BEST FILMS OF 1936
by Mike Lorefice

Cesar
Marcel Pagnol

Marcel Pagnol steps behind the camera for the concluding portion of his Marseilles trilogy, now reaching the big screen prior to the stage. Pagnol's magic comes from the characters themselves, and thus works in any form so long as they are the focus. His directing, and the entire trilogy for that matter, is very restrained, but for what it's worth Marc Allegret's portion is the most successful in this medium because in keeping a slightly higher profile he better incorporates the locale that's so central to the stories. Pagnol's neighborhood cinema works largely because nobodies are the centerpiece rather than wannabe superheroes or crazy crane shots. He presents undistilled humanity. You love and hate his characters almost at once because they are annoying nuisances, but they are like your annoying nuisances. They are self-centered, and thus good and bad originates not from a desire to help or hurt another, but simply to get what they want through whatever means honorable or dishonorable. Everyone can relate to these characters because the scale is small. Petty stories endure because while technology is usually out of date when you buy it, people ultimately squabble and bicker over the same basic things in any decade. Pagnol's characters are overly emotional, but in a way that helps sell us on how important and meaningful these ordinary little events are to them. Cesar is slower paced than Marius and Fanny, remembrance brought on by Panisse's death and old passions and misunderstandings rekindled through Marius' first appearance since he hit Cesar 15 years ago. The argument for Cesar being the best is based on the standout actor Raimu, whose performances improve considerably by the film. 20-year-old Cesariot (Andre Fouche) is the primary character more than his Grandgodfather, as he finally learns he's been deceived about his heritage. Friction between drama and comedy has created the tension in these films, but each film grows less funny as regret leads to tragedy. That said, Pagnol is hopeful that the younger generation will be smarter, or at least more pragmatic, than their predecessors. Combined with the elderly wisdom of Cesar, this allows for the typical Hollywood ending. [5/2/07] ***

The Devil-Doll
Tod Browning

Old static lens Tod Browning surprises with a film whose success has a lot to do with fluid visuals and special effects. I almost feel like I need to watch the film again because there couldn't be effective camera movement and lighting in a Tod Browning film, could there have been? Lionel Barrymore plays an escaped con who seeks revenge on the three bankers who framed him. His partner in escape is a mad scientist who, with help from his wacky wife (Rafaela Ottiano in her typical over the top performance), has nearly perfected the black art of shrinking living things (he graduates from animals to people) to 1/6th of their normal size. The one problem is they lose their memory, but of course it's still "an improvement". As they have no memory they lie idle until someone utilizes mind control to get them to do his bidding. When the partner dies, Barrymore is convinced to continue his work by tying it into his revenge plot. Despite some script work by Erich Von Stroheim, more than a portion of the story is lifted from Browning's earlier Unholy Three, with Barrymore playing the Lon Chaney role of the old grandmother who runs a shop as a front for criminal activity. Chaney did his usual great makeup job, he and Orson Welles (an admirer) were about the only ones that ever benefited from the mask because with them it wasn't about making themselves characterless, in fact quite the opposite. Unlike Chaney, who takes it as yet another challenge to transform himself, Barrymore doesn't really try to be credible as a woman, preferring to ham it up. It all comes off quite silly, largely because without Chaney it's played as such. Though Unholy Three is much funnier largely because it's played straight, Devil-Doll has it's moment's of twisted humor, particularly when it comes to Ottiano's obsession with converting and playing with the human dolls. The special effects are largely accomplished by using oversized sets, which because they are tangible are more believable than the very not special computer backgrounds destroying movies today. Black and white photography and lighting effects help disguise the special effects in the scenes with regular and "miniature" people, though sometimes a ghostlike outline is detectable around the minis. Perhaps little humans are not creepy, but their revenge scenes are inspired and original. In addition, the classic scene where one descends from a Christmas tree and ascends the stairs, easily sneaking past unsuspecting cops, is at least humorous. The main problem with Devil-Doll is the sappy subplot where Barrymore's daughter (Maureen O'Sullivan) hates him for ruining the family's name/lives and threatens to turn him in if he shows up. Of course he gets her to come around in the end, which also includes some censor instilled morality. What makes all this worse, is unlike Mark of the Vampire which was perhaps no sillier but for me held little interest, originality, or charm, instead of a great surprise ending that almost redeemed the camp or even a mediocre murder ending, we get the uninspired conclusion of the family plot. This film is very effective at times, but has a lot of weaknesses. It's generally good fun and is so far out there it's worth seeing, especially for fans of cult movies. [10/21/05] ***

Dodsworth
William Wyler

Samuel Goldwyn fully backed William Wyler in bringing Sidney Howard's Broadway adaptation of Sinclair Lewis' highly regarded novel on the breakdown of a marriage to the screen intact, resulting in one of the most mature and least dated 1930's Hays code films. The plot shockingly isn't the least bit contrived, situations simply occur from new and different circumstances causing the characters to do things they'll later regret and make decisions they'd rather not make. Auto mogul Sam Dodsworth (Walter Huston) retires after his daughter is married to finally spend time with his wife Fran (Ruth Chatterton). Though Fran holds it against him, their marriage probably only worked because he was hardly around. It's clear from the beginning their ideas and tastes are very different, but when they travel to Europe Fran becomes ashamed of their cultureless Midwest roots. She is able to hide her background and pass as a high society denizen, while Sam is secure and thus has no reason to change. The younger Fran starts to associate Sam with age and hicks, while Europe becomes synonymous with youth and refinery, meaning Sam would be done for if she didn't need his money and stability. Sam gives in at every turn, forgiving her shallow and selfish behavior, and even a number of flirtations and flings. The time they spend together isn't fulfilling for either of them, and she only brings him pain and grief. He can neither please her nor bring himself to give up on her because all he's had all these years is work and Fran, and he just gave up one, leaving her. If I'm siding too much with Sam, it's because despite Wyler fighting her at every turn Chatterton's poor performance makes an understandable character into an unsympathetic one. Mary Astor gives a better performance, but her character is just as bad in the other direction. It's amazing getting a divorce and taking up with a divorcee without any punishment passed the code, but Astor's Edith Cortright is too ideal and the relationship she has with Sam too idyllic. Wyler revisited the idea of a good woman healing a man in The Best Years of Our Lives, but there it was far more credible because Teresa Wright was young and hadn't been jaded by her previous relationships. Walter Huston's superb performance is more akin to the usual standards of Wyler's films. He recreates his theater role, but with tremendous restraint, eliminating anything that would tip us off to that fact. Perhaps Wyler deserves more credit for the look of his films than he's usually afforded. Even if Rudolph Mate is also one of the greatest cinematographers, Dodsworth has the flourishes typically associated with Wyler's work with Gregg Toland, particularly deep focus photography, even though he'd only worked with Toland once, on his previous film These Three. [2/12/07] ***

Fury
Fritz Lang

****

Full Movie Review

Modern Times
Charlie Chaplin

***

Sabotage
Alfred Hitchcock

A playful thriller full of coincidence and ironic nods that's also one of Hitchcock's darkest films. It's set in a movie house, and regularly plays off the deception of movie making and how that relates to the men involved. With Sabotage and the previous 39 Steps Hitchcock was finally putting together sound films to match the style of his best silents. Sabotage has a few extremely memorable montages (the timebomb scene and murder done in scattered closeups) and various expressionist effects, particularly the shadows to define the villain. Oscar Homolka plays a terrorist who uses his movie theatre as a front. He's reputed to be such a nice guy and so great to Desmond Tester, the young brother of his wife Sylvia Sidney, but this really doesn't come off. The movie is supposed to be about Sidney suspecting him of doubling as a terrorist, but even though she knows he's lying about his whereabouts right off the bat, she seems the last to suspect him. It takes a Scotland Yard detective (John Loder), befriending her as part of his casework (and because he instantly has a crush on her), to open her eyes. This theme is handled much better in Suspicion, and the final portion after she kills her husband out of the blue seems almost a replay of Blackmail. Hitchcock doesn't really develop the plot, but the settings and atmosphere alone make it worthwhile. What makes it memorable is the great timebomb scene. Hitchcock always used the timebomb to explain the difference between shock and suspense, the former happening out of the blue the latter really engaging the audience and playing with their emotions because they knew what was about to come and wished they could warn the character. This example is also particularly powerful because an innocent young child is unknowingly transporting the bomb. Hitchcock throws every delay at the child, including a hilarious scene where he gets sucked into being a guinea pig for a toothpaste and hair varnish sales pitch. *Spoiler Alert* The audience and even critics reacted poorly to the bomb actually going off, which did switch over to shock. To me if you are going to make an argument for this as a great film it would have to be based on the amazing surprise of this occurrence, which was probably unlike anything seen before. [12/2/05] ***