Sound Films U

Margaret Lockwood

Marilyn Miller

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Ugetsu Monogatari (1953)

Directed by Kenji Mizoguchi and starring Masayuki Mori, Machiko Kyô, Kinuyo Tanaka, Mitsuko Mito and Eitarô Ozawa, this film has a runtime of 96 mins and the print quality is excellent. This is a Japanese language film with English subtitles.

Plot: In the beginning of the springtime in the period of the Japanese Civil Wars of the Sixteenth Century in Lake Biwa in the Province of Omi, the family man farmer and craftsman Genjurô travels to Nagahama to sell his wares and makes a small fortune. His neighbor Tobei that is a fool man dreams on becoming a samurai, but he can not afford to buy the necessary outfit. The greedy Genjurô and Tobei work together manufacturing clay potteries, expecting to sell the pieces and enrich; however, their wives Miyage and Ohama are worried about the army of the cruel Shibata that is coming to their village and they warn their ambitious husbands. Their village is looted but the families flee and survive; Genjurô and Tobei decide to travel by boat with their wives and baby to sell the wares in a bigger town. When they meet another boat that was attacked by pirates, Genjurô decides to leave his wife and son on the bank of the river, promising to return in ten days. Genjurô, Tobei and Ohama raise a large amount but Tobei leaves his wife to buy the samurai outfit and seek fame and fortune. Meanwhile the female aristocratic Lady Wakasa and her servant ask Genjurô to bring her shopping to her fancy Kutsuki House. Sooner Genjurô and Tobei discover the price they have to pay for their ambition.

Review: Kenzi Mizoguchi has with Ugetsu a film that incorporates bits of the samurai movie, bits of a supernatural thriller, but overall there's something about it that almost reminds me of a Lifetime movie. And I say that pretty much un-ironically as it being the greatest one never made. Usually a Lifetime movie is a movie, if not totally from a woman's point of view, with a female point of interest and perspective and in touch with and such. Ugetsu is a film really like that to me, where its main male protagonists share as much, if not less than, emotional weight with the female characters.
There are really three pivotal female characters in the picture, and all are realized and performed with beauty, total emotion and connectedness with their characters. Miyagi (Kinuyo Tinaka) is the wife of a clay-potter and mother of their little baby during civil wars in 16th century Japan, and they get torn away from each other as her husband (Rashomon's Masayuki Mori) tries to sell his- to him precious and valuable- wares in the city, keeping her away from (potential) harm. Ohama (Mitsuko Mito) is the wife of a peasant Tobei (Eitaro Ozawa, possibly my favorite of the male performances) who's only ambition is to be a samurai, to the point of foolish abandon of everything including her.
While the two wives end up estranged from their husbands, Lady Wakasa (one of Japan's truly great actors in general Machiko Kyo) invites the potter to her abode, where the temptations overwhelm him and upon her insistence he takes up with her as a "new" husband to her. But what he doesn't realize is that she's really an evil spirit of a once powerful and not despondent clan, and he has to choose between her and his suddenly remembered wife and child. So, in a sense, to say that this story resembles a Lifetime movie almost says that it's lesser material, but I mean to say it really as a compliment. (Or, upon further thought in classic film terms, in a way, Murnau with Sunrise).
Ugetsu is a film that tells its stories, at their core, in a way that goes beyond their time of being filmed in 1950s and set in the 16th century medieval times. It's a tragic story, but one that Mizoguchi always goes through with some level of hope, even when things seem at their bleakest. For example, when the finally-made (by accident) samurai Tobei finds his wife again, now a common prostitute, he becomes completely taken aback and shocked and regretful. But Mizoguchi doesn't try and judge either side, but just lets his camera stay, intensely in its way, on these torn and shattered characters, where escapism breaks immediately when the simplistic but cold reality of their lives comes back to them. This is something no TV movie, let alone Lifetime, could ever grasp.
In fact, part of it being such a satisfying artistic success is not just the acting, which is overall impeccable, but how Mizoguchi lays on atmosphere without it being too direct. There's suspense and danger drawn in the style when the rebel forces raid the village early in the film, for example, but it's not made overly complicated. The images speak enough, with the succinctly Eastern music, to do the job enough. And sometimes he does add some subtle touches, almost poetic to a degree, like when the couples are on a boat trying to flee from the dangers on shore- the first shot showing them at sea is truly extraordinary to me, with the fog laced in a very meticulous, powerful way.
There is also another scene that is really special to me, which is towards the end of the film. It comes before a certain sad twist, but before it Genjuro has finally reunited with Miyagi, and as he sleeps Mizoguchi just stays on her for a minute or so, not for anything specifically for the story, but somehow this little moment of serenity- perhaps a dream or perhaps now- really struck me; few directors would think to do this unusual move.
Ugetsu is also, aside from it putting in some spooky elements not quite like kabuki, is a great story of people in conflict, with themselves, each other, and how the women show the side of strength &/or weakness and how it ends up influencing the men around them. It seems like it starts with the typical 'women should stay out of harms way, with the children, women don't want the men in any danger, always afraid', but it's more than that. It's got so many things that end up happening in a well-timed 95 minutes, and it's very likely one of the director's masterworks....£7.49

 

Umberto D (1952)

Directed by Vittorio De Sica and starring Carlo Battisti, Maria Pia Casilio and Lina Gennari, this film has a rumtime of 85 mins and the print quality is excellent.

Storyline: Umberto Ferrari, aged government-pensioner, attends a street demonstration held by his fellow pensioners. The police dispense the crowd and Umberto returns to his cheap furnished room which he shares with his dog Flick. Umberto's lone friend is Maria, servant of the boarding house. She is a simple girl who is pregnant by one of two soldiers and neither will admit to being the father. When Umberto's landlady Antonia demands the rent owed her and threatens eviction if she is not paid, Umberto tries desperately to raise the money by selling his books and watch. He is too proud to beg in the streets and can not get a loan from any of his acquaintances. He contracts a sore throat, is admitted to a hospital and this puts a delay on his financial difficulty. Discharged, he finds that his dog is gone and, following a frantic search, locates him in the city dog pound. His room has been taken over by the landlady and the now-homeless Unberto determines to find a place for his beloved dog, and ...

Review: This touching story of a poor man in Italy after the war. The director, De Sica has also done the masterpiece "The bicycle thief". A very good and simple film that almost perfectly shows his fight to live a decent life his last years. The end is VERY sad(still I felt it had some hope). A highly recommended film. Also Carlo Battisti's performance is masterful. 9/10….£7.49

 

Under the Roofs of Paris (1930)

Directed by Rene Clair. Review: It's hard to describe how beautiful and perfect this movie is. René Clair's early sound films are amongst the best ever made.  Under the Roofs of Paris is the loose but good story of a young street singer (Albert Préjean) who falls in love with a girl (Pola Illéry). He has an uneasy relationship with a couple of pickpockets (including Gaston Modot, who also made L'Âge d'or with Buñuel the same year) who like to work when he's demonstrating his talent. In the film's opening scene, there is an amazingly edited sequence of one of these men at work. Everyone wants Pola, including Albert's best friend, Louis, and when Albert is framed for burglary, they don't think twice about going after her. Clair's direction moves like silk. It's so supple. The camera movements, full of crane shots and pans, is technically stunning, especially for the time but even now. And the use of sound is absolutely revolutionary. It's more or less half silent, half talkie. Unlike many early sound films, Clair keeps the dialogue to a minimum, so it's never clunky. Characters only speak when they have to; at other times, they gesture. The film is often described as a musical, but it is not. There are two songs, and the music arises diagetically from an accordion player. The music, and the use of music, are quite amazing. This is one of the most wonderful movies ever made....£7.49

 

Union Pacific (1939)

Directed by Cecil B.DeMille and starring Joel McCrea, Barbara Stanwyck, Akim Tamiroff, Brian Donlevy and Anthony Quinn, this film has a runtime of 135 mins and the print quality is very good.

Plot: One of the last bills signed by President Lincoln authorizes pushing the Union Pacific Railroad across the wilderness to California. But financial opportunist Asa Barrows hopes to profit from obstructing it. Chief troubleshooter Jeff Butler has his hands full fighting Barrows' agent, gambler Sid Campeau; Campeau's partner Dick Allen is Jeff's war buddy and rival suitor for engineer's daughter Molly Monahan. Who will survive the effort to push the railroad through at any cost?

Review: One of the previous reviewers recommended reading Stephen Ambrose's book instead of watching this film. I would recommend reading the book and then supplementing it with Union Pacific.
The whole point of Ambrose's book is that while the financing of the construction of the Transcontinental Railroad was mired in corruption, what must not be overlooked is the remarkable engineering achievement that it was. In that sense Union Pacific is a great tribute to everyone responsible for that achievement including some corrupt politicians.
DeMille in his autobiography says he originally was going to do a film on the Hudson Bay Company and in fact had started preliminary work on same. He changed his mind when he heard that 20th Century Fox was doing one on that same subject. He turned his attention to the Transcontinental Railroad and the President of Union Pacific at that time was one William Jeffers who freely gave DeMille anything he needed to help him with the project. Jeffers and DeMille had the same right wing political views so they got along famously.
DeMille also got Joel McCrea who was one of his discoveries to play the lead. McCrea was the two-gunned railroad troubleshooter who sees the job through. Barbara Stanwyck plays an Irish immigrant's daughter who is the railroad postmistress. McCrea and Robert Preston both have the hots for her, but it's fairly obvious from the first minute who she ends up with. This was Robert Preston's first major part after having done a couple of B films for Paramount. Lynne Overman and Akim Tamiroff are McCrea's sidekicks and supply some comedy relief.
Brian Donlevy is the villain and he's at the height of his career. Later that year he got an Academy Award nomination for another Paramount feature, Beau Geste in the Supporting Actor category. One of his henchmen is Anthony Quinn, who after one reviewer remarked how lucky he was to have the DeMille family connection to get good roles, then swore he would never work for his father-in-law again. Quinn never did.
Two smaller parts are worth remembering. Regis Toomey plays a track layer who has a tragic death early on in the film. And J.M. Kerrigan as Stanwyck's father also dies tragically during a snowstorm.
Good slam-bang special effects. DeMille loved to wreck trains. He did it so well here, he later topped this one with one in The Greatest Show On Earth.
One of DeMille's best pictures. Too bad Cinerama hadn't been invented yet….£7.49

 

Up Pops The Devil (1931)

Starring Carole Lombard and Richard ‘Skeets’ Gallagher, this film has a runtime of 91 mins and the print quality is only ok.

Plot: The marriage of an advertising man is jeopardized when he gets a chance to sell a novel he's been working on and quits his job to concentrate on writing. In order to support the family, the wife is forced to take a job as a dancer in a Broadway show. As the marriage begins to fall apart, complications ensue when she discovers that she's pregnant.

Review: This is the original version (later remade) of Bob Hope's Thanks for the Memory (without the cool songs) and was viewed online. Storyline (beware of spoilers): After Steve Merrick has his first story published, he proposes to his girl friend Anne, who refuses on the grounds that she loves him for all the wrong reasons. They finally agree to marry for one year, stipulating that if they are not happy at that time, they will separate. After one year, Steve and Anne are still happy. Steve, however, is jealous of Anne's friend, Gilbert Morrell, a publisher who urges Steve to give up his day job and concentrate on writing. Against Steve's wishes, Anne gets a job at their friend Biney Hatfield's Paramount theater, and Steve quits his job. Steve writes at home, but becomes frustrated with household chores and with relying on his wife for an allowance. He becomes suspicious when Anne spends evenings after work with Gil, and angrily decides to throw a going-away party for their neighbor, Luella May Carroll, who has been trying to seduce him for months. Anne confides in Gil that she is pregnant, but she does not want Steve to know. Gil gives her some money as a loan so she can quit work if she needs to. When Anne gets home she finds their friends there, but no Steve, who eventually comes in with Luella. He is angry because he feels like a "kept man." When Anne shows him the check from Gil, telling him it is his first payment for his book, he sees it is made out to her and accuses her of having an affair. They separate but after three months meet again to sell their apartment, and make plans to divorce so Anne can marry Gil. While showing the apartment, they realize they are still in love, however, and reunite, with Steve delighted at the prospect of becoming a father.
Carole Lombard was still pretty stiff before the camera, there was no sign of her fun loving personality to come and Norman Foster was all bluster but no substance as her husband. However, this is an interesting curio to check out and observe…..£7.49

 

Up To His Neck (1954)

Directed by John Paddy Carstairs and starring Ronald Shiner, Brian Rix, Laya Raki, Harry Fowler, Anthony Newley and Hattie Jacques, this film has a runtime of 87 mins and the print quality is very good.

Plot: Sailor Jack Carter (Ronald Shiner) has been marooned for ten years on a South Sea island, and treated as a King by natives. He is eventually rescued by the Royal Navy, who then use him to train up commandos to recover a stolen submarine, and to foil an oriental criminal plot.

Review: Unrealistic, overly silly and at times quite messy, Ronald Shiner does seem to know what he is doing at least, and the vitality that he gives to his character, plus some amusing amounts, are enough to bring this British comedy, about rivalry between navy officers, up to scratch. There is little in the way of character development, and in fact most of the supporting characters are indistinguishable from the next. Some of the happenings are hard to digest, they are so silly, and there are few impressive features in the film. However, as just light entertainment, it works fairly well: not a laugh-out-loud film, but certainly one with a fair share of amusing moments….£7.49

 

Utopia (1951) aka Atoll K

Starring Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy in their final film (which is actually very good). Heading for a newly inherited island, the boys are shipwrecked and marooned on an atoll which has just emerged from the sea. Along with their cook, a stowaway and a girl who is fleeing her fiance, they set up their own government on the atoll. Uranium is discovered and world powers begin fighting over ownership of the island....£7.49

 

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