Where The Crawdads Sing (2022)

I went to see this movie knowing nothing about the story - I had not read the book nor knew anything about what happens. 

But I liked it. It definitely kept me in suspense, and left me trying to put together all the pieces in my head throughout the movie. I liked the performance by David Strathairn who plays the lawyer. He's good, but I don't think this is an Academy-Award nominated role (even though I think he definitely deserves an Oscar). 

I liked the main lead, and thought she looked alot like Anne Hathaway to me, so much so that I wondered why the real Anne Hathaway couldn't have been cast (is she too old - gasp!).  The marsh where she lives was depicted as so serene and secluded and safe...until the threat comes - a crazy ex.  

The only likeable people in the town is the Black couple who own the local variety store in town. I liked those characters, and wished their characters had more screen time and were somehow more involved.  

I liked the scene when the brother comes back. And I liked how they showed all her drawings and illustrations, and I wished the movie focused on them some more.

Trivia - the actor who played "Angus" in the 1990s movie Angus has a small cameo in a bar at the beginning. Not sure how he got involved, but I also wish his part was way longer. Can we say "comeback"?

Sigh! Maybe another director would have had more vision. 

But otherwise I recommend the movie. Even if it feels like something that might be made-for-tv.

Adam's Rib (1949)

Spencer Tracy and Katherine Hepburn as husband and wife lawyers on opposing sides of the same murder case. One of Hollywood's greatest comedies about the battle of the sexes. Co-starring Judy Holiday. Directed by George Cukor.

Boris Karlov in The Walking Dead (1936)

Not to be confused by "The Walking Dead" TV show.

In this classic horror-gangster film (in glorious black and white), Boris Karlov plays a man recently released from prison.

As soon as he gets out, he is framed by a group of gangsters.

He's then then wrongfully convicted and then executed for murder.

Meanwhile, a zealous scientist (Edmund Gwenn) wants to experiment on the body to see if he could bring him back to life. He must have seen Frankenstein too many times.

Well guess what?

Boris does come back to life, and he slowly regains his memory. Not only that, he also seeks out those who framed him.

One by one, the gangsters are confronted, and get their just desserts.

Available on DVD.

Read a review here at the blog Just a Cineast

The Good Mother (1988) directed by Leonard Nimoy

Leonard Nimoy passed away the other day at age 82; so renowned for his characterization of Star Trek's "Spock" from TV/movies that some news sources (such as CNN.com) decided to announce his passing with the headline "Actor, Poet, Vulcan, dies". "Director" should be added to the list, as Mr Nimoy directed a handful of movies, including two Trek pictures and the box office hit comedy Three Men and A Baby (1987).  The other films in his CV include the unsuccessful comedies Holy Matrimony (1994) with Patricia Arquette, Funny About Love (1990) with Gene Wilder, and  - the film I'm most curious about - The Good Mother from 1988, a heartrending drama.

Exploring such sensitive issues such as divorce, sexual harassment, and child custody, The Good Mother is not the science-fiction/fantasy film you might expect Spock would be involved with. In fact I wonder if Mr Nimoy was contractually obligated by Disney/Touchstone to direct this film after his success with Three Men.  Nonetheless, I'm sure Spock the Vulcan - ever curious about human behavior - would find the film and the issues it explores compelling.  Diane Keaton, who plays the lead, is very good as a recently divorced mother with a new lover played by Liam Neeson. Complications arise when  the lover is accused of sexually abusing her daughter and she's sued by her ex-husband for custody of the child.

I especially enjoyed seeing veteran stars Ralph Bellamy and Theresa Wright in this film; they play Keaton's wealthy grandparents who live in a lovely New England waterfont home.  My favorite part of the film is when Keaton has to explain her plight to them and asks to borrow money to pay for the legal expense (her lawyer is played by Jason Robards). Ms Theresa Wright needn't say anything - her wonderful presence alone exudes warmth, compassion, and love. Upon its initial release in 1988, critic Roger Ebert gave the film only one star in his review (Read review here), but praised the scenes with Bellamy and Wright.

The movie, overall is OK, but kind of melancholy. I think Mr Nimoy handles the subject matter sensitively and tastefully, and brings out the best in his actors, given the subject matter; Liam Neeson is especially convincing, and sympathetic.

I am interested in learning more about the making of this film, and/or any interviews with Mr. Nimoy about directing this movie. If anyone knows or has any more information, please let me know; I would appreciate any feedback!

Film legends Theresa Wright, Ralph Bellamy, and Diane Keaton in The Good Mother

Academy Award winners Diane Keaton and Theresa Wright

The Young Philadelphians (1959)

Robert Vaughn

Paul Newman plays a young ambitious lawyer in a film based on the best-selling novel "The Philadelphian" by Richard P Powell about a lawyer's rise up the social ladder. The film's first half focuses on Newman starting out in his career and his relationships as he tries to get ahead in a firm. One of his best friends is played by Robert Vaughn, who was nominated for an Academy Award for his performance.  The movie picks up steam toward the end, when Newman takes on the most challenging case of his life. The setting moves to the courtroom, and Newman acts as defense attorney in a murder case.  In one interrogation, Newman has a witness sniff glasses of liquor which is amusing at first but proves to be an important part of the evidence.

A Free Soul (1931)

Clark Gable plays a mobster who falls for his lawyer's daughter (Norma Shearer). She falls for him too, finding him more exciting than her current beau (Leslie Howard).  Lionel Barrymore plays her father, an alcoholic, who isn't happy about his daughter mixed up with Gable. Her family doesn't approve either, and won't even let her back in the house when the affair goes on too long. Shearer enjoys the thrill of the romance, even after she's almost killed by rival mobsters shooting at Gable in his car. Gable is great in this movie, and is one of his last "supporting" roles.

Lionel Barrymore won the Oscar for Best Actor in a great performance as the alcoholic lawyer who tries to go sober but struggles to do so. In one scene, he gets so drunk that he wanders off on a freight train and gets lost. In another scene, someone jokingly slaps him on the back and he reacts by saying, "Who's that - John L. Sullivan?" I had to look that person up to know who he was talking about; Sullivan was a boxer who was famous around the early 1900s.

The movie has a surprise twist near the end.

Directed by Clarence Brown. Highly Recommended

This was the first movie I watched on Warner Archive Instant, a new streaming service that is like Netflix, but features only Warner Archive titles. It's in a "beta" testing phase right now, and I was able to watch it for free. Once the service kicks off, I would be interested in subscribing - there are some great titles available!

Other blog reviews about this movie:
Booze Movies (review of A Free Soul)

12 Angry Men (1957) and a real-life jury duty experience

Earlier this month, I had my first experience as a trial juror. It was like watching a stage play: the judge, the lawyers, and the witnesses seemed as if they were all actors performing right in front of us. I had seen Witness for the Prosecution live on stage before - it was like that, like live theater.

When you're on a jury, you have the freedom to look around the room at anyone or anything at any time. When the lawyers were speaking, you could look at the judge or the defendant.

The accused was on trial for attempted murder.

During the course of the trial (two full days), seven witnesses testified, including several police officers, a prisoner, and the young man who was shot and full of scars.

The evening following the first day of jury selection, I went home and watched the 1957 version of 12 Angry Men for some inspiration.  I think it's the only movie ever made about a jury. I immediately felt a connection with the character played by John Fieder --- in the beginning of the film he tells Lee J. Cobb how excited he is to be a first time juror. I felt the same; it was all so new to me, too, and exciting. It felt good to be a part of the justice system.

Cobb's character then talks about being on many juries before. In our group, we also had some veteran jurors. Most of us, though, were first-timers.

To break the awkward silence, I tried to find things in common with other people just like one of the jurors does in 12 Angry Men.  It was a cramped space, and uncomfortable. The jury room in the movie was much larger than the one we were put into! Also in the movie, Jack Warden's character was so anxious to get out of the jury room and go home. That was how just about all of us felt! We all wanted to go home. Some people had an hour commute to the courthouse.

Another part of the movie that rang true was when Lee J. Cobb said how some of the lawyers went on and on talking "about nothing". Honestly, that's what it really felt like! Some of the lawyers just talked and talked and it was all seemed meaningless, certainly a waste of time. At one point, one of the witnesses - a police officer -  got so aggravated at the questioning from one of the lawyers. And public defenders kept asking the judge for time-outs, which meant more waiting for us, the jury.

I took lots of notes. The prosecuting attorneys brought forth some very good evidence. Four eyewitnesses all pointed to the defendant as the shooter. This appeared to be an "open-and-shut case",  as  Lee J Cobb referred to his case in the movie.

At times I got the feeling that the public defenders didn't always know how to defend him. This issue was touched upon in the movie, too.

After the lawyers gave their closing statements, it was time to go to the jury room to deliberate. The two alternate jurors were sent home (just like in the beginning of the movie). We chose a presiding juror (Martin Balsam in the movie).  And just like in the movie, we started with a secret ballot to see where everyone stood.

Believe it or not, the initial vote was 11-1 in favor of "guilty" ..just like the movie! No, it wasn't me who was the odd-man out, like Henry Fonda. It was the youngest person on jury. After about 25 minutes of deliberation, we all voted again, and unanimously agreed the defendant was "guilty" of attempted murder.

When the verdict was read in court, there was a loud scream from the visitor's section, which might have been the defendant's mother. There was also some clapping and cheering by some other people. It was eerie to hear that in real life (vs. on TV or in the movies).

When the trial ended, it was past 6 PM. And dark outside.

The jurors were given a police escort out of the courthouse to our cars in the parking lot.

After spending three days with all the other jurors, it was kind of a bittersweet feeling to say goodbye.

One of the men in our group was a recent immigrant from the Philippines; he became a citizen just two years ago, and now he and his wife are raising a family. I recommended he watch 12 Angry Men, and told him how much it was like our jury, with one major difference being that we couldn't smoke in our jury room.

Eventually we all parted ways, never to see each other again, just like the end of the movie.

Cecil B. DeMille's This Day and Age (1933)

The poster for This Day and Age calls it "The FIRST Great Spectacle of Modern Times", which is interesting because nowadays the film is largely forgotten. It wasn't nominated for any Academy Awards at the time either. But I think the film is one that a modern audience would really find compelling.

The film is about a group of civics-minded high-school students who take the law into their own hands when they track down a gangster nightclub owner named Garrett (played by Charles Bickford) after he kills several of their friends and gets away with it.

The students are played by actors I'm not very familiar with such as Richard Cromwell and Judith Allen. At times I got confused as to who's who due to all of the supporting characters that come and go throughout the film.

One character I remember well is the Jewish tailor Herman, who has a shop right across the street from the high school. He is really friendly and knows almost all the kids in the school. It's a shame when the character's shop is bombed and he becomes a target of Garrett's ruthless gang.

Highlights of the film:

There are a number of creative camera shots; one in particular is during a funeral sequence after a casket is lowered into the deep grave. We then see the lowered casket's point-of-view looking up at the diggers who are shoveling the dirt into the grave, and dirt falls right on the camera.

In one risque sequence reminding us of the pre-code era, one of the pretty female students has to pretend to seduce one of the gangsters in order to stall him, and one of the gangster's remarks is "I like my olives green".

I liked seeing the diverse high school; black students are seen with white students on the campus and walking the halls. A black student has an important role in the film when he helps the students kidnap Garrett at a shoe shine.

When Garrett is captured, he's taken to a secret hideout where hundreds of students put him at the center of a kangaroo court. The students lower him into a pit of rats to try to get him to confess to the murders he was responsible for. This is followed by a scene where the throng of students hail him off to the local judge, walking through the streets at night singing song such as "The Bear Went Over the Mountain" and "Glory Glory Hallelujah". This ending seemed to go on a little long.

Overall though, it is a film worth seeing, and I found it thought provoking. Directed by Cecil B. DeMille.

More photos and more info about this film can be found here at the blog Take 39 Steps and Knock

Johnny Belinda (1948)

<--- Jane Wyman won the Best Actress Oscar for her role.

Based on a play by Elmer Blaney Harris (which was based on real life events).

Jane Wyman is a deaf and mute young woman named Belinda, who lives on a farm with her father (Charles Bickford) and aunt (Agnes Moorehead). Sadly, they both call her "the dummy" and sadly, she is disliked by almost everyone in the village.

She's befriended by a young doctor (Lew Ayres), who sees her potential, and he decides to tutor her and teach her sign language.

Eventually, the two begin to fall in love.

One day, Johnny is raped by a local fisherman, and becomes pregnant, which affects every one of the characters in the film, including the rapist, who marries the doctor's secretary (Jan Sterling) and at one point decides he wants custody over the child.

The doctor's life begins to crumble when he finds himself involved in a scandal, which leads to a climactic courtroom scene with all parties.

Some great performances. The tone of the film is serious for the most part (little comic relief).

Nominated for 12 Academy Awards. Jane Wyman won the Best Actress Oscar. Directed by Jean Negulesco.  I first watched this in 1990, about twenty years ago.

Midnight Mary (1933) starring Loretta Young

From 1933, MGM: Loretta Young stars in this thrilling story of a woman on trial - who may or may not be guilty of murder.

We first see Mary (Loretta) in court. As the jury deliberates, she finds a relaxing place to wait: in the office of the court stenographer. He's an older man, and tells her he's been doing this for almost 40 years. She is stunned. "The same job"? she asks him. He tells her he hopes the jury comes back soon because he'd like to make his grandaughter's birthday party later that afternoon. His office is filled with books, and Mary looks around at all the years on the spines and remembers her life.

The rest of the movie is told in flashback. We see Mary as a young orphan girl (Loretta is convincing as a 9 year old). As she gets older she and her best friend (Joan Blondell) start hanging out with the wrong crowd. The boys they hang out with become gangsters, and she descends deeper into a dangerous life. One day she meets a handsome playboy bachelor (Franchot Tone) who falls head over heels for her at a party. He turns out to be a millionaire publisher and offers her anything in the world, including a job as a secretary.

She tries to "go straight", but she just can't escape her past.

We don't want to see Franchot get mixed up with the gangsters, and neither does Mary, a testatment to her character. I won't tell you any more. You just have to see this movie. It's a great story, well written and paced. Directed by William Wellman.

Judy wrote an impressive review of this film at her blog Movie Clasics, and you can read the review here. Another great review can be found here at the blog MONDO 70, and here at Curious Mel.

It's available on DVD part of the Forbidden Hollywood Collection: Volume 3

Pandora's Box (1928)

"Those who have seen her can never forget her. She is the modern actress par excellence....As soon as she takes the screen, fiction disappears along with art, and one has the impression of being present at a documentary. The camera seems to have caught her by surprise, without her knowledge." -- Henri Langlois, (French pioneer of the film archive movement)

A few days ago the Louise Brooks Society's blog posted an article on the actress by Michael Wilmington of the Chicago Tribune, who wrote: "She compares to no one, really. She is her own island of allure". The article was an anticipation of a local screening of "Pandora's Box" featuring live organ accompaniment, which I went to check out the other day.

It's a classic film of the German Expressionist era, filled with symbolism and unforgettable images. It really impressed me. American actress Louise Brooks stars as Lulu, a young dancer and showgirl in Berlin who - as we learn - has had many lovers but eventually settles down in marriage with a millionaire newspaperman. Other characters include the newspaperman's son, as well as Jack the Ripper, who makes an appearance. A murder trial causes Lulu and her friends to flee the country, which leads to a thrilling conclusion in London around Christmastime. The supporting characters are worthy of each of their own posts and discussions.

Behind the Scenes: The temperamental actress made several films (many of them now lost) in the US before fleeing to Europe after a studio dispute. German director G. W. Pabst, who liked Brooks in Howard Hawks' A Girl in Every Port, wanted her to play the lead in "Pandora's Box", also known as simply "Lulu".

Upon release in Europe, the film was not a big hit, perhaps due to some controversy in Pabst's decision to cast American Louise Brooks as the character of "Lulu", which was well known in Europe from earlier stage and film productions. According to Brooks herself (in the 1984 documentary "Lulu in Berlin" where she sits down to speak with interviewer Richard Leacock) Marlene Dietrich, who played the role of Lulu on the stage, was among the German actresses rumored to play lead in the film. This may have upset some die-hards.

According to some reports, Hitler was not a fan of this film. Could the casting of Brooks or the menorah in Lulu's apartment have something to do with it, perhaps? And I could be wrong, but I don't think the film even showed in the United States until the 1950s, when it experienced a resurgence of popularity.

For a longer review of this film, I recommend The Mythical Monkey's review on his blog.

Read a review from Moon in the Gutter.