into Dan's veins and Margaret Lindsay holds her own as Janet, though whether she's duplicitous or not is questionable. William Powell is so damn good that it almost doesn't matter whether the story pays off. Frivolous Michael Curtiz movie yet you'll have a good time.

He Can't Help Himself

 M (1931)

Reviewed by Jerry Saravia

I have a deep appreciation for Fritz Lang's "M," a German psychological suspense thriller that jangles your nerves and makes your heart skip a couple of beats. The fact that Peter Lorre, one of the most haunted and haunting faces in movies, appears in just a few scenes is extraordinary. More extraordinary is the fact that his character does not inform the film exactly - the victims' mothers, the murdered children and the mob of people at large do. 

Berlin is facing a monumental crisis - a psychopath is in the city and kidnapping and killing children. This is all presumed, the killing aspect that is, because the bodies of the children are never found and supposedly buried somewhere (or at least that is the implication). Wanted posters are placed in the town square yet the police are mystified and cannot find the child killer. Eventually, they discover the culprit but the mob of people in the area - some of them criminals and parents and there are business owners,  who feel their livelihood is being affected - gather together and decided to apprehend the killer. They fake being homeless street persons, and other just simply watch any individual passing a balloon or candy to any young child. A blind beggar is central to the identification of the killer who whistles Edvard Grieg's "In the Hall of the Mountain King."   

"M" is chilling to the bone throughout especially in the depiction of the aftermath of a child's disappearance. Lang and his cinematographer, Fritz Arno Wagner ("Nosferatu"), show a montage of different settings such as the empty chair at the kitchen table, the long empty staircase leading to one child's apartment where the child should be running and skipping up to her home and, the most frightening symbolic shot of lost innocence, a balloon floating up in the air near power lines. 

"M" does contain too many scenes of the mob, mostly criminals, infiltrating an office building where bug-eyed Hans Beckert (Lorre), the deranged killer, is hiding out. Still, there is much to distinguish this stylish German noir with its askew shadows (especially of the wide high-angle shot of the street where Beckert is seen) and its police procedural point-of-view of detectives finding clues to the mystery killer. One striking shot in particular shows Beckert finding a chalk imprint of an M on his back coat - moments like this impart a nightmarish logic of being identified only as a murderer. Does Beckert have any sense of remorse or guilt? It is difficult to say but by the time we arrive at the unbelievably powerful confession given by Beckert, it is an admission where he knows he has committed such crimes yet he can't help himself. Lorre is so amazingly emotional in his fear of himself that he makes the other criminals of this mob see themselves and the crimes they have committed. A purposely abrupt ending where the mothers plead for others to keep watch of their own children while they await the killer's fate, Lang's "M" is probably more moral than any American film on the same subject. E for Excellence.  

Check your pockets!

MAIN STREET AFTER DARK (1945)

Reviewed by Jerry Saravia

I don't think there is a moral to "Main Street After Dark" other than if you are a sailor, avoid ritzy clubs where women take can advantage with their feminine wiles and swipe your wallet. A burly police lieutenant named Lorrigan (Edward Arnold) finds a way to catch these women thieves - plant sailors with wallets carrying a detectable fluorescent powder. The Lieutenant figures that if any of the suspected women identified by the victims are caught, he can check their palms with a fluorescent light! Nifty.

A criminal named Lefty (Tom Trout), known for armed robbery, is just out of the slammer and returns to home to his mother (Selena Royle); his devoted, sneaky wife, Jessie Belle (Audrey Totter, her film debut), and his young sister Rosalie (Dorothy Ruth Morris). The sister is something of a pickpocket due to her stealing watches, which the mother disapproves of! Ultimately, the mother has no problem with her son leading a criminal life with no ambition to work a regular job. Lefty's wife, much to the chagrin of Lefty, is pickpocketing sailors downtown. There is also Lefty's brother, Posey (Dan Duryea), who has taught the women how to lure men and take their wallets which initially makes Lefty angry - Posey was supposed to be the man of the house earning money! One inventive method of robbing sailors involves a hotel room scenario where Posey pretends to be a hotel clerk, thus convincing the naive sailors to pay for their rooms and place the money in a box for safekeeping!

 

"Main Street After Dark" is more of a lark and often very funny, with a few explosive and unexpected moments of violence. The actors flourish on screen giving it as much pizazz to separate the film's somewhat undernourished screenplay from the rest of the mediocre crime pictures at the time. Of course, we get a "Crime Doesn't Pay" epilogue that feels tacked on since these movies were made during the Hays Code days. Still, for 57 minutes you get your money's worth - just check your pockets after it is over. 

A Martini to Sherlock Holmes' Bourbon mix

 THE FALCON IN SAN FRANCISCO (1945)

Reviewed by Jerry Saravia

Having seen only one Falcon film starring George Sanders in the titular role ("The Gay Falcon"), I was not sure how a different actor in the same role would fare. I had nothing to worry about because Tom Conway, George Sanders' actual brother no less, takes over the role as the amateur sleuth quixotically and with elegance and a slight brash style.

The opening sequence on a train establishes a great rapport between Conway's Falcon and his wisecrackin' sidekick Goldie Locke (Ed Brophy) as they travel on vacation to San Francisco. There is some silly humor here about the single Goldie filing his tax returns and sensing he'd pay less in taxes if he got married. Before you can say fair tax percentages, there is a small dog and a sweet young girl named Annie (Sharyn Moffett) and the death of her nurse in one of the train compartments. It is possible this stern nurse was murdered! 

All this leads to a misunderstanding involving a kidnapping; a shipping company and its pretty owner, Annie's big sister (Rita Corday) who may or may not be a prisoner in her own home; a supposedly dead gangster who may still be living, and a finale involving an exploding boiler room. "The Falcon in San Francisco" is fun and light on its feet and packs quite a solid punch. The colorful cast is tremendous fun - there is a real joy of acting on everyone's part which includes Robert Armstrong acutely showing two different sides to his character. Brophy's Goldie is very funny as he keeps trying to woo women to marry him, and Sharyn Moffett is a smart, cute Annie whom you just want to hug. The real standout is Tom Conway who brings his own downplayed suave manner to the Falcon. These Falcon movies may not be as densely layered as Sherlock Holmes stories but they just as intoxicating. The Falcon is a martini to Sherlock's bourbon. 

Heavenly Joe made me smile

 HERE COMES MR. JORDAN (1941)

Reviewed by Jerry Saravia

One of the most delightful fantasy movies ever made, "Here Comes Mr. Jordan" is pure heaven in every sense of the word. It is often ecstatically funny and expertly performed. Not a single wasted frame or emotion to be found, this is one of those rare fantasy movies I would call flawless.

Robert Montgomery is the "Flying Pug," a boxer known as Joe Pendleton. One fine day, he flies a small plane and accidentally plummets to the ground. He's dead but he wasn't supposed to die and his soul was taken to heaven prematurely. This irks Mr. Jordan (Claude Rains - absolutely fabulous), who is the chief of angels I gather and assists the poor young man. Joe insists it was not supposed to happen this way and the newly hired angel named Messenger 7013 (Edward Everett Horton) made a mistake retrieving his soul. So, under the orders of Mr. Jordan, Joe returns to Earth assuming another body, that of wealthy Mr. Farnsworth who has just been drowned in his bathtub by his wife and the husband's secretary. The plot picks up speed when Bette Logan (Evelyn Keyes) pleads for her father to be sprung from jail after Mr. Farnsworth had him incarcerated. Mr. Farnsworth, now Joe, emerges from the bathroom to the ground floor understandably shocking his wife and the secretary. Joe is smitten with Bette and makes the decision to free her father quickly (all this so that Joe can inhabit the body of another boxer in Australia!)

Everything in "Here Comes Mr. Jordan" comes as a delectable surprise and it is constructed with utmost care and shows tremendous pathos in its characters, thanks to screenwriters Sidney Buchman and Seton I. Miller. Montgomery shows such a flair for comic timing and such humanity that I was floored by his Joe character - you get the impression that he wants to make the world a better place and Mr. Jordan can see that clearly. Rains' Jordan is such a welcomely inventive character in that he sees hope in Joe's eyes and that the human race could benefit from Joe's ambitions. Spiritually occupying one body after another, I wouldn't be surprised if "Here Comes Mr. Jordan" inspired TV's "Quantum Leap." Also worth noting is Joe's manager, Max "Pop" Corkle (Oscar-nominated James Gleason), who brings every note of desperation and disbelief in equal measure - it takes some convincing for Joe to prove he's inside Farnsworth's body to Max. Evelyn Keyes is a heavenly sight as Bette who senses there is more to Mr. Farnsworth than she thought. All the performances are tied to such a touching, tender ending that it made my heart melt. "Here Comes Mr. Jordan" is a miraculous achievement.

4 reels of drama, 2 of laughs

 THE KID (1921)

Reviewed by Jerry Saravia

Maybe my preference falls more in line with his consistent comic wizardry coupled with the Tramp's appearance as some sort of lonely clown with a heart of gold. "Modern Times," "The Circus" and "City Lights" are among Charlie Chaplin's greatest early films ("The Gold Rush" is somewhere in that list too). "The Kid" is something of a curiosity to me - it has charm and heart but not a whole lot of laughs. That is hardly a detriment to the movie but it is more dramatic than comedic and, although it still stands as poignant and often beautifully made, it is not at the same level of greatness as Chaplin's other films. 

The Kid is a baby left abandoned, reluctantly, by its mother (Edna Purviance) in the backseat of a car with a handwritten note. The car is found by thieves and when they discover a baby, they leave the baby on a dirt path near some ramshackle homes. The Little Tramp (Charlie Chaplin) finds the baby and tries to place it in someone else's stroller yet the screaming child finds its way back to the Tramp. So he takes the baby, trying in vain to avoid the police, and the baby eventually grows up to becomes the Kid (Jackie Coogan) who lives with the Tramp and becomes his partner-in-a-minor-crime. The Kid throws stones at neighbors' windows and the Tramp fixes them with window panes he carries on his back as he just happens to walk by them. The one major cop catches on and there's expected tomfoolery with the Tramp and the Kid as they scurry around the streets. 

Meanwhile, the mother who abandoned the Kid becomes a major movie star and runs a children's charity. She unknowingly runs into the scruffy Kid (named John by the Tramp). After a fight with another kid where John is winning with his singular punches, trouble brews when a call-in doctor checking on an ill John discovers that the Tramp is not John's father. It is back to the orphanage and it is here where we get one of the most moving scenes in silent cinema. Jackie Coogan's John screams for the Tramp to help him while the Tramp is being held by the cop and the driver from the orphanage. It is here where Coogan displays with enough honest emotion and grit why he was possibly the greatest child actor of that time. 

"The Kid" does fall into some heavy dramatic scenes and they are expertly acted and emotionally true. Still I am sure that anytime we see Chaplin's poor Little Tramp, we expect to laugh on occasion. The movie veers into some laughter yet it is rather infrequent, especially for a one-hour flick or its six reels. I felt a little lost during John's fight with a bully which goes on for an eternity. And there is a finale involving a dream with angels that didn't seem suited to what preceded it. I respect "The Kid" and I can't say it isn't lovable and packed with a few thrills here and there and Jackie Coogan's Kid is unforgettable. Maybe I expect more from the Tramp or from Charlie Chaplin - it still falls short of greatness.