Showing posts with label Classic Cinema series. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Classic Cinema series. Show all posts

Friday, August 16, 2013

Classic Cinema: D.O.A.

D.O.A. (aka "Dead On Arrival")  (1949) 
Starring: Edmond O'Brien, Pamela Britton, Beverly Garland, Lynne Bagget, Luther Adler, William Ching, and Henry Hart
Director: Rudolph Mate
Rating: Nine of Ten Stars

 Frank Bigalow (O'Brien) is a small town accountant on a spur-of-the-moment vacation in San Francisco when he is poisoned by a slow acting toxin with no hope of surviving. He spends his last few hours of life trying to solve his own murder.


"D.O.A." is one of the greatest murder mystery films ever made, as well as a stellar example of the film noir genre as it manifested in American movies. It turns a number of movie and mystery conventions on their heads, and even some six decades after it was made, it feels fresh and exciting as one watches it unfold. The pace grows more frantic as the literal deadline for our hero approaches while the mystery of why he was poisoned seems to grow more elusive with each supposed clue he uncovers. It's a movie that holds up to repeated viewings--it almost demands it, because once you know the answer to the mystery, it's great fun to see how certain scenes take on a different tenor. What this film does with snappy writing, moody lighting, and artful cinematography is amazing... and I wish there was some sign that modern filmmakers watched movies like this and studied them and took lessons away from them. Sadly, this does not appear to be the case.

As great as I think this movie is, it's not perfect. There are a couple of ham-fisted attempts at comedy early on, as Bigalow walks into the middle of a salesman's convention at his hotel; one of the film's villains is portrayed by a performance that goes just a bit too far over-the-top in this film which is otherwise marked by fairly low-key performances; and the overly sinister and melodramatic appearance of the poisoner in the jazz club when a close-in shot of a patron switching Bigalow's drinks wold have been far more effective and in keeping with the rest of the scene. Despite my sense that the director went too far with these three elements, they still make sense within the context of the film, and given the greatness of what surrounds them, they are easily forgiven.

If you're a lover of mystery films or the film noir genre, you absolutely must see "D.O.A.". This goes double if you fancy yourself a writer or a filmmaker; we need more work like this these days. I thought I had reviewed this film years ago, but since I can't seem to find any sign of a post, I must never have gotten around to it. So, although my intent was to just make an entry in the "Classic Cinema" series and give you the chance to watch this great film right here, I figured there was no time like the present.

And there's no time like the present for you to watch "D/O.A."/ I've embedded it below for your enjoyment.



Friday, July 12, 2013

Classic Cinema: The Cat and the Canary

"The Cat and the Canary" is a 1927 film that many of those who like to think they know how to make a horror film, as well as many of those who think they know how to make a comedy REALLY need to sit down and study.


"The Cat and the Canary" is one of the earliest horror films and it remains one of the best. The scary bits are as scary today as they were in 1927... and the same is true of the funny bits. There are even some visual flourishes that few filmmakers have managed to best in nearly 90 years since its release.

You can watch the film in its entirely right here on this page. The version I've embedded features somewhat better musical selection that many versions out there, but it's still rather random. Personally, I like watching silent films to Mike Oldfield CDs like "Ommadawn" and "Incantations."

Click on the arrow below to start the film, or click here to read a longer set of comments from me first.


Friday, July 5, 2013

Classic Cinema: Hitchcock's "Young and Innocent"

This 1937 film by Alfred Hitchcock is one of my favorites from the great director.

"Young and Innocent" is one of Hitchcock's many "wrongfully accused man on the run to prove his innocence" tales, but it's one I never get tired of watching. Nova Pilbeam and Derrick de Marney are perhaps as good as they ever were in this quick-moving film that dances deftly from drama to comedy to nail-biting thriller mode and back again over and over. And the climax at the restaurant is something filmmakers should look at and try to emulate even today.



Check out this week's "Classic Cinema" entry. If you've never watched early Hitchcock, "Young and Innocent" is a great place to start. (It's actually a better film than some of his more famous 1930s efforts.) Click here to read my review, or feel free to go straight to the movie below. And have a great weekend!.

Friday, June 28, 2013

Classic Cinema: The Man Who Changed His Mind

This time around in Classic Cinema, Boris Karloff plays an obsessed scientist who has found the secret of the human soul and how to preserver it and transfer it between bodies. He summons his prize student, played by Anna Lee, to help him in the final stages of his research... but that's when things start to go horribly wrong.


"The Man Who Changed His Mind" is a spectacular early sci-fi/horror flick from England. The script is expertly paced and hits all the right notes, humorous, dramatic, and horrific. The cast all give fine performances, the script hits but Anna Lee is the true stand-out among the cast. Watch for the scene where she teeters on the brink between brilliance and madness herself -- it's a powerful bit of acting that's done purely with her eyes and facial expressions.

Click below to watch "The Man Who Changed His Mind" in its entirety, or click here to read my review first.

Friday, June 21, 2013

Classic Cinema: Curtain at Eight

Get the weekend stared right by watching a classic murder mystery where everyone's a suspect, including the chimp.

Is Dorothy MacKaill happy he's dead, or just smiling for the camera?
Click below to watch "Curtain at Eight" in its entirety, or click here to read my review first.

Friday, June 14, 2013

Classic Cinema: Impact


Time for another one of my favorite old time movies. "Impact" is a "film'noir" crime drama with a basic set-up (an unfaithful wife and her lover plan to kill her rich husband, but things go wrong) that's followed by all manner of twists and turns. It's lots of fun to watch, and it sports a great cast of actors. Click here to read my review, or go straight to the movie.

Have a happy Friday!

Friday, May 31, 2013

Classic Cinema: The Death Kiss

"The Death Kiss" is one of my all-time favorite old movies. It's a fast-paced mystery with some clever twists and turns, well-written dialogue delivered by a top-notch cast, and a comic relief character that's actually more funny than annoying; if you're a lover of old B-movies, you know how rare that is.


For film buffs, "The Death Kiss" provides not only an hour's worth of quality entertainment, but a look into the working life on a studio lot, as the characters are mostly actors, technicians, or studio executives in the process of making a movie that ahares its title with this one. Additionally, it features a re-teaming of the stars of Universal's "Dracula"--David Manners, Edward Van Sloan, and Bela Lugosi. They are playing very different characters here than in their previous collaboration. Further, Manners and Van Sloan both give far better performances here than they did in "Dracula.

 I hope you have the time to check out "The Death Kiss".. I'm sure you'll enjoy it! Click here to read my review of it, or go straight to the film below.

 

Thursday, April 18, 2013

Classic Cinema: The Royal Bed


Classic Cinema (also known as Movie Monday at various times) returns with "The Royal Bed," an obscure classic political comedy starring greats such as Lowell Sherman and Mary Astor. You can read my review by clicking here... and then watch this undeservedly obscure film.

 

Monday, October 8, 2012

Halloween is coming...

... so here's a chance to watch one of my all-time favorite horror films, right here at Shades of Gray, uncut and digitized from a print that I think was in better shape than the one used to make the DVD copy I paid good money for.



Click here read my review of "White Zombie"--and the sit back and enjoy the wonderfully creepy show!

White Zombie (1932)
Starring: Bela Lugosi, Madge Bellamy, Robert Frazer, John Harron, and Joseph Cawthorn
Director: Victor Halperin
Rating: Nine of Ten Stars