Story and You

(image via IMDB) It seems that audiences have a special fascination with the kinds of movies that place relatable characters in outrageous situations. These kinds of narratives are especially popular in the romance genre, where we watch unsuspecting couples come up against unbelievable hurdles, and still somehow end up together. But where things become more interesting is when these love stories move past hilariously convoluted misunderstandings or death-defying sci-fi adventure and incorporate real moral dilemmas that present a challenge to the audience. While I have not actually seen the film, I have certainly heard about the controversy over the 2016 film Passengers , in which Chris Pratt's character deceives his love interest, Jennifer Lawrence, in a way that many viewers found to be incredibly disturbing. There's nothing inherently wrong with a film that challenges people--in fact, every good film should strive to do this in one way or another--but it becomes more com...

(image via bam.org)  Earlier in this series, I discussed A Matter of Life and Death , a fantastical film that sees death defied in the name of love. Portrait of Jennie is another fantasy film with romance at its core, but this time, a lot more than just death is standing between our two lovers: the very barriers of time and space separate them. Only in brief, magical moments do these walls come down and allow the pair to come together. But each time they meet, Jennie is older, and there is a sense of this romance hurtling towards some kind of endpoint as their meetings become less frequent, with longer lapses of time in-between. Will the passage of time itself stand aside for the artist and his muse, or are they doomed to lead separate lives in different eras of time, never again to meet? I was once a big Doctor Who fan, and throughout this film I was reminded of that show: so many of the core themes (at least in the contemporary series) are present here, especia...

(image via ianhendry.com) We all have dreams, ideas about what we want our futures to be like. This is a good thing: dreams give us motivation, something to strive for. But in the end, they're just products of our own minds, little fantasies we've conjured up. Real life is quite a bit different, sometimes for the worse, but sometimes for the better--the surprises that come with living can sometimes lead to much better things than we ever could have imagined for ourselves. But if we push these unexpected gifts away, keep clinging to those images we've created for ourselves, we might find all of the happiness life has to offer us slipping right through our fingers. This is the conundrum facing Laurence Harvey's Joe Lampton in the magnificent Room at the Top . Laurence Harvey first wowed me with his disconcerting, emotionless performance in The Manchurian Candidate , and he is equally impressive here--this role is much more human, but he still has this fascinating a...

(image via Doctor Macro) The Harvey Girls is a fun, glamorous, musical account of a legendary fight to win the old West. The titular Harvey Girls are lovely, respectable young women who are recruited to work in Harvey restaurants in early frontier towns across the west, in a bid to tame these towns and drive out the saloons and dancing girls that currently occupy the male population's time. The men who profit off of this debauchery aren't interested in seeing their customer base settle down, so they plan a counterattack to get the Harvey's out of town before they can do any damage to their businesses. Unfortunately for them, Susan Bradley--a last-minute Harvey recruit played by Judy Garland--is determined to make the restaurant a success, and won't let any man, no matter how dirty he plays, stand in her way. I never got around to The Harvey Girls before this because I expected it to be silly, conservative fluff. I mean, a classic Hollywood musical about nice girl...

(image via RottenTomatoes) If you've been noticing that these movie of the week posts have been coming more rapidly than once a week lately, the reason is that I've slowly but surely fallen a few weeks behind since I started this series--now I'm just playing catch-up! Today I'm taking a look at Tight Spot , a film featuring one of my favorite actresses playing a role completely unlike anything else she had ever done before: the lovely Ginger Rogers. Actors always take a risk when they step out of their comfort zone like she does here, but in this case it turns out to be a fantastic choice, with Rogers putting in one of the greatest performances I've ever seen from her.

(image via RottenTomatoes) I have a real fondness for the bold, somewhat uneven films that started coming out as the Production Code began to die; the films that pushed the boundaries of what film-goers had been able to see for decades, but were still testing the waters of what American films should look like going forward. The films in this category which explore social issues are particularly interesting, and The Defiant Ones is no exception, a daring film that explores what racism looks like when societal comforts are removed and all that's left is a pure, desperate desire for survival at any cost.

One of the most intimidating things about getting into classic film is when you watch a film with a beloved classic star . . . And you can't stand them. How do you admit to the world that you think an iconic, world-renowned actor is just awful? Sometimes, that feeling never goes away, but other times, the remedy is just to find the right film--actors are actors for a reason, and sometimes it's just a particular performance that you didn't enjoy, not the actor's persona as a whole. Having now seen The Pirate , I'm relieved to say this is the case for both Gene Kelly and Judy Garland, two actors I wasn't a fan of in their most famous works--but in this underappreciated romantic musical, I simply could not love the pair more.

Today, remakes face a lot of backlash. Hollywood has churned out so many poor ones in recent years that the very idea of trying to update a classic film causes many cinephiles to bristle; however, the truth is that remakes have always been a major part of Hollywood, and there are actually many original-remake pairings out there that are well-worth a watch. A perfect example is Lon Chaney's The Unholy Three , originally released in 1925 and remade in 1930 as a talkie. For the most part, it's a shot-for-shot remake, but the small differences between the two films offer some pretty interesting commentary on the changes in Hollywood in the transition from silence to sound--and on top of that, they're both just really great films.

One of the joys of watching classic films is discovering these beautiful, talented people who have been entirely forgotten except by the most ardent film buffs. Of course uncovering the wonder of a Bette Davis or a Cary Grant is exciting, but falling for an actor or actress who most of the world doesn't even remember ever existed? That's really something, and that's exactly the case for the star of today's film, a lovely young woman named Marian Marsh who was in a string of successful films in Hollywood's Pre-Code era--including Beauty and the Boss --and then sadly faded into obscurity.

What makes a movie magic ? I'm sure everyone has a different answer to this question, but my personal definition can be summed up by a viewing of A Matter of Life and Death . It's a flawed film with a convoluted mess of a plot, yet it manages to capture images and ideas about love and the afterlife that are absolutely breathtaking, and more than that, true movie magic.

Once you've seen a lot of films, it becomes difficult for them to surprise you. Romantic films especially get so bogged down in cliches and tired tropes, making it a noteworthy occasion when one does break the mold. The Heiress is just such a film, the rare romance that abandons convention and does justice by its characters, even if it makes its audience unhappy or uncomfortable.

It's Audrey Hepburn week! At least in my house. I've spent the last few days watching through the majority of her 1950s filmography, and in the midst of it I discovered a magical little masterpiece, the perfect film to serve as the first technicolor picture I highlight in this series: Funny Face , the most fun and stylish musical this side of Golden Age Hollywood.

The Picture of Dorian Gray is one of the rare cases where I made myself read the book before seeing the film. I finished the novel several months ago, and finally just got around to seeing this classic Hollywood adaptation of it--and to my delight, it turned out to be a pitch-perfect film version, capturing all of the qualities I appreciated in the original novel.

I really didn't watch any notable classic films this week, so I was wracking my brain trying to figure out what to write about--discuss an old favorite? Pick a film I didn't like very much but is at least from the right time period? But then, a last-minute viewing solved my dilemma: The Strawberry Blonde is a funny, sweet romantic comedy with the strange, yet wonderful trio of Cagney, de Havilland, and Hayworth.

When I began this series, I really did intend for it to be classic film of the week, not Clark Gable film of the week! But once again, his filmography has made up most of my classic viewing over the last few days, and this film in particular stood out to me as a real under-seen and underrated gem, a rather simple action-romance picture that is wonderfully elevated by its casting of two of the most legendary talents to come out of Hollywood, Clark Gable and Barbara Stanwyck.

Normally I'm not a big fan of war films, but this week I'm very exited to talk about a particularly great one I discovered during--you guessed it--TCM's tribute to Clark Gable. Run Silent, Run Deep is a late-era Clark film that features two powerhouse performances from Clark and his co-star Burt Lancaster, a truly remarkable screen pairing that makes this film stand out from all of the other WWII films produced by classic Hollywood.

Sometimes drama gets a little old, and laughter is truly the best medicine. That was my thinking as I was selecting a film from the Gable pre-Code binge I've been on this week: there were so many good ones to choose from, but the one that stood out most of all was an underrated, under-seen, truly hilarious little diamond in the rough called Forsaking All Others (1934).

It was only a matter of time before James Cagney, possibly my very favorite classic Hollywood actor, made an appearance in this series. Despite being such a big fan of him, I still haven't seen many of his most acclaimed films, and today I look at what was up to now my most glaring blindspot: his 1949 comeback gangster film, White Heat.

   It's Clark Gable month on TCM, and my recent classic film viewing has been dominated by his pre-code filmography--24 of his 25 pre-code films are airing this month! He starred in some really excellent films during this period, but when it came time to pick one to highlight, the flawed masterpiece Strange Interlude was my first choice. 

Late Spring is a 1949 Japanese film directed by the legendary Yasujirō Ozu , and stars Setsuko Hara and Chishû Ryû. It is the story of a 27-year old woman, Noriko (Setsuko Hara), who lives with and cares for her aging father, Shukichi (Chishû Ryû). The two share a very close and tender relationship, strengthened by the death of Noriko's mother and the hardships of the previous war, during which she suffered a serious illness. However, both Shukichi and her aunt begin to grow concerned over Noriko's co-dependent relationship with him, as she is getting older and doesn't seem interested in marriage or a career, merely a life of standing by her father's side. A series of small, but nonetheless impactful changes in both of their lives ultimately force the pair to consider what they really want for the other, and for themselves, as they move forward with their lives.   Late Spring is one of Ozu's most enduring masterpieces: a quiet, contemplative, and deepl...