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Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942) Directed by Michael Curtiz

Posted by: Frank Veenstra Posted date: 11:19 AM / comment : 0 , , , , , , , , , , ,





(Review originally written at 17 January 2009)

James Cagney is of course best known for his tough gangster roles but he has also done his fair share of musical roles throughout his career. It was also how he started out his career and the theater was perhaps also were truly his heart really was. This was also the movie which earned Cagney his only Oscar win and he really deserved it. It's a kind of role I have never seen him playing before and it's perhaps not only the best role out of his career, it's also one of the best movie performances I have ever seen.

Cagney is especially great as the older George M. Cohan. The movie is based on the real life of musical composer, playwright, actor, dancer and singer George Micheal Cohan, who made many famous musical shows and songs throughout his career. Cagney plays him with a lot of heart and really becomes the character, from a young man till the old aging, gray Cohan.

It's a quite patriotic movie, after all Cohan's plays featured a lot of flag waving and stuff like that but in this case it doesn't work out distracting or annoying since the movie doesn't lay its emphasis on it. It's a movie that tells the story of a man and it concentrates on that, rather than focusing on the things and life surrounding him, at least not until the end, when WW I kicks in and George's parents start to age. A true biography, that just gets better by the minute.

It's also not a movie you would expect from director Michael Curtiz, who mostly made swashbucklers and early thrillers and action flicks throughout his career. But just like James Cagney he has done his fair share of musicals. Just like Cagney as well, he just isn't best known for that type work.

The musical moments are all grand looking and besides feature some good songs. And I'm normally speaking not even a fan of the musical genre in general. Watching this is however a real treat. You can also tell Cagney is really in his element during those musical moments.

A real triumph and a pinnacle within its genre, not in the least thanks to a magnificent acting, singing and dancing James Cagney.

9/10

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The Palm Beach Story (1942) Directed by Preston Sturges

Posted by: Frank Veenstra Posted date: 9:40 AM / comment : 0 , , , , , , , , , ,





(Review originally written at 21 December 2008)

This type of movies were very popular in the late '30's and early '40's. Lots of classics were made during that time period and lots of actors got launched to stardom, thanks to movies like this. However as far as '40's screwball comedies are concerned; this really isn't the best movie that the genre has to offer. Sure, it's all good and fun but it's just lacking this bit of cleverness and true hilarity.

Blame the script for this. Mostly these type of movies are brilliantly constructed story-wise and its main characters stumble from the one odd and hilarious situation into the other. Same is also the case with this movie but it just isn't quite all as hilarious and well flowing as you would expect.

Some sequences are too long and too often the movies stays too much at the same place. This is the foremost reason why it feels as if this movie isn't always flowing that well. As an indirect result of this, some characters feel like they are being used, while others feel like they are being overused. The story often feels like it could had made its point earlier and reached what it tried to achieve much earlier. Because of this it takes awhile for the story to really get off the ground.

Sure, it's still a fun and entertaining movie to watch though. It's nothing too hilarious but good enough nevertheless for more than a couple of laughs. The fans of the genre will therefore also not be disappointed with this movie. Guess I'm just not Preston Sturges' biggest fan when it comes down to his screwball comedies. I also thought his other acclaimed screwball comedy "Sullivan's Travels", which he made one year prior to this movie, is a tad bit overrated.

Both movies also star Joel McCrea, who wasn't the biggest actor within the game but he nevertheless is a great leading man, with also the right psychics. Not really sure why he never really truly broke through like an actor. He's mostly known for his work in some early westerns.

It's all good and fun but there are some better genre movies to watch out there in my opinion.

7/10

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To Be or Not to Be (1942) Directed by Ernst Lubitsch

Posted by: Frank Veenstra Posted date: 9:29 AM / comment : 0 , , , , , , , , , , ,





(Review originally written at 19 December 2008)

This is one fine and also rather effective WW II comedy, that mocks the Nazi's and their direct leaders.

The movie got actually made during WW II and therefore this movie, just like Chaplin's "The Great Dictator" can be seen as a relevant one for its time and propaganda for the good cause. Lots of the cast and crew involved with this movie 'fought' for the good cause during WW II and supported the troops abroad and rallied for cash bonds. For instance also Carole Lombard, who got killed before this movie got released, when the plane with her aboard crashed, when she returned from a tour selling war bonds.

It's a movie that hits the mark with its comedy and spoofing elements, without ever getting a tiresome or overdone movie with its comedy and anti-Nazi themes. It's a more subtle done movie, thanks to its very fine written script.

To me it really was the movie its script that pushed to movie to great heights. It's a movie that is always going and never stops for anything. It constantly puts its characters in some odd and also often dangerous situations. Just when you think its over they are rolling right into another- even bigger problem, which of course also is all the more hilarious as well. Because of this the movie basically gets better by the minute. It already all begins really well but it ends even better. You'll laugh more and more as the movie heads toward its ending.

It also has a real original concept of a group of Polish actors fighting the Nazi invaders with the help of their acting abilities. So its Hamlet against Hitler in this movie! It makes this an original and really pleasant movie to watch. Even though it of course is about serious subjects, especially considering that the movie got made during WW II itself and has some deeper political meanings to it, it never becomes a heavy movie to watch. It's like laughing at WW II during WW II itself. It shows that the world was not entirely dark and sober during WW II. Somewhere people were still laughing and that's always a great remedy in dark, hard and uncertain times.

Because the movie is so well written, also the movie its comedy mostly comes directly from its situations and dialog. One thing that often is great about '40's and also '30's comedies is its written dialog. It provides the movie with plenty of laughs and makes you wonder why writers like this are not involved with comedy-writing now days. Probably because the genre has got less prestige now days, when compared to the '40's especially, when basically each year a movie like this got nominated for plenty of Oscar's. Strangely enough this movie received only one nomination though, for its music. Perhaps this was due to the movie its bad release date, not too long after Pearl Harbor and of course also Carole Lombard's early death.

The movie has a solid '40's cast with talented actors such as Carole Lombard, Jack Benny, Robert Stack and Lionel Atwill involved. Basically everyone got well cast and each and everyone of them portrays some great and likable simple comedy characters.

Heil Hamlet!

9/10

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The Magnificent Ambersons (1942) Directed by Orson Welles, Fred Fleck & Robert Wise

Posted by: Frank Veenstra Posted date: 9:21 AM / comment : 0 , , , , , , , , , ,





(Review originally written at 12 December 2008)

This movie is very typical for the '40's. It's an epic family drama, in which a lot of drama is happening. Best example of this genre is perhaps "Gone With the Wind". Well OK, bad example perhaps since that movie is from 1939 and not the '40's but when you say "Gone With the Wind" everyone knows the type of movie you mean. Those movie were really popular- and flourished in the '40's. I must say though that during that time period some better genre movies. A lot better and more powerful movies. Only thing that still makes this movie good and a bit more special is Orson Welles his touch.

It's funny how basically every Orson Welles movies seems so ahead of its time. It's techniques, it's storytelling. It's all something you wouldn't expect from an '40's movie but more from one made decades later. Also Welles his love for the radio shows in this movie. The movie is being made and told as a radio show, only with moving of course added to it, with Welles providing his own voice for the narration. Prior to this movie, Welles also made a radio show of the novel, this movie as well is being based on. For this, he used most of the actors that also star in this movie.

The movie really doesn't feature the best known actors from its era but everyone is simple well cast and suits their roles superbly. It even earned Agnes Moorehead an Oscar nomination. She really earned it as well in my opinion. She played the best character out of the movie and was truly splendid in her role. Her acting style didn't really seemed like anything common for '40's standards, which is perhaps the reason why her acting and characters stands out so much in the movie.

A problem I had with the movie though is that it was too long and just not always interesting to watch. Well, the movie actually isn't long at all with its 88 minutes but still the movie feels like a 3 hour drama production. Hard to say if this is Orson Welles his fault really, since it were the studios that 'butchered' this movie by cutting out 50 minutes of it, through editor and later turned famed director Robert Wise. Maybe Welles his version was a better flowing one, with some more drama and other moments added to it. We will never known, since the 'original' Welles version is most likely lost forever.

Nevertheless it otherwise still is a superior made movie, with some wonderful new fresh used techniques. Orson Welles was truly a pioneer in film-making and this movie as well is a good example of this, even though it's not his best or most interesting one. But is there even such a thing as a bad Orson Welles movie?

8/10

In This Our Life (1942) Directed by John Huston

Posted by: Frank Veenstra Posted date: 4:02 AM / comment : 0 , , , , , , , , , ,

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(Review originally written at 31 October 2008)

Thing with these '40's dramatic movies is that they are always so melodramatic. The drama in these type of movies just never seem to seize to end and it often takes some very epic proportions. It at the same time always makes these movies incredibly powerful to watch, when done correctly. "In This Our Life" is such a movie that features some very strong drama, not in the least thanks to its great cast.
The movie has a fine story that focuses on a family and the two sisters of the family in particular, played by Bette Davis and Olivia de Havilland. Of course quite ridicules and unconvincing to think that de Havilland and Davis are supposed to be sisters within this movie. I mean, de Havilland is far too beautiful for that, when comparing her looks to Davis'. Nevertheless you'll buy it, thanks to the acting performances and Davis' in particular. It perhaps is one of the most rotten and best roles out of her career.
The first halve of the movie is mostly a romantic-dramatic one, while the second halve of the movie focuses more on the family dramatic aspects. It's not like you're watching two separate movies though, both parts are connected to each other and both are important and relevant for the movie its story.
It's a movie filled with all kinds of dramatic themes and I must say that some of them even surprised me a bit when considering this movie got made back in 1942. The movie seemed to be ahead of its time with some of its plot elements, such as the treatment of Afro-Americans within American society and then in particular also by the law. With this, this movie must have been quite controversial for its time by showing how the black Americans got treated by the legal system.
You can of course also leave it up to John Huston to tell a relatively simple and small story in a big, epic, dramatic way. Before he became a successful director he was a successful writer who wrote the screenplays for some great successful classics, so I think the fact that he was such a talented writer also had to with it that he was such a great director as well. Besides writing and directing he also starred as an actor in quite a few movies, including some classics. He also plays a very small role in this movie as a bartender.
A great powerful melodramatic movie from the '40's.
8/10


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Gentleman Jim (1942) Directed by Raoul Walsh

Posted by: Frank Veenstra Posted date: 12:03 PM / comment : 0 , , , , , , , , ,





(Review originally written at 14 May 2008)

Director Raoul Walsh was like the Michael Bay of the '40's and years before that. And I mean that in a positive way, since I'm definitely ain't no Bay-hater. His movies are just simple high quality entertainment, just like the Raoul Walsh movies were in his days.

"Gentleman Jim" is fine quality entertainment. Besides a first class director, it also features a first grade cast, with Raoul Walsh's regular leading man Errol Flynn in the main part.

What surprised me was how well the boxing matches were brought to the screen. They used some very dynamic camera-work, which also really made the boxing matches uplifting and exciting to watch, with the end championship fight against John L. Sullivan as the ultimate highlight.

Biopics of the '40's and earlier on were obviously still very much different from biographies being made this present day. Modern biographies often glorify its main subject and show his/her life from basically birth till death and everything, mostly emotional aspects, in between. 'Old' biopics were just made the same as movies that weren't based on actual real life persons, which also means that the film-makers would often use a use amount of creative liberty with the main character's personality and events that happened in his/her life. This movie is also not just a biography about a boxing legend but also forms a nice portrayal from the period when illegal bare knuckle fighting entered the modern era of boxing.

Errol Flynn does a great job portraying the real life famous boxer James J. Corbett aka Gentleman Jim. Not too many people known it but Flynn did some real good acting jobs in the '40's, of which this movie is one. Fysicaly he also looks in top-shape. He also looks quite different by the way without his trademark small mustache in this movie. The movie also features some fine supporting actors and some fine acting throughout.

A great and entertaining movie that also still truly holds up real well today.

8/10

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