Freaks

Halloween should be spent doing something fun and just a bit spooky - I spent it with a bowl of popcorn, and watching the movie "Freaks", a rather notorious movie from the early 1930's.  Directed by Tod Browning, it was his follow up to his first picture "Dracula". "Dracula" was brilliant and made him the young artist of the moment, giving him enough street cred to direct this pet project.

"Freaks" is the story of what was then called a Circus Sideshow.  At the time, sideshows were meant to showcase "Freaks", real people in various stages of physical deformities.  They weren't part of the main event, but they were kept out of the way of polite society, and one only went to see them if you were in the mood for a little fright and disgust.  In our story, the freaks are led by a Dwarf named Hans.  Hans is engaged to marry fellow dwarf Frieda. Hans is a good man, but he finds himself drawn to the overt charisma and sexuality of the normal-sized headliner, Cleopatra. Cleopatra thinks Hans is a freak, but doesn't discourage his advances, wooing him with the anticipation of inheriting his fortune.  Hans eventually leaves Frieda for Cleopatra, and marries her.  But as they celebrate their wedding supper, and Cleopatra is initiated into the Freak Family (as they think of themselves), Hans discovers what she really thinks of him.  Over several weeks Cleopatra attempts to poison Hans so that she can run off with her lover, Hercules the Strongman. Her attempted murder is witnessed by the fellow freaks.  As she attempts to get away , she and Hercules are eventually chased down by the freaks and in an ode to horror, become subject to freakish justice.

This was quite a notorious picture for its day.  In an attempt to humanize people with physical deformities, it ended up frightening "decent people" everywhere.  MGM held it out of release and edited it to smithereens (most of the scary scenes were edited out and destroyed), so that Browning's original vision was whittled down to nothing but the sideshow he was hoping to overcome.  It ended up being a flop, and in effect, ruined his career. He only made a few more pictures after that.  If you look at the picture in today's politically correct lens, you can see the point Browning was trying to get across - people are people, and everyone is deformed in some way.  And looking at it that way, the movie really isn't all that scary. But if you were a moviegoer in the 1930's, when people with physical challenges were shuttled off and kept out of view, it would have been terrifying.

I Hate Space

Gravity - three words - O-M-G! Can't say enough about this one.  There just aren't enough adjectives.  I predict that come Awards season it will blow every other picture out of the water, and give Sandra Bullock her second Oscar. 

Couple of points: If one is adrift in space, and if one is given the choice to just give up and stay behind with George Clooney, it's a pretty easy decision.  DUH! It's George Clooney people! And yes, I hate space, and by the time this picture is over, so will you. GO SEE IT!

Hugo

A few years ago, Martin Scorcese, the director known mostly for his films depicting the brutality of mob violence, decided to make a picture showcasing his love for film history. Based on the book "The Invention of Hugo Cabret", it's about an orphan who lives in and takes care of the clocks for the Train Station. Hugo's father, a master watchmaker has died, and his abusive Uncle has gone missing. And knowing the fate of most orphans in Paris, Hugo is anxious for no one to know of his existence.  So he keeps the clocks going and finds the occasional mechanical piece to use to fix his automaton (a sort of pre-cursor to robots).  Eventually Hugo runs afoul of Georges Melies, who runs the local toy shop, and who has taken a dislike to Hugo. But who also shares a connection with him that will unlock both their hearts.

The film is absolutely stunning to look at. Costumes, art direction, visual effects, and music all are top-notch, and the recreation of early Melies short films are brilliant. The performances are sweet and heart-felt.  And the magic of movies is alive and well.

The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit

One of my favorite pictures from the 1950's is "The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit".  I first saw it years ago in college for my "Film in American Culture" class, and I've pretty much adored it ever since.  Some of the things we were asked to consider in that class were the time period the film was made in, and what it was trying to say about American culture at the time.  And I think this picture says a lot.

Starring Gregory Peck and Jennifer Jones, it's the story of a 1950's male, a World War II vet, who's trying to provide for his family and navigate a changing world. His life is mostly pleasant, but boring, and very different from his experiences in the War.  It's a more cynical world, a TV world, and a world where it's harder to make the choices that will keep families together.  He takes a job on Madison Avenue, setting in motion a series of choices he must make as to what it will take to keep his family together and his conscience clear.

The performances are brilliant, particularly Gregory Peck and Fredric March, who plays his boss, a man who has lost his family due to his inability to control his ambitions. There's also terrific work from Jennifer Jones, Keenan Wynn, Marisa Pavan, Arthur O'Connell, and Henry Daniell is his usual sneering self.

"The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit" is a perfect example of what was happening at the time. Made in brilliant technicolor and filmed in Cinemascope, it was meant to be shown on a wide screen so as to compete with TV and get more viewers off the couch and in to the theaters.  The movie comments on this in several scenes of the family members being distracted a TV screen, and the pseudo-violence of TV Westerns, as compared to the actual violence of war. It's also one of the first movies to take on work-life balance, and shows how over-devotion to work can impact family dynamics.  And finally it takes on the topics of honesty and integrity, and how the lack of them can lead to bitterness and cynicism.  It's one of those rare examples of a film that can entertain while it's trying to get you to think.

The Rainmaker

Apologies to the Katharine Hepburn movie of the same name, but this "Rainmaker" is one of my favorite movies from the '90's, and ranks very high on my list of favorite legal thrillers.  I consider it the best translation of a John Grisham book to a movie.

It's the story of a young recent Law School graduate, Rudy Baylor, and his effort to take on a large insurance company in court.  Seems said insurance company is signing up insurees, but when it comes time to pay up on their claims, the claims, even though valid, are consistently denied.  So our bright young man takes them to court, on behalf of his lower-middle-class client.

The cast is a who's who of 80's movie stars and movie legends - Jon Voight, Danny Devito, Danny Glover, Mary Kay Place, Virginia Madsen, and Mickey Rourke to name a few.  Not to mention one of my personal favorites, Oscar-winner Teresa Wright ("Mrs. Miniver"), in her last movie appearance.  And the acting in all cases is all-around brilliant.

One of the things I really like about this movie, is that it really seems to "get" the spirit of the Mississippi Delta that I remember.  Granted, it takes place in Memphis, but from the strains of soul and gospel organ music, to the old homes and wraparound porches and eccentric characters, it just takes me back to what it felt like to live in the Delta.

Something else I find interesting is that it's directed by none other than Francis Ford Coppola, he of "The Godfather" and "Apocolypse Now" fame.  One of the great directors of the '70's, he had fallen on hard financial times, and this picture was one that he took while trying to pay off his debts. But while "The Rainmaker" may not rank up with some of his previous films, I think he totally nails this one.  And it's supposedly John Grisham's personal favorite of his books translated to film.  Which I guess puts me in good company.

Top 5 - Political Conspiracies

Time for another edition of Tracie's Top 5, this time focusing on the political conspiracy thriller.  Most Americans of a certain age remember The Cold War, and the fear of communism and anything associated with it.  Most of the really good political thrillers play into this fear, or into the concept of nation-building and secret conspiracies.  

1. The Manchurian Candidate - My Top political conspiracy thriller of all time.  Frank Sinatra, Laurence Harvey and the rest of their platoon are all captured during the Korean War, brainwashed and hypnotized by the North Koreans.  Upon their release, they are unaware of the role they all play in the attempted overthrow of the U.S. government by Communists, but are racing against time to break the hypnotic link and save the country and each other from disaster. It's creepy, it's violent, it's quiet and it's suspenseful. And Angela Lansbury gives us one of the all-time great screen villains.

2. Seven Days in May - Burt Lancaster is the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, who disagrees so strongly with a potential peace treaty with the Soviets, that he plans a coup.  Kirk Douglas is the Junior Officer who figures it out and takes it to the President, Fredric March.  It is then a race against time to gather enough evidence to reveal the plot and save the country from the coup. Terrific performances all around (Martin Balsam, Edmund O'Brien, and Ava Gardner included).  Can it be just a coincidence that my top 2 conspiracy movies were directed by John Frankenheimer? I think not.

3. Advise and Consent - This picture comes to us from Otto Preminger, another old hand at conspiracy movies.  In this one, President Franchot Tone has nominated Henry Fonda as Secretary of State, and this picture focuses on the machinations of members of the Senate to approve or deny the nomination.  Is he a communist or isn't he?  Don't we all have skeletons in our closet? And is worth keeping them hidden?

4. Missing - We can't consider conspiracy movies without giving a nod to Costa-Gavras, the European king of conspiracies.  Here, in a true story, we have Jack Lemmon and Sissy Spacek, father and wife of an American who goes missing during the Chilean coup by Augusto Pinochet in 1973.  As they keep digging and searching further and further, they find disturbing answers as to the role the Chilean and U.S. governments played in his disappearance and eventual murder.  Jack Lemmon goes from a believer in his country, to a disbeliever and an ever-angrier father. Heartbreaking.

5. The Oscar-winning king of conspiracy movies.  Robert Redford and Dustin Hoffman portray journalists Woodward and Bernstein, who gave us Deep Throat, and unraveled the Watergate Conspiracy, eventually resulting in the resignation of the President. A true whodunit, this movie gives us red herrings, attempts to silence witnesses,  and an eventual disappointing conclusion. Terrific oscar-winning performance by Jason Robards as Washington Post editor Ben Bradlee.

Hitchcock Retrospective

For those of you in the Salt Lake City area, don't forget to check out this month's Hitchcock Retrospective, taking place at The Broadway, and presented by the Salt Lake Film Society.  I went last weekend to see "The 39 Steps", and it was absolutely fantastic to see on the big screen, and with an enthusiastic crowd.