Madame X (5 stars)

In celebration of Lana Turner's February 8th birthday, I recently enjoyed a re-watch of my favorite of her films---Madame X---and since my review of it was way back on the very first day of this blog, I decided a re-write and expansion of that post was in order.

With Lana Turner in the title role and supporting help from John Forsythe, Constance Bennett, Ricardo Montalban, Burgess Meredith, and Keir Dullea, 1966's Madame X is not only my favorite Lana Turner film but my favorite film of the 1960's and among my top 7 movies of all-time.  It's an incredibly beautiful, heart-tugging movie...the one I consider to be the tearjerker of all tearjerkers (though Gary Cooper's Ten North Frederick is right up there too). It doesn't just cause me to weep...but to sob...almost to the point that I can barely breathe.  Sometimes, I pop the movie into the player and then fast-forward to the final 30 minutes just so I can sob my  heart out.  Strange, yes...but the absolute truth. 

The story is about Holly Anderson (Lana), a young woman who has married into a rich and powerful family.  Her husband, Clay (John Forsythe), has political aspirations and an extremely controlling mother (Constance Bennett) who wants to be sure her son becomes all that he aspires to be.  Although Holly and Clay seem happy and even have a son early into their marriage, Clay travels a great deal, leaving Holly very lonely.  Her mother-in-law, however, tells Holly that she simply must not sit home and long for Clay...that she has a role to fulfill...that she must continue to be seen socially.

Holly begins to attend social functions with another man (Ricardo Montalban), and eventually he falls in love with her.  When Holly informs him she cannot see him anymore, they fight, and he tumbles down a flight of stairs, dying immediately.  Mother-in-law insists that since it looks like Holly killed him, a scandal will ensue, thus ruining Clay's political future.  Determining that the best way to protect her son and grandson from Holly's "indiscretion" is to get Holly out of their lives, mother-in-law promises to cover everything up if Holly will just disappear forever.  So...at mother-in-law's urging and with her help, Holly "dies" in a tragic boat accident and then goes to Europe, where mother-in-law sends money for her support.

For twenty years, Holly spirals downward into alcoholism and addiction and perhaps prostitution (nothing is shown, so that possibility is left to the imagination). She is a shell of the beautiful woman she used to be. Eventually, a con man discovers who Holly really is, and he intends to use that information to extort money. Desperate to keep the man from destroying her husband's political hopes and her son's future ambitions, Holly shoots him and is sent to trial. The man appointed to defend her is none other than her now-grown-up son, and neither mother nor son has any idea who the other is.




At the time I first discovered Madame X, I didn't profess to be a huge Lana Turner fan; in fact, I really didn't care for her that much. While I loved the movie and the title character, Lana herself did nothing for me.  Since then, though, I've come to  love Lana and now deem her among my five favorite actresses of all time.  I truly believe her performance in Madame X has to be the finest performance of her career.  She is completely brilliant here...very definitely worthy of an Academy Award nomination, which, unbelievably, she did not receive.

It has recently come to my awareness that there is a 1937 version of Madame X, with Gladys George in the title role.  I would love an opportunity to see it and to compare the two films.

Since Madame X is out on DVD, it ought to be fairly easy to track down a copy.  Try to see it if you can, as it really is an amazingly beautiful, heart-tugging movie which I highly recommend.

Happy viewing!!

To Sir, with Love (5 stars)

Another one of my 5-star film discoveries for this year is To Sir, with Love, a 1967 drama starring man of the month, Sidney Poitier.  Filmed in England, this film features a British supporting cast---Christian Roberts, Judy Geeson, and Lulu among them.  James Clavell (of Shogun fame) wrote the screenplay and produced and directed the film, which, like Blackboard Jungle twelve years earlier, finds Mr. Poitier surrounded by delinquent students in a high school classroom.

Unable to obtain a job in his career field, engineer Mark Thackery (Sidney Poitier) relocates to London, where a teaching job in an inner-city school awaits him.  Though Mark has never taught before, and despite warnings that the students are rebellious rejects from other schools, he, nevertheless, accepts the position.  Knowing the behavior of the students in Mr. Thackery's classroom, another teacher jokingly refers to Mark as a "lamb for the slaughter."

Stepping into the classroom, Mark is transported to a wild, unruly, uncooperative world. Disrespect for authority---and even for one another---is the norm for the students.  They swear, throw things from windows, create disturbances, and---Mark soon discovers---the majority of them can barely read.

Idealistic and wanting to help the kids become mature, responsible, properly-behaving adults, Mark strives for a way to reach them.  Since traditional methods won't work with this bunch of rebels, he'll need to try a different approach.  How Mark turns a group of wild hooligans into a class of respectful, caring students will play out in the remainder of the film.

To Sir, with Love is a wonderful movie, with terrific acting by everyone.  Mr. Poitier, of course, leads the pack, giving his usual brilliant performance.  I really loved him in this role, which, incidentally, is one of the few in which his race isn't central to the story.  Also played perfectly were the student parts---especially Pamela (Judy Geeson) and Denham (Christian Roberts).

In some ways, To Sir, with Love is like Mr. Poitier's earlier classroom film, Blackboard Jungle---only this time, Sidney is the teacher, not the delinquent.  (Glenn Ford is the teacher in that film.) Both films feature a teacher who won't give up...who won't throw in the towel...who will do whatever is necessary to make a positive impact on his students.  They're both terrific films about the life-changing role a teacher can have.   What took To Sir, with Love from 4 to 5 stars for me is its beautiful sentimentality.  The final few minutes, which feature student Barbara (Lulu) singing "To Mr. Thackery (Sir), with Love," really touched me.  I vaguely remember this song from childhood (I was 6 when it was popular), but hearing it in context with the film gives a whole new meaning to the lyrics.  They're powerful, heart-tugging, and tear-inducing.



Mark had cared...and that caring resulted in them caring, and that was very touchingly portrayed in the final few minutes.  Quite honestly, I think To Sir, with Love is the quintessential teachers' movie.  Sure it's a 45-year old film, but its message is timeless.

The film is out on DVD, and it is also on the TCM schedule for Sunday, April 14th, at 1:30 p.m. (ET).  If you like Sidney Poitier---or inspiring movies---you ought to greatly enjoy this.

Happy viewing!

  

Edge of the City (5 stars)

Another of my 5-star film discoveries of 2013 is 1957's Edge of the City, a hard-hitting racial issues/union corruption drama starring John Cassavetes and "man of the month" Sidney Poitier.  The film, which features Jack Warden and Ruby Dee in supporting roles, was originally a TV movie entitled A Man Is Ten Feet Tall.  The part was written with Sidney Poitier in mind.

Looking for work in a New York railroad yard is drifter Axel North (John Cassavetes).  Through a former friend, Axel has a contact at the rail yard and is soon hired on.

Axel's contact---the corrupt Charlie Malek (Jack Warden)---rules the roost at the yard and demands a kickback from Axel for getting him the job.  Additionally, he forbids him to have anything to do with Tommy Tyler (Sidney Poitier)---another employee who has been friendly to Axel.  Though Malek never outright says so, it is obvious that his contempt for Tommy is because he is black.

Despite Malek's warnings to stay away from Tommy, Axel goes to work on Tommy's crew, and the two men become very good friends.

As Axel spends time with Tommy and his wife, Lucy (Ruby Dee), they set him up with one of their friends, and while on a date one evening, Axel is approached by a man claiming to know him from somewhere...something which Axel denies.  Although Axel attempts to explain his behavior, it would appear that he is hiding something.

Deeply troubled by his past---and trying to hide his true identity, lest he be discovered and sent to prison---Axel finds himself at Malek's mercy.  Having discovered Axel's secret, Charlie demands a larger kickback from him; he also insists that Axel leave Tommy's crew and join his instead...failure to do so, and the gig is up.   A friend in every sense of the word, Tommy steps in to help Axel out of his difficulty...an action which infuriates Charlie and results in tragedy.



As with nearly every Sidney Poitier film I have ever seen, this is an intense, hard-hitting drama, featuring sensational acting...John Cassavetes and Mr. Poitier are both stellar in their roles.  Jack Warden is appropriately nasty and quite good as "the heavy."  Ruby Dee is terrfic as well.  Her final scene with Mr. Cassavetes is riveting.  The film's score is dramatic and quite adds to the mood.

I've seen Edge of the City compared to On the Waterfront.  For me (and I know I often march to the beat of my own drum), Edge of the City is the superior film.  While both tackle the issue of union corruption, abuse of power, and the need to speak out against them, Edge of the City moved me in a way On the Waterfront did not.  Quite honestly, Waterfront is only a 3-star film for me.

Portraying a black man and a white man as good friends was bold for 1957, as was having the black man as the white man's workplace superior.  For those reasons, Edge of the City did not play in the American South, thus making it a poor money-maker.

To  my knowledge, this film is not out on DVD; however, it is on the TCM schedule for Thursday, March 28th, at 8:00 p.m. (ET).  If you are a fan of either Sidney Poitier or John Cassavetes, you won't want to miss it.

Happy viewing!

The Roman Spring of Mrs. Stone (5 stars)

In all of last year, I had 6 "new to me" 5-star films...this year, after only 33 days, I already have 4!  It's not that I'm getting easier to please, because I also have at least a half dozen 1-star, couldn't-get-into-it-and-turned-it-off-after-20-minutes films.  Whatever the reason I've come upon so many lately, I absolutely love making 5-star film discoveries...and I love sharing them with my blog readers, always hoping that you will be as excited about the film as I am.  So, without further adieu, here is the first 5-star film discovery of 2013.

From 1961, comes The Roman Spring of Mrs. Stone, a meaty, adult-themed, tragedy, starring Vivien Leigh and, in his second film appearance, Warren Beatty.  Taking on a supporting role in the film (and nominated for an Academy Award for her performance) is Lotte Lenya, with a very young (and beautiful) Jill St. John having a small part as well.  Based on the Tennessee Williams novel of the same name, The Roman Spring of Mrs. Stone has somewhat of a Sunset Boulevard feel to it, as it explores the relationship between a fading, middle-aged actress and a much younger gigolo-type man.

Middle-age stage actress, Karen Stone (Vivien Leigh), has reached a crisis point in her career. After being told by a friend that it's not a question of talent but of time of life and that she ought to take on more age-appropriate roles, Karen makes the decision to close her current play and to take a vacation with her years-older husband.  Before reaching their destination, however, Tom Stone suffers a fatal heart attack, leaving Karen to face life in Rome by herself.

In the business of providing handsome young men to wealthy widows of a certain age, the Contessa Magda (Lotte Lenya) makes a call on the lonely Mrs. Stone.  Accompanying the Contessa is Paola de Leo (Warren Beatty), who puts the moves on Karen, only to find, to his great ire, that she has no interest in him.  Knowing Karen is extremely wealthy, Paola intensifies his efforts to enter into a relationship with her, and in time, he is successful.  Though Karen has her doubts about the suitability of seeing Paola, since she is incredibly lonely and "drifting through life with nowhere to go," she continues to spend time with him; eventually, despite knowing that Paola may be using her for monetary gain, Karen falls into a physical affair with him.

With the Contessa pressuring him for her share of what he's received from Mrs. Stone, Paola intensifies his efforts with Karen, even indicating that he is in love with her.  Having fallen in love with him, Karen fails to heed her friends' warnings that she has become a subject of gossip; in fact, she pushes her friends away.  Paolo has become her obsession...only now he flirts with other women and, instead of words of love, he spews forth cruelty; adding to Karen's angst is the stranger lurking around her apartment and following her around the city.

Does Paolo really love Karen?  Or is he just using her?  Will the Contessa continue to wait patiently for Paolo's payment?  Will Karen be able to stop "drifting through life" and gracefully accept that she is growing older? And what of the lurking stranger?  What does he want with Karen?  These are the questions which will play out throughout the remainder of the film.



There is so much about this film that merited a 5-star rating---the acting, the photography, the direction, the score.  Vivien Leigh is completely and totally terrific in her role.  Forty-eight years old here and grieving the ending of her marriage to Laurence Olivier, she may have felt she was bringing her own story to life.  While Vivien's marriage had ended due to divorce rather than death as her character's had, she was no less heartbroken.  Perhaps the very fact that Karen's life somewhat mirrored her own made Miss Leigh's portrayal of her so realistic...so gut-wrenching...so heartbreaking...so all-fire tragic!  The pain in Karen's eyes as she "drifted" through the film was, undoubtedly, the same pain Vivien herself was experiencing.  I loved Karen, and I so felt for her..in part, I'm sure, because of her parallel with Miss Leigh, whom I have come to love.  Though nearly 48 here, Vivien is still incredibly beautiful---once you get used to the blonde hair hair she is sporting.  Her wardrobe is stunning---I was especially wild about the beige one-shoulder gown.  Finally, adding an extra dose of sorrow to Miss Leigh's tragic portrayal, is the knowledge that this is her next to last film.

Lotte Lenya is absolutely terrific as well.  She oozed sleaziness!  As the pimp/madam, she resided, appropriately, in a gaudy red-walled apartment, absentmindedly stroking her cat while manipulating her entourage of young men to do her bidding.  She was so perfect, she made my skin crawl!

I will admit that I almost went with with 4 stars on this, simply because of Warren Beatty.   I don't care for him (dare a woman of the 1970's admit that!), and I found his attempt at an Italian accent annoying.  In the end, though, since I found his portrayal of the selfish gigolo spot-on, I had to stay with 5 stars.  Lowering a rating just because I don't like Beatty is not being very objective.

The musical score and the shots of Rome add to the moody authenticity of the film, and the ending scene is powerful, haunting, and moving.  All in all, I found The Roman Spring of Mrs. Stone to be a totally terrific, 5-star viewing experience.

The film is out on DVD; however, it is on the TCM schedule for this Wednesday, February 6th at 8:00 a.m. (ET).  If you like hard-hitting, meaty, adult-theme dramas, you ought to greatly enjoy this film.

Happy viewing!!

Showcasing Sidney This Month

Of all the men on my "30 favorite actors list," one of them is actually still alive, and that man will be taking center stage here at They Don't Make 'Em Like They Used To this month.  That man is the incredibly talented Sidney Poitier.

While I will be watching and reviewing the films of others and also taking part in the CMBA blogathon saluting films of the 1940's, the bulk of February's action will be devoted to Mr. Poitier.  He was an amazingly gifted actor, and I never fail to be impressed with his performance.

So, expect to discover some intense, meaty, hard-hitting dramas here at They Don't Make 'Em Like They Used To this month, including my first 5-star film discovery of the year.