TCM
TiVo ALERT
For
March
1–March 7
DAVID’S
BEST BETS:
IN
THE HEAT OF THE NIGHT (March 1, 8:00 pm): I've
mentioned before that 1967 is a landmark year in cinema. While the
Hays Code was lifted before that year, it took a while for Hollywood
to push the envelope, be more daring and take on serious subject
matter without soft-selling it. Among the films released in 1967
were The Graduate, Bonnie and Clyde, Point
Blank and the best of the bunch, In the Heat of the
Night. The latter pairs one of cinema's most under-appreciated
actors, Rod Steiger, with one of film's most respected (and
rightfully so) actors, Sidney Poitier. (Poitier also starred in 1967
in Guess Who's Coming to Dinner, a film I don't hold in
high regard as it fails to match the intensity of the films I
mentioned above.) In the Heat of the Night gives the
viewers an authentic view of racism in the South during the era of
the Civil Rights movement. Steiger is the sheriff of a racist town
working with Poitier, a police detective from Philadelphia, to solve
a murder while overcoming significant challenges. The film won five
Oscars including Best Picture and Best Actor for Steiger. It's one
you must see if you haven't already.
OUT
OF THE FOG (March 4, 1:45 pm): I'm an unapologetic
fan of John Garfield. During Hollywood's golden era of the late 1930s
to the late 1940s, he was as good an actor as anyone, and that's
saying a lot. In this 1941 film, Garfield is a sadistic gangster with
no redeeming qualities. He's a hood who shakes down old fisherman at
a Brooklyn pier. Garfield is captivating as the cruel criminal in one
of Warner Brothers' grittiest film noirs. His character falls for Ida
Lupino (can't blame him), the daughter of one of the fishermen he is
terrorizing. He even uses that to his advantage. Two of the main
fisherman he is shaking down come up with a plan to kill him, but
can't follow through. However, the way Garfield gets offed is one for
the ages. A truly great film that showcases Garfield's talents.
ED’S
BEST BETS:
BROADWAY
MELODY OF 1936 (March 3, 8:30 am): Eleanor Powell’s
first starring role, and a portent of great things to come from her.
The plot, predictably, is paper-thin. Jack Benny is a Broadway
columnist whose copy is in great need of punching up. So he has to go
about digging up dirt. He picks on producer Bob Gordon (Robert
Taylor), whose new show “Broadway Rhythm,” is being backed by
heiress Lillian Brent (June Knight) who also wants to star. Enter
Irene Foster, (Powell), Bob’s childhood sweetheart, who wants to
audition. Yes, it’s a mess, but who watches a musical for its plot?
We want to see Powell hoofing, and boy is she good. Her routine with
Buddy and Vilma Ebsen (his sister and her only film appearance) in
“Sing Before Breakfast” is light and enchanting. As for Powell’s
solo dance numbers at the end, watch for “You Are My Lucky Star,”
“Broadway Rhythm,” and “I’ve Got a Feeling You’re Foolin’,”
which earned Dave Gould an Oscar for Dance Direction.
EAT
DRINK MAN WOMAN (March 7, 8:00 pm): Director Ang
Lee’s story of the family tension between a master chef and his
three grown daughters at their weekly ritual Sunday dinners is a pure
delight. Mr. Chu (Shihung Lung) and his three grown daughters, who
live with him, have simply lost their ability to relate to one
another. This makes their Sunday dinner, the one point where they all
get together during the week, such an ordeal that the participants
can hardly eat. Mr. Chu has lost his joie de vivre. His
culinary art no longer receives the respect it used to enjoy in
Taiwan. His fear is that traditional recipes are being mixed up into
one, banal flavor. He’s literally losing his taste for the food he
creates. The daughters are also slaves to their routines, it
seems that they, too, have lost their joie de vivre. “Can
this family be saved?” we ask. Lee’s answer is a simple, yet most
refreshing one. Those looking for a course in Eastern wisdom will be
left disappointed, but Lee’s solution is no more different in a
Taiwanese household than it would be in an English, Kenyan, or
Peruvian one. Lee shows us that the basic human condition is
universal and easily crosses cultures. And stick around for the
moment that gets Mr. Chu back on the right track. It’s beautifully
written and staged by Lee.
WE
DISAGREE ON ... THEY MADE ME A CRIMINAL (March 4, 9:15
am)
ED:
C. Warner Bros. had a unique talent for remaking
their movies, and, although many film fans don’t know it (because
it’s rarely screened), this film is actually a remake of The
Life of Jimmy Dolan from 1933 with Douglas Fairbanks Jr.,
Loretta Young, and Aline MacMahon with Garfield stepping to the
Fairbanks role as a prizefighter on the lam whose cynicism fades
under the spell of a good woman. The film is Garfield’s – he’s
a distinct improvement on Fairbanks Jr. in the role. But, as
astounding as it seems to us today, Garfield wasn’t the film’s
main attraction. That would have been the Dead End Kids, whom
Warners’ was pushing. Now, without them, the film would have been
no great shakes, for although Garfield is superb in an early role,
co-star Claude Rains is sleepwalking through the proceedings, and the
ham antics of the Dead End Kids (who, with the exception of Huntz
Hall, use the same names they did in Dead End) only serve
to pull the film down. Gloria Dickson also gives good reasons why she
never made it past the B’s. She’s definitely lackluster. The only
reason I even give this film a “C” s because of Garfield alone,
but even he can’t rescue this from being a mess.
DAVID:
B+. Each week Ed gives me the honor of
selecting the film for our "We Disagree" feature. He got a
good laugh when I chose They Made Me a Criminal. Why?
Well, it's simple. There are few "actors" I loathe as much
as the Dead End Kids, later to become the even more annoying Bowery
Boys (as well as the East Side Kids and the Little Tough Guys). And
Billy Halop may be the worst on-screen personality I've ever seen.
However, they are excellent in 1937's Dead End, the movie
version of the play in which they starred. They're not bad in They
Made Me a Criminal, released two years later. What's so
impressive about this film is, as Ed wrote, John Garfield. He has
star written all over him, and he more than lives up to that. It was
made for the Dead End Kids, but Garfield carries the film with
skillful acting and great charisma. He's a boxer on the lam, wrongly
accused of a murder committed by his manager, but pinned on him. It
can be somewhat cliche, but not predictable. Garfield's performance
is so magnificent you don't pay attention to anything else but him.
Busby Berkeley, the famous musical director and one of Ed's all-time
favorites, does a fine directing job in this non-dance film though
you can see some of his legendary choreography in the fight scenes.
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