Re: AFI 100 Years Series Discussion & Challenges, vol. 2
a couple revisits and some thoughts:
Bringing Up Baby, in some ways it tries too hard, but it's that very element of trying too hard that makes the inspired lunacy of it all click so very well. in some ways Cary Grant in this movie is almost like time travel, as though Howard Hawks could see into the future to see Tony Curtis' Cary Grant impression in Some Like it Hot and decided to have Grant really ham up his own persona. The script is so very tight though, I feel in some ways the construction of this script is an inspiration for the Coen Brothers because all their original comedies play off this sort of structure. Everything feeds into everything else because the world of the film is so very tiny. This really rewards repeat viewings as you find there are more jokes layered into all the intertwinings of the cast.
Oh, and after watching the Broadway Melody of 193x films, which featured the guy who made snoring sounds or other funny sounds in a long scene I appreciated for the first time the 'contemporary' context that makes the demonstration of animal calls all the funnier.
Stage Door has some of the most terrific and ferocious and fast dialogue on the 1930s side of Citizen Kane. The film is out and out vicious and catty in a way I'd sort of glossed over in my mind. This time around I thought that Ginger Rogers' role was more one dimensional than I remembered, Hepburn is very good because her role has to evolve, she looks pretty bad at first (and no, not in her on stage rehearsals) but as her character is developed her performance keeps perfect pace with it and we get a richer work as the film goes on, very nice. This may be my favorite Menjou role.
Gone With the Wind is far better an experience than I ever gave it credit for before, but I must confess that my newfound love for the film has a lot to do with being part of a wildly enthusiastic audience of 1000 people on one of the biggest and best screens in the world with a very good print that maintains the look of the original technicolor prints. It was, in a word, breathtaking. or magical. Take your pick.
Stagecoach is both not as good and slightly better than I remembered. Wayne is superb in this role, but some of the filmmaking seems almost untoward in the film's beginning and in some of the lull scenes, lacking the grace and precision found in the film's more interesting cinematic and dramatic moments. I sort of felt that Ford liked the idea of the film and the story more than he liked the actual full script of the film, as it did seem a bit lazy at times. It is much funnier than I remembered, and the banker character is delightfully contemporary all of a sudden.
Gunga Din, on the other hand, is truly spectacular, and far better than I gave it credit for before. It is also hilarious and brilliant in a way that very few action films manage to pull off today, but in a manner that recalls the Indiana Jones films and Pirates of the Caribbean. To tell the truth I think I slept through about a half hour of the film last time I watched it.
Wuthering Heights is just as I remembered it. Pretty, but dull and good god I loath the story and hate every one of the repulsive characters. I think I would have comitted suicide if I had to live in that world. Give me Jane Eyre (the book) anyday.
Dark Victory was an immense improvement from my last viewing of it. Knowing the story helped a great deal and this time I was able to appreciate Davis' performance more. It's showy, but then her character is obvious and showy, so its not a problem, still not a favorite of mine, but a solid film. Humphrey Bogart is very good here even if he was saddled with an unfortunate brogue, which he smartly keeps somewhat muted and only really loses in one scene.
Philadelphia Story, as always, was a delight, I like this more than Bringing up Baby.
What struck me this time around was that Dinah is one of the all time great supporting characters. I liken her to the Nurse in Romeo and Juliet, or Puck in A Midsummer Night's Dream, she has many of the funniest lines and gets to do a great deal. The real genius of the writing, though, is that Dinah cannot really fathom the game that Dexter is playing but thinks that she is orchestrating her own, similar game to try to break up her sister's impending marraige. More than anything, coming away from this film, I remember Dinah.
The other thing that always suprises me when I go back to Philadelphia Story is how modern it is. It's akin to The Awful Truth here, but the back and forth about divorce, infidelity and sexual indescretions is really quite remarkable for a film of 1940. The father's nasty attempt to hurt his daughter always takes me aback, saying that it is her fault he cheated on her mother because she was not a loving enough daughter. I remember that kate apologizes to him for not being good enough (though at first she castigates him for abandoning personal responsibility by attempting to lay the blame on her) but I can never seem to remember if he apologizes to her or tells her what he said was not true. it's such a vile thing to say, I think I always get distracted by the fact that she is big enough to apologize that I forget to notice if he does.
