To Have and Have Not (1944)

 ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆

To Have and Have Not (1944) – H. Hawks

On the surface, director Howard Hawks seems to be capitalising on the earlier success of Casablanca by placing Bogie in a very similar role. Here, he plays Harry Morgan, a former smuggler turned charter fishing boat owner working out of Martinique. The French Vichy government (working with/for the Nazis) has taken over but most of the island’s inhabitants are Free French.  Of course, Bogie claims not to be interested in politics and just minding his own business trying to make a buck, but, as before, he can’t help but throw his lot in with the Resistance. But beginning with the Hemingway novel (and with Faulkner as credited screenwriter), Hawks manages to invest the film with his usual theme:  the importance of honour/professionalism/loyalty and the unspoken bond/love between men who work together. Of course, this is also the film where Bogie met Bacall and apparently the script was rewritten to give them ample screentime to show their chemistry – her role isn’t really central to the main action.  Bogie also loves Walter Brennan’s too-far-gone lush (his first mate) and shows real fondness for Marcel Dalio’s bar owner, Frenchy, for whom he agrees to smuggle some people into (and out of) Martinique. It’s a thriller with time for a few musical numbers (courtesy of Hoagy Carmichael and Bacall) and an easy-going classic charm.

Laura (1944)

☆ ☆ ☆ ☆

Laura (1944) – O. Preminger

Classic noir romance from Otto Preminger that finds police detective Mark McPherson (Dana Andrews) doing his best to solve the murder of Laura Hunt (Gene Tierney) with a long list of suspects including her gigolo-like fiancé (Vincent Price, yes, Vincent Price), his wannabe sugar momma (Judith Anderson), and the bitchy older writer/radio personality (Clifton Webb) who first introduced Laura to society and may feel romantically toward her.  Webb narrates a long flashback sequence where we learn about Laura’s recent life up until the murder.  McPherson’s involvement in the case seems to verge on obsession (and he actually makes a bid for a large portrait of Laura from her estate).  By the end, we do find all the suspects gathered in one room so the detective can make the pinch – but everything is not as it seems (and the rules of the B mystery movie don’t really apply).  Director Otto Preminger handles everything beautifully but this is a certain type of noir, the kind that is a little less dark (despite the central murder), the kind that let’s viewers off the hook rather than implies a wider human darkness.  Later, Preminger would take Andrews further into the darkness and Fritz Lang would also use the actor to portray some flawed characters in some of his late noirs.  Andrews makes more of an impact in these later films.  Here, Gene Tierney and Clifton Webb dominate (and they would be re-paired in The Razor’s Edge two years later); she isn’t quite the femme fatale (she seems nicer) and he is perfect to provide the narration but isn’t the actual hero – in other words, noir conventions/cliches are eschewed here or weren’t yet set.  Adding to the sense of mystery and allure, Laura’s musical theme was a big hit at the time (though not as memorable as The Third Man’s zither).  It goes without saying that this is required viewing for noir aficionados.

Meet Me in St. Louis (1944)

☆ ☆ ☆ ☆

Meet Me in St. Louis (1944) – V. Minnelli

The film projects a homey (dare I say magical) glow of warmth and nostalgia, even for a time and place that none of us ever knew (St. Louis, MO, 1903, based on a memoir by Sally Benson).  We follow the Smith Family, helmed by Leon Ames and Mary Astor, across an eventful year that culminates with the announcement that they must move to New York City.  Of course, this throws everything into chaos.  After all, daughter Esther (Judy Garland) has just begun a starry-eyed romance with handsome boy-next-door John Truett (Tom Drake).  Things aren’t quite working out for older daughter Rose (Lucille Bremer) and her hoped-for beau but she doesn’t want to leave St. Louis.  Nor do the younger kids, Tootie (Margaret O’Brien) and Agnes (Joan Carroll).  During each season, we see their lives revolve around seasonal events (Halloween, Christmas) and we get a sense of the community spirit that exists amongst kids and families.  Vincente Minnelli masterfully directs film so that the interspersed musical numbers, mainly by Garland (and featuring “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas”), seem to further the plot rather than distract from it.  Technicolor works its wonders.  I’m glad I stopped by to spend some time; this is true escapist fare (although perhaps Americans might be more likely to resonate with the major plot dynamic involving a move and that might have positive or negative connotations).

The Scarlet Claw (1944)

☆ ☆ ☆ ☆

The Scarlet Claw (1944) – R. W. Neill

I have fond memories of Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce as Holmes and Watson (respectively). Channel 38 (Boston) used to have a mystery movie every Saturday night (at 11:30 PM, I think) often featuring Sherlock Holmes (or Mr. Moto or Charlie Chan). I used to watch these with my Dad (who often fell asleep). The Scarlet Claw treads the same terrain as the Hound of the Baskervilles, with a spooky creature haunting the marshes of French Quebec (but really a revenge killer who is a master of disguise). As usual, Watson is a lovable buffoon but Holmes solves the case anyway.

Laura (1944)

☆ ☆ ☆ ☆

Laura (1944) – O. Preminger

Less a film noir than a mysterious romance, between a cop and a dead lady, presided over by Clifton Webb, in fine bitchy form. Vincent Price is a gigolo. The result is all sweeping strings and elegant cocktails (and probably a lot of suspense, if I hadn't seen it before).

Lifeboat (1944)

☆ ☆ ☆ ☆

Lifeboat (1944) – A. Hitchcock

Hitch strands a bunch of character actors (with Talluhlah Bankhead!) in a soundstage tank during WWII for a surprisingly pacy anti-Nazi tale. Daringly, the film raises some questions about mob behavior (and guilt) even in the context of its propaganda for the allies.

At Land/A Study in Choreography for Camera/Ritual in Transfigured Time/Meditation on Violence (1944-1948)

☆ ☆ ☆ ☆

At Land/A Study in Choreography for Camera/Ritual in Transfigured Time/Meditation on Violence (1944-1948) – M. Deren

After completing Meshes of the Afternoon in collaboration with Alexander Hamid, Maya Deren went on to make four more short films that helped to flesh out and clarify her ideas.  In At Land, she sets off from Meshes’s juxtaposition of four steps each on a different terrain to show herself climbing up a tree into a dinner party and onward to other locales; P. Adams Sitney (whose book I am reading) notes how she edits time as well as space, moving more swiftly than possible from one sand dune to the next in the closing minutes. A Study in Choreography briefly shows a dancer transposed (across three minutes) into different locations as the dance continues, cutting on movement to keep a smooth flow. Meditation on Violence similarly shows a Chinese martial artist demonstrating Shaolin and Wu Tang styles (as well as some swordplay) first forwards on different sets and then in reverse (although unless you looked closely perhaps this might not be so noticeable).  Sitney spends most of the remainder of the chapter discussing Ritual in Transfigured Time which does seem the most complex of the films. Here Deren plays a smaller role while another woman first rolls up yarn that Deren gives her and then is beckoned to a party.  The party itself involves numerous repeated sequences of people embracing or reaching out to greet each other which is a masterful demonstration of editing (and prolonging of time). Then, we are treated to sensuous dancing which takes a Greek turn when the male dancer, naked from the waist up, is then seen on a pedestal, soon leaping off in slow and interrupted motion.  Unlike in her first film, these later films do not contain much of a narrative that allows any psychodramatic interpretation to be laid upon them – everything is form rather than content (as far as I can tell). Deren then left for Haiti where she had intended (with the help of a grant from Guggenheim) to continue an examination of local rituals (Voudoun) in comparison to children’s games – but her experiences there changed her views and she made few subsequent films, dying young.  Nevertheless, her contribution to avant-garde film, focused on shifting time and space perspectives as well as movement and choreography are thought-provoking and deep.

The Miracle of Morgan’s Creek (1944)

☆ ☆ ☆ ☆

The Miracle of Morgan’s Creek (1944) – P. Sturges

What the miracle actually is, I’ll leave to you to find out.  It’s revealed quite late in the piece and it’s a testament to Preston Sturges’ clever screenwriting that you can’t guess despite the clues.  The screenplay is as madcap as the one he wrote for The Palm Beach Story and Sturges again proves himself as willing as any good satirist to traipse on moral norms, tweaking the Hays Office and/or the audience (who apparently loved it).  When saying goodbye to “our boys” headed overseas for WWII, Trudy (Betty Hutton) accidentally gets herself married and in a family way. The trouble is that she doesn’t remember the night or the husband and apparently used a fake name on the certificate.  In steps humble Norval (Eddie Bracken), excused from service for high blood pressure (or is that nervousness?), to save Trudy’s reputation.  William Demarest is a riot as Trudy’s exploding constable father and Diana Lynn is wicked as her sane sister. The film is so funny, Sturges brought Bracken and Demarest (a regular) back for another take in Hail the Conquering Hero.

A Canterbury Tale (1944)

☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ½

A Canterbury Tale (1944) – M. Powell & E. Pressburger

The more I sit down to watch what I think are going to be “minor” works by Powell and Pressburger (creators of The Red Shoes and Black Narcissus), the more I find myself bowled over by masterpieces of wonderment. Although not as amazing as (5 star rated) I Know Where I Am Going (1945), this lyrical wartime idyll follows three young people who find themselves in the tiny village of Chillingbourne, located on the pilgrim’s road to Canterbury Cathedral (made famous by Chaucer, who gets a nod in the opening moments of the film). A mysterious “Glue Man” is putting said substance in women’s hair in startling after dark attacks and the three leads (a “land girl” sent to help production on a local farm, an American GI, and a British soldier) try to solve the mystery.  But Powell and Pressburger are less interested in the Glue Man and more interested in showing us the beauty of the English countryside and its simple pleasures.  As our three pilgrims make their way to Canterbury, we are treated to a wave of cinematic epiphanies, truly glorious moments, and a rather plotless poetic film suddenly gains structure as they each receive the blessings that they had been seeking.  Only the Glue Man’s quest remains.