Through a Glass Darkly (1961)

Karin is released from a mental hospital and meets with her brother, father, and husband (Max von Sydow) vacationing on an island. She still has mental issues and everyone has family issues. Roll credits.

A lot more is going on than what my synopsis implies, but this is a film that's very hard to, you know, synopsize. Through a Glass Darkly was shot on Faro island, later nicknamed Bergmen Island, where the director would later take up residence. Interestingly, only four actors ever appear on screen. Even when another character is implied, they are not even glimpsed. This is a four person film.

So, once again Ingmar Bergman tries to come to terms with faith and death, and again falls short of a conclusion. But that, I believe, was the intent. We deal with life’s unknowable mysteries, and life goes on, until it doesn't.

Writer Josh Olson recently mentioned on his podcast that, essentially, all of Bergman’s films are horror, and he has a point. Add a few traditional horror elements and tone down the subtly, and you are definitely in the ballpark. I can see how some people, in the right environment, could find parts quite creepy.

Through a Glass Darkly is a slow think piece that will leave many people wondering what, if anything, even happened. Bergman is not for everyone. One measure I've come to use to rate films is to consider how long it will stay with me. This film will stay with me a while. AMRU 4.

Man Beast (1956)

For purposes of the plot pretty Connie travels to the Himalayas to find her brother, Jim. She brings along her wet blanket boyfriend. It seems Jim is on an expedition to capture an abominable snowman, what the natives call the Yeti. They team up with a random hunky guy and start searching. They first meet up with Jim’s associate Dr. Erickson, then the mysterious Varga, who served as Jim’s guide. And, apparently, the only survivor of his expedition. Sorry, Jim.

Here is the lowest of low budget films and the directorial debut of schlockmeister Jerry Warren. I will not ding it for the obvious flaws. The long shots don’t match the close-ups, there is no snow on Everest much of the time, and continuity errors galore. But give him credit, this is his first go with no budget, sets, or even experienced actors, and he got a watchable film into the can. And make no mistake, it is watchable. Borderline enjoyable.

This was pretty Asa Maynor’s first screen appearance, so therefore they got her name wrong. She was once married to Vince Fontaine. Kookie. They also got hunky Lloyd Nelson’s name wrong in the credits. This was also Rock Madison’s film debut and they DID get his name right. Didn’t matter, though, because he doesn’t exist.

The Amazon Prime copy is several minutes shorter than what IMDb lists, and I suspect that explains the two abrupt jump cuts. One came at a particularly critical moment. I wonder if there were more I didn’t notice.

I don’t normally make these accommodations but I feel it’s warranted here. The budget is plain to see on every frame. I’ve seen worse. Man Beast was short and managed to hold my interest, plus had a little mystery to it. I’m curious to watch Warren’s other films. I understand they are terrible. AMRU 2.5.

Hud (1963)

An aging rancher (Melvyn Douglas) runs a cattle ranch while dealing with his ne'er-do-well son (Paul Newman) and raising his orphaned grandson. When his herd is threatened, old grudges and family secrets are revealed.

Young Lonnie idolizes his reckless uncle and doesn’t understand gramps hostility towards him. It is mentioned in the IMDb blurb, so I suppose it’s not really a spoiler. In the second act it is revealed that Hud drove the car in the accident that killed his brother, Lonnie’s father. Ironically Brandon De Wilde (Lonnie) also died in a car accident at 30, leaving a young child. And so it goes.

Paul lost the Oscar for best actor but Grandpa Melvyn won best supporting actor and Patricia Neal won best actress. Douglas and Neal also appeared together eighteen years later in Ghost Story. That would prove to be Douglas’ last screen appearance, premiering four months after his death.

Yvette Vickers was here. She played a hussy in Attack of the 50 Foot Woman and played a hussy here. She plays a very good hussy. She appeared in only fifteen films and this is my fourth. I’ll likely see a fifth.

Every bit a western, it establishes early that it is set in the present day by panning to a truck. Hud is a slow burn character study. Based on the book Horsemen, pass by, details therein would have made it unfilmable in 1963. That said, Hud is a fascinating and unconventional story. AMRU 4.

Torn Curtain (1966)

Professor Armstrong (Paul Newman) is going on a secret mission, but unfortunately his fiancee (Julie Andrews) decides to tag along. He tries to ditch her, but she follows him into East Berlin. Golly, I wonder how this will all play out.

Getting through the rest of Hitchcock’s CV is going to be a slog. This is film 28 out of I believe 53 and one of his least interesting. Think North by Northwest if nothing about the plot was engaging and the stars had no chemistry. Which is very sad because I really like Newman and Andrews. Remember, this is just one year removed from her being irresistibly charming in The Sound of Music. They felt out of place in a Hitchcock film and didn’t have much to do.

Also, some of the techniques accepted in earlier films, like extensive use of rear screen projection, seemed conspicuously dated for 1966. Furthermore, the script is devoid of the humor so common in earlier films. Everything just fell flat.

Torn Curtain is like a well crafted slice of dry toast. No matter how perfectly it is toasted, it’s still toast. AMRU 2.

Born Yesterday (1950)

A millionaire thug visits Washington DC to make a shady deal with a crooked congressman. He worries that his dumb showgirl girlfriend (Judy Holliday) will embarrass him and screw things up, so he hires the pest reporter (William Holden) teach her something. Will love … yes, love will bloom.

Judy Holliday appeared in the Broadway version of the story but studio execs weren’t interested in taking a chance on an unproven commodity. But Katherine Hepburn beefed up her role in Adam’s Rib (basically the same character) to demonstrate that she could handle it. It worked, she got the role, and won the Oscar, Marisa Tomei style.

A very surprising element is how racy the script is by 1950’s standards. In the first scene between Holliday and Holden’s Billie and Paul she asks if he is a gigolo. Later she outright propositions him. Stage adaptations seemed to be able to get away with this sort of thing. See The Moon is Blue. Seriously, it’s pretty good.

Here again we have the trope where a smart person throws a couple books and big words at a dummy and transforms them into a deep thinker. We suspend our disbelief because despite Billie’s amusingly poor diction, we sense that she is smarter than that. Also, unlike My Fair Lady, the romance is plausible.

Born Yesterday is smart and witty, and the principles give excellent performances. I wanted to like it more than I did, and I don’t know what stopped me. That’s not to say I didn’t like it. Maybe my expectations were too high. Or maybe it was the clunky conclusion. I may watch it again, if for no reason than to see if it grows on me. As for now, AMRU 3.5.

“Are you one of these talkers - or would you be interested in a little action?”

The Blue Gardenia (1953)

Pretty Norah (Anne Baxter) gets a Dear Jane letter from her serviceman boyfriend and impulsively takes the date offer from notorious womanizer Harry (Raymond Burr). He proceeds to get her drunk, take her back to his bachelor pad, and get all handsy. She struggles, whacks him with a fireplace poker, then goes home. When he is found dead, the police and press search for a mystery woman.

Anne Baxter is great as the frightened and remorseful Norah, and Richard Conte is the ace reporter that maybe she can trust. Ann Southern is her older, more world weary friend. Despite Ann’s long and storied film career, this is the first time we’ve met. Early on she appeared in vehicles for name-brand male comedians but would later earn her reputation in the ten ‘Maisie’ films between 1939 and 1947. We shall meet again.

Singing the title song is musician Nat ‘King’ Cole playing musician Nat ‘King’ Cole. Cub reporter Al is played by Richard Erdman who is best remembered as that guy who reviews snack foods on youtube.

The Blue Gardenia isn’t much of a mystery and may fall technically short of the Film Noir definition, but it is a very good watch, and most of the credit goes to the adorable Anne Baxter. Not the important or innovative work of director Fritz Lang’s early career, but like I said. It’s a good watch. AMRU 3.5.

Royal Wedding (1951)

Famous brother-sister dance team (that’s a thing) are hired to perform for the Queen’s wedding, so they hop on a ship and set sail for a caricature of Merry Old England. On board playa sista (Jane Powell) meets up and falls in love with fellow playa and rat-packer Peter Lawford, who in this context is a British Lord. Brother (Fred Astaire) must wait until England before he falls for … Winston Churchill’s daughter? Ok, so that happened. Will love bloom? Right, we addressed that.

Jane Powell playing Astaire’s sister defied credibility as she was and very much looked thirty years his junior. She acted in only twenty two features, of which I’ve only seen the problematic Seven Brides for Seven Brothers. Here she used a vocal technique called screeching. She passed away only last fall.

The only thing I knew about Peter Lawford is that he was in Frank Sinatra’s rat pack. Was, as in, was kicked out because of something to do with the Kennedys and Sinatra's ties to the mob. Probably more to it than that. Peter's career would falter and would die at 61, because of drink, I’m guessing.

Old buddy Keenan Wynn has a vaguely amusing double role. He has appeared in a ton of things, both great and terrible. I’ll always remember him as Winter. But let’s talk about Mae Clarke. She was a natural for sexy pre-code roles but personal problems and a car accident put her career on the skids. When sexy roles dried up during production code enforcement, she was relegated to B pictures. I suspect, however, that her slide had more to do with personal issues than production codes. Here, she earned the role of “Telephone Operator #1 (uncredited)”.

Astaire dances with a coat rack, on a rocking ship, and finally on the ceiling, using the rotating set originated by my buddy-pal Buster Keaton. If that is your thing, likely you will more than tolerate Royal Wedding. I’m sure it represents Astaire’s latter career just fine. For me, the song and dance numbers were tedious, the chemistry unconvincing, the story paper-thin, and the comedy incidental. AMRU 2.5.