The Key (3 stars)

The Key, a 1958 romantic wartime drama directed by Carol Reed and starring William Holden, Sophia Loren, and Trevor Howard, is one of those films which upon first viewing, I just didn't enjoy.  In fact, I came away from this film giving it only 2 stars; however, as I pondered the movie the day after viewing it, it grew on me, and while it will never be one of my favorite William Holden works, I saw some merit in the story---as well as very good acting---so, in the end, I decided this was a 3-star film.

David Ross (William Holden), a sergeant in the Canadian army, has just arrived in England for his latest assignment---that of commander of a rescue tug in the North Atlantic.  Since the tugs are not well-equipped weapon-wise, they are rather defenseless, making each attempted rescue rather like a suicide mission.  When David reports for duty, he discovers that his old friend Chris Ford (Trevor Howard) also commands a tug.

Wanting to get reacquainted, the two men retire to Chris's flat---a flat which he shares with a rather odd woman named Stella (Sophia Loren).  As Chris explains it, another tugman gave him a key to the flat just before he died, offering Chris the use of the place should anything happen to him.  Stella just happened to be part of the deal.

Three men ago, Stella was engaged to be married to the man who owned the flat; the day before their wedding, he was killed in a rescue attempt, and since he had given a key to the apartment to another man---with instructions to use it should anything happen to him---that man moved in and ended up in a relationship with Stella.  He, too, was killed in a rescue attempt, which led Chris to take ownership of the key and to get involved with Stella, who by this time, is grief-stricken by all the loss she has known.  Just before Chris heads out on a mission which will take his life, he gives the key to David, with the same instructions---take the flat...and look out for Stella.

Although David at first thinks Stella is just a common prostitute, it soon becomes apparent that she has loved the men she's been with and that she is so paralyzed by grief, she doesn't really even know one man from another anymore.

Eventually, David falls in love with Stella, and, loving him in return, she seems to withdraw from her grief for a time; however, before they can be married, David feels that his time is up and, so, passes the key on to another tugman.  How everything plays out is the balance of the movie.





The acting in The Key is fantastic!  Sophia Loren is completely sensational as Stella, a woman so scarred by loss and hurt that she is barely able to function.  Really, her portrayal of such a complex woman was simply amazing.  To me, she wasn't her usual beautiful self for most of the movie; however, that would be in keeping with a woman who has "shut down" due to depression.  William Holden---in the most gorgeous years of his career---is beyond handsome in the role.  I love him in his military uniform, and even when the jacket is off and it's just a white shirt and tie, oh, my, is he beautiful!!  Looks aside, though, he was wonderful in his role.  He brought such life and charisma to the character he was portraying.  I felt every emotion he exuded.  Trevor Howard also was really great in his role.  And, finally, Carol Reed's unique way of filming tense scenes at a bit of a diagonal made for an interesting way of looking at things.

Interestingly, if you read the TCM synopsis of this film, you will find that there were two endings made.  The ending on the version I watched was the one required by the Production Code.  Since immoral sexual relationships were not to be rewarded, the original ending (which TCM has in their synopsis) was changed, and the version I saw reflected that change.

This film may be a difficult one to track down.  While I do believe it is available on VHS, it is not out on DVD.   Additionally, I haven't seen it on the TCM schedule very often---I've been looking for it for about three years now, and this past month was the first time they aired it (that I noticed anyway).   However, the film is available in its entirety on YouTube (HERE).  It hasn't been there for the three years I've been looking for it, but while I was putting this post together, I discovered that it has recently been uploaded.  If you are able to track it down or watch it through YouTube, I'd love to know what you think of it.

Happy viewing!!

The Lion (2 stars)

The Lion, from 1962, is an action/adventure film starring William Holden, Trevor Howard, and Capucine, with juvenile actress, Pamela Franklin, in a supporting role.  As a die-hard William Holden fan, I am making it my goal to see as many of his movies as I can, so when I saw that The Lion was making its TCM premiere last night, I excitedly set my DVR.  Alas, I was disappointed; however, I'm not sorry I watched it, and I don't consider it time wasted.  Anytime I have an opportunity to see my beloved Bill Holden in a "new-to-me" film, I consider it time well spent.

Robert Hayward (Holden) and his ex-wife, Christine (Capucine), have been divorced for several years, with Chris having custody of their young daughter, Tina (Pamela Franklin).  While Rob has been living stateside since the divorce, Chris and Tina have been living in Kenya, where Christine's new husband, John Bullit (Trevor Howard), manages a game preserve.  Concerned because of Tina's isolation and her strong attachment to a full-grown lion, Chris requests that Rob make a trip to Africa to judge the situation for himself.

Though Rob at first thinks Tina is bright and well-adjusted, he comes to realize that Chris is right...Tina does, in fact, have an unhealthy attachment to the lion---and he does to her as well, even, in a dramatic moment, choosing Tina over a lioness.  Additionally, Tina is strongly connected to the tribal customs of the local natives, something which greatly concerns her mother.  Rob realizes that Tina needs to be removed from the game preserve and brought to the states to live with him; however, since his connection with his daughter had been severed when she was very young, and she now looks upon Bullit as her father, will Rob be able to convince her to leave Africa and live with him?  Making matters even worse is the fact that Rob violated the natives' tribal laws by saving a man who had been left to die.  And on top of it all is Rob and Chris's realization that they still love each other.  How everything plays out is the balance of the film.

The Lion was filmed entirely on location in East Africa.  William Holden, part-owner in a Kenyan game preserve, had long-wanted to be involved in a film such as this.  Truly, it was his passion, and, in fact, according to Robert Osborne's informational snippets, he is the one who spearheaded the effort to have this film made.  Despite his zeal for the project, though, the film didn't do it for me.  I don't generally do well with animal films...for what are probably obvious reasons.  In this movie, it appeared that Trevor Howard's character was taunting the animals with his vehicle.  Perhaps it was meant to be just playfulness, but it was a turn-off for me.  Also, I didn't feel there was much chemistry between any of the stars---funny because Holden and Capucine were involved with one another at this point in their lives (said Robert Osborne).  I didn't see their off-screen love playing out in the film.

Just because I didn't enjoy this film, though, it doesn't mean others won't love it---especially those with an interest in Africa or safari animals.  (The scenery is stunning, and the animals are completely awesome.) While I don't believe the movie is out on DVD, I am willing to part with my copy.  Given that it was a William Holden film, I assumed I would love it, so I recorded it to disc as I watched it; however, it's not a movie I will ever watch again, so I am happy to send my recorded disc to anyone who wants it.  Please don't hesitate to ask.

Happy viewing!!

Christmas Eve (5 stars)

With it now being December and Christmas very much on everyone's minds, I want to spotlight a Christmas movie every now and then.  While our family watches more than just Christmas movies in December, we do have several must-watch films, some of them not very well known.  In the hopes of helping all of you discover some new holiday gems, I will share a few of our family's favorites during the coming week.

First up is Christmas Eve, a 1986 made-for-TV movie.  Yes, this "really don't like post-1960's movies" gal is recommending a film from 1986.  That's because it stars two classic movie greats...Loretta Young and Trevor Howard.  And I must say this...Loretta Young aged beautifully and gracefully.  She was 74 years old in Christmas Eve..and looking beautiful and elegant.

Briefly, the story is as follows:   Amanda Kingsley (Loretta Young) is a wealthy, somewhat eccentric widow, who lives in a posh New York apartment with her butler, Maitland (Trevor Howard, who was 73 years old in this film).  Amanda has a 50-ish son, Andrew (Arthur Hill), and three adult grandchildren.  Because Arthur is a cold-hearted, money-and-power-hungry, controlling man, he has long been alienated from his children.  Due to their dislike of him, they have all moved away.  Though they love their grandmother, they haven't seen her in years because they don't want to come in contact with their dad.

This particular year, however, as Amanda's health begins to decline, she hopes to unite the family in her apartment on Christmas Eve.  At the same time, though, Andrew, tired of his mother's generous giving to the less fortunate, intends to have her declared mentally incompetent.

Will Amanda's fondest wish come true?  Will she be able to track down her grandchildren?  Will she be able to convince them to come home for Christmas?  Will Andrew be successful in having Amanda declared incompetent?  How it all plays out is the focus of this touching movie.

I found this clip on YouTube...just see how totally gorgeous Loretta Young was at 74 years of age!!

I remember watching this movie when it aired on TV back in 1986. I was 25 years old, newly married, and absolutely NOT into classic movies. (At that point in my life, I was completely about all things modern!) However, I was extremely close to my grandparents and had even lived with them for a few years before getting married. And they, of course, having been born in the 1910s, were very much into classic movies. (From the recesses of my mind I can recall that Ray Milland was my grandmother's top guy...wouldn't she love to know that Milland makes my top dozen list!). Anyhow, my grandmother was beyond excited about the TV movie...it would be the first film appearance of Loretta Young in years. Though I didn't know the names Loretta Young and Trevor Howard from Adam, because I loved my grandmother, I was willing to watch the movie with her, and I remember really enjoying it and being touched by it.

Fast forward to the mid 2000's. I had gotten into classic movies and was looking for Christmas movies. After watching (and totally loving!) The Bishop's Wife, Loretta Young was on my mind, and from the stores of my long-term memory, Christmas Eve came forth. Though I hadn't thought about this movie in all those years, I remembered that Loretta Young was in a made-for-TV Christmas movie in 1986. I did a search and found that the film was out on VHS...and my local library had a copy. So, for four years (2006, 2007, 2008, and 2009), our family enjoyed this tender and touching film as part of our holiday viewing. Sadly, though, this film is not out on DVD and since our VHS player bit the dust in December, 2009, we were not able to enjoy this beautiful movie last year. (Additionally, our library has purged their VHS collection, so even if our player worked, the movie is no longer in their inventory.)

For those that have a working VHS player, I highly recommend trying to track down this movie.  It is really beautiful...and those that love classic movies will enjoy seeing two wonderful stars in their twilight years.  In preparing this post, I have discovered that Lost Holiday Classics (HERE) has this film available on DVD, but I don't know if that is a reputable site or what the quality of the DVD is.  Even so, though, I love this movie, so I think I'm going to take a chance on purchasing through them...because Christmas movie viewing just isn't the same without it.

By the way, I see used VHS copies available through Amazon.  And of the 12 reviews posted there, 11 of them call this a 5-star film; the other review calls it a 4-star.  Very definitely, a must-see holiday movie!!

ADDENDUM:  Since this post, I have purchased through this company, and I am completely satisfied with their service and quality.  (I purchased the Robert Ryan film,  Inferno, so read that review HERE, which contains a link to the company's non-holiday movies.)

SECOND ADDENDUM:  Because I am completely comfortable with the quality and reliability of Rare Classic DVD's, I have ordered several films from them...including Christmas Eve.  This beloved film is now, once again, a regular part of my family's holiday viewing.

Happy viewing!!

Brief Encounter (3 stars)

Brief Encounter, directed by David Lean and starring Trevor Howard and Celia Johnson, is a romantic drama from 1945.  The movie, which is told in flashback, is the story of Dr. Alec Harvey and Mrs. Laura Jessen, who, though both married to others, fall deeply in love and embark on an ill-fated love affair.

Quite by accident, Alec and Laura meet at a train station one Thursday afternoon while both are enroute home from their usual Thursday outing.  When Laura gets a piece of coal dust in her eye, the doctor steps in to help her remove it.  Just like that, a friendship is born, and the next several Thursdays find them meeting one another.  Before long, they are deepy in love with one another; however, such love cannot be?  Or can it?  Can these two people, who are both already married to another, have any sort of future together?  Those are the questions that will play out in this film.

By today's standards, Brief Encounter is very outdated...even laughable. In our "just have an affair, just get divorced" society, it seems odd that these people, supposedly in love, would agonize so much.  If viewed through the lens of the moral climate then, though, this film is quite beautiful and responsible.  The filming is very good(especially as I have a huge fascination with trains and train stations), and the classical Rachmaninoff score is lovely, but the film fell just a a bit short for me.  While I enjoyed it and really felt for the characters, I didn't really find it all that romantic...or passionate.  The film's trailer claimed it was "the most romantic film of all time," so perhaps my expectations were a bit too high.  At any rate, I didn't find it very romantic.  Perhaps, had it been more so, or if the chemistry between Howard and Johnson had been just a bit more, or perhaps if I had been more enamored of either lead, I would have given 4 stars. 

I think this film is certainly worth viewing, even if only to be transported back to a time when commitment and marriage meant something, when people took their vows seriously.  I believe the film is out on DVD and should be easy to track down; however, it's also available on Net Flix instant viewing which is how I watched it.

Happy viewing!!