On The Waterfront (1954)

On The Waterfront (1954) ★★★★★ 5/5

Terry Malloy (Marlon Brando) emerges from the dark and calls to a window for his friend Joey, telling him to go to the roof to get a pigeon of his that had escaped his coop. Joey goes to the roof and as Terry walks away, Joey is thrown from the roof top and killed. Father Barry (Karl Malden) becomes involved as he realizes that there is more going on then meets the eye at the docks. The dock workers are being treated unfairly. Johnny Friendly (Lee J. Cobb) controls the docks and who is paid what and when. If a worker complains, he ends up like Joey.

Terry feels bad about setting his friend up to be murdered, but at the same time he is conflicted to remain under the good graces of Friendly. Terry becomes more conflicted as he develops a relationship with Joey's sister, Edie (Eva Marie Saint). Eventually he realizes he has to stand up for himself in order to keep Edie by his side. With the help of Father Barry, Terry takes on Johnny Friendly and his mob in an effort to ensure the workers are treated fairly.

Eva Marie Saint, Marlon Brando and Karl Malden are all powerhouse stars in this film. Each of them ignite the film and when they appear together on screen the results are awesome. The story is fast paced and the finale is terrifically played out. A moving picture with a message. My only complaint about the movie was Brando's character name. At times it sounded like people were saying "Jerry" other times "Gary." I don't know if it was the accents or the distant yelling in some scenes but I was often like, "Who are they talking about?" You are also going to look out for Brando's famous "I coulda been a contender line." It is always a thrill to hear a popular movie line played out in its actual context.

Giant (1956)

Giant (1956) ★★★★★ 5/5

A sweeping epic. There is not much more one can say about Giant then that. This is a film of such great magnitude. This film is a powerhouse in every way imaginable. from the star power to the story. One can debate about what the film is actually about though as it coves so much territory. Is it the film of a man and his family? We are introduced to Jordan "Bick" Benedict (Rock Hudson) when he first meets Leslie Lynnton (Elizabeth Taylor). The two become married and move to his ranch where they start a family and we follow their lives. Is the film really about Jett Rink (James Dean) and his rise from a poor farm hand to an eccentric millionaire? We are introduced to him and watch him go from nothing to a nationally renowned tycoon. Are we really seeing his story and how it impacts the life of the Benedict family?

As far as plot, it is quite simple. The Benedicts are successful ranchers in Texas. They are proud of Texas, and proud people. Jett is their ranch hand, and when Jordan's sister, Luz (Mercedes McCambridge) dies, she leaves a small plot of land to Jett. Jett takes that land and begins to dig for oil. He strikes it big and becomes more wealthy then the Benedicts. Jordan loathes Jett and wants nothing to do with him. So, it becomes quite a shock later in life when his daughter Luz II (Carroll Baker) falls for Jett.

What is even greater in this film is the social changes that Leslie brings to Texas when she arrives from the East. Prior to arriving to Texas, she is a Virginian socialite. She breaks racial barriers when she tends to a sick baby in the Mexican village. She shows that animals can be broken by using respect rather then physical abuse. She makes politics a place for women and not just men. She is a strong woman, and as strong as Jordan is, he respects and loves Leslie enough to understand her. Leslie represents a coming of age for women's rights and helps to show how in a few generations, the way of life can be positively impacted by accepting the beliefs of those you love. Her openness to people and modern ways of thinking by those in comparison to what Jordin was accustomed to do wear off on Jordin and he adopts them as his own. This is apparent in two of the final scenes where his son, Jordan Benedict III's (Dennis Hopper) wife Juana (Elsa Cárdenas) is denied service in one of Jett's hair salons, and then again when Mexican customers are turned down at a diner.

Running well over three hours, the film can certainly drag on at points. This is not because it is dull or boring, but because we are simply not accustomed to sitting through one movie so long. If you can stick it out, it is a must see movie. The messages are subtly incorporated through the film so that when it come to the finale, we clearly see and understand that a change has been made. It is this ending that makes us realize that we are watching more then simply the story of a man's life. We are watching the evolution of man. We see how man's thinking can change. While it may take time, it happens, and perhaps a slower development of ones thinking makes for a greater impact when the time comes to fully understand and discover what you believe in. This fantastic movie was sadly the last for James Dean and a clear tribute to his incredible on camera persona. Sadly, he did not even live to see the release of this film. It is also fine acting by Rock Hudson who proves his range extends romantic comedies and commands the respect as a serious leading man. It goes without saying that Elizabeth Taylor is radiant in this film as she always is. She is charming as Leslie Benedict and it's hard to imagine anyone taking on this role but her. Through her acts of kindness on screen, it is very easy to relate to stories of her humanitarianism in her real life. A magnificent piece of work!

The Awful Truth (1937)

The Awful Truth (1937) ★★★★★ 4/5

Jerry Warriner (Cary Grant) is introduced in the film trying to get a quick tan before heading to his wife who believed him to be in Florida for a week. Where he was, we don't really know, but it certainly wasn't somewhere a married man should be. When he does return home, he finds his wife Lucy (Irene Dunne) with company of her own, Armand Duvalle (Alexander D'Arcy). She too has not been home, and had spent a weekend away with him. The two realize that neither is necessarily faithful and think perhaps the best thing to do is divorce.

Lucy moves out and soon finds herself engaged to Dan Leeson (Ralph Bellamy), a wealthy Oklahoman. Jerry himself begins to date Barbara Vance (Molly Lamont) and the couple is often seen in the social pages. Throughout each of their new affairs, they find themselves often interfering in each others relationships. Lucy has custody of their dog Mr. Smith, and Jerry visits regularly, usually when Dan is visiting. Lucy, upon a visit to Jerry's home, accidentally answers the phone when Barbara calls. To cover this up, Jerry says it's his sister. To his surprise, Lucy shows up at a dinner event Barbara's family is hosting. However she shows up as Jerry's sister.

By the end of the night, the two end up heading to a family cabin, and they realize how happy the really are with each other.

This film is a screwball comedy with the highlights being scenes where Lucy is playing Jerry's sister, the two are pulled over because of a loud car radio and where Mr. Smith's hide and seek interrupt a visit from Armand, Jerry and Dan. The film is fun and light hearted. The two are enjoyable as they take turns sabotaging each others relationships without doing so at the expense of the person the opposite has begun dating. it is a fun film and quite typical of other films of that era. Irene Dunne plays comedy quite well, as does Cary Grant. Dunne is also very reminiscent of Katharine Hepburn and certainly holds her own in the comedy arena.

The Ox-Bow Incident (1943)

The Ox-Bow Incident (1943) ★★★★★ 4/5

This is a Western unlike any other Western. There are no sweeping landscape shot, there are no shootouts between the good guys and the bad guys and the headlining star Henry Fonda as Gil Carter is not the central character. A local cattle herder has been robbed and killed. The townspeople gather and form a mob to avenge the death of their fellow cattleman. The angry group finds three men asleep "near Ox-Bow" in the middle of the night. They awaken the men and immediately conclude they are the murderers. Donald Martin (Dana Andrews) is the soft spoken leader of the three. He is found with cattle which bear the mark of the deceased rancher. He claims to have paid for them but has no proof of sale. His fellow traveler Juan Martínez (Anthony Quinn) is found to have a gun on him . . . the same gun that belonged to the murdered rancher. Alva Hardwicke (Francis Ford) is the third in their party, and he is a mindless old man that only complicates matters by claiming Martinez is the murderer.

The "Major" Tetley (Frank Conroy) and his son, Gerald (William Eythe) lead the mob that has cornered the three accused of murder. Gerald is completely opposed to the whole situation, but the hard nosed major bullies him into lead the three men into execution. While the majority of the group is in favor of the "eye for an eye" attitude, Davies (Harry Davenport) is absolutely against any revenge and tries to sway the men into bringing the three to town for a fair trial. He allows Martin to write a letter to his wife, and he shares that letter to the Major in an effort to convince him for a fair trial. The effort is in vain, and while only 7 of the men are opposed to killing the three captured, it is not a majority and the men are ultimately hung.

Following the hanging of the three, the mob runs into Sheriff Risley (Willard Robertson) and finds that the man who was initially said to be dead was merely injured and recovering quite well. In addition, the men who really shot him were all in custody. Immediately, the men all realize they have themselves committed murder, and all will be dealt with except for the 7 who opposed the hanging.

This was quite a shocking movie as Westerns of that particular era were notorious for ending with the good guys riding off after defeating the bad guys and saving the town. In this instance, the good guys took action which in turn left them to be the bad guys. The good guys were hung and murdered. Although the intention of the townsmen was good, their actions were careless and lawless. This was a great twist and quite ahead of it's time. I also liked the relationships between the characters. The dynamics between the Major and his son, as well as Davies and the rest of the group. It is a movie that makes you think after it ends. There is a direct impact it has on the characters we have seen deal with the situation, as well as characters we were never even introduced to in the film.

A Passage To India (1984)

A Passage To India (1984) ★★★★★ 2/5

Set in India in the 1920's, Adela Quested (Judy Davis) and Mrs. Moore (Peggy Ashcroft) head to India from England to visit Ronny Heaslop (Nigel Havers). Heaslop is the son of Moore and the fiancee of Quested. While visiting, the English women befriend a local Indian man, Dr. Aziz Ahmed (Victor Banerjee). Ahmed takes them about India and heads an expedition to explore rural caves. While in the caves, Quested is attacked. At the time of her attack, she is alone and we as viewers do not see the attack. We are shown her fleeing from the cave, bloody and in shock. Moore takes her from the caves and into town. Once in town, the story is told that the attack was actually a rape in which her accuser was Ahmed.

The issue becomes a highly political matter dividing the upper class British from the lower class Indians. Moore is disgusted by the entire situation and takes the opinion that Ahmed is innocent. Because she is in such opposition to the charges being made, she flees the country and heads back to England. Before the trips end, she dies of a heart attack on board the ship. In India, the trial continues without her. When Quested takes the stand, she proclaims that it was not Ahmed that raped her.

Ahmed is set free and leaves the British occupied India to make a new life in rural India. Time passes, and Ahmed is able to put his anger aside and writes a letter of atonement to Quested.

The movie itself has been highly regarded as a masterpiece and one of the best translations of a novel to film. There are strong performances. There are also understated performances, including Alec Guinness as Professor Godbole. Personally, I did not find this film to be that great. The story was slow and a lot of time was spent in establishing the relationship between the British women and their Indian friend. Quite a bit of time was taken until we were actually brought to the main conflict of the film which involved the rape scene. Once that scene occurred, the movie was gripping and the trial was without a doubt the best portion of the film. There was intensity and it was captivating. Tension between the British and the Indian characters was well played and gave a feel for the impact on the trial. Emotions were properly acted out and the weight of this trial could be clearly seen through the acting. While the outcome of Ahmed's innocence was reassuring, the film left complete disappointment as there really was no resolution as to what did happen to Quested. For all the time invested into this movie, I wanted to know what really happened. I do not feel that Ahmed had anything to do with the rape, and almost think that the echos in the cave drove Quested to scratch at herself. I doubt there was even a rape. When the movie ended I felt completely let down and disappointed that we as viewers were led down the opposite storyline we wanted to hear.

To Be Or Not To Be (1942)

To Be Or Not To Be (1942) ★★★★★ 4/5

Carole Lombard and Jack Benny play a Polish husband and wife acting team who participate in a theater group during the height of Hitler's reign. Their theater group is actually performing a comical play about Hitler, but they find themselves switching to a Shakespearean play when the Polish government tells them that they can't perform the Hitler themed play they had rehearsed.

They, along with their acting troupe soon find themselves out of work as war breaks out. But before you know what happened, they are in a complete mad capped adventure. The two find themselves in the middle of a plot to thwart the war and murder Nazi informants. However their schemes go awry and when the informant the y are after is killed, they must take on him as a character to hide that they had murdered him. The film continues this way until they are actually impersonating Hitler himself.

Is it a film to see? Yes. There are several reasons to see this film. The first is because of Carole Lombard. This was actually the last film she made. In fact, the film was released after her tragic death. She was clearly at the height of her career and this film is a testament to her talent. Another reason you need to see this film is because if you are a movie lover, you probably watch current movies too. Although I have not seen anything that officially confirms it, this film has all the makings to serve as inspiration for Inglorious Basterds (2009). Much of that film can be seen in To Be Or Not To Be from the layout of the theater and the concept of tricking Hitler at the opening of a film. Both films feature our protagonists disguising themselves as Nazi's and infiltrating at the highest level possible. Of course this leads us to the third reason to see this film. It uses humor in the most unlikely context. Remember, this movie came out while Hitler was still alive. The sight of a Nazi uniform was offensive. Conceptually, at that time, actually still to this day, it is awkward to pair comedy and Nazi's together. That was quite a bold move in 1942. Yet at the same time, the humor is really poking fun at, and making the Nazi's look like fools. The tie in and use of the "To Be Or Not To Be" scenes are all quite well done and make for a great tie in of the films plots.

Comical scenes are performed well without any hokey qualities or over embellished lines. Much of the humor in the movie is subtle and needs to be picked up on by the viewer. As a viewer, you do also have to follow along to keep track of who is an imposter and who is not. There were some scenes that lingered, but not enough for it to be totally distracting to the movie. Part of that is also a positive remark as they do not force humor just to get a laugh. The humorous scenes are laid into the script appropriately.

The Public Enemy (1931)

The Public Enemy (1931) ★★★★★ 4/5

In 1934, The Hays Code went into effect in Hollywood. This code limited violence and profanity in films which made for a much lighter, romantic and music Hollywood. It was movies like The Public Enemy which helped bring the Hays code into effect. The Public Enemy was a gangster movie which followed the life of Tom Powers (James Cagney).

The movie starts with Powers getting into trouble as a boy with his friend Matt Doyle (Edward Woods). The two get involved with stealing and petty theft. As time carries on, the crimes become more and more involved and they end up working for Paddy Ryan (Robert Emmett O'Connor). Powers works his way up and earns the respect of the men on the street. At the same time, he looses the respect of his brother Mike (Donald Cook). While Powers slips further into the underworld, his Mother (Beryl Mercer) fails to accept what his son has become. Eventually, Powers messes with the wrong guys, or in this case, the wrong guy's girl, and gets what's coming.

As far as plots, it's nothing we haven't seen before. Although, this was the movie, along with a few others from the pre-Hays era that inspired everything we have seen. For this alone it is worth seeing the film, and it is important to see it if you are a movie lover. Acting wise, it is well ahead of it's time. Topic wise, I was shocked by many scenes in the movie. While the content is mild by today's standard, in 1934 this movie was way ahead of it's time. There was murder, there was adultery, there was spousal abuse. One of the most famous scenes in the history of film is in The Public Enemy. That is the scene in which James Cagney physically assaults his on-screen girlfriend Mae Clarke by pushing a grapefruit into her face. It's a brilliant scene. It is both funny and saddening at the same time. While the act is funny, the abuse it reflects is not. Upon it's original release, this scene was banned in several cities. Many cities however chose to ban the entire movie. The scene involving the scandalous affair between Powers and the girlfriend of his rival came as a complete shocker. There is often flirting and what not in older movies, but in this film, she turns off the light, makes some innuendos and heads toward the bed. That's a rariety to see in any 30's film, let alone in a scene where the main characters involved are married. Murder and gun play are very predominant in this film. The final scene made my jaw drop and I couldn't believe how incredibly harsh the ending was.

It should also be noted that Jean Harlow appears in this film. He role is small, but she is a Goddess on the screen and makes for a perfect addition to this gritty classic about gang life in the 30's. The movie is one you do need to see. It is well done and enjoyable. It also paves the way for future gangster films.