Journey to Italy (1954)

A bickering couple (Ingrid Bergman and George Sanders) travel to Italy to resolve an estate they inherited. They discover that they do not enjoy each other’s company when not at home, so they bicker some more before exploring their own interests separately, nudge nudge.

Bergman made seven films during her “banishment” from Hollywood, most of which directed by her second husband, Roberto Rossellini. I hadn’t seen any of them and was eager to watch this, one of the highest rated.

Sanders and Bergman make an odd pair. Their acting styles were starkly different and had no chemistry. Sanders seemed to be in a different film from everyone else. He expressed a lot of frustration in his autobiography. This may be the only role of his I didn’t love. He was seriously miscast.

Journey to Italy wasn’t an unpleasant watch, but in the end it didn’t work for me. The majority of the film was a whole lot of nothing, and the ending felt unearned. I can’t express how little chemistry the leads had. They were to be a couple married with eight years of history together, but seemed like they just met at the start of filming. AMRU 2.5.

The Bells of St. Mary's (1945)

Father O’Malley (Bing Crosby) returns, this time to take over a parochial school run by troublesome nuns. Nuns so troublesome that the previous priest had to be carried out and sent to a sanatorium. Kids have kid problems, school has financial problems, Bing sings songs.

Despite the build up, there is surprisingly little conflict. O’Malley and Ingrid Bergman’s Sister Mary have disagreements, but they are handled very cordially. Nothing that would send someone to a nut house. Una O’Connor is underutilized here.

The first big problem is money. The convent had to sell the kids playground to the local comedic millionaire for maintenance. Millionaire built a giant building on it and now wants the rest for parking. The nuns are hoping he gives them the building for a new school. Quite plausible. It'll be another year before Clarence earns his wings.

The second pertains to a single mother who wants her daughter to attend. This is a curious subplot. The girl was born in wedlock (because production code), but dad disappeared to play in a band. When asked how she has been supporting her all this time, she says in her own words that she’s “no good”. So, one wonders how being no good is a source of income for a single mother. Perhaps she means Entertaining Lonely Men for Fun and Profit. There are elements later in the film that support this hypothesis.

Despite Crosby and Bergman’s obvious onscreen chemistry, a movie about a convent cannot have any romantic undertones. A priest was on set to make sure of that, so Bing and Ingrid decided to play a prank. In the very last scene they embraced for a passionate kiss.

Going My Way was a huge hit, winning seven Oscars. Sequels don’t do as well as the original so less money and resources are usually brought to the production, fulfilling the prophecy. But there was faith in this sequel and RKO got Bergman on loan. Again, it was a huge hit and was nominated for seven Oscars, winning one. Bing was nominated for the same character in two different films, Bergman for the third time in three years, and I believe this is the first sequel to be nominated for best picture. I’m surprised they didn’t force a third film down the pipeline.

The story follows a school year, and during that time Christmas happens. Thus it is tangentially a Christmas movie. But what The Bells of St. Mary's really is, is a pleasant if undemanding watch. Old Hollywood was good at creating a world that seemed very enticing to live in. AMRU 3.5.

Spellbound (1945)

The surprisingly young psychologist (Gregory Peck) arrives to be the new director of a sanitarium, but his troubling behavior leads to suspicion that he is not who he says he is. Will love bloom?

Ingrid Bergman plays the psychologist with the heart of gold and Leo G. Carroll is the kindly outgoing Dr. Murchison. Also here is old friend Norman Lloyd as an inmate and Wallace Ford (Freaks) as a creep in a hotel lobby. There are a few interesting background characters that could have had more screen time, something screenwriter Ben Hecht was adept at creating.

The psychobabble, and there is a lot of it, doesn’t distract much from the story. Peck’s Ballantyne is in serious trouble and on the run, and Bergman’s Dr. Petersen believes in him despite having no reason to. Grant’s understated performance, while disappointing Hitch, was eerily appropriate for the amnesiac.

Spellbound takes some unexpected turns and features a pretty trippy dream sequence. This is classic Hitchcock. Maybe not a top five Hitch, but definitely top ten. AMRU 4.

Anastasia (1956)

A former Russian general (Yul Brynner) leads a team searching for the Grand Duchess Anastasia of Russia, or at least someone they can pass off as her. The royal family was executed ten years earlier and if a survivor could be found, ten million pounds would be in play. And maybe something more.

The film is based on the story of Anna Anderson, one of many pseudonyms of a troubled woman who claimed to be the Grand Duchess in the early 1920’s. While some details from her story are depicted here, the movie is mostly fictitious. Interestingly, during production the filmmakers learned that Anna Anderson was still alive and rushed to get her consent. In the end, no one remotely close to the Romanovs even considered Anna's claim (see quote), the body of the real Anastasia was positively identified, and DNA analysis finally proved Anna was not related. But back to the film.

This was Ingrid Bergman’s big return to Hollywood, so to speak. I touched on this when I covered Indiscreet and will once again recommend the video. Furthermore, she never set foot in the US as the entire production was produced in Europe. She was forty one playing the 27 year old Anna, and while that wasn’t a problem, it was noticeable. Yul Brynner played the Yul Brynner part. He would also star in The King and I and The Ten Commandments the same year and his career was off with a bang.

Here's an amusing side story: Actress Helen Haye played Ansatasia's grandmother in a BBC television adaptation and the producer instructed casting to hire her. They assumed a typo and instead hired the better known and less age appropriate Helen Hayes.

Hints are dropped throughout that Begman’s Anna truly is the Grand Duchess, but also of the problems with her claim. Or his claim, as she is a mostly unwilling (or at least resisting) participant in the General’s plan. And the ending provides some ambiguity on this matter. But for the most part, Anastasia provides the pomp and pageantry one would expect from a 1950’s 'A' picture from a major studio. Lavish sets, costumes, and an excellent supporting cast (including Mrs. Howell eight years before casting off). It holds your interest but I don’t expect it to stick in my memory. AMRU 3.

"I claim categorically that she is not Anastasia Nicolaievna, but just an adventuress, a sick hysteric and a frightful playactress. I simply cannot understand how anyone can be in doubt of this. If you had seen her, I am convinced that you would recoil in horror at the thought that this frightful creature could be a daughter of our Tsar."

Indiscreet (1958)

Actress Anna (Ingrid Bergman) is between relationships and just wants to take a break from life. Her sister and brother-in-law try to coax her into going to a lecture on economics (I know, right?) but she isn’t interested. Crazy. That is, until the head speaker arrives and it’s the dreamy Philip (dreamy Cary Grant). They have a flirtatious evening until he reveals that he is married! They continue to see each other anyhow. How Indiscreet!

There is a lot of subtext going on here. Ingrid was banished from Hollywood for her indecent affair with Roberto Rossellini, having his child while still married to her first husband! She hid in shame in Europe, shunned by the town she loved so not really the story. It’s just how it was always framed. It was more complicated than that. Here, watch this.

Anyhow, Bergman returned a wiser person who better knew herself. Grant, on his third marriage, older, wiser, and evolving as a leading man. Bergman in her early forties and Grant his early fifties, there is no hiding that this is a relationship between older adults. 

What follows is a very believable relationship between two adults. Not by far the most interesting film either actor has appeared in but among their best acting performances, and included some moving scenes. And real life friends, they have excellent screen chemistry. It is a shame they only did two pictures together. AMRU 3.5.

Murder on the Orient Express (1974)

World Famous Detective Hercule Poirot (Albert Finney) takes The Orient Express back to London when a man is murdered in the night. He is urged to solve the mystery while the train is stuck in snow so that the Czech authorities don’t become involved. Hercule soon learns that many of the passengers in the train car had a connection to the deceased and maybe reason to do him harm.

Murder on the Orient Express has an amazing ensemble cast. Sean Connery was the biggest name at the time so they signed him up first. Everyone else followed along. Ingrid Bergman is almost unrecognizable as a nutty nanny. Anthony Perkins and Martin Balsam are together again for the third time, having done Psycho and Catch-22 together. No toilets were involved with this pairing. The older, unsexy Lauren Bacall makes her first appearance here. First appearance of Michael Redgrave’s daughter. Oddly, I am more familiar with her sister. Apparently I used to watch House Calls. One of these days I'll watch Blow Up.

I saw Murder on the Orient Express as a kid and remembered key elements. Like who done it. Still, this is a very well made, very entertaining film that was faithful enough to the source material to get the approval of Agatha’s herself. And it holds up to a second viewing, at least when thirty years separates the two. AMRU 4.

"Bianchi, Doctor, has it occurred to you that there are too many clues in this room?"

Notorious (1946)

A federal agent (Cary Grant) enlists the help of the daughter (Ingrid Bergman) of a convicted German "worker". They fly to Rio de Janeiro for her to cozy up to daddy's former associate (Claude Rains) who had a thing for her. Spy and Nazi get quite cozy but this begins to interfere with her relationship with the federal agent.

This movie appears to be about Nazis, conspiracies, and weapons, but really it's about a troubled romance that this stuff gets in the way of. Hitchcock crafts a taught story around this MacGuffin. Grant is moody rather than quick witted, Bergman is Bergmanesque, and Rains is excellent as always. Not much mystery in the story, but the elements all work well.

Well made but I had issues with the on-screen chemistry. I had trouble with the spy-agent relationship. Claude Rains was awesome as usual, but maybe I just wanted Grant to play the same Cary Grant character he usually does. Still, a good, complex film. AMRU 3.5.

"Alexander Sebastian: I'm not afraid to die.
Devlin: You've got your chance, here and now"

Gaslight (1944)

Ten years after the unsolved murder of a singing diva, her hot young niece (hot young Ingrid Bergman) moves back into the stylish London house where it happened, with her new husband (Charles Boyer). A dashing detective (dashing Joseph Cotten), stunned by the niece's resemblance to her aunt, reopens the cold case.

Gaslight is based on a play (Gas Light, or Angel Street), and had already been made into a movie four years earlier. Under the terms of the agreement, the producers ordered the destruction of all prints of the previous film. They failed to get them all, and the 1940 version has lapsed into the public domain. I saw it next.

Gas lights, that is, the lighting mechanism where natural gas was piped into houses for lighting purposes, certainly plays a large role in the story. Not only do they pepper the screen with shots of men lighting them, they even play into the story. Our protagonist becomes convinced that someone else is in the house because the lights dim, as if someone lit one elsewhere. They also add great ambiance and all gothic horror movies should have had them rather than foolish candelabras and sometimes even electric lights, totally ruining the mood. Had they not been expensive, and occasionally suffocate people, burn down houses, and even blow them up, they'd be a great addition to any home! Act now, supplies are limited!

I learned a few things from watching this movie. First, that I am actually capable of saying the words "Angela Lansbury was hot". What a naughty bit of crumpet, she was! At 17 she quit her job in a local shop and launched her movie career. Secondly, and more importantly, I learned that I apparently have absolutely no friggin' clue what film-noir is. I'm classifying this sucker as a mystery (although not a terribly mysterious one). Melodrama, sure. Entertaining and well made movie, you bet! Film-noir? Doesn't smell like it to me. There is a detective and an element of claustrophobia, but hard boiled, pessimistic, and minimalist? It's set in the fashionable district of Victorian/Edwardian London. You know, the stuff dreams are made of. AMRU 4.

"I knew from the first moment I saw you that you were dangerous to me."
"I knew from the first moment I saw you that you were dangerous to her."

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1941)

We know the story. Doctor Jekyll (Spencer Tracy) is experimenting in the true nature of man. The father of his hottie fiancee (Lana Turner) disapproves, but Jekyll can't help himself. Quite by accident he bumps into a low born cockney girl in the street (Ingrid Bergman) and falls deeply in lust. But he is a good man and mustn't allow base instincts take over. So he just kisses her. Nighty-night.

Well, where Jekyll must be a proper gentleman, good friend Hyde has no such requirements. Hyde coerces his concubine into being a kept woman and things slowly get out of hand. Again, you know the story. Tragedy for all.

For the most part, this was a remake of the famed 1931 version rather than the Stevenson work, and suffered the consequence of comparison. Tracy was eager to take the role but was embarrassed by it after fan reaction was rather harsh. Also, Bergman as a cockney barmaid? Hmmm. That's a bit of a stretch. Hotness allows one to get with many crimes and she did have it to spare.

There is one scene where a fevered Jekyll is struggling with his lust for the Bergman character and his duty to his fiancee. He is seen driving two horses, one dark and one white, with a manic expression on his face. Then the horses turn into Bergman and Turner, seemingly topless, with frantic, worried looks on their faces. How's that for slipping it by the sensors? This photo doesn't do it justice, but it's the best I could find.

 

This version was killed by the critics when it was released, but in fairness it's not bad. I haven't seen the Fredric March version yet, so I'll hold off final judgement, but it was definitely worth a look. AMRU 3.5.

 

One final comment about the media. I requested a set of disks from the library and when it was available, I didn't remember what it was or why I ordered it. I discovered that it was a four movie set, two of which were on my see list. This and House of Wax. With both movies, the DVD menu promised that the older version was on the flip side, but the set had Freaks and The Haunting instead. This matched the case, so I'm guessing someone bought the resale rights to the movies and didn't bother to change the menu.

Casablanca (1942)

I've seen this film once or twice before, so I knew I loved it. I got it on DVD last Christmas. Yesterday, I watched it again.

Rick (Humphrey Bogart) is the owner of a saloon with a mysterious past. The leader of the Czech underground and Nazi thorn Victor Laszlo (Paul Henreid) arrives with his unbelievably hot wife, Ilsa (Ingrid Bergman) trying to find passage to America. The local authorities, Captain Renault (Caude Rains) and the Nazis want to keep them in Casablanca. Rick can help, but will he?

It seems back in Paris (Flashback! - Doo doo doo, Doo doo doo, Doo doo doo), Ilsa and Rick met up just before the Nazis rolled into town. Ilsa thought Victor was dead, so she made plans to run off with Rick. At the last minute, she learns Victor was only MOSTLY dead, so she leaves Rick at the alter/train station. Poor Rick.

Back in Casablanca, Rick has a choice to make. Help Victor because he sympathizes with his cause or set him up and take his unbelievably hot wife?

Here are a couple of my observations after this viewing:

Sidney Greenstreet and Peter Lorre had very small roles, smaller than I remember. Ingrid Bergman was unbelievably hot. Had I mentioned that before? Claude Rains has many great lines. Clearly a womanizer, but look at these:

"Well, Rick is the kind of man that... well, if I were a woman, and I were not around, I should be in love with Rick."

and

"She was asking about you earlier in a way that made me very jealous."

I know he was supposed to be French, but come on! What's going on here? Discuss ...

Casablanca is an all time great film. Great acting, writing, and atmosphere. It's even better than it's reputation. And Ingrid Bergman was unbelievably hot. AMRU 5. I hope to convince my sons to watch it.