Tag Archives: 1950’s

#67- Kiss Me Deadly

Quick recap: Mike Hammer is a private eye, known for working divorce cases. One night while driving, he helps a young woman, Christina, escape from her nameless attackers. They eventually catch up to the two, making Hammer crash the car. When he finally wakes up, he is in the hospital and Christina is dead. Instead of letting things go, he decides to pursue who Christina was and who was out to get her.

The title sequence was run backward for some reason and confused me more than it should have

The title sequence was run backward for some reason and confused me more than it should have

Fun (?) fact: A federal unit whose job it was to investigate what corrupted youth in the 50’s, named this movie the number one menace to teens.

A terrifying picture of corrupted teens

A terrifying picture of corrupted teens

My thoughts: Psycho not living up to my expectations made me even less excited to enjoy this movie. I joke a lot about how easily audiences were influenced back then and maybe that’s why movies seem so tame, but then something like this comes along and changes my perception.I would argue  Kiss Me Deadly has parts that are just as violent as what I’m used to seeing nowadays. It was refreshing to know that stuff like this existed, but it also made me wonder why people glorify directors like Hitchcock being the master of horror and thrillers. I’m beginning to think he might be a little overrated.

One of the aspects I loved about this movie was that no one was particularly a good person. Mike Hammer is the protagonist, which typically pegs him as the square, but he is far from it. For one thing, his job in divorce proceedings is to get as much dirt as he can on both partners and then screw them out of money. he is also heavily involved with his secretary, but doesn’t make it official and throughout the movie he has no issues making out with any woman who will have him. And he’s definitely not what the bad guys were expecting him to be. In an early scene, Hammer finds out that he is being followed by someone. Instead of running away, he fights the guy and then bashes his head against the wall repeatedly. Later on, while interrogating an old man, Hammer gleefully breaks a rare vinyl record that the man loves. It made me more intrigued with the mystery since I wasn’t invested in the characters as much.

There was A LOT of kissing. So much kissing.

There was A LOT of kissing. So much kissing.

The mystery itself was sub par. It was exciting to see the next clue and what would happen next, but I got confused several times trying to figure out what Hammer was looking for. Even now, I’m still not sure what Christina, the girl from the beginning of the movie, had to do with all of this. On the other hand, I don’t really care. There were so many twists that I gave up trying to keep up and just enjoyed what I was watching. With all of the action going on, I was reminded of my favorite television show, Lost. I won’t spoil anything, but as each season went by, I became more and more intrigued by the mystery. By the last few episodes, I realized that the reveal, whatever it was, wouldn’t satisfy me. And that’s precisely what happened here. When Hammer finally finds the box Christina has been hiding and opens it up, it really doesn’t matter what’s inside because it has been a hell of a journey so far. And I guess the director felt the same because the contents of the box are never revealed. An homage to this can be seen in Tarantino’s Pulp Fiction. The final scene of the box being opened and starting a nuclear explosion was a nice surprise and matched with all the Cold War drama going on in real life. kiss-me-deadly-1

Final review: 4/5. I wouldn’t call this required viewing, but it was a lot of fun to watch and gave me hope for similar classic films

Up next: Onibaba

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#54- Invasion of the Body Snatchers

Quick recap: A small town gets invaded by aliens (typical) who grow and harvest pods who sprout people (not so typical). The people are the exact duplicates of residents in the town, except devoid of any emotion and with a penchant for getting up early on Saturday morning.

not ripe yet, best to leave it unrefrigerated

not ripe yet, best to leave it unrefrigerated

Fun (?) fact: The film originally had a much grimmer ending, with the doctor running into traffic and yelling, ‘You’re next!’. Not wanting to offend the delicate sensibilities of the audience, the movie was given a more optimistic (lame) ending.

vapors

 

My thoughts: By today’s standards for horror as well as alien invasion, this movie was rather tame.  There were never any moments that frightened me, although the pods spewing people was a little creepy.  However, after finishing the movie and then allowing myself time to let everything sink in, I realized just how unsettling Invasion of the Body Snatchers is. That’s really rare for a film to do that, since most horror movie moments that frighten us tend to vanish once daylight hits. Going back to my childhood fear of aliens for a moment, I used to wake up from nightmares frantically searching for a clock because I remembered reading that most abductions happened between 1 and 3 in the morning. I knew that if I could just survive until 3, I’d be alright. And then the next morning, I would feel incredibly silly for believing something like that. But this movie is different. Daylight seemed to highlight just how wrong everything was and made me question what was real.

My favorite scene of the movie happens when Dr. Bennell and Becky glance out the window and see practically the whole town awake and moving about, even though it was only 7 in the morning on a Saturday. It was one of those moments that seemed a little off but grew into a more unsettling feeling as the characters realized how wrong everything was. As in the beginning of the movie, the duplicates were impossible to detect, and yet loved ones knew something was not right. The boy at the beginning who runs away because he thinks his mother has been replaced is later seen hugging her and smiling. No one had to mention anything to know that the invasion had happened, but watching that brief scene said it all and made it all the more frightening. The subtle horror moments are what really makes Invasion of the Body Snatchers stand out.

My one criticism comes not from the movie itself, but from the (I believe) over analyzation of the plot. As most of us know, the 50’s signified the heyday of McCarthyism and the Red Scare. It’s impossible to sit through this movie and not think about that. However, trying to write off this movie as a metaphor for its time really does the bigger theme a disservice. The invasion of ideas, good or bad, can be frightening no matter the time period. I am currently reading Maus by Art Spiegelman, a graphic novel about the Holocaust. I could easily compare the alien invasion to the quick rise of Nazism, how seemingly nice, well adjusted people suddenly turned on each other and became the monsters we know of today. Or, I could compare Invasion of the Body Snatchers to a comment forum in an online article- how the discussion starts civil and soon turns into a mess of racial slurs, sexist remarks, and threats of violence. Seemingly normal people become devoid of emotion and have no guilt at what they are saying. My point being that this movie is best viewed as a constant reminder of how quickly things-and people- can change.

Final review: 4/5. Not scary, but a truly significant film

Up next: Horrorfest

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#46- On the Waterfront

Quick recap: Terry Malloy, former boxer, is now a dockworker. In order to keep a steady stream of work, Malloy agrees to help the corrupt union, which also involves his brother Charley. He doesn’t mind it for the most part until he helps get a guy murdered and then he realizes that maybe this isn’t the direction his life should be headed. Around the same time, Malloy begins to see the sister of the murdered guy and also comes to the realization that being connected to the union that murdered the brother won’t win him any points with the girl. He attempts to stand up to the union but quickly realizes how dangerous this is because they control everything and also have guns.

Fun (?) Fact: The scene with Edie dropping her glove was for the most part, improvised. In the scene, Malloy picks up the glove and puts it on his hand, playing with it. He continues by talking to Edie about their childhood. The director loved it so much that it was kept in the movie.

On-The-Waterfront-glove

 

My thoughts: When I watch movies on my list, I typically like to do so alone. This is because I don’t want someone else pushing me towards a conclusion that is not my own. So when my husband offered to watch ‘On the Waterfront’ with me,  I was hesitant, seeing as how this is one of his favorite films. It turns out there really wasn’t much to worry about because I too loved this movie from the very beginning.

Although the story is compelling, it is the acting from Marlon Brando that blew me away. It was as if the director went to the dock, plucked him out, gave him a script, and sent him to work. His portrayal of Terry Malloy is one of the best examples of acting in the history of film. He delivers his lines without any real effort as well as his reaction to other characters. It’s a tiny scene, but I love how Brando interacts with the investigators as his waits on his job at the dock. He attempts to blow them off and then gets angry when they don’t leave him alone. After they do finally leave, he goes back to his buddies and gives off this look like he is confused but deep down, knows what really happened. It’s a great example of Brando fully bringing the character of Malloy to life.

When mentioning this  film, most people know the taxi cab scene when Brando says, ‘I coulda been a contender’. It is indeed a powerful exchange, as Malloy realizes that his brother has betrayed him. My favorite scene, however, happens as Malloy discovers that his brother has been murdered by the union. The image of his brother hanging from a hook, gunshot wounds to the heart, is so chilling. Brando is so convincing in his role as Malloy grieves. It was so heartbreaking to watch, although not as sad as when Malloy finds that his pigeons have all been murdered. Animal death is sad enough for me, but seeing Malloy try to mask his pain was almost too much.

Besides the acting, I think I loved this movie because the story is so compelling. The idea of a corrupt union wasn’t a new one and in fact, this movie brought to light real organizations that were doing this same thing to their members. It’s always nice when a movie can expand beyond pure entertainment.

Final review: 5/5. This is a dark movie for its time, but one that I think should be required viewing for any movie fan.

Up Next: Rome Open City and after that it will be October and Horrorfest!

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#25- Written on the Wind

Quick Recap: The characters in this movie are the WORST. Marylee Hadley is an alcoholic nymphomaniac who loves jazz and her brother Kyle is no better. He marries a woman he barely knows and then when he finds out he probably can’t have kids, starts drinking heavily again. When his wife tells him that she is in fact pregnant, he punches her and refuses to believe it is his. There’s also a scene where Marylee is dancing around TO JAZZ  after slutting it up at the motel and her father goes up to talk to her. Somehow her dancing causes her father to lose his balance and he falls down the stairs and dies.

oh oil derrick, you're the only one that truly gets me

oh oil derrick, you’re the only one that truly gets me

Fun (?) Fact: someone actually won an OSCAR for this movie. (Dorothy Malone who plays Marylee)

In this scene Marylee is staring out into the water and imagining all the times she came here as a child. It just looked like she was going nuts and hearing voices and I laughed more than I should have.

In this scene Marylee is staring out into the water and imagining all the times she came here as a child. It just looked like she was going nuts and hearing voices and I laughed more than I should have.

My thoughts: The movie starts with a song about how everything is ‘written on the wind’ and I knew at this moment I was screwed. And just in case the audience was confused, there is an actual wind that blows through the house as Kyle Hadley runs in with a gun. Oy.

This movie does an excellent job cramming as much melodrama as can possibly fit in a two hour time frame. Everyone has issues and everyone’s issues intersect with each other. Marylee Hadley, for example, is in love with Mitch, a family friend, who is in turn in love with Lucy, who is married to his best friend Kyle Hadley, Marylee’s brother. And the reason everyone is awful is never really explained except that the Hadley’s are rich and that breeds evilness? I do love how this movie serves as entertainment but is also a morality tale about the dangers of alcohol and dancing and jazz. Everything comes to a head when Kyle Hadley finds out his wife is pregnant and blames his best friend for knocking her up. He has been drinking too much and so punches her, which in turn causes a miscarriage. At times I felt like I was watching one of those PSAs from a long time ago- ‘One sip of liquor and you’ll end up shooting yourself!’.

The character of Mitch (played by Rock Hudson) was an especially odd addition. He served as the moral compass throughout the film which also made him incredibly DULL. Most of the time he just stood there, mouth slightly ajar and pouting that he couldn’t get what he wanted. The only time he showed true emotion was when he confessed his love for Lucy but then when she revealed she was pregnant, went back to being the ‘aw,shucks’ guy who never has any luck.

I was also put off by Kyle Hadley being played by Robert Stack because I immediately recognized his voice from the show, ‘Unsolved Mysteries’. I kept expecting a subplot about aliens or ghosts. In all honesty, it would’ve made this movie much more bearable.

Final review: 1/5. In reading up on this film, lots of people apparently hated this movie when it came out but then rediscovered it in the 70s and suddenly ‘got it’. I don’t know what there is to get. You’d be better off marathoning a season of Degrassi, if you are looking for some good melodrama.

It's always a party with Craig!

It’s always a party with Craig!

Where/How I watched it: Netflix, with a bomber sized bottle of Leprechaun Cider. It was much needed to survive this movie.

Up next: Reversal of Fortune

 

 

 

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