Movie #42: North by Northwest . Or really, the craziest set up you've ever seen!

Title: North by Northwest

Starring: Cary Grant, Eva Marie Saint 

Directed by: Alfred Hitchcock

Number on the AFI List: 55

Year: 1959

This is the first Hitchcock movie that I thoroughly enjoyed (I know, I know. I spent a good 30 minutes talking to some friends about how I haven’t resonated with Hitchcock yet, but I’ve wanted to). From the beginning of the movie, poor Roger Thronhill (Cary Grant) is mistaken for a CIA agent, George Kaplan by foreign spies led by Phillip Vandamm. The joke is on Vandamm, however, because Kaplan doesn't exist! Vandamm is a master at setting up Thornhill, even to the point of Thornhill being framed for murder. However, what Vandamm doesn’t know is that the CIA is just as masterful at playing tricks on people, and Thornhill ends up working with the CIA and Eve Kendall (Eva Marie Saint) in order to get microfilm from Vandamm. The movie ends with a climactic chase down Mount Rushmore. The rescue is a typical deus ex machina which kind of drove me crazy, but really, how else can you save people from falling to their deaths off of George Washington’s nose? (Ok, it wasn’t exactly like that, but close!)

If that plot synopsis confused you, don't worry. I'm still confused, too...and probably missed a few vital moments.

The cinematography was remarkable, with many shots being filmed from high above or in a crowd of people, giving the audience a feeling of claustrophobia and (harkening back to one of Hitchcock’s other films) vertigo. The movie is an endless cat and mouse chase, and is beautifully directed and acted. Eva Marie Saint steals the movie when she enters as the seductive, undercover agent Eve. If Cary Grant’s character was brighter, he would have become aware that she was sent to seduce him, but of course he just falls for it. Men.

Favorite moment: The “first dinner date” on the train.

Will I watch it again: sure!

Movie #41: Some Like it Hot. Or really, nobody's perfect!

Title: Some Like it Hot

Starring: Marilyn Monroe, Tony Curtis, Jack Lemon

Directed by: Billy Wilder

Number on the AFI List: 22

Year: 1959

I'm glad to say that I've seen this movie a few times before and I love it more and more each time! Some Like it Hot is a quick witted, hilarious situational comedy starring Marilyn Monroe as Sugar, Tony Curtis as Joe/Josephine, and Jack Lemmon as Jerry/Daphne. Jerry and Joe find themselves being witnesses to a hit job by the mob in Chicago (led by Spats Colombo), so in order to get the heck outta dodge they dress up as women and join a women's band playing at a hotel in Florida. Both have to overcome their manly desires to maintain their disguises, although Joe/Josephine creates another alter ego in order to pursue Sugar as man. Part Twelfth Night, part gang movie, Some Like it Hot starts off with a bang (multiple bangs from guns, to be precise) and ends with some of the funniest dialogue in movie history.  

It's interesting to watch this movie in light of recent events in America with transgenderism and same sex marriage pushing against cultural comfort. This movie was made when both of those things were taboo. In fact, the movie affirms cultural hegemony by making sure both men are attracted to women, even when dressed up as women, and when Jerry/Daphne is proposed to by Osgood Fielding, there is no question that the marriage won't work out.

Political and social notions aside, this movie is hysterical from start to finish and is a prime example of great comedy.

Question: Why do all gang members have weird noses? Can we talk about this for a second? These two are prime examples (notice how Spats Colombo, on the right, looks totally normal, while his henchmen look a bit...more interesting).

Anyway, thats neither here nor there.

Favorite moment: When Daphne and Osgood are dancing the Tango, juxtaposed with Joe and Sugar having a good time on the yacht. Hysterical.

Will I watch it again: Absolutely!

Movie #40: Vertigo. Or really, fear of being caught in a murderous trap!

Title: Vertigo
Starring: James Stewart and Kim Novak
Directed by: Alfred Hitchcock
Number on the AFI List: 9
Year: 1958

Due to health issues and other pressing matters, I actually watched this movie about three-four weeks ago, so this review may be a bit spotty. I do know that this movie is crazy. How does Jimmy Stewart, playing Scottie Ferguson, keep finding himself in impossible situations? In Vertigo, his friend Gavin Elster (Tom Helmore) hires him to follow his wife, Madeline Elster (Kim Novak), in order to make sure she's not going crazy...but really, in order for him to stage her suicide so Gavin can get away with murdering her. Or at least, I think that's what I remember. This movie really does create a sense of spiraling confusion, as Scottie becomes more and more obsessed with Madeline to the point where he finds a woman who looks just like her and forces her to dress up as her. In order to not spoil the movie, I'll leave it there. But it was just weird. Well acted, well written, well directed, but weird.

Typical Hitchcock.

Unfortunately that's all I have to say about this one. I enjoyed it, but I need to watch it again.

Favorite moment: Probably the build up to the end.

Will I watch it again: I should!

MOVIE NUMBER 40! Here's my "top 40" on the AFI list thus far:

1. City Lights

2. It's a Wonderful Life

3. Modern Times

4. The Bridge on the River Kwai

5. Sunset Boulevard

6. Sunrise
7. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
8. Wizard of Oz
9. Gone with the Wind
10. On the Waterfront
11. A Streetcar Named Desire
12. The African Queen
13. Angry Men
14. Citizen Kane
15. All About Eve
16. Sullivan's Travels 
17. Double Indemnity
18. Casablanca
19. Singing in the Rain
20. Vertigo
21. Bringing up Baby
22. The Gold Rush
23. The Best Years of our Lives
24. The Maltese Falcon
25. Yankee Doodle Dandy
26. It Happened One Night
27. High Noon
28. A Night at the Opera
29. The Treasure of the Sierra Madre
30. The Grapes of Wrath
31. Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
32. The General
33. Rear Window 
34. King Kong
35. The Philadelphia Story
36. Intolerance
37. Swing Time
38. Duck Soup
39. The Searchers
40. Shane

Movie #39: The Bridge on the River Kwai. Or really, the bridge to madness.

Title: The Bridge on the River Kwai 

Starring: William Holden, Alec Guiness, Jack Hawkins

Directed by: David Leon

Year: 1957

Number on the AFI List: 36

Although criticized for being historically inaccurate, The Bridge on the River Kwai is a fantastic war film that explores themes of perseverance, honor, and pride…that eventually goes too far. Colonel Nichols (Alec Guiness) and his squad of British soldiers have been captured and taken to a Japanese POW camp in order to build the Burma-Siam railway bridge. Nichols is insistent on remaining in command over his men, to the point that he and all of his commanders underneath him are placed in “hot boxes” for over a month, while the rest of his men sabotage the building of the bridge. Eventually, Colonel Saito (Sessue Hayakawa), the commander of the POW camp, gives into Nichols’ demand to be in charge, since he is running out of time to get the bridge built. Nichols’ begins to view the project as a sign of British pride, and demands his men build with excellence. At the same time, the allies are planning to blow up the bridge once its finished. The movie builds to an explosive ending that leaves many men, allied and Japanese, dead, and with Nichols’ bridge, and pride, in a heap of rubble at the bottom of the Kwai river.

This film explores many questions, including: how long should a man suffer at the hands of his enemy for the sake of dignity? And if he wins, can he avoid working in favor of the enemy and forget his loyalty to his country?  How long before pride leads to disgrace? What seems honorable is actually a snare. The movie ends with haunting laughs from the British soldiers as everything goes awry. I was left saying “wow…wow…WOW.” Madness. True madness.

Favorite moment: The ending.

Will I Watch it Again: YES.

Movie #38: 12 Angry Men. Or really, justice as it should be.

Title: 12 Angry Men

Starring: Henry Fonda and 11 others

Directed by: Sidney Lumet

Number on the AFI List: 87 (cause they're CRAZY)

Year: 1957

For a movie that only ever names two characters (at the end) and takes place primarily in one room (the jury deliberation room), this movie is SO well done. The director and cinematographer did a fantastic job keeping the movie interesting with the different shots, many of them so jarring and uncomfortable it made me claustrophobic just watching. The heat in the room was palpable, not only in temperature but also between the actors. The writer did a great job writing moments of intensity followed by moments of ease, creating an ebb and flow that kept the film entertaining and yet intense. Henry Fonda, as Juror #8, does a fantastic job keeping the other men on track, but the movie is a great example of a true ensemble performance. 

The crime: a juvenile minority has been accused of stabbing and killing his father. Not to give anything away, each of the men has to overcome their prejudices and assumptions to come to a more accurate verdict. Some of the actors have an easier time overcoming this than others. Each of the men's walls are so beautifully built up and then torn down until the climactic conclusion. I only hope and pray that all citizens take their responsibility of jurors as serious as these men did, especially when someone's life is on the line. 

"It's always difficult to keep personal prejudice out of a thing like this. And wherever you run into it, prejudice always obscures the truth. I don't really know what the truth is. I don't suppose anybody will ever really know. Nine of us now seem to feel that the defendant is innocent, but we're just gambling on probabilities - we may be wrong. We may be trying to let a guilty man go free, I don't know. Nobody really can. But we have a reasonable doubt, and that's something that's very valuable in our system. No jury can declare a man guilty unless it's sure."

Favorite moment: Hard to choose, the movie doesn't have scenes as much as continuous moments, more like a play than a film. However, when Juror #9 speaks and the camera does an up close shot of his face...I found that fascinating. And he has some pretty awesome speeches, too.

Will I Watch it Again: Yes!

Movie #37: The Searchers. Or really, cowboys vs. indians.

Title: The Searchers

Starring: John Wayne, Jeffrey Hunter, Vera Miles

Directed by: John Ford

Year: 1956

Number on the AFI List: 12

According to the AFI List, I should’ve liked this movie a lot more than I did. Not saying that it was a bad movie- it was shot beautifully, Ethan’s (John Wayne) character arch was fantastic, and the story was compelling, but still, it wasn’t my cup of tea. I’m still not a Western fan, even with John Wayne as the leading man.

Ethan’s niece, Debbie, has been kidnapped by Comanche Indians, led by their leader, Scar, after the Comanche’s killed the rest of their family. Ethan sets out on an epic journey to find his nieces with his nephew, Martin (Jeffrey Hunter), the only surviving relative. They face hardship, hunger, and loss of humanity as they try to piece together where the Comanche might be. Along the way, we meet Laurie (Vera Miles), the girl who Martin should be engaged to if he would get his act together. They provide a sense of family and support as Ethan and Martin go on their journey together. Even when they finally find Debbie, Ethan has to decide if he wants to save her, or kill her (which provides a fantastic character journey for Ethan).

I will say, the comedic elements of this movie were fantastic. So many little moments happen in the midst of the drama that provided laughs. The “fight” between Martin and Charlie was hysterical, and the reverend getting his behind sewn up at the end of the movie was the icing on the cake. I especially loved when Martin accidentally got married to a Native American woman.

Favorite scene: Laurie reading Martin's letter about accidentally getting married.

Will I watch it again: I won’t rush, but I won’t say never.

Movie #36: Rear Window. Or really, too much time on your hands.

Title: Rear Window

Starring: Jimmy Stewart, Grace Kelly

Directed by: Alfred Hitchcock

Year: 1955

Number on the AFI List: 48

FINALLY, a Hitchcock classic on the AFI list! And starring my man Jimmy Stewart, no less!

Rear Window is a fascinating film set in one room, with the majority of the action taking place in the apartment building next door. It’s a hot summer in Greenwich village, so everyone is living with their windows open. This is convenient for Mr. Jeffries (Stewart).  He’s wheelchair and home bound with a broken leg, so there is nothing better for him to do than to look out the window and watch the different narratives taking place in his neighbor’s apartments. In the midst of this, he becomes suspicious that one of his neighbors, Mr. Thorwald (Raymond Burr), killed his wife. Thus, the main plot of the film is Mr. Jeffries, his girlfriend Lisa (Grace Kelly), and his masseur Stella (Thelma Ritter) trying to figure out how the murder happened and convince Detective Doyle (Wendell Corey) that Mr. Thorwald is guilty. The plot is filled with romance, suspense, and drama, never boring, well written and acted.

This film displays the fascinating storytelling Hitchcock is known for creating; in the midst of the main plot, we get to see six other lives played out from Mr. Jeffries’ point of view. The most memorable are Mrs. Lonelyhearts, who can’t seem to find love, the single dancer who constantly dances in her apartment, the tortured composer, and the husband and wife who prefer to sleep on their fire escape. This quirky set of neighbors all live in their own little world with little to no contact with one another, leaving plenty of room for assumptions and suspicion.

Favorite moment: When the couple on the fire escape have to rush to bring in their mattress before it rains.

Will I watch it again: Probably!