TCM
TiVo ALERT
For
July
15–July 22
DAVID’S
BEST BETS:
MEET
JOHN DOE (July
15, 7:45 am): This is a wonderful film and I've never seen Gary
Cooper more relaxed in a role than of the fictitious John Doe, the
every-man who is created by fired newspaper columnist Barbara
Stanwyck. Stanwyck writes a column with a letter from "John
Doe," who is tired of the corrupt system that has left him
jobless and bitter, and plans to jump off the roof of city hall on
Christmas Eve. The story takes on a life of its own so she convinces
the paper's bosses to find a John Doe and write articles about him,
thus creating a national movement. The movie is a comedy with an
important message about how society ignores the regular guy. Frank
Capra's films are often too sentimental for my tastes, but he hits
the right notes with this movie. The supporting cast is solid,
particularly Walter Brennan as Cooper's tramp buddy, known as the
Colonel, and James Gleason as the headline-hungry managing editor.
THE
APARTMENT (July
15, 3:15 pm): Director Billy Wilder's follow-up to Some
Like It Hot, this
wonderful comedy-drama stars Jack Lemmon as an opportunistic office
worker who sort of sleeps his way to the top. Well, he lets his
office managers use his apartment as a place to have sex with their
various mistresses. Because of that, he gets promoted to the
personnel department, where his supervisor, Fred MacMurray, so
deliciously sleazy in this role, convinces his new assistant to let
him have the apartment on an exclusive basis. MacMurray's latest
mistress is the company's elevator operator (Shirley MacLaine), who
Lemmon likes a lot, but doesn't say anything to her. A fabulous
cast with one of Hollywood's best directors and an intelligent, funny
script, and you have 1960's Oscar winner for Best Picture. It was
nominated for nine others, winning four of
those. Incredibly, MacMurray wasn't even nominated for Best
Supporting Actor.
ED’S
BEST BETS:
VIVRE
SA VIE (My Life to
Live - July 15, 2:30 am): A woman from the provinces (Anna
Karina) has abandoned her husband and family to try her hand at
becoming an actress in Paris. But things don’t exactly work out,
and as her funds dry up, she takes a job as a clerk at a record store
to make ends meet. However, the pay is not enough to save
her from eviction. Desperate, she turns to prostitution, taking up
with Raoul (Saddy Rebbot), a pimp who offers her protection. In time,
she meets and falls in love with a man (Peter Kassovitz) who truly
cares for her and offers her hope. But when she tries to break away
she discovers that Raoul has other plans, plans that lead to tragedy.
Director Jean-Luc Godard approaches his film almost as if it was a
documentary, using a cinema verite type of approach and dividing the
film into 12 brief chapters, each preceded by a written intertitle.
Heartbreaking and totally compelling.
NIGHT
NURSE (July 16, 2:15 pm): What is it about Barbara
Stanwyck Pre-Codes that so intrigues me? She’s great as a
nurse who discovers that an alcoholic mother and her chauffeur lover
are starving her two children to death by for the inheritance. This
is a sordid, well-paced story directed by studio regular William
Wellman full of double entendre remarks and plenty of shots of
Stanwyck and co-star Joan Blondell running around in their underwear.
Clark Gable makes an impression as the evil chauffeur (in a role
originally intended for James Cagney before he shot to stardom in The
Public Enemy and his scenes with Stanwyck retain their
ability to shock even today.
WE
DISAGREE ON ... A RAISIN IN THE SUN (July 18, 3:45 am)
ED:
A. This groundbreaking,
socially conscious screen adaptation of Lorraine Hansberry's
groundbreaking play, which takes its title from a line in Langston
Hughes’ poem, “Africa,” follows the Youngers, an
African-American family living together in an apartment in Chicago.
Following the death of their patriarch, they try to determine what to
do with the substantial insurance payment they'll soon receive, and
opinions as to what to do with the money vary. Matriarch Lena
(Claudia McNeil) want to buy a house for them all to live in, while
son Walter Lee (Sidney Poitier) wants to invest the money in a liquor
store. Walter’s wife, Ruth (Ruby Lee) agrees with Lena, and
daughter Beneatha (Diana Sands) would like to use some of the money
to pay for her medical school tuition. Claustrophobic at times, the
film is an American version of the English “Kitchen Sink” dramas
of the time. Daniel Petrie’s direction is pedestrian, but the
strength of the storyline, combined with the overall excellent
performances, keep the audience’s interest, and the film astutely
examines such serious issues as assimilation, the pursuit of the
American Dream, and pride in one's heritage. Claudia McNeill
gives a splendid performance as Lena, and her differences with son
Walter give the movie a compelling edge. Poitier also gives a strong
performance, one of many he was to give later in his career. Both
were nominated for Golden Globes, but the fact no Oscar nominations
came their way was all too typical of the age. The film stands as an
accurate look not only into the issues of the time, but also
illuminates the fact that all families basically have the same
problems, be they White, Black, Hispanic or Asian.
DAVID: B. There's
no doubt this is a fine film, but it doesn't deserve an "A"
grade. A Raisin in the Sun was originally a play –
and my issue with it is it feels too much like a play with the
small set. That's not always a bad thing such as 12 Angry
Men. But A Raisin in the Sun would have
benefited from giving the performers more space and less
opportunities to overact. Overacting is far too common on Broadway,
and it carries over into this film. The premise is simple: the family
inherits $10,000 in life insurance after the death of its patriarch
and everyone is torn as to how to use the money. The actors work well
together with effective performances by most, particularly Sidney
Poitier (of course), Claudia McNeil as his mother, and Ruby Dee as
his wife. The storyline is touching and tragic though the ending is
just not believable. It's a very good film and one worth seeing.
But it falls a little short to me as far as being a great film.
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