In Appreciation: The Bad Seed (1956)

This is one of the films that I saw as a kid, and it kept me up all night. The film's premise, which was also the basis for the book and hit Broadway show, is irresistible: Can a person inherit "the bad seed?"  Even worse, can a sweet 8-year-old be a cold blooded killer?

Rhoda Penmark (Patty McCormack) is a well-mannered 8-year-old little lady - and an efficient, unfeeling killer. And in this spellbinding chronicle of evil, whatever Rhoda wants, she ruthlessly gets. When Christine (Nancy Kelly), her mother, discovers the daughter's penchant for homicide, she is heartrendingly torn between the love for the child she bore and grief for Rhoda's victims.

The Bad Seed ticks like a time bomb under the skillful direction of Mervyn LeRoy, who cast several Broadway production originals, including Kelly (recreating the role that won her a Tony), McCormack and Eileen Heckart. Their performances captured three of this four Academy Award nominations--and make this thriller one of the great ones.

One regrettable side note: the Hays Code forbid movies at the time to let the villian get away with murder. In both the book and the play, Rhoda gets away with her evil deeds. In the film version, she is conviently punished (we won't ruin it and say how). A small quibble for an otherwise truly creepy work of art.

 

For more info on The Bad Seed on Blu-Ray,click on this:

Ten Movies From The Year: 1955

This is a new column in which I'll pick a random year and we'll go back to look at ten classics that were released during that time. First up: Grab your Davy Crockett coonskin caps, and head down into the bomb cellar. The year is 1955:

1. Rebel Without a Cause--James Dean. Teenage rebellion. Do I have to say more?

     2. The Night of the Hunter--A massive failure upon its release. This was Charles Laughton's only directorial effort--but what a one-hit wonder. Robert Mitchum had one of his most terrifying roles as a fake preacher willing to kill his two stepchildren to get ahold of $10,000 in hidden loot.

     3. Lady and the Tramp--Classic Disney, and marvelous Peggy Lee songs.

     4. Marty--Classic "kitchen sink" drama that ushered in an era of personal, smaller dramas. Ernest Borgnine won an Oscar as a 34-year-old butcher, unmarried and lonely.

     5. East of Eden--James Dean again. More family angst, this time from director Elia Kazan. Two brothers, one loved by his father, the other shunned. And Mom's nowhere to be found: she's too busy running a brothel.

     6. All That Heaven Allows--Director Douglas Sirk was the master of the "women's film." His works were woefully overlooked until the '70s; not only are they entertaining but provide great insight into the social classes of the time. Jane Wyman and Rock Hudson, fresh from Sirk's hit Magnificent Obsession, play a wealthy widow who falls in love with a much younger landscaper. (Yes it's as campy as it sounds, but it still works.)

     7. Bad Day at Black Rock--One of Spencer Tracy's best films. He's a stranger pulling into town to give a Japanese farmer his son's war medal. But the townspeople do everything to discourage him. What are they hiding?

     8. The Seven-Year Itch--Tom Ewell's wife is away, and he's tempted by his new neighbor--Marilyn Monroe. The film where she stands over the grate and the air blows her skirt up...way up. Down boy.

     9. Guys and Dolls--Producer Samuel Goldwyn almost chocked on his cigar when he had to pay $1,000,000 for the rights to the musical. How did he insure his investment? By giving the plum role of gambler Nathan Detroit to Marlon Brando. And as the Salvation Army soldier he falls for? Jean Simmons.

    10. It's Always Fair Weather--The M-G-M musical turned around on it cynical ear. Three GI's make a pact to meet ten years later and compare notes. Needless to say, life hasn't treated them well. How well acted was this musical? It stars Gene Kelly...but his co-star Dan Dailey won an Oscar nomination for Best Actor!

For more on East of Eden on DVD, click here:

Our Salute to Character Actors: Josephine Hull

One of the rare character actresses that had a brilliant career on both stage and screen, Josephine Hull (1883-1957) was one of those sweet "little old lady" types--but her characters always had a bite and panache. Hull is best known as one of the murderous aunties in the film version of  Arsenic and Old Lace (1944). She later won a Supporting Actress Oscar as Veta, the slightly balmy aunt who tries to have James Stewart committed in Harvey (1950).

Hull only had six film roles in her career, but she made them count. An accomplished Broadway actress, she first earned critical acclaim in George Kelly's Pulitzer Prize-winner Craig's Wife. A 25+ year career on stage followed, including three massive hits: You Can't Take It With You, Arsenic and Old Lace, and Harvey. For the latter two she recreated her stage role in the film versions.

As one of the daffy aunts who murders their visitors with poisoned elderberry wine, Hull was a master of comic expression in Arsenic and Old Lace. It's worth revisiting this film just to see the look on Cary Grant's face as she describes how peacefully the gentleman callers die after just a sip of wine.


She was a virtuoso standout in Harvey. James Stewart felt that Hull had the most demanding role, because while Elwood P. Dowd always believed in the six foot tall rabbit, Hull's character vascillated into not believing and later believing in Harvey. Variety described her performance as "immense, socking the comedy for every bit it's worth."


Josephine Hull was one-of-a-kind. Rent Arsenic and Old Lace or Harvey (scheduled for a Blu-Ray release later this year) and discover why.


To order Harvey [Blu-ray + DVD + Digital Copy] (Universal's 100th Anniversary), click here:

Reel Facts: Film Quiz #1

For those of you who like a challenge, I thought a little trivia was in order. The featured films range from the 1930s to the early ‘70s.  Put on your thinking caps and head back into Hollywood’s past…answers in a few days. Good luck!

1. Who was the first actress to win three Oscars in three different decades?

2. In the classic comedy Bringing Up Baby, both Cary Grant and Katherine Hepburn are looking for Baby. Who is Baby?

3.  “A scavenger hunt is just like a treasure hunt, except in a treasure hunt you find something of value, and in a scavenger hunt, you find things you don't want and the one who wins gets a prize, only there really isn't any prize. It's just the honor of winning because all the money goes to charity, if there's any money left over, but there never is.” Who said it, and from what 1930s film does it come from?

4. Frank Sinatra, John Wayne, and Paul Newman all rejected the same famous detective role. Which one?

5. “A love caught in the fire of revolution” was the tagline for what epic 1960s movie?

6. What two actors have won Oscars for playing the same character?

7. In what film does Elizabeth Taylor admit the following: “Oh Mama, face it. I was the slut of all time.”

8. What 1960s film has Barbara Stanwyck playing a lesbian madam  in  love with one of the new girls?

For another clue you can click on this link:

http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?lt1=_blank&bc1=000000&IS2=1&bg1=FFFFFF&fc1=000000&lc1=0000FF&t=reelclas02-20&o=1&p=8&l=as4&m=amazon&f=ifr&ref=ss_til&asins=B000127Z6O"

In Appreciation: Cabaret (1972)

For all of the talk about Chicago revitaling the musical genre, one film managed to do the same in 1972--Bob Fosse's groundbreaking musical Cabaret.

This 1972 classic opened up the story from the bare bones of the Kit Kat Club. And while the movie is ostensibly about the failed love affair between cabaret singer Sally Bowes (Liza Minnelli) and Brian Roberts (Michael York), Fosse took full advantage of the setting--1931 Berlin during the growth of the National Socialist Party. The musical's most chilling number? At a beer garden, a young boy sings "Tomorrow Belongs To Me." As the camera pulls back, it is revealed that the boy is wearing the brown Nazi uniform, as he lifts his hand in a Nazi salute.

Cabaret was unique for another reason--no one just opened up and started singing in the middle of a scene. Only Sally Bowles and the Emcee (Oscar winner Joel Grey) sing, and only on the stage of the Kit Kat Club. The music, by Kander and Ebb, is totally organic to the plot of the film.

Amazingly, Cabaret was released the same year as another groundbreaker, The Godfather. And although The Godfather won Best Picture, Bob Fosse won the Best Director Oscar over Francis Ford Coppola. (Don't worry--Coppola actually won it for a film that deserved it--the sequel The Godfather Part II.)

Cabaret was restored for a showing at the TCM Film Festival this week in Los Angeles. Liza Minnelli and Joel Grey appeared to answer questions after the show. Let's hope a Blu-Ray edition isn't far behind.

To purchase Cabaret on DVD, please click on this link:
http://www.amazon.com/mn/search/?_encoding=UTF8&tag=reelclas02-20&linkCode=ur2&camp=1789&creative=390957&field-keywords=cabaret&url=search-alias%3Dmovies-tv">Name

Universal Classics: The Sting (1973)

As part of its 100th anniversary celebration, Universal Studios is releasing a series of their iconic films on DVD and Blu-Ray. To Kill A Mockingbird was last month, and The Sting is coming up in June.

Now the Academy will only give a Best Picture Oscar to "serious" (i.e. dramatic, epic) movies, but The Sting was so popular it was nominated for ten Oscars and won seven. New Yorker magazine film critic Pauline Kael damn near had a cow on its release: "What is this film about?" she wailed.

Kael simply didn't get it. I could give you the standard answer: it's about two professional grifters trying to swindle a huge amount of money from another con-artist.

What's it really all about? Classic Hollywood filmmaking. And stars. Real stars.

The film reunited director George Roy Hill with Paul Newman and Robert Redford. They had collaborated in 1969 on Butch Cassidy & The Sundance Kid. The music is an evocative pastiche of ragtime and '30s jazz, tweaked to perfection by Marvin Hamlisch. (The soundtrack was one of the top sellers of all time.) Add Robert Shaw as the gangster getting grifted and a charming group of character actors in supporting roles (Ray Walston, Charles Durning, Eileen Brennan). Throw in one of the greatest poker-game sequences ever filmed, and you have a classic that stands up today. The Sting puts 99% of what's out there to shame.

Like any classic film, The Sting has dozens of fascinating behind-the-scenes stories. The toughest role to cast was that of gangster Doyle Lonnegan, performed to the hilt by Robert Shaw (Jaws). No actor in Hollywood wanted to be the bad guy versus Newman and Redford, so  Paul Newman hand delivered the script to Shaw (in London) in order to ensure his participation. Shaw missed out on a Supporting Actor nomination because he insisted on getting top billing with Newman and Redford.

Years later, director Rob Cohen (The Fast and the Furious) revealed that he was hired as a script reader by future studio head Mike Medavoy. Cohen was slogging his way through the "slush" pile of scripts when he read a real page-turner with a great set of twists in it. He convinced Medavoy to take the script to a studio. "It's that good?" Medavoy asked. Cohen said yes. "I'm going to fire you if I can't sell it," was Medavoy's response.

He sold the script of The Sting to Universal that same day.

To purchase The Sting on Blu-Ray in June, click on this link:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B007N31ZBU/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=reelclas02-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B007N31ZBU

In Appreciation: Sudden Fear (1952)

There was one kind of "film noir": stark black & white images; a man on the run; the girl that got him in trouble; smoke-filled rooms and backroom deals. Sometimes the hero came out of it alright. Sometimes he wound up dead in the last reel.

But there was another element in film noir. Let's call it: The Damsel In Distress. A beautiful woman, in over her head. Frequently, these films were in color, adding to the rich psychological palate of the genre. Sometimes these films veered close to camp, but they all emerged with their thrills and dignity intact. Mildred Pierce is a great example. The film opens up with a murder, and a confession from the leading lady. As the story progresses, we see firsthand how baking a couple of pies could get a dame into trouble.

1952's Sudden Fear is a forgotten example of this kind of film. It uses classic film noir elements to tighten the story's twists. And it has one of the nastiest villains of all time--played to menacing perfection by Jack Palance. Palance made a career out of bad guys (topped by Shane). In Sudden Fear, the way he leers into the camera makes you squirm.

The film was Joan Crawford's next-to-last great film role (Whatever Happened to Baby Jane being the last). In Fear Crawford portrays playwright Myra Hudson, who, at the opening, has just rejected Lester Blaine (Palance) for her latest stage opus. They later meet on a train to San Francisco, and fall in love.

Only after Myra marries Lester does she realize what a rat he is. He's got Irene, a dame on the side, played to icy, greedy perfection by Gloria Grahame (The Big Heat). And Lester and Irene have plans--big plans--for Myra. Unfortunately, all of them involve her death.

But all killers make mistakes. Lester and Irene plot to kill Myra, while Myra's dictation machine records every gruesome word. And the game is on...

One of the great noirish films of the '50s. Nominated for four Academy Awards: Best Actress, Best Supporting Actor, Best B&W Cinematography, Best Costume Design. Crawford knew how to play the successful woman-in-danger role to neurotic perfection.

Click on this link to purchase Sudden Fear on DVD:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00000IPHP/ref=as_li_tf_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=reelclas02-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B00000IPHP">Sudden