Thursday Film Picks- Berlin Wall

 

I have always had a fascination with this wall probably because my mom escaped from the East to the West, but not over this famous wall. She escaped an hour's drive south since she lived near Wittenberg. It was just guard towers and barbed wire and, yeah, she would have been shot if found, but not near Berlin. This infamous wall did not actually appear until August 1961 and went up, literally overnight. Over the years there were many who tried to escape, some made it, others did not. I remember when I was a kid, I heard, on the news, that a husband and wife, with their small child, jumped into the Spree River creating quite the calamity because the Stazi were shooting at them. The police, in the West, held their guns ready, in case the Stazi shot at the family when they reached the West. Unbelievably, they made it! It was a dumb move because most who tried that route died. I never forgot that nor my parents’ reaction to their bravery..or stupidity, taking that route with a babe. Sadly, most people don't even know about this wall and the political upheaval, but I watch whatever I can about this time. Here are 3 films about this divided city...

1. THE MAN BETWEEN-1953

This is one of my favourite films, starring James Mason and Claire Bloom, right after the Second World War in Berlin. Claire's brother works for the British consulate, married to a German and lives in one of the few homes left standing. She is visiting her brother and appears quite naive but she soon sees her sis in law talking with a mysterious man, Mason, and is intrigued. Soon, you find out that Mason is an agent for the East Germans because they know too much about him. They want him to bring back the brother's wife but, a case if mistaken identity happens and the British sister is taken. This could become a national incident, but, as often as it happened, the Stazi would just say they have no one with them by that name. Mason decides to bring her back but, at what cost? It's a riveting picture shot in Berlin when you see how ravaged it was by all the bombs. I love the music, the acting and the cinematography. It is worth seeing.

2. ESCAPE FROM EAST BERLIN-1962

I have not seen this film in decades but it still resonates with me. It's based on true events about a huge, daring escape using a tunnel. A U.S. soldier and an East German guard decide to bring across the German's sister and a couple of others but, it expands to more people( including Werner Klemperer better known as Colonel Klink from Hogan's Heroes). The soldier and the sister fall in love while digging the tunnel. It is a tense film that is well played out since this actual event recently happened.

3. BERLIN TUNNEL 21-1981

Ok this is not the TV film starring Richard Thomas but I could not find a trailer for it, sadly. I thought this is the next best thing. This is a TV remake of the film I talk about above but I like it so much that I had to include it. There are a few variations here but, overall, it's a taut movie with some really good acting especially by Richard Thomas, who was mainly known as John-Boy from "The Waltons". I'd like to see this movie again because I saw it back when it appeared on TV. It looks like I can see it on YouTube so I might check it out again.

Any films about the Berlin Wall you saw? 

Fences

 

Finally, we are getting a new fence that no one can complain about and our home won’t look like an eyesore after our beautiful ivy fence had to be torn down. So many people have come up to my hubby asking what happened, because they loved our fence. When he told them, they were on our side and so upset that this had happened. We just hope we will get our fireflies back and praying mantises. Getting our fence built gave me the idea for the songs this week which I am joining Monday Music Moves Me and one song came into my head right away…

1. DON’T FENCE ME IN SUNG BY BING CROSBY AND THE ANDREW SISTERS-1944

This song was written by Cole Porter ( with Robert Fletcher helping with the lyrics) of all people. I thought  it would have been written by some country western star but, nope, the elegant Cole Porter, mind you, he didn’t really like this song. Of course, Roy Rogers and Dale Evans sang the song and Kate Smith also made it a hit but Bing made a ton of money on this song for 1/2 hour in the studio. 

2. I’M GONNA MEND MY FENCES SUNG BY DORIS DAY AND HOWARD KEEL-1953

I was certain this must have come from her hit film, “ Calamity Jane”  but I did not see it listed and, I don’t remember it in this film. I think it’s a fun but sweet song. I love their voices together and so glad they appeared in this film. This was written by Robert Fletcher with an assist by Cole Porter so I almost think this is like a sister to Don’t Fence Me In,

3. SITTIN’ ON A FENCE SUNG BY THE ROLLING STONES-1965

Isn’t this a great song that does not actually sound like The Rolling Stones. I love the  instruments in this song and feel that Mick Jagger and Keith Richards were exploring different styles of music. I find this a refreshing change even though I do love their music.

Any Fence song you can think of?

Who Should have Won the Oscar— Cinematography 1941

 

1941 was a volatile year because it was the year of Citizen Kane. Orson Welles and Herman Mankiewicz created a portrait of a newspaper tycoon who becomes a bloated narcissist dying in his huge mansion all alone with his last word being, “Rosebud.” To say William Randolph Hearst was livid was an understatement and he, along with Louis B. Mayer, head of MGM, tried to buy up the film rights to have it destroyed. Ya see, Hearst was the biggest Newspaper tycoon in the States who built his mansion with the largest zoo that was privately owned and who tried to make his mistress, the lovely Marion Davies, into a star like Garbo. He never could see Marion’s gift for comedy but, unlike the film, she did have talent and did care for the old goat. Today, it’s considered, arguably, the greatest film made but it did not win best film, that went to “How Green Was My Valley”. I do like this film and don’t like all the disparaging remarks it receives but  it gets dissed because it was up against and won the Oscar instead of Kane. I am not choosing  best picture, but best cinematographer.

1. CITIZEN KANE- GREGG TOLAND

Gregg Toland is a master of his craft and nothing shows that more than in the film, Citizen Kane. From the very beginning when Kane dies to the shots when Kane is walking through his mansion, you can’t help but love how the camera is used to create emotions and depth of the characters. One of my favourite scenes is the montage of his marriage to his beautiful wife. In a few short moments, we see them loving and happy to distant, cold and so finished. The deep focus photography, viewing image from the bottom up to the ceiling and so much more unique shots were just not done in that style  and so it confounds me that he did not win the Oscar. I can only assume it was due to the powers at be making sure it would not win. This film should have won for the best cinematography but it didn’t and Gregg Toland was robbed.

2. HOW GREEN IS MY VALLEY- ARTHUR MILLER

This film won for Best cinematograph for Arthur Miller and, if it was for another year, I would say he deserved it but not this year. To be clear, I love this film about a miner’s family and the travails they endure including their only daughter falling in love with the local priest. The black and white photography is used to such great effect from the miners leaving their work to walk back into the nearby town to the home of the miner and his many kids. The home feels small, but cozy and the great expanse of the sky against the village just creates a warmth for the people that live and work there. I just believe that Gregg Toland deserved the Oscar over Miller.

3. SUSPICION- HARRY STRADLING JR.

From the glowing milk that Cary Grant is bringing to his wife to the opulent home he and his wife, Joan Fontaine, live in, you enjoy all the nuances that the look of the film creates the tension that Hitchcock was wanting. I am surprised that this film was not even nominated but “The Chocolate Soldier” was. I just don’t get it, because the scene, when they are playing scrabble, is a great moment in tension heightened by the cinematography. Poor Hitchcock never won an Oscar either but Joan Fontaine won her Oscar for this performance and I can’t help but feel that the way she was filmed helped her attain this award ( much to her sister’s chagrin ( Olivia DeHavilland). 

What do you think? Do you agree or would you choose another film or do you agree with the Academy for this year?

May Time Songs

 

I never danced around the May Pole that has its origins during Roman times when they would worship Flora, the goddess of flowers. It spread, over time, across Europe where Germany celebrated the night before with a great bonfire. On May 1st, the men and women dance around wrapping ribbons around the pole commemorating the lengthening of days, the coming of summer and, l’amour toujour. Get your lustful emotions out and let’s come and play… enter the Barry White music. Over at Monday Music Moves Me, it’s all about songs from May. I hope you like my 3 songs….

1. NOW IS THE TIME FOR MAYING SUNG BY CHILDREN-1937

This is from the Jeannette MacDonald/ Nelson Eddy film, “Maytime” and this is a scene where you see the town celebrating May Day, May 1st, with kids singing this song. I’m not one to hear cute kids singing but this is ok and fits the theme. This song was actually composed by Thomas Morley back in 1595…pretty damn old.

2. THE LUSTFUL MONTH OF MAY SUNG BY JULIE ANDREWS-1960

This comes from the famous Lerner and Lowe musical, Camelot, that starred Julie Andrews as Lady Guinevere, Richard Burton as King Arthur and Robert Goulet and Sir Lancelot with Goulet becoming a major star due to his role in this famous musical. Sadly, when the musical was made, Vanessa Redgrave played Guinevere which just didn’t work for me. 

3. WHILE STROLLING THROUGH THE PARK ONE DAY SUNG BY BING CROSBY-1961

This song, I think, we’ve all heard it in one form or another often played in cartoons but it’s an old Vaudeville song written by Ed Haley from the Vaudeville team of the Haley Brothers. I actually wanted to find this song sung by the wonderful Stanley Holloway who was in many films and TV shows including voicing many animated shows, the most famous being Winnie the Pooh. Here, Bing Crosby give it a good show and I love that the 2nd verse is “in the month of May”. 

BONUS…

Yup, that’s Bugs Bunny! This is from 1941…

That’s All Folks!

Star Of The Month- Alice Faye

ALICE FAYE

BIRTH: May 5, 1915

DEATH: May 9, 1998

AGED: 83 years

DIED FROM: Stomach Cancer

REAL NAME: Alice Jeanne Leppert

AFFAIRS: Possibly Rudy Vallée 

MARRIED: Twice- singer Tony Martin and Phil Harris-actor and Bandleader

CHILDREN: 2 daughters with Phil Harris

FRIENDS: Betty Grable

TALENT: Her beautiful singing voice and was known as the female crooner

KNOWN FOR: Her snarky one liners on TV with husband, Phil. Her wonderful attitude, Calling 20th Century Fox, Penitentiary Fox and her genuineness 

Alice Faye is little known now but she was one of the biggest stars of the 1940s often playing with Don Ameche( 6 films) or Tyrone Power( 3 films) and introducing the famous song, “You’ll Never Know” which became her signature tune even though she did not have the ability to claim rights to sing it nightclubs etc…She was a no nonsense, true lady who grew up in the notorious Hell’s Kitchen where her dad was, actually, a cop. She started in Vaudeville, ending up in a feature lead in George White’s Scandals on Broadway. Rudy Vallée saw her and snapped her up for his radio show and helped show her the ropes. When the star, Lilian Harvey, left the film, “George White’s Scandals”, Alice Faye became the star of the film opposite Rudy Vallée. From there, she became a hit as a wise-cracking gal who looked like Jean Harlow, with the platinum hair and pencil thin eyebrows. Darryl F. Zanuck, from 20th Century Fox,  decided to make her his protégé softening her look by letting go of that platinum hair and letting her eyebrows grow in. After starring with Shirley Temple a couple of times, she really hit her stride in a number of musical films and biopics. She was well liked by directors, stars and staff for her style, always on time, knowing her lines and never having airs. She showed her acting metal in “4 Jill’s and a Jeep” and was given the lead in “Fallen Angel”. When she saw the rushes of that film, she realized her part was cut way back favouring Linda Darnell. Alice was very hurt and angry, walking out and handing her keys to the security guard as she drove off the lot never to return. She only made a few films after that but, with her 2nd husband, Phil Harris, they star on a radio program before going to television. Phil, a part of the Jack Benny show, often referenced his wife and Alice was fine with this since her main focus was on her family and her home. She was one of many that starred in the movie, “Won Ton Ton, The Dog That Saved  Hollywood” and, her last appearance, in an episode of “Love Boat.” She deserves to be better known today but, alas, even big names like Katherine Hepburn and John Wayne are not known by the average person. At least, we have her singing, which many composers thought she was the best, like Irving Berlin, George Gershwin and Cole Porter. She was a true Lady Dame.

FILMS

1. Poor, Little Rich Girl-1936

2. In Old Chicago-1938

3. Alexander’s Ragtime Band-1938

4. Rose Of Washington Square-1939

5. Lillian Russell-1940

6. Tin Pan Alley-1940

7. That Night In Rio-1941

8. Hello, Frisco, Hello-1943

9. The Gang’s All Here-1943

10. Four Jills and  a Jeep-1944

11. Fallen Angel-1945

James Mason at the Movies

 

I’m very late because I had to go to a conference  and had  no time u til now. I’m laying in my hotel room and thought of James Mason whom I had a big crush on. I first saw him in those Gainsborough British flicks where he almost always played the villain while Stewart Granger was the hero and Margaret Lockwood was the heroine or the wicked lady ( yes she was Wicked in the film of the same name). He was a lover of animals especially cats and I d love to find his book he wrote and illustrated about his cats. His voice is very distinctive and often imitated and sets him above the usual leading men. Here are 3 films I love him in, oh, I still need to see “Odd Man Out” so I don’t have that one listed.

1. THE SEVENTH VEIL-1945

I fell for this man watching this film when I was a teenager. I wonder why because he’s a narcissistic abuser, but he does have that brooding, dark haired look. He becomes the guardian of this young gal who has an aptitude for the piano. He grills her constantly, she has no life apart from him and the piano making her into a great concert pianist but at the cost of her sanity. Now, the doctor must unveil everything about her to help her find herself. This film was made when psychosis was all the rage and many films were made about this.its well acted and I enjoyed every part of it.

2. BIGGER THAN LIFE-1956

This is an early film about the dangers of prescription drugs. A man, in chronic pain, can’t take it anymore and is willing to die than go on. The doctors find a new drug, cortisone, that can help his pain. He can’t believe how much less his pain is and becomes a new man until he becomes addicted and the side effects come out, this is a hidden gem with James Mason in a tour de force performance. It’s a small film but one that packs a punch.

3. JOURNEY TO THE CENTRE OF THE EARTH-1959

This is one of my favourite movies that I can watch over and over again and always enjoy it. The professor, James Mason, finds an artefact from an explorer and decides to venture to the centre of the earth. He and his student aide, played by Pat Boone (believe it or not) travel to Iceland where they get knocked over the head and thrown into some barn. They are saved by Gertrude the Duck( yes, a duck) and her human, Hans, a big man whom they ask to come with them. One more hurdle, the wife, played by Arlene Dahl, of the dead explorer demands to come as well and they all start down this volcano, include Gertrude, the duck. They meets all sorts of adventures before they encounter dinosaurs ( just big lizards but it’s effective) and the lost city of Atlantis. It’s adventure at its best.

Sorry for being late…take care as now I must get ready, eat breakfast and drive out of Toronto back home.