TCM
TiVo ALERT
For
September
1–September 7
DAVID'S
BEST BETS:
BALL
OF FIRE (September 4, 6:00 pm):
Barbara Stanwyck is a hot nightclub performer hiding from the police
and her mob boyfriend in a house with brilliant, eccentric professors
writing an encyclopedia. Director Howard Hawks – with the
assistance of Billy Wilder, who co-wrote the screenplay from one of
his short stories – does a great job blending the two worlds
together to make an outstanding romantic comedy. The main professor,
Bertram Potts (played by Gary Cooper), is focusing his work on
American slang. The slang of 1941 is dated, but the scenes that have
Potts learning the slang words of the day from Stanwyck's character,
Sugarpuss, are hysterical with Cooper doing an excellent job as the
straight man. Also of note are the wonderful acting performances of
the other professors, all who are considerably older than Potts. It's
a funny, entertaining film that leaves the viewer with a smile on
his/her face for most of the movie.
GOODBYE,
MR. CHIPS (September 6, 6:30
am): 1939 was among cinema's greatest years with the releases of Gone
With the Wind, Ninotchka, Of
Mice and Men, Wizard
of Oz, Mr.
Smith Goes to Washington, Stagecoach, Wuthering
Heights, and Dark
Victory to name a few. But
among all of them, Goodbye, Mr.
Chips is my favorite. It's a
sweet, sentimental, touching story about a stern school master,
Charles Chipping – Mr. Chips for short – and how
he wins the affection of his students after falling in love and
marrying Kathy Ellis (Greer Garson). The cast is wonderful, but
Robert Donat (one of cinema's most underrated actors) in
the lead, a role that won him an Academy Award, is outstanding.
ED'S BEST BETS:
SULLIVAN’S
TRAVELS (September 1, 9:45 pm): This film is rightly
said to be writer/director Preston Sturges’s masterpiece. John L.
Sullivan is a noted director of light musical fare such as Ants
in Your Plants of 1939 and Hey, Hey in the Hayloft.
However, he wants to make an Important Film, and he has one in mind,
namely O Brother, Where Art Thou, a leaden novel
concerned with the struggle between Capital and Labor. The studio
execs pooh-pooh it, noting that he grew up rich and never suffered.
So, Sullivan sets out to see how the other half lives, and ends up
with far more than he bargained for when everybody assumes he died.
It’s both hilarious and touching with many insights from Sturges
into the human ego versus the human condition. It’s best to record
it to be seen again later – and you will definitely want to see it
again.
CABARET (September
3, 8:00 pm): Bob Fosse directed this musical adaptation of
Christopher Isherwood’s Berlin Stories, in particular
his short story “Sally Bowles,” about the lives of three people
in early ‘30s decadent Berlin before the even more decadent Nazis
came to power. Although the film fails to completely capture the
magic of the stories, it does weave a magic of its own, especially
with its tour of Berlin nightlife. Liza Minnelli has never been
better than as Sally Bowles, an amoral singer of some talent who
leads a completely disorganized life. Correction, Minnelli has never
been as good as she was as Sally Bowles. But it’s Joel Grey as the
enigmatic emcee who steals the movie as the film cuts to his sketches
frequently. One of the highlights of the tilm is the young storm
trooper leading a gathering in a rendition of “Tomorrow Belongs to
Me,” a song supposed by many to be a genuine Nazi anthem, but in
actuality written for the stage musical. It’s too good to
be a Nazi anthem. Listen to the Nazi anthems of the time and you’ll
quickly agree, as they’re a collection of bad tunes and
nonsensical, violent words. The film won eight Oscars.
WE
DISAGREE ON ... GREY GARDENS (September 4, 10:30 am)
ED:
A+. This is the film that brought the Maysles Brothers to
the attention of the American filmgoing public, and ranks as one of
my favorite films. Although many believe the film was inspired by the
famous New York Magazine portrait of the Beales and
Grey Gardens by Gail Sheehy, the truth is that the Maysles brothers
met the Beales after being hired by Lee Radziwill to make a film
about her childhood in East Hampton, N.Y. She brought them to Grey
Gardens, where they met the Beales. When they suggested to Radziwill
that the focus of the film should be the Beales, she withdrew their
funding and confiscated the film they had shot. Grey
Gardens is an amazing film, thanks to the Beales, a mother
and daughter who put the “eccentric” in eccentricity. The Maysles
use their “direct cinema” system to show us the Beales in all
their glory and squalor, though they take the direct cinema method
one step further by interacting with their hosts, accepting drinks
and hors d’oeuvres. The film is also unusual in that
it’s not really interested in how the Beales came to live in such
squalor, despite their background and social connections. The film is
more interested in bringing us deeper and deeper into the Beales’
world. One critic noted quite perceptibly that the mansion is like
the Overlook Hotel in The Shining in that it has an
almost supernatural hold over its inhabitants and prohibits them from
leaving. In an ironic way, the Beales are not only confined to their
home, but are confined by their home. In the end we
are left with more questions than answers. Why did the Beales, a pair
of shut-ins, allow the camera to display their madness, their
loneliness and a desperate co-dependent relationship? Why do they
constantly talk of propriety, the way things should and must be done,
and yet allow themselves to be seen in a state of squalor? Does it
have something to do with exhibitionism, with a past where they were
the centers of attention by adoring men? Again these questions are
never answered, but we don’t mind in the least, for once we walk
past the front door and into the mansion, we become besotted with the
Beales and their world. We are both repulsed and hopelessly drawn in,
anxiously awaiting the next argument between the two in a series that
almost seems rehearsed, as if they’re performing for the camera.
This is an amazing and addictive documentary about a time long ago
and post to history. In its bizarreness, it’s almost akin to an
explorer discovering a lost tribe shut off from the rest of the world
and living in a world of its own. That’s what makes this so
attractive. In a 2014 poll of the best documentaries ever made
by Sight and Sound, film critics voted this in a tie for
ninth on the list. Considering the other films on the list, that’s
quite an honor.
DAVID:
B. I have to admit to being somewhat intimidated by
Ed's review of this film. Besides having great respect for Ed, he did
an excellent job of passionately articulating his arguments for why
this is one of his favorite films. I'm a fan of this documentary, as
noted by the solid B grade I gave it, and also believe the Maysles
were excellent filmmakers. I prefer two of the Maysles brothers'
earlier films, Gimme Shelter and Salesman,
to Grey Gardens. But I was still concerned about my grade
after reading Ed's glowing praise of the film. So what did I do? I
watched it again – closely – a few days ago. There is no doubt
it's a good film, and the Maysles brothers had a fascinating style of
shooting documentaries, but there are flaws that made me comfortable
with my B grade. First, the film doesn't properly inform you about
"Big Edie" and her daughter, "Little Edie" Beale
so it's difficult at times to understand what's going on. In a brief
scene, there are a handful of newspaper clippings about the mother
and daughter. The articles let viewers know that they are the aunt
and cousin of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, they used to be rich and
own Grey Gardens – a rundown mansion in wealthy East Hampton, N.Y.
– that Onassis and her sister, Lee Radziwill, agreed to restore the
structure after its poor condition attracted the media's attention,
and that the Maysles are doing a documentary on the pair. Despite the
work done at the expense of Onassis and Radziwill, the house is in
terrible disrepair again and the two Beales are suffering from mental
ailments. Big Edie is elderly (80 when the film came out and dead two
years later) and likely senile while Little Edie, a former socialite
and model, is only about 58 years old, but seems much older and is
living in the past having lost touch with reality. She is vain even
though her looks are gone, and is prone to fits of anger. The two of
them talk over each other as the Maysles prompt them to discuss their
lives. They are willing to do so, but it just brings on pain and a
lot of random singing of old songs. The film sometimes is
exploitative as the Maysles know there's several things wrong with
the Beales, but they keep shooting. Little Edie whispers bizarre
conspiracy theories, is resentful of her mother, does a dance with an
American flag, and parades around in skimpy outfits even though she
seems disgusted with her looks, particularly when she steps on a
scale and uses binoculars to see she's 145 pounds. Also, the brothers
just allow the Beales to keep talking even though a lot of what they
say makes no sense. If the idea was to capture two former rich people
living lives of delusion then the goal was achieved. But if the goal
was to keep the viewer engaged and interested, it's a mixed bag.
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