ulicknormanowen Reviews

Deserted (I) (2016)

Inferno

[23 May 2024]

The cinematography is splendid indeed ,enhancing magnificent but hostile landscape;the soundtrack for once fits the pictures,including such luminaries as Tom Waits whose tired hoarse voice works wonders .

As for the characters,they are clichés ,like in all the "survival movies" ,so fashionable ,mainly at sea when the heroes are lost in the middle of the ocean ; but no killer, no loony peasants,no trained former marines , just ordinary people who have to fight against the elements .I remember being once in this place ,and the temperature was "hotter than July' ,I was not able to stand it ;they say that at night ,it becomes icy but I did not probe it. It's unlikely that these people can survive several days without gallons of water ; even the old "inferno" in which Robert Ryan with a broken leg was crawling across the desert was more credible,

See it for the cinematography ,it deserves it.

A Man and His Woman (1934)

Can money buy me love?

[23 May 2024]

Papon, a brave civil servant learns one day that his wife Jeannette, whom he adores, is cheating on him. He pretends to ignore everything and goes into business. Papon becomes very rich and thinks in this way of winning back Jeannette.

A fable on the well-known "money can't buy happiness " proverb ,for the denouement shows that it's not by becoming a millionaire that he will find back his beloved wife ; the title " a man of gold" is no misnomer : Harry Baur,the legendary actor, portrays a good man ,with a beautiful mind who understands that his younger wife cheats on him with a more handsome man, but in the end ,he will teach the greenhorn a lesson or two ,whithout holding him any grudge .

The rise of the modest civil servant whose business in chocolate trade makes him almost overnight a tycoon is not very convincing ;thus the best scene may be the moment when the businessman makes all his telephones ring by pressing a button before his impressed wife .

Guinguette (1959)

Illegal motor trade .

[22 May 2024]

Renée known as Guinguette, a former prostitute , earned enough money on the Parisian sidewalk to be able to buy her dream: an open air dance hall by the water. Her new lover, Marco, offers to use an unused adjoining barn to store used cars in which he deals. But the "opportunities" are actually stolen cars, and the charming Marco, a bad boy.

With a good cast , fine lines by Henri Jeanson, this is a nostalgic look at the guinguettes ,those open air dance halls which had begun to disappear in the late fifties ,a place depicted by the masters of the French cinema ,Jean Renoir ("une partie de campagne" ) Julien Duvivier ("la belle équipe" ) and Jacques Becker ( "casque d'or") ; Jean Delannoy is not to be mentioned in the same breath as them,but he was a solid craftsman ,as well as one of the bêtes noires of the notorious New Wavelet .

Zizi Jeanmaire ,essentially a dancer , is not exactly the character (the Arletty of the late fifties nohow) but she manages quite well ;the stand out is definitely Paul Meurisse who blows everyone off the screen every time he comes up ;on the other hand ,Italian B movie starlet Cristina Gaioni puts on her Brigitte Bardot act ,but only BB is BB, and her exaggerated swagger makes her a caricature of a nymphomaniac ;too bad for her character is not unlike Danielle Delorme's in Duvivier's highly superior "voici le temps des assassins " (1956) the best scenes of which took place in a guinguette too ; she's a sex kitten ,but she's pure evil too :don't we learn that her grandma's fall in the stairs was perhaps not an accident?

Half comedy and half drama ,it's certainly watchable even though the guinguettes have become a thing of the past.

C'est arrivé à Aden... (1956)

Who sows the wind will reap the whirlwind

[20 May 2024]

A French traveling theater troupe finds itself stranded in Aden during a foreign tour. The officers of the English garrison take the opportunity to woo the three stars who have landed in their city and Albine, the young first, becomes Captain Burton's mistress. In the meantime, and on the very day of the performance given by the troupe, the Prince of Khamarkhar arrived in Aden to sign a treaty with England. He attends the performance and appreciates everything...

Michel Boisrond 's works do not go in history ; the most watchable flicks remain his fifties comedies , "le chemin des écoliers" "cette sacrée gamine" or "un soir sur la plage " an intriguing thriller;afterward ,he would keep up with the fashions : yeah-yeah generation, spy thrillers , bourgeois sex liberation, even hateful male chauvinism .

I was expecting the worst from this exotic comedy ; much to my surprise, it's an enjoyable comedy thanks to a seasoned actors ;some kind of "Viva Maria" of the fifties , it's full of riotously funny scenes , of unexpected twists.

The way they butcher Shakepeare's "Othello" ,including extra -lines and the intrusive dog is just a joy ; the three unconscious soldiers who take the actresses to a picnic in a particularly dangerous valley are a poor man's Hathaway's Bengal lancers ; the commander of the garrison insists that scandal be avoided , assisted by a holier-than -thou minister with two twin nieces in tow , one of whom will be " dishonored ". The prince falls for charming actress Dany Robin but as far as the treaty is concerned ,he wonders how a woman (Queen Victoria!) can take an interest in politics.

A great cast and a good time is guaranteed for all!

Serge Panine (1939)

Today ,my prince has come.

[18 May 2024]

Madame Desvarenne has two daughters, Micheline and Jeanne, her adopted daughter who fell in love with Prince Serge Panine. An unscrupulous adventurer, he marries Micheline for her fortune and soon reveals his true nature...

A remake of an English silent movie (1915) ,the plot is more or less the same. Film which would take place in Russia were trendy in French thirties. Russia comes home here in sthe shape of a fake prince played by a real aristocrat He was a member of the princely Trubetskoy family, son of Prince Nikolai Nikolaievich Troubetzkoy (1867-1949) ; he was driven away from his land by the 1917 Revolution and would live in America .

So who could be better than.an authentic highness to portray a handsome prince? Youcca Troubetzkoy remained unknown in France ,in spite of this melodrama ,but the cast was not: Françoise Rosay ,Pierre Renoir and Sylvia Bataille were household names over here .Thanks to them , the film displays some charm ; even the would be prince short of the readies ,who even sings a song in Russian, has enough charisma to win over a mom and both her daughters ,even though their attitude takes naiveté to new limits ; it a bit unlikely for a bossy businesswoman who rules over the family should accept so easily a fortune-hunter as her son-in-law.

A womanizer who cheats on his wife ,who woos an adventuress who married a wealthy American who could be her grandfather (third marriage) , who gambles the family dough away ,who forms an association with a crook ......And yet ,his wife still loves him .Mom will have to take emergency action .

One Foot in Hell (1960)

Hell is other people.

[8/10 · 17 May 2024]

The evolution of the main character is amazing as the movie progresses : in the first sequences ,he's a good father whose pregnant wife dies because of the unseemly intervention of people from this Yankee town ,we do feel for him and we do not expect the unenviable fate in store for his fellow men ; this once victim is driven by two rancours : the lost Civil War and mainly ,the death of his beloved wife for 1.87 measly dollars ;Alan Ladd is all the more threatening since he remains straight-faced nay meek ;his hatred for the Yankees extends to the other human beings ,to his own accomplices ,even to Julie ,the saloon gal, "a slut who could not compare with his late beloved Ellie "; in the end ,one wonders whether the 100,000 $ matter that much to him;the more the inhabitants of the town try to undo the harm they made to him (they make him their sheriff,they give him his own house) ,the more it increases his hatred .This is a cruel movie anyway: see the way they recruit a sharp shooter !and the way the sheriff does away with him!

On the other hand ,Don Murray (a personal favorite,who recently died) ,as an alcoholic ex-confederate whose land his parents sweat blood for and which was burned down by the Yankees ,has a more predictable role and he 's in it to secure a happy end ;but anyway the barfly falling with the girl with a racy past (my father used me to make money),it makes sense.

The Velvet Underground (2021)

Yesterday's parties

[9/10 · 17 May 2024]

Made by the "far from Heaven " director ,this is a very interesting doc about one of the most influential rock groups of all time (many say they are second only to the Beatles ,some say their influence was even bigger. )Each member of the group ,but Doug Yule who gets the meanest share , has a detailed portrait :John Cale ,the classical-trained musician , Lou Reed ,the magicians of words ,Sterling Mother the intellectual whose guitar parts were always relevant , Moe Tucker , the only female drummer in a pivotal group who had her own style (hear her on the live version of "ocean" ). Nico was never really part of the group ,she was imposed by Warhol because he thought that Reed was not attractive enough : she would carry on with a solo career like every member but Morrison ;her son ,she supposedly had with a French actor fleetingly appears in the rehearsals .

A kaleidoscopic movie,which sometimes makes you dizzy ,like the music of this seminal band;

Les enfants du placard (1977)

Les enfants du paradis perdu .

[17 May 2024]

The hero's situation is not unlike that of the unfortunate young man his father confined in a psychiatric hospital in Georges Franju 's "la tête contre les murs" (1959) , but it's given another treatment which is best depicted as "neo nouvelle vague meets Bresson ", a masterpiece or a big bore ,depending on which side you're on ;at the time ,the movie was highly praised by the (esssentially leftist ) critics ,and Benoit Jacquot was hailed as a director opening new horizons using the theories of Lacan .

The well-read dialog is so sophisticated that the excellent actors (Georges Marchal,Brigitte Fossey ) have rather self-conscious manners ;as for Lou Castel ,a committed actor close to the Italian communist party ,he is dubbed in French in a namby-pamby voice .

The hero's sister calls her husband by his surname and they sleep apart ;himself is broke,but does not refuse the (dirty?)money his sibling brings ;father's and hubby's business is thriving : they are supposedly helping poor people from Africa to come to their wealthy country (disguised slavery?)Of course,theres' the obligatory flashback who shows the blood ties (made with a swordstick which plays a prominent part in the story) and the brother's "crime" .

The sister (whose relationship with her brother is rather ambiguous)drives him to Laure who's supposed to study but is living off the largesse of her bourgeois parents who work abroad;this affair is totally devoid of interest with lines such as " I do not know if I smoke but I'm gonna buy cigarettes " or " there're no cigarettes;they're on strike" what do you suppose thet politically means?

If you want to spend 105 minutes watching people contemplate their navel,it's up to you.

Impasse des vertus (1955)

Virtue is always rewarded .

[15 May 2024]

Young Monique leaves the preventorium where Doctor Delaunay lovingly treated her. Painful return. Her mother Denise lives with a disreputable hunk, Eugène, who is easily taken care of and, on occasion, would not hesitate to steal. He circles around Monique, excited by her freshness,and every five minutes , tries to have sex with the virtuous young girl.

One does not make movies like this one anymore ,and I'd add fortunately ; after a ridiculous warning which tells us that ,in the end , good people are right , one knows which lies in store:as soon as a character appears , one knows which role he will play in this obsolete melodrama : the mother who thinks she's still attractive, the good doctor who reappears to secure the expected happy end, the selfish greedy hunk, the pure virgin, the good family friend ,the evil genius who urges the hunk to become part of jewellers stealers ,the children who pretend they are cops,all are stereotypes.

Too bad for the cast :they are more estimable than the characters they portray Christian Marquand ( here spellt Marquant ) was a handsome actor and an occasional director -"Candy " starring Burton and Brando ; Isabelle Pia showed she was able to play a much more ambiguous character in Duvivier's "Marianne de ma jeunesse"; and Raymond Bussières was a nice fellow.

Clenched Fist (2023)

My father the killer

[15 May 2024]

Lucien, a young boy who lives retired with his mother Cécile and his older brother in a village in the Ardennes, carries a heavy secret, he avoids contact as much as questions. However, he gets closer to Freddy, the father of Lies, his only friend, and spends his time in his modest sawmill. But when Lucien's grandmother dies and his father is granted release from prison to attend the funeral, everything changes.

The subject of the child killer has often been treated;but none of the previous films thoroughly focused on his family , the insults ,the threatens ,even the cruelty -they hang their dog - they endure, all the harassment they have to cope with from the populace ;One of the members of the family ,Lucien ,11, finds it hard to live in this menacing atmosphere. At school, he does not find support and comfort ,he's the killer's son...

Seeing his father in tears, handcuffed and protected from popular fury by an impressive police deployment upsets Lucien. Against the advice of those around him, Lucien wants to see his father again. .. His older brother disapproves of his decision ;actually there's a wall betweeen them :the only moment when the boys hug is when they discover their ill-fated pet ; of his father and of his crimes ,we know almost nothing : the boy may have a vision of this horror in a gripping nightmare scene -is it only a nightmare or did it actually happen ?-

The father desperately tries to relate to this only human being who seems to care for him ;but entering a place where you are searched as though you were entering a plane in an airport is not pleasant for a 11 -year-old kid ; and of course ,there's always a third person (a psychiatrist) who attends the meeting.

No easy way out, no facile redemption ,this movie is unforgiving , harsh ,desperate ;lucien 's sad face will haunt you long after watching this work.

L'homme de ma vie (1952)

Home coming.

[14 May 2024]

Madeleine, a former prostitute, joyfully awaits the return of her daughter, Suzanne, whom she had placed in a wealthy school. Suzanne, haughty and quite contemptuous, is greatly disappointed when she notices that her mother is of modest means. Suzanne tells Alberto, the man who promised her marriage, about her mother's situation.

By and large ,it will remind you of Marcel Carné 's "Jenny"(1936) ,but the ending is more tragic. Guy Lefranc's directing is flat and uncreative ,but it's a gripping melodrama ,from start to finish. How come? It must be Henri Jeanson ,one of the greatest writer France had ever had , whose lines always hit home ; often caustic, bitter ,cynical , they fit like a glove a story where everybody lies .

It must be the cast : the old school meets the pre-NV one for the best ; Madeleine Robinson is as brilliant as ever : a mother who bled herself dry so that her belover daughter (born out of wedlock) can be carefully taught and educated ;matching her every step of the way is Jeanne Moreau (whose career began long before the notorious NV: see "meurtres" ,the first French movie with includes euthanasia)in her part of a haughty despising cold daughter who thinks her mom's place is nothing by a dump,nothing to do with the chic school where she was brought up ;and great support comes from the third lady , played by excellent Jane Marken ,a former prostitute too , the mother treats like a friend, but is nothing but a servant for the young girl.

Henri Vilbert dominates the male cast ,as Madeleine 's crude former lover and Suzanne's father who makes her the "manager" of his crummy movie theater (the staff includes his shrew of a wife and a moronic son);Gianny Musi as the rich kid ,who wants to use the ill-fated Suzanne as a sex object is not on a par with the others and is perhaps too bland for this kind of part.

Tragedy will have to strike before Suzanne calls Madeleine ,at last ,"mommy ".

Pendulum (1969)

It always swings between right and wrong

[13 May 2024]

A very good thriller ,rather simple,but this is the kind of simplicity we are in need of today ,when screenplays are complicated instead of complex ; the principal, played by talented George Peppard ,is an ambiguous character ,not really black or white ,but rather gray ,for his methods of questioning -we don't attend - can easily be called into question;on the other hand, his wife 's role is not developed enough and at the time some critics complain that she should disappear so early in the film ( coincidence ,Seberg's premature death in real life has remained mysterious ,because of her political commitment ,she had become a Joan of Arc of sorts ,a figure she portrayed for Preminger )It's possible she disapproves of her husband's brutality but she has too little time on the screen .The title is well chosen and besides the thriller ,the film has a welcome reflection on justice which is still relevant today ( see the remarks of the judge when he dismisses the case for lack of evidence .)

The lousy house of the suspect's mom and her relationship with her mentally-ill son has a Tennessee Williams touch ,reinforced by the fact that Madeleine Sherwood notably played the part of Mae in Brooks's "cat on a hot tin roof" .

Even though you easily guess the whodunit , the movie sustains interest throughout.

Dernier été (1981)

Suddenly last Summer

[13 May 2024]

Factories will close and the workers' future is uncertain. In the meantime, Gilbert does odd jobs at the port and meets his friends at the Estaque bar: Le Mute, imperturbable, Banane the painter who is always off work, Boule, Gilbert's brother, the most fragile, aware, however, that he risks ending up in "Baumettes"jail , and then Mario, the trucker who hesitates between his family and his friends.

By several respects ,Robert Guédiguian works like John Cassavetes used to do:like him ,he has his own actors (including his wife Ascaride) he uses in every movie ,but his approach is less oblique than that of the American director.

This is his first effort,and like "ki lo sa " and "Dieu vomit les tièdes ",probably his least accessible. Hailed as "regional" cinema -in a sense Pagnol's was,but the artists 'work cannot be compared -,this debut is a chronicle of the life of workers on the dole ,with the exception of Mario who's a married man with child trucker but feels that time of his youth is passing him by and longs for the time he used to spend with his buddies; buddies who drag out an uncertain existence in the cafés where they wash their ennui down with pastis 51 and pernod 45; little by little, theit mild rebellion against society becomes more and more risqué: they don't pay their bills in cafés and cheap restaurants,steal cars ,and even try robbery; for one of them ,it will be "le dernier été " (the last Summer)

Gérard Meylan and Ariane Ascaride -who has a small supporting part here but would become the principal in works to come - are part of Guédiguian's cinema company ; this director's work deals with working people, and his filmography ,does not lack in unity or cohesion ;in 2024, he remains one of the most important French metteur en scène .

Women Are Talkative (1958)

Women will talk

[11 May 2024]

Nicole shares her heart between her husband, Christian, and her childhood friend, Alexandre. To silence the chatterboxes, she pushes him to marry a little provincial woman whose influence on him she does not fear. But through contact with Parisian life, the young bride blossoms and awakens Alexandre's love at the same time as Nicole's jealousy.

A harmless comedy involving misunderstandings in the tradition of the French "théâtre de boulevard" ;there's too much filler (songs -"ami-ami" -dancing, fairground, honeymoon) in the middle of the movie ; the funniest scenes belong to Micheline Presles and to Marthe Mercadier ,as her so-called friend fond of gossips ;men are generally unobtrusive;hence the title :"women are a great laugh ";

La planète des singes, une odyssée de l'espèce (2024 TV Movie)

A species odyssey:Pierre Boulle's "la planète des singes"

[11 May 2024]

A doc about the ape saga made in France ?As Roddy McDowall says ,trying to sound French ,it was based on a novel written by "Pierre Boulle ", this novelist had also provided a blockbuster "bridge on the river Kwaï"

It all began in France,with Boulle's 1963 book "la planète des singes" ;To think that he was not even credited in the last franchise! Interviews of the writer are included: he tells that he had his doubts about a movie:" it would be ridiculous" :with the staggering exception of "King Kong ",all the movies starring apes were ridiculed .

The doc focuses on Schaffner 's movie which,in spite of the modern technology and spectacular pictures of Ceasar's saga ,has remained the very best to date :its extraordinary finale scene (with which the doc begins),which was inspired by Rod Sterling 's "the twilight zone" has no contender in the field .Its comments on the contemporary human society ,although disguised, were harsh ,and Sammy Davis jr declared it was the best anti-racist allegory he had ever seen.

It spawned four sequels ,all mentioned in the doc :apart from Heston ,the movie enhanced the couple of chimpanzees Zira and Cornelius ;the third segment "escape from......." displays some feminism "he speaks when I allow him to " ; Kim Hunter talks about claustrophobia when "we were imprisoned in our masks ,not to damage the make-up we had to look at ourselves in a mirror when we were eating. Both she and mcDowall became overnight sensations and were guest stars on Tv shows (extracts of Carol Burnett show)

It was ,before "star wars" and "star trek" the fisrt sci-fi franchise ; a tV miniseries was made ,comics appear,along derivatives .

Tim Burton wanted something different and he only partially succeeded :his "stunning ending" (shown in the doc) is actually a variation on Pierre Boulle's ending -who has another unexpected twist afterward :do read it!-Critics were mixed ,in spite of Burton's desire to create a true villain among the apes (played by Tim Roth )

And it was not over,by a long shot ; technology and computerized pictures had opened new horizons : resuming the story with Ceasar -Zira's and cornelius' son - , it told his story in the way both last episodes of the first saga were not able to; Andy Serkis ' performance is praised ,for he's got only his eyes to express his feelings ; he leads his people to the promise land ,as Mosis did (full circle as Heston did it too )

The director is in awe of the way the movies parallel the history of the last fifty years (he notably points out that the epidemy of the 2014 movie was premonitory)

To be continued :at my time of writing the new ape episode is released.

John Lennon: Murder Without a Trial (2023)

Half a century later

[8/10 · 10 May 2024]

There were so many books written about Lennon that the average fan will not learn much ;even the subject of a political murder was mooted shortly after the tragedy : Fenton Bressler ,a practising barrister ,even released "the murder of John Lennon" in 1989.

But Lennon buffs should not miss this three-episode miniseries : the main interest is to have gathered all the main witnesses and to have them search their memories and tell how the tragedy occured : the concierge of the Dakota, the taxi driver, the policeman who arrived first on the place, the doctor who tried to save the singer , a nurse and producer Jack Douglas (I had never seen the scene when he and his wife try to enter the hospital ) Much time is given over to mourning of the fans , the murderer's wife and the famous "catcher in the rye" ; as for the slayer ,his motive was probably to attract the attention ,like the murder attempt on Ronald Reagan mentioned here. Lennon remains,along McCartney ,my favorite rock artist.

L'enfant du paradis (2022)

The child of the paradise

[10 May 2024]

After crossing the desert in his career as an actor, Yazid finally sees the end of the tunnel. Sober for six months, he wants to prove to Garance, his new fiancée, and to Hassan, his 16-year-old son, that he is now a different man. But in a few days, his old demons resurface and with them the memories of his childhood in Algeria...

Putting the name of a great French classic in the singular is not gratuitous : the name of the fiancée is Garance (Arletty's role) and Yazid's wedding is not sure at all ; they do not share the same culture even though they are both comedians ;if one attends a dinner in Garance's parents' place , the girl reproaches her love for not introducing her into his own family ; but his situation is complex :he's divorced and he's already got a teenage son with whom he cannot really relate to -remember that in "les enfants du paradis" Baptiste was married with a child too- ;his conversation with his sister begins in a fraternal way but ends up with harsh insults .Besides ,as they are both actors ,Yazid and Garance blend real life with shooting and rehearsals .

Yet,the memories of the past ( which look like old super 8 movies ) are confused and do not bring anything convincing ;besides ,the ending is borrowed from Dino Risi's "il sorpasso " (1962) and arguably many others .

Even though his career seems in healthier shape than it had in months (he used to be a junkie) one feels that it is doomed and resuming it is vain ;tonight's the night?

Three Cases of Murder (1954)

Art ,black-outs and politicians .

[8/10 · 9 May 2024]

This is an excellent eerie movie made out of three sketches .

By and large,the first segment is considered the best : the characters are odd and slightly threatening ; without the special effects which mar so many fantasy and horror movies of today , the director creates a non-Euclidian geometry , plane and solid geometry ; a variation on Wilde's "picture of Dorian Gray", it thoroughly renews it ;when you enter a picture ,you do it at your own risk: let there be light because it's so dark inside!

The second sketch could have been a "Hitchcock presents " short for it is primarily a murder mystery with a twist,even though the final picture comes as an anti-climax after a very good suspense ; two guys ,one has all the lucks ,his mate begins to think he is a failure till he meets a woman who can make a difference ;but he'll have his would be friend to reckon with.

The third sketch which features the great Orson Welles may be looked upon as a spoof on politicians and their fine talks which won't make any difference ; it's also a variation on the guilty conscience ,like in Poe's "William Wilson ".

All in all , it's very good stuff for horror buffs of yore.

The Heart's Cry (1994)

There are no hyenas in France, kid!

[9 May 2024]

There's a huge gap between the village where the inhabitants gather around the mailman who calls them one by one when he's got a letter for them; it's a lucky day for Saffi and her son Moctar: her husband sends for them and the way to france is wide open ;after five years of sacrifices ,he now owns a garage and is part of the well-assimilated populations ;on the other hand the French couple ,Paulo (Richard Bohringer) and Deborah,(Clementine Célarié ) looks like dropouts ,particularly the man who makes friends with the young Moctar .

In spite of good intentions, the vision of the director may seem naive , nay idealistic : the problems of integration into a new world,a new climate and a new culture are represented by Moctar's hallucinations: a threatening hyena who prowls around him : this simplistic symbolism is not very convincing ;neither is the way Paulo "cures" him .The death of the granddaddy ,a wise man but also a chain smoker ,is predictable ,and is supposed to clinch the boy's fear of this new world .

Forget the social concers;on the plus side , Paulo and Moctar's friendship is endearing;it's arguably because she hasn't got a child on her own that his wife does not approve of her man's affection for this intruder.

The Man from Colorado (1948)

The beast in me.

[8/10 · 8 May 2024]

A good psychological western,featuring one of Glenn Ford's best performances : if looks could kill,his certainly would ;and kill he does,and since the first sequence ,when the Civil War has just come to an end , he pretends he did not see the last confederates ' white flag and ordered to shoot them all ;and the viewer knows from the start he is mentally disturbed : he writes a diary in which he confesses he knows he 's insane and cannot control the beast in him. During the sequences of the great fire,he really looks like a devil out of Hell,with fiery eyes .

There's also an interesting look at the fate of the men who gave the best years of their lives in the Civil War and found themself despoiled of their lands by a wealthy man who did not fight but shrewdly used the power of law, supported (reluctantly ?) by commander-turned judge Ford .Holden plays one of his former officers ,who 's now the town marshall , and eventually rebels against him and becomes a righter of wrongs ;there also a love rivalry for a beautiful lady : this female character is the deus ex machina who discovers the secret diary.

Tombé du ciel (1946)

This baby got them all on a string;

[8 May 2024]

Of Pole origin, Emile Reinert made only one movie worthy of looking for:"quai de Grenelle" ,a curious story of paranoia ,also dealing with the ill-fated power of the press,one of Henri Vidal's best parts.

"Tombé du ciel" is horse of a different color,for ,as Guy Bellinger's accurate summary reads ,it's an anodyne comedy revolving around a war widow's baby ; as two characters are a chanteuse and a musician in a "jazz" orchestra , musical acts are to be found all along the movue. The best moment happens when Dauphin soothes the baby by singing him a charming ditty "par le bout du nez" (=got him on a string).

Dauphin has plenty of pep and makes this harmless comedy watchable.

Le dernier baiser (1977)

40 < 20+20

[8 May 2024]

A feminist movie,which could have been the French "Thelma and Louise " long before that latter movie happened , but does not make it as a whole ; Annie Girardot was one of the best French actresses of all time and Maria Pacôme was second only to Jacqueline Maillan on stage ; this could have been a winning team,but for lack of good directing, which leaves the stars to their own devices ,they sometimes ham it up ,which excessive close ups do not help. Bernard Fresson , then Girardot's real- life partner , ironically plays Pacôme 's fickle husband , and makes his only scene counts -this excellent actor was too often relegated to supporting parts .

A taxi driver ,whom dear hubby ditched with a laconic letter ,decides she would take only women in her taxi ;she meets a bourgeois lady who suffered the same fate :her wealthy husband left her for a younger blonde ("men will always prefer two twenty-year old girls to a wife in her forties " , says the taxi driver)

So the prole and the bourgeois join forces to fight the male selfishness ; they decide to follow the fickle husband , a businessman ,and it gives the movie its best scenes ,but they are few and far between : the hubby, suffering sciatica much to his wife 's delight ("you too are not new anymore") ; the phone call in German which Girardot thwarts ; the discovery that the husband's new flame is not a blonde bimbo but a piano virtuoso ("she ain't Rachmaninov "the scowling faithful wife grumbles ") and the moving Girardot/Fresson "love" scene.

On the other hand ,too much filler, a tendency to overact by both actresses, the radio contest which comes at the most awkward moment and the final which should have been nastier .

Serge Lama wrote the words and sang the eponymous song heard in the movie.

Twilight of Honor (1963)

What lies beneath.

[12 April 2024]

This is an interesting thriller , notable for one of the last appearances by Claude Rains , as an aging ailing attorney who comes to the rescue of youthful colleague Chamberlain. This is quite derivative , "autopsy of a murder " all over again...The brilliant young lawman has become a cliché. But Rains can survive a cardboard role.

On the other hand ,the supporting characters are more absorbing :Ben, the brave soldier , who appears first as a crude brute with a whole town against him ; little,by little,the viewer sides with him ,this man who has got a raw deal and who is overtaken by events; his wife is a nymphomaniac ,who recalls Dorothy Malone in " written on the wind" .Cole and Amy Clinton make an odd couple , the former first hailed as the beloved citizen before one reveals his true colors ; the character of the wife should have been more developed , being more ambiguous and interesting than the female lead , just in it to secure a happy end.

Foolish Husbands (1941)

Just for a laugh!

[12 April 2024]

A woman thinks that her husband is not jealous enough and puts him to the test by diappearing with clueless Achilles who woos her; his best friend has an affair with a married woman .The victim and the sinner .

A pleasant harmless comedy , it's "just for a laugh" (the meaning of the title) ; can manly friendship survive the numerous problems with women? Well acted by Micheline Presles ,Fernand Gravey ,Pierre Renoir and Marie Déa,but a lot of filler (music hall scenes)

L'Herbier 's follow-ups ("la nuit fantastique" with the Gravey /Presles couple again and "l'honorable Catherine" )during the occupation ,were highly superior to this théâtre de boulevard .

Seven Ways from Sundown (1960)

A nice pair.

[10 April 2024]

A little western ,definitely off the beaten track ; a ranger/outlaw relationship you do not see every day;when one first meets the renegade ,he's taking with a brat,near the water ;theIr conversation deals with the sturgeons,that provide the European crowned heads with caviar .Later ,the prisoner and his escort does not really act as you expect ; "Seven Ways of Sundown " (youthful Murphy)has probably never got over his big brother 's loss and is looking for a replacement ;his prisoner is a bon vivant , who tries to strike up a friendship with the ranger :together,they would almost rule the world ,should one believe him .

Although we guess very soon who's responsible for the death of the brother, the ranger/prisoner relationship is not derivative ,it's really endearing.