Daily Archives: March 22, 2016

Dreams (1955)

Posted on March 22, 2016 | 2 comments

Dreams (Kvinnodröm)
Directed by Ingmar Bergman
Written by Ingmar Bergman
1955/Sweden
Sandrews
First viewing/Hulu

[box] “All that we see or seem is but a dream within a dream.” ― Edgar Allan Poe[/box]

I enjoyed this lesser-known Bergman film but it is certainly not a must-see.

Suzanne (Eva Dahlbeck) is a fashion photographer and Doris (Harriet Andersson) is her model.  When they have to go to Gotheberg for work, Suzanne dreams of a meeting with her married lover and Doris is at loose ends, having just broken up with her boyfriend.

The rest of the film is broken up into individual stories of the women.  Doris is picked up by an elderly man (Gunnar Bjornstrand) who proceeds to indulge her every expensive whim and Suzanne does have the longed-for reunion.  Both incidents turn out very different from what they could have expected.

This is quite OK but fairly trivial.  There is one fantastic sequence when Bjornstrand and Andersson ride some scary attractions at an amusement park.  The stories start out looking comic but switch tone mid-way through.  The transitions are not all that smooth.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zZdryPxlgcg

Clip

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Posted in 1955, Movie Reviews

Killer’s Kiss (1955)

Posted on March 22, 2016 | Leave a comment

Killer’s Kiss
Directed by Stanley Kubrick
Written by Stanley Kubrick
1955/USA
Minotaur Productions
First viewing/Amazon Instant

[box] Gloria Price: It’s a mistake to confuse pity with love.[/box]

Stanley Kubrick’s second feature is strong on visuals but weak on plot and dialogue.

Davey Gordon is a boxer who has just lost his last chance at the championship.  He has decided to return to his uncle’s horse farm near Seattle.  One night before he leaves, he hears a woman, Gloria,  screaming in the apartment across the way.  He rescues her from a much older man’s unwanted advances.  The man, Vincent Rapallo, is the boss of the dime-a-dance joint where Gloria works.

Davey and Gloria hit it off and she plans to accompany him back to Seattle.  Vincent refuses to give up his pursuit, however.

This movie seems padded with filler at only 67 minutes.  It contains some of the corniest dialogue I’ve heard in awhile as well.  (The conversation between Davey and his uncle is priceless).  The acting is no great shakes.  The whole suffers from the post-production dubbing of the entire sound track.  The leading lady is not even voiced by the same actress.  Despite all this, you can clearly see a master craftsman in the making.  Some of the images are stunning and the staging of the action sequences is innovative.

Trailer

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Posted in 1955