Meet Me In St. Louis (1944)

Meet Me In St. Louis ★★★★★ 3/5

While I had previously known this film was a musical, I had no idea that is was the debut of the classic Christmas song "Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas." Esther Smith (Judy Garland) sings the ballad to her little sister "Tootie" Smith (Margaret O'Brien) soon after learning that the entire family will have to pack up and move to New York City for their Father's (Leon Ames) job.

Although a musical in nature, the film carries on more or less like a drama about the American family in 1904. The musical numbers are subtle and more or less as music might have been used in 1904. In one scene, the family hosts a party where Esther and Tootie perform for the guests. Another scene involves the entire family coming together as their parents sing at the piano. The only true musical styled act that does not come across this way is the famous "Trolley Song" scene.

The essential plot is simple. The family is living their life. They are celebrating holidays like Halloween and Christmas. The older daughters are trying to find suitable boys to be courted by, the younger daughters are causing mischief through the neighborhood, and their Father is trying to find the best way to support his family.

Throughout the storyline, the topic of the World Fair arises. The town prepares for the fair in St. Louis and everyone is excited to attend. The fact that the Fair is coming becomes one of the reasons the family does not want to leave St. Louis for New York City. Tootie's breakdown after Judy Garland also is a major factor in the Father deciding finally that they will not be moving.

The character of Tootie is extremely bizarre in this film. Here is this upper class family in 1904 with a small girl who has the most morbid of fascinations. Although we do not see the ceremonies, we are made aware that Tootie regularly holds funerals and buries her dolls. There is an incident where Tootie and her older sister Agnes (Joan Carroll) almost derail a trolley. In the excitement, neighbor John Truett (Tom Drake), who is also Esther's love interest saves the girls from being caught as the ones who caused the incident. In explaining her injuries to her family, Tootie declares John tried to kill her. In the final scene of the film at the World's Fair, she is talking about dead bodies floating in the river. It's all a little awkward.

One interesting musical number seems to contain a mash up. "Skip To My Lou" and "Yankee Doodle Dandy" are blended as guests dance at the Smith home. It is actually quite hearing how these two songs were taken and blended to form one song. It's a wonder that the TV show "Glee" hasn't actually taken this song and improvised it. But then one must wonder if they were inspired to mash up songs in general from the performance in this film.

I was not taken by this film. It was entertaining. It also shows us that even in 1904 teenage issues were not that much different then today. The fear of going to a dance alone, the excitement of Halloween, the struggles a family faces when pressured to make a move because of a parent's job. The theme of the American family is carried out nicely. Personally I found the most intriguing part of the film to be that of the set and the imagery created. Among the film's 4 Oscar nominations was one for photography. George J. Fosley was the cinematographer and did a fine job. The interior shots of the home are beautiful. Even the outside shots are well done. Whether it be a scene with a buggy passing by, or a scene with children sledding down the hill, they are picturesque. For me it was this photography that made the most interesting aspect of the film.

The Wild Bunch (1969)

The Wild Bunch ★★★★★ 4/5

This movie completely threw me for a loop. When I started watching it, I was thinking I had seen it before. As the film progressed, I realized the movie I was confusing it with was The Magnificent Seven (1960). Well, it turns out that The Wild Bunch is a far cry from The Magnificent Seven. Westerns certainly came a long way from 1960 to 1969. If you watch this movie and expect a decent, well mannered Western, you are in for a surprise.

The opening sequence is atypical of the Western right off the bat. William Holden, Ernest Borgnine, Ben Johnson and Warren Oates make up the members of the Wild Bunch. They ride into town disguised as American soldiers to rob a train station of a silver shipment. As they ride in, the musical score is startling and bold. Children alongside the road are torturing scorpions by placing them atop mounds of what appear to be fire ants. As the children laugh and giggle, the screen freezes on each of the main actors one by one and the music screeches and vibrates. The opening title scene is far ahead of it's time and is worth watching just for that.

Once in town, the Wild Bunch, led by Pike (William Holden) conducts their business of robbery only to be run out of town by a group of men hired to capture them. The leader of this group is (Robert Ryan) Deke. As Pike's men flee to escape and Deke's men try to capture the Wild Bunch, the town where the robbery occurs becomes a bloodbath. Innocent townspeople, women and children are all caught in the crossfire. To see this happen so vividly in a 60's Western was actually quite shocking.

After Pike's men escape and are able to divide the earnings of their robbery, they realize they were tricked and the silver they had stolen was actually bags of worthless washers. Broke, and needing money, the robbers flee to Mexico where they can plot their next move. As they travel to Mexico, they come across a rising Mexican dictator who entrusts them to steal artillery from the US Army. The group agrees and devises a plan to rob a train carrying the equipment.

The plot is pretty cut and dry from here out. Rob the train, get the supplies to the Mexican army without getting killed, collect their pay and be on their way. There are some twists here and there. One twist is that one of the Wild Bunch, Angel (Jaime Sánchez) lost his Father when the Mexican General's army had raided his village. Angel intends to shoot and kill the General himself. Upon finding this out, the General and his men claim Angel and torture him. This sets the Wild Bunch off and they then care more about getting Angel back then they do fulfilling their agreement with the General. This conflict is what brings the film to an ending that rivals the works of Quentin Tarantino. It is for this reason you do have to see this film.

Rarely do you come across a film lover who does not love and respect the work of Quentin Tarantino. It is virtually impossible to watch The Wild Bunch and not think about Tarantino. This film has so many components that are similar. The initial opening scene where The Wild Bunch comes into town posing as something they aren't, the way he used legendary stars in a way you would never expect to see them, the blurry lines as to who is the "bad" guy, and that who might be considered bad is actually good. There are complexities to the film that evolve from character struggles.

There are three scenes that make the film entirely worthwhile.

1) The train robbery. This scene is so smoothly choreographed and reflective of historic train robberies. The filming in itself is smooth and well down for the amount of action that takes place. A grand scene and highly entertaining.

2) When Dutch Engstrom (Ernest Borgnine) essentially sacrifices Angel (Jaime Sánchez) to the Mexican leader. The facial expressions of the actors say everything that they are thinking. The tragedy of what is coming is clear - well, somewhat clear. Borgnine displays so many emotions in just a matter of seconds. He looks at the general and glances at Angel with disgust, which immediately turns to sorrow an apology. Before he even turns his head you can see the guilt and betrayal he feels. It is a brilliant scene and emotionally charged.

3) The finale. This is the most Tarantino-esque scene in the film. A machine gun becomes a character. A bloodbath ensues like that of Inglorious Basterds (2009). The dictator and his men are brutally slain on their own base with their own weapons. Shock value kicks in and the movie is a far cry from predictable. With The Wild Bunch the mold of the Western was broken.

There are other interesting elements to this film as well. From a historical perspective, it analyzes illegal arms trade. In the 1980's weapons were reportedly illegally sold to other countries. Could this film have laid out the plans for that, or does it simply explain how that type of thing happens? The whole concept that with the right access, a down on their luck bunch of guys could make money stealing and selling weapons to dictators and guerrilla groups is very realistic after seeing this film. There are those who don't believe in country and have no alliance to anyone other then themselves.

Also interesting in this film is the racial breakdowns. The racism in the film is atypical in the sense that it is not stemming from white characters. The bulk of the stereotype comes from the Mexican army who repeatedly refer to the Wild Bunch as the Gringos. They also run with one Hispanic, Angel. When Angel is taken into custody and being tortured by the Mexican General, they no longer care about any reward or money. All they care about is getting their friend back. They hold him as an equal throughout the film. In past Westerns, a character of a different race might have been expendable, or abandoned once the initial goal was completed.

It is worth seeing and if you are a movie fan, yes, you should see this movie. It is worth is for many reasons. First, the main reason is to see how it laid down the path for movies to come decades later. Second, it defies conventional movies of it's time. It is worth seeing for the political implications, the social contexts, and the character developments. There are parts where the movie does drag out bit. It is for that reason I could not go with 5 stars.

Rio Bravo (1959)

Rio Bravo ★★★★★ 3/5

Howard Hawks directed this 1959 Western. Considered one of the last great Westerns, the film stars John Wayne as John T. Chance, a sheriff in a small Texas town in the American frontier. The film opens with the Sheriff's deputy, Dude (Dean Martin) fighting Joe Burdette (Claude Akins). During the fight Burdette shoots an innocent bystander and ends up arrested for murder. He is shortly taken to jail where Chance, Dude and a third deputy, Stupmy (Walter Brennan) await Burnette's brother Nathan (John Russell). However the Sheriff knows that the arrival of Nathan is not going to be a pleasant one as Nathan is a wealthy tycoon known for helping his Brother out in times of trouble, and also known to be wealthy enough to hire scores of hitmen who will kill anyone who tries to interfere.

There are several townspeople who want to help Dude as they know he is in no state to fight Burnette on his own. Dude is infamous for his alcoholism and Stumpy is cripple. Pat Wheeler (Ward Bond), a friend of Chance's becomes an example of what happens to anyone who wants to help Chance when he is murdered by one of Burnette's men. Dude and Chance look to apprehend Pat's murderer and do so in the local saloon where Dude, who is in the process of overcoming his alcoholism, proves that he can again be the deputy he once was by avenging Pat's death.

Before long, Dude's dependency on alcohol wins over and when Nathan and his men return to town, they capture and tie him up, leaving Chance vulnerable and almost murdered. He is saved by Colorado Ryan (Rick Nelson) and Feathers (Angie Dickinson) who divert attention and allow Chance to defend himself. Colorado is a former employee of the murdered Pat Wheeler and has nothing to do with his employer dead and decides to help Chance. Feathers is a woman passing through town who takes up employment at the Hotel. Her motivation to help Chance is love. Her attraction to him is clear the moment she appears on screen.

The progression of the film leads to a final shootout at an abandoned house. Chance and his crew take on Nathan Burnette and his men. As expected in classic American Westerns, the good guys take out the bad guys and the Sheriff gets the girl.

While watching the film, Howard Hawks influence is clearly visible. The communication between Chance and Feathers is very similar to that of Bringing Up Baby (1939). The dialogue between the two is fast paced and more comical then serious. Feathers plants ideas into Chance's heads and tells him what she wants by telling him what he wants. The screwball element in this film is not as strong as that in Bringing Up Baby, but it is there. Rarely was comedy used in the Western, but Hawks managed to use it throughout all of Rio Bravo. It is most obvious in scenes featuring Carlos Robante (Pedro Gonzalez-Gonzalez). Robante owns and operates the Hotel where the majority of the film takes place. He fills the film brilliantly. Robante makes the comical bits fit in the movie and does so without taking away the credibility of the film being a Western.

I did have a problem with Rick Nelson in the film. I found him to be droll, inexpressive and an odd addition to the casting. In reading more about the film, I actually discovered he was nominated for a Golden Globe for this performance. That struck me as odd because I found him to be completely out of place. At the time the movie was filmed, Rick Nelson was the biggest teen heart throb on the market. he was a TV star, a chart topping musician, and graced the cover of every teen magazine on the chart. He even had a segment in the film where he crooned with Dean Martin, then performed a solo. To me, it was like Howard Hawks used Rick Nelson as a marketing ploy to get people to come see his movie. It would be like sticking Justin Bieber into a current film to play off his popularity. The fact he received a Golden Globe nomination completely overwhelmed me. But, then I remembered when The Tourist (2010) was nominated for a Golden Globe nomination. The accusations were that the film was not worthy and the Golden Globes only did this so that Angelina Jolie and Johnny Depp would appear at the ceremony. Is it possible that in 1959 the Globes did the same thing to get the biggest teen star to their awards show?

I have to warn you. This is a long movie. The film clocks in at over 2 hours long. It seems to drag quite a bit. It is the comical moments starring Pedro Gonzalez-Gonzalez that keep the film rolling. The movie is by no means one of Howard Hawks finest. Nor is it John Wayne's finest.