The Search (1948)

The Search, from 1948, is a somewhat sentimental post-war drama, directed by Fred Zinnemann and starring Montgomery Clift in his second film appearance.  Also starring Wendell Corey, Aline MacMahon, and Ivan Jandl, The Search provided Mr. Clift with his first Best Actor Academy Award nomination.  According to Clift's biography, Monty considered The Search to be "the most fulfilling artistic experience of his life."  (From Montgomery Clift, a Biography, by Patricia Bosworth.)

The movie begins with a trainload of displaced children arriving at a relief center, where they will be temporarily housed while a search is made for their relatives.  Though the intent of the center is to help, many of the children, having previously been herded onto trains and shipped off to concentration camps, are understandably terrified and untrusting.  One little boy in particular, Karel Malek, is so frightened that he actually finds a way to run away, escaping on his own into war-torn Germany.

Ralph "Steve" Stevenson (Monty Clift), an American soldier still stationed in Germany, happens upon the hungry and frightened little boy.

Feeling that the boy shouldn't be wandering around on his own, Steve feeds him and then takes him back to his apartment, with the intent to locate his parents.

Though fearful and untrusting at first, Karel comes to realize that Steve is his friend and wants to help him.

Meanwhile, in another part of the city, Hannah Malek is combing the relief centers in search of the son from whom she was separated at Auschwitz, hoping against hope that he still lives.

A sweet, mildly heart-tugging film, The Search always gets me misty-eyed. Montgomery Clift is extremely good in this Oscar-nominated role, and his chemistry with the little boy (Ivan Jandl) is terrific. Wanting to be completely prepared for his role, before shooting began, Mr. Clift lived for a time in an army engineer's unit, dressed in army fatigues, and toured U. N. Relief and Rehabilitation camps in Germany. He was totally driven to make his character and the film authentic, which resulted in numerous improvisations of the script and endless battles with the film's producer. In the end, though, the film received unanimous acclaim and Monty, who was pleased with his performance, became one of Hollywood's hottest stars.

A solid 4-star film, The Search is definitely worth watching, and since it is available on DVD, it ought to be fairly easy to track down.  If you are a Montgomery Clift fan, or if you like post-war films, definitely see this.  You're sure to enjoy it.



Happy viewing!!!

From Here to Eternity (5 stars)

With this coming Wednesday being the 70th anniversary of the Pearl Harbor bombing, I thought it would be the perfect time to talk about From Here to Eternity, the sensational wartime romantic drama from 1953.  This fabulous film, directed by Fred Zinnemann, won a total of eight Oscars that year, including best director and best picture.   All five of the movie's major stars---Burt Lancaster, Montgomery Clift, Deborah Kerr, Frank Sinatra, and Donna Reed---received nominations for their roles; Sinatra and Reed, both nominated in the supporting actor/actress category, walked away with statues for their work.  Lancaster and Clift, both of whom were nominated in the lead actor category were upset by William Holden's performance in Stalag 17, while Deborah Kerr was upset by newcomer Audrey Hepburn in Roman Holiday.  Despite not taking the lead actor and actress categories, though, From Here to Eternity was the big winner for 1953, and, I think, rightfully so...it is a blockbuster of a movie.

There are several storylines going on in this film, which is set at Schofield Barracks in Hawaii only weeks before the Japanese attack.  First, there's Sgt. Robert E. Lee Prewitt, otherwise known as Prew (Montgomery Clift).  As the film begins, Prew, a bugler who has played "Taps" at Arlington on Armistice Day, has transferred in from another unit. 

A very good boxer in his former unit, Prew is being pressured to take on that role in his new regiment...something he does not want to do.  The regiment's captain, however, won't take "no" for an answer, and he begins piling on extra duties in the hopes of breaking Prew and causing him to give in.

There's Karen Holmes (Deborah Kerr), whose marriage to the regiment's captain is in shambles.  Despising her unfaithful husband, she has been involved with a number of men through the years, but she now finds herself falling in love.

Sgt. Milton Warden (Burt Lancaster) is the man with whom Karen Holmes is falling in love, and the feeling is quite mutual.  Despite the career damage it could do for him to be discovered with his superior officer's wife, Warden cannot stay away from her.

Private Angelo Maggio (Frank Sinatra) is a good-natured, fun-loving guy who, simply because he has an Italian name, gets on the bad side of the stockade sergeant (Ernest Borgnine); when Angelo skips out on guard duty one night and is sentenced to the stockade for punishment, the sergeant is determined to destroy him.

Finally, there's Lorene, also known as Alma (Donna Reed), a hostess at one of the local clubs.  Though Prew loves her and wants to marry her, Lorene won't let anything deter her from her plans of making alot of money and marrying well.  Marrying a soldier is simply not on her radar.

On top of all these stories is the arrival of the "Day of Infamy."  As bombs are dropped on Pearl Harbor, lives will be changed.  Who, if any, will survive?

From Here to Eternity is a really terrific film, with superior acting by all the leads.  The chemistry between everyone was great too.  Burt Lancaster and Deborah Kerr were wonderful together...really the passion between them was totally believable.  Also, the chemistry between Montgomery Clift and Donna Reed was just as fabulous as the chemistry Clift had with Elizabeth Taylor in A Place in the Sun.  Frank Sinatra, who I really like as an actor, was sensational as well.  I know there are many people that think Sintra couldn't act...I am definitely not one of those people. He is easily in my top-15 list.  I think he was fantastic in several films, and I wholeheartedly believe he deserved the Academy Award he received for this role. 

No surprise...TCM will be airing From Here to Eternity on December 7th, at 8:00 p.m.  If you have never seen this film, I highly recommend trying to catch it then.  Or look for it on DVD.  It's really a blockbuster of a movie.

Happy viewing!!!

Act of Violence (3 stars)

Act of Violence, from 1948, is a mildly suspenseful film noir/drama starring Van Heflin, Robert Ryan, and Janet Leigh.  Directed by Fred Zinnemann, this film features Mary Astor and Phyllis Thaxter in supporting roles.  It's a film that is quick to get to the action...no waiting around for things to start happening.

The film begins as a man with a limp, gun in hand, gets on a bus to Los Angeles.  After arriving and checking into a hotel, said man, Joe Parkson (Robert Ryan, again in an angry man role), rifles through the phone book until he finds the name Frank Enley.

After being honored at a community event, Frank Enley (Van Heflin), a successful contractor with a wife and child, departs for a fishing trip with a friend.  After Frank has left the house, Joe Parkson arrives at Frank's door.  Though Frank's wife Edith (Janet Leigh) has never seen Parkson before, she ends up telling him that Frank has gone fishing at Redwood Lake. 

Joe makes his own way to Redwood Lake, where he rents a boat and rows out to within a few hundred feet of where the marina manager indicated Frank could be found.  Before he can shoot Frank, though, Frank and his friend head back to shore.  When the marina manager asks Frank if his friend found him, and then describes the friend as being a lame man, Frank becomes totally agitated and hightails it back home. 

At home, Frank is even more paranoid and anxious---he closes all the drapes, turns off the lights, double checks the door locks, and refuses to let his wife answer the phone.  And when the doorbell rings, he nearly freaks out.  Frank obviously knows a lame man, and he knows what the lame man wants with him, but at first, he refuses to tell Edith anything.  Eventually, Frank reveals that while in a German prison camp during the war, he betrayed some of his men.  Parkson, one of the men under his command, while not killed as the other men had been, had been injured.  Now he was out for revenge.

As Joe makes contact with Edith, she tries to get him to see that what happened was in the past and that it needs to be left there.  Also trying to get Joe to see that his desire for vengeance is wrong is his girlfriend (Phyllis Thaxter).  But Joe doesn't see it that way...all he can see is that Frank needs to pay for being a traitor to his own men.  So, Joe keeps chasing Frank down...and Frank keeps running.

Does Joe kill Frank?  Or is he finally able to let the past go?  As for Frank, is he able to let go of the past himself and stop running from his mistake?  These are the questions that will play out in the remainder of this film.

While Act of Violence is nothing spectacular, it is an interesting, entertaining film with good acting.  This was actually one of the films in which I began to have respect for Van Heflin.  My first exposure to Heflin was several years ago in 3:10 to Yuma.  It's funny, because while his character in that film (Dan Evans) was bold and courageous, for some reason, I just saw Heflin as rather milque-toasty.  It wasn't until this film and Possessed that I actually began to see him in another light.  I definitely enjoyed him here, and, of course, I love Robert Ryan in roles like this.  He is good and solid here...as always.

This film is out on DVD so it should be quite easy to track down.  Happy viewing!!