Notorious

Premiering in 1946, Notorious was Hitchcock’s second film starring Ingrid Bergman.  It is a spy thriller and a dramatic love story all at once, with Bergman forming a complicated love triangle with Cary Grant and Claude Rains.

After her father is convicted for being a Nazi spy, Alicia (Bergman) is sought out by a young government agent, Devlin (Grant).  With her familiarity with some Nazis that have moved to Brazil, he hopes that she can infiltrate their organization.  While waiting for details of her mission in Rio de Janeiro, the two fall in love.  When Devlin gets word that Alice is to seduce a friend of her father’s and past admirer, Alexander Sebastian (Rains), he tries to convince the others that Alicia isn’t right for the job, but to no avail.  He chooses their mission over their love and pushes Alicia to seduce Sebastian.  But how far can Alicia go along with this false love, and worse, what will happen to her if Sebastian realizes she is a spy?

One of the most memorable scenes, that literally pushed some boundaries, is a love scene between Bergman and Grant.  In the height of their romance, it seems the two can hardly stand to part when Devlin is called to get information on Alicia’s assignment.  For two and a half minutes, Hitchcock uses a long shot, focusing on the two kissing and nuzzling in between a few lines and slowly moving Devlin towards the door.  Since this film was made while the Hays Code was in charge of censoring film, kissing could not last for more than three seconds.  To get around this, Hitchcock had Bergman and Grant break off kissing after exactly three seconds only to start up again and again between breathless lines.

While the film was not nominated for Best Picture, it was not completely forgotten at the Academy Awards.  Notorious was nominated for Original Screenplay and Claude Rains was nominated for Supporting Actor.  His portrayal of a secretive man seduced by an old flame and then realizing her true motives is startling and wonderfully believable.

In the grand scale of Hitchcock films, Notorious may not be one of the most essential films, but I believe that is an important one in Hitchcock’s filmography.  While it’s a taught spy thriller, the element of romance is mixed in stronger than ever.  There are smaller moments of mounting suspense, like Devilin and Alicia’s discovery in the wine cellar, that may not built to big moments, but keep the story moving in a more placid manner.  Still, Notorious is an enjoyable and intriguing film perfect for any fan of Hitchcock, Grant, Bergman or Rains.

“A man doesn’t tell a woman what to do. She tells herself.”

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

The other day, I stumbled upon a morning full of Spencer Tracy movies on TCM.  When I saw that he starred in a version of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, I had to check it out.  It may not have been his best film, or best performance, but it sure was fun.

Based off the old screenplay for the 1931 film more than the book by Robert Louis Stevenson, this Dr. Jekyll (Tracy) has a beautiful fiance, Beatrix (Lana Turner).  She is a well to do Victorian era daddy’s-girl and daddy (Donald Crisp) isn’t letting her go easily.  In fact, he doesn’t care for Jekyll, especially his experiments where he hopes to separate the good and evil in people.  As Jekyll continues his experiments, hoping to help a sick, possibly insane, man, he meets a tempting barkeep.  Ingrid Bergman plays Ivy, the saucy barkeep that puts Jekyll on the edge of forbidden desire.

When Jekyll has finished his tonic that can separate the good and evil in men, he decides to test it on himself.  The result is a version of Spencer Tracy with wild hair, bushy eyebrows, bad teeth, a crazy stare and bad manners.  This makes for a few very Wolfman-like transformation sequences.  The looks I found more amusing than scary, but Tracy’s performance as Hyde is wonderfully menacing and creepy.  Watching him slowly scare Bergman across the room is an amazing scene.

The film was nominated for a few Oscars.  They were best film editing, best music and best black and white cinematography.  The images of Jekyll/Hyde running in the London fog are beautiful.

This version of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is not very scary, but I could not pass up a film with both Tracy and Bergman.  Perhaps this can be a fun film to watch with children and introduce them to these classic stars.  Maybe they will be more frightened by Tracy’s Mr. Hyde than critics were, who mostly laughed.  If you have seen the 1931 film version, let me know how they compare.

“The moment is mine!”

Gaslight

Gaslight is a dramatic thriller fueled by mystery.  Paula (Ingrid Bergman) was raised by her loving aunt, until the night she was murdered.  She was found strangled by the fireplace and the fiend was never caught.  Years later, Paula marries Gregory (Charles Boyer) and the two decide that her aunt’s old house would be perfect for them.  But the house is full of old memories, both pleasant and disturbing.  Soon, it seems that Paula is losing things and becoming more and more forgetful.  And every night, when the gaslight mysteriously goes down, she hears footsteps.  Is she going mad or is she being driven to believe so?

Not long after Paula and Greg move in, we can make a few educated guesses that will prove positive in the end.  In some films, that would spoil everything, but not in Gaslight.  The way the moments of Paula’s moments of forgetfulness pile up and drive her mad are intriguing and devastating.  We’re rooting for the poor girl and we want her to know what we know, and that drives the suspense that pulls this film along so well.  What is left unknown to us is enough to keep us connected to poor Paula.

Gaslight was Angela Lansbury’s first film.  Or as my husband put it, “Isn’t that the lady from Murder She Wrote?”  She earned an Oscar nomination for her supporting role as Nancy, the snobby and rebellious housemaid who only makes Paula feel less at ease in  her home.  Between her flirtatious moments with Greg and only reinforcing Paula’s apprehension, this is a wonderful performance to start off Lansbury’s great career.

This was Bergman’s first Oscar win.  Her portrayal of Paula is so passionate and full of the right kinds of energy.  At times Paula is so frightened she can scare the viewers.  And we sympathize with her perfectly, she’s a caged animal afraid to leave her home and always being told that she’s sick.  It would drive anyone crazy and Bergman brings that idea out flawlessly.

Unfortunately, Gaslight is one of those tough films to catch.  It’s not available on Netflix and I was lucky to catch it on TCM last week.  But if you like mysteries, psychological dramas or the great Ingrid Bergman, Gaslight is a must see.

“Would you light the gas please?”

Spellbound

Alfred Hitchcock called this film, “just another manhunt wrapped up in pseudo-psychoanalysis.”  While that sums it up pretty well, adding in fun details like a murder-mystery, a love story to cloud judgement and a Salvador Dali inspired dream sequence sets Spellbound apart from Hitchcock’s other manhunt or psychoanalysis inspired films.

At Green Meadows mental institute, Dr. Edwards has just arrived to replace Dr. Murchinson (Leo G. Carroll).  Dr. Constance Petersen (Ingrid Bergman) falls in love with the charming new arrival, but realizes inconsistencies in his present self and what she has read about him professionally.  She is the first to realize that this man, only known as JB (Gregory Peck), is an impostor suffering from paranoia and amnesia.  Constance takes it upon herself to treat him and attempt to outrun the authorities looking to charge him with the murder of the real Dr. Edwards.

Along the way, Constance and JB seek refuge in the house of her old mentor, Dr. Alexander Brulov (Michael Chekhov).  By this point in the story, Alex is the only person with a level head on his shoulders able to see the situation without getting personally involved.  He’s a quick thinking man, welcoming his old pupil with a fathering attitude, but sees through her lies and keeps the situation under control.  What I loved most about Alex is his ability to see the bitter truth and tell Constance that her judgement is clouded by her affections for JB.  “We both know that the mind of a woman in love is operating on the lowest level of the intellect,” he tells her.  Viewers who have been swept up in the love story have been brought back to Earth by Alex, who holds some important elements in understanding JB’s condition.  It’s this ability to be kind, charismatic and clear up the lovey-dovey nonsense that will only hinder their progress, that earned Michael Chekhov a supporting actor nomination.

One of the most unforgettable parts of the film is the dream sequence.  At Alex’s request, JB describes a dream he just awoke from, in an attempt to analyze it and see if they can uncover any clues to his true identity.  The images inspired from Dali’s work are stirring, surreal and very creepy.  There are curtains of eyes being cut with giant scissors, a card game won with blank cards and a man with no face dropping an odd shaped wheel.  Alex attempts to put these strange pieces of information together, but it isn’t until the end we find their true meaning.

Spellbound is one of the many Hitchcock movies every film fan should see.  It was one of the first films to deal with psychoanalysis, a theme Hitchcock would later work with often and the Dali dream sequence was ground breaking in film art direction.  With a stars like Bergman and Peck fueling a stirring plot with surprises until the very end, Spellbound is a film any classic film lover needs to see.

“Women make the best psychoanalysts until they fall in love. After that they make the best patients.”

The Bells of St. Mary’s

There’s always been a soft spot in my heart for nuns and Catholic schools.  All those stereotypes about nuns being the strictest teachers armed with rulers was just a myth in my experience.  And though my Catholic school of the early ‘90s had no air conditioning at the time, which my mother fretted over, I never felt the environment stifling.  We worked, played and expressed ideas more freely than I felt I could later in public schools.  Though our priest was no Bing Crosby, I couldn’t help but flash back on my own happy times in a Catholic school and appreciate all the good fortune my old parish has had.

In the film directed by the legendary Leo McCarey, Father O’Malley (Crosby reprising his role from Going My Way) has just arrived at St. Mary’s, a run-down inner city school nearly condemned.  He and the principal, Sister Mary Benedict (Ingrid Bergman), don’t always see eye-to-eye and begin a little rivalry.  O’Malley realizes how badly the school is falling apart and thinks that the best thing to do is send the students to St. Victor’s school where they have more modern facilities.  But Sister Benedict loves being with the children and has worked so hard at keeping St. Mary’s open.  She has her eye on the new building being constructed next door and prays that the owner, Horace P. Bogardus (Henry Travers), will simply donate the building to St. Mary’s.

Along the way, we also meet a troubled 8th grade girl, Patsy (Joan Carroll).  Her mother seeks confidence in Father O’Malley, sharing the sad story about how Patsy has never met her father and is starting to look down upon her mother.  Patsy is trying to grow up too fast, just before she is admitted into St. Mary’s she’s wearing quite a lot of makeup and was out trying to find a job.  O’Malley is understanding, takes special interest in their situation and helps stay Patsy in school.

The film also brings up the idea that boys educated by nuns may become less masculine.  After Tommy and Eddie have a little schoolyard fight, Father O’Malley nearly encourages Tommy, who won the fight, and tells disapproving Sister Benedict “I like to see a man who can take care of himself.”  Realizing that Eddie lost the fight by listening to her, Sister Benedict teaches him to box.  A nun teaching a young boy to box seems odd at first, but it becomes one of the best scenes in the film and later, we understand Sister Benedict’s good intentions.

Since we’re closing in on the holidays, I’d love to discuss the 1st grade Christmas play scene.  Sister Benedict lets the children hold the reigns on the production and they boil it down the the simplest details: “I’m Joseph and this is Mary and we need a place to stay.”  In their ending manger scene, the boy playing Joseph calls the Wise Men “neighbors” and they sing Happy Birthday to Jesus.  There’s no recitation of big words or religious concepts that these children don’t really comprehend yet, just the simple story as they understand it.  O’Malley describes it best: “Their simplicity is beautiful.”

I really loved The Bells of St. Mary’s, but I realize that I’m especially drawn and moved by these kinds of films by my own personal experiences.  If you have a fondness for nuns, want to remember your own Catholic school days or just love Bing Crosby or Ingrid Bergman this is a must see.  Crosby does find ways to sneak a few songs into the film, but I don’t know anyone who would mind hearing more of his beautiful voice.

“I can see you don’t know what it means to be up to your neck in nuns.”

Casablanca

“Play it Sam.  Play As Time Goes By.”

Starring the immortals Humphery Bogart and Ingrid Bergman, here is the timeless classic and one of the greatest films ever made.  It’s a tale of romance, war, heartbreak and sacrifice.

In the early part of WWII, there was a path taken to flee Europe with the destination of America in mind.  To get there, refugees had to get to Casablanca, Morocco, fly to Libya and then to America.  But thousands of people are stuck in Casablanca, awaiting visas, caught in red tape.  It’s a sweltering limbo and Rick’s Café is the most popular oasis.

Bogart plays Rick, owner of the nightclub.  He’s a cynical man, keeps his distance and stays neutral to just about everything.  Then one night Victor Laszlo, a rebellion leader who escaped from a concentration camp, and a slew of slew of Germans show up at Rick’s.  Since Casablanca is unoccupied and neutral, the Germans can only keep an eye on Laszlo and make sure he doesn’t escape.  Rick would stay out of all this, but Laszlo’s wife is Rick’s lover from Paris, Ilsa.

Rick and Ilsa’s relationship was short but passionate.  It peaks just as the Germans invade Paris.  When Ilsa didn’t show at the train station, where they planned to leave together, Rick is brokenhearted and forms his jaded, cynical shell.  Now, he realizes he can control whether or not Laszlo and Ilsa can flee Casablanca.  Should he punish Ilsa and appease the Germans all around him, or sacrifice his heart’s desire for a greater good?

Now, some people think Casablanca is the mushiest of the romances.  The music is sweeping, the intimate close ups between Rick and Ilsa are touching and the story of their love can pull at your heart.  But it’s not taken to the level of drippy, corny, puppy love (like Titanic).

The dialogue is timeless, Casablanca is famous for the immortal words of “Here’s lookin’ at you kid” and “We’ll always have Paris.”  In fact, it holds a record five lines on AFI’s Top 100 Movie Quotes list.

One of my favorite scenes that isn’t mentioned as often as others, is when the Germans have taken over Sam’s piano and sing Die Wacht Am Rhein.  Around the club everyone looks disheartened and remorseful, as if they’d just been invaded.  Quickly, Laszlo tells the band to start playing La Marseillaise, the French national anthem.  The whole club starts to sing along, they stand proudly, some with tears in their eyes, and drown out the Germans.  It’s like watching a first battle end is joyful victory.

It’s a sad thing to think that in today’s film industry Casablanca would never work.  In fact, legend goes that back in the ‘80’s someone sent Casablanca’s script to a few studios disguising it as “Everybody Comes to Rick’s.”  Most people didn’t realize it was Casablanca and sent it back saying there was too much dialogue and not enough sex.  For shame.

For those who don’t want to see simply because it’s old and in black and white, what’s wrong with you?  Black and white is where the term “silver screen” comes from.  It’s one of the greatest stories ever told.  There’s adventure, romance, war, fugitives, heroes and villains!  I believe their original trailer say’s it better than I ever could.  This is a must see for all.