DL-5

Synopsis: The year is 1927 and Samuel Hollis, (Victor Buono), is livid with is daughter's new beau, John Mayhew, (Bruce Dern), who is planning to elope with Samuel's daughter, Charlotte, (Bette Davis), even though he is still married. Samuel instructs this Romeo to end it with his daughter, at the upcoming dance, once and for all or else. So John proceeds to break Charlotte's heart, at the dance, and winds up dead for it. 37 years later Charlotte is a lonely old spinster who most consider crazy, and the one who killed John, yet the crime remains unsolved. As her beloved home is about to be demolished, to make way for a new road, she calls on her cousin Miriam Deering, (Olivia De Havilland), to come to her rescue. Miriam arrives and things go from bad to worst. Charlotte's trusted maid, Velma Cruter, (Agnes Moorehead), who does not trust Miriam, grows more and more suspicious of Miriam's intentions, but all Miriam, and her ex-beau, Dr. Drew Bayliss, (Joseph Cotten), want to do is help Charlotte get out of her house before the wrecking crew arrives, or so it seems. Meanwhile an investigator for John Mayhew's insurance company, Harry Willis, (Cecil Kellaway), has arrived from London to try and figure out why no one has made a claim against the dead man's policy. Harry interviews both the dead man's widow, Jewel, (Mary Astor), as well as Charlotte and uncovers a lot of information due to his seeming impartiality. As the story progresses Charlotte is loosing her grasp on reality, with the help of the money hungry interlopers who have encroached on her life and have forced her to do horrible things beyond her control, until she finally uncovers the truth.

Recommendations: This black and white gem features brilliant cinematography, (shadows seem to have a staring role in this film), as well as stunning art direction and dead on costume designs. The score is exceptional and interweaves the theme song, "Hush Hush Sweet Charlotte", brilliantly, (does not hurt that the theme song is as catchy as hell). The editing is pitch perfect and enhances the chills as well as the dread and sadness. Add to that an abundant amount of humour and this film is a unique experience. Now to the acting. Let me state this clearly, Agnes Moorehead steals this film. Her Velma is like no other character we have seen before this film. Comic yes, but heartbreaking as well. This performance should be studied for years to come. Against this performance all others would seem mediocre, but that is really not the case. Bette Davis is brilliant as always. Olivia De Havilland puts in a performance the likes I've never seen from her before and is effective. Cecil Kellaway is endearing and Mary Astor is touching, especially when delivering the best line in the film. Victor Buono nails it as usual and even small rolls such as George Kennedy, as the foreman, and Ellen Corby, as one of the gossipers, make the whole thing seem real and incredibly moving. I must also mention Bruce Dern who looks great in his role as the cheating Romeo while also convincing me every step of the way with his acting abilities. All in all, a treat from start to finish, especially Agnes Moorehead's Velma. ("Well Velma's… well Velma").

Synopsis: The Bullock sisters, two high society sisters, Cornelia, (Gail Patrick), and Irene, (Carole Lombard), are on a charity Scavenger Hunt and the last item they need to bring in is a forgotten man. They go to the city dump, by the river, where Cornelia is first to approach a forgotten man, Godfrey Smith, (William Powell), but he finds the whole idea distasteful. As Cornelia flees Godfrey's wrath, Irene stays and helps Godfrey change his mind. Godfrey decides to go along with it for two reasons; one, to help Irene beat snooty Cornelia, and the other, to satisfy his curiosity about people who could come up with such insensitive games. At the Scavenger Hunt headquarters Godfrey proceeds to tell everyone what he thinks of their little game, but only after Irene has won her cup. Irene then decides she wants to help Godfrey and asks him to "butle" for her family. Surprisingly, he shows up the next morning, and then realizes that these two nutty sisters have an equally nutty mother, (Alice Brady), who is sponsoring a freeloading live-in musical protégée, (Mischa Auer), but also a patient and loving father, (Eugene Palette), who is struggling to keep his family normal and his money from drying up. Still, Cornelia refuses to fall for Godfrey's butler skills and charms, (still smarting from their first encounter), and does all she can to drive him off. While working as their butler, Godfrey, (who has not been open about his own well connected family), finds a purpose to his life and it involves helping the Bullock's financially as well as his old friends who still live down at the city dump. Meanwhile, all this time Irene has been falling in love with Godfrey and refuses to take no for an answer. Once all truths have been revealed, Godfrey decides to leave the Bullocks but Irene is not far behind and now Godfrey must face the fact that she will be in his life from now on.

Recommendations: Director, Gregory La Cava, has given us one of the best screw ball comedies ever made. His direction is fast paced, hysterical and even moving. Masterful! The writing is laugh out load brilliant and of course there's the acting. William Powell and Carole Lombard are perfect together. You can feel the chemistry between them and the fact that they both play their roles perfectly is breathtaking. Supported by the incredibly funny Alice Brady, (nobody played nutty better), and a surprisingly effective Mischa Auer, this film soars like no other film. Even actors not normally raved about turn in wonderful comedic/touching performances. Eugene Palette, Gail Patrick, Alan Mowbray, (as Tommy Gray, an old friend of Godfrey's), and Jean Dixon, (as Molly the maid), milk every laugh and tear from this wonderful screenplay. Once you see this you will realize that this gem is more valuable than pearls.

Synopsis: Pearl Chavez, (Jennifer Jones), the half-breed daughter of Scott Chavez, (an American), and his Native American wife, (Tilly Losch), is left orphaned when her father shoots her mother and her mother's lover after they blatantly flaunt their affair in public. As Pearl's father is about to be hanged for these murders, he tells Pearl that he has made arrangements for her to live with his second cousin, Laura Belle McCanles, (Lillian Gish), and hopefully she will be given all the chances to improve her lot in life that she deserves. Laura Belle and Scott were once in love, but Laura Belle chose to marry a rich Texan, Senator Jackson McCanles, (Lionel Barrymore), in stead, and said Senator is not too happy to have Pearl in his house because she is a half-breed and the daughter of his wife's great love. The Senator and Laura Belle have two sons, Jesse, (Joseph Cotton), and Lewton, (Gregory Peck). Jesse is a lawyer and is very thoughtful while Lewton is a violent, spoiled man-boy. Pearl immediately falls for Jesse, but Lewton wants her for his own. Pearl struggles with her emotional attraction to Jesse and her physical attraction to Lewton. Neither one will marry her, (for different reasons), and her confusion and actions become more erratic as her love/lust and inevitable disappointment grows. Pearl tries to break free from her situation, but is never able to. This all leads to a tragic shootout where death seems to be the only salvation.

Recommendations: Legendary director, King Vidor, creates an epic western more in line with Gone With The Wind than Stagecoach. He masterfully directs and frames each shot in beautiful Technicolor. The acting is very good from the usual suspects, Gregory Peck, Lionel Barrymore, Herbert Marshall, Joseph Cotton, Walter Huston, (as the Preacher/Sinkiller), Charles Bickford, (as Sam Pierce the man who may be Pearl's last chance at happiness), Harry Carey, (as Lem Smoot, an old friend of the Senator's), and Butterfly McQueen, (as Vashti the maid). With all that talent around I still must state that it is Jennifer Jones and Lillian Gish that make this epic worth watching. Jennifer Jones does a brilliant job with one of the most complex characters I have ever seen put to film and Lillian Gish, especially in her final seen with Lionel Barrymore, is so exceptional that words escape me. I can not imagine these two performances ever being replicated or improved upon. A visually stunning film with two great performances to sweeten the entire experience. Well worth a look.

Synopsis: Karen Wright, (Audrey Hepburn), and Martha Dobie, (Shirley MacLaine), have been best friends since they were seventeen. They open an elite girl's school together and are on their way to becoming moderately successful. Karen is engaged to Dr. Joe Cardin, (James Garner), but has refused to set a wedding date until the school is actually successful. Dr. Cardin has a young cousin, (once removed), Mary Tilford, (Karen Balkin), attending said school. Unfortunately, Mary is a compulsive liar with a spiteful nature. Mary proceeds to tell lies, made up of fact and fiction, to her loving grandmother, Mrs. Amelia Tilford, (Fay Bainter), in the hopes of not having to return to the school where she is continually disciplined for her obvious lies, (obvious to everyone but her grandmother). Mrs. Tilford, (who is Joe's aunt), believing her granddaughter, does the one thing she thinks to be morally right and that is to unknowingly spread these lies to other parents. Parents pull their kids from the school and Karen, Martha and Joe are left to defend themselves unsuccessfully against the lies of a little girl. The truth is finally revealed, but with the damage already done, only tragedy is left as the victor.

Recommendations: Sensitively directed by William Wyler, this film was and is groundbreaking. Technically speaking it has authentic black and white art direction, perfect cinematography, believably authentic costumes and excellent work done by the sound engineers. Still it is the acting by the glorious Audrey Hepburn, the brilliant Shirley MacLaine, the sensitive James Garner and the annoyingly real Miriam Hopkins, who plays Martha's aunt and employee, who bring this movie to life. Having said all that, it is the supporting work of Fay Bainter that completes this film, with her heartbreaking grace and aching search for moral fortitude, she becomes the conscious of this film and the conscious of the times. She is brilliant. In closing, I know that the ending of this film has troubled many an opened minded individual who thinks that the decision taken by one of the two heroines is a painful and a seemingly easy cop out, but I say to those people that if you watch this film carefully you will realize that her decision is not the only option given, it is just the option that she regrettably chooses. This film, viewed with an open mind, even with its heartbreaking ending, did and does more for equality than is apparent to the eye. Brilliant.

Synopsis: In the South, circa 1900, Regina Giddens, (Bette Davis), and her two scheming brothers, Ben, (Charles Dingle), and Oscar, (Carl Benton Reid), are working on a "get-rich-quick" scheme and all they need is about $75,000 from Regina's ailing husband, Horace Giddens, (Herbert Marshall), to make it happen. The conniving Regina decides to send her daughter Alexandra, (Teresa Wright), to fetch her father from a hospital in Baltimore, so that she, (Regina), can convince him to invest in her brothers' scheme. Upon his return, Horace is very ill, but not too ill to refuse to participate in his in-law's plans. Finally Regina, with her back against the wall, decides to stop at nothing to get her way, resulting in a tragic conclusion for all involved.

Recommendations: Perfectly directed by William Wyler, this film is brilliant from beginning to end. The beautiful black and white Art Direction, the crisp/clean editing and the wonderful score, all help to make this movie pitch perfect. Of course it helps that the play's original author adapts her own blistering screenplay to wondrous results. All that said, it is the performances of Bette Davis, Teresa Wright and Patricia Collinge, as the heartbreaking Aunt Birdie, that make this film soar. Herbert Marshall, Charles Dingle and Carl Benton Reid all give strong supporting performances. Also, Richard Carlson, as David Hewitt, (the man who loves Alexandra), Dan Duryea as Leo Hubbard, (the no good nephew of Regina and Horace) and Jessica Grayson as Addie, (the faithful house servant), all make their secondary roles utterly memorable. Still it is the talents of Bette, Teresa and Patricia, being direct by the brilliant Mr. Wyler, that makes this film a classic. Beautiful.

Synopsis: Charlotte Vale, (Bette Davis), the spinster daughter, of a cold, controlling mother, (Gladys Cooper), is on the verge of a nervous breakdown thanks to the suffocating restrictions put upon her by her mother. Caring sister in-law, (Ilka Chase), invites compassionate Psychiatrist, (Claude Rains), to help Charlotte get better, (to the strong objections of the mother). Said Doctor invites Charlotte to his sanatorium where she finally begins to get a sense of self. The Doctor, satisfied with Charlotte's progress, encourages her to embark on a long cruise where she meets a married man, Jerry Durrance, (Paul Henreid), and becomes involved in a doomed love affair. Upon her return home, Charlotte is able to deal with her mother, but eventually feels the need to return to the sanitarium when things turn tragic. At the sanatorium she meets Jerry's youngest daughter and believes she can help her because their two situations are/were so similar.

Recommendations: This film works beautifully due to the considerable talent involved. First, there is the haunting score by Max Steiner, (if real-life doomed lover affairs had a soundtrack, they would sound like this), as well as the absolutely brilliant performances delivered by Bette Davis and Gladys Cooper as mother and daughter, (I could watch these two for hours). Second, Claude Rains, Ilka Chase and Paul Henreid lend strong support in their respective roles. Also, Bonita Granville, as Charlotte's good natured taunting niece, and Mary Wickes, as the lovable nurse, make small roles very memorable. If you give this film a chance, you will be handsomely rewarded. Enjoy.