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Daily Archives: July 10, 2013

I Walked with a Zombie (1943)

Posted on July 10, 2013 | 8 comments

I Walked with a Zombie
Directed by Jacques Tourneur
1943/USA
RKO Radio Pictures
First viewing
#161 of 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die
IMDb users say 7.2/10; I say 7.5/10

[box] Paul Holland: Everything good dies here. Even the stars.[/box]

This superbly shot and lit psychological horror film from the Val Lewton shop at RKO falters in the story department.

Sugar mill owner Paul Holland (Tom Conway) hires a young Canadian nurse (Frances Dee) to care for his catatonic wife on a Caribbean island. Paul’s half-brother Wesley believes that Paul caused the wife’s illness when he prevented Wesley and her from running away together. But voodoo culture pervades the island…. Could Jessica be a zombie?

This film is absolutely beautiful. There is something to savor in almost every frame. I especially like the way many of the scenes feature light streaming through blinds, leaves, or ironwork creating a kind of dappled effect. The one islander zombie in the film, played by Darby Jones, adds an element of horror merely by standing and staring. Unfortunately, I couldn’t get emotionally invested in the love triangle between the brothers and the wife nor in the budding relationship between Paul and the nurse. I’m glad I saw the film but I doubt I will watch it again.

The only film I’ve seen Francis Dee in before is the 1933 Little Women. It was hard for me to believe either her terror or her yearning. She seems really grounded for a fantasy film.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WiY8EbynbXE

Trailer

8 Comments

Posted in 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die, Movie Reviews

The Big Sleep (1946)

Posted on July 10, 2013 | 4 comments

The Big Sleep
Directed by Howard Hawks
1946/USA
Warner Bros.
Repeat viewing
#189 of 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die

[box] Vivian: Why did you have to go on?

Marlowe: Too many people told me to stop.[/box]

Movies have taken a back seat to life lately and when life rears its ugly head there is nobody better than Bogart for a little boost. This is a fun but perplexing adaptation of the Raymond Chandler novel.

Philip Marlowe (Humphrey Bogart) is hired by wealthy General Sternwood to investigate a blackmail plot against his daughter Carmen (Martha Vickers). Sternwood’s other daughter Vivian Rutledge (Lauren Bacall) attempts to keep him off the case. Not to be deterred, Marlowe comes across a series of murders and is lucky to escape with his own life. With Elisha Cook, Jr. as a would-be informant.

The Big Sleep has a notoriously complicated plot, even for a film noir. It is so complicated, in fact, that when writers William Faulkner and Leigh Brackett asked Chandler who killed a chauffeur in love with Carmen, even Chandler couldn’t figure it out. I’m hazy on most of the story. Despite the fantastic repartee between Bogart and Bacall, this detracts a bit from my enjoyment of the film. Nevertheless, it is well worth seeing. It is probably the only film in which Bogart plays a James Bond like sex symbol, with all the girls he meets swooning (see the second clip).