Mildred Pierce (1945)

Another classic film that I had heard about for many years, and another chance for me to check out a central performance from Joan Crawford (I think this is only my second film I have watched with her onscreen), this was the perfect choice to sit down and enjoy during a recent, relaxing, bank holiday.

Crawford is the titular Mildred Pierce, a woman who will do whatever it takes, working her fingers to the bone, to look after her family. Her husband (played by Bruce Bennett) leaves home, which means divorce needs to be figured out, and her eldest daughter, Veda (Ann Blyth) seems to have a constant need for things that cost more and more money. Mildred does have an idea though, a plan for a restaurant that could prove to be a very profitable business venture, but it soon becomes clear that, whether the business is successful or not, money won’t necessarily solve more problems than it causes.

Directed by Michael Curtiz (who delivered some major classics throughout the 1940s - little films you might have heard of like, ummmm, Casablanca, Captain Blood, Angels With Dirty Faces, etc), this is a fantastic blend of standard 1940s melodrama and film noir. It all begins with a murder, and a sequence of events that lead to Mildred Pierce being interrogated by police, but it is easy for forget the moments framing the main narrative as the storyline unfolds.

Writer Ranald MacDougall (someone else with more than one big title in his filmography) adapts the James M. Cain source material with an impressively delicate touch throughout. Everything in the film is deceptive, from the time taken to show the start of the whole story (keeping viewers far removed from that corpse for longer) to the various characters who end up as main suspects in the third act. And everything is anchored by Crawford at the centre, delivering another superb performance. Not that she is alone, and I guess now is as good a time as any to praise the entire cast.

Is this the best performance ever from Crawford? I don’t know, but only because I have yet to see enough of her work. I would be surprised if many of her film turns topped this one though. Blyth impressed by holding her own alongside her, playing a spirited girl who grows up to be an icy and determined young woman, with money always being her main motivation. Bennett is decent enough in his role, but he is overshadowed by the charismatic presence of Jack Carson (playing Wally Fay, the man who helps Mildred get her business started) and the faux-mystery and charm of Zachary Scott (playing a businessman who could also be a potential love interest). There are also enjoyable moments from Eve Arden and Butterfly McQueen, the latter injecting a particularly welcome scattering of humour with just one word or line delivered at just the right times.

Not a film I see mentioned all that often by film fans, although I am sure those who already appreciate it just assume that everyone knows about it by now, Mildred Pierce is another classic that I recommend others check out sooner than I did. A great mix of light and dark, and with the kind of memorable and impactful ending that you want from a film noir, it’s well worth your time, not least because it is well worth watching such a masterful performance from Crawford.

9/10

If you have enjoyed this, or any other, review on the blog then do consider the following ways to show your appreciation. A subscription/follow costs nothing.
It also costs nothing to like/subscribe to the YouTube channel attached to the podcast I am part of - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCErkxBO0xds5qd_rhjFgDmA
Or you may have a couple of quid to throw at me, in Ko-fi form - https://ko-fi.com/kevinmatthews

The Postman Always Rings Twice (1981)

Another version of the tale originally written by James M. Cain, this movie caused quite a sensation when first released in 1981. Viewing it today, it's hard to tell just why people thought it was so good. It's also hard to tell why people thought stars Jack Nicholson and Jessica Lange decided to actually have sex in their passionate sex scenes. It may be spicy stuff, but there's nothing to suggest that it's more real than many other movie sex scenes.

Nicholson plays drifter Frank Chambers, and Lange is Cora Papadakis, married to the kind and trusting Nick Papadakis (John Colicos). As Frank and Cora grow closer to one another they decide to get Nick out of the picture. Things don't go quite according to plan (do they ever?) and the two characters soon find themselves being played against one another by those seeking justice. Thankfully, they have the shrewd Mr. Katz (Michael Lerner) on their side.

Directed by Bob Rafelson, and adapted for the screen this time by David Mamet, this focuses more on the fires that burn within the central characters, and the almost masochistic nature of their relationship, than the main crime and its repercussions.

Nicholson and Lange are both very good in the lead roles, as you'd expect from this pair in the 1980s, and the support cast are great (Colicos is just jovial and sweet, Lerner does well with a relatively small role, likewise with John P. Ryan, William Traylor and Anjelica Huston).

The problem I have with the film nowadays is that it feels as if it was designed to shock, with very little else to it. The fact that it still proves relatively watchable is due, mainly, to Nicholson and Lange, but the sex isn't sexy, the characters aren't people that you want to spend too much time with and even the very end of the film disappoints, especially compared to the 1946 version of the tale.

Still one to watch, and there are lots of people who rate this higher than I do, but I didn't find anything more to it than the sex and treachery. I love a bit of sex and treachery, but I also love a bit more going on, either technically or throughout the script, which this doesn't have.

6/10

http://www.amazon.com/The-Postman-Always-Rings-Twice/dp/079073219X/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1384339166&sr=8-4&keywords=the+postman+always+rings+twice

The Postman Always Rings Twice (1946)

Based on a novel by James M. Cain, The Postman Always Rings Twice is a very enjoyable tale of love, hate, treachery and misfortune. It hits all of the beats that noir fans will expect, but it does so in a way that's enjoyably different from the other movies of the era.

John Garfield stars as Frank Chambers, a man with a bad case of itchy feet. He is finally persuaded to settle down when offered a job by the kindly Nick Smith (Cecil Kellaway). It's not Nick's kindness that persuades him, however, it's the beauty of Nick's wife, Cora (Lana Turner). The two don't immediately get along, but when the cool lady starts to warm up to Frank it becomes clear that the husband will have go go.

The screenplay here, by Niven Busch and Harry Ruskin, isn't the sharpest, with only a few barbed exchanges sticking in the memory, but the direction from Tay Garnett is good enough and the cast is, well, it's a mixed bag, but with plenty of treats.

Garfield is one of the weaker leads, but Turner is much more memorable as Cora. Like every other aspect of the movie, she's not the best archetype seen in the subgenre, but she's one of the best onscreen. Kellaway is very good as Nick, a very kindly soul, oblivious to plans being made for him. Hume Cronyn and Leon Ames are both great as legal eagles on opposing sides.

Although the events unfold onscreen in a fairly unpredictable manner - with most of the developments signposted in advance for eagle-eyed viewers - it must be said that the bigger twists are a bit out of left field, and enjoyably so. The whole final act, in particular, is a fun attempt to repeatedly blindside the viewer, though most of the events that occur do so with at least a little foreshadowing to help people expect the unexpected.

Well worth a watch, but it never quite reaches greatness, in my opinion.

7/10

http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Postman-Always-Rings-Twice/dp/B0001EYSX0/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1384195127&sr=8-1&keywords=the+postman+always+rings+twice