skjam

The Curse of the Cat People (1944) dir. Gunther V. Fritsch

Amy Reed (Ann Carter) lives in Tarrytown, New York, near Sleepy Hollow, with her ship designer father Oliver (Kent Smith) and draft creator mother Alice (Jane Randolph). Amy is a sensitive, imaginative little girl who doesn't get along well with the other children in kindergarten. Though their lives seem happy enough, the house is shadowed by the memory of Oliver's first wife, Irena (Simone Simon) who died under tragic circumstances. Oliver's never fully recovered from that incident, and sees some of Irena's strange beliefs in Amy's imagination. It's as though he's haunted by a ghost.

This movie is a sequel to 1942's Cat People, foisted on producer Val Lewton complete with mandatory title by executives at RKO. He was none too keen on just doing another movie about someone turning into a panther, so this is a completely different story that happens to have several characters returning from the first one.

Amy has a severe rift with the other children when they aren't invited to her birthday party (because Amy put the invitations in a magic hollow tree instead of the official post office mailbox) and is very lonely. She wanders by the spooky old Farren house, where a mysterious voice gifts her with a ring, and a severe-looking woman chases her off.

Jamaican manservant Edward (Sir Lancelot) playfully suggests that her new jewel is a wishing ring, and Amy wishes to have a friend. Seemingly, her wish comes true, even if her parents can't see who she's playing with in the yard.

Told that she must return the ring, Amy goes back to the Farren house with Edward, and meets Julia Farren (Julia Dean) an elderly actress, and her daughter Barbara (Elizabeth Russell). Mrs. Farren is friendly, but a bit delusional--she thinks that the real Barbara died years ago, and this Barbara is an imposter, which has made Barbara bitter to the point of near-madness.

Amy's friend turns out to be Irena, who may be a ghost, or imaginary, cobbled together from pictures Amy's seen and the name her mother mentions. The story never quite specifies. This disturbs Oliver, who reacts badly. On Christmas Night, Amy runs away into a snowstorm, leading to a strange climax.

This movie is certainly not the type of horror story one might expect from the title. There are certainly scary bits, and sad parts, but from Oliver and Alice's perspective, it's more about what happens after you've survived a horror story. Despite what we saw (or think we saw) in the previous movie, Oliver has convinced himself that Irena never actually transformed into a cat, and it was her irrational belief that she would that led to her death. That's why he is disturbed by Amy's bouts of imagination (even when Amy is not in fact imagining things.) He even resorts to saying that she's deliberately lying in an attempt to scare her out of it.

Friendly teacher Miss Callahan (Eve Marsh) explains that imaginary friends are not harmful, but a normal part of child development, and helps Oliver regain his senses. (This scene is one of the reasons this movie is often screened for child psychology students.)

This film is shot well, with good use of lighting and special effects. Ann Carter is an exceptional child actress, and the supporting cast is also excellent. There is genuine suspense.

Content note: A butterfly is crushed, and Amy hits a boy as a result. Suicide is mentioned. Oliver spanks Amy off-screen, and this is treated as a normal, if last resort, punishment. Julia emotionally abuses Barbara due to her delusions.

Overall, this is actually a heartwarming holiday film for certain kinds of families. If you can't take another viewing of It's a Wonderful Life or Miracle on 34th Street, try this one instead.

Key Largo (1948) dir. John Huston

Frank McCloud (Humphrey Bogart) was a major in the United States Army during World War Two. During the Italian campaign, one of his men (and a friend), George Temple, perished in combat. While initially an idealist, the violence of the war left Frank disillusioned, and the America he returned to seems no longer worth defending. Frank's become a drifter, and he decides to visit the Florida Keys to briefly connect with George's people, then try his luck in Key West. His bus to Key Largo is stopped by the police, who are looking for two escaped prisoners, Seminoles called the Osceola Brothers. (It's not mentioned, but note that the darker faces are towards the back of the bus.)

Despite it being summer, the off-season for the Keys due to the sweltering heat, there are residents at the Hotel Largo, allegedly a deep-sea fishing group. Most of them are hostile to Frank, except for drunken horse racing fan Gaye Dawn (Claire Trevor.) They become slightly friendly when they learn that Frank's intention is to talk for an hour or two with hotel owner James Temple (Lionel Barrymore) and George's widow Nora (Lauren Bacall) and then hop the next available bus.

Frank's departure is delayed by helping to prepare for an oncoming hurricane; a group of natives (including the Osceola Brothers (one is Jay Silverheels!)) arrive hoping to take refuge in the sturdy hotel building. Unfortunately, the "fishing expedition" is unwilling to share. The previously unseen "Mr. Brown" turns out to be Johnny Rocco (Edward G. Robinson), a former big-time gangster who'd been deported before the war, and is hoping to make a comeback from his base in Cuba by delivering a "shipment" to local mobsters. He and his minions Curly (Thomas Gomez), Toots (Harry Lewis), Angel (Dan Seymour) and Ralph (William Haade) terrorize the others and hapless deputy sheriff Sawyer (John Rodney) who came back looking for the Osceolas.

With the hurricane closing in and nerves on edge, who will survive?

This 1948 film noir was adapted from a play of the same name, but apparently director John Huston hated the script he'd been assigned, and had it almost completely rewritten, keeping only the location and the escaped prisoners plot element.

The movie is well-directed, and there's some stellar acting on display, not just from our leads but the supporting cast as well. Bogart is believable as the world-weary Frank McCloud, thinking that maybe America will in fact just fall back into Rocco's hands, but not quite ready to completely surrender. Robinson likewise puts in an iconic performance as Johnny Rocco, who was an "emperor" once and is still dangerous on the local level, but not nearly as brave when guns and goons won't turn the trick.

Good attention is also given to lighting effects as the power goes out during the hurricane.

Racism is touched on; the sheriff is only too ready to believe that the Osceola brothers have committed crimes on the word of a white man, which leads to tragedy. (The lesson is quickly minimized by laying the primary blame on evil men.)

The suspense rises and falls, leading to McCloud finally taking decisive action.

Content note: Johnny Rocco is long-term abusive towards Gaye Dawn, which has turned her into an alcoholic wreck, and his goons feel free to slap and bully her as well. Off-screen torture. Ableist language directed at Mr. Temple, who uses a wheelchair. The afore-mentioned racism. Most characters drink alcohol and smoke. General bullying by the gangsters. Blood is only briefly seen.

Overall: One of the greats. Highly recommended to fans of suspense films.

Blackmail (1929) directed by Alfred Hitchcock

Alice White, who works in her father's tobacco shop, is bored with her police detective boyfriend Frank. She acts obnoxiously during a date with him, causing Frank to cancel. But Frank hesitates long enough outside the restaurant to see Alice leave with handsome artist Mr. Crewe, who'd arranged to meet Alice there.

It's clear that Alice and Mr. Crewe don't know each other well, but he pressures her into a visit to his studio apartment. He's clearly a skilled painter, and also plays the piano and sings. The two young people flirt, and Alice tries on a model's ballerina dress (which she's a trifle too big for.) All seems to be going well until Mr. Crewe forces a kiss on Alice. Unconsenting, Alice decides to leave, but Mr. Crewe takes away her street clothes, and then (behind a curtain) attempts to rape Alice. She stabs him to death in self defense.

Distraught and dazed, Alice obscures some evidence that she was at the apartment, but forgets her gloves. She wanders until dawn, then successfully fakes having been in bed.

Frank finds Alice's glove at the scene of the crime and recognizes the murder victim, but pockets the evidence and does not tell the other Scotland Yard men about his knowledge. He goes to Alice's shop and attempts to discover her connection to the crime. But their conversation is seen by another man. As it so happens, he saw Alice go into the artist's building on the night of the murder...and has her other glove! He's got blackmail on his mind.

This was Alfred Hitchcock's first talkie, and indeed is considered the first "full" talkie from England. It was initially filmed as a silent film but many scenes were reshot during production. The first few minutes of the talkie version are "silent" as we see Frank's workday, capturing a criminal, interrogating him, a lineup, and then pressing charges. Only when the detectives are in the locker area at the end of the day do we first hear talking.

One effect of the switch to sound was a problem with Alice's actress, Anny Ondra. Her strong Czech accent was considered unacceptable for playing a working class British girl, so British actress Joan Barry had to stand just off-camera and speak Alice's lines while Anny mouthed them. This was Ms. Ondra's last English film but she went on to a successful career in Germany, France and Czechoslovakia.

The film has Hitchcock's trademarks: a heavy dose of suspense, a famous landmark as the site of the climax (the British Museum) and a cameo by the director himself. It also has an ambiguous ending of the type that would soon be unacceptable under the Hays Code.

The imagery gets a little heavy-handed from time to time, more suitable for the silent version I think, but the painting of the clown who points and laughs at you is a good recurring image. Hitchcock did also start using some sound tricks to good effect; the best of these is a gossipy neighbor whose monologue slowly fades out except for the repeated use of the word "knife."

The old-fashionedness of the film (based on a stage play and you can tell) is part of its charm, but may grate on younger viewers who aren't used to it. New film fans may want to start with some of Hitchcock's Hollywood movies from the late Thirties to ease into it.