DVD/150: CAMILLE (Ray C Smallwood, 1921)

Amazingly this was the fifth screen version of Dumas' CAMILLE - and it was still only 1921!

Despite being 100 years old, this is still an amazing experience.

The film starred the astounding Alla Nazimova, a Russian actress who, after her Broadway debut in 1906, became one of the era's leading actresses, famous for roles in Chekhov, Turgenev and Ibsen.  She easily transferred to film in 1916 and in only five years had her own production company, and was writing and co-directing.

Another powerful woman wrote it: June Mathis was one of Hollywood's leading writers and the only female executive at Metro.  In 1921 she discovered Rudolf Valentino, making him an overnight sensation in FOUR HORSEMEN OF THE APOCALYPSE so he was obvious casting for Armand in CAMILLE.

Another female powerhouse involved was Natacha Rambova whose art deco designs are still fabulous, she and Valentino became lovers during the filming.

Shelf or charity shop?  It's a keeper anyway as it is on the same DVD as Garbo's 1936 sound version but this CAMILLE remains a lasting tribute to a trio of powerful women.  Poor Valentino really doesn't stand a chance and it is a curious experience to watch him when only 5 years later, his death would make him one of the great icons of the silent screen. Mathis' modern-dress CAMILLE is a whistle-stop ride through the tale: too quick for the love story to really develop.  The film remains a testament to the extraordinary Nazimova, 100 years on and she still fascinates.  She doesn't just drink a glass of champagne, she drains it while bending over backwards, but she is also capable of moments of great stillness and her deathbed scene is understated pathos at it's best.  By the coming of sound this heightend creative atmosphere was long gone, Valentino and Mathis died within a year of each other, Nazimova's Hollywood power ended in 1923 with the disasterous reception that greeted her version of Wilde's SALOME although she did return for two 'mother' roles in the 1940s, while Rambova turned her back on the cinema to become an Egyptologist.

DVD/150: SHE DONE HIM WRONG (Lowell Sherman, 1933)

Mae West's 1928 Broadway hit DIAMOND LIL which she wrote and starred in led to a Paramount Pictures contract in 1931; after a scene-stealing appearance in George Raft's NIGHT AFTER NIGHT, Paramount wanted DIAMOND LIL to be her first starring role.

But the censors had banned the play from being filmed or any reference to Diamond Lil.  So Paramount had it re-written - not by West - and Diamond Lil became Lady Lou!

 

 

It is rare for a sex symbol to emerge in her first starring role - and at the age of 40 - but Mae did it.  The film was a box office smash, it's profit of $2 million saved Paramount from bankruptcy.

 

Mae chose Cary Grant to co-star; it was his 9th film but had already appeared opposite Tallulah Bankhead and Marlene Dietrich.

 

In the 1890s Bowery, singer Lady Lou is attracted to brilliant diamonds and dangerous men...

Shelf or charity shop?  SHE DONE HIM WRONG lives in the dvd limbo of a plastic storage box but it is a keeper due to Mae West's unstoppable screen presence. With her first starring film, Mae set her screen image and persona: usually set in the 1890s as the era's costumes suited her hourglass figure - and the long dresses could cover up the platform shoes she needed to give her height - she saunters through the action, hands on her hips and a leer on her lips, constantly in motion like she is maintaining balance standing in the middle of a seesaw, cynical but with a tender heart, rolling her eyes and drawling the best epigrams since Wilde.  Cary Grant works well as a Salvation Army officer with a secret, and there is eye-catching support from Gilbert Roland and Rafaela Ottiano as counterfeiters with a sideline in prostitution, while Louise Beavers sparkles as Lady Lou's maid Pearl.  Add into the mix Edith Head costumes, Mae singing "Frankie and Johnny", some great period atmosphere and a running time of 66 minutes, what's not to love?

"You know, it was a toss up whether I go in for diamonds or sing in the choir. The choir lost."

Back to Before: The Cinema - Almodóvar's THE HUMAN VOICE (2020)

On 5th March 2020, I went to the cinema to see JOJO RABBIT.

On 22nd May 2021, I went to the cinema to see THE HUMAN VOICE.

 

There have been cinematic droughts in previous years but there was the option to go if I wanted to and there was usually something at the National Film Theatre worth seeing on the big screen again.  But of course in the past 14 months cinemas have been closed due to COVID.  I wondered what would lure me back into risking my health in an enclosed space with strangers...  what had to be seen on the big screen rather than being streamed on my laptop.  Oh course it was Pedro!

 

I had a ticket for the originally-announced screening of the film last October when the cinemas reopened only for them to close again quickly.  But here it was again and this time it was a successful visit!  It was in the smaller NFT screen which was a concern but with carefully managed front-of-house procedures easing me into the cinema, it was a relief to find that the rows of seats only had 4 seats intact per row, with seats physically missing between them; and of course, we watched it wearing masks.

I had seen Jean Cocteau's one-woman play only on screen before, in Roberto Rossellini's 1948 film of two short stories L'AMORE, both featuring the elemental screen presence of Anna Magnani.  The plot is simple: a woman is alone in her apartment, waiting for her lover to return.  He has packed his suitcases which stand by the door, watched over by his faithful dog, but he has been away for three days and the woman is wracked with pain and depression.  Finally he calls and, in a one-sided conversation, we watch her as she wrestles with her emotions, nonchalent, honest, capricous. pleading, distraught, angry, desperately keeping him talking - while he is on the phone she still has him in her life.  It doesn't help that his call keeps getting cut off.

Almodóvar saw the film in the 1980s and it haunted him to the extent that it features in two consecutive films: in LA LEY DEL DESEO (LAW OF DESIRE) Carmen Maura's character is appearing in a stage version of the play; wanting to star Maura in a central role Almodóvar attempted to adapt it for the screen only to be left with the bare bones of the plot as it morphed into his break-out comedy MUJERES AL BORDE DE UN ATAQUE DE NERVIOS (WOMEN ON THE VERGE OF A NERVOUS BREAKDOWN).

What nagged at Almodóvar was the ending; Cocteau's play was first shown in 1930 and Pedro felt that while the central theme was still universal, he felt it needed a more contemporary feel to reflect the actresses of today but how would he find someone to bring The Woman to life?  He had met actress (and fan) Tilda Swinton at various film festivals down the years and she had suggested she was available anytime to play a role for a him - not speaking Spanish she suggested she could play a mute!

But in early 2020 THE HUMAN VOICE floated up to Pedro again and he realised that - not only was it an ideal role for her - but that to win her over it could be filmed in English and, more importantly, he did not have to be tied to having to widen it out to a feature-length film; it would perfectly suit being a short film - the running time is 30 minutes.  When the pandemic cancelled their first attempt to film it last April it gave time for Pedro to work on an ideal shooting arrangement: setting it in an empty sound-stage with a standing box set to represent her apartment, he could film it with a skeleton crew and Tilda.  It certainly captures perfectly the worldwide feeling of paranoia at being isolated at home.  They started filming in July last year and it was completed in 11 days.

With only one outdoor location - a Madrid hardware shop - the premise works brilliantly.  The woman is now an actress, first seen in an outlandish, glamorous ballgown in a large empty soundstage, she is nervous and on-edge.  She returns to her chic colour co-ordinated apartment - quickly revealed to be a set in the same soundstage - and she moves around it obviously distracted: sorting their favourite dvds and cds, destroying his suit, taking tablets, existing... and then the phone rings.

 

I wondered if my attention might wander but not at all: Swinton inhabits the role wonderfully - with her Bowie air of stillness and unpredictability and her crisp voice like broken celery, she doesn't need to be a walking volcano like Magnani, her modernist hauteur quickly reveals the broken heart nursed inside.  While talking on the phone - with a pair of air-buds in place - she wanders out of the apartment into the empty soundstage at times, a perfect visualisation that even outside her apartment she is still in a world of silence and solitude.

Almodóvar's loose adaptation of the play ends in a wonderfully surprising and fitting end for his version of Cocteau's Woman - who after trying a number of poses, is left with telling her departing lover the truth.  I must mention that THE HUMAN VOICE does not just have one performer - special plaudits and a packet of Bonio for Dash the collie who gives a great performance as the lonely dog missing his master.  At the filmed interview between Almodóvar, Swinton and Mark Kermode shown after it, both mentioned that Dash's individual interpretation forced them to rethink some moments within the scenes which turned out to be infintely better choices!  Needless to say, being an Almodóvar film means the cinematography and set design are glorious.

 

Also a special mention to longtime Pedro composer Alberto Iglesias - there was no time for him to compose an original score before it's invited space at the Venice Film Festival so he re-edited sections from his previous Almodóvar scores to create a new one, you would never know!  The great news is not only is Pedro working on a new film with old friends Penelope Cruz and Rossy DePalma named MADRES PARALELAS but he has a project in mind to work with Tilda Swinton again.

And watch out The Arts... I am back.

DVD/150: THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST (Anthony Asquith, 1952)

Anthony Asquith's sparkling adaptation of Oscar Wilde's THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST is 70 next year - an ageless film of an ageless play.

Asquith's screenplay captures the essence of Wilde, his direction creates a perfect 'High Comedy' world for the dazzling firework display of his cast of actors.

They act without any camp condescention; they enter the reality of Wilde's world and deliver definitive performances of their characters.

The film is dominated by Edith Evans' Lady Bracknell, and while her "A handbaaaaaaag?" line has haunted every Lady Bracknell since, she plays the role with such nuance that she makes all her lines memorable.

Michael Redgrave is perfect as Ernest/Jack while Michael Dennison is a revelation as the facile Algernon.

Margaret Rutherford and Miles Malleson shine as Miss Prism and Canon Chasuble.

Newcomer Dorothy Tutin is delectable as Cecily but outshining them all, Joan Greenwood's delicious Gwendolen steals every scene.

Shelf or charity shop?  Worthy of a shelf all on it's own, this is one of my desert island films.  In a world of ghastly reimaginings and modern-dress reductiveness, the film stands as a record to a cast and film-makers honouring the material. Exquisitely shot by Desmond Dickinson and gloriously costumed by Beatrice Dawson, the film looks as good as it sounds - and it sounds absolutely glorious, no better than in the scene where Gwendolen and Cecily duel over their supposed engagements to Earnest, to hear Joan Greenwood say these lines in quick succession is to witness perfection:

“I never travel without my diary. One should always have something sensational to read on the train"

"I am glad to say that I have never seen a spade.  It is obvious that our social spheres have been widely different"

"You have filled my tea with lumps of sugar, and though I asked most distinctly for bread and butter, you have given me cake".

It is the bitterest irony that Anthony Asquith's father, Herbert Asquith, as Home Secretary signed Oscar Wilde's arrest warrent.

DVD/150: TODA-KE NO KYODAI (Brothers and Sisters of The Toda Family) (Yasujiro Ozu, 1941)

Ozu's first film after two years in the Japanese army fighting on mainland China was the box-office hit TODA-KE NO KYODAI.  It shows the beginning of his more focused storyelling which was to emerge eight years later with BANSHUN (Late Spring): stories of family breakups, mixing drama and gentle humour with a sad undertow.

The Toda family gather for a group photograph outside their parent's large home to celebrate the father's 69th birthday but that night he dies from a heart attack...

The family discover their father was the guarantor for massive debts accrued by a failing business.  They sell the family home and possessions to pay half the debt, but cannot sell a dilapidated beach home.

It is decided that homeless Mrs Toda and youngest daughter Setsuko should move between the houses of the eldest three children.

But the women are treated as an embarrassing, unwanted burdon...

Shelf or charity shop?  This is on the same dvd as the glorious TOKYO STORY so of course it's a keeper but also because it is the first film where Ozu's vision of film-making started falling into place.  The film has a pace and an elegance that belies it's age and Ozu offers us his characters without judgement, just a well-observed resignation of their failings.  Ozu's favourite actor Chishu Ryu is seen in a bit part as a friend of the youngest son Shojiro who is charismatically played by Shin Saburi, the first of five roles he played for Ozu.  Ayako Katsuragi and Mieko Takamine are fine as the unwanted mother and daughter while Kuniko Miyake and Mitsuko Yoshikawa are hissable as the unwelcoming sister-in-law and sister of the Toda family.  There is also a very nice performance from Michiko Kuwano as Setsuko's friend: sadly the actress - who had played a lead role in Ozu's WHAT DID THE LADY FORGET? in 1937 - died several years later aged only 31. The film's odd, abrupt ending was the result of Ozu realizing that he didn't have two days left to film but two hours!