Top Hat (1935)

Posted on May 11, 2013 by 4 Star Films

Starring Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers with Edward Everett Horton, this musical opens with Astaire in London as he gets ready to star in the show of his good friend Horace (Horton). However, after a late night confrontation with an annoyed neighbor Jerry is hopelessly in love. Multiple times he tries to spend time with her while the show is running. Then, he is eager to travel to Italy when he learns that the woman Dale will be there along with Horace and Madge Hardwicke. After a case of mistaken identity, Dale gets the wrong idea and believes that Jerry is married to her good friend Madge. Unaware of the mix up, he continues to pursue her, madly in love. She feels bad and at the same time tries to stave off Jerry’s advances. The whole mess leads her to marry a buffoon of an Italian designer. However, Jerry catches wind of what happened and tries to resolve their relationship. Through a hilarious loophole they get back together and dance off into the sunset. Some memorable routines include “No Strings (I’m Fancy Free),” “Isn’t This a Lovely Day (to be Caught in the Rain),” “Top Hat, White Tie, and Tails,” then “Cheek to Cheek.” I found the supporting cast to be good and aside from Swing Time this is a good Astarie/Rogers pairing.

4/5 Stars

Titanic (1997)

Posted on April 13, 2013 by 4 Star Films

Starring Leonardo DiCapprio with Kate Winslet and director James Cameron, the film opens with an exploration of the submerged Titanic. An interesting discovery puts the explorers in contact with an elderly woman who was there in April 1912. Rose recounts her arrival as a newly engaged 1st class passenger. She felt trapped in her life until she accidentally met Jack, a 3rd class drifter who won his ticket in a poker game. After he saves her life, their forbidden relationship continues as they spend more time together. Jack, who is an artist, even does a charcoal drawing of Rose. However, all too soon the unsinkable ship hits an iceberg and chaos ensues in the following hours. Heroically, once again Jack keeps Rose alive although he himself perishes in the cold. Back in the present Rose now keeps him alive with her memories. This epic romance is fairly good with a semi-autobiographical story, special effects, and a decent score.

4.5/5 Stars

City Lights (1931)

Posted on October 2, 2012 by 4 Star Films

In this Charlie Chaplin film we follow the Tramp as he romances a blind flower girl and is befriended by a crazy millionaire. In line with all the great Chaplin silent films, this one has many comedic moments but also sentimentality. In one scene the Tramp might find himself dragged along with the millionaire or fighting in a boxing match. However, the next sequence he might be sharing a very nice moment with the girl who only knows him by his voice and kind deeds. Fittingly, in the final moments of the film, the flower girl who can now see is reunited with the humble tramp who showed her so much kindness. Overall this was a very good film and it seemed to have a wonderful balance of humor and romance. It proves that sound is not always needed if you are a good storyteller.

5/5 Stars

Other Chaplin films I may watch in the future include The Kid (1921), The Circus (1928), and The Great Dictator (1941)

An American in Paris (1951)

Posted on September 21, 2012 by 4 Star Films

Starring Gene Kelly and Leslie Caron with director Vincente Minneli, this musical follows an American painter in Paris (Kelly) as he struggles with life and love. Jerry Mulligan is a painter who loves Paris and has made friends with many of the locals. The only problem is that he has no money. That all changes when a rich patron begins to sponsor him and his luck begins to change. Soon he becomes enchanted with a French girl (Caron) and after initial conflict they try to meet up whenever they can. At the same time Jerry is tied up with his patron and Lisa is engaged to a kind Frenchman who Jerry knows. When Jerry learns this he is devastated, however in the end he does get the girl. Although the final dance sequence seemed out of place, awkward, and too long, much of the rest of the musical is enjoyable. I Got Rhythm and The American in Paris Theme are catchy Gershwin tunes that Gene Kelly performs to perfection.

4.5/5 Stars

From Here to Eternity (1953)

Posted on August 31, 2012 by 4 Star Films

Directed by Fred Zinnemann, the film has an all star cast including Burt Lancaster, Monty Clift, Deborah Kerr, Donna Reed, and Frank Sinatra. Clift is a former boxer and bugler who has been transferred to a post in Hawaii. The commanding officer wants to have him fight for the company but Clift is adamant that he will not. From that point on life is made difficult for him on the base. However, he still finds time to go to a club with his friend Maggio (Sinatra) where he meets Lorean (Reed) and falls in love. At the same time the intelligent company sergeant Lancaster, finds himself falling for the commander’s wife (Kerr) who has an unhappy marriage. However, he feels he cannot become an officer effectively terminating their relationship. The dramatic events culminate in the attack on Pearl Harbor which overshadows a smaller tragedy. This movie certainly had a cast full of famous people, but I have to say it was not my favorite film. All the same there definitely are some good moments.

4/5 Stars

King Kong (1933)

Posted on August 16, 2012 by 4 Star Films

Starring Fay Wray, this Pre-Code film starts with a movie director who wants to travel by ship to a wilderness in order to shoot his next picture. However, he needs a leading lady and that is where Ann Darrow (Wray) comes in. He finds her in New York and brings her along to use in his film. All too soon the filming plans go awry after natives take Ann as an offering for Kong. The filmmaker, first mate, and some crewmen go looking for her only to run into enormous trouble. Kong proves to be deadly but he is brought down and Ann is saved from her giant suitor. The movie man takes Kong to New York as a show attraction. The Beast cannot be contained and escapes going on to terrorize the inhabitants of the city. In the climatic scene atop the Empire State Building the story is finally resolved. The special effects are obviously not great compared to modern standards but that is part of the charm. With its pulse pounding score and many harrowing moments, King Kong certainly has its thrills.

5/5 Stars

Sullivan’s Travels (1941)

Posted on July 29, 2012 by 4 Star Films

Starring Joel McCrea and Veronica Lake, with director Preston Sturges, Sullivan’s Travels is about a highly successful film director (McCrea) who wants to make a movie about the common man and suffering. However, he usually writes comedies and so he decides to go on the road as a hobo to try and understand the lifestyle. During his adventures he meets a young failed actress (Lake) who is about to leave Hollywood. Wanting to help her, Sully tells the girl what he is doing and they go off together masquerading as tramps. After taking a short respite, he goes on the road again, this time alone. Through a series of events he finds himself in a chain gang while his friends assume he is dead. Eventually he is freed but not before learning a valuable lesson. If he wants to relate with the poor he should give them laughter instead of hardship. I found this movie to be an enjoyable light comedy (even though I had never heard of it beforehand).

5/5 Stars

Casablanca (1942)

Posted on July 14, 2012 by 4 Star Films

Considered one of the greatest films of all-time, this well-loved classic deserves to be here. It is the hallmark of Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman’s careers. It has one of the greatest scripts of all time, and it has achieved legendary status over the years. Many consider it purely the best film ever made and in all honesty, I would never try to refute that.

The film opens quickly, and we are immersed in a world that is at the height of the Nazi terror, and many people are fleeing Europe by way of Casablanca. It is a treacherous place full of pickpockets, corrupt authorities, refugees, and some tourists as well. Two German couriers have been murdered, and some invaluable letters of transit have been stolen. That’s when we are first introduced to Rick’s Café Americain along with its cynical proprietor Rick Blaine (Bogart). A shady fellow named Ugarte (Peter Lorre) comes to him with the letters and asks Blaine to keep them for him. However, later that night Ugarte is taken into custody and things get even more complicated.

Wanted resistance leader Victor Laszlo (Paul Henreid) is now in Casablanca, however, a Major Strasser (Conrad Veidt) has arrived from Germany to take him in. To top it off Laszlo’s wife Ilsa (Bergman) was Blaine’s old flame in Paris and it didn’t end well. Laszlo desperately needs the letters of transit to escape and he inquires about them. Soon he is led to Blaine but as he often admits Rick sticks his neck out for nobody. Laszlo shows his defiance against his enemies by leading the people in a round of “La Marseillaise” and as a result, Rick’s is shut down.

All the memories of Paris begin flooding back, and then Ilsa confronts Rick in order to get the letters. This is possibly the most critical point in the film because the tense altercation ultimately renews the relationship between Rick and Ilsa. Rick asks her to trust him and he begins to take things into his own hands. The results of his actions created one of the great romantic and cinematic moments in the history of film. The whole film leading up to this point hints at it, but Rick truly is a sentimentalist at heart. He can live with the notion that they will always have Paris and that leads him to commit a selfless act of love.

This film holds such a tremendous presence in movie history it is quite extraordinary. Upon seeing the movie it made complete sense what all the hype was about. What more could you want than Bogey, Bergman, Casablanca, and some of the greatest quotes ever said? Do not forget the French Captain Louis played by Claude Rains or the immortal tune of As Time Goes By sung by Dooley Wilson. However, you also gain an appreciation for the other interesting characters of Casablanca, some comical, some sympathetic, and others mysterious. We have a rogue gallery of everybody under the sun from Peter Lorre, Sidney Greenstreet, German soldiers, various guests, and all the staff at Rick’s place.

This movie has conflict and the uncertainty of war practically in every scene because at the time World War II was in full force. There are a broken romance and a forlorn hero who shows his courage in the end. As an audience, we realize the transformation of Rick into a truly great man. Ilsa, on her part, has the most radiant face I have ever seen! If you take into consideration when this movie was made, it truly is wonderful to watch. You do not need explosions and violence, only great characters and a story with both drama and humor. Up until the final moments of the movie you are captivated the entire time. Then, fittingly you are left with the two men walking off into the night with the words, “Louis I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship.”

In fact, with this film, my thoughts always go back to the script. Lines like “Here’s looking at you kid,” “We’ll always have Paris,” and “Round up the usual suspects” are so rampant that you cannot possibly remember them all, and I doubt there will ever be another film that is so entrenched in American culture. Many of my favorite lines in the film are those that get overshadowed by the more famous ones. That is the sign of an amazing film that never grows old. Even those who have not seen this classic film like to think they have because the influence of Casablanca reaches everywhere.

5/5 Stars