The 400 Blows (1959)

A French schoolboy with a less than ideal home life keeps getting into trouble.

The title refers not to physical blows, but mischievous tricks or pranks that a boy might play. And get into trouble for. This radically changes our expectation of the film. This semi-autobiographical film is the first and arguably most famous film directed by François Truffaut, and is a landmark of the French new wave.

To some degree The 400 Blows relies on the viewer sympathizing with the child, but he just makes one dumb decision after another. As details of his imperfect family are revealed, we find out just how imperfect it is, especially by 1950’s standards. While I found the story compelling, I am at a loss to understand what all the hype is about. It’s an interesting, well made film about a boy who gets into trouble. Freeze frame and roll credits. AMRU 3.5.

Nightmare Alley (1947)

Stan Carlisle (Tyrone Power) is a sideshow mentalist who yearns for the big time. When he learns that a fellow carnie and her husband have a system that got them to the big time before he fell into a bottle, Stan must learn more.

Power was a swashbuckling matinee idol, but thirsted for darker roles. When he learned of the script, he begged for the role. It was his favorite role and a box office flop. Audiences weren’t interested in seeing their knight in shining armor scam people and play with their emotions.

A hundred years ago I saw Power in Witness for the Prosecution and enjoyed his performance. I have no interest in seeing his pirate and costume romance flicks, but there are a few good films on his CV, this being one. It was nice to see Joan Blondell in a middle role. She came up with Jean Harlow and Barbara Stanwyck, and that crowd back in the pre-code cheesecake era and did cameo-adjacent roles in films like Grease and The Cincinnati Kid in her late career. But here, she is still attractive, likable, and intrinsic to the plot.

Here also is pretty Coleen Gray in only her third film role. Her acting was noticeably weak compared to her costars, but it’s easy to forgive because she was absolutely adorable. And she was still adorable fifteen years later in the forgettable Phantom Planet.

Based on a book, the film drops hints of darker elements. When told she has a big heart, Blondell’s Zeena replies “Sure, as big as an artichoke, a leaf for everyone.” A later scene doesn’t make sense unless you infer carnal activities. The background characters have depth and leave the audience wanting more.

Nightmare Alley is a fun and interesting watch. It’s reputation improved from it’s initial failure. It saw TV syndication after Power’s untimely death. There, audiences embraced it, no longer considering it “distasteful” as Darryl Zanuck called it. It has atmosphere, texture, and a persistent sense of danger. AMRU 4.5.

“I'm about as reliable as a two dollar cornet.”

2021 Retrospective

I may have burned myself out a little in 2020 and took it easy in 2021, but still blogging 52 films. I also chose to watch more foreign films, better films, and films I actively want to see, rather than those I felt I should see. I watched five foreign language films but stopped mid-year for some reason. I watched two essential films, and five notoriously bad films. I predicted I would see a fair number of Hitchcock films, and I watched five (six if you count Pleasure Garden, which I saw in December). I think I have twenty three of his films left and I expect to like only a couple. Fifteen films I rated 4.0 or better.

My local library has a film discussion group over Zoom. Once class didn’t conflict, I started participating. They alternate between a classic film and a modern one. Five I covered this year came from that group. It's been great. I don't have anyone to talk film with anymore.

I saw two silent (three if you count Pleasure Garden), The Lodger being my favorite, six musicals (two Marx Brothers), Umbrellas of Cherbourg being my favorite. I finally watched a Sophia Loren film and saw two. The five foreign language films makes ten in the past two years compared to seven in all prior years. Only one documentary, though. I can’t even think of another must-see feature length pre-1980 documentary. Woodstock, maybe?

I saw two Marx Brothers films with only one left, the disowned Love Happy. I watched one more of the Basil Rathbone Sherlock Holmes films and have two to go. I couldn’t bring myself to watch an Elvis film. I’m guessing that won’t change this year.

The best film I saw in 2021 was La Strada. I really enjoyed watching it and frequently think back to it. Godfather fans may take exception but this blog is no democracy. Part II was the only Best Picture winner I saw. Other honorable mentions are the noir Born to Kill, the essential horror Rosemary’s Baby, The Odd Couple, Hitchcock’s The Lodger, Billy Wilder’s Ace in the Hole, Two Women, Bicycle Thieves, Harold and Maude, Manchurian Candidate, and The Umbrellas of Cherbourg. Note that four of the five foreign language films I saw are listed here.

The worst film was probably Night of the Lepus. It wasn’t terrible. Some of the effects were kinda interesting, but the story and overall execution was pretty bad. Santa Claus Conquers the Martians was supposed to be terrible, and was by no means good, but I found it just dumb and forgettable. Yes, I was disappointed that it wasn’t worse. Other dishonorable mentions are The Gorilla, featuring The Ritz Brothers, and the Marx Brothers The Big Store, both unfunny and unlikable.

Looking forward I intend on continuing the trend. Maybe six foreign language films, four or five Hitchcock’s, more silent film, and complete the Sherlock Holmes and Marx Brothers films once and for all. It’s hard being a completionist. Other than that, I hope to get north of 50 again and enjoy what I watch.

Goodbye for now.

The Pleasure Garden (1925)

Pretty Jill wants to be a dancer at The Pleasure Garden, but her cash and a letter of introduction were stolen. Luckily the worldly dancer Patsy takes her under her wing, get’s her that introduction, gives her a place to stay, and keeps an eye on her while her faithful fiancee Hugh takes an assignment overseas. What could go wrong? Meanwhile Patsy takes a liking to Hugh’s buddy Levet. Predictably, things don’t go as planned.

Here is Alfred Hitchcock’s oldest surviving film and first feature. It was filmed in 1925 but wasn’t distributed until after The Lodger became a big hit. The Amazon Prime copy is sixty minutes long so if IMDb is to be believed, there is a reel missing. I didn’t miss it.

I don’t have much to say about The Pleasure Garden. It mostly held my interest but it’s quite skipable and not at all Hitchcockian. I’ve chosen to be a Hitchcock competionist, but for the majority of viewers it won’t have much attraction. AMRU 2.5.