Flickers in Time

Shenandoah
Directed by Andrew V. McLaglen
Written by James Lee Barrett
1965/USA
Universal Pictures
First viewing/Netflix rental

[box] Charlie Anderson: Lord, we cleared this land. We plowed it, sowed it, and harvested it. We cooked the harvest. It wouldn’t be here and we wouldn’t be eating it if we hadn’t done it all ourselves. We worked dog-bone hard for every crumb and morsel, but we thank you Lord just the same for the food we’re about to eat, amen.[/box]

OK Civil War/Western tale.

Charlie Anderson (James Stewart) is the patriarch of a Northern Virginia farming family. The family does not keep slaves and therefore has opted out of taking sides in the Civil War.  But, when the youngest son is mistakenly arrested by Yankees for being an escaped prisoner of war, Charlie and family are moved into action.  With Katharine Ross as the young wife of one of the sons.

This was all right if nothing exceptional.  It has kind of a folksy, family friendly tone.

I Saw What You Did
Directed by William Castle
Written by William P. McGivern from a novel by Ursula Curtiss
1965/USA
Universal Pictures
First viewing/my DVD collection

[box] Libby: I saw what you did, and I know who you are.[/box]

Nice little thriller about teenage crank callers but don’t come expecting a lot from Joan Crawford.

Kit Austin and Libby Mannering are bored high schoolers left at home alone.  They use the opportunity to play pranks with the telephone.  These start with trying to make trouble in marriages and then escalate into random “I saw what you did” calls.  Unfortunately, they eventually zero in on a man (John Ireland) who just murdered his wife.

The rest of the movie focuses on the man’s efforts to eliminate the “witnesses”.  Crawford plays the man’s lustful blackmailing neighbor.

I generally enjoy William Castle’s films and this was no exception.  I had expected more high camp, a la Strait Jacket, but this is still a decent entertainment.

The Moment of Truth (Il momento della verita)
Directed by Francesco Rossi
Written by Pedro Beltran, Ricardo Muñoz Suay, Pere Portabella, Francesco Rossi
1965/Italy/Spain
As Films Produccion/Federiz
First viewing/FilmStruck

[box] “Courage and grace is a formidable mixture. The only place to see it is the bullring.” ― Marlene Dietrich, Marlene Dietrich’s ABC[/box]

Stunningly beautiful film about an ugly subject.

The film covers the career of a poor boy (Miguelin) who makes it big as a bullfighter.  Most of the story takes place in the bullring.

The bullfighter in this is one gorgeous man and his artistry and courage in the ring are beyond compare.  It really does look like a dance.  On the other hand, there is plenty of graphic carnage and animal death on hand.

The Nanny
Directed by Seth Holt
Written by Jimmy Sangster from a novel by Marryam Model
1965/UK
Hammer Films
First viewing/Netflix rental

[box] The nanny: What was so bad about Mrs. Griggs?

Joey Fane: She was like you.[/box]

Bette Davis was the grandest of the dames during the era of psycho-biddy films.  She is wonderful in this Hammer Studios thriller.

The nanny has been with the Fane family for years.  She was nanny to mother Virginia Fane and her sister when they were girls, stayed on to serve the fragile Virgie, and went on to nanny for her children Joey and Susy.  Susy was killed a couple of years before by drowning in the bathtub.  The incident was blamed on young Joey.  Joey is certain that the nanny did it but his smart mouth has not assisted his cause.  He has just been released by the institution to which he was confined after the incident.

Joey refuses to eat anything the nanny prepares or to sleep, claiming fear of kindly old nanny.  The action escalates to a rather predictable end.

Did Bette Davis ever turn in a bad performance?  I think not.  This is a solid thriller, nothing far out.  Davis has a nice steely glint in her eye beneath all the Mary Poppins sweetness.

The Holy Man (Mahapurush)
Directed by Satyajit Ray
Written by Satyajit Ray from a story by Rajshekhar Parashuram Basu
1965/India
R.D. Banshal & Co/Rajshri Productions
First viewing/Netflix rental

[box] “He denounced him openly as a charlatan–a fraud with no valuable knowledge of any kind, or powers beyond those of an ordinary and rather inferior human being.” ― Mark Twain, The Mysterious Stranger[/box]

A devout Hindu family “adopts” a holy man and friends and neighbors flock to hear his ravings.  Some clear-thinkers come up with a plot for blowing his cover.  One of these is trying to woo a devotee’s daughter.

This comic film is only about an hour long.  It is enjoyable but could have been fleshed out more fully.  I really couldn’t wrap myself around how the plot worked in the end.

Clip

The 10th Victim (La decima vittima)
Directed by Elio Petri
Written by Tonino Guerra, Giorgio Salvioni, Ennio Faiano, and Elio Petri from a story by Robert Sheckley
1965/Italy/France
Compagnia Cinematografica Champion/Les Films Concordia
First viewing/Netflix rental

[box] Narrator: A study of history confirms the validity of the Big Hunt theory: it is mankind’s safety valve. And if in 1940 the Big Hunt had existed, Hitler would’ve been a member and we could have avoided WWII. Now all is resolved, wars are over, and the violent instincts of man can now be expressed by a single and set competition.[/box]

I certainly was not prepared for what I got!  That’s a recommendation.

As the movie begins, a man is openly chasing a woman around town with a gun.  She teases him as she runs and eventually gets the better of him.  They are participants in a state-run competition known as The Big Hunt, which has been devised to channel man’s violent impulses and end war.  The “hunter” knows everything about his/her victim while the victim knows nothing about the hunter, including his/her identity.  Competitors earn a title and a million dollars when they win 10 games

The main game we follow is that between Caroline Meredith’s Hunter (Ursula Andress) and Marcello Polleti’s Victim (Marcello Mastroianni).  She’ll win her competition with his death. Sexy byplay alternates with ruthless double-dealing.  With Elsa Martinelli as Mastroianni’s wife.

This movie is insane!  You never know where you really are.  It’s kind of James Bond meets Hunger Games meets La Dolce Vita with many witty set pieces and fantastic art direction. Recommended to lovers of cult cinema.

The Agony and the Ecstasy
Directed by Carol Reed
Written by Philip Dunne based on the novel by Irving Stone
1965/USA/Italy
Twentieth Century Fox/International Classics/Dino de Laurentis Cinematografica/Cinecitta
First viewing/Netflix rental

[box] Raphael: [scoffs] You’ll always be an artist. You have no choice.[/box]

Looks like Carol Reed lost his vision when he started filming in color.

This docu-drama follows the story of Michelangelo’s (Charleton Heston) creation of the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel.  It begins with a 12-minute educational documentary about the artist and his work.  “Warrior Pope” Julius II (Rex Harrison) is determined that Michelangelo will paint the ceiling despite all the artist’s protestations that he is “not a painter.” He also commands the singularly uninspiring idea that the ceiling will consist of images of the twelve apostles with “appropriate design”.

Michelangelo becomes obsessed with the project when the Pope finally agrees to let him paint his own vision.  But the Pope doesn’t realize or accept that the vision will take years to execute.  The two men continue to butt heads throughout.

This is a lot less than it could have been starting with the decision to lecture us about Michelangelo’s work rather than showing it in the context of the film.  There are veiled references to the artist’s homosexuality though in the end we are left to think that he remained celibate in service of his Faith and his art.  Really very little meat on this one’s bones.

The Agony and the Ecstasy was nominated for Academy Awards in the categories of:  Best Cinematography, Color; Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Color; Best Costume Design, Color; Best Sound; Best Music, Score – Substantially Original.

Die, Die, My Darling! (AKA Fanatic)
Directed by Silvio Narizzano
Written by Richard Matheson from a novel by Anne Blaisdell
1965/UK
Columbia Pictures Corporation/Hammer Film
First viewing/Amazo Instant
They Shoot Zombies, Don’t They?

[box] Pat Carroll: Yes, I wondered if you might have a mirror I could …

Mrs. Trefoile: A mirror? Is it to adorn yourself, to observe yourself? Mirrors are not but tools of vanity, Patricia – I know! Vanity – sensuality, Patricia! The Bible speaks of our vile bodies.

Pat Carroll: Oh.

Mrs. Trefoile: I knew you would understand. [/box]

In the tradition of Baby Jane, we get this fun, fun thriller with an aging mad woman, this time played by Tallulah Bankhead.

Patricia Carroll (Stephanie Powers) has travelled to England to marry her fiance.  Before she does, she has been invited to the home of Mrs. Trefoil who is the mother of Pat’s former fiance Stephen who killed himself.  Mrs. Trefoil (Bankhead) is a bonkers religious fanatic that believes Pat is already married to the dead man, will be reunited with him in heaven, and that she must be “saved” and purified” before she dies.

Pat has a mind of her own.  While Mrs. Trefoil says she does not want to hurt her, intimidation and starvation seem to be the only way of preventing her from escaping.  The violence escalates after Pat tells Mrs. Trefoil that she had no intention of marrying Stephen if he had not died.  With Donald Sutherland as a halfwit gardener.

This movie is pretty darn great for what it is.  Bankhead is both campy and believable at the same time.  I loved the way she would pick out the very most boring verses of the Old Testament to read from ad nauseum for hours.  Powers is not nearly so good but she really does not need to be.  Bankhead is more than enough.  She didn’t make enough movies.