Lady on a train (1945): a goofy comedy thriller

Last night I was finally able to watch this film starring Deanna Durbin and David Bruce. It wasn't quite what I expected, but it was entertaining and it takes place during Christmas, so it was a good pick.

In a nutshell, Deanna plays a rich Nancy Drew-ish character that witnesses a murder from a train and then she investigates by herself because William Frawley is playing a lazy cop.

First of all, to completely enjoy this film, you have to expect a lot of unlikely situations, like a girl breaking and entering in a creepy mansion, wearing a cowhide (almost literally), lots of feathers in her hat and high heels, because that's how you discreetly investigate a murder. 

If you accept things like that, then you can start enjoying the contagious good humor and goofy personality of Deanna's character; David Bruce's charm (he was handsome, reminded me a bit of Michael Redgrave), Edward Everett's usual absent minded character and Jacqueline deWit's comedy timing (she has a presence like Eve Arden's).

The movie maintains a good pace: it's never slow thanks to a script filled with many different and interesting situations (like Deanna pretending to be a club singer/heiress/chair to investigate...you'll get it when you see it).

It also keeps you intrigued, trying to guess which of the suspects --Ralph Bellamy, Dan Duryea, etc-- is the criminal (although I correctly guessed at once...please, please, no applauses). 

There are a lot of funny/thrilling scenes and lines and of course three songs beautifully sung by Deanna (they are all in Youtube: Silent Night,  Night and Day & Give me a little kiss )

In conclusion, if you haven't seen this one and you're looking for a very light and quite funny film, I recommend this one to you. 

Here some photos from my wall:

With "Fred"

At the cinema: one of the funniest scenes.

With Ralph Bellamy.

With Edward Everett, Fred Astaire's usual best friend.

Siiiiilent Niiiight....

Have a great weekend!

PS - I'd like to know if you guys know more about director Charles David, seems that he just directed two movies in his whole life.

5 Mini Reviews including 'My Reputation' & 'This above all'

Hi guys, here are my brief commentaries of the movies I've seen lately but haven't reviewed:

1. The three lives of Thomasina (1964; Don Chaffey)
I really liked this Disney movie. It's about a widower (a vet) his daughter, and her cat, Thomasina living in a small village. After his wife died, the vet became kind of detached: if an animal is dying, he doesn't care about the feelings of the owner. When Thomasina, the cat, is seriously injured, he doesn't try to help her and is let to die.

The daughter doesn't forgive her dad for this; everyone believe the cat died. Only she didn't and a nice "witch" is taking care of her. It was fun, kept you intrigued and the kids from Mary Poppins (Karen Dotrice & Mathew Garber) play the main characters here too.

2. I wake up screaming (1941; H. Bruce Humberstone)

DorianTb recommended me this movie and I loved it! Told in flashbacks from different points of views, the movie tells the story of a woman (Carole Landis) that was murdered. The police is trying to find the killer and her manager (Victor Mature) is the main suspect. The victim's sister (Betty Grable) doesn't agree. Directed by H. Bruce Humberstone, the film makes you wonder, makes you change your opinion with every flashback and then root for the innocents. It was great to see Laird Cregar, the Devil from Heaven can wait (review), playing a mysterious Police Inspector.

3. My reputation (1946; Curtis Bernhardt)

Loved this "drama", although I didn't like the ending very much. Basically, a widow (Barbara Stanwyck) is condemned by the society and her family because she's in love with George Brent and they hang out WITHOUT BEING MARRIED. Obviously, you have to see this movie in perspective to get the drama in that. My favorite things from this movie are Eve Arden's awesomely well delivered jokes (made me want to watch more from her movies as you'll see in the next post of mini reviews) and Barbara Stanwyck's usual terrific acting skills. Please, check this scene:

Why I didn't like the ending? Because they decided to end everything according to the social rules (and the Hays Code I guess). I enjoyed watching it anyway.

4. The wedding night (1935; King Vidor)

I actually re-watched this film. Gary Cooper is a writer (inspired in Francis Scott Fitzgerald) that likes to drink and party with his wife. At some point he decides to start writing a new book in the country, alone. There he meets a Pole family of farmers with strict rules and falls in love with the simplicity and sweetness of the daughter, Anna Sten (although in real life the actors hated each other and he called her Anna "Stench").

I love this movie (even when it seems that the portrayal of the Poles was far too barbaric) and it always makes me cry. Anna has to marry a primitive-looking Ralph Bellamy (he does a great job, makes you forget his elegant roles) because her dad needs lands or money or whatever.

There are some scenes beautifully played, that makes you really empathize with the characters. The protagonists need each other and you can see they would be happy together and help each other...but, well, see the movie to check what happens. I like how they developed the ending.

5. This above all (1942; Anatole Litvak)

This is a movie that was made to give strengths to the people during World War II. You know them: they always end with a speech delivered by someone looking to the horizon. But I enjoyed the ride: Tyrone Power and Joan Fontaine are great together.
Set in England, their chracters have different social backgrounds: he comes from the working class while her family is rich and powerful. She decided to become a volunteer and while she is on that, she meets Ty, a guy that has issues with having to defend his country. I liked it because they enjoy their love and give a leap of faith, facing social prejudice (like taking ONE room at a hotel for a weekend) and their own fears.

Well, that's all for now, folks! I wrote 5 mini-reviews more, I'll publish them in a few days (so don't believe is the same post).


PS: Remember that if you're replying as a guest you can leave the link to you site. Just click the option "Link to your website" under "Your name".

My Top 10 Average|Bad Movies with Terrific Actors

After watching "The proud and the profane" the other day I thought: "with these actors they could have done a better movie". And then I thought: "hey, that's a good idea for a list!". I don't usually see movies that have low ratings and bad reviews, but I dared to watch some of these just because of the casting. Last thing: I would say that the top 3 qualifies as "bad" the rest is just "average":

10. Undercurrent (1946: Katharine Hepburn, Robert Taylor, Robert Mitchum): This movie starts OK (I got very interested), but ends ridiculously. Kate Hepburn marries an important guy (Taylor) with issues with a "bad" and missing brother (Mitchum). He talks about him so much that Kate gets interested. Finally, nothing is like it seemed and things get violent and creepy. The best of this film is this lovely theme by Brahms played all over the film.

9. Made for each other (1939: Carole Lombard, James Stewart, Charles Coburn): A couple marries the day after they met; Carole has problems with her mother-in-law because she disapproves her lack of housewife skills; then the couple has a baby that sleeps in the living room because the apartment is too small, etc. A not very well constructed movie, the main genre isn't properly suggested from the beginning which is disconcerting; the story is very basic (I mean, before the last 10 minutes their problems are not really that dramatic); the main actors are totally wasted, playing characters that don't have real chemistry. Has its moments though.

8. Once Upon a Honeymoon (1942: Cary Grant, Ginger Rogers): One of the two opportunities these two had to work together... in a film that doesn't make justice for such event. Ginger wants to have a better social position so she marries a German Baron. Cary, a reporter, is investigating this Baron because he's probably a Nazi. Ginger and Cary fall in love. There are some interesting and tense scenes, but overall this a forgettable movie.

7. Green Mansions (1959: Audrey Hepburn, Anthony Perkins): This movie was directed by Mel Ferrer, Audrey's husband at the time. The things you do for love. Audrey plays Rimma, the Bird Girl that lives in the jungle. Some natives believe she killed the son of the chief, so she has to hide with her "grandparent". She falls in love with Anthony Perkins, a prisoner of this tribe that was sent to kill her. They start a trip to visit the remains of her town, something that the grandpa was avoiding since always. It's not very well edited, the distances they cover don't feel right; most importantly, the story is not convincing and the ending is weird. Great song though.

 

6. The proud and the profane (1956: William Holden, Deborah Kerr, Thelma Ritter):  A disperse melodrama based on a novel that wants to be epic like "From here to eternity" and fails. Deborah Kerr is widower of a soldier. She wants to know all about his last minutes of life so she enlists to help. An aggressive Colonel with issues with his origins arrives to the base. Thelma Ritter, Deb's superior, founds the Colonel despicable but she manages to show him Deborah sunbathing on the beach. The editing is not very good and it loses tension half way trough the movie. The character of a chaplain is used to explain what's happening with the main characters and important info is given trough little characters that talk a lot. Everything gets more and more soppy and tragic. The end.

5. Dance, Girl, Dance (1940: Maureen O'Hara, Louis Hayward, Lucille Ball,  Ralph Bellamy): I didn't get it. Maureen wants to be a ballet dancer but she's stuck with a group of girls that dance in clubs. One of these girls, Sassy Lucille becomes famous and invites serious Maureen to dance ballet in her comical number just to laugh at her. Since her opportunity to meet an important ballet guy is lost after her teacher is run over (really), Maureen accepts. There are some characters that are not very well defined, at the point you don't know who they are. The ending is ludicrous.

4. Man of the World (1931: William Powell, Carole Lombard):  A con man (Powell)  falls in love with the nephew of one of the man he defrauded. This could have been great, but Carole's character was too good, simple and nice (and boring) for her and you forget the whole film after "The End" can be read on the screen.

3. Paris Blues (1961: Paul Newman, Joanne Woodward, Sidney Poitier, Louis Armstrong): Boring, boring, boring. Two girls go to Paris and fall in love with two musicians. They go to some endless jam sessions and talk a lot.

2. Man-Proof (1938: Myrna Loy, Rosalind Russell, Walter Pidgeon): Use it in case of insomnia. Myrna is in love with a terribly dull guy that marries Rosalind Russell playing an awfully plain character.

1. Bloodline (1979: Audrey Hepburn,Omar Sharif, James Mason, Romy Schneider): The worst movie I've ever seen. Avoid it. After Audrey's dad is killed, she becomes the president of a great company and the new target of...I don't know, some killer. I never liked Ben Gazzara as a “romantic” lead, he's so unattractive. The whole movie is awfully edited, it looks like a trailer: some scenes don't seem to have a real connection. It even has a flashback to early XX century that seems out of place. There are a lot of shocking scenes (sex and murder) that weren't really needed, and what's more stupid, they are repeated along the movie, when they could have been suggested. The story is really badly developed, at some points you really don't understand where it is going. Most of the characters are despicable and there are some plot holes (if you think that someone wants to kill you, and you have escaped from death in several occasions, would you go alone to dark and solitary places and expose yourself?). Well, the worst (and saddest) thing is to see great actors like Audrey and Omar Sharif in this... thing.

What do you think?  Do I need to re-watch any of these?