Prime Time: Cast A Dark Shadow (1955)

Dirk Bogarde is a ladykiller. That's not a spoiler. It's clear from the very first scenes of Cast A Dark Shadow. Bogarde plays Edward, a man who is married to the much wealthier, and much older, Monica (Mona Washbourne). He arranges for her to die in a way that looks like an accident, hoping to be the main recipient of her wealth. Things don't go entirely according to plan, but it doesn't leave Edward in a terrible situation. While still pretending to mourn the loss of his wife, he sets his sights on a new target, a widow named Freda (Margaret Lockwood). Freda has wealth, but she likes to ensure that their relationship is always managed 50/50, which leads to Edward potentially lining up his next victim, a woman named Charlotte (Kay Walsh).

Based on a play, "Murder Mistaken", by Janet Green, this is a wonderfully entertaining thriller that wrings humour out of the fact that our lead, a dastardly villain who just happens to have the charm and handsome looks of Bogarde, is driven into a greater state of desperation and impatience with every moment that sees him not being immediately rewarded for his misdeeds. It's not a film laced with obvious comedy, but it does seem to encourage viewers to relish Edward beginning to wriggle and thrash around as the worsening situation closes around him like a fishing net.

Directed by Lewis Gilbert, who has some great films tucked away later in his filmography (including a few Bond movies and Alfie, which features a character who could have easily taken a path to turn him into this character), this is a film that doesn’t take long to get going at all and then manages to maintain a brisk pace all the way to a fitting ending. The script by John Cresswell is twisted and witty, especially once Edward meets Freda, and this is a film that enjoys watching the main character deal with others around him, be they potential victims, a suspicious solicitor (played by Robert Flemyng), or even just a house servant (Kathleen Harrison) who needs coached and nudged in certain directions.

Bogarde shines in the main role, one that makes the most of his charm and allows him to convey an inner darkness, which he did successfully a number of times. Lockwood brings a different energy to the film, and she is a worthy “opponent” to Bogarde, with the two characters at times feeling very suitable for one another. Flemyng does well, and is allowed to be the one person suspicious of Bogarde’s character from the very start, and Walsh throws a spanner in the work in the third act, making you wonder what exactly the next move from our central character will be. Although she has the least amount of screentime, Washbourne does as well as everyone else, a sweet and oblivious victim who thinks she is set for a long period of happiness in her twilight years.

The ending, like so many from the yesteryear of cinema, is quite predictable, going by the code used to ensure that things always end with the needle of the moral compass pointing back to “true North”, but it is no less enjoyable for it.

Wonderful stuff, featuring a main character who you want to see get his comeuppance, but not until he has managed to dig himself into a much deeper hole as he grows more and more ill-tempered.

8/10

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Filmstruck Friday: Tunes Of Glory (1960)

When you think of a film starring Alec Guinness that focuses on a battle of wills between two commanding officers then I would be very surprised if you didn't think of The Bridge On The River Kwai. That film is a gold-plated classic, and if you have yet to see it then please do so immediately. Tunes Of Glory, however, is no slouch. It may be a lesser-known film, certainly compared to "Kwai", but it's almost as good, and arguably more interesting in the way it shades the two main characters.

Guinness plays Jock Sinclair, a Colonel due to step down from his commanding position as another man steps in to take charge. That other man is Basil Barrow, a Lt. Col. played by John Mills, and he's very different from Sinclair. Barrow likes order and for his men to be on their best behaviour at all times, Sinclair prefers to let his men have fun, and thinks that people will easily forgive any perceived rudeness or social indiscretions committed by soldiers in high spirits. A lot of the soldiers side with Sinclair, who obviously has popularity, but a few support their new commander, and don't appreciate the friction being caused by Sinclair.

Director Ronald Neame (who had also used Guinnes so well in his previous film, The Horse's Mouth) has the great benefit of a near-perfect cast doing their best with a fantastic screenplay, written by James Kennaway, adapting his own novel. Which isn't to take anything away from Neame's work. He knows exactly how he wants each scene to play out and paces everything perfectly to give viewers plenty of time to chop and change their minds about the good or bad standing of various characters.

With his bright red hair and fine Scottish brogue, Guinness provides yet another acting masterclass in his portrayal of Sinclair. He's an obstinate, proud, man who is unwilling to consider compromise as anything other than a repudiation of all that he stands for. Mills is equally good in his role, although he has to sweat and twitch a bit too much during the moments that see his unflappable demeanour being pushed to the . . . flappable. Gordon Jackson also excels, playing a decent soldier trying to help the new commander in his role. It's testament to both the script and the performance that Jackson never comes across as a sycophant or goody-two-shoes. He's stuck between two men he admires in different ways. Dennis Price also gives a great turn, taking on the role of the one man who will call out both Sinclair and Barrow on their mis-steps. Kay Walsh gets the one main female role, although Susannah York has a small part to play too, and there's a fine selection of supporting actors, including John Fraser, Duncan Macrae, Percy Herbert, and Allan Cuthbertson, as well as many other wonderful faces.

Full of pipe music, whisky, and moments in which tempers flare, Tunes Of Glory is steeped in Scottish flavour throughout, yet also remains a quintessentially British film. It's about doing your duty, about being in a position that you wish to see as being beyond reproach, and about the overriding need to save face above all else. Yep, quintessentially British.

8/10

You can buy the DVD here.
Americans can get a Criterion edition here.

OR, as some people did the other day (and I thank you for it), you can click on either of those links and then just shop for whatever else may take your fancy, and that helps me immensely.

The Witches (1966)

It may not be the worst horror movie ever released by Hammer but this is certainly one of their weaker efforts, albeit one that still just about manages to entertain for most of its runtime thanks to some amusing overacting and a nice juxtaposition of the possibility of evil deeds being planned/happening alongside a quaint, rural and very British village community.

Joan Fontaine stars as Gwen Mayfield, a teacher who has recovered from severe personal trauma (and breakdown) after a spell in Africa saw her caught up amidst a revolt from the locals led by their witch doctor. All seems well when she is given a position in a small, English village, but it's not long before she suspects that things are far more sinister below the surface and that some of her young charges may very well be in some danger. Is there any truth to this or is it just the product of an overactive, already broken, mind?

While the movie (adapted from the Norah Lofts AKA Peter Curtis novel by Nigel Kneale, who has managed far better writing elsewhere) is fairly enjoyable when building a tense atmosphere of paranoia and mistrust around Fontaine's character, it simply teeters over to ridiculousness far too quickly. Things are not helped by the level of acting displayed by everyone involved. Fontaine is all big hair and eye-rolling nervousness, Kay Walsh is far too polite and proper to even be interesting, Alec McCowen doesn't have a lot to do and everyone else is either as hammy as a ham sandwich made by Hammy The Hamster while he wears his West Ham scarf (step forward . . . Gwen Ffrangcon Davies) or far too stilted and caught up in the old-fashioned acting style of . . . . . . . well, just standing in the right spot and making sure that the pronunciation is perfect. Martin Stephens and Ingrid Boulting (billed here as Ingrid Brett) play the two main youngsters who may be in danger, and they at least have youth and relative inexperience to excuse any failings.

Director Cyril Frankel shows no real competence here, and the final reel is quite a damp squib considering the build up towards it. The Wicker Man this ain't. In fact, taken as a comedy it may work thanks to some terrible, stereotypical "am-dram" interpretive dance moves during a finale as laughable as it is uninvolving.

Coincidentally, fans of UK TV comedy should keep their eyes peeled for Michele Dotrice and Leonard Rossiter in small roles.

Disappointing as a straight horror, but entertaining enough for a number of wrong reasons.

5/10

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The Horse's Mouth (1958)

Everyone with a love of cinema has seen at least one performance from the great Alec Guinness that has stuck with them through the years. Whether it's his work with Ealing, his fantastic turn in The Bridge On The River Kwai or just being that certain wise gentleman in a small movie called Star Wars, the chances are that Mr. Guinness has made a favourable impression on almost every movie-goer of my age (37, just now) and older. He was, and in the movies that hold his memory forever he still IS, a class act. The Horse's Mouth features yet another great performance from the man, but it's also the only movie that he ever wrote the screenplay for (adapting the novel by Joyce Cary) and, by all accounts, he did a pretty good job of it.

Guinness plays Gulley Jimson, a man that viewers first see coming out of prison. He's a chancer and an unfriendly sort, feeling very hard done by and angry at the world around him. A world that owes him. As it turns out, he has a point. Gulley is also an artist and a very good one, but his desire to keep creating great art often leads him into situations that perversely end with destruction. He just can't stop himself, even when things start to look up. There's no self-control there, no filter, the art is all that matters. Kay Walsh plays a stern woman trying to help him get what he deserves, Renee Houston is an ex who still holds a candle for him, Robert Coote and Veronica Turleigh are two potential patrons and Michael Gough has some fun as a fellow artist afflicted with the same short-sighted way of muddling through life.

It takes a while to warm to The Horse's Mouth (Guinness uses quite an accent for his character and he's not the most pleasant person to spend time with during the first few scenes) but do stick with it and it ends up as quite a rewarding experience. Once the main theme becomes apparent - that of the driven artist constantly striving to create another masterpiece even while destroying other things around him - it's an absolute delight. THAT'S when viewers are able to identify, and connect, with the Gulley and almost see everything onscreen as he sees it.

Apparently, when Guinness developed the screenplay he decided to drop some other aspects of the novel and focus on the plight of the artist, something which really gives the film a unique and fascinating centre. Having not read the source novel, I can't say whether or not this improves the material, but it certainly feels like a good decision for the cinematic adaptation.

Director Ronald Neame captures everything unobtrusively enough, but that's not to dismiss his work. He somehow sets everything up in a way that seems to capture the very essence of both creation and destruction, this is a film with all of the elements gelling together almost perfectly.

The acting from all concerned is fantastic. Guinness is never less than the brilliance that's expected from him, Walsh and Houston are both wonderful, Gough is great and Mike Morgan is very sweet as a young lad who looks up to Gulley and wants him to stay out of trouble so that he can just continue to make great art. Coote and Turleigh aren't on screen for very long, but do fine with the time they have, and every minor character gets a fleeting moment to shine.

If it wasn't for that unsteady opening, this would be closer to a perfect film. As it is, it's a very good one. A very good one indeed, do yourself a favour and seek it out. It's hugely entertaining, but it's also art.

8/10

http://www.amazon.com/The-Horses-Mouth-Criterion-Collection/dp/B000063N9O/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1365634687&sr=8-2&keywords=the+horse%27s+mouth