As the spouse of a school librarian that has faced book challenges, I don't think I can be impartial. But even if I wasn't, as a free-thinking American that appreciates his inalienable freedom of expression, I don't think I could be impartial in the arena of people who don't want art to be seen. And as a film archivist, whose experience has shown over the years that you can never predict what will become important in the future, I cannot abide by those who deem it their duty to decide for others what has meaning and significance, and what is or isn't appropriate to feel or think.
As such, I support the American Library Association, and you should too, in this week (Sept. 25-Oct. 2) as they celebrate the annual Banned Books Week. There are activities scheduled all around the country, but if you don't want to, or can't make one of the events, just try one of these:
1. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
2. The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
3. The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
4. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
5. The Color Purple by Alice Walker
6. Ulysses by James Joyce
7. Beloved by Toni Morrison
8. The Lord of the Flies by William Golding
9. 1984 by George Orwell
10. The Sound and the Fury by William Faulkner
11. Lolita by Vladmir Nabokov
12. Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
13. Charlotte's Web by E. B. White
14. A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man by James Joyce
15. Catch-22 by Joseph Heller
16. Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
17. Animal Farm by George Orwell
18. The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway
19. As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner
20. A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway
21. Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad
22. Winnie-the-Pooh by A. A. Milne
23. Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston
24. Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison
25. Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison
These are the top 25 challenged classic books. The list goes to 100. Give your support to the freedom of ideas and laugh in the face of censorship. Read a book!
Monday, September 27, 2010
Thursday, September 23, 2010
Vicki (1953)
From AFI:
"After the slaying of New York glamour girl Vicki Lynn, zealous homicide detective Ed Cornell insists on canceling his vacation and heading the investigation. Upon his arrival at police headquarters, Cornell learns that Steve Christopher, the promoter responsible for Vicki's career, and Jill Lynn, Vicki's sister, are being questioned. Cornell grills the exhausted Christopher, who relates how he met Vicki"
And that's all you really need to know. If you've seen LAURA before, you'll recognize that Fox is trying to capture the same magic again, with the single-named titular heroine, "dead" before the first frame, who had been elevated in stature by a Zvengali-like figure tapped into the culture. They even try to throw you off the scent by having this Zvengali tabbed by the police early as the killer. But instead he becomes the protagonist, the wrong man. But like A CRIME AGAINST JOE, the protagonist doesn't really step outside of proper conduct or find darkness within himself. The psychological obsessiveness comes from other characters - the killer and the cop, but we're never really put in their shoes, only observing them from outside. It was fun, however, to see Aaron Spelling as a creepy little hotel desk manager.
Judgment: Not noir.
"After the slaying of New York glamour girl Vicki Lynn, zealous homicide detective Ed Cornell insists on canceling his vacation and heading the investigation. Upon his arrival at police headquarters, Cornell learns that Steve Christopher, the promoter responsible for Vicki's career, and Jill Lynn, Vicki's sister, are being questioned. Cornell grills the exhausted Christopher, who relates how he met Vicki"
And that's all you really need to know. If you've seen LAURA before, you'll recognize that Fox is trying to capture the same magic again, with the single-named titular heroine, "dead" before the first frame, who had been elevated in stature by a Zvengali-like figure tapped into the culture. They even try to throw you off the scent by having this Zvengali tabbed by the police early as the killer. But instead he becomes the protagonist, the wrong man. But like A CRIME AGAINST JOE, the protagonist doesn't really step outside of proper conduct or find darkness within himself. The psychological obsessiveness comes from other characters - the killer and the cop, but we're never really put in their shoes, only observing them from outside. It was fun, however, to see Aaron Spelling as a creepy little hotel desk manager.
Judgment: Not noir.
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
Terriers 1.1
The FX network has a new crime series on Wednesdays at 10pm. Now, I'd normally give any new FX show a try, but this one is produced by Shawn Ryan, creator of "The Shield", stars Donal Logue, most recently seen in the second season of "Life", and the pilot is directed by Craig Brewer, who also helmed HUSTLE AND FLOW and BLAKE SNAKE MOAN as well as an episode of "The Shield." These are men who know their way around what I like, and while try to remain skeptical about new shows, this one has a longer leash than most.
The Reckless Moment (1949)
From AFI:
"Without telling her family, Lucia Harper drives from her seaside home in Balboa to Los Angeles to warn reprobate Ted Darby to stay away from her seventeen-year-old daughter Beatrice. When Darby agrees to leave Bea alone for a price, Lucia refuses to pay him off, convinced that her daughter will have no interest in a man who would accept that kind of money. Back in Balboa, Bea, who has already spoken to Darby on the phone, does not believe her mother's story and refuses to stop seeing him. Lucia, whose husband Tom is out of town, must handle this problem without his help and forbids Bea to return to art school in Los Angeles. That night, Bea sneaks out of the house and meets Darby in the boathouse, but when he admits that he did ask for money, she strikes out at him in anger with her flashlight. Dazed, Darby stumbles outside and is killed when he falls on top of an anchor. Lucia then discovers her distraught daughter and sends her back to bed. Early the next morning, Lucia finds Darby's body and, not wanting her daughter to be involved in a scandal, dumps the body in the bay along with the anchor that killed him."
From Max Ophuls, the same director who made CAUGHT, in the same year, this film deals with the other side of noir: what happens after the crime. While Leonora from CAUGHT waits all film to find her dark side, here Lucia wastes no time in covering up what she thinks is a murder by her daughter, and this leads her further down the path as she has to cover up her cover-up. Though not as good a film as CAUGHT, it still fits comfortably within the framework of noir and features a female protagonist, a rarity in the genre.
Judgment: noir.
Pay attention to this blog, and you may here more about these titles soon...
"Without telling her family, Lucia Harper drives from her seaside home in Balboa to Los Angeles to warn reprobate Ted Darby to stay away from her seventeen-year-old daughter Beatrice. When Darby agrees to leave Bea alone for a price, Lucia refuses to pay him off, convinced that her daughter will have no interest in a man who would accept that kind of money. Back in Balboa, Bea, who has already spoken to Darby on the phone, does not believe her mother's story and refuses to stop seeing him. Lucia, whose husband Tom is out of town, must handle this problem without his help and forbids Bea to return to art school in Los Angeles. That night, Bea sneaks out of the house and meets Darby in the boathouse, but when he admits that he did ask for money, she strikes out at him in anger with her flashlight. Dazed, Darby stumbles outside and is killed when he falls on top of an anchor. Lucia then discovers her distraught daughter and sends her back to bed. Early the next morning, Lucia finds Darby's body and, not wanting her daughter to be involved in a scandal, dumps the body in the bay along with the anchor that killed him."
From Max Ophuls, the same director who made CAUGHT, in the same year, this film deals with the other side of noir: what happens after the crime. While Leonora from CAUGHT waits all film to find her dark side, here Lucia wastes no time in covering up what she thinks is a murder by her daughter, and this leads her further down the path as she has to cover up her cover-up. Though not as good a film as CAUGHT, it still fits comfortably within the framework of noir and features a female protagonist, a rarity in the genre.
Judgment: noir.
Pay attention to this blog, and you may here more about these titles soon...
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
Human Target 1.12
"Christopher Chance is the guy you go to when no one else can help." This is the "origins" episode that at least partially explains how our team came together, and ties in some of the other threads from this first season, which ends in a cliffhanger, and gets us excited for the 2nd Season premiere on Friday, October 1st. Guest stars for this episode include Armand Assante (Q&A), Lee Majors (The Night the Reindeer Died) and Amy Acker (Angel).
As my wife and I were watching the episode, we ticked off several similarities to the first two episodes of the new CW series "Nikita." They both feature professional assassins trained by secret para-military organizations. Both protagonists have escaped and are trying to take down their previous employers, to different degrees. "So why," the wife asked, "do I like this one so much better?" Well, for me, I think it has to do with the fact that this is a much more traditional adventure show, a throwback not only to the television heroes of the 80s (think Magnum or Spenser - and, now that I think about it, to a lesser degree, shows like "The Fall Guy" with Lee Majors), but to filmed heroes of the last 70 years, right up to the symphonic notes that carry Chance off to the unknown in the last shot of this season. While "Nikita" is ultra-serious, "Human Target" never takes itself too seriously, giving us a chance to smile in between the well-choreographed action scenes. Thumbs up to Fox for bringing us more Christopher Chance.
As my wife and I were watching the episode, we ticked off several similarities to the first two episodes of the new CW series "Nikita." They both feature professional assassins trained by secret para-military organizations. Both protagonists have escaped and are trying to take down their previous employers, to different degrees. "So why," the wife asked, "do I like this one so much better?" Well, for me, I think it has to do with the fact that this is a much more traditional adventure show, a throwback not only to the television heroes of the 80s (think Magnum or Spenser - and, now that I think about it, to a lesser degree, shows like "The Fall Guy" with Lee Majors), but to filmed heroes of the last 70 years, right up to the symphonic notes that carry Chance off to the unknown in the last shot of this season. While "Nikita" is ultra-serious, "Human Target" never takes itself too seriously, giving us a chance to smile in between the well-choreographed action scenes. Thumbs up to Fox for bringing us more Christopher Chance.
Monday, September 20, 2010
Caught (1949)
From AFI:
"Leonora Eames, a young woman from Denver, and her roommate Maxine, a gold-digging model, share a modest Los Angeles apartment and the determination to move up in the world. To that end, Leonora, who works as a carhop, has enrolled in Dorothy Dale's charm school. After graduating from the school, Leonora gets a well-paying job modeling fur coats at a department store. One day, while modeling a coat, a man named Franzi Kartos introduces himself to Leonora and invites her to a party aboard millionaire Smith Ohlrig's yacht. Leonora rejects the invitation because she does not approve of rich men sending scouts to find pretty young women to attend their parties. Maxine, however, convinces Leonora to attend the party, calling it an "investment" in her future. On her way to the party, Leonora meets Smith at the marina, and he persuades her to join him on a late night drive. After sharing a romantic evening with her, Smith takes Leonora to his house and invites her in for a drink. Leonora, however, turns down the offer and asks to be taken home immediately. Smith complies with Leonora's request, but the rejection torments him for some time. Smith tells his psychiatrist about Leonora, and insists that she is like all other women, and that she is merely interested in his money. The psychiatrist disagrees, and tells Smith that he is obsessed about his money and is frustrated at his inability to attract and control Leonora. Angered by his doctor's diagnosis, Smith vows to prove him wrong by marrying Leonora."
This might not sound like the perfect set-up for a film noir, but neither would the first 20 minutes of SCARLET STREET or DESPERATE. This is the type of film that agonizingly shows what it takes to turn one person to criminal acts. What's interesting about this film is that 1) the protagonist is female, and 2) the ultimate crime is not only a crime of non-action, but ultimately unsuccessful. But the motivation and willingness were there. Leonora was at the edge and was ready to cross over, so much so that she admitted guilt without knowing the outcome. She had consented to the crime. Max Ophuls has a real eye for composition that works well within the noir milieu, and enhances the on-screen content.
Judgment: noir.
"Leonora Eames, a young woman from Denver, and her roommate Maxine, a gold-digging model, share a modest Los Angeles apartment and the determination to move up in the world. To that end, Leonora, who works as a carhop, has enrolled in Dorothy Dale's charm school. After graduating from the school, Leonora gets a well-paying job modeling fur coats at a department store. One day, while modeling a coat, a man named Franzi Kartos introduces himself to Leonora and invites her to a party aboard millionaire Smith Ohlrig's yacht. Leonora rejects the invitation because she does not approve of rich men sending scouts to find pretty young women to attend their parties. Maxine, however, convinces Leonora to attend the party, calling it an "investment" in her future. On her way to the party, Leonora meets Smith at the marina, and he persuades her to join him on a late night drive. After sharing a romantic evening with her, Smith takes Leonora to his house and invites her in for a drink. Leonora, however, turns down the offer and asks to be taken home immediately. Smith complies with Leonora's request, but the rejection torments him for some time. Smith tells his psychiatrist about Leonora, and insists that she is like all other women, and that she is merely interested in his money. The psychiatrist disagrees, and tells Smith that he is obsessed about his money and is frustrated at his inability to attract and control Leonora. Angered by his doctor's diagnosis, Smith vows to prove him wrong by marrying Leonora."
This might not sound like the perfect set-up for a film noir, but neither would the first 20 minutes of SCARLET STREET or DESPERATE. This is the type of film that agonizingly shows what it takes to turn one person to criminal acts. What's interesting about this film is that 1) the protagonist is female, and 2) the ultimate crime is not only a crime of non-action, but ultimately unsuccessful. But the motivation and willingness were there. Leonora was at the edge and was ready to cross over, so much so that she admitted guilt without knowing the outcome. She had consented to the crime. Max Ophuls has a real eye for composition that works well within the noir milieu, and enhances the on-screen content.
Judgment: noir.
Friday, September 17, 2010
The Burglar (1957)
From AFI:
"In Philadelphia, soon after burglar Nat Harbin sees a newsreel about a priceless emerald necklace owned by a spiritualist named Sister Sara, he dispatches Gladden, a woman in his gang, to case Sara’s mansion. Pretending to be an admirer of the spiritualist, Gladden gains entrance to the estate and reports back to Nat that the necklace is locked in a safe in Sara’s upstairs bedroom. Gladden continues that Sara always watches newscaster John Facenda’s nightly broadcast. The next evening, as Sara settles into her easy chair in front of the television set, Nat scales the trellis to her bedroom and begins to drill open the safe. While cruising by in their patrol car, two policemen notice Nat’s auto parked outside the estate and stop to investigate, prompting gang members Dohmer and Baylock to signal Nat. Scurrying back down the trellis, Nat approaches the officers and lies that his car has broken down. After the police depart, Nat returns to the safe, removing the necklace just seconds before Sara climbs the stairs to her bedroom. Speeding away into the night, Dohmer, Baylock and Nat drive to their hideout in a run-down tenement. There, Baylock values the necklace at $85,000 and nervously presses Nat to sell it immediately."
A classic set-up for a noir heist film, where the criminals are at each other's throats, and the tension ratchets from the beginning. Dan Duryea is Nat, and Jayne Mansfield is Gladden. Although I don't see much in Mansfield's performance other than a Marilyn Monroe retread, I've really started to like Duryea, who's usually a heel's heel in films like THE WOMAN IN THE WINDOW, SCARLET STREET and CRISS CROSS. In true noir fashion, we are given a reason that Duryea has decided to become a criminal, but in true David Goodis fashion (author of both the source novel and the screenplay) that reason is completely sympathetic and tied to family. The relationship between Duryea and Mansfield is intriguing and a nice change of pace from the norm. There was some location shooting in Philadelphia, Goodis' home, and I'm excited to see if I can spot any of those sites when I go there in November.
Judgment: noir.
"In Philadelphia, soon after burglar Nat Harbin sees a newsreel about a priceless emerald necklace owned by a spiritualist named Sister Sara, he dispatches Gladden, a woman in his gang, to case Sara’s mansion. Pretending to be an admirer of the spiritualist, Gladden gains entrance to the estate and reports back to Nat that the necklace is locked in a safe in Sara’s upstairs bedroom. Gladden continues that Sara always watches newscaster John Facenda’s nightly broadcast. The next evening, as Sara settles into her easy chair in front of the television set, Nat scales the trellis to her bedroom and begins to drill open the safe. While cruising by in their patrol car, two policemen notice Nat’s auto parked outside the estate and stop to investigate, prompting gang members Dohmer and Baylock to signal Nat. Scurrying back down the trellis, Nat approaches the officers and lies that his car has broken down. After the police depart, Nat returns to the safe, removing the necklace just seconds before Sara climbs the stairs to her bedroom. Speeding away into the night, Dohmer, Baylock and Nat drive to their hideout in a run-down tenement. There, Baylock values the necklace at $85,000 and nervously presses Nat to sell it immediately."
A classic set-up for a noir heist film, where the criminals are at each other's throats, and the tension ratchets from the beginning. Dan Duryea is Nat, and Jayne Mansfield is Gladden. Although I don't see much in Mansfield's performance other than a Marilyn Monroe retread, I've really started to like Duryea, who's usually a heel's heel in films like THE WOMAN IN THE WINDOW, SCARLET STREET and CRISS CROSS. In true noir fashion, we are given a reason that Duryea has decided to become a criminal, but in true David Goodis fashion (author of both the source novel and the screenplay) that reason is completely sympathetic and tied to family. The relationship between Duryea and Mansfield is intriguing and a nice change of pace from the norm. There was some location shooting in Philadelphia, Goodis' home, and I'm excited to see if I can spot any of those sites when I go there in November.
Judgment: noir.
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