Preston Sturges's last feature for Paramount (1944) takes on wartime patriotism with a brio and vengeance that may take your breath away. Woodrow Lafayette Pershing Truesmith (Eddie Bracken) gets discharged from the marines due to chronic hay fever, but some service buddies decide to present him to his hometown as if he's a returning war hero. As usual, Sturges's stock company of wonderful bit actors—including William Demarest, Franklin Pangborn, Raymond Walburn, and Jimmy Conlin—is orchestrated and conducted like a pop symphony, and Ella Raines does duty as the love interest. A scathing delight.
Showing posts with label 1940-1944. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 1940-1944. Show all posts
11/16/2019
Hail The Conquering Hero (1944)
Chicago Reader critic Jonathan Rosenbaum's summary:
Preston Sturges's last feature for Paramount (1944) takes on wartime patriotism with a brio and vengeance that may take your breath away. Woodrow Lafayette Pershing Truesmith (Eddie Bracken) gets discharged from the marines due to chronic hay fever, but some service buddies decide to present him to his hometown as if he's a returning war hero. As usual, Sturges's stock company of wonderful bit actors—including William Demarest, Franklin Pangborn, Raymond Walburn, and Jimmy Conlin—is orchestrated and conducted like a pop symphony, and Ella Raines does duty as the love interest. A scathing delight.
A movie that is now 75 years old, I really found this to be a good satire about lauding a wartime hero. The movie is rather sentimental but it's amusing to see everyone in this town praise this guy who doesn't deserve any of it. One of the biggest problems I have with it is the frequent utterance of the word "Jap" that bothered me. I know it was common for films of that era to use that term but it's really cringe inducing to hear today. Sturges was so prophetic and forward-thinking in many of his scripts but it's unfortunate that those slurs were left in for all time.
Preston Sturges's last feature for Paramount (1944) takes on wartime patriotism with a brio and vengeance that may take your breath away. Woodrow Lafayette Pershing Truesmith (Eddie Bracken) gets discharged from the marines due to chronic hay fever, but some service buddies decide to present him to his hometown as if he's a returning war hero. As usual, Sturges's stock company of wonderful bit actors—including William Demarest, Franklin Pangborn, Raymond Walburn, and Jimmy Conlin—is orchestrated and conducted like a pop symphony, and Ella Raines does duty as the love interest. A scathing delight.
8/09/2016
Going My Way (1944)
Sentimental. Sappy. Syrupy. Inspiring. Happy-go-lucky. This movie can be called all of those things.Inspiring film comedy directed by Academy Award-winning director Leo McCarey ("The Awful Truth"). The theatrical trailer said it best, "For a world that needs the lift of its wonderful story": Bing Crosby plays happy-go-lucky young priest Father O'Malley, a new kid in town who comes to help out a struggling church shepherded by a curmudegionly old Father Fitzgibbon (Barry Fitzgerald), who is initially threatened O'Malley's optimism and enthusiasm. As the new priest settles into the neighborhood, he helps to reform some unruly neighborhood kids by getting them involved with the church. Proven to be a peacemaker in the community, he also helps out numerous other locals in need and also arranges a long overdue reunion between crusty Fitzgibbon and his elderly mother, in a very touching scene at the end. Academy members found it to be a sentimental favorite impossible not to love, and voted for it as the year's Best Picture, worthy of the honor in my opinion. Co-starring legendary Metropolitan Opera star Rise Stevens (in one of her only movie roles - she's wonderful) and Frank McHugh. 1944 was a great year for movies: "Laura", "Since You Went Away", "Double Indemnity". "Going My Way" should be seen at least once, along with its sequel, "The Bells of St. Mary's". Oscar trivia: Barry Fitzgerald was actually nominated twice this year for the same role: Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor! After this year, the rules were changed, and an actor could only be nominated once for a movie.
Read Becky's post on this movie at her blog Classic Film and TV Cafe.
Read Matt's review of Going My Way on his blog.
8/08/2016
His Girl Friday (1940)
Howard Hawks directs this screwball comedy with a variation on "The Front Page". Cary Cary Grant is a hardboiled Managing Editor for a city newspaper, and his star reporter is Hildy, played by Rosallind Russell. (She's also his ex-wife, and wants the quiet life with a new husband (Ralph Bellamy), but can't resist the big story, nor Grant. This clever script with overlapping dialogue and simultaneous conversations has inspired many films and TV shows. (Was one of the films screened at the Chicago Outdoor film fest in Grant Park in 2004)
7/05/2016
Citizen Kane (1941)
Orson Welles' great film about Charles Foster Kane, a wealthy media mogul who amassed fame, fortune and material goods, only to discover it failed to bring him happiness.
One of my favorite movies of all time.
With Joseph Cotton, Agnes Moorehead and Ruth Warrick as Kane's first wife.
Watched this movie in the summer of 2005 in Grant Park, Chicago.
One of my favorite movies of all time.
With Joseph Cotton, Agnes Moorehead and Ruth Warrick as Kane's first wife.
Watched this movie in the summer of 2005 in Grant Park, Chicago.
10/06/2015
Desperate Journey (1942)
I liked Alan Hale's character, a man in his 50s who dyed his hair to look younger and lied about his age so he could serve. The others tease him about being the oldest in the group and call him "grandpa".
There's a good interrogation scene with Reagan and Massey who plays a Nazi general.
Interestingly, Massey was in another movie with some similarities to this one: The 49th Parallel/The Invaders (1941) in which Nazis are stranded in Canada and Massey plays a good guy.
Directed by Raoul Walsh. Music by Max Steiner. Also with Arthur Kennedy and Nancy Coleman as a member of the German resistance. Available on DVD.
7/31/2014
Superman theatrical cartoons of the 1940s
A blog post by Leonard Maltin recently highlights an old newspaper ad from 1942 where a Superman short subject is promoted. Check it the ad here.
It's amazing to me that Superman cartoons were already being produced in Technicolor just 3 years after Superman's debut in the print comics.
I've never seen any of these theatrical Superman shorts before. But now, thanks to YouTube, they are watchable. But sadly, this episode contains some unfortunate racist stereotyping.
It's amazing to me that Superman cartoons were already being produced in Technicolor just 3 years after Superman's debut in the print comics.
I've never seen any of these theatrical Superman shorts before. But now, thanks to YouTube, they are watchable. But sadly, this episode contains some unfortunate racist stereotyping.
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In "Japoteurs", Supe saves Lois Lane from a plane piloted by Japanese saboteurs.
In "Japoteurs", Supe saves Lois Lane from a plane piloted by Japanese saboteurs.
6/14/2014
Went the Day Well? (1942)
Though not an account of any one specific event that happened during the war (the town in the film - "Bramley End" - is fictional), the film portrays what a German takeover could look like.
When you watch this movie - 70 years later - keep in mind this movie was made in 1942. Not 1948 or 1952. 1942. The opening narration is set after the war when Hitler had been defeated, says the chap. The movie was quite ahead of its time.
The first half of the movie shows us how the Germans take over the town over a period of several days in May. One of the title cards announces that one of the days is "Whit Sunday"; I had to look up what that meant because I didn't know Whit Sunday was a commemorative holiday for many in England.
There are some very emotional moments in the film. It's sad to see one of the trusted dignitaries of the village (Leslie Banks) aid the Germans, and shocking to see the town pastor get shot and killed in cold blood (in his own church on Whit Sunday, no less).
The suspense continues to build by the second half of the film when the villagers begin to fight back. Old folks, women, and children become heroes and in some cases, die fighting the enemy.
Director: Albreto Cavalcanti.
More About This Film:
LA Times Film Review, 2011
The UK Guardian Film Review, 2010
Review from the blog, The Stalking Moon, 2010
Film Review from the blog Sergio Leone and the Infield Fly Rule (2011)
Thrilling Days of Yesteryear, 2014 (review)
5/26/2014
The Cross of Lorraine (1944)
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| Jean-Pierre Aumont |
In one of my favorite films, 1953's Stalag 17, the POW character Cookie wonders why there aren't more movies about war prisoners.
Stalag 17 was set in 1944, so Cookie and his fellow barracks mates would not yet have known about 1944's The Cross of Lorraine, a great POW film that was released by MGM.
Lorraine is an unusual American production in that it's about French prisoners and stars a great French actor in the lead role, Jean-Pierre Aumont, playing a bilingual solider who reluctantly serves as a translator.
Unlike Stalag 17, there is little comedy relief in Lorraine.
Based on factual accounts, it is set in a German prison camp not far from the French border. Some of the prisoners are killed by the Germans. Some are tortured. And some hope to escape the prison and join the French Resistance.
Gene Kelly and Hume Cronyn play French soldiers. Peter Lorre is a German officer.
It is well made film, and a great tribute to the French alliance.
The Cross of Lorraine aired on Turner Classic Movies a few weeks ago, and was recently reviewed here at the blog Silver Screenings.
1/29/2013
The White Cliffs of Dover (1944)
Irene Dunne stars in this touching Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer wartime romance that was a very big hit at the box-office.
In the beginning of the film - set in early 1914 (pre-WWI)- she's on a ship with her dad on a 2-week business trip. She's quite knowledgeable about England, and is anxious to visit for the first time. On the ship, she flirts with Van Johnson, a dapper entrepreneur who wants to keep in touch with her. I thought Van would have a much larger role in the film - and in her life - but alas, it's not meant to me; his character only symbolizes what Irene will eventually be leaving behind.
In the beginning of the film - set in early 1914 (pre-WWI)- she's on a ship with her dad on a 2-week business trip. She's quite knowledgeable about England, and is anxious to visit for the first time. On the ship, she flirts with Van Johnson, a dapper entrepreneur who wants to keep in touch with her. I thought Van would have a much larger role in the film - and in her life - but alas, it's not meant to me; his character only symbolizes what Irene will eventually be leaving behind.
Frank Morgan - as her dad, an American newspaper publisher who says things like "Sufferin' cats" and "You're darn tootin'!". In one bit, he's complaining about the food. In another, he's arguing with someone about a chess set. To put it mildly, he just wants to go home. His presence brings to the film a light comedic tone; once he goes back to America - and Irene stays in England - the film's tone becomes more serious.
Romance blossoms in Irene's life when she meets a handsome aristocrat (Alan Marshal) who sweeps her off her feet. She marries him, and they have a son.
Then, WWI erupts. Her husband is called off to war. Oh, Irene.
My favorite scene is when she holds her baby up to see the parade of American soldiers march through the streets and she says to her newborn, "you're half-Yankee and I'm never going to let you forget it!"
Then, WWI erupts. Her husband is called off to war. Oh, Irene.
My favorite scene is when she holds her baby up to see the parade of American soldiers march through the streets and she says to her newborn, "you're half-Yankee and I'm never going to let you forget it!"
We then follow the family up to the present day - during the Second World War.
You'll have to see the movie to find out what happens to the family.
You'll have to see the movie to find out what happens to the family.
Directed by Clarence Brown, master of tearjerkers.
Recommended. Available on DVD.
Note: The Vera Lynn song "Bluebirds Over the White Cliffs of Dover" is not heard in this film. For those itching to hear it, I've included the song in this post here. Enjoy!
3/02/2011
So Ends Our Night (1941)
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| Glenn Ford and Margaret Sullivan |
The opening title card explains that in the present political climate, many political dissenters have been attempting to flee Nazi Germany without passports, including the characters played by Frederic March and - in one of his earliest film roles - Glenn Ford.
Erich Von Stroheim has a small but important part as a Nazi officer who interrogates March, a dissenter who refuses to answer any questions about his associates opposed to the regime. Stroheim - standing in a room with a huge Hitler poster...chilling - even asks him if he has a lover back home, and March still refuses to answer. But the truth is that March does - he's married to the love of his life - Frances Dee - whom he hasn't seen since he spent time in a concentration camp.
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| Francess Dee |
During the course of the film, young Glenn Ford meets college student Margaret Sullivan. The two of them go to the movies (I love it when characters in movies go to the movies!), fall in love, and for a time they are separated also, both facing persecution for being Jewish. We're left to wonder if the two pairs of lovers (including Frederic March & Francis Dee) will ever be reunited. I won't give it away, but what happens in the end is emotionally powerful.
The film was released in February 1941, 70 years ago
117 min. • Available to rent via NetFlix. • 1 Oscar nomination: Best Original Music Score
Directed by John Cromwell • Based on the 1939 novel "Flotsam" by Erich Maria Remarque
9/30/2010
None Shall Escape (1944)
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Marsha Hunt's character testifies
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Theatrical Release: Spring 1944 (USA)
Starring: Alexander Knox, Marsha Hunt, Henry Travers
Director: André De Toth
Oscar nomination: Best Original Story (Alfred Neumann, Joseph Than)
Filmed in 1944, this is a remarkable film about the Nazi atrocities made before WWII had even ended. The story focuses on one Nazi in particular, Alexander Knox's character, appropriately named Grimm. We first meet him as he returns home to his Polish village after WW1. Of German ancestry, he remains disillusioned about the German loss of WW1 (as many Germans did at the time) He tries to make a life for himself, but fails. Fails in relationships, in society (he is asked to leave the town after he commits an unspeakable crime). All the while he becomes more and more interested in the new movement lead by a certain Adolph Hitler.Imprisoned with Hitler after the 1923 revolution, he is one of the first to learn about Mein Kampf, and champions the politics in the book. Several years later, once Hitler rises to power, Grimm becomes a leading Nazi officer.
Though a fictional story, it is not an inaccurate representation of those who were brainwashed into the ideology of Hitler. Many others like him were looking for some kind of leadership and hope to believe in after WW1, and found it in the politics of Hitler. Of course, there were those that didn't agree with Hitler's politics, including members of Grimm's family. Eventually, Grimm is faced with the decision of sending his own family to a camp.In 1939, Grimm returns to his old Polish village, and discovers that many of his former friends are now dissidents. In the town square, breadlines are filmed for propaganda purposes; once the cameras shut down, the people are mocked, and many left unfed. And among other horrors, Grimm mandates that the women of the village be used as prostitutes for the officers, reflecting what really went on in these villages.
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| Marsha Hunt, age 92, autographed this photo for me this year |
This was one of the first movies to show a cold-blooded massacre of Jews. The disturbing scene is unlike anything you may have seen from this period.
Henry Travers plays a priest in the village, and he is good friends with the local rabbi. Both of them encourage Grimm to turn from his ways. It's a very impressive performance by Travers, especially the opening scenes where his character testifies in court at Grimm's war crimes trial.
Marsha Hunt is also very good in this film, and effective as Grimm's former fiancee. She is also one of the witnesses called to testify at the trial.
Very good makeup work in this film. Since the story spans 30 years, Knox, Travers and Hunt are all made to look younger and older than they really were.
The film ends with an urge to consider how the Nazis should be judged once the war is over (the film assumes the war will end), a fascinating concept for a picture at this time to propose, considering it was made months ahead of the Allies' landing at Normandy.
Alexander Knox is brutal and sadistic in this part of the Nazi officer, who later insists on defending himself in his trial. In these court scenes, he is defiant, and ridicules those testifying against him. These scenes reminded me of the trial of Zacarias Moussaoui a few years ago (video below). Moussaoui, a psychopathic anti-American terrorist, snickered at testimonials, and uttered the most unbelievable things such as what you see in the illustration.Over 60 years later, the world still has people with a mindset like Grimm's. The question for our generation could be, how shall we handle them?
9/19/2010
Hellzapoppin (1941)
In another funny gag, my favorite in the film, two actors are forced to pause in the middle of their scene when a surprise "announcement" summons a delinquent kid from the movie theater audience to get up, leave, and go home. I saw this in a theater screening with a crowd of people including some children, so this scene worked well.
The film is based on an interactive theatrical comedy show of the same name.
So in the movie, characters talk directly to the camera, and they are always acknowledging that they are in a motion picture.
The brainchildren of this show are a team know as Olsen and Johnson, who are best remembered for this play and film version. Also starring Martha Raye, Mischa Auer, and Shemp Howard, who plays the bumbling projectionist of the film, which explains why some scenes are out of focus at times. Very funny - you have to see it to believe it.
I don't think this is officially on DVD yet, but it really should be.
5/07/2010
Underground (1941) Directed by Vincent Sherman
The Nazis try to uncover an underground resistance movement in this 1941 thriller from legendary director Vincent Sherman, who helmed Mr. Skeffington, Old Acquaintance, Nora Prentiss, and The Young Philadelphians.
Released by Warner Brothers shortly before the US entered the war, the film opens on the Berlin city streets, where flags and banners with the Nazi swastika fly high. We see citizens discreetly exchanging information about upcoming - and highly secretive - radio broadcasts that illegally criticize Hitler and his policies and the coming danger ahead.The programs are announced by a voice of freedom, played by Philip Dorn (Random Harvest and I Remember Mama) This was one of Dorn's first English speaking films. He is great as Eric Franken, the leader of the resistance.
Eric's brother Kurt Franken (Jeffrey Lynn), on the other hand, is a Nazi. In one scene someone asks Kurt what the Nazis were trying to accomplish, and he explains "to restore Germany's place in the world...we were a weak and despised nation before, now everyone respects us. They are afraid of us", much to the chagrin of the rest of his family, including his father, a German veteran of WWI opposed to Nazism. In a very good dinner table scene, reminiscent of MGM's The Mortal Storm, the mother stops a brewing argument by saying, "Please...just for tonight....let's forget about war and politics and everything but our family".
Tension builds as the gestapo moves in on the group and we learn more about two of the women of the resistance - one a beautiful cafe violinist (Kaaren Verne) and the other, a beautiful spy (Mona Maris) who masquerades as an assistant to Nazi commanders. This well-written and directed film has some interesting twists...let me share just one (SPOILER ALERT): the Nazi brother falls for the violinist - who is soon apprehended as an enemy of the state. (This is not giving too much away)
The film is thought provoking, often sad, and not always easy to watch. Several people are beaten and tortured in this film. I was reminded of all the members of the resistance, who risked their lives to spread the truth about the horrors of the Nazis. This film is tribute to them. Highly recommended. 95 minutes. on DVD.
On May 7, 1945, 65 years ago today, the Nazis quit, as the newspaper headline below shows. Below: Front page of The Rock County Star Herald *Extra* (Luverne, Minnesota) on May 7, 1945: "Nazis Quit...Germany Surrenders to the Allies unconditionally"
The German armies surrendered on May 7, 1945 in Reims, France. The surrender was ratified the next day on May 8, 1945 in Berlin, Germany.
May 8, 1945 was proclaimed "VE Day", or, "Victory in Europe Day" throughout the world. It was the Allies' victory in Europe during WW2.
A week earlier, on April 30, Hitler committed suicide during the Battle of Berlin.
Another review from the blog Just a Cineast here
This post was submitted to be a part of the Nazis Quit Blogathon (May 2010), hosted by Cinema Steve. The blogathon commemorated the 65th anniversary of Nazi defeat, and featured movie reviews, video clips, artwork and more.
This post was submitted to be a part of the Nazis Quit Blogathon (May 2010), hosted by Cinema Steve. The blogathon commemorated the 65th anniversary of Nazi defeat, and featured movie reviews, video clips, artwork and more.
4/17/2010
Top 10 Most Popular Movie Stars of 1944
The rankings come from Quigley Publishing Co.'s annual list (since 1932) of top money making stars, which based on a poll of hundreds of theater executives. The list does not rank stars only on how much cash their films made, but on what theater owners say about who attracts audiences on their star power alone.
Bing Crosby
(1944 films: Going My Way, Here Come the Waves-released Dec. 1944)
2.
Gary Cooper
(1944 films: Casanova Brown, The Story of Dr. Wassell)
3.
Bob Hope
(1943 films: The Princess and the Pirate)
4.
Betty Grable
(1944 film: Pin Up Girl)
5.
Spencer Tracy
(1944 films: Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo, The Seventh Cross)
6.
Greer Garson
(1944 film: Mrs. Parkington)
7.
Humphrey Bogart
(1944 films: To Have and Have Not, Passage to Marseille)
8.
Abbott & Costello
(1944 films: Lost In a Harem, In Society)
9.
Cary Grant
(1944 films: Arsenic and Old Lace, None But the Lonely Heart, Once Upon A Time)
10.
Bette Davis
(1944 film: Mr. Skeffington, Old Acquaintance-released Nov 1943)
4/16/2010
Top 10 Most Popular Movie Stars of 1943
The rankings come from Quigley Publishing Co.'s annual list (since 1932) of top money making stars, which based on a poll of hundreds of theater executives. The list does not rank stars only on how much cash their films made, but on what theater owners say about who attracts audiences on their star power alone.
1.
Betty Grable
(1943 films: Sweet Rosie O'Grady, Coney Island, Springtime in the Rockies-released Nov. 1942)
2.
Bob Hope
(1943 films: They Got Me Covered, Let's Face It)
3.
Abbott & Costello
(1943 films: Hit the Ice, It Ain't Hay)
4.
Bing Crosby
(1943 film: Dixie)
5.
Gary Cooper
(1943 film: For Whom The Bell Tolls)
6.
Greer Garson
(1943 film: Madame Curie)
7.
Humphrey Bogart
(1943 films: Sahara, Action in the North Atlantic, Casablanca-released Nov. 1942)
8.
James Cagney
(1943 film: Johnny Come Lately)
9.
Mickey Rooney
(1943 films: The Human Comedy, Girl Crazy)
10.
Clark Gable
Clark Gable did not have a film released in 1943; he enlisted in the Air Force in 1942.
After serving in WW2, his next film would be "Adventure" (1945) with Greer Garson
4/15/2010
Top 10 Most Popular Movie Stars of 1942
1.
Abbot & Costello
(1942 films: Who Done It?, Pardon My Sarong, Rio Rita, Ride 'Em Cowboy)
2.
Clark Gable
(1942 film: Somewhere I'll Find You - with Lana Turner)
3.
Gary Cooper
(1942 film: The Pride of the Yankees)
4.
Mickey Rooney
(1942 films: Andy' Hardy's Double Life, The Courtship of Andy Hardy, A Yank at Eton)
5.
Bob Hope
(1942 films: The Road to Morocco, My Favorite Blonde)
6.
James Cagney
(1942 films: Yankee Doodle Dandee, Captain of the Clouds)
7.
Gene Autry
(1942 films: Call of the Canyon, Cowboy Serendade, Heart of the Rio Grande, Home in Wyomin', Stardust on the Sage, Bells of Capistrano)
8.
Betty Grable
(1942 films: Song of the Islands, Springtime in the Rockies, Footlight Serenade)
9.
Greer Garson
(1942 films: Mrs. Miniver, Random Harvest)
10.
Spencer Tracy
(1942 films: Tortilla Flat, Keeper of the Flame, Woman of the Year)
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