Anyway, extending the theme of laziness a little further, I didn't even hit my original goal of five movies per month in October. I saw 4, which is a solid 80% of my goal, so I'll give myself a B- for the month. Here's what I saw, ranked from least to most favorite.
4) Cat People (1942) - Nominated for both top-100 lists, plus thrills and scores, but didn't actually make any of the final lists. This is okay, because I broadened my search criteria for movies to now include nominees for each of the lists, not just the winners. Incidentally, that generates a list of 1900 films, so I have movies I can watch for the foreseeable future. If I watch one movie a week, it will take almost 40 years to see them all, which is awesome. But back to the review...
Cat People was a pretty lousy movie. Turner Classics often shows old horror classics right around Halloween, and I sometimes catch a few of them in the hopes that they will be fun, campy and cheesy. Sometimes they are, and sometimes, well, they're Cat People. It sounded awesome, as you can tell from the TCM description: "A newlywed fears that an ancient curse will turn her into a bloodthirsty beast." Well, we end up spending about two-thirds of the movie fearing that it will happen before anything actually does, and by then I was just a little too bored. The cat transformations took place entirely off-screen, so no fun cheesy effects there, and the beast was not so much bloodthirsty as it was kind of irritated and it attacked one guy. Kind of a let down overall, but it does deserve a little credit. Apparently this film was the first to use the horror movie device called "the bus." The idea is that the tension builds in a scene until there is a sudden loud noise that we all assume is the bad guy, but then the camera turns and we find out it is just a bus pulling up to the corner. Very cliche now, as horror movies always try to fake you out this way, but it was novel at the time, so kudos. But it doesn't mean I'm going to rewatch Cat People.
3) The Philadelphia Story (1940) - Another screwball comedy featuring Katherine Hepburn, just like Bringing Up Baby and Woman of the Year, which I've previously reviewed. As you may recall, I didn't exactly love Bringing Up Baby, since it was so frenetic, but I did enjoy the repartee in Woman of the Year. I think Philadelphia Story is the best of the bunch, though. Spencer Tracy was good in WotY, don't get me wrong, but Cary Grant and Katherine Hepburn are great in this one. They play a divorced high-society couple who are reunited on the eve of Kat's remarriage as Grant tries to foil the whole thing. Oh, and he does so by sneaking in tabloid journalist Jimmy Stewart, who naturally also falls for Hepburn. It's witty, fast-paced, and a lot of fun. Once you start watching, it's pretty easy to foretell how it's all going to turn out, but that doesn't keep the journey from being enjoyable. I think Bringing Up Baby gets more accolades than this film, but I'd watch this one first, anyday.
2) The Big Sleep (1946) - I've alluded to this movie in previous blog posts, and in October I finally got around to watching it again. I have seen it now on three occasions and I'm starting to think that I finally understand the plot. Partly because of the production code at the time (they had to leave some parts out that were pretty important to the plot), but also just because it's a great noir private eye mystery story. We follow Philip Marlowe as he is hired by a wealthy patriarch to resolve some gambling debts run up by his irresponsible daughter. But it quickly becomes apparent that that's not all the daughters are up to. This is a prototypical film noir, so you can expect unexpected dead bodies, seedy characters, unsavory locales and mysterious dames to show up along the way. :) I like the mystery of the story and trying to figure it out as I go, but I love the dialogue. Just try telling Marlowe that you don't like his manners! Or try to sell him some rare books. Oh, and if you're not taken in enough by all that, this is pretty much the movie for Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall. They sizzle in this movie in a way that you don't often see anymore. The film is lots of fun... if you can figure it out.
1) Rear Window (1954) - I love this movie. It's not my favorite ever, but it's right up there. I've seen it several times, so when I saw the news that the Merle Hay Theater was showing it on the big screen, I knew I had to be there. I don't know if that's something they often do, but I wasn't about to miss it for Rear Window! This is an Alfred Hitchcock movie, perhaps his best in my opinion. It is all about suspense, something almost entirely lacking in today's movies. The concept is that photographer L.B. Jeffries (Jimmy Stewart) is laid up at his apartment with a broken leg, so he keeps himself amused by looking out his window on the courtyard of the apartment complex and watch his neighbors. It's all harmless and dull until he starts to notice some unusual activity in the window across the way. With his girlfriend Lisa (the lovely Grace Kelly) and nurse Stella (Thelma Ritter), he begins to suspect foul play. What exactly is Lars Thorwald doing in his apartment? Is it something dastardly, or just one man's overactive imagination? As the suspicions deepen, the tension builds, up to the thrilling finale. It is marvelously done, especially when you consider that the entire movie takes place in one room. Again, tension and suspense, not mindless action, and it keeps you on the edge of your seat. Oh, and seeing it on the big screen - totally worth it.
