TCM TiVO ALERT
For
March 1–March 7
DAVID’S BEST BETS:
RED RIVER (March 1, 10:15 pm): As I previously mentioned, I'm not a John
Wayne fan, but this film - with Montgomery Clift in a brilliant turn as his
adopted son - is outstanding. Wayne is great as a "bad guy" whose
tyrannical ways cause a mutiny among those working for him on the first cattle
drive from Texas to Kansas along the Chisholm Trail. Director Howard Hawks
brings out the best in Wayne, who should get credit for not only agreeing to
take on the role of the "heavy," but for doing it so well. Clift was
one of Hollywood's brightest stars and was already an elite actor in this film,
only his second movie.
LIMELIGHT (March 5, 12:00 am): One of Charlie
Chaplin's last and greatest films, Limelight is tragic,
touching, beautiful, captivating and funny. While Chaplin was the king of
silent films, his "talkies" are my favorites. This 1952 film,
Chaplin's final one made in the United States, has him playing Calvero, a
washed-up clown looking to make a comeback. He meets Terry (Claire Bloom), a
suicidal younger ballet dancer, and takes care of her while helping to
revitalize her career. The two are wonderful together. The final scene is one
for the ages with Calvero reuniting with his old partner (played by Buster
Keaton) on stage making a comeback that runs the gambit of emotions. It's the
only film to include Chaplin and Keaton, and one to not miss.
ED’S BEST BETS:
MONSIEUR VERDOUX (March 1, 8:00 pm): Charlie Chaplin
undergoes a brilliant change of pace in this black comedy about a Parisian
Bluebeard who marries and murders his wives for their money to support his
family. When he’s caught and tried, he denounces a hypocritical society that
see mass killing in a world war as acceptable, but punishes him for only
killing a few people. The film is years ahead of its time and filled with wry
humor. Watch for the scene between Chaplin and Martha Raye.
THE TRAIN (March 2, 2:00 am): Burt Lancaster and Paul
Schofield are at their very best in this John Frankenheimer film about a Nazi
colonel trying to ship the paintings of France to Germany and the Resistance
leader determined to stop him at all costs. Also staring Michael Simon, Albert
Remy, Wolfgang Preiss, Charles Millot, Jacques Marin, and Jeanne Moreau in a
small but pivotal role. There is never a dull moment to catch your breath in
this action classic.
WE DISAGREE ON ... THE
STORY OF G.I. JOE (March 1, 6:00 pm)
Ed: A. For those who have not yet seen
this film, it is one the best war movies ever made. The Story of G.I.
Joe follows the exploits of Pulitzer Prize winning correspondent Ernie
Pyle (Burgess Meredith) as he writes of the fortunes of Company C of the 18th Infantry
during their campaign in North Africa and Italy. He observes the stress combat
takes on their minds – particularly during the battle of Cassino. He also
befriends a few of the company, including Lieutenant Walker (Robert Mitchum),
who rises to Captain; Sergeant Warnicki (Freddie Steele) who wants nothing more
than to find a phonograph on which to play a record of his son’s voice sent
from back home; and Private Dondaro (Wally Cassell), who fantasized constantly
about women to the point of even carrying around a bottle of perfume that he
can sniff occasionally. One thing Pyle notes and the film makes clear is that
the men live continually with the knowledge that they might not make it home.
Ironically, Pyle never made it home, cut down by a Japanese machine gun on the
island of Ie Shima in 1945. William Wellman directs the film both as a tribute
to Pyle, who he met during the war, and to the men Pyle writes about for the
audience back home. It’s the grittiness of this story about the lives and deaths
of ordinary infantrymen that sets this movie apart from others. The strongpoint
is its subtlety: character we get to know suddenly disappear from the screen
without so much as a whimper. Such is war. Critic James Agee noted
that: "With a slight shift of time and scene, men whose faces have
become familiar simply aren't around any more. The fact is not commented on or
in any way pointed; their absence merely creates its gradual vacuum and
realization in the pit of the stomach. Things which seem at first tiresome,
then to have become too much of a running gag, like the lascivious
tongue-clacking of the professional stallion among the soldiers (Cassell) or
the Sergeant's continual effort to play the record of his son's voice, are
allowed to run their risks without tip-off or apology. In the course of many
repetitions they take on full obsessional power and do as much as anything
could do to communicate the terrific weight of time, fatigue, and
half-craziness which the picture is trying so successfully to make you live
through." It was Dwight Eisenhower’s favorite war film, a recommendation
that should go a long way.
DAVID: C+. In theory, I should love this movie. It's a
based-on-a-true-story film of Ernie Pyle, a journalist covering World War II.
I've been a newspaper reporter for nearly 25 years and love films about
journalists. One of my favorite actors, Robert Mitchum, has a prominent role in
the movie, playing Lieutenant/Captain Walker. And it's a war film about the
humanity and insecurities of soldiers, among my favorite film subjects. That's
nice in theory. While this film is considered by many critics to be among the
best movies made about war, I don't share their opinion. There are some good
moments in the movie, most involving Mitchum, but I found it plodding and
somewhat cliché. An example of being cliché is the overuse of a puppy, the
company’s “mascot,” who cries and whimpers during sad scenes to let the
audience know this is a sad part of the film. For the most part, the casting is
fine (with several legitimate soldiers playing soldiers), but the selection of
Burgess Meredith as Pyle was a poor decision. He brings nothing to the film
though that could be something that was done purposely as Pyle made the
soldiers the center of his articles, and was a modest person. Whether that's
the reason or not, it takes away from the overall film as Meredith makes Pyle
seem like a boring cheerleader. Also, the editing toward the end of the film is
choppy, a surprise to me as William A. Wellman, who directed the film, was one
of the best and typically wouldn't let something like that get into the
finished product. The movie isn't awful, but it failed to keep my attention,
which is difficult because when I'm watching a film by myself I am completely
focused on it. I found my eyes wandering away from this film a number of times.
No comments:
Post a Comment