Archive for B
50 Greatest Movies – The Big Sleep (1946)
Vivian Rutledge: I don’t like your manners.
Philip Marlowe: And I’m not crazy about yours. I didn’t ask to see you. I don’t mind if you don’t like my manners, I don’t like them myself. They’re pretty bad. I grieve over them on long winter evenings. And I don’t mind your ritzing me or drinking your lunch out of a bottle, but don’t waste your time trying to cross-examine me. (You really have to hear it in Bogart’s rhythm.)
Humphrey Bogart plays shamus Phillip Marlowe in this convoluted tale of deception and corruption. I had to watch the movie several times before I really understood what was going on, but it was so much fun to watch, that I didn’t’ worry about figuring it out. It isn’t the story or the plot that keeps one coming back, but the interactions of several very interesting characters.
One of the interesting characters, Elisha Cook Jr. plays Harry Jones, a nice-guy honest crook, very different from his turn in The Maltese Falcon. “I come in talking two C’s. That’s still the price. I come because I thought I’d get a take-it-or-leave-it, one right guy to another. Now you’re waving cops at me. You oughta be ashamed of yourself.” Cook is, I think, a very underrated actor. The variety of parts he’s played, from the stupid gunsel in Falcon to the stubborn farmer in Shane, he was really very believable.
The Big Sleep
is the second outing for Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall with director Howard Hawks. Hawks was Bacall’s champion when she began in Hollywood. He’s the one who got her on her first film, To Have and Have Not, where she met Bogart. Hard to believe this is only her third film.
is the second outing for Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall with director Howard Hawks. Hawks was Bacall’s champion when she began in Hollywood. He’s the one who got her on her first film, To Have and Have Not, where she met Bogart. Hard to believe this is only her third film.
In The Big Sleep, Marlowe is called to the house of very rich General Sternwood about some blackmail regarding his younger daughter, Carman (Martha Vickers), who’s a bit wild and childlike. The older daughter, the divorced Vivian Rutledge (Lauren Bacall) is a bit more sharp and quite a bit more difficult.
The Sternwoods had a fellow working for them named Sean Regan, who was a true tough guy. He’s disappeared. Everyone seems to think Sternwood hired Marlowe to look for Regan. He doesn’t bother correcting them. Many people think Regan has run off with a mobster’s wife. Marlowe isn’t sure, but becomes determined to find out.
Marlowe uncovers a few other things besides the blackmail. Among the many sins are a photograph, lying, deception, narcotics, gambling, an auto chop-shop, several murders, and smoking. Lots of smoking. And possibly some implied fornicating. Marlowe has many witty and/or flirtatious conversations along the way with librarians, book store owners and taxi drivers. (that happens to me all the time)
Part of what Marlowe learns leads him to an antique book dealer named Geiger. This leads him to mobster and owner of gambling and rental houses, Eddie Mars. Also a guy named Brody. And dame named Agnes, who works for Geiger, is in with Brody, and brings in Harry Jones. A real piece of work, that Agnes. There’s also a couple chauffeurs; one gets bumped off and the other bumps someone off.
I don’t think I’ve given anything away, be sure to check it out. Truly one of the best movies and one that stands up to repeat viewing.
Photos courtesy of Dr. Marco except for Elisha Cook, Jr which comes from Parallax View.
The Big Sleep. Directed by Howard Hawks, written by William Faulkner, Leigh Brackett, and Jules Furthman. Based on the novel by Raymond Chandler. Starring Humphrey Bogart, Lauren Bacall, and Elisha Cook, Jr.
As a postscript, I know I’m way behind on reviews, nowhere near one a week, but I wasn’t happy with the writing when I was cranking them out. I do hope to pick up the pace though.
50 Greatest Movies – Batman Forever (1995)
I know many people hate the Joel Schumacher Batmans, but they are missing the point. OK, I’ll grant that Batman and Robin sucks robin eggs. But so did Batman Returns from the revered Tim Burton. Batman Forever is a fun comic book movie, what more comic movies should be. It’s over the top. It’s outlandish. It’s neon lights in dark alleys. It’s FUN!
The story actually builds and makes sense, in a comic book sort of way. It begins in a WAY over the top scene involving a giant cylindrical bank vault on rails, some acid, a helicopter, and a chain. But there is a very nice introduction to psychologist Chase Meridian (Nicole Kidman) who has a schoolgirl crush on Batman (“It’s the car isn’t it? Chicks dig the car.”).
Later Bruce Wayne (Val Kilmer) is touring his enterprises and meets Edward Nygma (Jim Carrey). Nygma has this crazy invention that beams 3-D life-like images into the brain. When Wayne shows hesitation (“To many questions”) Nygma flips out. Later, while flipping out on his supervisor, Nygma discovers that he can extract information from the minds of others. He becomes The Riddler and teams up with Two Face (Tommy Lee Jones) to get venture capital and mass produce his brain-drain. Jones chews so much scenery that it probably doubled the budget, but he had to, just to keep up with Carrey.
They cause chaos and mayhem and try to find out who Batman is. In the process a lot of witty banter is tossed about, emotion builds and the story reaches an inevitable climax. Oh yeah, he picks up Robin, an orphaned circus performer which fits in the story very nicely. Alfred the butler (Michael Gough) gets a fair amount of lines and development in this film. Michael Caine is great, but Gough will always be my favorite Alfred.
Because this Batman isn’t so dark, it’s more appropriate for kids at whatever age the violence is deemed OK for them to watch. (The Hound house is pretty conservative and treats it like a right-of-passage: “No, you can’t see it until you are 13!” It actually works very well.) So if you haven’t seen this one, or haven’t seen it in awhile, give it chance. Yes, it’s closer to the 1960s camp than the 2000s straight take, but that’s a good thing. There’s room for both (even in a top-50 list!).
Batman Forever directed by Joel Schumacher, written by Lee Batchler, Janet Scott Batchler and Akiva Goldsman. Starring Val Kilmer, Tommy Lee Jones, Jim Carrey, Nicole Kidman, Chris O’Donnell. 1995. PG-13. 121 minutes.
50 Greatest Movies – Bringing Up Baby (1938)
This is a reposting to make it one of my 50 Greatest Movies.
Bringing Up Baby. Directed by Howard Hawks. Screenplay by Dudley Nichols & Hagar Wilde from a story by Hagar Wilde. Starring Cary Grant and Katherine Hepburn. 1938. 102 minutes.
A totally preposterous movie, but Bringing Up Baby is great fun to watch. Very fast-paced dialog in this, one of the most famous Screwball Comedies. Later remade as the woefully unknown What’s Up Doc? starring Ryan O’Neal and Barbara Streisand. In many ways What’s Up Doc? is a more satisfying movie. However, I wouldn’t want to give either of them up.
Professor David Huxley (Cary Grant) is trying to construct a dinosaur from fossils. In order to continue his work he could use one million dollars from a philanthropist for the museum. He is trying to meet with a connection for the money when he runs into trouble with Susan (Katherine Hepburn). Susan is extremely ditzy and after a few encounters with her, Huxley is totally frustrated, but she is enamored with him. Susan connives a way to get David away from his fiancé. A tame leopard is brought into the picture by her brother, and at the same time a wild leopard escapes the circus. Confusion and a search for lost bones keep the plot moving.
In many ways this movie should be a guide to budding screenwriters. One scene moves naturally into the next and everyone acts within character. The actors are all fantastic. May Robson as Aunt Elizabeth, Barry Fitzgerald as Gogarty, playing the same character he plays in The Quiet Man, Charles Ruggles as Major Applegate, George Irving as the lawyer, and of course, Hepburn and Grant. One wonders what Carole Lombard would have done with this role, but several times, you see just how good an actress Hepburn is. Cary Grant is completely believable as the paleontologist in over his head.
Some great dialog and very funny scenes populate this picture. Don’t worry too much about the audacious plot, just try and follow the witty repartee. However outlandish the story, it seems to unfold naturally, nothing is forced. Especially fun is the scene inside the jail. Watch as spacey Susan becomes “Swingin’ Door Suzie.”
50 Greatest Movies – The Blues Brothers (1980)
“Jake, you get wise! You get to church!”
Number of Saturday Night Live skits made into movies: 11. Number of tolerable movies made from Saturday Night Live skits: 1. And that one is genius. The reason most SNL movies fail is that skits are basically one joke, which can be pretty funny seen once every couple of weeks. One joke stretched over two hours gets old. Much as I love “Samurai Delicatessen,” I wouldn’t watch it for two hours. But The Blues Brothers were about music. And not just any music, but 1950s and 60s Blues and Rhythm & Blues. Good music. Fun music. And since it wasn’t a one-joke routine, they could build a story.
Directed by John Landis, (one of my favorite directors) The Blues Brothers is an outlandish classic. The brothers, Jake (John Belushi) and Elwood (Dan Aykroyd) Blues bicker with each other, but are pretty unflappable otherwise. They visit the Penguin (Kathleen Freeman), a nun who raised them in an orphanage. She tells them the orphanage needs five thousand dollars to pay the taxes or it will close. It must be honest money. This discourages Jake from wanting to help. Curtis (Cab Calloway) the janitor tells them to go see Rev. Cleophus James (James Brown). Jake wants nothing to do with church, but he goes.
During the service, while James Brown is singing, the Reverend James Cleveland Choir is singing, and the whole church is dancing, Jake gets an epiphany (who wouldn’t be inspired by all that?). Put the Blues Brothers Band back together to raise five thousand dollars. Yes indeed, the Lord works in mysterious ways. Speaking to ol’ heathen Jake to raise money for His charity. Later Jake says “Me and the Lord, we got an understanding.” As a side note, I’ve been to a Holiness Church service, and this scene isn’t too far off from the truth. Except for the spinning in the air part.
However, Disaster seems to follow the brothers everywhere. They end up driving through and destroying a mall, during which they do plenty of product or brand placement. “Hanson Burgers.” “Disco dance haircuts.” “Pier 1 Imports.” Buildings get blown up, Nazi are run off bridges, phone booths explode, Daley Plaza is destroyed, gas stations ignite, etc. And, what the movie was notorious for, the most cars destroyed in one movie, mostly police cars. Hardly seems like “a Mission from God.”
The cast is fabulous, the Laugh-In poet Henry Gibson as the head Nazi, Stephen Spielberg as the clerk, Carrie Fisher as the mystery woman, Steven Williams as Trooper Mount, Charles Napier as Tucker McElroy (leader of The Good Ol’ Boys), John Candy as Burton Mercer, and the rest.
One thing I’ve noticed as I’m writing these reviews is I almost always talk about the dialog. While The Blues Brothers has some classic lines, I was surprised during my re-watching at how few there were. The situations are what’s laugh-out-loud hilarious, not the dialog.
But, what really makes this movie a standout is the music. James Brown, Aretha Franklin, Ray Charles, John Lee Hooker, Cab Calloway, and of course, “the band.” The band includes Steve Cropper and Donald Dunn, two members of Booker T. & the MGs (Green Onions), the house band of Stax/Volt
records in Memphis. They played on hundreds of classics, almost every hit by Sam and Dave (Soul Man), Wilson Pickett (Land of 1,000 Dances), Otis Redding (Sitting on the Dock of the Bay), among many, many others. R&B and Blues had fallen out of favor, even with an upswing in the popularity of Oldies during the late 1970s. Oldies at that time was pre-Beatles rock and roll. All of the artists appearing in this movie had a comeback afterwords. Aretha Franklin even made it back onto the Top 40 charts. And they well deserved it. Like the music and artists, this is one movie that never gets old.
records in Memphis. They played on hundreds of classics, almost every hit by Sam and Dave (Soul Man), Wilson Pickett (Land of 1,000 Dances), Otis Redding (Sitting on the Dock of the Bay), among many, many others. R&B and Blues had fallen out of favor, even with an upswing in the popularity of Oldies during the late 1970s. Oldies at that time was pre-Beatles rock and roll. All of the artists appearing in this movie had a comeback afterwords. Aretha Franklin even made it back onto the Top 40 charts. And they well deserved it. Like the music and artists, this is one movie that never gets old.
The Blues Brothers, directed by John Landis, starring John Belushi, and Dan Aykroyd. Written by Dan Aykroyd and John Landis. 1980. 133 minutes, extended version 148 minutes. Rated R.
What’s Wrong With The Music Business? 2 Documentaries Tell the Story
Recently, I watched a couple documentaries on the music business that have left me depressed. Of course I am aware of the current sorry state, but I’ve always held that music cycles around; it goes lame for a while, then something kicks it in the butt and we have a few good years. After Elvis went into the Army and Buddy Holley died, music went flat for a few years, then the Beatles and Rolling Stones came along. That group got bloated and strung out and then Punk kicked in the door and spawned New Wave. By the early 90s that had played out then came a wake up call named Grunge. Obviously this is really general, but overall I remember each time (ok, I wasn’t following music before Punk but…) saying how lame music on the radio is and them Bam! Something happens. This time around, I’m not so sure that will happen.
Before the Music Dies (2006) (Official Site) talks about a number of things, including video instead of sound, answering to stock holders instead of music lovers, and more. I haven’t finished it yet, but it’s on Hulu. Not on Netflix. Image and dollars are what rule today. Once you had people like Ahmet Ertegun at Atlantic Records
(Ray Charles, Aretha Franklin, The Coasters, The Drifters, Wilson Pickett, Led Zeppelin, the list goes on and on and on…) and Leonard Chess of Chess Records
(Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf, Etta James, Chuck Berry…) making the decisions and putting their lives and time and money into developing artists they believed in. Yes, they expected to make money back but, since decisions are now made by bean counters instead of music lovers, bands aren’t given time to develop. And respectable sales are not acceptable, blockbuster sales are the only thing “music” executives are interested in. If the first record doesn’t do well, the artist is dropped. This point is brought up again in the next film.
(Ray Charles, Aretha Franklin, The Coasters, The Drifters, Wilson Pickett, Led Zeppelin, the list goes on and on and on…) and Leonard Chess of Chess Records (Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf, Etta James, Chuck Berry…) making the decisions and putting their lives and time and money into developing artists they believed in. Yes, they expected to make money back but, since decisions are now made by bean counters instead of music lovers, bands aren’t given time to develop. And respectable sales are not acceptable, blockbuster sales are the only thing “music” executives are interested in. If the first record doesn’t do well, the artist is dropped. This point is brought up again in the next film.
The other film is I Need That Record! The Death (or Possible Survival) of the Independent Record Store (2010). (Official site) I watched this one on Netflix, you can do the instant watching thing or have the disk sent to you. Chris Frantz from the Talking Heads reiterates the point that if they had even gotten a deal today they would have been dropped after the first record for not selling enough units. What an impoverishment that would have been! A big part of this film is talking about record stores as a “third place.” They don’t use that term, but they discuss the record store as community. Does the clerk at Wal-Mart ask if you’ve heard the new Black Rebel Motorcycle Club
? Has anyone at Wal-Mart even heard of the Black Rebel Motorcycle Club? Does the checkout person at Best Buy tell you about the new Doyle Bramhall II record? Big box stores carry less than 5000 titles in a year, yet, over 30,000 titles are released each year. The average independent record store carries over 10,000 titles. Now consider how many of the 5000 Box store titles are old old titles, and you see one big problem for new bands. I have a lot of fond memories of record stores and discovering some great bands in there. Talking to people who know music and love music. The film also talks about downloading and what that has done to the business.
? Has anyone at Wal-Mart even heard of the Black Rebel Motorcycle Club? Does the checkout person at Best Buy tell you about the new Doyle Bramhall II record? Big box stores carry less than 5000 titles in a year, yet, over 30,000 titles are released each year. The average independent record store carries over 10,000 titles. Now consider how many of the 5000 Box store titles are old old titles, and you see one big problem for new bands. I have a lot of fond memories of record stores and discovering some great bands in there. Talking to people who know music and love music. The film also talks about downloading and what that has done to the business.
Buy them here! Better yet, support your local stores! That’s not Wal-Mart or Best Buy, but locally owned! And support indie films too. Before The Music Dies
I Need That Record! The Death (or Possible Survival) of the Independent Record Store
I Need That Record! The Death (or Possible Survival) of the Independent Record Store
Big Heat Movie Review
Before I started this blog, I did some classic movie reviews at my old blog. The Big Heat Movie Review.
