Playing with Plays Adapted for the screen by the same folks who next did “Casablanca,” incidentally with Lorre. Filmed by someone known for his light touch. I’m not of a fan of Capra’s, as he values the little quirky hooks in the story and dialog and depends on some grand sweep (usually nostalgic) to make… Continue reading Arsenic and Old Lace (1944)
Tag: 1940s
Films released in the 1940s
Appointment with Crime (1946)
Hands Off For me, noir is a very specific form. It is as pervasive and important an invention as Jazz. The thing that distinguishes it is a main character who is put through the wringer in circumstances that would never occur if there were not us ghosts watching and manipulating reality. It had a long… Continue reading Appointment with Crime (1946)
All the King’s Men (1949)
Actors, Politicians As a film, this hasn’t aged well. The various elements, especially the acting, now seem dated and… well, lousy. In its day we overlooked all its shortcomings because it was grand and relevant and seemingly true. That political sweep still resonates. But I suspect that where the film reflected political reality, it and… Continue reading All the King’s Men (1949)
The Dark Mirror (1946)
Her Sister Rose An actor’s challenge is when they are required to create their own mob, create the tension they are to hold. I’ve just seen a few “multiple people in one body” type films. Here we have something different: one actress playing two characters, exact twins. One is a murderer, we discover early in… Continue reading The Dark Mirror (1946)
Dark Command (1940)
Before the Pattern John Wayne ruined the western for me. The whole idea of the western until Leone was in constant repetition, walking the same route every time so that subtleties could be emphasised. Since everything else was given, we could focus on the smallest things. Real art in moviemaking is in picking the right… Continue reading Dark Command (1940)
Kind Hearts and Coronets (1949)
Three Gimmicks These little projects are worth watching just to see what gimmicks are pulled to breathe life into what otherwise would be fairly minor charms. In this case we have one actor (not a great one) playing all the murdered people. We have a double blackmail plot and we have the gimmick that attracts… Continue reading Kind Hearts and Coronets (1949)
A Jolly Good Furlough (1943)
Home not Attractive I’ve been watching propaganda movies recently. I don’t think we appreciate the government influence on the industry. It is easiest to see here. In this case, the message seems to be that GIs can be relatively happy away compared to home. The story is that Popeye comes home to his girlfriend and… Continue reading A Jolly Good Furlough (1943)
The Phantom of Chinatown (1940)
Conspiratorial Filmmaking I maintain that some very important conventions were worked out in 30s mysteries. The Charlie Chan series was instrumental in some of these, and this is the last of them. It incidentally has Charlie’s son as the detective, the first Asian playing the character. The sensitivity to Chinese culture is no better than… Continue reading The Phantom of Chinatown (1940)
Joan of Arc (1948)
Burned Alive I wonder if there is anyone who can view this film with any sort of fondness today. Everything about it is false, with no element one can point to for relief. Yes it has Ingrid, but as wooden as a pike. Yes it has a powerhouse story, but rendered here lifeless. Even the… Continue reading Joan of Arc (1948)
Jud Suss (1940)
Slippery Everyone should view a few of the Nazi propaganda films before they die. Nazis were not the ones who committed the atrocities, rather it was the mass of Germans. Whether they were manipulated or what we see as manipulative devices (like this film) is a matter for learned speculation. But there is no denying… Continue reading Jud Suss (1940)