The Killers (1946) ****

 

What if I told you that Earnest Hemingway, who was notoriously disdainful of movies made from his works, actually liked “The Killers,” based on his 1927 short story of the same name? I might go on to add that this is the movie that made movie stars out of Burt Lancaster and Ava Gardner. Does that sound like something you might be interested in?

Hemingway's story actually accounts for only the first 20 minutes of the movie, in which a couple of hired killers show up to a small town and kill a guy known as “the Swede,” who expects the hit and offers no resistance. The rest of the film was written by John Huston and Richard Brooks. Through the eyes of insurance investigator Jim Reardon (Edmond O'Brien), we learn why that killing happened, in what is one of the best noir films I have seen. I won't ruin the surprises for you, but suffice to say there's a femme fatale involved, played by Ava Gardner.

“The Killers” comes with a great pedigree. Hemingway's story only provides a starting point, but it's a good one. The idea of a mysterious newcomer, living peacefully in a small town, who is unsurprised when a couple of assassins catch up with him, is a great setup for a crime movie. It should be no surprise that a couple of talents like Huston (father of Angelica Huston) and Brooks were able to expand this into such a great story. Huston was responsible for classics like “The Maltese Falcon” and "The Night of the Iguana," and Richard Brooks was behind “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof” and “Elmer Gantry.”

The cast is as good as the script. Edmond O'Brien plays a very Bogarty detective, and he plays him well. Burt Lancaster, in his first role, is magnetic as the doomed Swede. It is Ava Gardner, however, who really stands out. This is one of her early movie roles, and you can see that her acting is not as developed as in later films, like "Mogambo" or “The Night of the Iguana.” The 24-year-old still manages to steal every scene she is in through the sheer force of her beauty and presence. Her looks and attitude seem very modern, and her strong, sharp face looks like it is carved out of marble.

If the movie has a weakness, it is that neither the film's heroes nor its villains are quite compelling enough to make “The Killers” a true classic. None of the characters are as memorable as those from, say “The Maltese Falcon” or "The Third Man," and the excellent cast cannot make up for that. Still, it's a damned good movie, and a must-see for fans of noir (and Ava Gardner).

4 stars out of 5

True Grit (2010) *****

 

I recently lost some faith in the writer/director team of Joel and Ethan Coen. I watched their 1994 film "The Hudsucker Proxy," which, frankly, sucked . To clear my palate and remind myself why I am a Coen bros. fan, I re-watched their 2010 remake of 1969's “True Grit.”

Hailee Steinfeld, who was 14 at the time, just like her character, plays Mattie Ross. She travels to Fort Smith, Arkansas to hire a marshall to hunt down her father's killer, Tom Chaney (Josh Brolin). Chaney is known to have fled into Oklahoma, Indian Territory. This puts him mostly beyond the reach of the law. Mostly. Mattie hires Marshall Rooster Cogburn (Jeff Bridges), a lawman known for his tenacity and ruthlessness in hunting down fugitives. Joined off and on by a conceited Texas Ranger named Laboeuf (Matt Damon), the bickering pair pursue Chaney and his gang across a lawless landscape.

Mattie is one of the great literary characters. Rooster Cogburn is quite a character himself, but Mattie is the true hero of the story. She never hesitates to tell people what she thinks of them, which does not win her many friends, but her tenacity, her will, and her true grit earn her the kind of friends that will do anything for her.

Displaying the Coen brothers' trademark blend of humor and realistic violence, “True Grit” is simply a great movie, with a heart as big as the Oklahoma sky. While the 1969 movie version of “True Grit” did a pretty good job capturing the spirit of Charles Portis's 1968 novel, the Coens hew more closely to the novel, including taking care to tell the story through the eyes of Mattie. They have also assembled one hell of a cast. Bridges and Damon are perfect, and Hailee Steinfeld is a revelation. The movie did not win any Academy awards, but it got ten nominations, including best acting nominations for Bridges and Steinfeld, all well-deserved.

Now, the original 1969 "True Grit" is a fine, fine movie, maybe John Wayne's finest. As good as Wayne is in it, however, his supporting cast leaves something to be desired. Kim Darby's version of Mattie engenders more annoyance than awe, and Glen Campbell is, well, about as good as you would expect from a singer. John Wayne has to carry the entire movie, and so, while his version is an excellent movie, it is the 2010 version that is truly great.

5 stars out of 5

Tremors (1990) ****1/2

 

For a pure good time, it's hard to beat the 1990 monster comedy “Tremors.” I watch it every few years, and it never gets old.

Kevin Bacon and Fred Ward play Val and Earl, a couple of knuckleheads getting by doing odd jobs around the tiny, fictional community of Perfection, Nevada. They and their neighbors, including a geologist (Finn Carter) and a survivalist couple (Michael Gross, from “Family Ties,” and Reba McEntire) are menaced by giant worms that tunnel up from underground to devour their prey.

This is basically a shark movie, and writers S.S. Wilson and Brent Maddock (the screenwriting team behind 1986's “Short Circuit”) originally titled it “Land Sharks.” The story on Wikipedia is that they were sitting on a boulder in the desert and asked, “What if there was something that wouldn't let us off of this rock?” Director Ron Underwood (“City Slickers”) helped them develop the story and change that terrible title.

“Tremors” was not particularly successful at the box office, but it quickly became a cult classic, and for good reason. Honoring the monster films of the '50s and '60s, the movie skillfully blends laughs and scares without resorting to parody or descending into self-parody. This isn't one of those self-aware, tongue-in-cheek horror comedies like "Scream," and it isn't so-bad-it's-good, like "Buckaroo Banzai." “Tremors” is just, plain good, and a barrel full of fun. The supporting cast is a bit hit or miss. Some of them are not the best actors, but the good news is that that doesn't matter so much in a monster flick. If you can't act, you can just scream! The core cast of Bacon, Ward, and Carter are solid, and Victor Wong's supporting character is hilarious, dubbing the creatures “grabboids.” Michael Gross and Reba McEntire, however, steal every scene they are in. Their survivalist characters are hilarious debating big government and rifle calibers, and Gross gets the best line of the film: “Broke into the wrong, goddamn rec-room, didn't you?!”

With the pandemic gumming up the film production pipeline, I have been finding myself struggling to find good movies to stream. When I found “Tremors” on Netflix, I knew it was time to re-watch it. Sometimes, the answer is right under your nose, or, in this case, under your feet.

4.5 stars out of 5

National Lampoon's Vacation (1983) **

 

National Lampoon is a name everybody knows, mostly from their movies. Originating with the “Harvard Lampoon,” “National Lampoon” magazine was an irreverent, bawdy, influential comedy mag in the 1970's, persisting into the 80's and 90's, although with considerably less influence. It was the inspiration for several films, the most famous of which was “National Lampoon's Animal House.” “National Lampoon's Vacation” was based on a story by John Hughes (yes, that John Hughes) and directed by Harold Ramis ("Ghostbusters" "Groundhog Day").

The Griswald family, including Clark (Chevy Chase), Ellen (Beverly D'Angelo ), Rusty (Anthony Michael Hall), and Audrey (Dana Barron) embark on a cross-country road trip in their loaded-down station wagon. The destination is Walley World, which features rides, family fun, and Marty Moose. (Any similarities to an actual California amusement park are strictly coincidental!) Basically, everything that can go wrong does go wrong.

It's a fine comedy setup, and the movie has been hugely popular over the years, although with mixed reviews from critics. Amazingly, I never saw it back in the day. Now that I have finally seen it, I gotta say, I'm with the naysayers on this one.

My biggest problems with “Vacation” can be summed up in two words: Chevy Chase. I have never really liked his style of humor, and he is everything that is wrong with the movie. The film only works if you can identify with his Clark Griswald, everyman character, but the guy is such a milquetoast nitwit that identifying with him is impossible while retaining any sort of self-respect. Chase plays him with his usual can't-be-bothered comedy style, although I will admit that his meltdown at the end does provide some laughs.

Aside from Chase, the cast is actually reasonably good, and Beverly D'Angelo deserves special mention. With her massive, blue eyes and perfect 80's hair, she is cute as can be, and she looks good with her shirt off, too. Her acting is way better than Chase's, and I only wish the script had given her more to do.

Speaking of the script, I have been leveling a lot of criticism at Chevy Chase, but there is a lot of lazy writing in “Vacation.” This is surprising given the pedigree of John Hughes and Harold Ramis, both of whom are known for much better work. An example of where the story fails is the girl-in-the-ferrari storyline. As the Griswalds encounter one road-trip setback after another, Clark keeps seeing a gorgeous blonde (Christie Brinkley) in a Ferrari, who flirts with him and makes him dream of a better, sexier vacation, without kids, relatives, or all the unsexy reality that is ruining his trip. In a better-written movie, the blonde would be a figment of Clark's imagination, a manifestation not of his desire for another woman, but of his desire for something exciting but easy, something fun. That's what vacations are for, isn't it? (But vacations with family never seem to be as easy or fun as they should be, do they?) In the last Christie Brinkley scene, however, everyone can see her, which means she is real and that this single, rich hottie was, inexplicably, flirting with goofball Clark Griswald in his Members Only jacket. The movie lacks the courage to do the logical thing, narratively, and make the fantasy girl a fantasy. This makes some sense, if you are a “Wizard of Oz” fan, because the movie also lacks a heart and a brain.

2 stars out of 5

Passing (2021) ***1/2

 

Two women grow up in Harlem, both light-skinned enough that, in the right context, they could pass as white. One, Irene (Tessa Thompson), stays, marries a black doctor, and makes an upper-middle-class life for herself in Harlem. The other, Claire (Ruth Negga), is adopted by her white aunts as a teen. Finishing her formative years in white society, she simply continues to live as a white woman, marrying a racist, white banker, and living with a constant risk of being discovered. When these two old friends cross paths again as adults, their lives intertwine in ways that may bring drastic changes for both of them.

“Passing” is not simply about race. It is about the price of selling your soul for worldly gains, about trading one set of chains for another. The movie is based on Nella Larsen's 1929 novel, “Passing,” which came out in the same decade as “The Great Gatsby,” and a comparison is fair. Both explore the ugly side of American individualism and the costs of fleeing one's past, clawing one's way to the top.

Unfortunately, this film does not quite do justice to the tale. Actress Rebecca Hall adapted the novel into a screenplay and directed the film. Hall has a personal interest in the theme, as she is part black herself, and her grandfather passed as white. This is Hall's first effort as a writer and director, and while it is a good first effort, I wonder if the film would have benefited from some more experience. The story may also have been better served as a mini-series rather than a 1h 38m movie. I actually feel I should give Hall some credit here. In a time when so many movies run over 2 hours, she showed some restraint in making “Passing” so short. The problem with this restrained approach is that so many key plot points are merely implied, so if you blink, you'll miss them. And you may blink, because this is not a fast-paced action thriller that will keep you on the edge of your seat. It's a subtle story about human relationships and race that, quite honestly, had me yawning a bit. Thus, I was a little confused by the ending, and while I did enjoy it while watching, I found myself days later with details of the movie slipping away.

That's a shame, because it's a great story. I probably need to either watch it again, or just read the book. By rights, this story should be a relic of our history, but the sad truth is that the themes are still relevant. In 2021, there are still many occasions – shopping for a vacation rental, creating an online dating profile, getting pulled over by the cops, etc. - where a black person may wish they could pass as white. Even if the film isn't perfect, kudos to Rebecca Hall for telling this story. We need it now just as much as they did in 1929, and we need to keep telling it until we reach a day where no one needs to try to pass.

3.5 stars out of 5

Red Dust (1932) ***

 

Turns out Paul Simon was wrong. Everything does not look worse in black-and-white. “Red Dust,” the pre-code, b&w film on which 1953's "Mogambo" is based, is superior in almost every way to the newer, Technicolor remake. (The exception being that “Red Dust” has a deficiency of vitamin A, meaning Ava Gardner, who was the best thing about “Mogambo.”)

Clark Gable plays a rubber farmer named Carson in French Indochina (now Vietnam). When a prostitute from Saigon named Vantine (Jean Harlow) shows up at his plantation, the two grate on each other at first, but then get very friendly. A few weeks later, a surveyor, Gary Willis, arrives, and Carson quickly finds himself falling for Willis's classy, ladylike wife (Mary Astor). This love quadrangle plays out in the sweltering, mosquito-infested Vietnamese jungle.

My complaints about “Mogambo” included its tacked-on, sexist ending. “Red Dirt” has a better-crafted story that doesn't dishonor its characters at the end. The female leads are also better matched than in “Mogambo,” and the Willis character, played by Gene Raymond, is much more likeable. The whole story just works better, and the film looks better as well. “Red Dust” features a famous scene in which Jean Harlow bathes in a rain barrel, a scene she re-created in her 1933 film “Bombshell.”

Don't get me wrong; “Red Dust” is no “Citizen Cane.” It's a fairly typical story, with a predictable plot, and the depictions of the Vietnamese characters are downright offensive. Mostly, though, it's a fun, easy movie, delightfully trashy, and it has an important lesson: Don't leave your wife alone in the jungle with a guy who looks like Clark Gable!

3 stars out of 5

Mogambo (1953) **

 

So, it turns out I am an Ava Gardner fan! We recently watched one of her movies, “The Night of the Iguana,” and found her just as charming and beautiful as could be. That was one of her later films, however, and I wondered if it was truly representative. Turns out, her charm is timeless.

In “Mogambo,” directed by John Ford, Clark Gable plays African safari operator Victor Marswell. When an unexpected guest arrives at his camp in the form of Eloise “Honey Bear” Kelly (Gardner), he is annoyed at first, but eventually warms up to her. Honey Bear is no lady. Her morals are uncertain, and her manners unrefined, but she has a charming openness, and she's a good drinking partner. What man could resist that?

It's back to business when paying customers arrive, however. Donald Nordley and his prim, beautiful wife, Linda (Grace Kelly) are in Africa to study gorillas. Sensing the incompatibility of the two women, Marswell tries to hustle Honey Bear back home, but low water prevents her departure. Sure enough, there is friction between the girls, but the real sparks start to fly when Marswell and Linda develop an attraction for each other.

“Mogambo” has a few issues, some technical, some plot-related. The movie was filmed partly on location in Africa and partly on Hollywood stages, and there are scenes that awkwardly, obviously switch between the two. More distracting than that is the suspension of disbelief required to imagine any guy preferring Grace Kelly over Ava Gardner. The film's biggest weakness, however, is the typical, Hollywood ending, which feels tacked-on, and which dishonors the characters.

The movie is a Technicolor remake of a black-and-white film from 1932, “Red Dust,” in which Clark Gable played the same character he played in “Mogambo.” (Interesting that they didn't ask his “Red Dust” costars, Jean Harlow and Mary Astor, to come back and reprise their roles 21 years later.) “Red Dust” was a pre-Code movie, and it honestly sounds like it might be the better film. As for “Mogambo,” the lame script overwhelms excellent performances by its 3 stars.

2 stars out of 5

The Big Heat (1953) ***1/2

 

On account of the pandemic, you may be noticing a shortage of good, new movies on your streaming services. This shortage will hopefully correct itself soon, but in the meantime, this is a good opportunity to check out some older films that aren't quite as famous as “Citizen Kane” or “Casablanca.” “The Big Heat” is one I had never heard of, starring actors I had barely heard of, but it is an excellent noir about police corruption.

Glenn Ford plays police sergeant Dave Bannion, who is assigned to investigate the suicide of a fellow cop, Tom Duncan. Duncan's widow assures Bannion that her husband killed himself due to ill health, but when Duncan's mistress sings a different song, Bannion begins to suspect something is up. When he comes under increasing pressure to drop the case, he knows something is crooked.

“The Big Heat” was directed by Fritz Lang, and while most would say this was a decade or so after his prime, the film still has that touch of genius that sets it apart from the typical pulp films of its day. My only criticism is that the movie struggles to find its tone. Despite the fact that the movie starts with a suicide, I was still caught a bit off guard by how violent and dark it gets. In most noir films, the mood is tense throughout, but “The Big Heat” lulls us into complacency with some scenes of domestic bliss. Maybe this was intentional, to let us feel how unprepared Bannion is for the dark world into which he is thrown. In any case, it's a cool movie, with a memorable performance from Gloria Grahame. It's not exactly “Casablanca,” but in these pandemic years, we can't afford to be so picky.

3.5 stars out of 5

The Hudsucker Proxy (1994) **

 

With most movies, I have some idea what to expect going in, but I have to say, this was nothing like what I expected. It's by the Coen brothers, who did “Blood Simple,” “Miller's Crossing,” “The Big Lebowski,” and so on. I think it was reasonable to expect some kind of crime movie, maybe a darkly humorous one. They also did “O Brother, Where Art Thou” and “The Ballad of Buster Scruggs,” so I wouldn't have been shocked by a bit of whimsy, maybe something downright odd. I gotta say, though, nothing these guys have done before or since prepared me for “The Hudsucker Proxy.”

Tim Robbins plays Norville Barnes, a rube, new to New York, who gets a mailroom job at Hudsucker Industries. The company is in a transitional period owing to the suicide of its president. The second in command (Paul Newman) hatches a scheme with the board of directors to tank the company's stock so they can buy it up at pennies on the dollar. To do that, they need to hire a real idiot as their new president, and Norville fits the bill perfectly. A sharp newspaper reporter (Jennifer Jason Leigh) picks up on Norville's complete ineptitude, but she also falls for his big heart, and then she starts to sniff out the Board's evil plan.

The movie is a pastiche of old screwball comedies from the 1930's. The characters talk in those rapid-fire voices they used to use back then, saying things like, “Sayyy, chum.” The acting is over-the-top, the story is zany, and the whole thing, by rights, should be more fun than a barrel full of monkeys. I mean, it's directed by the Coen brothers, and Sam Raimi (“The Evil Dead”) helped them write it. This is a trio who know how to do a whimsical story and do it up right. Then there's the cast: Paul Newman, Tim Robbins, Charles Durning, John Mahoney. Sam Raimi's old standby, Bruce Campbell, even puts in an appearance. The problem is that everyone involved was having such a swell time gawking at the cool-looking sets and costumes, and perfecting their old-movie voices, that they forgot to put any heart in the movie. It's a silly, grotesque, mawkish story about characters whom we never get to care about at all. Looking at this big contraption of a movie, which is supposed to be some kind of cult classic, I feel a bit like Tom Hanks in that scene in “Big,” looking at a toy that is supposed to be fun, but “I just don't get it.”

2 stars out of 5