Algiers (1938)

A Paris jewel thief (Charles Boyer) hides in the Casbah of Algiers, outside the reach of the authorities. There he is safe, but also a prisoner. He takes a shine to lovely tourist Gaby (Hedy Lamarr). Will love bloom?

It’s hard not to compare this film with Casablanca. There are many parallels. Exotic North Africa location, problematic love story, and elements of danger and intrigue. The later film was certainly inspired by the first. Warner Brothers even wanted Lamarr to play Ilsa but MGM refused to loan her. When Casablanca’s screenwriter tried to explain Casablanca’s plot, he finally exclaimed "Oh, what the hell! It's going to be a lot of shit like 'Algiers'!" The similarities are many but the differences are legion.

Old friend Alan Hale has a sizable role. I remember seeing him in a film when I was young and was convinced he was The Skipper. It’s too bad there never was an Alan Hale III in film and TV. Prolific character actor Gene Lockhart also lurks in the Casbah underbelly. Daughter June is pushing a hundred and still occasionally does voice work. Leonid Kinskey has a very small part. Some may remember him as Sasha in Casablanca, so there we go again.

Algiers is based on the French film Pépé le Moko from way back in the previous year. True to form, the producers tried to destroy every copy of the previous work. I tried to find a translation of the lead character’s name, but the best I could do was “Pepe the Moko”. The Looney Tunes character Pepe le Pew is based on Boyer’s performance.

While Casablanca is so much better in so many ways, let’s not lose sight of the fact that Algiers is not Casablanca. And Algiers is not a bad film. Some of the scenes are stilted and awkward, and the accents and poor audio quality made it hard to follow sometimes, but the story holds up well. It’s a fair watch, so long as you don’t keep comparing it to a vastly superior work. AMRU 3.

Storm in a Teacup (1937)

Pretty Victoria (Vivien Leigh) returns to her small Scottish village to learn that her Provost father (Cecil Parker) is running for Parliament. An English reporter (Rex Harrison) is instructed to write a fluff piece, but put off by his manner, decides to write a hit piece. Will love bloom? Arf, arf, arf!

Hollywood legend Vivien Leigh appeared in, let me check …. nineteen films? That’s all? The only other film I have seen her in was the one about slave owners having their lives destroyed. A slim, 30 year old Rex Harrison was almost unrecognizable, though I admit I’ve only seen him in two other roles: as a gruff sea captain ghost and a stodgy old man who makes advances on a young cockney woman.

Provost seems to be an appointed position somewhat akin to mayor. Everyone, including some family, called him by his title. The principal conflict surrounds a woman who has her dog taken away because she cannot pay the license fee. Provost takes a hard line while campaigning how he is a man of the people.

I haven’t much to say about Storm in a Teacup. The stakes aren’t that high, the comedy isn’t that funny, and thick accents and confounding dialog doesn’t help. But the performances were pretty good and there were some interesting cinematic choices. In the end it’s a very watchable, pretty forgettable little rom-com. AMRU 3.

Two on a Guillotine (1965)

Pretty Cassie (Connie Stevens) inherits the estate from her estranged, eccentric, magician dad (Cesar Romero), and is required to stay one week in his spooky mansion. A charming reporter (Dean Jones) weasels his way into the story. Will love bloom?

I grew up with the Love Bug movies. Dean Jones starred in two of the five or six in the Herbie Cinematic Universe. Ken Berry replaced him for the first sequel which may explain why I confuse the two actors. Jones, like Stevens, specialized in the lightest of light comedies. Connie was hoping to expand her acting range with this film, but it turned out to be a serious flop.

The movie was directed by William Conrad, whom my set will remember as TV’s Cannon (or from Jake and the Fatman for the slightly younger). He did a fair amount of TV directing, but only four features. He was known for getting a lot done on a tiny budget.

My problem is that Two on a Guillotine doesn’t know what it wants to be. It's labeled Horror but it’s really a horror themed mystery rom-com. There is space for light horror (looking at you, William Castle), but this was light to the exclusion of any real horror element. Which is a shame because the setting could have led into some great atmosphere, but we are only teased with it. Dead dad booby-trapped his mansion and I would have liked to have seen more of that.

All that aside, Two on a Guillotine is a reasonable watch. There are some clever elements in there. Just temper your expectations. It's a fair rom-com, but it could have been so much more. AMRU 3.

High Society (1955)

With the help of a reporter, C.K. Dexter-Haven crashes his ex-wife’s wedding in order to HEY! What are the Bowery Boys doing here?

It was my intention to record the 1956 Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra, Grace Kelly musical, but what I got was the 1955 low rent comedy of the same name. And I was not alone in making this mistake. This 61 minute jokeless comedy received the Academy Award nomination for best writing, motion picture story. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences actually nominated the wrong film! The writers graciously declined.

So, I watched it anyhow. A man trying to scam a boy out of his inheritance discovers a dumb guy (Huntz Hall) at a service station with a very similar name. He produces fake documents to push him as the proper heir so that he can scam him out of the fortune.

The history of The Bowery Boys is quite long and fairly complicated. They started as the Dead End Kids in a 1937 play, which led to a series of seven films. After a few iterations and imitations they eventually rebranded as The Bowery Boys, where they were featured in forty eight films over thirteen years! I’ll let that sink in. That’s more than three and a half films per year for over a decade. That sounds exhausting.

High Society is a pretty joke-free comedy. If you don’t find their gags amusing, and I didn’t, then we are looking at a laugh free zone. Other than one quick snicker at a malapropism, I just watched in silence. Skippable, forgettable, AMRU 2.5.

Oscar Nominated Animated Shorts

Every year a local cinema exhibits the Oscar nominated short films, animated, live action, and documentary. This year I got to see the nominated animated short films. The live action and documentary shorts played only during business hours, so I had to skip them. Here are the nominees.

in Our Uniform (Iran) an Iranian woman reminisces about the school uniform she was forced to wear. It is not the biting social commentary it might have been, just a personal story about her experiences. The animation style is quite original and it was a pleasant watch.

In Letter to a Pig (Israel and France) a holocaust survivor speaks to school children about his experience. Running from Nazis, he was forced to hide in a pigsty. He recites a letter to a pig that he feels saved his life. Again, the animation style was very original and quite effective. I admit I was left a little confounded. I suppose it was commentary on how the Jews saw pigs as filthy animals, like how the Nazis saw Jews. A second viewing would be in order.

Pachyderme (France) is a very personal story of a young girl's experience staying with her grandparents over the summer. If there was a larger theme, I missed it. Still, it was very heartfelt and imaginative film. You can watch it on YouTube.

WAR IS OVER! Inspired by the Music of John and Yoko (USA) is the story of two soldiers playing chess by homing pigeon during trench warfare. Yoko Ono and Sean Lennon (as Sean Ono Lennon) are executive producers. WAR IS OVER! might be the least visually and narratively original story but it was still emotionally effective. The graphics were apparently created using Unreal Engine.

Ninety-Five Senses (USA) took me by surprise. It starts with an old man with a southern accent talking about kids these days but the story takes us in unexpected directions with surprising complexity and impact. It too is available on YouTube.

In addition to the five nominated shorts we were treated with two additional stories.

I’m Hip (USA) is an amusing short featuring a cat singing a jazzy song about, quite ironically, being Hip. The song was recorded by David Frishberg (of I’m Just a Bill fame) back in 1957. Amusing and visually interesting, but not much for depth. I got an Aristocats vibe.

Wild Summon (UK), narrated by Marianne Faithfull, reads like a pretty standard nature documentary, describing how salmon travel back upstream to spawn in the same place they were born. In fact, it could have been taken in whole cloth from a PBS special. The only difference is that the fish are depicted as tiny humans in salmon colored wet suits and flippers. It is quite graphic at times and really brings the carnage home.

Each short film was quite entertaining and imaginative, and I won’t be disappointed whichever wins. Knowing the Academy, I’m guessing WAR IS OVER! will win because the story is the most accessible and it ends with the John Lennon song. My vote, however, would go to Ninety-Five Senses. I've rewatched the two available on YouTube, but they all deserve a second viewing.

The Aristocats (1970)

Rich, eccentric cat lady names her cats heir to her fortune. Faithful butler overhears this and decides to dispose of them. Duchess (Eva Gabor) and her kittens, with the help of O’Malley the Alley Cat, make the long journey home. Cartoon antics ensue.

Many great voice actors are featured here, too many to mention. June Foray was brought in to do cat screeches and Paul Winchell plays a racist stereotype. He was also Tigger. June was everybody. Monica Evans and Carole Shelley play sister geese Abigail and Amelia. They played the Pigeon sisters in The Odd Couple play, film, and TV show, and also Maid Marion and Lady Kluck in the Disney Robin Hood. 

The Aristocats is entertaining enough, and it was fun to see a film I hadn’t in several decades, but it’s a lesser Disney. I felt the story, comedy, and songs were average at best. At least it was out of my usual range. AMRU 3.