Quo Vadis (1951)

This is a movie that never quite works for me, as much as I want it to. It is a sumptuous feast for the eyes, from the costumes to the sets to the matte shots to the gigantic crowd scenes, it is big and BIGGER and always pretty. I love this about the film. I love that about epics in general. But the story? Simply doesn't work for me. There just isn't any substance to it.

The biggest problem for me is love story between the two main characters of Marcus Vinicius (Robert Taylor) and Lygia (Deborah Kerr), as it is supposed to provide the emotional core to this story. I didn't buy it at all. Marcus Vinicius is an arrogant jerk who thinks he can take what he want. He's in lust with her, not love, and I don't mind that. That seems realistic. What I mind is that Lygia falls for him, when he gives her ZERO reason to do so (other than he's handsome and Robert Taylor, but yanno, that ain't enough). She's a smart and caring girl, true to her religious convictions, and she wouldn't give his character the time of day, particularly after he forcibly has her removed from her life and everything she loves, just so he can make time with her. This would still all work if his character showed more depth than a shoebox. The best love stories often start with two diametrically opposed characters, but there has to be something good or redeeming about the jerk so we can believe a girl would fall for him. And he does change his ways over the course of the film, but I don't particularly buy that change either. Vinicius's flatness is partly Robert Taylor's fault -- he does not particularly convey anything more going on in his heart beyond what's on the surface -- but mostly, it's the script's failure. This is a script that tells, not shows.



The love story that does work for me in this film is that of Petronius and Eunice. Now, they're convincing, and touching, and feel genuine. Petronius is one of the better characters in the movie. He's played by Leo Genn, who always turns in first rate work. I mostly know him from Moby Dick, but he made a lasting impression in that film on me. He is fabulous here, flattering and placating Nero, trying to steer the emperor to act for the good of Rome and not his own selfish interests. Now there's a losing battle, but it gives him some of the best and wittiest dialogue in the film. I really liked him.


And, of course, this is also the story of Nero, played by Peter Ustinov. I think it's quite amazing that Ustinov can make Nero both completely mad and yet still sympathetic. There's a fair bit of scenery chewing in his scenes, but it's the delightful, entertaining kind, particularly as he's surrounded by very staid and serious people, and his flamboyant turn provides some much needed color.


I just have to add that Poppaea had the best costumes, hair, and jewelry, and the actress (Patricia Laffan), had exactly the right exotic look to pull it all off with poise and elegance.


My favorite scene in the movie was when Lygia refuses Vinicius's marriage proposal because of her beliefs. This was the first (and only) scene Deborah Kerr actually got to do something other than be the perpetual helpless victim and damsel in distress. I loved her here. If this movie had let her do more like this, this would have been a great movie. And it was also the first scene in which I actually liked Robert Taylor's character for once.

This movie kicked off the run of epic biblical films, and I have to thank it for that. Without this one, there may not have been 1959's Ben-Hur, which is a far superior movie with a stronger, more emotional story and deeper, believable characters. Even Miklos Rozsa's score to Quo Vadis seems like a warm up to the Ben-Hur score.

16,000 words and growing

National Novel Writing Month proceeds. Nano has gotten very interesting for me. They don't really talk about how nano changes for a writer each year they participate. The pep talks, etc. all still mostly speak to beginners, or first time nano'ers. They don't talk about how easy nano gets after you have a few under your belt. Or maybe it doesn't for other people? Maybe it's just as hard for them on their tenth as it was on their first?

Not for me. Maybe because I came to Nano originally as a more experienced writer, but once I learned that writing 1,666 words a day can not only be done, but done pretty easily, that particular challenge was gone. I've successfully completed six nano's before this. Achieving word count is not really an issue. The last couple times, and this year in particular, I've become pretty lackadaisical about nano. I don't stress and stay up until eleven or twelve at night just because I need another few hundred words that day. I don't get that thrill or that excitement or that anxiety anymore, not about the month itself. About the story I'm writing, yeah, but that's a different thing entirely.

Nowadays, nano is about maintaining discipline. More than that, it's about understanding story and storytelling. About what makes a good story, what each scene needs to do in the small individual picture and in the big picture. I am not fond of writing crap. I don't have time in my life to spend November writing crap that I'll have to spend the next year re-writing into something decent. That's just a load of road apples. If I'm not writing usable material right here, right now during nano, that is on track for my goals for my novel, then there's no point in participating at all.

And so I throw out a lot of words during nano, and I tend to write pretty sparse when I write this fast anyway. I delete extra adjectives and phrases I know I won't keep in a later draft as I go. I had a scene started the other night that I was ready to end, when I realized nothing had changed in the scene. It was informational only, and the character was in the same spot at the end as at the beginning. So I deleted about four hundred words, re-thought it to make it an actual functioning scene, and re-wrote.

And that's how this writer's seventh nano session goes. It's no longer about the word count, it's about getting the story as close to right the first time through. That's the challenge now, of staying on track while moving at the speed Nano requires. And all that Nano talk about just keep writing, allow yourself the freedom to suck... that is dead-on right to encourage and create successful first time nano'ers, but it could not be more irrelevant or annoying when you're down the line. I keep waiting for the "So, you've done this before, eh? Well, now, let me tell you what your next nano challenge is going to be and how to beat it." But no one writes those pep talks.

Maybe I should.

Interesting.

Time Limit (1957)

Watched this film yesterday and enjoyed it immensely. Richard Widmark plays an Army colonel investigating a case of treason during the Korean War against Richard Basehart's Major, who refuses to defend himself against the charge. Widmark suspects something else is going on, but nobody's talking. The movie follows his patient and frustrated investigation as he's hounded to close the case by a General, whose son was killed at the same POW camp Basehart was a prisoner in.

The last twenty minutes really take off, when characters start to crack and reveal the truth. There is a fabulous, passionate exchange between Basehart and the General (played by Carl Benton Reid), about the nature of heroes, cowards, Army code. It could seem a bit speechy under a different director or actors, but the actors here are all strong, and they pull it off. It was so good I rewatched the ending three times. I'm particularly fond of how it keeps changing how you think about the situation as each character chimes in, and I think it ends in the right place as well, with the General's answer to Basehart's question.


Martin Balsam plays Widmark's aide, and despite his rather annoying, smarmy character, he also gets a great serious scene defending Widmark. A very young Rip Torn plays another POW member who gives his testimony in the case. He also gets some powerful moments. Dolores Michaels plays Cpl. Evans, who is Widmark's other aide. While she's mostly just a secretary, she also gets some good moments, where she stands up to Martin Balsam, and where she figures out some key points. There's some attraction between her character and Widmark's that is nicely underplayed. I really liked her.


This film was directed by Karl Malden, in what I understand was his only directing venture. He does a fine job, and I would have liked to have seen what else he might have done, how he might have grown as a director.

November madness begins

I hemmed and hawed and finally decided to participate, yet again, in NaNoWriMo, aka National Novel Writing Month. This will be the seventh straight year I've participated. Egads! Seven??? Where has the time gone? This is gonna be a tough year, because three nights a week are lost to kickboxing lessons. I think my weekends are going to take the brunt of it, and my parents are coming down for one of them. Should be interesting.

My project this year is the novel I tried to start two nanos ago, but after only one day, I switched projects. It's a fantasy novel, entitled The Traitor.

I have a couple films to write reviews of over the next couple weeks, as time permits.

Amanda's Cinema Survey (Oct 2010)

This is the annual survey questions from Noodle in a Haystack! Pop over to her site to read other bloggers answers.


1. What is your favorite movie starring William Powell and Myrna Loy, excluding all of The Thin Man films?
Alas, I haven't seen any of their films other than the Thin Man series, which I've seen all of.

2. Name a screen team that appeared in only one film together but are still noteworthy for how well they complimented each other.
I can't think of one, although I know there are plenty!

3. Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers' best film together?
I think Top Hat, although my personal favorite is Swing Time

4. Your favorite actor named "Robert"?
Robert Ryan

5. An actor/actress who, when you see one of their movies, you always wish that someone else was in his/her role?
Henry Fonda

6. An actor/actress that someone close to you really loves that you can't stand or vice versa?
My sister and I agree on most everything, no polar opposites on anybody.

7. An actor/actress that you both agree on completely?
Anthony Hopkins

8. Complete this sentence: Virginia O'Brien is to Ethel Merman as...
hm, every comparison I've come up with doesn't quite work...

9. What is your favorite film starring Ray Milland?
The Big Clock

10. You had to have seen this one coming: what is your favorite movie of the 1960s?
The Dirty Dozen

11. An actor/actress that you would take out of one film and put into a different movie that was released the same year?
Brandon de Wilde -- I'd get him out of Shane. I don't care where he goes, as long as it's out of that movie!

12. Who was your favorite of Robert Montgomery's leading ladies?
Well, as I've seen almost none of his films, I can't rightly answer this.

13. You think it would have been a disaster if what movie starred the actor/actress who was originally asked to star in it?
I hear Gary Cooper and John Wayne had been the intended stars of Ride the High Country. As much as I love John Wayne, I'm really really glad he didn't do this one. I don't think it would have worked nearly as well.

14. An actor/actress who you will watch in any or almost any movie?
George Raft

15. Your favorite Leslie Howard film and role?
Alas, other than Gone With the Wind, it does not appear I've seen any of his!

16. You have been asked to host a marathon of four Barbara Stanwyck films. Which ones do you choose?
Ball of Fire
Golden Boy
The Strange Love of Martha Ivers
Jeopardy

17. What is, in your mind, the nearest to perfect comedy you have ever seen? Why?
Well, I'm not a comedy person, but I'd choose It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World -- only comedy movie that has no serious moments that I like all of, and only one I laugh at most of.

18. You will brook no criticism of what film?
N/A - everyone's entitled to an opinion! Criticize away!

19. Who is your favorite Irish actress?
Maureen O'Hara

20. Your favorite 1940s movie starring Ginger Rogers?
Haven't seen any other than The Barkleys of Broadway

21. Do you enjoy silent movies?
Yes

22. What is your favorite Bette Davis film?
None.

23. Your favorite onscreen Hollywood couple?
Joel McCrea and Frances Dee

24. This one is for the girls, but, of course, the guys are welcome to answer, too: who is your favorite Hollywood costume designer?
Edith Head

25. To even things out a bit, here's something the boys will enjoy: what is your favorite tough action film?
One of my favorite types of movies! I have to pick one?? Die Hard.

26. You are currently gaining a greater appreciation for which actor(s)/actress(es)?
Olivia de Havilland

27. Franchot Tone: yes or no?
Yes! Mutiny on the Bounty has been a favorite since I was a wee thing.

28. Which actors and/or actresses do you think are underrated?
Van Heflin, Glenn Ford, Dana Andrews

29. Which actors and/or actresses do you think are overrated?
Bette Davis, Joan Crawford

30. Favorite actor?
William Holden

31. Favorite actress?
Barbara Stanwyck

32. Of those listed, who is the coolest: Paul Newman, Robert Redford, Steve McQueen, or Patrick Stewart?
Steve McQueen

33. What is your favorite movie from each of these genres:

Comedy: None. Oh, okay. It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World

Swashbuckler: The Black Swan

Film noir: Kiss Me Deadly

Musical: South Pacific

Holiday: It's a Wonderful Life

Hitchcock: Rear Window

Saddle the Wind (1958)

This was a pretty good movie, and I quite enjoyed it. Mature ex-gunfighter-now-cattle rancher, Steve Sinclair (Robert Taylor), trying to keep his younger trigger-happy brother, Tony Sinclair (John Cassavetes), out of trouble. Tony claims he's learning gun play just to protect his older brother. I wish they'd done a little more with that, as it really does turn out to be one of his strongest motives, but it needs a little more to support it properly throughout. It gets overshadowed a bit by lust for power through violence. We've seen families split apart like this before, particularly in Westerns, so I was rather pleased with the more unusual ending, which twisted back to the "protecting my brother" angle.

The actors and the dialogue are the strongest part of this movie. I'm not a Robert Taylor fan, but he did really seem to settle into these kind of roles as he got older, in a very comfortable believable way. I liked his Steve Sinclair. Cassavetes works for me as the younger brother. One of the reasons I wanted to see this movie was to see him out of his expected element. I think he was just great in a Western. He brings his full energy and brooding and brings Tony Sinclair alive. Cassavetes always was good at letting you see what was going on inside the character, and that works well here to keep Tony human and someone we want to see redeemed. You see his fear, you see his determination to make it "his way," even when he doesn't realize his way is wrong. He always has the potential to see the light and turn his fate around, and that keeps you hoping he will.

The rest of the supporting cast is great, with Royal Dano a standout. He plays a homesteader reclaiming a stretch of land that had belonged to his father. His arrival and determination to stay on his own land no matter what spurs the morality of the other characters to choose sides in the battle.

I particularly love the film's first five minutes. Through the opening credits, we see Charles McGraw riding along. He could be the hero, until the credits end and the music takes an abrupt ominous turn (nice score by Elmer Bernstein!) as he arrives in town, and we realize, nope, this guy ain't the hero. He's someone you don't mess with, and he's here up to no good. The first scene where he walks into the closed bar, demands breakfast and whiskey, played against Jay Adler and Stanley Adams (Cyrano Jones from Star Trek's "The Trouble with Tribbles") is simply marvelous. The give and take, the pointed words... this is probably my favorite scene in the movie. Jay Adler's line "You finished with my breakfast?" is priceless.

I really do dig the dialogue in this movie. It's a Rod Sterling script (another reason I wanted to see this movie), and I think he does really well with it. He leaves a lot unsaid, uses silence well, and that's something I always appreciate in a script.

"Sing for me, and I'll smile for you." -- Tony Sinclair

"I wanted one thing in my life, that was to see you rise up. You only got up as high as your gun belt. That's a low height for a man." -- Steve Sinclair

The Colorado scenery is also amazing. You know me, I need beautiful outdoor landscapes in my movies, and this one provides those and then some. Absolutely gorgeous country in this movie.

Does it get any prettier than a valley of blooming lupines in front of green mountains topped with snow and a brilliant blue sky?

Air Force (1943)

Still on an Arthur Kennedy kick, so watched Air Force. It's a film about the crew of a B-17, sent to Hawaii on the eve of Pearl Harbor, and then on to Wake Island and the Philippines. It's a good, serviceable film, but nothing particularly special or memorable, but definitely worth a watch. Some really nice aerial footage. I've always been fond of B-17s, and so spending time in one in a movie is never a bad thing. I like that we get to see the different stations on the plane, what the crew does while they're just cruising along trying to get somewhere, the necessity for the crew to function as a complete team in order for the plane to function.

There isn't much plot to this one. We're mostly just along for the ride with the crew as they stop at the famous battles, and then finally get to engage in one of their own. There's a few routine subplots -- the soldier (John Garfield) with a chip on his shoulder whose enlistment is up, who naturally stays in after war breaks out. He also flunked out of pilot school, but still gets to use those skills to save the plane. There's a pursuit plane pilot (James Brown) who complains mightily about those clunky big B-17s -- and then naturally ends up joining the crew and changing his tune. There's the old-timer (Harry Carey) whose son in Manila dies in combat (one of the truly sad and effective moments in this film). There's a cute dog named Tripoli the marines at Wake Island pass off to the B-17 crew, knowing they're going to get wiped out.

Not nearly enough Arthur Kennedy to suit me, but the other characters were interesting enough to keep me paying attention.

They Died With Their Boots On (1941)

I'd never seen this movie before. Watched it back in September and never had time to post about it. I think it's great that since I've seen it, several other posts on it have popped up! I love the timing!

And I really loved this movie. I rented this one primarily for Arthur Kennedy, but was not disappointed in anything else about it. In fact, everything about it surpassed my expectations. The supporting actors were all top notch. Errol Flynn made a great romantic screen Custer. Olivia de Havilland could not possibly be more beautiful. I have to admit, I haven't seen many of her films, mostly just the Errol Flynn/de Havilland combos and, of course, Gone With the Wind. She's wonderful in every one of them, but for some reason, her performance in this movie particularly struck me. Now I want to see more movies just to watch her.


This has to be one of the most romantic movies I've ever seen, in the best sense of the word. They really are a great screen pair.

And I loved Arthur Kennedy in this. Loved how he would be fighting panic every time Custer confronted him. His character wanted to be anywhere else in the world but right there, dealing with his long time nemesis. And, naturally, I loved his fate, me being so fond of that good old redemption theme.

On location - Alabama Hills 4

Here's a few shots showing the front of the Lone Pine Film Museum. I didn't go inside this trip, but I've been in it several times before. A must for any fan of Westerns or the Alabama Hills! Great exhibits, showing posters, photos, costumes, etc. from many of the films made here. There's a short film that runs in their theater that gives some more background on films made here. I love this place! It's so much fun to visit.

On location - Alabama Hills 3

This last one is of Mt. Whitney, just peaking out from beneath the clouds. The road cutting up the Sierra in the back there is the road up to Whitney Portal (where Humphrey Bogart would have his showdown at the end of High Sierra).

On location - Alabama Hills 2

On location - Alabama Hills

One of my absolute favorite places to visit is the Alabama Hills, in Lone Pine, California. I could spend days just exploring and clambering over the rocks. The rock formations, with the Sierra (or the White Mountains) in the background are so distinctive. There's no place like it. The landscape is instantly recognizable in any film made there, and hundreds of films, TV episodes, and commercials have been filmed here over the years.

I was there over the weekend and took some pictures I'll be sharing here over the next week.

Let's start with the two historical plaques. Click the images to make them larger.