Monthly Archives: January 2015

The Southerner
Directed by Jean Renoir
Written by Hugo Butler and Jean Renoir from the novel “Hold Autumn in Your Hand” by George Sessions Perry
1945/USA
Jean Renoir Productions/Loew-Hakim
Repeat viewing/Netflix rental

[box] The saving grace of the cinema is that with patience and a little love we may arrive at that wonderfully complex creature which is called man. — Jean Renoir[/box]

I’m a huge Renoir fan but for some reason this one has never captured me, despite its evident beauty.  I think maybe the story is a bit too “American” for a European sophisticate like Renoir to entirely pull off.

Sam Tucker (Zachary Scott) and his wife Nona (Betty Field) work as cotton pickers.  Two small children and Granny (Beulah Bondi) complete the family.  Sam decides to see about renting his own piece of land from his boss to work as a sharecropper.  He is full of enthusiasm about the rich earth, ignoring the dilapidated house, dry well, and other serious defects.  He counts on his neighbor to help out on the water front but discovers the man (J. Carroll Naish) is a jealous skinflint who had been hoping to get the property for himself.

Things go from bad to worse.  Granny complains non-stop.  One of the children gets sick from malnutrition and the only cure is to give him expensive milk and vegetables.  Then a flood comes.  Can the Tuckers hold onto their dream?

Don’t know if it’s me or the film, but both times I watched this I had kind of zoned out by the end.  Zachary Scott is very good, though.  It is nice to see him play something other than a mustachioed cad.  The usually reliable Beulah Bondi overdoes it.

The Southerner was nominated by the Academy in the categories of:  Best Director; Best Sound, Recording; and Best Music, Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7HPgVVxOQSE

Clip

The Story of G.I. Joe
Directed by William A. Wellman
Written by Leopold Atlas, Guy Endore, and Philip Stevenson based on books by Ernie Pyle
1945/USA
Lester Cowan Productions
Repeat viewing/YouTube

[box] Pvt. Robert “Wingless” Murphy: Look, this is a modern war, ain’t it? And I’m a modern guy, and the modern age is up in the air, not down here.[/box]

Burgess Meridith plays war correspondent Ernie Pyle but the plot focuses more on episodes from one platoon’s war as it fights its way north through Italy. The film is solid, if cliche ridden.

At 43, war correspondent Ernie Pyle is so much older than the G.I.’s he travels with that they call him “Pop”.  Early on he embeds himself with a platoon led by Lt. Walker (Robert Mitchum), with whom he develops a special rapport, and he keeps returning to the unit as it fights its way from North Africa toward Rome.

We get to know some of the men fairly well, marking several out for an early demise by the poignancy of their romantic attachments.  The progress of the platoon is marked first by defeat, then by costly victories, until it gets bogged down by German fire from a monastery building that the brass refuses to bomb.  With combat veterans as some of the members of the platoon.

The film works fairly well but bogs down, with its protagonists, about half way through at the monastery.    It was released shortly after Pulitzer Prize-winner Pyle was killed on Okinawa by Japanese machine-gun fire.

Robert Mitchum received his one and only Academy Award nomination for his performance in The Story of G.I. Joe.  He can’t be ever bad but he certainly had more nomination-worthy parts. (My vote would go to his unforgettable Harry Palmer in The Night of the Hunter.) The film was nominated in the categories of Best Writing, Original Screenplay; Best Music, Original Song (“Linda” by Ann Ronnell); and Best Music, Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture.

Clip – Listening to “Linda” over Nazi radio

My Name Is Julia Ross
Directed by Joseph H. Lewis
Written by Muriel Roy Bolton from a novel by Anthony Gilbert
1945/USA
Columbia Pictures Corporation
First Viewing/YouTube

[box] Julia Ross: The next time I apply for a job, I’ll ask for *their* references.[/box]

This is an above-average “B” thriller with plenty of chills.  Dame May Whitty is the standout.

Julia Ross (Nina Foch) is recovering from an operation that left her unemployed and behind on her rent.  She has searched for work everywhere but has no luck until she spots a new employment agency in the paper.  When she applies as a secretary, the main qualification for the position seems to be a lack of relatives or sweetheart.  Julia qualifies and passes the interview with employer Mrs. Hughes (Whitty). She is surprised to find that it is a live-in situation and she is to move in that night.

After moving in, Julia is offered a refreshing cup of tea as a nightcap.  When she wakes up, all her possessions and clothes have been destroyed and Mrs. Hughes and son Ralph (George Macready) are referring to her as Marion, Ralph’s wife.  After another night of induced sleep, Julia finds herself with the mother and son in an isolated Cornwall house.  Her tormenters easily convince the locals “Marion” is insane.  Julia begins to fear for her life. Based on Ralph’s erratic behavior, it seems evident that her death might be unspeakable.

Dame May Whitty and George Macready make quite a team as the villains of the piece.  Whitty is simply perfect – the lovable old lady that we know from so many pictures, with a secret heart of iron.  The ending isn’t up to the rest of the film but still recommended for noir aficionados or anyone with a soft spot for Whitty.  It’s only about an hour long and currently on YouTube.

Clip