The Usual Choices
The Band Wagon (Vincente Minnelli)
The Big Heat (Fritz Lang)
From Here to Eternity (Fred Zinnemann)
Roman Holiday (William Wyler)
Shane (George Stevens)
But how about...
Hondo (John Farrow)
One of the more lyrical, even pastoral Westerns (despite rampaging Apaches, a vicious knife fight and a dog murder). The Duke's character in this is unusual - same walk and same talk sure, but his outlook on life is different: the guy just wants to settle down and leave folks be. His attachment to deserted Geraldine and her son is quite touching (he moves in!) and there is an interesting interplay of guilt, loyalty and pragmatism in the characters' motivations. Aussie Michael Pate makes an impressive Apache Chief and the climactic shootout (directed by John Ford apparently) is exciting and brutal. If only the boomy soundtrack had been turned down a bit, especially in the early scenes.
...and what about...
The Titfield Thunderbolt (Charles Crichton)
My absolute favourite of all the Ealing Comedy gems (and unjustly the most neglected). There is something supremely English (not Scottish; not Irish; not even British) about this film: locomotives & drunken gentry & the old ways defeating the new & poaching on the Squire's land & rolling hills in gorgeous colour & bureaucrats in bowler hats & quirky clergy & village eccentrics. And a most magnificent steamroller duelling head-on with a steam engine! Featuring classic character actors such as Sid James, Hugh Griffith and the immortal Stanley Holloway, this movie stands as the pinnacle of English comedic film-making.
...not to mention...
Inferno (Roy Ward Baker)
Grizzled millionaire is deliberately stranded in the Mojave Desert by his wife and her lover. Equipped with a broken leg, minimal supplies and a need to endlessly narrate, Robert Ryan (great choice!) battles the brutal elements and his mortal flaws to have his revenge. An engrossing story which uses every feasible happenstance (rockfall; rattler; cactus-drinking) to tighten up the suspense and make the hero's eventual rescue all the more sweet. And it's all capped with a terrific fiery brawl at the end. Rhonda Fleming as the nervous wife is gorgeously redheaded and the appearance of character actor Henry Hull (Werewolf of London; Lifeboat) is a pleasant bonus for us cinephiles.
...and one personal unmentionable...
Abbott & Costello Go to Mars (Charles Lamont)
Now, this one made me mad. While this is A&C's inevitable trip into outer space, the first half is based on what is a promising comedic idea (our heroes mistakenly land in the midst of New Orleans Mardi Gras and think they're on Mars). I actually laughed out loud twice (love the limburger = tainted atmosphere gag...hey, I'm a man with simple tastes) and the other jokes improved by association. So why the hell didn't they milk this concept for all it was worth? Nope...instead, A&C pick up two escaped convicts and fly to Venus which is inhabited by (you guessed it) bling-bespeckled centrefold models. Sexist crap joke is followed by funny-in-the-50's crap joke. And, to make things worse, the two guys playing the convicts end up being funnier than the two stars. But not by much.
My Top 10 Films of 1953
 |
| "Deborah...why do you cry?" "Sand, Burt." |
#02 A+ Genevieve (Cornelius)
#03 A The Big Heat (Lang)
#04 A The Kidnappers / The Little Kidnappers (Leacock)
#05 A- Inferno (Baker)
#06 A- Hondo (Farrow)
#07 A- From Here to Eternity (Zinnemann)
#08 A- Roman Holiday (Wyler)
#09 A- Niagara (Hathaway)
#10 A- Stalag 17 (Wilder)
Overflow: More A-/B+ Films
#11 A- Shane (Stevens)
#12 B+ Houdini (Marshall)
#13 B+ Laxdale Hall (Eldridge)
#14 B+ Titanic (Negulesco)
#15 B+ Pickup on South Street (Fuller)
#16 B+ The Band Wagon (Minnelli)
#17 B+ The Naked Spur (Mann)
#18 B+ The Final Test (Asquith)
#19 B+ Little Fugitive (Ashley; Engel; Orkin)
#20 B+ The Cruel Sea (Frend)
#21 B+ House of Wax (de Toth)
#22 B+ Mogambo (Ford)
Sorry, They Didn't Make It...
> B The Captain's Paradise [sophisticated "Carry-On" movie with less titters]
> B Gentlemen Prefer Blondes [minor musical with some major assets]
> B How to Marry a Millionaire [minor comedy with some major assets]
> B The Man Between [wanted to be The Third Man but didn't have a hope]
> B The Actress [good acting, but everyone talks too fast too often]
> B The War of the Worlds [classic sci-fi with a quaint script and cute SFX]
> B The Wild One [heritage-listed for its cultural significance]
> B The Heart of the Matter [minor Graham Greene, heavy on the Catholic guilt and light on the sinister intrigue]
> B Man in the Attic [Jack Palance does Jack the Ripper...a remake of 1944's The Lodger, but lesser]
> B The Intruder [British after-the-war movie which is episodic in structure and a little dull]
> B It Came From Outer Space [OK 50's sci-fi with the obligatory Reds allegory applied years later by nerds]
> B Time Bomb [OK little thriller aboard an unfortunately-stationary train]
> B- Julius Caesar [a handy substitute for having to actually read the play in High School]
> B- Beat the Devil [I know this is a cult classic but its charms have always eluded me...except for Jennifer]
> B- Man on a Tightrope [anti-Communist but pro-wifebeating]
> B- City Beneath the Sea ["Underwater Action" is like "Aerial Bushwalking"]
> B- I Confess [if Alfred Hitchcock had ever directed a daytime soap, it would've turned out like this]
> B- Young Bess [aka Elizabeth I: The Hollywood Years]
> B- The Blue Gardenia [Fritz Lang's fave theme (Fear of Getting Caught) but this time he doesn't do much with it]
> C Malta Story [a boring World War II movie...how'd they manage that?]
> C Abbott & Costello Go to Mars [A Personal Unmentionable]
> C Abbott & Costello Meet Dr Jekyll & Mr Hyde [just pity poor old Boris Karloff]
> C Lili [ugliest puppet ever shown on celluloid with a song that is an instant music virus]
> C Ma & Pa Kettle on Vacation [aka Pa & Ma (note billing change) Go To Paris and Do Dumb Shit]
> C Invaders From Mars [what 1950's boys watched while they waited for Marvel Comics to be invented]
> D Terminal Station [aka Interminable Station aka Indiscretion of an American Producer]
> E The 5000 Fingers of Dr T [truly repugnant kids musical which should be listed on the Offenders Register]
"Ah!..Sweet Mystery of Life...": 1953 Films I Apparently Still Need to See
Albert RN (Gilbert); Always a Bride (Smart); Beast from 20000 Fathoms (Lourie); The Bigamist (Lupino); A Blueprint for Murder (Stone); Code Two (Wilcox); Dangerous Crossing (Newman); The Desert Rats (Wise); Donovan’s Brain (Feist); Forever Female (Rapper); Four Sided Triangle (Fisher); The Girl Next Door (Sale); Island in the Sky (Wellman); A Lion is in the Streets (Walsh); The Long Memory (Hamer); The Magnetic Monster (Siodmak); The Master of Ballantrae (Keighley); Meet Mr Lucifer (Pelissier); Return to Paradise (Robson); The Robe (Koster); Second Chance (Mate); The Sword and the Rose (Annakin); Take the High Ground (Brooks); Thunder Bay (Mann); Trouble in Store (Carstairs); Turn the Key Softly (Lee); Vice Squad / The Girl in Room 17 (Laven); Vicki (Horner); The Yellow Balloon (J. Lee Thompson)
Best Performances of 1953
Leslie Caron in Lili
Montgomery Clift in From Here to Eternity
Audrey Hepburn in Roman Holiday
William Holden in Stalag 17
Deborah Kerr in From Here to Eternity
Burt Lancaster in From Here to Eternity
Donna Reed in From Here to Eternity
Frank Sinatra in From Here to Eternity
But how about...
Jean Simmons in The Actress
Absolutely charming depiction of the late teen life of Ruth Gordon (she of Harold and Maude, Rosemary's Baby and Where's Poppa? acting fame). Jean's greatest success here is that her young persona DOES neatly match-up with the quirky old lady Ruth Gordon that all movie fans remember. Bouncing off Spencer Tracy at his most domineering (and talky), Jean is the requisite mixture of doe-eyed dreamer and one-eyed self-supporter, wanting to shake off the familial expectations which are smothering her ambitions and reinvent herself. A classic American story performed by a great British actress.
...and what about...
Trevor Howard in The Heart of the Matter
Playing a man doubly torn between his wife and his lover (yawn), and between the ethics of being in authority and the rewards of succumbing to corruption (that's better), Trevor is consumed by good old-fashioned Catholic guilt. Based on a lesser Graham Greene story set in 1942 Sierra Leone (I bet the place doesn't look like that anymore), Trevor the colonial policeman goes through a series of rather pathetic travails, ripping himself into shreds whilst remaining steadfast and British. Although the film itself sloshes about in sleaze (in a soap-operaish kinda way), Trevor helps you to understand this poor conflicted fool who has the great misfortune of being surrounded by shallow people.
...not to mention...
Marilyn Monroe in How to Marry a Millionaire and Niagara and Gentlemen Prefer Blondes
1953 was Marilyn's year: three classy performances that have stood the test of time, demonstrating her genuine range. She was always more than just a dumb blonde who looked good on a calendar.
HTMAM = ranks with Some Like It Hot as her best pure comedic performance as a ditzy woman self-conscious about her need to wear a pair of particularly ugly glasses.
NIAGARA = absolutely her best "villainous" performance as a wife who wants to split from her drab, underachieving hubbie, resorting to murder.
GPB = definitely features her best musical performance in the showstopping "Diamonds are a Girl's Best Friend". Her partnership with Jane Russell is terrific and makes one wish that Marilyn had made other "female buddy" movies.
Interestingly, all three of these roles are about a woman who wants to control her relationship with a man so she can get the best out of life. Knowing what we do about Marilyn's tragic history and emotional instability, her excellence in this type of persona can't be merely coincidental.
...and one personal unmentionable...
Robert Strauss & Harvey Lembeck in Stalag 17
A display of cringing buffoonery to the max. While this film's mixture of war's awfulness and knockabout humour was the precursor to M*A*S*H, Catch-22 and even Hogan's Heroes, nothing excuses the stupid slapstick of these two clowns. Remarkably, the film remains a personal favourite, but my teeth go on edge every time Robert & Harv do their schtick. What ever possessed Billy Wilder to ladle in such extreme comedy asides...they don't move the plot along; they don't tighten up the tension; they certainly don't add nuance. Escapees are shot, a pilot is tortured, an innocent man is beaten to a pulp and two jerks impersonate Betty Grable and Quasimodo. Duh.
My 10 Favourite Performances of 1953
 |
| "Wait for it...wait for it... Okay! Light a match...NOW!" |
#02 Kay Kendall in Genevieve
#03 William Holden in Stalag 17
#04 Marilyn Monroe in How to Marry a Millionaire
#05 Jean Simmons in The Actress
#06 Jennifer Jones in Beat the Devil
#07 Audrey Hepburn in Roman Holiday
#08 Trevor Howard in The Heart of the Matter
#09 Jane Russell & Marilyn Monroe in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes
#10 Stanley Holloway in The Titfield Thunderbolt
Overflow: More List-Worthy Performances
#11 Marilyn Monroe in Niagara
#12 Duncan Macrae in The Kidnappers / The Little Kidnappers
#13 John Wayne & Geraldine Page in Hondo
#14 Kenneth More in Genevieve
#15 Hildegarde Neff in The Man Between
#16 Jean Anderson in The Kidnappers / The Little Kidnappers
#17 Lee Marvin in The Wild One
#18 Thelma Ritter in Pickup on South Street
#19 Gloria Grahame in The Big Heat
#20 Fred Astaire in The Band Wagon
#21 Robert Morley in The Final Test
#22 Robert Ryan in Inferno
#23 Jon Whiteley & Vincent Winter in The Kidnappers / The Little Kidnappers
Sorry, They Didn't Make It...
> Frank Sinatra in From Here to Eternity [architecturally-designed to stand out]
> Donna Reed in From Here to Eternity [does not make a believable whore]
> Burt Lancaster in From Here to Eternity [he carries on like he's still playing The Crimson Pirate]
> Deborah Kerr in From Here to Eternity [all this attention because she had a roll in the surf with Burt]
> Jack Hawkins in The Cruel Sea [all that British stiff-upper-lip stuff gives me a pain]
> Leslie Caron in Lili [a one-song performance...with a puppet]
> Jack Palance in Shane [self-consciously plays The Prince of Darkness]
And so...onto the annual awards (with a nod of appreciation to Danny Peary)...
The Alternate Oscars for 1953 are:
FILM of the YEAR
GOLD: The Titfield Thunderbolt (Charles Crichton)
SILVER: Genevieve (Henry Cornelius)
BRONZE: The Big Heat (Fritz Lang)
LEAD ACTOR: PERFORMANCE of the YEAR
GOLD: Montgomery Clift (From Here to Eternity)
SILVER: William Holden (Stalag 17)
BRONZE: Trevor Howard (The Heart of the Matter)
LEAD ACTRESS: PERFORMANCE of the YEAR
GOLD: Jean Simmons (The Actress)
SILVER: Jennifer Jones (Beat the Devil)
BRONZE: Audrey Hepburn (Roman Holiday)
SUPPORTING ACTOR: PERFORMANCE of the YEAR
GOLD: Stanley Holloway (The Titfield Thunderbolt)
SILVER: Lee Marvin (The Wild One)
BRONZE: Kenneth More (Genevieve)
SUPPORTING ACTRESS: PERFORMANCE of the YEAR
GOLD: Kay Kendall (Genevieve)
SILVER: Marilyn Monroe (How to Marry a Millionaire)
BRONZE: Hildegarde Neff (The Man Between)
ENSEMBLE or PARTNERSHIP: PERFORMANCE of the YEAR
GOLD: Jane Russell & Marilyn Monroe (Gentlemen Prefer Blondes)
SILVER: John Wayne & Geraldine Page (Hondo)
BRONZE: James Stewart & Robert Ryan & Janet Leigh & Ralph Meeker & Millard Mitchell (The Naked Spur)
JUVENILE: PERFORMANCE of the YEAR
GOLD: Jon Whiteley & Vincent Winter (The Kidnappers / The Little Kidnappers)
SILVER: Brandon De Wilde (Shane)
BRONZE: TBA
The Alternate Razzies for 1953 are:
CRAP FILM of the YEAR
The 5000 Fingers of Dr. T (Roy Rowland)
CRAP MALE PERFORMANCE of the YEAR
Peter Lind Hayes (The 5000 Fingers of Dr. T)
CRAP FEMALE PERFORMANCE of the YEAR
Anne Baxter (I Confess)
