Mubi Monday: House By The River (1950)

If you're like me then hearing the name Fritz Lang has your mind going immediately to two all-time classics of cinema. At the very least. Lang helmed some enduring masterpieces. You could even say that he Brigitte Helmed at least one of them (hey, it might be a weak pun, but I felt the need to share it). There are so many more movies throughout his filmography that are also worth checking out though, and House By The River is one such example.

Unable to control himself when the housemaid, Emily (Dorothy Patrick), comes close to him while dressed pretty and smelling nice, author Stephen Byrne (Louis Hayward) makes an unwanted advance. Being loudly rebuffed, he sets out to keep Emily quiet as a neighbour moves around outside. Which leads to murder. Stephen then concocts a story to garner the sympathy and assistance of his brother, John (Lee Bowman), and the two of them set out to dispose of the body and conceal the crime. Soon making use of the "disappearance" of Emily to gain some publicity for his books, Stephen starts to become more brazen, and it soon becomes clear that he can easily shift the blame to his brother if the finger of suspicion is pointed his way. It could be his wife, Marjorie (Jane Wyatt), piecing things together though.

Based on a novel by A. P. Herbert, this was one of a good run of thrillers and noirs written by Mel Dinelli, and I highly recommend checking out their first half dozen or so movies (at the very least). It's a delicious and dark premise, especially when the second half shows Stephen being "inspired" in his writing, and the two brothers being inextricably tied together by the crime is a great way to give viewers a way to easily root for one and against the other. 

It's hard to remember to credit Lang, but the fact is that he does such a good job with the direction that the film never feels forced or awkward, despite the contrivances being dotted around the plot to keep raising the stakes on the way to a strange, but very entertaining, final sequence. Lang steers the whole thing with a steady hand, allowing for it to jump between a feeling of very dark comedy and very palpable danger.

Hayward is very good in his role, always getting close to full-on panto villain without becoming outright laughable, and he's helped by some solid supporting performers. Bowman may have a decent amount of screentime, but he has to be the growing conscience of the film, meaning that he doesn't get to have nearly as much fun. He's easy enough to like though, as is Wyatt, and both deserve so much better than the apparent fate awaiting them in the third act. Patrick doesn't get many scenes, obviously, but does well enough in her role, and Ann Shoemaker, Jody Gilbert, Peter Brocco, Howland Chamberlain, and Will Wright all deliver enjoyable character turns.

Like some other Lang movies I could mention, although they are movies that aren't the first ones to be brought up when his filmography is being discussed, this has an excellent mix of superior visual language, dark content handled with a light touch, and sheer entertainment. Recommended.

8/10

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Prime Time: Scarlet Street (1945)

Reuniting the director and stars of The Woman In The Window, this film shows a man who wanders down a dark path, led there by love/infatuation. He's manipulated and used, which eventually makes him angry and irrational, but it's hard to feel much sympathy for him, considering how he makes one bad decision after another.

Edward G. Robinson is Christopher Cross, an unhappily married man who finds his life brightened up slightly after a chance encounter with a woman named "Kitty" (Joan Bennett). He doesn't realise that Kitty is in a relationship with an opportunistic crook named Johnny (Dan Duryea), and so wastes his time and money getting an apartment for Kitty, where he gets to paint her and spend time in her company. Embezzling from his work, Christopher is desperate to figure out a way to make his relationship with Kitty more official. He doesn't realise that Kitty is just stringing him along. And neither of them realise that his paintings are actually worth a bit of money to the right collector.

It's nice, comforting, in a way to watch this Fritz Lang movie and see him so at ease with the cast he used to well in The Woman In The Window. The screenplay by Dudley Nichols (based on La Chienne, which had previously been filmed by Jean Renoir) is decent enough, it may not fire off the zingers but it gets all the characters were they should be and moves the plot forward in a way that never feels ridiculous or implausible.

Robinson is very good in his central role, a rather sad figure who fools himself into thinking he has found a shot at true happiness. His behaviour is that of a man in typical midlife-crisis mode, even though he may be a bit older, but he also looks self-aware and uncomfortable, not used to the apparent affections of such a lovely lady. Bennett is excellent, just the right mix of cute and moody, while viewers know it is all deliberate in order to keep a man wound round her little finger. Duryea is comfortable in the role of main rogue Johnny, Margaret Lindsay is good as the friend of Kitty who never warms to Johnny, and Rosalind Ivers is Mrs Cross, a rather stern and unhelpful woman who helps her husband be resolved in his actions.

I am in the minority here, in that I preferred the previous collaboration between director and stars, but this is a film that has a lot to recommend to fans of classic cinema. It is a well-crafted morality tale with solid performances from the cast, decent presentation throughout, and a dark and fitting ending to it all. And it feels like it has been remade/reworked numerous times, although I cannot put my finger on a prime example to cite right now. All suggestions and memory prompts are welcome.

7/10

There's a region-locked disc here.
Americans can buy the same disc here.

Netflix And Chill: The Woman In The Window (1944)

I REALLY enjoyed The Woman In The Window, despite the fact that the very end of the movie reveals it to be a much lighter affair than the rest makes out (an ending perhaps imposed upon the film-makers, or perhaps it's a grace note they enjoyed after a particularly downbeat finale). I'm starting this review by discussing the end because I think it could be a bone of contention for many, a decision that spoils their enjoyment of what they might otherwise view favourably.

But let's get back to the beginning. Edward G. Robinson is a psychology professor named Richard Wanley. We see him parting from his wife and children as they head off on a holiday, and he then meets his friends in a cosy gentlemen's club. Drinks and conversation flow. When Wanley heads home late in the evening, he stops to admire the painting of a woman in a nearby shop window. Which is when he meets Alice Reed (Joan Bennett). She looks like the woman in the painting. It's not long until she also looks like a lot of trouble, when she invites Wanley back to her place for drinks, only for them to be interrupted by an angry lover. A death occurs, and Wanley then needs to do his utmost to dispose of the body and cover up any evidence. Will anybody even miss this man? Will they be able to figure out what happened? Wanley can stay in the loop as he hears about current police efforts from his friend, a D. A. named Frank Lalor (Raymond Massey).

Written by the talented Nunally Johnson, adapting a novel named "Once Off Guard" by J. H. Wallis, The Woman In The Window is a film that weaves tonally between moments of amusement and darker events, with everything growing incrementally more and more tense on the way to the finale. It's never flippant, but it's very easy to stay on the side of a central character who made one mistake and then just keeps making things worse for himself.

Fritz Lang is in the director's chair, with this being during a period of time during which he seemed to be churning these films out. It's a super-light concoction when compared to his absolute classics, but that makes it no less worthy of a place in your viewing schedule. Okay, maybe a little bit. I'd say it's still well worth checking off your list though, as are many of the "lesser" titles in his filmography.

Robinson is excellent in the lead role, someone who takes a wrong turn up a one-way street and keeps trying to carefully turn himself around while the walls just keep closing in. Bennet is also very good, posited as the femme fatale of the plot, but almost as much a victim of circumstance as Robinson, although it's worth noting that she is ultimately responsible every time things go from bad to worse. Massey is an exemplary and upstanding citizen, blissfully blinkered to just how guilty his friend looks as the evidence starts to pile up, and Edmund Breon is the other main friend, equally blind to the guilt of a friend, despite occasionally commenting on some remarkable coincidences.

The runtime is 107 minutes, yet this feels like a shorter film. The pacing is perfect, viewers remain completely invested in the fate of the lead character for every minute of the post-death runtime, and it's good to have the one-two punch of the ending that lets you experience two extreme reactions to the material. Although, as mentioned, some may strongly disagree on that.

8/10

There's a lovely disc available here.
Americans can get a disc here.

Mubi Monday: The Big Heat (1953)

Glenn Ford is a cop named Dave Bannion who cannot stand aside and turn a blind eye to the corruption going on around him in this fantastic, thrilling, film noir, directed by Fritz Lang. Bannion is shown at his determined best when called upon to investigate the suicide of another officer. It's not long until he realises that the story doesn't add up, leading him to head over and question the local crime boss (Mike Lagana, played by Alexander Scourby). This gets him into quite a bit of trouble with his boss, only made worse when he accuses him of being in Lagana's pocket, which gets him kicked off the force. But that's not the end of his involvement in the case, far from it, and the events that follow see him finding an unexpected ally in the shape of an ill-treated "gangster's moll" (Gloria Grahame). Perhaps the two of them can do what the police seem unable to.

You have pretty much everything here that you could want from a film noir, even if they're not as strictly pigeonholed as purists might like. The femme fatale, for example, isn't necessarily who you expect it to be. Bannion is a flawed hero in the way he storms into situations, not for any skewed moral compass. And the downbeat tone is woven throughout a number of main scenes as opposed to being dealt out in a bleak and nihilistic finale.

The script, by Sydney Boehm, manages to stretch everything out to just the right length without overcomplicating what is essentially a simple premise. You get a decent cast of characters who are all given perfect introductions. Lang directs everything with his usual level of skill, nothing too flashy but masterfully handling the material with just the right touch to keep it all entertaining, even as it bobs and weaves around some very nasty moments.

Ford is as dependable as ever in the lead role, not the best actor ever but one of the best at delivering dogged determination and a resignation to take the right path, not the easiest one. Grahame is a lively presence, lifting the film slightly as soon as she first appears, and Scourby is fine, outshone in the villain stakes by a young and heartless Lee Marvin. Jeanette Nolan is also very good, the widow of the deceased who may well know more than she is letting on.

Both typical and atypical as a film noir, this should still work for all fans of classic cinema. Did Lang ever make a bad film? From what I have seen so far, I have to say no.

9/10

Here's the blu for you.
American shoppers can get it here.

Sci-Fi September: Metropolis (1927)

Metropolis is one of many movies that you can show to someone who doesn't believe that cinema from the early 20th century is worth spending time on. It's black and white, it's a silent film, and it's from Germany. It's also one of the greatest sci-fi movies ever made, and easily remains essential viewing for anyone interested in either the genre, or just cinema in general.

The plot concerns a world in which the fancy lives of those living in brightly-lit tower blocks is made possible by a mass of overworked, tired workers who sweat and toil through shifts that require them to grapple with the machinery keeping everything in order. One young man (Gustav Fröhlich) defies his father (Alfred Abel) and ventures down into the depths to see just what is happening with his own eyes. He witnesses the hardship, and experiences no small amount of physical pain, but he also finds his heart swelling at the sight of a young woman (Maria, played by Brigitte Helm). It soon becomes clear that Maria is a dangerous woman, inspiring many to think of a life other than the one they have become so used to. A plan is hatched to replace her with a robot, a creation that will give the working masses bad advice until they grow to despise her, possibly causing themselves some damage in the process. But will the plan succeed?

Directed by Fritz Lang, who created at least two absolute masterpieces of cinema when he made this and M, I can't stress just how magnificent this movie is. Highly influential, as many of the movies from the German expressionism movement were, and as vital and outright entertaining today as it was when first released, almost 90 years ago. Thea von Harbou (Lang's wife) did the bulk of the work on the script, adapting a novel she wrote expressly to see it made into a film. To make the first feature-length science fiction film may have seemed like a major task, but you wouldn't think that when seeing just how much Lang and Harbou decided to pack into every scene.

It's hard to compare the performances to those that we're used to nowadays. Remember that everything had to be exaggerated in the early days of cinema. The lack of any speech, apart from the written title cards, required everyone to be much more expressive. Yet, although it's a very different style to the natural performances that occupy so many modern movies, everyone deserves praise for a job well done. Helm, in particular, has moments of eye-rolling lunacy, but she has many other times when she conveys a sweetness and purity that makes her position among the workers an easy one to believe in. Fröhlich is a likable lead, Abel does solid work as the father who makes plans that he knows his son would hate, and Rudolf Klein-Rogge is a lot of fun as a stereotypical "mad scientist". Theodor Loos, Fritz Rasp and Erwin Biswanger offer some good support, playing three very different characters who help or hinder Fröhlich in his underground adventure.

Oh well, I'm almost at the end of this review and I look back at what I've just written, only to wince at how futile those paragraphs seem. Read up on the movie elsewhere, and find out from better minds than my own about the history and importance of this movie. Run through a checklist of films that it has influenced, or has been referenced in. Check out various editions of the film, including the version with a soundtrack selection overseen by Giorgio Moroder. I'll be happy if this review has inspired you to give the movie a viewing. But I'll be equally happy if I've simply inspired you to read a bit more about it, browsing until you read something by a better writer who subsequently inspires you to give the movie a viewing.

Ultimately, you owe it to yourself to see this movie.

10/10

http://www.amazon.com/Complete-Metropolis-Alfred-Abel/dp/B0040QYROA/ref=sr_1_1?s=movies-tv&ie=UTF8&qid=1411313860&sr=1-1&keywords=metropolis