TCM
TiVo ALERT
For
December
8–December 14
DAVID’S
BEST BETS:
THE
FOUNTAINHEAD (December 8, 4:30 pm): That this movie
was ever made is a surprise, particularly by a big studio – Warner
Brothers – starring
Gary Cooper and directed by King Vidor. That Ayn Rand, the author of
the book of the same name, wrote the screenplay is a complete shock.
For those not familiar with Rand, she was a novelist who wrote about
"Objectivism," a political philosophy of individualism,
rational self-interest, not contributing to society for the greater
good, and to this day is the darling of Neo-Cons and Libertarians.
This 1949 film is based on her 1943 book, "The Fountainhead,"
and is about Howard Roark (Cooper), a brilliant architect who works
in a quarry as a laborer rather than practice his craft because he
wouldn't have complete control over the buildings he wants to design.
Interestingly, Rand agreed to write the film's screenplay only if she
had complete control over it. (She did have to change a couple of
things because of the Hays Code such making a rape scene into one of
submissive passion, and having a character commit suicide rather than
divorce as the latter was a no-no under the Code.) A fellow
architect, with inferior ability, asks Roark to design a building.
Roark agrees to even give the guy all the credit as long as the
structure is built to his exact design. However, the firm that owns
the building changes it so Roark purposely blows up the structure. He
is arrested, goes on trial and defends himself by delivering a speech
about his right to do what he wants with his building. Yeah, the
story sounds ridiculous. But it's a fascinating film that looks into
the passion and conviction of a principled man in a world with far
too few principles. Cooper and Patricia Neal, who's character becomes
his lover (and the two had a legitimate affair during the filming of
this movie), are excellent. Vidor does a great job making the film
believable enough to inform and entertain.
LARCENY
INC. (December
9, 10:45 am): No one played Edward G. Robinson's mobster
character for laughs better than Eddie G. himself. In
this 1942 film, his character, J. Chalmers "Pressure"
Maxwell gets out of prison after serving his time with plans to go
straight. His dream of opening a dog racing track in Florida is
thwarted when he's unable to get the financing because of
his gangster background. But Pressure has enough money to buy a
failing luggage store next to the bank that rejected his loan
request. With the help of a couple of dim-witted buddies, Jug Martin
(Broderick Crawford) and Weepy Davis (Edward Brophy) – great
criminal flunky names! – they start digging underground to get
to the bank's safe. One of the funniest scenes has
them breaking a utility line and oil comes pouring out of the
hole with Jug and Weepy, covered in the stuff, thinking they struck a
gusher . While the luggage store is just a cover for their
criminal plans, it becomes a very successful business. There's a
secondary plot involving Pressure's adopted daughter (played by Jane
Wyman) and an inept luggage salesman (played by Jack Carson) that is
amusing, but takes a back seat to Eddie G.'s charisma and comedic
skills.
ED’S
BEST BETS:
THE
TALK OF THE TOWN (December 8, 1:45 am): A splendid,
intelligent comedy written by Irwin Shaw and Sidney Buchman, directed
by George Stevens, and brought to vivid life by Cary Grant, Jean
Arthur and Ronald Colman. Grant is Leopold Dilg, an anarchist who was
framed and sent to prison. He’s escaped and hiding in the home of
childhood friend Nora Shelley (Arthur). She has rented the house for
the summer (and acts as cook-housekeeper) to renowned Harvard law
professor Michael Lightcap (Colman). It’s a battle of wits and
philosophy between the radical humanist Dilg and the conservative
book-bound Colman, and not a word of dialogue is wasted. Arthur acts
as mediator, showing Colman’s character that there is more to the
law than is contained in the books, as Colman comes to the
realization that 100 years of precedents is not the be-all and
end-all of justice. Look for Glenda Farrell in a wonderful
performance as the local beautician who has important information
about Dilg’s case and from whom Colman must get that information
(in a wonderfully comic scene), and Edgar Buchanan as Dilg’s
lawyer.
THE
ADVENTURES OF ROBIN HOOD (December 9, 10:30 pm): When
one looks up the term “action picture,” a still from this film
should be under the definition. Quite simply, this is the role Errol
Flynn was born to play, and he’s quite good in it. Give him such
villains to play against as Claude Rains and Basil Rathbone, and this
film just can’t be beaten. Olivia de Havilland shines as Maid
Marian, with Una O’Connor and Herbert Mundin in fine form as the
comic relief. The best thing about the film is its refusal to take
itself seriously, which amps up our enjoyment even more. Michael
Curtiz directed with a nearly flawless style. It’s simply one of
those rare films I can watch over and over without growing bored.
WE
DISAGREE ON ... BULLETS OR BALLOTS (December 12, 2:45 pm)
ED:
B-. Bullets or Ballots is a pretty good
movie. Any film starring Eddie G. and Joan Blondell has to be good.
But it’s not that good. Yeah, the vastly underrated Barton MacLane
shines as the main heel, but there’s Humphrey Bogart, again being
wasted as MacLane’s toadie as yet another one-note supporting
character. And this film came right after his breakout performance
in The Petrified Forest. It would mark the beginning of a
few years stretch in which Bogart essentially played the same
criminal character. Nor was it one of Eddie G.’s favorite flicks.
He noted in an interview long ago that fans assumed that he rose in
the morning, got dressed, ate breakfast, and then shot Humphrey
Bogart before going to work. No, this is a film where the cast is
good, the script relentlessly ordinary, and the direction lacking.
DAVID:
A-. This is a classic gritty Warner Brothers gangster
film with all of the right elements. Bullets or
Ballots (1936) is the first of five films to team Edward G.
Robinson with Humphrey Bogart. Eddie G. is great as a police
detective who goes undercover to infiltrate a gang that includes
Bogie, who is suspicious of the supposed ex-cop. Bogart shines as the
calculating bad-guy character he perfected before becoming the
anti-hero a few years later. Joan Blondell is her typical excellent
self, and Barton MacLane gives one of his best performances. The
ending, in which both of them get it to comply with the Hays Code, is
somewhat of a let-down. But the film packs a lot of action and snappy
dialogue into 82 minutes, and is such a joy to watch. Based on the
true story of a New York City cop, it's an underrated and
lesser-known film. But it is must-see viewing for fans of the Warners
gangster film genre and lovers of classic movies for the first-time
pairing of Robinson and Bogart. Myah!
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