Hitchcock 9 Part 2

The Hitchcock 9 returned to the Bay Area with a two week run at the PFA in August.  I saw six of the nine films in June at the Castro Theater.  That series was organized by the San Francisco Silent Film Festival.  I was able to watch the three remaining films during the PFA series.

One film in the Hitchcock 9 gets a third screening in the Bay Area in the upcoming months.  The Lodger plays at the San Francisco Symphony on Halloween.

The Farmer’s Wife starring Jameson Thomas & Lilian Hall-Davis; silent with intertitles; live accompaniment by Judith Rosenberg; (1928)

Downhill starring Ivor Novello; silent with intertitles; live accompaniment by Judith Rosenberg; (1927)

Champagne starring Betty Balfour; silent with intertitles; live accompaniment by Judith Rosenberg; (1928)

Alfred Hitchcock directed all three films.

Immediately after seeing each of the three films, I was left unimpressed.  One good thing about waiting (or more accurately procrastinating) to blog is that I am able to think about the films some more.  I am typically more charitable towards the films after some delay between seeing the films and writing about them.  Such was the case with the Hitchcock 9.

The Farmer’s Wife is a comedy.  The eponymous farmer is Jameson Thomas who plays widower Samuel Sweetland.  When his daughter gets married, Sweetland decides it is time to find a new wife.  He feels confident that his prospects are good and with the help of his housekeeper Minta (Lilian Hall-Davis), comes up with a list of suitable potential brides.  The first thing I noticed was that Hall-Davis (the lead actress in Hitchcock's The Ring) is noticeably more attractive than the would-be wives.  Not only is she more attractive but she is more well adjusted.  However, she is the housekeeper and Sweetland, a landowner, merits a wife of higher standing than a mere domestic.

With a list of four women in hand, Sweetland goes-a-courtin'.  One after another they reject him and in hilarious manner.  Humbled and dejected, Sweetland returns home and his new state of mind allows him to see Minta in a new light.  Fifth time is the charm when Sweetland asks Minta to marry him and she accepts his proposal.

The plot and ending of The Farmer’s Wife is easily identifiable from a distance.  The comedic brushstrokes are a little too broad for my tastes but three weeks later, I am still able to recall (with a smile) some of the scenes.  There must be something about the film I like.

Downhill was based on a play written by David L'Estrange which a pen name for Ivor Novello & Constance Collier.  Novello plays the lead role of Roddy Berwick, a boarding school (or was it university?) student.  The son of a wealthy family, Roddy is a popular student but it also leads to his downfall or slide downhill as the title alludes.  Roddy, due his family's wealth, is falsely accused of impregnating a local salesgirl.   Rather than deny the charge, Roddy takes the rap for his best friend.  His best friend would lose his scholarship if he accepted responsibility.  In fact, the girl was never pregnant and I wonder if the charge wasn't rape.  Hitchcock abstains from detailed intertitles during this scene.  Roddy is expelled from the school for the charge.  What about paternity and child support issues?

Roddy's father is upset with his expulsion.  It seems he could just money the issue away but instead Roddy leaves in a huff or was he kicked out?  As you can see, some of the details escape me.  Roddy takes a job as an chorus boy and falls for the star of the show.  When he comes into some money from an inheritance, the actress (Isabelle Jeans) agrees to marry him.  She quickly burns through his money and cuckolds him.  Once again, he leaves in a huff.

Next, he ends up as a "taxi dancer" in a Paris nightclub.  This scene is amazing.  I'm certain that some of the "women" were men in drag and I thought it was incredible that they would depict and a bi/gay nightclub in 1927.  I felt it was clear that Roddy was "gay for pay" with the patrons but every other source I have seen refers to this scenes as a nightclub for older women.  Regardless, he is once again taken advantage of by the madam of the club.

This sends Roddy on his final descent where he ends up delirious and homeless.  Again, it's unclear to me if the final scene where he is reunited with his father is "real" or a hallucination.

Given that Novello was gay, I once again wonder about the Parisian nightclub scene.  Somewhat simplistic in plot, Hitchcock's skill was in full display in two memorable scenes.  After being expelled and quicked out of the house, we see Roddy dressed in a tuxedo so we think he is doing well.  Then the camera pulls back and we see he is a waiter in tux; not doing so well.  Then we see him surreptitiously taking a wallet and we think he has fallen to quite a low station in life.  Then the camera pulls back even more and we see his is a chorus dancer.

The second scene which is memorable is at the Parisian nightclub.  Just when Roddy appears to have made a genuine connection, the nightclub curtains are pulled open revealing sunlight.  Like vampires, the grotesque patrons are exposed and go scurrying off.

In Champagne, Betty Balfour plays "The Girl," an American heiress who, with her pilot, flies her "aeroplane" on a one-way trip midway across the ocean to catch the ocean liner carry "The Boy" (Jean Bradin).  The Boy happens to be the boyfriend.  Betty wants to marry The Boy seemingly to spite her father who is concerned that The Boy is only interested in Betty's money.  The father concocts a ruse and tells Betty that the family fortune (made in the champagne business or bootleg liquor) has been wiped out in the stock market.  The film was released about a year before the 1929 stock market crash.

As  a result of a separate quarrel, Betty and The Boy are taking a break from their relationship.  Betty finds work at a swanky nightclub as a flower girl (one of those women who sells rose or carnations to patrons for the lapel buttons).  It's not lost on Betty or the audience that this the type of club she would have frequented as a patron and now she is working there.

Since the beginning of the film, there has been a suspicious looking man (Ferdinand von Alten credited as The Man) hanging around Betty.  He shows up at the nightclub and his intentions are unclear.  Betty fears the worst but he appears to have Betty's best interests at heart.  The Boy shows up and once again argues with Betty over her job and he storms out.  Betty and The Boy have a volatile relationship.  Later, The Boy and The Father return.  The Father reveals to Betty his deception.  Betty is angry at both of them although I'm not sure of The Boy's complicity.  In a moment of pique, Betty asks The Man to take her back to America since he is traveling there the next day.  He agrees and they drive from Paris to the Normandy coast to board the ocean liner.  Once on board, The Man locks Betty up in her cabin (although there were two beds) from the outside but conveniently leaves the key in the lock.

A few minutes later, The Boy arrives in the cabin and Betty conks him on the head before realizing who he is.  They reconcile again but The Man returns and interrupts the couple.  This time The Father is with the The Man.  It turns out The Man is some sort of detective who has been hired to look after Betty.  The good news is that The Father now approves of The Boy and Betty marriage to him.  As the couple discuss wedding plans, another argument ensues.

Of the three films, my opinion of The Farmer’s Wife has improved the most.  My opinion of Champagne has changed the least.  I didn't think it was that funny and to say it was contrived would be an understatement.  Betty Balfour was definitely game but I found the film limp and lacking.

From the entire Hitchcock 9, my favorite film was The Manxman with honorable mentions for Blackmail and The Lodger.  My opinion of The Pleasure Garden also improved considerably in the 2.75 months since I watched it.

Hitchcock 9

The San Francisco Silent Film Festival (SFSFF) presented the Hitchcock 9 at the Castro Theater from June 14 to 16.  I saw six of the nine films on the program.  The Hitchcock 9 is project by the British Film Institute to digitally restore all of Alfred Hitchcock’s surviving silent films.

Blackmail starring Anny Ondra, John Longden & Cyril Ritchard; directed by Alfred Hitchcock; silent with intertitles; live accompaniment by the Mont Alo Motion Picture Orchestra; (1929)

The Ring starring Carl Brisson, Lilian Hall-Davis & Ian Hunter; directed by Alfred Hitchcock; silent with intertitles; live accompaniment by the Mont Alo Motion Picture Orchestra; (1927)

The Manxman starring Carl Brisson, Malcolm Keen & Amy Ondra; directed by Alfred Hitchcock; silent with intertitles; live accompaniment by Stephen Horne & Diana Rowan; (1929)

Easy Virtue starring Isabel Jeans, Robin Irvine & Franklin Dyall; directed by Alfred Hitchcock; silent with intertitles; live accompaniment by Judith Rosenberg; (1927)

The Pleasure Garden starring Virginia Valli, Camelita Geraghty, Miles Mander & John Stuart; directed by Alfred Hitchcock; silent with intertitles; live accompaniment by Stephen Horne; (1926)

The Lodger starring Ivor Novello, Malcolm Keen & June Tripp; directed by Alfred Hitchcock; silent with intertitles; live accompaniment by the Mont Alo Motion Picture Orchestra; (1926)

The same nine films are screening at the PFA from August 16 to 31.  Judith Rosenberg is scheduled to accompany all nine films.  I plan on seeing the three films I missed at the PFA screenings.

It was little odd for SFSFF to have a program so close to their annual festival.  The crowds were a little lighter than the festival proper but still quite strong.  It was also the first time I recall Judith Rosenberg performing at a SFSFF event.  She performs regularly at PFA and Niles Essanay.

Most of the films were not "Hitchcockian" - few murders and the humor wasn't quite so cheeky.

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The festival opened with Blackmail which was Hitchcock's final silent film and it portended his best talkies.  Frank (John Longden) is police detective. He and his girlfriend Alice (Anny Ondra) have an argument over dinner.  It's unclear if Alice is having an affair or goes off with an artist in response to the argument with Frank.  I think the latter but regardless, she goes to his studio where he eventually tries to rape her.  She defends herself with a pair of scissors which ends in the artist death.

Frank is assigned the case the next day and recognizes Alice's glove at the murder scene as well as the victim who he glimpsed leaving the restaurant with Alice.  He tries to steer the investigation away from Alice but she is being blackmailed by someone who saw her enter the artist's studio.  Frank and Alice conspire to handle the blackmailer but he flees leading to climactic chase on the roof of the British Museum Reading Room.

This film felt just like one of the Master's more well known films - sex, blackmail, murder, etc.  Hitchcock shoots a great visual scene where the camera elevates as Alice and the artist ascend the stairs.

Michael Powell of Powell & Pressburger fame worked on Blackmail as a still photographer.

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The Ring wasn't bad although it didn't feel like a Hitchcock film.  "One Round" Jack (Carl Brisson) is a carnival boxer who takes on all comers.  Bob Corby (Ian Hunter) is the boxing champ who steps into the carnival ring against Jack.  Jack doesn't know who his opponent is and suffers a rare defeat at his hands.  Corby was there looking for a sparring partner.

Jack's girlfriend, and eventual wife, (Lilian Hall-Davis credited as "The Girl") is fickle.  She was attracted to Jack because of his boxing prowess but seeing Corby beat him and the following Corby's boxing career, she eventually takes up with the champ.  In fact, Jack must rise up the ranks in order to get a championship fight against Corby in order to win the girl back.  Ironically, it is while Jack is training for the fight that Corby and the girl become an item.  If the old boxing superstition is to be believed, it was because Corby consorted with women that he eventually loses the match to Jack.

The film was a little too pat.  The Ring is Hitchcock's only screenwriting credit and shows a maudlin streak.  I thought it would have worked better if Jack had lost the fight (or the girl) but there is no use in talking about the film that wasn't made.  The final fight scene was nicely done although the two actors did not move like fighters.

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The Manxman was also a love triangle but I enjoyed it more than The Ring.  The title refers to people from the Isle of Man.  Shouldn't they be called Manman or Manmen (plural)?  Hitchcock makes great use of the coastal scenery but Cornwall stood in for the Isle of Man, a small island off the northwest coast of England,

Pete (Carl Brisson) , a poor fisherman and Philip (Malcolm Keen), a lawyer from a prominent family are best friends.  Pete is in love Kate (Anny Ondra) but her father refuses to allow her daughter to marry Pete due to his low station in life.  Pete goes to Africa to make his fortune.  Africa?  Anyway, before he leaves he ask Philip to "take care" of Kate until he returns and can marry her.  You know were this is going.

In Pete's absence, Kate & Philip develop attraction towards each other but it isn't until news of Pete's death reaches them that their passion can be fully expressed.  Philip is being groomed for a judgeship on the island (which is called a Deemster).  Additionally, Philip's family objects to his consorting with people like Kate (a tavern keeper's daughter) and Pete.

News of Pete's death was inaccurate as he arrives back on Isle of Man healthy and wealthy.  Although she has stronger feelings from Philip, Kate marries Pete so as not to break his heart and not to mention Philip has kept their relationship on the QT.  There is a great scene where the wedding reception is held at a grain mill, the same spot of many of Philip and Kate's trysts.  Kate's father (the stern looking Randie Ayrton) delivers a wedding toast about something being ground up like the grain under the millstone.

Kate & Pete settle into married life while Philip is appointed Deemster.  If Kate could just let go of Philip, everything would be alright.  Kate gives birth (the father is open question) and the stress of being a new mother and being married to a man she doesn't truly love is too much.  She goes to Philip to rekindle their affair but he has a career and reputation to protect.  Distraught, Kate attempts suicide but is unsuccessful.  Attempted suicide is a crime on the Isle of Man and Kate is prosecuted in Philip's courtroom.

Despite his wife's erratic and hurtful behavior, Pete is still in love with her and pleads with Philip to free her to his custody.  Pete still doesn't know about Philip and Kate's relationship.  Philip agrees to let Kate go in the custody of her husband but she refuses.  While watching the proceedings, Kate's father begins to realize that Kate is in love with another man...and that man is Philip.  He publicly accuses Philip of betraying Pete and impregnating his daughter.  Philip admits to this and leaves the bench.

The final scene is Kate & Philip leaving the Isle of Man to jeers of a mob.  That seemed a little overdone but according the program notes, it would have been consistent with the prevailing attitude of the time.

The Manxman was very good and I liked it quite a bit.  I was going to say that I liked it quite a bit for a love triangle story but decided there was no need to qualify statement.  The three lead actors gave strong performances.

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Easy Virtue was adapted from a Noel Coward play which seems like odd source material for both Hitchcock and a silent film.  I thought I saw the stage version of Easy Virtue at ACT a few years back, but I was mistaken.  ACT has never performed Easy Virtue.  I'm wondering where I saw it.  Since seeing the film, I realized it had been remade a few years ago with Jessica Biel, Colin Firth & Kristin Scott Thomas.  I still can't figure out where I saw the stage version.

Anyway, the Hitchcock version is a film I like better today than when I saw it.  I won't say I liked it but I've gone form mild dislike to neutrality.  As the film opens, Larita (Isabel Jeans) is married to a drunken wife beater.  Accused of adultery, she accepts divorce to get away from him.  The divorce brands her an adulterer or woman of "easy virtue" so she leaves for the French Rivera where she meets John Whittaker (Robin Irvine), a rich young man.  Afraid to reveal her divorce or more specifically the grounds for her divorce, she keeps her first marriage a secret.  John falls in love and asks her to marry him and she accepts.

John takes Larita back to England to meet his family where his mother shows an antipathy towards her. News of her first marriage and particulars of its dissolution come to light.  Larita eventually decides to end her second marriage for different reason that her first.  Tired of the hostility and realizing another woman loves John, Larita gets divorced for a second time.

Condensed to 70 minutes, the film didn't leave much room for character development.  Moreover, it looked like a play that had been filmed.  I'm also sure that some of Coward's biting dialogue was lost on the intertitle cards.

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The Pleasure Garden was kind of ham-handed in some of its characterizations.  Jill (Carmelita Geraghty) arrives in London with a letter of introduction addressed to the proprietor of the Pleasure Garden Theater - a dance and variety revue.  Jill apparently comes from a small town and is immediately the victim of a pickpocket.  Jill promptly loses her letter and her money.  Patsy (Virginia Valli), a kind-hearted chorus girl at the Pleasure Garden takes pity of Jill and invites her to stay at her place.

Jill's boyfriend Hugh (John Stuart) shows up in London with Levet (Miles Mander) Levet, slight acquaintance.  Whatever her background, Jill is self-confident to the point of arrogance.  She gets a lead role on the basis of her talent and quickly gets high-handed with Jill and to a lesser extent Hugh.  In the meantime, Patsy & Levet being a romance despite signs of Levet's misogyny and other character flaws.

Hugh is sent overseas for work and Levet is soon to join him although he first marries Patsy.  Jill begins to carry on an affair with a prince which Hugh is unaware of.  After their honeymoon, Levet goes Africa although it looked more like a South Seas/Pacific island where he meets Hugh, keeps secret Jill's affair and takes up with local girl.  Patsy becomes concerned after not hearing from her husband for a long period.  Shacked up and not thinking much of his wife, Levet makes up an excuse by saying he has been ill.

Concerned for his health, Patsy immediately sets out to join him so she can nurse him back to health.  When she arrives unannounced, she discovers Levet has been carrying on with the native girl.  This sends Levet into a tizzy.  He forces the girl from his hut she refuses.  He settles the matter by drowning the girl.  Determined to get his wife back, he looks for her and find her tending to Hugh (who really is ill).  Levet forces Patsy to return to the hut where his guilt over killing the woman drives him crazy.  Actually, I wondered if his behavior was the result of untreated syphilis.  I don't know why that popped into my mind.

Hugh has warned his boss that Levet is acting erratically.  The boss arrives at Levet's house to find him trying to kill Patsy.  He shoots & kills Levet.  In the meantime, Hugh has read in a newspaper that Patsy brought that Jill is marrying the prince.  As Patsy arrives, the two find consolation with each other - one  a fevered man who has just learned he has been jilted and the other woman just barely survived attempted murder.  I'm sure that's a happily-ever-after relationship.

Miles Mander seems to be enjoying himself playing the dastardly Levet.   Carmelita Geraghty also seems to embrace the "success has gone to her head" Jill.  Virginia Valli & John Stuart seem a little flat in their roles.  A little melodrama goes a long way and this film had too much for my taste.

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The full title of The Lodger was The Lodger: A Story of the London Fog.  A serial killer called "The Avernger" is terrorizing London.  His MO is to kill young blonde women.  He even kills them on Tuesday night every week.  Joe (Malcolm Keen), a policeman is assigned to case.  His blonde girlfriend Daisy (June Tripp) lives & works at her parents boarding house.  Joe has determined that the Avenger's murders are working their way across London and if the pattern holds, next week his hunting ground will be in the vicinity of Daisy's boarding house.

Mr. Drew (Ivor Novello) arrives at the boarding house and rents a room.  A peculiar man, Drew is secretive and has the paintings of beautiful blonde nudes removed from his room.  Drew & Daisy become friendly during his stay which leaves Joe resentful.  In addition, Daisy's mother hears Drew entering the house late one night...only to discover the Avenger has struck again and right around the corner from her house.

Daisy's parents and Joe come to believe Drew is the Avenger but Daisy is unconvinced.  She even goes out with him the Tuesday night.  Joe arrests the lodger and finds a gun, a map with the Avenger's murders marked on it, newspaper clippings and a photo of an attractive blonde woman.  Joe thinks he has caught the Avenger despite Daisy's protest.  Drew escapes custody and hides out with Daisy's help.  Drew explains that the woman in the photo is his sister and one of the Avenger's victims.  Drew had promised his dying mother that he would catch the Avenger and he has been hunting him ever since which explains his suspicious behavior.

With a manhunt on for the Avenger/Drew, a crowd becomes suspicious of Drew and Daisy.   It appears as though a lynching is inevitable but at the crucial moment, a paperboy, hawking his newspapers, loudly announces that the Avenger has been caught and the mob disperses.

Not quite a MacGuffin but definitely a red herring, Hitchcock keeps the deception up for the entire film.  I don't think the Avenger's face was shown in the film.  The lodger's true intentions remained hidden throughout the film which allowed for a "surprise" ending.  The Lodger felt like a Hitchcock film and a good one at that.  Ivor Novello is particularly creepy as the eponymous character.

The Puzzle Within the Castro Theater's June Calendar

The June calendar is out and the puzzle wasn't too difficult.  There were only two days in June which the theater was closed which made it easier.

June 10 - I quickly recognized Alfred Hitchcock as the man in the photo.  I didn't recognize the woman
June 17 - I did not recognize the man or the woman in the photo.

After some perusal, I thought the woman looked similar in both photos. She appears to wear the same fur coat in both photos although I don't know if that is true.  She looks older in the second photo.  Guessing it was the same woman in both photos, I started to wonder if that was Hitchcock in the June 17 photo.  I correctly guessed that the woman was Hitchcock's wife, Alma.  I googled her to see what she looked like.  I mentally picture her as Helen Mirren since seeing Hitchcock.  This photo came up as a result of the Google search.  Larger and in higher definition, it definitely looks like Hitchcock in the June 17 photo.

So both photos are Alfred Hitchcock & Alma Reville.  It wasn't much of leap to think the clues pointed to the Hitchcock 9 series at the Castro which is presented by the San Francisco Silent Film Festival.  The Hitchcock 9 series will be held from June 14 to 16 at the Castro.

The same series will run from August 16 to 31 at the PFA.  Judith Rosenberg will be accompanying two of the films (Champagne and Easy Virtue) at the Castro series but will be accompanying all nine films at the PFA series.  That's something to consider if you want to see all nine films but don't want to spend all day at the Castro on June 16 and 16.

Castro Theater Calendar - June 2013

Witness For the Prosecution & Stage Fright

Although I only saw one film from the PFA's Hitchcock retrospective, I was able to see another of his films at Stanford last weekend.  The program was a double feature with works by Billy Wilder & Alfred Hitchcock.  Marlene Dietrich starred in both films.

Witness for the Prosecution starring Charles Laughton, Tyrone Power & Marlene Dietrich; directed by Billy Wilder; (1957)
Stage Fright starring Jane Wyman & Marlene Dietrich; directed by Alfred Hitchcock; (1950)

Witness for the Prosecution was based on an Agatha Christie play and short story of the same name (the short story added the article "The" to the title).

For the past few years, the Stanford has been showing films between 5 and 7 days per week with Mondays & Tuesdays typically dark.  I noticed in the current schedule, they are only screening films 4 days per week with Wednesday added to the dark days.  I guess business must be slow.  I went to the 7:30 PM screening of Witness for the Prosecution on Sunday, April 14.  Although there were a lot of empty seats, the Stanford had more people in it than I can remember at any of the screenings I have attended.

Stage Fright was not part of the PFA's three month Hitchcock program.

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I'm not a big fan of Agatha Christie's works but mostly enjoyed Witness for the Prosecution in no small part due to Charles Laughton's performance.

On his first day back to work from an extended, Sir Wilfrid Robarts (Laughton) is approached by a potential client.  Robarts, a London barrister, is visited by a solicitor and his client, Leonard Vole (Tyrone Power).  I always have to look up the difference between a barrister & solicitor.  Barristers are the ones who wear the wigs and argue in court.

There is significant circumstantial evidence pointing to Vole having killed a wealthy widow.  Vole says his wife Christine (Marlene Dietrich) will provide his alibi.  Despite his ill health and the disapproval of his nurse (Elsa Lanchester, Laughton's wife), Robarts is intrigued by Voles and accepts his case.  Robarts is not dissuaded after Mrs. Voles provides a less than enthusiastic alibi.

As the title of the film indicates, Christine ends up testifying for the prosecution and backs away from the alibi.  I won't give away the ending but there is a double surprise.

Dietrich's famous gams (technically only the left leg is visible) make a memorable appearance in a makeshift German cabaret in a scene where she meets Voles.  Laughton provides a lot of comedic relief in his interactions with his nurse which is only enhanced by the knowledge that the actors are husband and wife.  Marlene Dietrich, on the north side of her 50s when the film was made, looks radiant.  When you see a star like Dietrich, properly lit and filmed, you understand how Hollywood make their stars shine.

Witness for the Prosecution was an entertaining film.  I was more interested in Laughton & Dietrich's performances than the twists and turns in the plot but I'm glad I finally saw the film.

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Jane Wyman was 32 years old when she made Stage Fright.  She was a couple years removed from her marriage to Ronald Reagan and had had three children at the time of filming.  Despite this, she looked much younger in Stage Fright.  Once again, the magic of movies.  That's the long way of saying I found Wyman to be very attractive in Stage Fright.

Jonathan Cooper (Richard Todd) is on the run from the law as the film begins.  His friend Eve (Wyman) helps him escape London and stashes him at her father's seaside cottage (Alastair Sim in a great performance).  Cooper is suspected in the death of Charlotte Inwood's (Dietrich) husband.  Inwood is a celebrity singer/actress in London and Cooper is one of her chorus dancers.

The film leads the audience to believe Inwood murdered her husband but Hitchcock pulls, what I considered, a second-rate plot device in order to achieve a surprise ending.  Along the way, Eve takes an alias in order to be hired on temporarily as Eve's personal assistant.  She also begins a romance with the lead police detective (Michael Wilding) in order to get inside information about the investigation which she can feed to Cooper.  Eve starts the film as being in love (unrequitedly) with Cooper which explains her willingness to harbor a fugitive.  By the end of the film, Eve has feelings for the cop but is steadfast in her belief in Cooper's innocence.

Stage Fright is a delightful film full of Hitchcock's cheeky humor.  Not quite as dark as his classic suspense films, Stage Fright seems more like a comedy with some suspenseful elements.  Wyman gets to shine with disguises and accents and bantering with her father and the detective.  Dietrich gets to play herself or at least her stereotype - an aging diva with a voracious appetite for men which serves her well because she spits them out as soon as she is done with them.  She even gets to sing La Vie en Rose.

Alfred Hitchcock: The Shape of Suspense

2013 seems to be the Year of Hitchcock.  I don't know why as this year does not seem to be an anniversary of anything of significance in his life.  Hitchcock seems popular again since Hitchcock was released and The Girl aired on HBO in 2012.  Anthony Hopkins & Toby Jones portrayed The Master in those productions, respectively.  His Vertigo was named the Greatest Film of All Time in the 2012 critics' poll conducted by Sight and Sound.

The PFA is at the tail end of an ambitious program titled Alfred Hitchcock: The Shape of Suspense.  If my counting is correct, there are 28 film screenings in the program (January 11 through April 24).  The program still has two films left (Psycho and Frenzy) but I will not be able to attend either.

In addition, the San Francisco Silent Film Festival will be screening nine of his silent films from June 14 to 16 at the Castro. I will be attending that program.  I haven't decided how many of the screenings I will attend.  The films being screened (with accompaniment) will be:

Blackmail  (Mont Alto Motion Picture Orchestra)
Champagne  (Stephen Horne)
Downhill  (Stephen Horne)
The Ring  (Mont Alto Motion Picture Orchestra)
The Manxman  (Stephen Horne)
The Farmer's Wife  (Stephen Horne)
Easy Virtue  (accompaniment to be announced)
The Pleasure Garden  (Stephen Horne)
The Lodger  (Mont Alto Motion Picture Orchestra)

These films are collectively known as the "Hitchcock 9" and will play at the PFA from August 16 to 31.

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Way back in January, I saw my one and only film in the PFA's The Shape of Suspense program.

The Man Who Knew Too Much starring Leslie Banks, Edna Best & Peter Lorre; directed by Alfred Hitchcock; (1934)

Hitchcock remade this film under the same title with James Stewart & Doris Day in 1956.  The film is famous because Day sang Que Sera, Sera (one of her biggest hits).

The 1934 version starts off in St. Moritz during winter, not Morocco during summer.  Leslie Banks and Edna Best play the Stewart & Day roles, respectively.  The 1934 film hits all the plot points as the 1956 version which I am familiar with but doesn't quite feel right.  I should be honest and say at the time I saw the film, I was unimpressed so my notes are sketchy at best.  As this paragraph alludes to, I spent a lot of mental energy synchronizing the two versions of the film.  The assassination at the Royal Albert Hall?  Check.  The scene at the church?  Check.  In the 1934 version, the boy is held in a working class/ghetto area near the London docks.  In the 1956 version, the boy is held at a posh embassy residence where Day gets to sing her song.

The scene that sticks in my mind the most after three months is the climax which involves an extended gun battle between an army of cops & the kidnappers.  I am likely conditioned by modern films with loud gun battles but I thought the final showdown had a tinny sound which reminded me of a gallery shooting arcade.

Peter Lorre was memorable in an early role (just a few years removed from Fritz Lang's M).  All things considered, I prefer the 1956 version of The Man Who Knew Too Much.

Flawed Men and the Women Who Loved Them

I saw two films in December at the Landmark Embarcadero which portrayed deeply flawed men who achieved greatness in their respective fields.

Hyde Park on Hudson starring Bill Murray & Laura Linney; directed by Roger Michell; (2012) - Official Website
Hitchcock starring Anthony Hopkins & Helen Mirren; directed by Sacha Gervasi; (2012) - Official Website

Hyde Park on Hudson tells the story of Franklin D. Roosevelt (Bill Murray) and his relationship with Margaret Suckley (Laura Linney).  Suckley was FDR's sixth cousin and mistress.  What was it with FDR and his cousins?  Eleanor Roosevelt was his fifth cousin, once removed.  Suckley was FDR's companion and lover for over a decade.  If the film is to be believed, their relationship was on open secret known to the press, the White House staffers, Eleanor Roosevelt and others.

Much of the film takes place in June 1939 when King George VI and Queen Elizabeth of the United Kingdom visited FDR's country estate in Hyde Park, NY.  FDR, of course, is park of Hyde Park Roosevelts whereas Teddie Roosevelt and Eleanor are descended from the Oyster Point Roosevelts.  King George VI is the monarch portrayed by Colin Firth in The King's Speech.

King George's visit was an attempt to shore up American support for the coming war with Nazi Germany.  The war wouldn't officially start until September 1939 but the imminence of the war was apparent to all observers.  Hyde Park on Hudson portrays FDR as cavalier about the issue.  FDR seems to be sizing up King George as if to determine if the King is worthy of his support.  The King's willingness to be photographed eating a hot dog is the pivotal moment in Anglo-American relations if Hyde Park on Hudson is accurate.

FDR is often considered one of the greatest American presidents but Murray portrays him as henpecked and in need of feminine comfort in order to discharge his responsibilities.  FDR's private secretary, Marguerite LeHand (Elizabeth Marvel), acts as gatekeeper, procurer and sometime mistress.  Eleanor Roosevelt does not turn a blind eye towards her husband's dalliances.  She actually forms friendships with LeHand & Suckley.  It's implied that her sexuality at this point in their marriage is exclusively sapphic.  She views LeHand & Suckley's ministrations as beneficial to her marriage and country.  Suckley is caught unaware of the full extent on LeHand's services to the president.

There are times when I laughed at the incredulity of some of the situations.  Just before King George's bite heard around the world, FDR insists Suckley join the First Couple & the Royal Couple at the head picnic table as act of contrition.  You see, the evening before Suckley had caught FDR cheating on her with LeHand.  Technically, he was cheating on his wife with LeHand but I guess he was cheating on Suckley, once removed.

I forgot to mention the most powerful woman in FDR's life - his 83 year old mother, Sara.  In the film, FDR spends considerable time juggling the demands of his wife, cousin, secretary and mother while probing the British sovereign's haughtiness with paintings, alcohol and food.  It all seems ridiculous if you think about it for long but the film is amusing.  Murray doesn't quite do an impression of FDR.  He loses himself in the role which is more than he usually does.  Murray's character always seem to have certain similarity but in Hyde Park he completely subsumes himself in the persona of FDR.

The supporting actresses keep the film moving nicely.  I've been a fan of Laura Linney's I saw her as Dede in Tale of the City (it's already been 20 years since that miniseries aired).  Marvel's LeHand is the juiciest character in the film.  Suckley is a shy and withdrawn whereas as LeHand is self-assured; more so than one would expect from a private secretary...unless she was intimate with her boss.  Olivia Williams as Eleanor, Elizabeth Wilson as Sara Roosevelt & Olivia Colman as Queen Elizabeth are memorable.  Colman plays Elizabeth as bitchy & uptight.  Fortunately for Western civilization, her husband ate that hot dog over her objections or we would all be speaking German now.

If you don't take Hyde Park on Hudson too seriously (i.e. recognize it as a comedy), it's an entertaining film.

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The scenes in Hitchcock are more believable because Alfred Hitchcock was such a larger than life character.  Documenting the making of Psycho, Hitchcock show how personally invested Hitchcock was in the film; both emotionally and financially.  The film is based on Stephen Rebello's Alfred Hitchcock and the Making of Psycho.  Psycho was based on Robert Bloch's Psycho with Norman Bates partially inspired by Ed Gein (aka The Plainfield Ghoul), a serial killer who tangential behaviors are numerous and ghoulish.

In Hitchcock, the Master of Suspense has hallucinations where he speaks with Gein during the production of Psycho.  Hitchcock really kicks into gear when we get see Anthony Hopkins do his Hitchcock imitation.  More closely matching Hitchcock's distinctive speech patterns than Murray in Hyde Park, Hopkins does seem to be doing more impersonation than interpretation.  With such an iconic personality, I don't know if Hopkins could have chosen a different route...although Murray.  However, these are two different films.  Whereas Hyde Park seems as though it would be better suited for serious drama, it strives for comedy.  Hitchcock with its flamboyant characters would be better suited to comedy but strives for drama.

The heart of Hitchcock is the relationship between Hitchcock & his wife, Alma Reville (Helen Mirren).  We see their power struggles within the marriage and their coping mechanisms.  Reville, Hitchcock's most trusted film advisor, scripted and edited all his films.  She chafed at having her own identity and considerable talents overlooked in favor of her husband, whom she help immensely.  Hitchcock had some peculiar interactions with his leading ladies.  Not necessarily sexual but sexualized, Hitchcock fell in love with his leading ladies and attempted to control them while Reville looked on, reining in his more bizarre behaviors but allowing him to fetishize his actresses to the creative benefit of his films (and detriment of their marriage).

Hitchcock is self-conscious of his weight and jealous of the men who pay attention to his wife.  Reville resents the attention her husband lavishes on his female actresses and suffers from low self-esteem in comparison to the ever younger and beautiful women being cast in his films.

Coming off the success of North by Northwest, Hitch is anxious to try something new and quickly champions Psycho despite the source material's macabre and outré elements.  Unwilling to find financing, Hitchcock mortgages his house.  From there we see him increasingly under pressure from the stress of the film production and the suspicion Reville is having an affair.  Along the way, Scarlett Johansson shows up as Janet Leigh.  I didn't think she looked or sounded much like Leigh but Johansson was sexy and magnetic like I remember Janet Leigh.  James D'Arcy as Anthony Perkins, has a smaller role in Hitchcock but captures Perkins/Bates much more accurately...at least, accurate with my expectation.  Hitch bullies and teases Perkins as he knows about his closeted sexuality.  Toni Collette as Hitchcock's assistant and Jessica Biel as Vera Miles have smaller but memorable roles.

Like the best Hitchcock films, Hitchcock has a cheeky sense of dark humor which serves it well.  I  enjoyed Hitchcock quite a lot.  It's not a great film but it is a thoroughly delightful one.

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Landmark Theaters have been running a "no cell phone" PSA before its screenings for a few month.  The spot feature Hitchcock admonishing the audience to not use cell phones.  The footage in the ad comes from Hitchcock.

#1 vs. #2 and I'm Not Referring to Notre Dame vs. Alabama

In 2012, Sight and Sound film magazine released its Greatest Films of All Time list as selected by film critics.  Revised every 10 years, the 2012 version was notable for a change atop the list.  Since 1962 (five consecutive polls), Citizen Kane had held the top spot.  In the 2012 poll, Vertigo took the #1 spot while Citizen Kane fell to #2.  The two films swapped poll positions from 2002 to 2012.

I saw both films at the Castro Theater in 2012.

Citizen Kane starring Orson Welles; directed by Orson Welles; (1941)
Vertigo starring Jimmy Stewart & Kim Novak; directed by Alfred Hitchcock; (1958)

I don't have much to add to the volumes written on these two films.  I've seen both films several times.   In fact, I have seen both films at the Castro Theater before.  I gained no new insight from these viewing although I enjoyed both film.  Vertigo & Citizen Kane stand up well to repeated viewings.

Vertigo isn't my favorite Hitchcock film.  I have read Jimmy Stewart's character is close to Hitchcock's own feelings towards his leading actresses.  It's unhealthy to say the least but it is so twisted as to be amusing at times.  The San Francisco and greater Bay Area locations also make the film particularly interesting to me.

As I learned from Hitchcock & various other sources, Vera Miles was originally cast as the lead actress in Vertigo.  She backed out due to pregnancy so Kim Novak was cast in the career defining role.  Many feel Novak was miscast but I thought she held her own.  She does better as Judy than Madeleine but I think Judy is the better part.

I have even less to add about Citizen Kane.  I find it interesting that the lead characters in both films are based on real people (William Randolph Hearst in the case of Citizen Kane).  The films show the flaws in these two men which makes for better entertainment and according to critics, better art.  I recall reading somewhere that great characters requires a flaw.  If the character were to achieve perfection, the audience could not identify and appreciate the character or the performance.

Saul Bass, Woody Allen & Jasper Johns at Oddball

On Thursday, I went to Oddball Films for the first time.  Located in the Mission District, Oddball is located on Capp Street, a narrow street which runs parallel to Mission St. starting at 15th Street until it curves around to end on Mission around Army Street (aka Cesar Chavez St.).  Notorious for streetwalkers, I don't believe I've ever been on Capp St.  In fact, I rarely venture "East of Mission."

Not sure what I would encounter, Capp St. was a surprising mix of well tended residences and businesses included a car repair place and a business having an NFPA 704 placard.  Oddball shares its building with Sutter Furniture Manufacturing Company.  Oddball, a company specializing in offbeat films, looks like what you would expect a film archive to look like.  Housed on the top floor of an old warehouse space (with wooden beams in the middle of the floor space), Oddball has reels of film piled floor to ceiling.  The room was drafty and the well worn wood floor did not help acoustics.  The film projectors were in the middle of the audience with the whirring motor clearly audible to all.  The bathroom had a shower stall in it.  There was a makeshift bar in the corner and wall ornaments which made it looked like a cineaste's clubhouse.

A few years ago, I noted Saul Bass' distinctive title sequences from several Otto Preminger films.  When I read the title of Thursday's program (Saul Bass and the Creative Impulse), I decided to visit Oddball for the first time.  RSVP was required and I assumeed cash only payment at the door.  There were probably 20 to 25 people in the audience who took up 80% of the seats.

Four short films were screened.

Why Man Creates; directed by Saul Bass; animation and live action; 29 minutes; (1968)
Bass on Titles; directed & written by Saul Bass & Stan Hart; documentary; (1977)
Woody Allen: An American Comedy; directed by Harold Mantell; documentary; (1977)
USA Artists: Jasper Johns; documentary; (1966)

The screening  was scheduled for 8 PM, but didn't start until after 8:15 and the total program took just over two hours.  Guest curator Landon Bates operated the two projectors.  He cut short the ending credits as he switched from one film to the next.  The screening had a "vacation movie" feel; like I was a kid going to one of my parents' friends' house to watch their vacation film or slide projector photos.

Why Man Creates won an Oscar in 1969 for Best Documentary Short Film.  It looks very much like a film from the 1960s.  It reminded of some of the stuff I saw on PBS as a kid in the 1970s.  Comprised of several unrelated parts, my favorite segment from Why Man Creates was called The Edifice.  It was an animated history of civilization.  The animation reminded me of the comic strip B.C. and was clever at moments.

Bass on Titles consists of the complete title sequences from 10 films which Bass worked on.  The ten films were The Man with the Golden Arm, The Big Country, West Side Story, Walk on the Wild Side, Nine Hours to Rama, It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World, The Victors, In Harm's Way, Seconds & Grand Prix.  In between title sequences, Bass talks about his approach and goal regarding each title sequence.  In a nutshell, Bass started off making logos for films.  Before, during and after his foray into film-making, Bass was a graphic designer who designed the logos for United Airlines, AT&T and many other companies.

Bass' first film job was to create the film poster for Preminger's Carmen Jones. Bass quickly realized film allowed his images to move so the rose consumed by flames was integrated into the title sequence.  These animated sequences (often using geometric shapes) are my favorites.  Their aesthetics match my preferences.  In addition to numerous Preminger films, Bass titled several Hitchcock classics (Vertigo, North by Northwest, Psycho).

As Bass described, these title sequences foreshadowed the film.  The burning rose represents the beauty and danger associated with Carmen Jones, the sharp points in The Man with the Golden Arm are the syringes Frank Sinatra's character uses to shoot heroin, the kaleidoscopic images in Vertigo show the jumbled state of Jimmy Stewart's mind & psyche.  Once Bass moved towards live action scenes which were essentially prologues to the film, my interest in them waned.  It's purely a matter of personal preference but those animated sequence appealed to something very deep within me.  Not emotionally but rather visually hypnotic, I could watch them over and over.

Woody Allen: An American Comedy was a talking head documentary featuring Woody Allen and clips from several of his early films.  I didn't really learn much.  I had seen an American Masters two parter on Allen last year so I was familiar with the material.  I am surprised at how little Allen has changed over the years.  Certainly he has aged but his dress and mannerisms have remained constant.

USA: Artists was a program on National Educational Television, the predecessor to PBS.  Apparently profiling American artists, Jasper Johns was the subject of this particular episode.  With halting speech as he changes course in mid-answer, Johns is not an ideal interviewee.  Whatever Johns lacks in polished oration, he makes up for with the earnestness of his commitment to art.  At times appearing ill at ease in front of the cameras, John's on-screen persona is hard to imagine in today's culture of media saturation.  A successful artist would be schooled in interview skills before being allowed in front of the cameras.  That a visual artifact like this footage even exists made the trip to Oddball worthwhile.

All said, the evening at Oddball was very satisfying if not somewhat physically uncomfortable.  Many people brought food and drink with them.  The cushioned seats were all occupied when I arrived so I will attempt to arrive earlier next time.  Cold on Thursday night, I imagine the space traps heat on warm days.  Still, if I see a program which interests me in the future, I will make it a point to attend.

Near the Intersection of Grant & Crawford

The title does not refer to streets in San Francisco but rather the two Hollywood legends, Archibald Alexander Leach and Lucille Fay LeSueur; better known by their stage names, Cary Grant and Joan Crawford. They never appeared together on screen. However, they appeared within a week of each other at the Castro Theater

The Castro had a week long Cary Grant series starting on August 31. I saw:

Philadelphia Story starring Cary Grant, Katharine Hepburn & Jimmy Stewart; directed by George Cukor; (1940)
Holiday starring Cary Grant & Katharine Hepburn; directed by George Cukor; (1938)
His Girl Friday starring Cary Grant & Rosalind Russell; with Ralph Bellamy; directed by Howard Hawks; (1940)
Only Angels Have Wings starring Cary Grant & Jean Arthur; with Richard Barthelmess, Rita Hayworth, Thomas Mitchell & Noah Beery Jr.; directed by Howard Hawks; (1939)
Notorious starring Cary Grant & Ingrid Bergman; with Claude Rains; directed by Alfred Hitchcock; (1946)
Suspicion starring Cary Grant & Joan Fontaine; directed by Alfred Hitchcock; (1941)

North by Northwest, Charade & Monkey Business are among the films I passed on because I had seen them previously. North by Northwest is one of my favorite films but I ended up seeing something else that night (a topic for another entry).

Two days after the Cary Grant series ended, the Castro ran a Joan Crawford double feature.

Humoresque starring Joan Crawford & John Garfield; with Oscar Levant; (1946)
Daisy Kenyon starring Joan Crawford, Dana Andrews & Henry Fonda; directed by Otto Preminger; (1947)

The primary reason I keep this blog is to chronicle the films I watch in theaters. I should have consulted the blog because I saw Humoresque in 2009 at the PFA. Although I didn't write about it then, it was immediately recognizable to me as a film I had previously scene. The boy who play John Garfield's character at the beginning of the film was familiar to me but I couldn't place the name. I looked him up afterwards; it was Robert Blake.

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I don't really need to recap the Cary Grant films. They are all classics except perhaps Only Angels Have Wings. A few of my observations.

Philadelphia Story & Holiday were released at the tail end of the Great Depression but before WWII. There is some debate as to when the Great Depression ended but I always use Pearl Harbor Day as the cutoff. My general 20th century US timeline for history and movies are:

1918 WWI
1919 Spanish Influenza Epidemic
1920 to 1929 Roaring 20s/End of the Silent Era
1929 to 1941 Great Depression
1941 to 1945 WWII
1946 to 1952 Post WWII/HUAC-Red Scare/Korean War/Film Noir
1952 to 1960 Eisenhower Administration
1960 to 1966 Mad Men era, Kennedy/Camelot
1967 to 1973 Hippies/Counterculture/Vietnam/Social Unrest
1974 to 1980 Nixon/Watergate/1970s excess/cinema I don't typically understand or appreciate
1981 and onwards - I can remember this period so i don't need crib notes to put a film in its historical context

Getting back to Cary Grant, Philadelphia Story & Holiday were set among the ultra wealthy in the Northeast US. I wonder how many people in the audience could relate to the characters. I guess it's not much different from today with reality shows like The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills but I have always thought that making movies about the fabulously wealthy and beautiful during the Great Depression was a in poor taste. The counter argument is that the nation needed films like that to escape their real-life troubles.

Philadelphia Story seemed to imply Katharine Hepburn's character had some psychological issues which left her frigid (I believe that was the term used at the time). In other words, the character had issues with men that left her unable to be fully satisfied with the most intimate aspects of her marriage. I can see how a woman married to guy looking like Cary Grant could have that trouble. I hadn't picked up on that although its been years since I saw Philadelphia Story.

In Holiday, Lew Ayres turned in a nice performance as Hepburn's sympathetic but constantly sloshed brother.

His Girl Friday is full of self-references. When asked to describe his ex-wife's (Rosalind Russell) fiancé, Cary Grant says "He looks like that fellow in the movies - Ralph Bellamy." Ralph Bellamy is playing the role in the film. At another point Grant says "Listen the last man that said that to me was Archie Leach just a week before he cut his throat." Archie Leach is Grant's real name. Grant and Russell were fully conversant in the rapid fire patois of the period. I'm not sure if people really spoke that way or it was just in the movies.

Suspicion had a horrible ending which made the film terribly disappointing. It was changed from the source material (a novel titled Before the Fact). I thought it was the hand of the Hays Code but it was the direct result of the studio (RKO) being protective of Grant's debonair image. Suspicion really left a sour taste in my mouth but it did produce an iconic image of a (presumably) malevolent Grant carrying a glass of milk to his wife (Fontaine). The audience is led to believe the milk is poisoned. The pure and creamy white milk directly contrasting with the poison and evil within; nicely done Mr. Hitchcock.

I was unfamiliar with Only Angels Have Wings prior to seeing it. I immediately recognized Sig Ruman who 14 years later would give a memorable performance as Sergeant Schulz in Stalag 17. Only Angels Have Wings is about a freight airline operating in Brazil. They have to fly through a narrow pass in the mountains because their planes cannot climb high enough to go over the top. The weather, the antiquated planes and even birds, cause many injuries and fatalities among the pilots. As a result, they develop hardened emotions and fatalistic attitudes. Cary Grant is the manager and chief pilot of the airline. He's a tough nut but seems to have a lot of ex-girlfriends including Rita Hayworth. The plot is ok but a few devices look silly 75 years later. In addition to Sig Ruman as the jovial owner of airline and Thomas Mitchell as Grant's fellow pilot and best friend, Jean Arthur shows up as a woman in love with Grant while Hayworth shows up married to another man.

Notorious was my favorite film of the series. Claude Rains delivers Oscar nominated performance as Bergman's Nazi husband. Bergman plays the part of a confused and conflicted woman well; not altogether different than Ilsa in Casablanca. Grant dispenses with his persona to play a callous spy handler. Notorious was daring for its sexually provocative plot. Ilsa basically sleeps with and marries Rains' character to infiltrate the Nazi spy ring. Less than five years later, Bergman caused a scandal by having a public affair with director Roberto Rossellini and comparisons were drawn to the character she played in Notorious.

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I should have given Humoresque some commentary back in 2009. I appear to have been more taken by No Man of Her Own and A Letter to Three Wives; both of which I vividly recall with fond memories. I don't recall my initial impression of Humoresque. The most lasting impression is of John Garfield. While he was only 33 years old at the time of filming, it was a hard 33. Garfield wouldn't live out his 30s; dying at age 39 in 1952. Allegedly, the stress of being blacklisted (he was called before HUAC and refused to "name names") contributed to his death. However, six years before his death in Humoresque, Garfield was looking worn out.

Ironically, Garfield was in the midst of the most productive period of his film career. Humoresque opened on Christmas day 1946. Earlier in the year, Garfield starred opposite Lana Turner in the noir classic, The Postman Always Rings Twice. In 1947, Garfield costarred in Gentleman's Agreement, the Academy Award winner for Best Picture. Garfield also made Body and Soul in 1947, for which he received an Oscar nomination. That film, which played at the 2007 San Francisco Jewish Film Festival, was a hard hitting exposé of the corrupt boxing rackets and an ambitious fighter (Garfield).

In Humoresque, Garfield plays Paul Boray, a concert violinist from a working class family. Unable to get a break, he is introduced to Helen Wright (Crawford) a wealthy matron of the art. Despite her being married, a dozen years older than him and an alcoholic, Boray & Wright begin a tempestuous romance. As Boray's musical career improves, his relationship with Wright falters.

The best part of Humoresque is the talented Oscar Levant. A skilled pianist and composer, Levant plays Sid Jeffers, Boray's piano accompanist whose wry and alcohol induced comments serve as a Greek chorus for the audience. My favorite is after watching Boray & Wright frolic at the beach, Jeffers asks Mrs. Wright, "Does your husband interfere with your marriage?"

The second best part of the film is the music. I have read that Levant performed on the piano for all the pieces whereas a violinist were just off screen for Garfield's pieces. There are several extended musical pieces including "Flight of the Bumble Bee" and portions of Bizet's "Carmen." The musical performances were top notch and drew applause from the Castro audience.

The film falls into the category of a mid-century, sophisticated drama. To me, that is shorthand for a film made in the 1940s and 1950s, typically set in New York, where wealthy people and artists live and party in tastefully decorated apartments and penthouses. Usually everyone drinks to excess although they are never sloppy drunks. Most of the dialog sounds like it was quipped at the Algonquin Round Table. Although the characters are so witty, the dialog barely conceals deep-seated resentment and hostility between the characters. That pretty much sums up Humoresque. The film looks like a dinosaur in 2011 but its always nice to see Joan Crawford being Joan Crawford.

In Humoresque and Daisy Kenyon, Crawford hadn't quite reached überbitch status. Although she throws in some catty comments, it's very clear that Helen Wright and Daisy Kenyon have insecurities which they cope with by verbal sparring. The title character in Daisy Kenyon is a interior designer who is in a long-term relationship with a wealthy lawyer (Dana Andrews). Although dissatisfied with the relationship, Daisy doesn't move off the ball until Henry Fonda shows up. He plays a former yacht designer, current NCO in the US Army and a widower who quickly falls for Daisy despite the presence of Daisy's married lover.

A love triangle develops and ultimately leads to Kenyon marrying Peter Lapham (Fonda), O'Mara (Andrews) leaving his wife and cuckolding Lapham. That's quite a bit of wife swapping for 1947. O'Mara's wife (Ruth Warrick) is a particularly pathetic woman who resorts to beating their daughter. None of the three leads had much in the way of self-respect and the ending left was a bit outlandish.

Unlike Helen Wright in Humoresque, Daisy Kenyon puts up little defense and is essentially at the mercy of the men in her life. It didn't feel like a Joan Crawford role. Barbara Stanwyck or Ida Lupino are two obvious casting choices I would have chosen before Crawford. Daisy breaks down and weeps on a few occasions and never shows the inner strength or bravado one associates with a Joan Crawford role.

A few weeks ago, I watched Mildred Pierce which was the film Crawford made immediately before Humoresque. Neither Humoresque or Daisy Kenyon were as satisfying as Mildred Pierce but they were still worthwhile films of the era. One definitely needs to be a fan of the Golden Age to enjoy Humoresque or Daisy Kenyon. Otherwise, the absurdity of the situations become distracting.

So Cary Grant and Joan Crawford's screen personae haven't aged that well but Grant's alter ego was so mischievous and exuberant while Joan Crawford played a bitch. The Castro series hewed closely to Grant's image while presently something fundamentally different for Crawford's films.

Chabrol & Hitchcock

In January & February, the PFA had a Claude Chabrol retrospective. The series was called "Suspicion: The Films of Claude Chabrol and Alfred Hitchcock" but only about 30% of the films were directed by Hitchcock.

Chabrol was a founding member of the French New Wave cinema but is more associated with suspense genre films which he excelled; using some of the same techniques as Hitchcock.

I saw four Chabrol films.

Le Beau Serge starring Gérard Blain, Jean-Claude Brialy & Bernadette Lafont; French with subtitles; (1958)
Les Bonnes Femmes starring Bernadette Lafont, Stéphane Audran, Lucile Saint-Simon & Clotilde Joano; French with subtitles; (1960)
À Double Tour starring Madeleine Robinson, Antonella Lualdi, Jean-Paul Belmondo & Jacques Dacqmine; French with subtitles; (1960)
The Swindle starring Huppert, Michel Serrault & François Cluzet; French with subtitles; (1998)

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My favorite was Les Bonnes Femmes which was listed with its French title in the PFA program. With my limited French, I interpreted the title to be The Good Women or The Good Girls. That was unintentionally funny the English subtitle on the film print interpreted the title as The Good Time Girls whose connotation is closer to the plot.

The film follows four women who work as saleswomen in an appliance store. They are young, attractive women in Paris. It must have been shocking as within the first few minutes, one of the girls (Bernadette Lafont, the sexiest of the four in my opinion) engages with two drunked and gauche middle aged Germans as the door closes on the camera. Rape or ménage à trois? I don't know but I don't think it makes much difference as it seems to be a common occurence in this woman's life.

The other girls have more socially acceptable secrets. One girl moonlights as a singer in a vaudeville type show. Another is engaged to a pompous scion of a (relatively) wealthy family. She must continuously pretend to be more bourgeois than she actually is. The fourth woman is a romantic and when a suspicious looking man wearing sunglasses and riding a motorcycle begins to stalk her, the audience wonders if this will be her true love...or a psychotic murderer?

Using some New Wave editing techniques, Chabrol's film is structured like a social commentary masquerading as a comedy. The film ends on a shocking note which goes completely against the tone of the film. In lesser skilled hands, the ending would be a gimmick and dissatisfying. Chabrol is skilled enough to leave audience in disbelief (at least me).

Filmed in black & white, Chabrol does great job capturing Paris in 1960 - the same era as Godard's Breathless. He also perfectly the boredom of the young women - bored with their job, only slightly less bored with their evening social engagements, bored with their lives in general. Les Bonnes Femmes was a failure at the box office but in hindsight, a seminal film for the French New Wave movement. It holds up as well as Breathless or The 400 Blows.

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Chabrol's 50th film as a director was The Swindle. Starring Isabelle Huppert as a con (wo)man who partners with the older Michel Serrault to seduce, drug and steal from businessmen. They always leave some cash so the guy won't know if he just got drunk and spent more than he remembered as opposed to taking all the money and leaving no doubt that he was a victim.

Huppert's Betty is getting a little bored with the scams and wants something bigger. Serrault's Victor doesn't want to take the risk. Unbeknownst to Victor, Betty sets up a bigger scam involving money belonging to an organized crime outfit. She needs Victor's help to pull it off but Victor has grown suspicious of Betty.

Some director could take that plot to a very dark place but Chabrol employs a lighter touch and uses humor to advance the plot. He uses it masterfully as he had for nearly 50 years at that point. Chabrol died in September 2010. Under Chabrol's direction, The Swindle is a suspense film with comedic elements or maybe a comedy with suspenseful moments. I was impressed by the film as it is difficult to merge those two genres. Huppert and Serrault shine as the scammers trying to scam each other.

Two by The Master of Suspense

In early January, the Castro Theater had a Hitchcock series which featured some of his less celebrated works. In other words, Psycho, North by Northwest, Rear Window, The Birds and other famous titles were not on the program.

I would like to have seen more of the films but I was out of town for most of the series. I made it there one night to see a double feature.

Lifeboat starring Tallulah Bankhead, William Bendix & Hume Cronyn; (1944)
The Wrong Man starring Henry Fonda & Vera Miles; (1956)

Both films were directed by Hitchcock. John Steinbeck wrote the novella upon which Lifeboat was based.

Lifeboat is a well known film. As I watched the film, it reminded me of a "locked room" suspense film - one of those film where people are confined (usually in a large and ominous house) and one-by-one, they keep turning up dead. I always though Hitchcock made good use of locations and sets (Mt. Rushmore in North by Northwest or San Francisco in Vertigo) so setting an entire film in a small lifeboat on the ocean seems limiting to the story.

Hitchcock handled the confined space with skill. I was more distracted by the jingoistic propaganda which is not surprising since the film is about American and British civilians sunk by a Nazi U-boat. Given there was only one Nazi in the lifeboat, the opportunity for twists and turns are limited. Willy the Nazi (Walter Slezak) commits his shameful acts (not sharing his water) and crimes (murder) on screen for the audience to see. That the other survivors don't suspect him until the end is a form of suspense I suppose. It also seemed to be pointed jabs to those who favored appeasement or tried to humanize the enemy. Indeed, Willy is portrayed as a wily and cunning villain more in line with stereotypes of Japanese treachery than Nazi barbarism. Willy is able to get a half-hearted, anti-Semitic comment before pushing William Bendix overboard.

Viewed 67 years after it was released, I found the depiction of the civilians to be ludicrous. Meaty Willy comes onboard, convinces them that the only chance for survival is to head for Nazi shipping lanes and starts to row the boat to the while singing makeshift sea shanties. All smiles (Sig Ruman must have studied Slezak's performance prior to Stalag 17), the devious Willy soft sells his nefarious plans on the 10 or so civilians in the boat. Simply put, I couldn't suspend disbelief.

Tallulah Bankhead was praised for her performance. From my perspective, she was caricaturizing herself or at least, her public persona. I just think much of Lifeboat or perhaps expected more from Hitchcock. Slezak nails his part but Willy was a man among children in that boat so seeing him manipulate the other characters was not very entertaining.

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The Wrong Man was a film I was not familiar with. It didn't feel like a Hitchcock film. It was based on a true story but the detached method Hitchcock used made the film seem like a cross between a documentary and an episode of Law and Order.

Henry Fonda, playing the everyman again, is Manny Balestrero, a jazz musician falsely accused of a series of robberies. Aside: Does Henry Fonda look like a Manny Balestrero? Balestrero believes his innocence will trump everything but film audiences know better. Some by-the-book police detectives and earnest but inaccurate witness statements put Fonda on the brink of prison. If that's not enough, Balestrero's wife (Vera Miles) begins to crack under the strain of the police investigation.

The film isn't about intrigue and plots. Balestrero's predicament is presented as something that could happen to any of us...if we happen to have a criminal doppelgänger. Hitchcock takes more time and effort into chronicling the criminal justice system. We see the line-up, the booking process and Balestrero being processed into jail (was that the Tombs?). Balestrero holds up as well as any innocent man could which means he is one or two steps from breaking down. The process is impersonal and dehumanizing and doubly so if you are innocent.

The film could only end one way in 1954. In 2010, we get Conviction which shows a man wrongly convicted and spending years in jail. In 1954, the production code probably forbid such a plotline so we get a man wrongly tried but never exonerated because the systems caught its error before it got to that point.

The "innocent man" story is old as time but can still be compelling when told with skill which Hitchcock undoubtedly has. As I said though, Hitchcock's documentary style overshadows the plot. That's not necessarily a bad thing because I think the scenes are as powerful as any of the scripted dialog scenes.

I was disappointed with Lifeboat but The Wrong Man was compelling drama and a little different from Hitchcock's standard fare.

The 39 Steps and North by Northwest

The Castro had a Alfred Hitchcock series in December. Actually, the Stanford Theater also had a Hitchcock series in September but I didn't see any.

I was able to catch a double feature at the Castro which consisted of The 39 Steps (1935) starring Robert Donat and North by Northwest (1959) starring Cary Grant, Eva Marie Saint and James Mason.

I had not previously seen The 39 Steps. It was one of Hitchcock's English films. I haven't seen many of his earlier works; as in before he came to Hollywood. The 39 Steps caught my attention because it has been adapted for the stage and the touring company received good reviews. The stage version is playing at the Curran Theater until January 3.

As for the film, it was enjoyable. Hitchcock focused more on humor and romance than suspense. The best scenes occur when Donat and Madeleine Carroll are handcuffed together and forced to pose as husband and wife although they're not fooling the innkeepers who think they are furtive lovers. The plot revolves around Richard Hannay (Donat). He goes to a music hall one night. Shots are fired and he exits with a mysterious woman who claims spies are trying to smuggle state secrets out of the country. Hannay is skeptical until the woman turns up dead in his apartment the next morning. Hannay sets off to Scotland to find a man with the tip of his pinkie finger missing (no he isn't a Yakuza). The specifics of the rest of the film aren't important except to say Hannay and later to be joined by Pamela (Carroll) try to stay one step ahead of the bad guys while simultaneously trying to figure out how the spies will smuggle out the secrets.

North by Northwest is considered by many to be Hitchcock's best film. I don't know if I've ever seen the film in one sitting. I know I've never seen it on the big screen. I was greatly entertained. Cary Grant was at the top of his game showing admirable savoir faire for an ad executive (think Mad Men) ensnared by a case of mistaken identity and confronted with spies intent on killing him. Grant eludes the spies and police and still has time to romance Eva Marie Saint while always ready with a quip. Martin Landau as the henchman was quite menacing. I've never noticed this before but James Mason makes a statement ("You're just jealous") to Landau that gives the impression the two are gay lovers.

For those who may not be familiar with the film, there is a scene with a crop duster airplane that ranks as one of the best in cinematic history. The climax takes place on Mt. Rushmore and is equally memorable.

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That may be all the films I viewed in 2009. I feel like I'm missing one from December but I don't have my list in front of me. I did not get to 365 films this year. I think the count was in the 340's and the average cost was ~$6.85/film.