Category Archives: Movie Reviews

King’s Row
Directed by Sam Wood
Written by Casey Robinson from the novel by Henry Bellamann
1942/USA
Warner Bros.
First viewing/Netflix rental

[box] Madame Marie von Eln: I only know that you have to judge people by what you find them to be and not by what other people say they are.[/box]

Ronald Reagan is the best thing about this film.  It’s another highly-rated drama that I wish I liked more that I do.

The story takes place in King’s Row, a small town, on both sides of the turn of the last century.  It begins with a lengthy sequence during the childhoods of the main characters. Parris Mitchell and Drake McHugh are fast friends although they could not be more different  Parris is a serious, polite, studious boy being raised by his immigrant grandmother. (Maria Ouspenskaya).  Drake is a popular, devil-may-care lad.  Parris’s childhood sweetheart is Cassandra Tower.  The town views her entire family with suspicion as her mother never leaves her upper-story bedroom and her father calls himself a doctor without practicing medicine.  She runs to Parris in tears when Doctor Tower (Claude Rains) takes her out of school to be taught at home.

All these people come from the right side of the tracks.  One day the boys go to goof off at the railroad yard and tomboy Randy Monaghan from the wrong side tags along.

Segue to several years later.  Parris’s (Robert Cummings) great dream is to become a doctor.  He studies for the exams to get into a Vienna medical school under the tutelage of Dr. Tower.  He begins a romance with Cassandra (Betty Field in a blonde wig), who is not allowed to leave the house, on the sly.

Drake’s (Ronald Reagan) only goal is to marry Louise Gordon, the daughter of the town’s only practicing physician.  Dr. Gordon (Charles Coburn) is adamantly opposed to the marriage.  Later Drake begins seeing Randy (Ann Sheridan).

The plot is very, very complicated.  Suffice it to say that one tragedy or another, sometimes more, befalls all of these people.  Parris eventually returns home and becomes America’s first psychiatrist, trying to straighten out the lives of these unhappy people and himself.

I think I have mentioned before that I am not a fan of Bob Cummings.  Here he seems to me to be totally miscast as a solitary, sensitive youth.  He probably would have been better in the role of Drake, though I can’t see him reacting to Drake’s tragedy with the aplomb and subtlety that Reagan displays.  Next to Reagan, Ann Sheridan gives the best performance in the film though of course Rains and Coburn are very good as well.

The production values are top-notch.  The score by Erich Wolfgang Korngold is beautiful but distracting.  I just couldn’t get into the story and I found the ending to be ludicrously abrupt and pat.  Your mileage may vary.

Kings Row was nominated for Academy Awards in the categories of Best Picture; Best Director; and Best Cinematography, Black-and-White (James Wong Howe).

clip – opening

The Pride of the Yankees
Directed by Sam Wood
Written by Jo Swerling and Herman J. Mankiewicz based on an original story by Paul Gallico
1942/USA
The Samuel Goldwyn Company
Repeat viewing/Warner Home Video DVD

[box] Hank Hanneman:  I’ll tell ya somethin’. A guy like that is a detriment to any sport. He’s a boob with a batting eye. He wakes up, brushes his teeth, hikes out to the ballpark, hits the ball, hikes back to the hotel room, reads the funny papers, gargles and goes to bed. That’s personality, hm?

Sam Blake: The best.[/box]

These old movies have been giving the tear ducts quite a workout lately.  This excellent profile in courage does it without melodrama.

The film, made with the cooperation of Lou Gherig’s widow, tells the story of the life the famed Yankee slugger.  We see Gherig (Gary Cooper) growing up in a working-class immigrant family in New York.  His mother’s great dream is for him to become an engineer like his uncle and she works as a cook at Columbia University to get him into school.  He dutifully studies engineering but his athletic prowess soon becomes evident, first as a college football hero.  Sportswriter Sam Blake (Walter Brennan) spots him at batting practice and brings him to the attention of the Yankees.

At first Gherig resists to please his mother but when she gets sick and the family needs money he agrees.  After a few games on the bench, he gets his chance.  He trips as he goes to the plate and Eleanor (Theresa Wright), the daughter of the White Sox owner, calls him “tanglefoot” giving him a permanent nickname in Chicago.  But Gherig hits a homer and from such antagonist meetings movie love is born.

Eleanor and Gherig date and then marry, enjoying a idyllic love.  The humble, low-key Gherig goes on to break many batting records.  His most lasting achievement was playing 2,130 straight games.  When tragedy breaks this record, Gherig is the epitome of grace under fire.  With Babe Ruth as himself and Dan Duryea as a Ruth-boosting sportswriter.

The story begins with a title card written by Damon Runyan comparing Gherig’s courage with that of boys on the battlefield.  I hadn’t really caught that before and it gave the film an added appeal.

I have absolutely no interest in baseball and I love this movie.  Cooper is fantastic in it.  I don’t think he gets enough credit as an actor.  His style is so subtle he almost doesn’t seem to be acting but you can see the character’s every thought in his eyes.  I defy anybody not to at least mist up in the last five minutes.  I started before that.

The supporting players are all excellent and the script, with very little flash or fanfare, keeps the viewer gripped in the story.  This practically perfect classic really should be seen before you die.

The Pride of the Yankees won the Academy Award for Best Film Editing.  It was nominated for an additional ten Oscars: Best Picture; Best Actor; Best Actress; Best Writing, Original Story; Best Writing; Screenplay; Best Cinematography, Black-and-White (Rudolph Maté); Best Art Direction-Interior Decoration, Black-and-White; Best Sound, Recording; Best Effects, Special Effects; and Best Music, Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture (Leigh Harline).

Clip – the Farewell speech – with some footage of the real Gehrig

Prelude to War
Directed by Frank Captra and Anatole Litvak (uncredited)
Written by Julius J. Epstein, Philip G. Epstein, Robert Heller, etc. (all uncredited)
1942/USA
U.S. War Department with the cooperation of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
Repeat viewing/Amazon Prime Instant Video

[box] We are determined that before the sun sets on this terrible struggle, our flag will be recognized throughout the world as a symbol of freedom on the one hand, of overwhelming power on the other.

No compromise is possible and the victory of the democracies can only be complete with the utter defeat of the war machines of Germany and Japan. — G.C. Marshall, Chief of Staff (title card)[/box]

Prelude to War is the first in the seven-part “Why We Fight” series, made under the direct supervision of General George Marshall to explain to U.S. servicemen what they were fighting for and against.  It is highly effective propaganda and goes down quite easily.

Utilizing footage from the enemy’s own propaganda films, director Frank Capra illustrates the outrages committed by Italy and Japan, saving most of Germany’s military action for the following film The Nazis Strike.  There is, however, plenty of coverage of Nazi thuggery and indoctrination of the German people.  The whole is narrated with fervor by Walter Huston.

I’ve been looking forward to the war years so I could revisit this film series.  The first one is gripping stuff and expertly made.  It begins with several giant explosions as the potential reasons to fight are listed – Pearl Harbor, Britain, China, France, etc., etc.  The ultimate reason for the American soldier to fight, however, is to  preserve freedom by foiling Axis plans to rule the world.  The consequences of defeat are illustrated graphically with footage of mass rallies, forced labor, youth training, harangues, etc.  This and the other films in the series are in the public domain and easily available online. Recommended.

Prelude to War won an Academy Award for Best Documentary.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b8toHv2_xxg

Clip – indoctrination of children in the Axis countries