Daily Archives: December 31, 2016

The Law (La legge)
Directed by Jules Dassin
Written by Jules Dassin and Francoise Geroud from a novel by Roger Vailland
1959/Italy/France
Le Groupe des Quatre/Cite Films/Titanus/G.E.S.I. Cinematografica
First viewing/Filmstruck

[box] A leader is admired, a boss is feared. Vicente del Bosque [/box]

I could not appreciate any merits the film may have had because of my antipathy to most of the characters and their behavior.  My husband found the story to be an amusing commentary on Italian machismo.  Take your pick.

The story is set in an Italian village near Naples where a kind of modern day feudalism is alive and well.  Don Cesare (Pierre Brasseur) is the acknowledged boss of the village.  He is an old man and remains holed up in his village with four comely servants.  Enrico Tosso (Marcello Mastroianni), an agronomist from the North has arrived to conduct some kind of crop experiments.  He is looking for a maid.  The Don’s women all want the fiery Marietta (Gina Lollabrigida) to take the job.  She isn’t interested in being anybody’s servant but determines to marry the handsome newcomer.

One of the nightly pastimes of the men of the village is a stupid and cruel drinking game called “The Law”.  Two of the drinkers are chosen to be the Boss and the Deputy Boss.  They determine whether the other drinkers at the table will be allowed to drink,  how much they drink, and the manner of consumption.  All of this is done for maximum humiliation value. Somehow Matteo Brigante (Yves Montand) always gets chosen Boss.  He fancies himself as the successor to the Don.

In the meantime Brigante’s son Francesco has fallen in love with a local judge’s wife (Melina Mercouri).  They plan to run away together.  Brigante manages to foil the plot at the last minute to the great chagrin and embarrassment of the lady.

Brigante also is set on conquering Marietta but she is not having any and he resorts to force.

The only character in this film without an ulterior motive is the one played by Mastroianni. The others are all cruel, vain, and selfish.  Lollabrigida’s is the kind of woman who will stop at nothing, including thievery, to get what she wants.  Admittedly, her physique in this alone would bring most men to their knees.  Anyway, for some reason she irritated me so much that I couldn’t really enjoy the film.  I might have reacted differently on another day.

Trailer

I’m All Right Jack
Directed by John Boulting
Written by Frank Harvey, John Boulting and Alan Hackney from Hackney’s novel
1959/UK
Charter Film Productions/Boulting Brothers
First viewing/Amazon Instant

[box] Fred Kite: We do not and cannot accept the principle that incompetence justifies dismissal. That is victimisation.[/box]

Here is an amusing comedy about labor relations in Britain.  And what a cast!

Stanley Windrush (Ian Carmichael) comes from the poor relation side of an aristocratic family.  He has a talent for screwing up everything he touches and has not been able to find a job.  His army buddy Sidney Devere Cox (Richard Attenborough) convinces Stanley’s uncle Tracepurcel (Dennis Price) to give him a job at the uncle’s missile plant.  Stanley assumes he will be going into management but both men tell him the wages are better as a unionized worker.  Unbeknownst to Stanley the whole deal is part of an elaborate plot to enrich Tracepurcel and Cox, a plot that hinges on a general strike at the uncle’s factory.

True to form, Stanley cannot comprehend the ethos of the unionized workers and is almost instantly in trouble.  He is forgiven his initial lapse and ends up boarding in the home of shop steward Fred Kite (Peter Sellers).  The final straw comes when he shows a time and motion study man how he can comfortably move more goods in less time.  The plotters get their strike and a whole lot more than they bargained for.  With Terry-Thomas as a labor relations man and Margaret Rutherford as Stanley’s aunt.

This film skewers labor and management alike and is pretty darned funny.   I love all these actors but Sellers is the stand-out.  He has the character of a stuffy but slightly Bolshevik union official just nailed, complete with Northern England accent.  Recommended.

I‘m All Right Jack won the BAFTA Awards for Best British Actor (Sellers) and Best British Screenplay.

Clip