Monthly Archives: February 2017

Take Aim at the Police Van (‘Jûsangô taihisen’ yori: Sono gosôsha o nerae)
Directed by Seijun Suzuki
Written by Shin’ichi Sekizawa and Kazuo Shimada
1960/Japan
Nikkatsu
First viewing/FilmStruck

[box] “People sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf.” ― George Orwell[/box]

Seijun Suzuki continues to develop his signature style in this crime drama.

A police van is ambushed by thugs and the two prisoners inside are killed.  Prison Officer Tamon takes the blame and is put on a six-month suspension.  He decides to spend his time off-duty locating the shooters and unraveling the motive for the crime.

Tamon’s investigation takes him deep into a web of vice and corruption.  Along the way, he meets up with Yuko, an attractive lady whose allegiances are not entirely clear.

Almost any available still from this film would have made a striking image for the blog. Unfortunately, between yesterday when I watched it and today when I am writing it up, the plot has turned into a big blur.  I will have forgotten it completely by tomorrow.

House of Usher
Directed by Roger Corman
Written by Richard Matheson based on “The Fall of the House of Usher” by Edgar Allan Poe
1960/USA
Alta Vista Productions
First viewing/Amazon Instant

[box] Philip Winthrop: Is there no end to your horrors?

Roderick Usher: No. None whatever.[/box]

The films Roger Corman directed himself tend to be the best of those he produced.  This one is no exception and benefits from the bucks the old skinflint spent on sets, costumes, color and Cinemascope.

The plot is loosely based on Poe’s story.  Young Philip Winthrop goes to visit his fiancee Madeline Usher in her creepy crumbling old mansion.  He is greeted by her brother Roderick (Vincent Price) who is not pleased with the romance and very anxious to get Philip out of the house.  Roderick suffers from the curse of the Ushers, ultra-sensitivity to all sensory stimulation.

Philip is not to be deterred and Madeline attempts to stand up to her brother.  One thing leads to another and burial alive becomes a major plot point.

This is one of Price’s better performances.  The story is not entirely gripping but the special effects are fun to watch.

House of Usher was listed on the National Film Registry in 2005.

Trailer

Comanche Station  
Directed by Budd Boetticher
Written by Burt Kennedy
1960/USA
Columbia Pictures Corp./Ranown Pictures Corp.
First viewing/Netflix rental

[box] Ben Lane: A lot of money has a way of making a man all greed inside….It can get him to thinking of doing things he might not otherwise do. … It wouldn’t surprise me if somebody didn’t try to take that woman away from you.

Jefferson Cody: Like you, for instance?

Ben Lane: Like me, in particular. [/box]

This was the last of the Budd Boetticher/Randolph Scott Westerns I will come across in my journey through the years.  It was a good ride and this is a fitting swan song.

Scott plays Jefferson Cody, another in the series of his strong, silent, loners.  When he hears of a white woman some Comanche are willing to trade for store goods, he sets off to buy her.  He soon realizes that she is Mrs. Nancy Lowe who was kidnapped from a stagecoach awhile back.  He sets forth to return her to her family.

While waiting for a stage coach at Comanche Station, the pair meet up with bad guy Ben Lane (Claude Akins) and his two hired guns/flunkies.  Ben knows that Nancy’s husband has put up a $5,000 reward for her return and intends to stay with Cody and his charge every step of the way.  He knows he will not be able to get Cody to give up Nancy without killing him and has a plan for doing just that.  On the way, the party have a couple of run-ins with Comanches.

It’s funny.  The stories of these all have basically the same formula but never feel formulaic. It’s the writing that keeps them fresh I think.  There are always a lot of pithy zingers to enjoy.  The direction, as always, is solid and makes wonderful use of the Western scenery.  Boetticher keeps us begging for more.  These are the rare films I always wish were longer.

Trailer

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4gQbVEYJQVE

Clint Eastwood discusses Budd Boetticher and the film

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I have to return to Las Vegas to deal with some family issues.  Will be back February 13.

Mill of the Stone Women (Il mulino delle donne di pietra)
Directed by Giorgio Ferroni
Written by Giorgio Ferroni et al (uncredited)
1960/Italy/France
C.E.C. Films etc.
First viewing/Amazon Instant

“I have seen the dark universe yawning/ Where the black planets roll without aim,/ Where they roll in their horror unheeded,/ Without knowledge, or lustre, or name.” ― H.P. Lovecraft, “Nemesis”

Fellas, it is always a good idea to find out whether or not a woman is actually alive before bedding her.

Hans von Amim is researching an article about a carousel in an old windmill on the occasion of its centenary.  This is no ordinary carousel. It features gruesome statues of murder victims. Prof. Gregorias Wohl, decendent of the carousel’s founder puts Hans on a tight schedule.  He wants him out of there within a week.  Early on,  Hans becomes acquainted with Wohl’s beautiful daughter Elfie and her personal physician Dr. Bohlem. Elfie has some kind of mysterious ailment that keeps her trapped in the windmill.

In the evenings, Hans sees his childhood sweetheart Liselotte.  Unfortunately for Hans, Elfie falls in love at first sight and beckons him to her bedchamber.  One night of passion with Elfie convinces Hans that he has true love with Liselotte.  Unfortunately for Liselotte, it turns out that she has the same rare bloodtype as Elfie.

This comes early in the cycle of Italian Gothic horror films that would proliferate in the 60’s and 70’s.  Its atmosphere and beautiful women should appeal to fans of the genre. I won’t be sure I’m one of them until I have more under my belt.  The version I watched was dubbed.

American Trailer

Space Men (AKA Assignment Outer Space)
Directed by Antonio Margheriti
Written by Ennio De Concini and Jack Wallace
1960/Italy
Titanus/Ultra Film
First viewing/Amazon Instant

[box] “The three rules of the Librarians of Time and Space are: 1) Silence; 2) Books must be returned no later than the last date shown; and 3) Do not interfere with the nature of causality.” ― Terry Pratchett, Guards! Guards![/box]

This dud doesn’t even have an alien.

It is 2016.  World’s most obnoxious reporter Ray Peterson tags along on what should be a fairly routine mission and bickers with the captain the entire way.  A female navigator is also on board for the obligatory romance and there is a saintly old man to deliver life lessons.  Eventually, another spaceship runs amok somehow and threatens to destroy Earth within the next 24 hours.  Yadda, yadda, yadda.

This Americanized Italian production has nothing to recommend it.  The dubbing could not have possibly hurt.  The color in the Amazon print had faded almost to nothingness.

Trailer

Everything Goes Wrong (Subete ga kurutteru)
Directed by Seijun Suzuki
Written by Seiji Hoshikawa and Akira Ichijo
1960/Japan
Nikkatsu
First viewing/Filmstruck

[box] The duty of youth is to challenge corruption. — Kurt Cobain [/box]

Here is Seijun Suzuki before he entered his full-on gonzo mode.  Even this early he didn’t pull any punches.

As films of the era so amply prove, urban Japan was not for sissies in the late 50’s and early 60’s.  Jiro has grown up amidst vice and corruption.  He has mixed feelings on the subject.  He’s willing to indulge in a little vice and corruption himself but he draws the line when it comes to his mother’s affair with a married executive.

I enjoyed this one for Suzuki’s powerful story-telling though the story itself was nothing special.  The score is nice.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZravxWm_eO4

Trailer – no subtitles

The Bad Sleep Well (Warui yatsu hodo yoku nemuru)
Directed by Akira Kurosawa
Written by Akira Kurosawa, Hideo Oguni, Eijiro Hisaita etc.
1960/Japan
Toho Company/Kurosawa Production Co.
Repeat viewing/FilmStruck

[box] The croaking raven doth bellow for revenge. — Hamlet [/box]

The first 30 minutes of this film are as good as anything Kurosawa ever did.  The remaining two-plus hours are almost as good.

The film begins with the fantastic sequence of a fancy wedding dinner following the marriage of the lame daughter of a business mogul (Masayuki Mori) and his strangely expressionless private secretary Nishi (Toshiro Mifune).  The wedding is continuously marred by the interruptions of frenzied reporters out to cover a corruption scandal involving the corporation.  Then an ominous second wedding cake is delivered.

Soon enough, we find out that Nishi was behind the cake.  His father, a ministry official, was cajoled or forced into jumping out the window marked by the rose on the cake.  The rest of the film is devoted to Nishi’s elaborate revenge plot.  This is complicated by the fact that he has fallen in love with his wife.  With Takashi Shimura as an executive.

If Throne of Blood is Macbeth and Ran is KIng Lear, The Bad Sleep Well is Kurosawa’s take on Hamlet.  The wedding sequence is completely brilliant.  The rest of the film drags a bit but contains many delights.  This is one of my favorite performances by Mifune.  He is just as good doing subtle and restrained as he is at doing explosive.  He has a chance to do both here.  Recommended.

Trailer

Tribute to some masterful staging

The Entertainer
Directed by Tony Richardson
Written by John Osborne and Nigel Kneale from Osborne’s play
1960/UK
Woodfall Film Productions
Repeat viewing?/FilmStruck

[box] Archie Rice: Old Archie isn’t going to get his oats after all.[/box]

Laurence Olivier delivers as a washed-up old musical hall performer.

Archie Rice (Olivier) runs roughshod over his long-suffering family on his way down the ladder of fame.  His father Billy (Roger Livesy) seems to have faired better in retirement than Archie is likely to do. Wife Phoebe (Brenda de Banzie) has put up with years of Archie’s womanizing and his sons Mick (Albert Finney), Frank (Alan Bates) and daughter  Jean (Joan Plowright) have no illusions about the old man.

During the course of the film, Archie resorts to romancing the young daughter of some potential backers in an effort to resuscitate his career.  All the while. his soldier son Mick is MIA somewhere in Egypt.

The principal reason to see this kitchen sink drama is Olivier.  He is acting way outside his comfort zone and is marvelous.  I particularly enjoyed watching him sing and dance in the music hall scenes.

This film contains the big screen debuts of both Bates and Finney.  Olivier met future wife Joan Plowright on the set.  He would remain married to her until his death in 1989.

Laurence Olivier was nominated for an Oscar for Best Actor.

Clip