ECSTASY (1933, CZECHOSLOVOKIA), SAMSON AND DELILAH (1948), BOMBSHELL: THE HEDY LAMARR STORY (2017)

Hedy Kielser naked and afraid
 in Ecstasy

The Czech film Ecstasy is a somewhat puzzling film to watch. It is about a bride named Eva who is on her honeymoon with her older husband named Emil and suddenly realizes she doesn't love him and leaves him to go back to the comfort of her family. While swimming and chasing a horse before she is able to get her clothes on she meets a builder who eventually becomes her lover. Emil eventually comes back to try to reconcile with Eva and complications ensue.

Ecstasy director Gustav Machaty and his cinematographer definitely have some cinematic skill with their often offbeat camera angles and slow pacing. The film itself often plays like a silent, with minutes between dialogue even though sound had been around for several years when this film was shot! It's not a bad film now that I think about it, but there's really only one reason it's remembered today.

Heddy Lamar: Eva is played by Austrian Hedy Kiesler, who later became famous in America under the name of Heddy Lamar. Her scene when she is running after her horse in the nude was considered quite scandalous at the time, but it did give her some attention which later led to her emigration to the United States and becoming a star for MGM studios in the 40's.

Heddy Lamar using her body 

in Sampson and Delilah

Samson and Delilah was one of the biggest hits MGM and director Cecil B. Demille had during the 1940's.

Heddy Lamar played the seductive temptress Delilah and she did indeed have looks to kill for...or at least get your haircut for. I actually liked this film more than I thought I would (I think I'm just growing soft for old movies). The final destruction of the temple as well as other action scenes (such as Samson kicking ass with the jawbone of an ass) makes for a pretty good spectacle and Lamar's co-star Victor Mature is able as the mighty Samson. We also have on hand a young Angela Lansbury as Delilah's sister and the always wonderful (to me) George Sanders as the Saran.

 

Heddy Lamar using her brain
in Bombshell: The Heddy Lamar Story

The last film of my Heddy Lamar triple feature is the documentary Bombshell: The Heddy Lamar Story. This film shows Heddy's rise from a Czech ingenue to a major Hollywood star, her many marriages and the many peaks and valleys of her career before becoming a recluse later in life. 

One of the noted aspects of this documentary is showing Heddy's...brain. She is credited (or maybe not credited enough) with the development of "frequency hopping"to prevent enemy subs and such for picking up on messages delivered to allies during World War II. She and George Antheil were awarded a patent on this in 1942 and was used as a valuable tool in keeping transmissions secret in subsequent years (and wars.)

1949 BEST MOVIE OF THE YEAR!

This is my choice (choices) for Best Picture for the year 1949.  My criteria is that I can only use films that are on the 1001 list. To make it a little easier on myself, I am using the rules of the first Academy Award and name a winner for Best Picture (won by Wings for 1927-1928) and Best and Unique and Artistic Picture (won by Sunrise from 1927-1928). 

A little slim pickings for one of the top spots this year, though The Third Man was clearly going to get one of them.

And the nominees on the entries from every edition of 1001 Movie You Must See Before You Die are...

The Heiress
Kind Hearts and Coronets
Gun Crazy
Adam's Rib
Whiskey Galore
White Heat
The Reckless Moment
On the Town

And the winner for the Best Picture of 1949 is…Kind Hearts and Coronets

Kind Hearts and Coronets

These days, Kind Hearts and Coronets may be better known as the inspiration for the Broadway Tony winner Gentleman's Guide to Murder. The original is a very witty black comedy featuring a deadly but erudite leading man bent on revenge, two lovely ladies vying for his attention and Alec Guiness as several members of the Ascoyne family that seem to be prone to fatal mishaps.

Kind Hearts and Coronets

And the Award for Unique and Artistic Picture of 1949 is...The Third Man

The Third Man

Director Carol Reed and writer Graham Greene's The Third Man, is a film noir set in post WWII Vienna, where the black market is running amuck. I do wonder how a largely English film made the AMERICAN Film Institute top 100 list, whether deserving or not? David O'Selznick was one of the producers, and it does have American stars Joseph Cotten and Orson Welles, so I guess that was enough. Regardless, this film should be seen no matter what list it pops up on. The score features nothing but a zither, which I thought was great. Opinions on the zither differ.

Favorite The Third Man quote:
Harry Lime: "In Italy for 30 years under the Borgias they had warfare, terror, murder, and bloodshed, but they produced Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, and the Renaissance. In Switzerland they had brotherly love - they had 500 years of democracy and peace, and what did that produce? The cuckoo clock."
or Holly Martins: "Hey, satchelfoot! Who's your boss?"

I don’t know why I like this second quote so much. It’s what Cotton says right before he finds out Harry Lime is still alive. If I am calling out to someone and don’t know who it is, I like to yell out, “Hey Satchelfoot, who’s your boss?” Don’t you? No? Well, lets move on then.

The Third Man

1948 BEST MOVIE OF THE YEAR!

This is my choice (choices) for Best Picture for the year 1948.  My criteria is that I can only use films that are on the 1001 list. To make it a little easier on myself, I am using the rules of the first Academy Award and name a winner for Best Picture (won by Wings for 1927-1928) and Best and Unique and Artistic Picture (won by Sunrise from 1927-1928). 

1948 features two clear winners for this category, though there are definitely some other movies that may have taken the prize had it been a year removed.

And the nominees on the entries from every edition of 1001 Movie You Must See Before You Die are...
The Bicycle Thief
Letter from an Unknown Woman
Secret Beyond the Door
Force of Evil
Spring in a Small Town
Red River
Rope
The Snake Pit
The Lady from Shanghai
The Pale Face
The Red Shoes
The Treasure of Sierra Madre
Louisiana Story

                    

And the winner for the Best Picture of 1948 is…The Treasure of the Sierra Madre

The Treasure of the Sierra Madre

I try not to state on this blog that a movie is great. I may say how much I liked a movie. You can’t argue with that. But who am I to determine the aesthetic merits of a particular work of art or film? That being said, I’m willing to go out on a limb on this one.

The Treasure of Sierra Madre is a great film.

I can't even explain why it's great, so I'm not going to try.

However, I can safely say that Humphrey Bogart and Walter and John Huston were great.

And I still don’t know who the elusive author B Traven was.

And I still don’t have to show you no stinkin’ badges.

Just watch if you haven't seen it.

Red River is one of my favorite westerns and would have been a worthy choice in a different year. Unfortunately it came out the same year of my favorite western.

The Treasure of the Sierra Madre

And the Award for Unique and Artistic Picture of 1948 is...The Bicycle Thief

The Bicycle Thief

De Sica's artistic neo-realistic triumph of one man's life spiraling out of control seems the obvious winner for this category for 1948. Might be viewed as a double feature with Pee Wee's Big Adventure (another search for a lost bike) or The Player, a movie where producer Tim Robbins goes to see The Bicycle Thief  before he kills a screenwriter.

The Bicycle Thief

1947 BEST MOVIE OF THE YEAR!

This is my choice (choices) for Best Picture for the year 1947.  My criteria is that I can only use films that are on the 1001 list. To make it a little easier on myself, I am using the rules of the first Academy Award and name a winner for Best Picture (won by Wings for 1927-1928) and Best and Unique and Artistic Picture (won by Sunrise from 1927-1928). 

After fifteen tough choices for 1946, the 1001 book only has four movies from 1947! I seem to like actual Best Picture winner Gentleman's Agreement more than many, but it didn't make the 1001 list.

And the nominees on the entries from every edition of 1001 Movie You Must See Before You Die are...

Gilda
Monsieur Verdoux
Out of the Past
The Ghost and Mrs. Muir
Odd Man Out

  And the winner for the Best Picture of 1947 is…Out of the Past

 Out of the Past

The tough guy in a trench coat and a snap brimmed hat played by Robert Mitchum is trying to go straight. He's got a new life and a new girl, but his past comes back to haunt him. Other classic noir elements from Out of the Past include: the beautiful but deadly dame played by Jane Greer, the crime boss played by Kirk Douglas who keeps sucking Mitchum back into his old life, the dark setting and tone from director Jacques Tourneur, and of course that snappy dialogue from screenwriter Daniel Mainwairing. We also get a complicated plot that is more than a bit confusing at times, but as long as you can kind of keep up with who is double crossing who and what the motivations of the characters are, you'll be alright. This seems like the best choice from the limited number of 1001 choices presented for Best Picture for 1947.

Out of the Past

And the Award for Unique and Artistic Picture of 1947 is...Monsieur Verdoux

Monsieur Verdoux

It’s interesting to see Chaplin in a guise other that of the little tramp. In Monsieur Verdoux, Charlie plays a modern day Bluebeard who marries or takes advantage of middle-aged women for their money and disposes of them afterwards. It is pretty funny despite the dark subject matter, especially some of the scenes with Chaplin and Martha Raye (a later generation came to know her as: Martha Raye: denture wearer, but she was a talented comedienne in back in the day).

All these later Chaplin films tended to end with a bit of moralizing. This one might be best summed up with Verdoux calling himself an amateur murderer compared to the systematic murders of states about to go into a bloody world war. Kill a few they give you the guillotine, kill a lot they make you a king.
It wouldn’t be my first film recommendation for those uninitiated with Chaplin, but I think it is deserving of its place in the 1001 movie book and about the only film of these four that I can see as the winner of Unique and Artistic Production for this year.

Monsieur Verdoux

1946 BEST MOVIE OF THE YEAR!

This is my choice (choices) for Best Picture for the year 1946.  My criteria is that I can only use films that are on the 1001 list. To make it a little easier on myself, I am using the rules of the first Academy Award and name a winner for Best Picture (won by Wings for 1927-1928) and Best and Unique and Artistic Picture (won by Sunrise from 1927-1928). 

Unlike 1945, 1946 gave me too many choices instead of too few.

And the nominees on the entries from every edition of 1001 Movie You Must See Before You Die are...
The Best Years of Our Life
Brief Encounter
Paisan
The Postman Always Rings Twice
My Darling Clementine
The Stranger
Beauty and the Beast
The Big Sleep
The Killers
A Matter of Life and Death
Great Expectations
Notorious
Black Narcissus
It's a Wonderful Life

And the winner for the Best Picture of 1946 is…It's a Wonderful Life

It's a Wonderful Life

There were so many worthwhile choices from this year, but how could I not go with the story of George Bailey, Bedford Falls and a guardian angel named Clarence? How many times have I seen this movie? Too many to count and it always hits the spot the right way. It's got to be the winner. The other category was a little harder.

It's a Wonderful Life

And the Award for Unique and Artistic Picture of 1946 is...A Matter of Life and Death

A Matter of Life and Death

Labeling which films should be categorized as Unique and Artistic is difficult. Maybe that's one reason the Academy dumped this award after one year.

A Matter of Life and Death doesn't have the epic narrative arc of the The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp or the scenic romanticism of I Know Where I'm Going!, but A Matter of Life and Death is the Powell/Pressburger film of the three that I enjoyed the most.

The plot of a doomed pilot that is snatched from the jaws of death accidentally and finds his true love is pretty similar plotwise to the later Heaven Can Wait. The film's fantasy elements and use of color and black and white film give the film an otherworldly effect similar to The Wizard of Oz. The section of the film with the pilot trying to make a case to stay on earth could have ventured into over sentimentalization, but never does. In fact, his trial before jurors from the after-life might be the highlight of the film.

The leads of David Niven and Kim Hunter in the film are fine. But the two performers that really stand out are Raymond Massey as the celestial prosecutor and Roger Livesy (who was in the other two films I mentioned and has one of the greatest screen voices of all-time) as the doctor.

A Matter of Life and Death

1945 BEST MOVIE OF THE YEAR!

This is my choice (choices) for Best Picture for the year 1945.  My criteria is that I can only use films that are on the 1001 list. To make it a little easier on myself, I am using the rules of the first Academy Award and name a winner for Best Picture (won by Wings for 1927-1928) and Best and Unique and Artistic Picture (won by Sunrise from 1927-1928). 

This was a difficult year as no movie seemed quite right, so I went off the reservation for my top choice.

And the nominees on the entries from every edition of 1001 Movie You Must See Before You Die are...
The Battle of San Pietro
Spellbound
Mildred Pierce
Children of Paradise
Open City
The Lost Weekend
Detour
I Know Where I'm Going!

                    

And the winner for the Best Picture of 1945 is…Detour

Detour

Like the main character in this film who takes an unscheduled detour on the way to California to see his girl, I too am living dangerously in choosing this one. I checked out Five Killer Classics DVD from the library (wish also includes 1001 entry The Stranger) and guess what? No bonus features! Whoa, talk about walking on a tightrope, sister. And when I tried to pull up the subtitles option so’s I could catch me all the dialogue-there was none! Even the film itself had a couple of scenes that looked like it was going to crackle and pop right off my television! Help! Help! Where’s the film restoration department! But honestly, if you’re going to watch a copy of a film that’s on the cheap, watch Detour. Made for what looks like a hundred bucks-but if someone were to ask me what’s a typical film noir film-I’d probably say Detour! So typical, I'm giving it the top spot in a year with good films, but nothing else that felt quite Best Picture worthy.

Detour

And the Award for Unique and Artistic Picture of 1945 is...The Children of Paradise

Children of Paradise

Les enfants du paradis does the impossible. It makes you care for and actually weep for a mime. Comment nous avez-vous l'amour, Baptiste! The Children of Paradise is an easy winner for this year for Unique and Artistic Picture for 1945. Described as an example of "poetic realism." this French film celebrating theater, live performance and every emotion imaginable, I couldn't resist having my two movie winners from this year being from opposite sides of the celluloid coin.

Children of Paradise

1944 BEST MOVIE OF THE YEAR!

This is my choice (choices) for Best Picture for the year 1944.  My criteria is that I can only use films that are on the 1001 list. To make it a little easier on myself, I am using the rules of the first Academy Award and name a winner for Best Picture (won by Wings for 1927-1928) and Best and Unique and Artistic Picture (won by Sunrise from 1927-1928). 

The classic Billy Wilder film noir was an easy choice, despite this being an excellent year for films of this ilk. The choice for the artistic slot was  more difficult. 

And the nominees on the entries from every edition of 1001 Movie You Must See Before You Die are...
Meet Me in St. Louis
To Have and Have Not
Laura
Gaslight
Henry V
Ivan the Terrible
Double Indemnity
Murder, My Sweet

                    

And the winner for the Best Picture of 1944 is…Double Indemnity

Double Indemnity

Billy Wilders’ film based on the James M Cain book is considered by many the first film noir. The plot is about an insurance man (Fred MacMurray) who gets involved with an unhappy young wife (Barbara Stanwyck) and they both plot to do away with her husband and collect the life insurance money. I still really like Double Indemnity, I’m happy to say. Stanwyck is good and the usually likeable MacMurray is even more effective in this change of pace role. The one draw back, which has also been pointed out by others, is the “lack of heat” between the lovers MacMurray and Stanwyck.* They kiss a little and occasionally change positions on the sofa during scene breaks. I honestly can’t tell if they just had sex or were about to play a game of Parcheesi. The major problem, of course, stems from the censorship of the era. I’ve mentioned before that I thought censorship may have actually helped some films from this era as it forced filmmakers to be more creative. In this case, I think if hurt in some of the things they couldn't show, such as not showing that Stawyck and MacMurray (gasp!) probably slept together. However, this is a small complaint to a film that would still be on my favorite 100 films of all-time if I ever take the time to compile such a list.** The setting, music, tone, direction and story are all first class in my book.***

And the Elisha Cook Jr. supporting player award goes to…Edward G. Robinson. MacMurray and Stanwyck are impressive in their roles as lovers, but Robinson as the Insurance claims adjuster absolutely steals this movie in every scene he is in. When he goes on and on about statistics on suicides, he’s really fun to watch (I'm not kidding!).

And the first James M. Cain cuckold award goes to…Tom Powers as Stanwyck’s doomed husband. Cheated on and murdered. And not as good a role as Cecil Kellaway had in The Postman Always Rings Twice. Sorry, Tom.

*For more heat of course, you could just watch Body Heat.
** Still haven’t taken the time to compile such a list
***Book for sale in your theater lobby.

Double Indemnity

And the Award for Unique and Artistic Picture of 1944 is...Henry V

Henry V

I think it's interesting that the 1001 book includes Laurence Olivier's Henry V (1944) over his more famous and Oscar winner Hamlet from four years later. Henry V has beautiful color and costumes, a distinctive style, skilled acting and creative storytelling. One of the most interesting aspects of the piece is how the beginning is depicted as a performance at the Globe Theater in 1600 before seamlessly morphing into something more cinematic.

For more on the life of Olivier, you may want to check out Donald Spoto's informative Laurence Olivier: A Biography (HarperCollins,1991).

Henry V

1943 BEST MOVIE OF THE YEAR!

This is my choice (choices) for Best Picture for the year 1943.  My criteria is that I can only use films that are on the 1001 list. To make it a little easier on myself, I am using the rules of the first Academy Award and name a winner for Best Picture (won by Wings for 1927-1928) and Best and Unique and Artistic Picture (won by Sunrise from 1927-1928). 

Mob mentality run amok and yet another Hitchcock!

And the nominees on the entries from every edition of 1001 Movie You Must See Before You Die are...
Meshes of the Afternoon
Fires Were Started
The Man in Grey
The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp
I Walked with a Zombie
The Seventh Victim
The Ox-Bow Incident
Shadow of a Doubt
Ossessione

                    

And the winner for the Best Picture of 1943 is…Shadow of a Doubt

Shadow of a Doubt

The plot of Alfred Hitchcock'sl suspense classic Shadow of a Doubt really unravels slowly, but I didn’t mind that. The story gets where its going at its own speed and the slow arc heightens the drama. A good cast (led by Joseph Cotton and Teresa Wright), a good story and a pretty decent director too.

And as I often do when I spot them I must point out a great librarian moment. Teresa Wright has got to get hold of a newspaper article from the local public library that may or may not incriminate her Uncle. But the library has just closed! And what does the kindly librarian do? She lets the distraught young lady in and gets down the newspaper in question and gives Teresa three minutes to find the article she is looking for so the plot can continue. A thoughtful professional, I must say.
Let this be a reminder: If you need to use the public library, please make note of library hours and judge your time accordingly. Librarians have lives too!

Shadow of a Doubt

And the Award for Unique and Artistic Picture of 1943 is...The Ox-Bow Incident

The Ox-Bow Incident

I remember back in the days of Poli Sci at good ole watching this film along with a film about the Leo Frank/Mary Phagan criminal case. Both are good examples of mob justice reaching the wrong conclusion.

After Viewing: Another case of a studio head (Zanuck of Fox) making a film that he knew wasn’t going to make a profit simply because he (buoyed by the persistence of director William Wellman) knew it could be memorable film. And he was right in my opinion.

Glamorous leading ladies needed: So much for the glamorous leading ladies of the forties. The two females with any screen time at all in this film are Jane “Ma Joad” Darwell and Margaret “Wicked Witch of the West” Hamilton.

DVD commentator discrepancy: Two commentators on this DVD. One, William Wellman Jr., discusses how rare it is that his father would change any original material when he adapted a book for a film. The other commentator then gives us several examples, including two characters that were morphed into one, of how the senior Wellman did just what is son said he almost never did!

I did give Colonel Blimp and Ossessione some consideration for this category. So it goes.

The Ox-Bow Incident

1942 BEST MOVIE OF THE YEAR!

This is my choice (choices) for Best Picture for the year 1942. My criteria is that I can only use films that are on the 1001 list. To make it a little easier on myself, I am using the rules of the first Academy Award and name a winner for Best Picture (won by Wings for 1927-1928) and Best and Unique and Artistic Picture (won by Sunrise from 1927-1928). 

All this and World War II.

And the nominees on the entries from every edition of 1001 Movie You Must See Before You Die are...
The Palm Beach Story
Now, Voyager
Casablanca
To Be or Not to Be
Cat People
The Magnificent Ambersons
Yankee Doodle Dandy
Mrs. Miniver

And the winner for the Best Picture of 1942 is…To Be or Not to Be

To Be or Not to Be

It has been many years since I've seen To Be or Not to Be, and after watching it again, I think it is rightly regarded as a classic. The story is about a company of Polish actors during the time of the Nazi invasion of Poland in 1939. The plot is thick with intrigue, but most of all it's also a very funny film. The cast is headed by Jack Benny. Jack later became one of the biggest stars on television during the 50's, where he always made fun of his movie career. But he is great in the lead role and very funny. His delivery at times reminds me of Groucho Marx, who is about the only other person I could picture playing this role of the hammy actor. This is also the last role for Carole Lombard, who died in an airplane crash shortly after this movie was made. She was also great here and her death was a great loss to cinema. I also like the fact that this movie came out right in the middle of World War II. Something to be said for mocking Hitler when he was still a force to be reckoned with. Much credit should also be given to director Ernest Lubitsch and screenwriters Melchior Lengyel and Edwin Justus Mayer. 

To Be or Not to Be

And the Award for Unique and Artistic Picture of 1942 is...Casablanca

Casablanca

How can I leave out Casablanca? Like Citizen Kane, the story of Rick, Ilsa and the rest of the Casablanca gang is such a classic (and still so bloody entertaining) that it would have to go in a category somewhere. The only question should it go in the art piece category? I'm not even sure what year to put it in. It did have a brief 1942 release, but didn't win the Oscar until the following year. I'm just putting it down for 1942, though it would win for me for 1943, too.

Casablanca

1941 BEST MOVIE OF THE YEAR!

This is my choice (choices) for Best Picture for the year 1941.  My criteria is that I can only use films that are on the 1001 list. To make it a little easier on myself, I am using the rules of the first Academy Award and name a winner for Best Picture (won by Wings for 1927-1928) and Best and Unique and Artistic Picture (won by Sunrise from 1927-1928). 

This year is often noted as being the best year of the Classic Movie era. There are a lot of potential choices here, but my two winners seem pretty clear.

And the nominees on the entries from every edition of 1001 Movie You Must See Before You Die are...
Citizen Kane
The Lady Eve
The Wolfman
The Maltese Falcon
Sergeant York
Dumbo
High Sierra
Sullivan's Travels
How Green Was My Valley

                    

And the winner for the Best Picture of 1941 is…Sullivan's Travels

Sullivan's Travels

Disgruntled motion picture director John L. Sullivan decides he wants to make a more social significant film called O Brother, Where Art Thou? Despite the studio's objection, Sullivan decides he wants to live among the poor to get a better understanding of their plight.

Sappy? A bit. Corny? Definitely. Improbable? Certainly.

I don't care. Sullivan's Travel's remains one of my favorite movies from Hollywood's golden age. Joel McCrea as Sullivan and Veronica Lake as his love interest are perfect in the lead roles. But this is writer/director Preston Sturges's film. We see Sturges the writer in evidence in the rapid fire opening dialogue between Sullivan and the studio executives. We see Sturges the director in evidence in the silent scenes where Sullivan and his girl soak in through several scenes without dialogue the plight of the poor. But probably the most famous scene  is where chain gang prisoners join members of a black church to watch a Mickey Mouse and Pluto cartoon. There's a lot to be said for making people laugh. Did you know that's all some people have? It isn't much, but it's better than nothing in this cockeyed caravan.

Bonus points to Preston Sturges for having too classic comedies (The Lady Eve) out the same year!

Sullivan's Travels

And the Award for Unique and Artistic Picture of 1941 is...Citizen Kane

Citizen Kane

Citizen Kane is of course an artistic masterpiece about the rise/fall/rise/fall of Charles Foster Kane. It also works well just as an entertainment piece and would have been the easy winner in both categories I have here if I hadn't been purposely choosing two movies for each year.. It's a tough cross to bear when many call you the greatest ever, but Kane never disappoints in my book.

http://1001afilmodyssey.blogspot.com/2019/02/citizen-kane-1941.html

Citizen Kane