Roman Holiday (1953)

Pretty, young, princess Ann (Audrey Hepburn) grows tired of her regal routine while visiting Rome. Her doctor gives her something to help her sleep, but instead she sneaks out of the palace in a stupor. She is found sleeping on a park bench by a reporter (Gregory Peck) who does not recognize her. After trying to safely ditch her, she ends up sleeping on his couch. When he finds out who she is, he realizes he could make a fortune selling an exclusive story. So, he convinces her to go on holiday for the day. Love blooms.

This is the movie that introduced Audrey Hepburn to America, and boy howdy. Audrey was adorably charming and Peck was charmingly awkward as normal. Eddie Albert (Green Acres) had a nice comedic secondary role. Cary Grant was intended for the male lead, but he deemed himself too old for the part. Ten years later he would see his way clear.

I was a little confused why Peck's character, who was scheduled to interview this very famous princess, had no idea what she looked like. No biggie, though. We were caught up in the charming story. I had long wanted to hit the rom-com sub-genre, but they can be so vapid. Not that low-rent sci-fi is all that, but at least they offer a nice monster from time to time. But I've hit three smart, entertaining films in recent weeks. I'll hit a few more before I move on (currently there is a serial in the works), but really there is no end of them.

Many American productions shot in Europe have this "look how hip and interesting we are drinking cappuccino alfresco" vibe to them. The Pink Panther's, Charade recently, even Repulsion a bit. I did not get that here. Rome looked wonderful (filmed in black and white so that it doesn't overwhelm the story), but the cheese factor never came into play. Clever, charming, and satisfying. AMRU 4.

"Is this the elevator?"

Strangers on a Train (1951)

Two Strangers meet on a Train. One is a semi-famous tennis player, the other a semi-famous lunatic. Lunatic Bruno knows that tennis boy Guy Haines wants to divorce his troublesome wife so he can wed a senator's hottie daughter. And he himself would like to lose his overbearing father, what with him only partially funding his loonie playboy lifestyle. So Bruno hatches a plan and pitches it to Guy. Not realizing exactly how crazy he is, Guy kinda plays along. Next thing, bad wife turns up dead and Bruno feels a return favor is in order. Criss-cross.

Robert Walker (Bruno) led a troubled life himself involving erratic behavior and substance abuse. He had a bad reaction to a prescription drug when it was administered after heavy drinking, and stopped breathing. Two months after the movie's premiere, he would be dead. He was 32. And so it goes.

An important component of any film is suspension of disbelief. Everything you see (and this hold true for documentaries as well) is fake. But if you can suspend your disbelief, this does not matter. On this point I had an issue. I couldn't believe the protagonists action and the final scene at the carousel was patently ridiculous. This is a shame because it slightly spoils an otherwise excellent movie.

That said, Strangers is full of wonderful moments. One in particular features a cigarette lighter and a familiar pair of eye glasses. Perhaps I would have enjoyed it better had I not very high expectations. It is classic Hitchcock. AMRU 3.5.

"So, this is a rip off of Throw Momma from the Train?" - the wife

One Million BC (1940)

Hikers lost in a storm stumble on a cave being investigated by an anthropologist. He tells the group a story about the ancient people who once lived there.

One upon a time there were two tribes. The Rock tribe was brutal. The men take what they want from the weaker. The women and children eat after the men's dogs, and the old are lucky if they eat at all. The Shell tribe, however, share their food. They eat vegetables, sing, laugh, and enjoy life.

One fateful day, after his meat is taken a young rock tribesman (Victor Mature) makes the mistake of striking the chief (Lon Chaney Jr). After a fight, our young hero is banished from the Rock tribe and limps away. He happens upon the Shell tribe, who take him in. At first he is confused by all this sharing and caring, but there's a hot blond (Carole Landis), so he wasn't complaining.

Our hero saves a child from what looks to be a poor man's sleestak. I think he killed it less out of fear and more out of pity. As someone who studied Anthro for a bit, I need to divorce myself from the terrible science here. Some films seem not try to get the science right, but BC appear to have tried and failed miserably. I choose to suspend disbelieve on this point, so no more from the nerd.

Legendary director D.W. Griffith apparently walked away while making this project because of a disagreement with Little Rascal's producer Hal Roach. D.W. thought there aught to be character development somewhere in there. Silly directors, am I right people? Hal and Hal Jr finish the direction.

About a year and a half ago I saw Valley of the Dragons, which I liked. I understood it lifted some of the giant lizard scenes from One Million BC. What I didn't realize is that it lifted virtually the entire story from it as well. Two tribes, misfits, love interest, dino attack, volcano, bigger dino attack, happily ever after (except for the people who died). Valley focused the story more on the conflict between male leads and making them modernish (and blaming Jules Verne), but at best you can call it a slight reimagining.

One brief note about pretty Carole Landis. Lovely and charming, her career never really took off. She ran through a series of failed marriages when she decided to off herself at the ripe old age of 29. In keeping with the tragic figures theme, she had taken her first name after Lombard.

The sets looked good and the silly dino sequences were ambitious for the day (sleestak-man not-with-standing), and the scene of a woman being swallowed by lava was quite effective. The story, however, was dull. Not bad, I suppose, from a director accustomed to producing silly one-reelers, but it's hard to develop story when characters don't talk. D.W. was right. I suppose I need to see the Raquel Welch version now. AMRU 3.

Charade (1963)

Pretty wife of luxury (Audrey Hepburn) announces she will divorce her husband, but he turns up dead before she can. His former business partners arrive demanding their share of his loot, putting her life in danger. Dashing Peter (Cary Grant) turns up to "help out". She doesn't know if she can trust him but does anyway.

Something about Charade reads like a Hitchcock film. Many people (myself included) have confused it for one. After a few minutes, however, it's clearly not. Charade has this 60's-Euro-Cheesy Music vibe to it that Hitch would never have done. Sorry, Henry. The music was kinda cheesy.

Not the most mysterious of mysteries. Not the most comedic of comedies. Not the most romantic of, well, whatever. It's no Hitchcock movie, but not bad overall. Audrey Hepburn was adorable and Cary Grant was Cary Grant, even when on the cusp of 60. AMRU 3.

Alexander Dyle: All right, get set for the story of my life.
Reggie Lampert: Fiction or non-fiction?

The Philadelphia Story (1940)

Society gal Tracy (Katharine Hepburn) is getting remarried. Serious writer Macaulay (James Stewart) and his lady-friend photographer (Ruth Hussey) is forced to cover the story (the PHILADEPHIA story, as it were) for Spy magazine. The man to get the reporters inside is Tracy's estranged ex-husband C.K. Dexter Haven (Cary Grant). They cooperate in exchange for keeping a story about her father's dancing girl affair quite.

Hepburn left Hollywood after a string of bombs, which combined with not playing the Hollywood game, left her with no option. She landed on Broadway and starred in the play this movie is based on. She convinced her (boy?)friend Howard Hughes to buy the rights to the play and sell it to Hollywood for her to star in. It was a huge success and Hepburn was nominated for an Oscar.

The more I watch Grant the more impressed I become. He did mainly lighter fare (and for the most part the same character - the fast talking charmer), but he did it surprisingly well. He was nominated only twice for an academy award and never won. This I understand as he shied away from roles the academy likes to recognize. Eventually he did receive an Honorary ("oops, we missed you") Oscar, While he would never do a movie like Philadelphia, he certainly would never do The Philadelphia Experiment either.

Clearly, Hepburn knew her character well and George Cukor knew how to use the talent. Quick witted, smart, well acted, and well made. Very strong performances all around. The Philadelphia Story is among the best in the Romantic Comedy genre. AMRU 4.

"C'malong, Dexter, I know a formula that's said to pop the pennies off the eyelids of dead Irishmen."