Made it! Top of the World!

Oscar Noir: Week Fifteen

White Heat

Monday, August 30, 2010

Well, here we are.  Week Fifteen.  I made it!  I had perfect attendance for the series!  Yay, me!  Unfortunately, Liz was unable to attend due to a family issue, but Linda was able to join me for a movie that she loves.  We were given surveys to complete, and no, I was not snarky like I am here.  I very genuinely heaped praise on the series, and hoped that they would offer series passes again next year.  I did not mention the crazy, mean, or fascist people.  I joined with others in giving Randy a nice standing ovation when he got to the stage.  He did put together quite a nice series.  Thank you, Randy.

Short:  "Dedication of Academy Headquarters Footage, Dec. 8, 1975"

It's always fun to look at the fashion of yesteryear.  The footage didn't have any sound, so Randy pointed out celebrities, and so did some of the audience, including Linda.  We laughed about the hors d'oeuvres: remember cocktail weenies were just the tops?  Nowadays, we'd expect much, much more than that at an Academy celebration.

Cartoon:  "Golden Yeggs"

Daffy's back!  I'm telling you, there's something about the ducks and the Noir.  Someone in Porky Pig's hen house laid a golden egg, and the culprit, knowing that there'd be trouble, pointed to Daffy as the egg-layer.  Gangsters offered Porky a deal that he couldn't refuse, and they took Daffy and demanded that he lay an egg for them.  Dudes, Daffy's a BOY DUCK.  Dummies.  But, you know, the real egg-layer kinda looked like a boy duck to me, too.  I asked Linda why Daffy didn't just fly away from the gangster's place.  She said that it was because we were watching a cartoon.  Whatevs.

Feature: "White Heat" (1949), screenplay by Ben Roberts, story by Virginia Kellogg, directed by Raoul Walsh, music by Max Steiner, and starring James Cagney, Virginia Mayo, and Edmond O'Brien.

• The film was introduced by Paul Thomas Anderson, screenwriter for "There Will Be Blood", "Magnolia" and "Boogie Nights".  Academy President Tom Sherak introduced Anderson by telling the story of pitching a family-friendly script to Anderson, involving a grandfather and a grandson.  He said that he knew that Anderson was influenced by Film Noir by Anderson's only reaction at the end of the pitch, saying, "OK, but in the third act, the grandson kills the grandfather."  
• Anderson advised us to keep an eye on the extras in the jail scene when they are all eating their meals.  Cody receives news and reacts to it.  The extras were not told what Cody was going to find out or what he was going to do, so their reaction to Cody was a first-take. 
• Cagney is a genius.  His portrayal of Cody Jarrett was spot on, and I loved every moment that he was on screen.
• This is the third film in this series in which Edmond O'Brien plays a role,and this is the biggest one.  He wins in the Oscar Noir series.  I mean, listen.  He's the one that Cagney calls " A Copper!"  How awesome is that?!
• Ma Jarrett, I'm so glad you weren't my mother, or I'd be leading a life of crime.
• "You couldn't get me out of here if I was pardoned."  
• I loved the whole police chase, based on their using a radio signal to triangulate the whereabouts of Cody and his gang.  So old-fashioned for us now, yet so new for them at the time.  The best part of the chase for me, though, was that they were showing a map of Los Angeles County and naming real-life intersections.
• Virginia Mayo sure did have a lot of fur, even though, as Jarrett told her, "You'd look good in a shower curtain."
• "It's always 'somebody tipped them'.  Never 'the cops are smart'."
• The special guests for the evening were Pauline Wagner, who worked with Cagney in "LadyKiller", and a writer working on the biography of Raoul Walsh.
• Ms. Wagner, who had just turned 100 years old on August 18, was a bundle of funny anecdotes.  The audience giggled so much that at one point, Randy stated that he felt like he was on the wrong show.  She said that during an audition for Cecil B. DeMille, he yelled at her because she couldn't sing.  When she told him that it was he who asked her to screen test, and not her asking to be tested, he laughed and kept her as a credit on every show, no matter if she worked on it or not.  

I've really enjoyed this series, and learned a lot about the Film Noir genre.  Many thanks to the Academy for this great series, which I treated as sort of a film class by making sure that I attended every week and wrote up a little review on my blog.  Although I didn't always stay for the guest commentary, I still hope that my report card says that I passed, with flying black-and-white.

Squeal At Your Own Risk

Oscar Noir: Week Fourteen

Kiss of Death

Monday, August 23, 2010

Liz and I arrived later than usual, but we were still able to get our usual seats.  We ended up behind the lady from last week that I didn't like very much, but the only annoying thing she did was look for their other friend for the first half hour of the evening.  Liz and I have pretty much decided who Randy is pointing out when he talks about various offenses done in the theater, like snoring...and fighting outside...and saving seats for a lot of people.

We were shown slides of Helen K. Garber's "Urban Noir LA/NY" (2009), which was black/white photos of L.A. and New York City, interspersed with quotes from pulp fiction novels.  I think that I need to read some stuff by Michael Connelly, because I liked his quotes the best.  I especially liked the photographs of L.A., of course, which can be seen on Ms. Garber's website.

The Academy is celebrating the 30th anniversary of The Samuel Goldwyn Theater, so this week and next week's shorts will be dedicated to the opening of the theater.  The president of the Academy at the time, Walter Mirisch, did a short discussion with host Randy, and talked about raising the funds for the theater.  It was actually an interesting discussion, as Mr. Mirisch pretty much would tell someone, "Remember how I supported you for {whatever}?  I'm here to see you to ask for a million dollars for the new Academy headquarters."  Since the Beverly Hills mayor's wife was an Academy member at the time,they also made a deal with the City of Beverly Hills in order to have the neighboring buildings provide free parking to Academy events after regular business hours.  This agreement is to last for the entire tenure of the building.  Wow, the power.

Short:  "Academy Building at 8949 Wilshire Dedication Introduction" (1975)

This had an introduction by Mr. Mirisch, and a tour of the projection room and theater led by Charlton Heston.  It amused many of us when he talked about leaving room for the upcoming technology of 3-D, if that ever happens to become popular. ;)

Cartoon:  "Duck Pimples" (1945)

Yay, Donald Duck!  What is it with the ducks and their connection to Noir,anyway?  Donald's imagination runs wild in this one, due to reading too many mystery books.

Feature:  "Kiss of Death" (1947), screenplay by Ben Hecht and Charles Lederer, story by Eleazar Lipsky, directed by Henry Hathaway, music by David Buttolph, and starring Victor Mature, Brian Donlevy, Coleen Gray, Richard Widmark, Taylor Holmes, and Robert Keith

• The film was introduced by Eric Roth, screenwriter for "Forrest Gump", "The Insider", "Munich", and "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button". 
• Richard Widmark, in his first film, based his character on The Joker from Batman comics.  I wonder if the actors who played The Joker based their characters on this one.  He was creeeeepy.  Great performance, but now I'm scared of him.
• I really liked  Victor Mature's performance as he played the reluctant stool pigeon.  He did a great job in his portrayal as a loving father, a robber, a caring husband, too.  He displayed quite a range in this one part, and it is quite a shame that Widmark's performance got so much more attention.  It seems that everyone agrees that this was Mature's best work.
• I agree with Liz:  so the kids' former nanny (Nettie) goes to Bianco in prison shortly after he finds out that his wife killed herself.  She later says that she always had a crush on him, and subsequently marries him.  Girl, did you go to the prison to pick up the pieces after his wife's suicide?  That's bold and kinda trampy.  You wouldn't think that she was trampy, though, when you see that even as husband and wife, they didn't share a bed. ;)  Yes, I know that this was due to motion picture ratings.
• Karl Malden got applause when he was first shown on the screen.  Did he ever not play some kind of cop? ;)
• I liked Brian Donley as the Assistant D.A.  He had compassion for a fellow father (and used it to manipulate Bianco to play the informant for him), but didn't always get a conviction on his suspect. 
• The film was filmed on location in New York.  It says so right there on the screen a the beginning of the film.
• I loved the moment toward the end when Bianco is confronting Udo, and the music goes silent.  There is just so much tension in the moment when they look at each other, and I was squirming, wondering what was going to happen next.
• I'm glad they used this ending shown instead of the original one.
• Coleen Gray, who played Nettie, was in the audience and did a Q&A with Randy.  She said that she turned down Mature when he hit on her, as she was a married woman.  He thereafter called her "Old Mother Hubbard".  She said that her experience on location at Sing Sing led her to do some volunteer work with prisoners, which she does to this day.  I liked hearing her discuss pretty much everything, especially when she talked about reading "Nightmare Alley" and deciding that she was born to play Molly.  She talked about what it was like to meet and work with her childhood crush, Tyrone Power, and said that she could barely say anything to him because she was in such awe.  Her discussion was just simply a delight.  

Great film, great evening.

Next Noir: "White Heat"

Kiss Me Deadly

Oscar Noir: Week Thirteen

A Double Life

Monday, August 16, 2010

We had a lot of traffic in Beverly Hills today, due to President Obama being in town for a fundraising dinner.  Liz, Linda and I still made it in time, although Linda had to park hella far.  They were nice enough to postpone the beginning of the show for the latecomers.  One of the women in front of me irritated me with her bitchiness toward her friend and toward the reason for the traffic.  I don't know how her friend puts up with her, but I guess that's true friendship.  I was originally going to be unavailable for this showing, but thank goodness I was able to shift the schedule around, because I certainly didn't want to miss the last installment of Captain Marvel or miss seeing the person introducing the feature film.

In order to stall for time, we watched "So You Want To Be A Detective" (1948), which will also be showing at the encore presentation of "The Maltese Falcon".   This short stars George O'Hanlon as Joe McDoakes, who daydreams about being a detective on a murder case.  It was kind of reminiscent of the Daffy Duck cartoon from a couple of weeks ago.

Short:  "Adventures of Captain Marvel, Chapter Twelve: Captain Marvel's Secret" (1941)

The Scorpion sees Billy turn into Captain Marvel, and kidnaps everybody.  He threatens Billy to transform or he'll kill Betty with the special Scorpion lenses, now all in his possession.  The Scorpion is unmasked to be the board member whose butler tried to prevent the lens from being stolen.  Billy turns into Captain Marvel and saves Betty, and the Scorpion is killed by his own weapon.  Then the scorpion lens contraption is thrown into the lava. As soon as this is done, Captain Marvel transforms back to Billy, as the scorpion no longer needs to be guarded.  That was a fun series to watch, especially all of the old-fashioned special effects, like the doll flying through the air.  I practically giggled every time the words "white infidel" were used.  The people saying that seemed to have the same complexion as the ones they were criticizing.  The family of Billy's portrayer, Frank Coghlan, Jr., was in the audience tonight, as was Louise Currie, of course.

Cartoon:  "Bad Luck Blackie" (1949)

In this cartoon, a bulldog is tormenting a kitten, so a black cat offers to help out the kitten by crossing the dog's path whenever the kitten blows a whistle, so that stuff falls onto the dog's head.  I've seen this cartoon several times, and enjoy it every time.  I love that hoarse little snicker that the dog does, provided by Tex Avery himself.

Feature:  "A Double Life" (1948), screenplay by Ruth Gordon and Garson Kanin, directed by George Cukor, music by Miklos Rozsa, and starring Ronald Colman, Signe Hasso and Edmund O'Brien

• 
  
  
  The film was introduced by one of the screenwriters of my favorite movie, "Shakespeare in Love" -- Marc Norman.  I think he had to park somewhere near Linda in order to get to the theatre somewhat on time.  This was a good choice for an introduction, since the play is about an actor who portrays Shakespeare's Othello.
• 
  
  
  I read in the program:  "Hairstyles by Carmen Dirigo", and read it as "Carmen SanDiego".  Obsessed much, Sher? ;)
• 
  
  
  Former Academy President Fay Kanin plays a bit part as the actress whom is trying to get Othello's attention after he kills Desdemona.
• 
  
  
  Ronald Colman is excellent in his role as the actor who can't really separate his stage emotions from real life.  I guess it makes sense, then, that he won the Oscar for this role.
• 
  
  
  I might act like Othello, too, if I was playing the part for 2 years.
• 
  
  
  I don't think that I would agree to play Desdemona if my ex-husband was notorious for losing himself in his parts.  I don't care if he still loved me or not.
• 
  
  
  I think that I loved all of Brita's off-stage outfits.  Nice!
• 
  
  
  I did not like Brita's Desdemona wig, though.
• Interesting to see Shelley Winters in her prime, and she has great lines as the dame that Anthony John encounters.
• Hmmm...killing someone with a kiss.  Is that like killing someone with kindness?
• "Put out the light...and then put out the light."  This is my favorite line from the play, and I freaked out a little bit when it was being said off-stage.  I wanted to yell, "DON'T DO IT!!!"  I don't think that I was the only one in the audience that wanted to yell that.

I think I need to watch "Shakespeare in Love" again soon.  I was tempted to talk to Mr. Norman, but I didn't have my copy of the script with me, and I didn't know what to say to him without it.  Not that I would have used the words in the script or anything.

Next Noir:  "Kiss of Death"

Hate Is Like A Loaded Gun

Oscar Noir: Week Twelve

Crossfire

Monday, August 9, 2010

Somehow the stars were aligned right today and Liz was able to join me for an entire evening.  Yay!  As we stood in line, we made up some fiction about the people that must have been the ones having fistfights in line.  We decided that the guy with the cane hit the lady with the bandage on her head, which resulted in another lady's toe getting broken and needing a bandage there, too.  I decided that the bandages were all still there because it takes a wound a lot longer to heal as you age.  I'm probably going to some kind of hell for that thought.

Tonight, the gal passing out the numbered cards was pretty much waiting for people to come to her at the door, which is not the way they'd been doing it all this time, and probably won't make people happy if they're just standing ignorantly in line.  Thank goodness I had Liz, who scouted out stuff before I got there.  I tried to find the guy with the binoculars from last week so that we could sit behind him, but he was nowhere to be seen.  We ended up sitting in our same seats from last week.

Randy H walked up to the podium to let us know that our short would have 30 seconds of silence because the audio didn't come out well in the restoration.  We were about to see 30 seconds that aren't included in the DVD.  After he was done saying that, I said to Liz, "I like him most of the time." 

Short: "Adventures of Captain Marvel, Chapter Eleven: Valley of Death" (1941)

Billy didn't even need to turn into Captain Marvel in order to get Betty out of the sinking ship, and he swam to shore while holding her hand.  They all went into the city, and the Scorpion warned the guardians of the cave that the group would be on its way there.  The guardians liked to call the explorers "white infidels".  OK, but they're not that dark themselves.  Billy sees someone sending mirror signals, and Captain Marvel finds out how they intend to stop the team, and thwarts them.  When the team arrives at the cave, Billy and the guy with the turban stay outside while the others go into the cave and retrieve the lens.  The guardians, however, have caused the volcano to start blowing and the cave starts to crash down around them.  Next week is the finale!

Cartoon:  "Mother Hubba Hubba Hubbard" (1947)

This is by the same guy that did "Flora", so I guess he likes dogs.  Mother Hubbard, the butler, a mouse, and a dog blame each other for taking the bone from the cupboard.  "You took it!"  "I didn't took it!"

Feature:  "Crossfire" (1947), screenplay by John Paxton based on a novel by Richard Brooks, directed by Edward Dmytryk and starring Robert Young, Robert Mitchum, Robert Ryan, Gloria Grahame, Paul Kelly and Sam Levene.

• The film was introduced by Brian Helgeland, screenwriter for "L.A. Confidential", "A Knight's Tale" and "Mystic River".  I liked the way he talked about knowing when you're watching a film noir and when you're not.
• The screenplay, based on Brooks' novel "The Brick Foxhole", changed the original's murder victim from a homosexual into a Jew, since the former would have never been made back in those days.  They figured that hatred is about the same no matter who was the victim.
• The theme of bigotry is still poignant today.  I think that the reason I'm enjoying these films 60 or so years from when they were first shown is that the themes still apply today. They're truly classics.
• The stars were referred to as "the three Bobs".  I liked the way all of them played their characters.  I think I liked Mitchum's Keeley the most, though, because he had great lines.
• Finlay: "You still don't know where he is?"  Keeley: "No.  I didn't know when I came in here, and I haven't suddenly gotten any brighter."
• My favorite part of the movie was during Finlay's monologue about the Irish potato farmer and the hatred he faced in America.
• I loved Gloria Grahame as Ginny, probably because she's the smack-talking dame.  It's no wonder that she earned an Oscar nomination for her supporting role in this film.
• I also enjoyed watching Paul Kelly, who played The Man.  Who was that guy, anyway? And what the heck was he doing at Ginny's apartment?
• I liked that the music that played in the cinema when Mary found Mitchell was that of a big, sweeping romantic nature.
• Jacqueline White, who played Mary Mitchell, did a Q&A afterward, and talked about Robert Mitchum sometimes being very friendly and other times being indifferent, and that he was an interesting man.  She also talked about meeting her husband for the first time and saying to him that night, "I think I just met the man I'm going to marry."  He pretty much agreed with her and called her the next day every 15 minutes starting at 8:00 a.m. until her mom would answer the phone.  Cute.

I need to watch more Robert Mitchum movies.  I think I have a little crush on him. ;)

Next Noir: "A Double Life"

Save the Clock Tower! ... At Your Own Risk

Oscar Noir: Week Ten

The Stranger

Monday, July 26, 2010

Liz was unable to meet me this time, so I was on my own again.  I was a little bit further back in line than in previous weeks, but was still able to get an aisle seat in the second row.

Short: "Adventures of Captain Marvel, Chapter Nine: Dead Man's Trap" (1941)

The force from the car explosion of last week's cliffhanger made the board member's car run off the road.  Billy came driving by and the goons captured both of them.  The board member was shocked to be brought to the house of The Scorpion (sssss!).  So that man's injured hand was some sort of decoy.  Billy was taken into the basement, where he was watched by one guy.  The Scorpion sent his goons to get the board member's lens after getting the combination through some kind of birdcage torture.  Billy turned into Captain Marvel when the guy left the room, and escaped.  The board member called Betty to get the lens before the other guys, and Captain Marvel tried to catch The Scorpion after he shot the board member, but was only able to get his hood before he got away.  He went to the board member's house to warn Betty of some kind of trap, but they didn't know exactly what it was.  Unbeknownst to them, as they were entering the combination on the safe, automatic rifles were being aimed at them as a security system.  The rifles fired as the episode ended.  Yikes!

Cartoon:  "The Cuckoo Clock" (1950)

This was another Tex Avery cartoon.  A cat is driven insane by the cuckoo bird in the clock, and, of course, the bird wins.  :)  The clock is a prelude to the evening's feature, wherein a clock is a prominent piece of the scenery.

Feature: "The Stranger" (1946), screenplay by Anthony Veiller (and John Huston), story by Victor Trivas, adaptation by Decla Dunning, directed by Orson Wells, starring Edward G. Robinson, Loretta Young, Orson Wells, Philip Merivale, Richard Long and Billy House

• The film was introduced by Ted Griffin, screenwriter for "Ocean's Eleven" and "Matchstick Men".  He was hilarious, stating that his juxtaposition beside the Oscar statue was probably the closest he'd ever get to one.  He said that this was one of the few movies where we'd see Orson Welles' real nose.  He talked about deleted scenes, saying he was glad that we didn't have to see the chase in South America, but that the last line of the movie may not make sense to us because the background exposition for Mary was deleted.
• So that makes me wonder if Mary always had trouble with nightmares, or did they just start when Meinike arrived in town?
• Billy House was quite humorous as Mr. Potter, always placing his visor on his head when someone agreed to play a game of checkers with him.
• This is one of those films that makes you wonder if you really know the person you married.  So, was "The Stranger" alluding to Wilson, Meinike, or Rankin, or all 3 of them?
• I loved the neighborhood's reaction to the clock's bell finally working, saying that they got a lot more sleep when it was broken.
• OK, that angel and devil that moved around the clock face creeped me out.  I guess that was with good reason. ;)
• Sara's way of preventing Mary from going to the church was very funny.
• The sketching of the swastika while Rankin is on the phone: creepy but funny.
• I was confused by the checkers games.  Either they weren't playing correctly, or they weren't playing fairly.
• Poor doggie.
• I love seeing Edward G. Robinson try to figure out stuff.

I did not stay to hear Robinson's grandchildren speak, but I did enjoy the movie.  It was quite the thriller.

Next up in the series:  "Body and Soul"

A Bourbon Straight with a Bourbon Chaser

Oscar Noir: Week Nine

The Blue Dahlia

Monday, July 19, 2010

This week, I forgot my phone at home, so I had to keep on the lookout for Liz, so that she'd know that I was there.  She had parked behind me anyway, so she knew I was there.  I'm just glad that Linda responded to my email to let me know she wouldn't be there, so that I'd have one less person to find.  I arrived early and read my book.  When Liz and I got inside, she asked me to fill her in on the line drama, then looked around the room and couldn't believe that this group of people would do the things for which they had been accused.  

Cartoon:  "Donald's Crime" (1945)

Yay!  Donald Duck!  He stole from the nephews' piggy bank and went into a huge guilt trip about it.  He wanted to take Daisy out dancing.  So here's my question:  why doesn't Donald have shoes?  Daisy has shoes, so it can't be the webbed feet thing.  I'm trying to ignore the fact that he's not wearing any pants, because it must be difficult to find pants to go over the duck butt.  But why no shoes?

Short: "Adventures of Captain Marvel, Chapter Eight: Boomerang" (1941)

OK, last time I forgot the actual cliffhanger, because when they showed it again this week, I was like, "Oh, yeah!"  Liz said, "I'm so far behind!"  The actual cliffhanger from last week was that Billy and Betty were tied up (separately) in a shack, and it was about to be bombed.  Betty tried to radio Captain Marvel, but Billy was having trouble saying "Shazaam!" with the gag in his mouth.  He finally was able to do it, and got her out of there just as the bomb was about to drop.  She had been rendered unconscious by a falling beam, so she didn't see him change to Captain Marvel and back to Billy.  Betty remembered that she injured the Scorpion's right hand, and they thought of a plan to figure out which one of the board members was actually The Scorpion.  They had them all sign a contract, and one guy's hand was bandaged.  Billy went to that board member's house, and the Scorpion had his goons rig Whitey's car.  Stuff happened, though, and the other goons ended up driving Whitey's rigged car, and it blew up.  Our heroes are OK.  So it's not really a cliffhanger this week, just a close call.  Billy had been trapped in a garage with a car motor running, but he was able to get out as Captain Marvel.

Feature:  "The Blue Dahlia" (1946), screenplay by Raymond Chandler, directed by John Houseman, music by Victor Young, starring Alan Ladd, Veronica Lake, William Bendix, Howard da Silva, Doris Dowling, Tom Powers, and Frank Faylen.

• The film was introduced by Wesley Strick, screenwriter for "Arachnophobia" and "Cape Fear".
• Strick listed a lot of words that have been associated with Noir in this series, and added one:  "Booze".  The title is actually the name of a nightclub.  The opening scene is of guys going to get a drink of Bourbon straight with a Bourbon chaser.  Raymond Chandler, on the wagon when he started writing the script, was only able to write and finish it while drinking and never got back on the wagon again.  Chandler didn't even know who would be the murderer when the movie started shooting, until he got to write from home and drink.  (They had to step up the filming because Alan Ladd was being called back to active duty with the Army Air Forces).  
• I like how Strick said that was Hugh Beaumont "before he Left It to Beaver".
• I totally would have had a crush on Alan Ladd if I was alive back in 1946.  Quite the handsome man he was!
• The murderer was changed due to pressure from a certain branch of the government.  No wonder it didn't turn out the way that I thought it was leading.
• Liz's favorite line had to do with flipping a coin:  "Heads we go to Malibu, tails we stay in (Santa Monica, I think).  "What if it ends up in the davenport?"  "Then we go to Long Beach."
• My favorite line:  "Every guy's seen you before somewhere.  The trick is to find you."
• "It's funny but practically all the people I know were strangers when I met them."
• The "Dad" character creeped me out.  He sure did lurk a lot.
• Alan Ladd's son was interviewed after the film, and said that his father and Veronica Lake never had any kind of friendship or relationship outside of the 7 movies they did together, which is probably why their chemistry was so good.

I think that I need to see more Ladd/Lake films.  Mostly for the Alan Ladd part. :)

Next up:  "The Stranger"

p.s.  With all of that talk about bourbon, now I want some ribs so I can have a shot of bourbon on the side. ;)

Twins!

Oscar Noir: Week Eight

The Dark Mirror

Monday, July 12, 2010

I arrived early because I had a meeting in Downtown L.A., so I ate my dinner and read my book to pass the time, since the line hadn't yet begun to form when I checked it out.  Linda was early to get in line, but she wasn't in the same line as I was, so I sat in my car for a little while longer than usual so as to rest my feet. I was waiting for Liz to park in our usual place, but she didn't show.  Later, I found out that she had a crisis at work and couldn't get away.  Bummer.  Linda found me, and I tried not to tell her about the drama of the line/passes, but couldn't hold back any longer and ended up telling her quietly about it anyway. The only drama that I heard in the line this day was that a guy was whining to the usher about how ridiculous the whole system was, and the usher said that there were fistfights in line one day.  Fistfights?  With *this* crowd?  Seriously?  And you can't pinpoint who these people were?  Are your witnesses even on the up and up?  Craziness.

Cartoon:  "The Tell Tale Heart" (1932)

Yup, it was Edgar Allen Poe's work.  Yup, creepy.  The animation was very angular, and it was actually not really "animated", as in movement, but actually different frames of stills.

Short:  "Adventures of Captain Marvel, Chapter Seven:  Human Targets"  (1941)

Captain Marvel did get shocked from the electric security system, and got knocked out for a bit, but he's OK.  The Scorpion figures out that Captain Marvel will follow if Betty is in danger, and sets a trap.  She is kidnapped and while in the passenger seat of the car, pulls out the key and pretends to throw it out the window.  She actually has the key in hand, though, and then there's a foot chase through the countryside.  Billy follows and Captain Marvel saves her, but she somehow gets kidnapped again, because the bad guy is hanging on to the side of the car.  I don't know why she just doesn't throw the key away again, but here's the cliffhanger again, as Captain Marvel doesn't even know that Betty is still in trouble.

Feature:  "The Dark Mirror" (1946) Story by Vladimir Pozner, Screenplay by Nunnally Johnson, Directed by Robert Siodmak, and starring Olivia de Havilland, Lew Ayres and  Thomas Mitchell

• A bunch of Nunnally Johnson's family members were in the audience.
• The film was introduced by John August, screenwriter for "Big Fish", "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" and "Corpse Bride".  He talked about the fact that usually the outside world does not factor into any of the film noir because there was so much going on with WWII that people needed an escape.  In this particular movie, though, psychology, which was starting to become prominent in real life, was a large factor.
• Prior to the film, we were treated to an awesome audio introduction from Ms. de Havilland herself, whom recorded it earlier that week from her home in Paris.  She talked about how disturbing it was for her to play the twins, and she ended her introduction in a creepy way.
• OK, I understood the need for the name necklaces, but they weren't attractive.
• If you're following my blog posts about drum corps this summer, you know that mirrors are a huge part of one of the corps' shows.  It's a noir/mirror summer!
• Olivia de Havilland is perfectly outstanding in this movie, and she sure did keep me guessing.
• Since I have a degree in psych, the tests were especially interesting to me.  I'm glad I never had to use a Rorschach inkblot.  I totally loved the responses, though.
• I love evil twin stories!  I watch too much soap opera.
• That detective had some great lines, but I can't remember any of them.
• Reminds me of the time that I had someone convinced that I was an evil twin. :)
• I overheard someone saying that the music playing in the music box was also used in one of the other films in this series.  No wonder it was creepy. ;)

I really liked this movie.  It was very well done technically, with the placement of the twins and the seamless editing.  The story, though, with its twists, makes this a must-see.

Next up in the series:  "The Blue Dahlia"

Don't Ever Look Back

Oscar Noir: Week Seven

 The Strange Love of Martha Ivers

Monday, June 28, 2010

Liz was unable to join me for this one, so I was on my own.  I arrived fairly early, so I was near the front of the line.  Right before they opened the doors for us, the series' representative and speaker Randy told all of us at the front that because people had done stuff that was "illegal", this would be the last year for them to offer the series pass.  What was this "illegal" stuff?  He said something about codes against the fire marshal, and the treatment toward the ushers/staff.  He also said that the phone calls/complaints he received stated that the perpetrators were the ones that were often at the front of the line.  So we were told that we should advise whomever it is (if it isn't us to whom he was currently yelling -- or maybe speaking loudly, so we could hear him) that they ruined it for everyone else.  He then said that we should all be aware that just because we had series passes, this doesn't mean that we're members of the Academy, which I guess some people had thought they were, by just paying $30.00.  Seriously?  So they couldn't just talk to whomever was giving them trouble AT THE TIME IT WAS HAPPENING, and revoke their passes?  WTF?  I had not seen any of this behavior in all of the weeks that I attended.  I didn't see any fire codes being violated (not that I know all of the codes).  I did not see people standing in the aisles and blocking exits, nor were they yelling "fire" or pulling the fire alarms needlessly.  Last post about this, I said it was ugly.  This was just downright preposterous.  I'm writing this two weeks later and I'm still pissed off about it.  I see the problem as this:  they issued series passes, and said that if you're not there with your pass by a certain time, they would let standby ticket holders inside.  There were also regular ticket holders, whom were guaranteed a seat because they had paid the $5.00.   So it was my assumption, and probably many others', that all you had to do was show up on time and you'd have a seat.  If you got there late, then you'd need to be in the standby line.  In my logic, therefore, you would only have a certain number of series passes issued.  Everyone else would be either regular ticket holders, or standby.  Once the cutoff time passes, then you let in the standby people.  Sounds easy enough, right?  Well, APPARENTLY, from what I overheard, they were letting standby people in before the cutoff time for the pass holders.  (This is before the week that they started handing out numbers).  So whose fault is it that they have too many people in there?  This is something that could be easily controlled, yet they don't see their part in this.  Just stop letting people in!  AUGH.

OK, is that enough ranting for you?  I was bummed that Liz wasn't there to help me bitch that night, and so that maybe she could ask the guy what codes were violated, since she knows about some of that stuff.  Oh, wait.  I forgot to add that to top it all off, the only seats available in the center section in front of the VIP section was the 1st 3 rows.  THREE.  So this has nothing to do with them not having enough room for the series pass holders?  Harumph!

When the show was about to start, the same guy did not mention that he had scolded us at the front of the line.  In fact, we were told later that it was his birthday that day.  OK, whatever.  I joined in the singing, but only because he had put together such a terrific program.  His people skills need help.  

Cartoon:  "Rooty Toot Toot" (1951)

I absolutely loved this piece, which was a stylized animated version of "Frankie and Johnny".  The jazz was awesome, and the animation was fun.  I want to see this again!  It was voiced by Thurl Ravenscroft.  Oh!  Well, it's no wonder then why I liked this so much. Ooh, I found it. :)

Short:  "Adventures of Captain Marvel, Chapter Six: Lens of Death"  (1941)

Captain Marvel gets out of this pickle by looking above him, and seeing a hole in the ceiling of the cave.  He jumps up and finds a way out.  The Scorpion (hissss!) sets up a trick to find out where the other men keep their lenses.  There is a gunfight at one of the houses, and the cliffhanger is that we don't know whether or not Captain Marvel will be electrocuted by the security system where the lens is kept.


Feature:  "The Strange Love of Martha Ivers" (1940)  Screenplay by Robert Rossen and Robert Riskin, Story by Jack Patrick, Directed by Lewis Miletone, Music by Miklos Rosza, and starring Barbara Stanwyck, Van Heflin, Lizabeth Scott, and Kirk Douglas

• The film was introduced by Robin Swicord, screenwriter for "Little Women", "Memoirs of a Geisha", and "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button".  I like that she said that her mother noted that the bad girl always wears the dark lipstick.  That makes me just want to wear dark lipstick more often. ;)  
• Ooh, another Barbara Stanwyck film, this time as a brunette!  Wow, she's awesome.
• This was Kirk Douglas' first film, and he does a great job as the wimpy Walter.
• Why have I never heard of Van Heflin before?  I like him.  I like how the director added the twirling of the coin on his fingers as the habit of a gambler.
• Lizabeth Scott really did look, in Swicord's words, "like the love child spawn of Veronica Lake crossed with Lauren Bacall."  Beautiful, and she even sounded like Bacall with that throaty voice of hers.  She's got some awesome clothes for someone who just got out of jail.
• I like seeing what's made the 3 main characters (Martha, Sam and Walter) who they are, so we know what's been sticking in their collective craw all these years.
• "The road curved.  I didn't.
• Lizabeth Scott spoke after the movie, and she seemed to remember the shooting of the film like she had just finished it yesterday.  She said that she wanted to act in the theater, not in the movie business, but ended up there anyway.
• We were also treated to a video of Kirk Douglas speaking about this film recorded in Palm Springs.  He wasn't going to move to Hollywood either!  He also wanted to work in the theater.  
• Best part of Mr. Douglas' speech was that it was Stanwyck's idea as to how Ivers would eventually meet her demise.  Coolness.

I still can't figure out what the title means, Ms. Swicord.  It's still a mystery to me.

Next:  "The Dark Mirror"

The Swede & The Double-Crossing Dame

Oscar Noir: Week Six

The Killers

Monday,  June 21, 2010

Liz and I are now experts at parking on the residential streets and getting to the theater early to stand in line.  We gabbed for awhile as our neighbors in line griped about the process of having numbers.  Once we got inside, Liz found seats for us on the aisle this time, as I requested.  She's so nice and accommodating. :)  It seems that, with each week, more and more rows of seats are reserved for the special guests.  I don't know what that's about, but I hope that they still let the series pass people in as long as they arrive by the designated time.  Our line neighbors had told us stories of being told not to save 3 seats, and I heard others complaining because they were asked about saving one seat for a person that had gone to the restroom.  One of them called the Academy people "Fascists".  It's getting ugly, folks.

Cartoon:  "Who Killed Who?" (1943)

The story is of a detective who goes to a house to investigate a murder, and finds out that the house is haunted.  By Santa.  Oh, and by a whole bunch of different ghosts, too. ;)  This is a Tex Avery cartoon, full of all of the old cartoon cliches.  But that's probably because all of the cartoons borrow from Tex Avery!  Even Bugs Bunny's "What's Up, Doc?"  is based on one of the characters in this cartoon:  the detective opens a door, and Santa is there, calling him "Doc".    Santa's voice was actually Tex Avery himself.

Short:  "Adventures of Captain Marvel, Chapter Five: The Scorpion Strikes" (1941)

I hissed at the Scorpion this time.  Captain Marvel saves Betty by jumping onto the car as it goes into the street, and taking control over the steering wheel.  Billy goes into the meeting with one of the thugs, telling everyone there that the Scorpion is one of them, and they all get shifty-eyed looks on their faces, as if it could be every one of them.  The thug is unable to identify the Scorpion by his voice, then is told to lead Billy to a mine, since Captain Marvel will probably show up to save him.  The men use the  scorpion lenses to melt the cave to the mine, and Captain Marvel is stuck inside.  I don't know why he can't just fly above the stream of molten lava approaching him, but we'll see what happens from this cliffhanger.

Feature: "The Killers" (1946) Screenplay by Anthony Veiller and John Huston, based on a short story by Ernest Hemingway.  Directed by Robert Siodmak, Music by Miklos Rozsa, and starring Burt Lancaster, Ava Gardner, Edmond O'Brien, Albert Dekker and Sam Levene.

• This was a new movie to both of us.  Heck, I didn't even know that Lancaster had done a film with Ava Gardner.
• The film was introduced by Billy Ray, one of the writers for "24".  When I saw his name in the program, I thought that the name sounded familiar, and not just for the first two names of the country singer.  I had also mentioned Jack Bauer in one of my conversations with Liz while we were in line, so the fact that this guy was introducing the film was quite a coincidence.
• The guy playing Hemingway's autobiographical character, Nick Adams, later played Owen Lars, Luke's uncle in "Star Wars".
• One of the killers is played by a very young William Conrad.  
• OK, I can see why Burt Lancaster was so popular from this, his film debut, and onward.  Not only was he a great actor, but Hubba Hubba! :)
• Ava Gardner, looking gorgeous in every shot, did her own singing, and she has a nice alto voice.  Her character's name, Kitty Collins, is just a perfect Noir name to me.
• My favorite line of the movie: "If there's one thing in this world I hate, it's a double-crossing dame."
• I think the killers said "Bright Boy" way too much in that opening scene.
• The shadows in the cinematography are considered to be "Textbook Noir", and I can see why.  Great use of lighting.
• Miklos Rosza's daughter spoke to the audience after the film, but Liz and I didn't stay to listen to her.  I would have liked to hear her talk about how some of the music in the film would end up as the main theme for "Dragnet", but we were tired.  

Although this movie is not one of my favorites in the series, I enjoyed it.  I now want to hear other scores by Miklos Rosza, since he had also done "Double Indemnity".

Next week:  "The Strange Love of Martha Ivers".

There's Always A Gun In A Drawer

Oscar Noir Week 5

Mildred Pierce

Monday, June 14, 2010

Liz arrived early to the theater and saw that the line was already forming outside, so she parked her car wherever and got in line.  Later on, she asked an usher if her car was parked in an OK spot, but the usher wasn't sure, so she moved her car so that she was right in front of me on the residential street.  I figured that I should get in line, too, since I was able to eat half of my dinner on the way there, and Liz had freaked me out about the line.   I was annoyed by a guy that seemed to have some kind of attention deficit disorder because he wouldn't stop walking around by the line.  When they let us in, Liz was able to score us some good seats toward the middle of the theater.  I overheard some people talking about a guy in the back of the theater, but couldn't figure out who he was supposed to be.

Cartoon:  "The Super Snooper" (1952)

Yay!  Daffy Duck!  It was like film noir in color and in cartoon!  He was a detective who needed another case (and he was shown with empty liquor bottles), and went to Beverage Hills to investigate.  At a mansion, he met a duck dressed just like Jessica Rabbit, but, like, with a duck face.  She kept trying to mack on him while he described all of the different ways that he thought she might have killed her husband.  He later found out that he was in the wrong house the whole time.  

Short: "Adventures of Captain Marvel, Chapter Four: Death Takes The Wheel" (1941)

The lady sitting next to me joined in during some of the audience's hissing at The Scorpion.  I just giggled at it the whole time, and may even hiss along next week.  Billy, at literally the last minute, realizes that the radio wires were disconnected, and hears his friend's voice just in time to turn into Captain Marvel and get the heck out of the plane.  Betty overhears some stuff and goes to investigate, and the cliffhanger of the week is that she's conked out at the steering wheel of a car in a parking garage, as it careens in circles toward the bottom of the garage.  Funny how her head is in the perfect position for the car to follow the curve of the garage jussst rrright.

Feature: "Mildred Pierce" (1945) Screenplay by Ranald MacDougall, based on the novel by James M. Cain, Directed by Michael Curtiz, starring Joan Crawford, Jack Carson, Zachary Scott, Eve Arden, Ann Blyth, and Bruce Bennett.

• A special guest in the audience played a waitress in the movie.  The other very special guest was Ann Blyth, whom spoke after the movie.  When I told Liz that she was there, she exclaimed "Get Out!" at me.  She loves this movie, but didn't actually see it during the past week, as she had done with "Laura".
• The movie was introduced by Callie Khouri, known for her screenplays for "Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood" and, more notably, "Thelma and Louise".  She figured that she must have been asked to introduce this one because of the strength of the female leads in the movie.  She lamented that there were not as many great parts these days for women as there were back in the 1940s.  She also talked about the fact that in Film Noir, there always "happens to be" a gun in a drawer somewhere.
• Well, no WONDER Joan Crawford won the Academy Award for this, and no wonder Eve Arden and Ann Blyth were nominated, too.  They were all outstanding.
• What a BRAT that Veda was!  I wanted to slap the hell out of her many, many times.
• Hmmm...APPARENTLY, Kate Winslet is doing a miniseries version of the novel on HBO with Evan Rachel Wood, to be aired in 2011.  Hmmmm.
• Love is blind, Mildred.  How could you not see that Monte was just a free-loading cad when you met him?
• Liz told me later that there really was a Mildred's restaurant chain.  Interesting.
• Lots of applause when Butterfly McQueen made her first appearance on screen.
• Ida had the best lines: "Leave something on me.  I might catch cold."  "When men get around me, the get allergic to wedding rings."  "I like Mexico.  It's so...Mexican."
• So, seriously.  She was doing the remodeling the house into a restaurant herself, and gets on the ladder in that dress and high heels?  How did she not break her neck every day?

Afterward, there was a discussion with Ann Blyth.

• She had brought along a couple of girlfriends, most notably Jane Withers, who spoke for a bit herself from the back of the theater. She's hilarious.
• Ms. Blyth couldn't believe how horrible Veda was.  She probably wanted to slap herself as may times as I wanted to slap her.
• Joan Crawford stayed home instead of attending the Academy Awards the night that she won.  Ms. Blyth was present in Ms. Crawford's home when they gave it to her.
• Ms. Blyth had a serious accident while tobogganing up at Lake Arrowhead, and was wearing a back brace under her dress during the awards.  Nobody knew about it but her dress designer and her mom.
• She still sings on stage, and sings every day at home.
• Q&A from the audience revealed that the house in Glendale where the movie was filmed is still there.

We stayed for a bit afterward so that Liz could meet her and get her autograph.  If I had been allowed, I totally would have taken a picture of her red with gold-tip shoes.  They were gorgeous.  Liz didn't have the nerve to compliment her on her shoes, but I did when I saw her downstairs.  Liz made me do it.  Ms. Blyth was appreciative.  I figured she would like a compliment about her shoes, because she's a girl. :) 

Next Up:  "The Killers"

Murder Can Sometimes Smell Like Honeysuckle

Oscar Noir: Week 4

Double Indemnity

Monday, June 7, 2010

Last Monday was a holiday, so we there was no screening.  This week I was on my own, as Liz was unable to join me.  I hadn't eaten my lunch at work, so I just parked in a residential area and ate that for dinner (yes, I checked the parking signs).  When I arrived at the line to the theater, I was a little bit farther down the line than last week, and one of the ushers was handing out standby tickets with numbers on them.  APPARENTLY, there were several people that line-jumped two weeks ago, which resulted in unhappiness.  I can understanding saving a place for one or two people in line, but I'm thinking that it was a big group of people, but I don't know.  People were still able to save seats in the theater, but the host asked everyone to please not save entire rows for people.  So people just need to get there earlier, I guess.  I just hope that I get in every time, since I'm always there well ahead of the cut-off time for the series passholders.

Cartoon:  "Trouble Indemnity" (1950)

This one stars Mr. Magoo!  He gets conned into buying a life insurance policy, then the insurance company freaks out when they see him mistakenly walking onto a construction site and getting into lots of death-defying moments.

Short: "Adventures of Captain Marvel, Chapter Three:  Time Bomb" (1941)

Nobody needed to save Captain Marvel from the guillotine.  His chest was so strong that the guillotine broke when it hit him.  The Scorpion is relentless, though, and gets our hero in trouble again by the cliffhanger, this time as Billy, flying with a time bomb in his airplane.  Yikes!  He needs to say "Shazam!" quickly!  I really love the cheesy special effects, and could see the strings very visibly as Capt. M flies.   I think that Louise Currie must have a series pass, because she was present this week, too.  She probably wants to know what happens as much as we do. 

Feature:  "Double Indemnity" (1944) Screenplay by Raymond Chandler and Billy Wilder, based on the novel by James M. Cain, directed by Billy Wilder, starring Fred MacMurray, Barbara Stanwyck and Edward G. Robinson.

• One of the several special guests in the audience was Miriam Franklin, whom played Keyes' secretary, and went on to choreograph "Tea for Two" in 1950.  She spoke with the host for awhile about having received really only one direction for the movie, from Fred MacMurray, as she walked toward him to deliver her line at the office.  She was dressed in off white, and I wondered if she talked to Louise Currie about how to look elegant, as she sure did.  
• The movie was introduced by Nicholas Meyer, known for his writing for "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan", "Somersby" and "The Informant".  His introduction was beautifully presented.  I didn't care that he was reading the whole time, because he was still animated and his love for the movie and the genre was quite evident.  He also didn't give any spoilers away. 
• Fred MacMurray, playing very much not like his "My Three Sons" character, was excellent. I loved his banter with Barbara Stanwyck.  
• The banter I love is probably one of the reasons that I'm loving all of the films in this series. I mean, hello, it's the writing that we're celebrating!  
• I kept giggling when Neff would call Phyllis "Baby".  The way that he says it is so 1940s. :)
• Stanwyck reminds me of Ashley Tisdale pre-nose job.  I think it's the blonde hair and the shape of her profile.
• Edward G. Robinson was outstanding.  I loved every scene he was in.
• Raymond Chandler can be seen in the film, sitting upstairs by Keyes' office.
• "I think you're swell -- so long as I'm not your husband."
• Neff was really turned on by that anklet.  Perhaps I should wear an anklet to get somebody to banter like that with me.
• I love that this was set in Los Angeles.
• Fred MacMurray was wearing his wedding band for the whole movie, but his character is a bachelor.  I guess they didn't tape their rings for their films back then.
• I was too tired to stay and listen to Fred MacMurray's daughter speak about her experience at the premiere.  Edward G. Robinson's granddaughter was in the audience, but didn't speak afterward, as far as I know.

I'm thinking that I need to see more Billy Wilder movies.  This was great.

Next week:  "Mildred Pierce"

Laugh, Don't Cry

Oscar Noir: Week 3

Laura

Monday, May 24, 2010

I killed some time after work by doing a couple of errands and picking up some dinner and after-show food before driving down to Beverly Hills.  I arrived at the parking structure and they told me that I couldn't park there until 6:30 p.m., unless I wanted to pay for 30 minutes.  Since I had seen one of the valets drive a van into a pole, I decided to leave.  I went to the other parking lot instead, which let me in even though I had 2 minutes until 6:00 p.m.  I stood in line for a few minutes before Liz got there and I was happy to see that she had an extra sweater for me, because it was chilly out there in that line!  She found seats for us in the center section, and I conversed with a guy wearing a Lakers t-shirt.  Liz informed me that she had just watched "Laura" again the other day because she loves it so much, full well knowing that she'd be here tonight.   Louise Currie of the Captain Marvel series was again in the audience, looking glamorous.  

Short:  "Adventures of Captain Marvel, Chapter Two:  The Guillotine" (1941)

Everyone in the car survived the car going off of the bridge, because it fell into the water, and Captain Marvel jumped down to save them.  The cliffhanger this week was that Captain Marvel was hit with an electric shock, and is on a conveyer belt, which has a guillotine at the other end.  Who will save him?  It's got to be someone, right?  There are several more of these in the series!

Cartoon:  "Flora" (1948)

It's like Film Noir, but with a dog all upset about a cat!  Why are all of the cartoon Siamese cats so mean?  I mean, she made the dog suicidal, for goodness' sake.  Meanie.

Feature Attraction:  "Laura" (1944) Screenplay by Jay Dratler, Samuel Hoffenstein, Betty Reinhardt, based on the novel by Vera Caspary, directed by Otto Preminger, and starring Gene Tierney, Dana Andrews, Clifton Webb, Vincent Price and Judith Anderson.

• Another special guest in the audience was Cara Williams, nominated for an Oscar for her role in "The Defiant Ones", and was in the scene in Laura's office as the secretary who is listening to Waldo ask Laura to dinner.  
• The film was introduced by Scott Frank, writer for "Dead Again" and "Marley and Me".  He didn't give spoilers, for which he received applause, and I was happy.  He defended Dana Andrews' work and told us to watch for Mr. Andrews' facial expressions in different scenes.
• The makeup artist was Guy Pearce.  But isn't that the guy in "L.A. Confidential" and "Memento"?  Wow, he's been around a long time. ;)
• Clifton Webb is hilarious.  I kept looking forward to the next scene that he'd steal every time he wasn't in one.
• I wish my hair could do what Gene Tierney's did.
• I did like the looks that McPherson gave to people, especially the look of disdain he gave to all of the suspects.
• I needed a few minutes to get over Vincent Price's voice not saying something haunting, or laughing maniacally.
• Favorite line:  " In my case, self-absorption is completely justified. I have never discovered any other subject quite so worthy of my attention." -- Waldo
• Close second:  "I don't use a pen. I write with a goose quill dipped in venom." -- Waldo  (He had all of the great lines).
• For a moment there, I thought that McPherson was having a dream sequence.  It's the soap opera fan in me, I guess.

I really enjoyed this movie.  This is what I think of when I hear the term "Film Noir": murder, mystery, and witty dialogue.  You gotta love it.

Next up: "Double Indemnity".