Movie Musings: Wait, I've Seen this Before!

So my wife found a Blu-ray edition of It Happened One Night by Criterion Collection for a great price at Costco (of all places). We had the DVD release for quite a few years, but figured we could replace it with Criterion's clean up copy.

So yeah, this print looks great, but what surprised me was the sound. Holy crap did that audio sound as crisp and natural, as if the film were just made yesterday instead of 1934. I shouldn't be too surprised, Criterion always does a fine job with restoration. But before this turns into a full fledged commercial for the Criterion Collection (too late), I had this odd epiphany while watching the movie.

I wrote earlier this year about how much Ex Machina reminded me of Ghost in the Shell. I have an upcoming post about the similarities between Dune and Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind. So I must have movie comparisons on my mind. But It Happened One Night was something different. It reminded me of a ton of different movies while watching it. But the reason for that is because It Happened One Night pretty much refined the romantic comedy genre into a a crystallized perfect specimen... in 1934! Nearly all mainstream romantic comedies that followed have borrowed in some way from this classic film. Some have modified and improved elements. Most just copied and pasted the sequences and moments wholesale into their films.

Memorable scene? Sure, but there is more to this movie.

This isn't necessarily a bad thing, It Happened One Night is a very entertaining film. It has some great dialogue, two excellent performances, and moves a great pace. Frank Capra does a fine job putting the whole thing together, and working with the chemistry between Clark Gable and Claudette Colbert. Sure every time this film is mentioned all you see is the infamous hitchhiking scene. But this scene works even better in the context of the film because of the adventures and interaction building up to it. This movie may be considered the great grandfather of romantic comedies, but it works so well: you laugh and you swoon. What more do you want in this type of film.

We are actually getting away from the influence of It Happened One Night in this modern era of movies. Fellow writer Richard Bellush at Richard's Pretension has pointed out that many modern "romance" films view romance through a cynical lens. Characters who fall in romantic love are mocked and considered the oddballs. The comedy stems from how bizarre these characters are. After years of Hollywood basing their films off of It Happened One Night, it is a pretty refreshing.

That said, I'm a softy at heart (check out my review of Oh My Goddess if you don't believe me). So something like It Happened One Night or When Harry Met Sally still work great for me.

I love the whole discussion about dunking doughnuts.

What is interesting is that even though It Happened One Night feels overly familiar, through no fault of its own, I still enjoy it. But on a revisit of North by Northwest, I found it really hard to get over the fact that I knew every plot twist and sequence because so many movies have borrowed (and yes lets just say it, ripped off) the 1959 classic thriller. I wonder if it has something to do with the genres. With a thriller you are there to enjoy the twists and the build up of tension. With those things neutralized the movie is less entertaining. I enjoyed North by Northwest, but not as much as I enjoyed rematching Rear Window. Might have to take a closer look at why in a future blog post.

But for It Happened One Night, I am there to watch the interaction between Gable and Colbert. I'm there to see those characters work their way out of those situations. And I'm there for fun ride. All those things hold up well, and make it a true classic, not just of the genre, but in the space of all film history.

Have you ever watched an older film that inspired a whole slew of imitations? Did that impact your reaction to the original?

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Tarzan and His Mate (1934)

Introduction:

Tarzan and His Mate is an improvement over the previous film. The movie is a definite sequel, building on the characters and plot points of the previous film and going that extra mile to make everything even more spectacular than Tarzan the Ape Man.

Summary:

The film begins with Harry (Neil Hamilton) returning to Africa with his is old pal Martin (Paul Cavanagh). The two are focused on getting to the elephant graveyard and picking up some serious ivory. Martin needs the money especially bad, he's sunk his entire fortune into the safari and isn't about to give up.

Of course just getting to the graveyard proves hazardous as they run into a fearsome enemy tribe, boulder throwing apes and a rival expedition. Luckily Tarzan (Johnny Weissmuller) and Jane (Maureen O’Sullivan) come to the rescue. Harry is still carrying a torch for Jane and does his best to tempt her back to civilization. But she's dedicated to her loincloth wearing man.

The safari gets back on track, but Tarzan is disturbed by its goal. He feels that taking the ivory is the equivalent of robbing a grave. So he does his best to stop Harry and Martin. This makes Mr. Martin grumpy and he takes matters into his own hands. It all boils down to a smash bang finale involving furious tribesman, stampeding elephants, swarming lions, battle crazed apes, and Tarzan leaping around kicking everyone's butt.

Good Points:

• Great interaction between Jane and Tarzan
• One of the craziest climaxes I’ve seen in any movie from the 30s
• More impressive visual effects

Bad Points:

• The plot is pretty similar to the first film
• More disturbing animal action
• More disturbing portrayal of anyone not white

Overall:

Scores (out of 5)

Visuals: 4

Sound: 3

Acting: 3

Script: 3

Music: n/a

Direction: 4

Entertainment: 3

Total: 3

In Depth Review

This movie attempts to take all the ingredients you enjoyed in the first film and crank it to 11. The result is a true Tarzan epic. You loved all the animal action, well this movie has even more, with rhinos, ostriches, snakes added to the original cast of chimps, leopards, lions, hippos and crocodiles. You loved Tarzan and Jane flashing skin, wait till you see the extended skinny dipping sequence. Hello Jane! You loved Cheetah the chimp shrieking for minutes on end, well this movie has Cheetah shrieking for even more.

More than that, Tarzan and his Mate really builds on the characters and situations established in Tarzan the Ape Man. The moments that Jane and Tarzan share are handled really well, and its fun to see this newlywed couple swinging around the jungle. O’Sullivan has a real charisma and her chemistry with Weissmuller is undeniable. The later movies continue to build on it, but for me this movie is the best representation of the two.

As for the supporting cast, they all do an adequate job. One thing I liked about the script is how Harry turned out to be a good guy who got a raw deal. You can tell he really cares about Jane, but soon realizes that she’s head over heels for Tarzan. He doesn’t like it, but he accepts it. But his money troubles that forced him to complete his safari, even if he must go against Jane and Tarzan’s wishes. Its Martin who starts as a cad and ends as a cad in the film. With his pencil thin mustache and smarmy ogling of Jane, you just don’t’ like the guy. He’s more desperate than Harry, willing to do just about anything to get the riches he needs. It was gratifying to see the horror on his face as the finale kicks into high gear and realized how out of his depth he is.

If you manage to catch Tarzan and His Mate for any reason other than Jane’s skinny dipping scene, it would be to see this crazy finale featuring some of the craziest animal action and special effects I’ve seen in any movie from the 1930s. Tarzan is swinging from trees, fighting natives, battling bloodthirsty lions, dodging spears, gunshots and stampeding elephants all to rescue Jane from two more lions. It’s crammed with action, motion and noise. Even the build up to the sequence featuring the hunters dealing with the lion worshiping tribe is intense and creates some excellent thrill sequences.

All in all the animal action and special effects are impressive for the time. Sure you get lots of rear projection. But you also get scenes with real stuntmen and many times Weissmuller himself dodging or riding rhinos, or rolling around on the ground with a real live lion. As I mentioned, I’m guessing many animals were hurt making this film, so those who don’t look kindly on that should avoid the film. But for me its an impressive feat.

But there was one scene so silly that I had to laugh. At one point Jane is being attacked by a rampaging rhino. Cheetah the elder (who is played by an unfortunate man in a suit) sees her peril and runs to the rescue. You get a hilarious sequence where a live chimp is running in front of a rear-projected jungle. Then turns into a man in a suit being charged down by a rear projected rhino. The rhino charges right at the screen at a bizarre angle. The “ape” gets “hit” and does a back flip to his death. This tragic moment nearly caused water to shoot out of my nose as I took a drink at that moment – don’t let that happen to you!

For all the fun to be had, the movie does run a bit too long. Clocking in at 105 minutes it’s the longest Tarzan movie I ended up watching and reviewing. The scenes with Cheetah running around shrieking really make you feel it. But for my money Tarzan and his Mate trumps the original with safari based adventure.

Read about the other lessons I learned from Tarzan the ApeMan at my review of the first collection of the films over at DVD Verdict.

Mystery Liner (1934)

Introduction:

I like cruise ships. I like mysteries, since I pulled this from the 100 Mystery Classics Box. Seems like this flick about a mystery on a cruise ship could be good. On top of that and it is based on a short story. Well that sounds like a lot of fun… right?

Summary:

Captain Holling (Noah Beery) is nuttier than a fruitcake. He’s ranting and raving about his ship, and so he’s unfit for the next voyage. This is unfortunate because the next voyage will test out an experimental navigation computer that guides the ship by radio! Still the experiment must continue and that means that Captain Downey (Booth Howard) must step into the Holling’s shoes. But foul play is suspected, and Major Pope (Edwin Maxwell) is on the case. Soon the suspects are lining up from pretty Nurse Kane (Astrid Allwyn) to the mysterious Von Kessling (Gustav Von Seyffertitz). Add in the chuckle fest that is Granny Plimpton (Zeffie Tilbury) and you’ve got a real “Mystery Liner”.

Good Points

• Intriguing basic espionage story
• Kept me guessing on the real saboteur identity
• Astrid Allwyn is the best actor of the bunch

Bad Points

• The movie meanders too much
• Most of the acting is questionable
• All the comic relief falls terribly flat

Overall

An interesting espionage thriller is torpedoed by bad acting, a poor script and bad direction. The pacing is badly mangled and you’ll find yourself struggling to care about any of the characters, much less wondering if the mystery of the liner will be solved.

Scores (out of 5)

Visuals - 2

Sound - 2

Music – n/a

Acting - 2

Script - 2

Direction - 1

Entertainment - 2

Overall - 2

Film Review

This movie never gets off the ground. There are a lot of interesting elements at work, but director William Nigh can’t get any of them to gel. Let’s see what he had to work with here.

The visuals aren’t too bad, it looks like it was filmed aboard a real ship, or at least filmed in a set created by someone who’d been on a ship before. There is some bad stock footage used, as well as a couple questionable special effects. On top of that the film has very little style to it. Most of the camera shots are simple locked off angles with little movement or shadows. In about ten years a similar film would have been dripping with noir. The sound effects are basic and some badly placed mics make dialogue a bit tough to hear. The movie only has opening titles and ending titles fan fare, and no score to speak of. I don’t judge that against the film, but a bit of music could have helped.

The actors are either wooden or wildly emoting. This is something you see in 30’s movies, with some of the actors used to performing in silent films where pantomime was king. It makes for some comical moments, but mostly it just hurts the film. Astrid Allwyn as the nurse if the best, presenting a character who seems the most realistic. Edwin Maxwell as Major Pope isn’t bad. In fact he reminded me of the characters that Charles Grey played in “Diamonds Are Forever” and “You Only Live Twice”. I suppose that Zeffie Tilbury isn’t bad as Granny Plimpton, but her character is so annoying that I find it hard to give her credit.

The characters are part of the problem, from ill timed comic relief in form of Granny Plimpton or Simms the Steward (a baffled bumbling George Cleveland), to the stoic and bland Dr. Howard (Howard Hickman). You wonder who decided to populate this mystery liner with these characters. The idea of the radio-controlled ship may sound silly to us now, but it’s one that could have been intriguing for moviegoers in 1934. But the experiment is handled badly coming across more silly than scientific. The espionage and sabotage angle has promise, but the script botches that too.

On top of it Director William Nigh keeps the pacing too slow, even with action erupts (slogs is better word) in the final ten minutes. The comic relief is badly placed, stopping any mystery elements or action elements in their tracks. Where crisp delivery of lines would help, actors take their time. It’s just a mess from the opening with the ranting captain to the conclusion where the enemy agent is revealed.

The movie is only 62 minutes long but I struggled to stay awake. None of the characters grabbed me. I was mildly interested in which one of these people was an agent. The script and the director don’t give you enough clues to follow, so it really could be anyone. While the movie didn’t completely fail, it was bad enough to bore me. I don’t think even riffing could help this flick; it’s too slow moving and too ineffectual to provide enough to work with. Not a disaster, but not good enough to seek out either.

James Lileks didn't like it too much either. Check out his review here.