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Posts from the ‘1954’ Category

Jan 13

River of No Return

Out of Marilyn Monroe’s curious filmography, River of No Return is the western. The movie stars Monroe along with Robert Mitchum, Rory Calhoun and Tommy Rettig. It carries all the hallmarks of typical 50s Hollywood, complete with a rather atrocious sequence involving Mitchum’s character and Monroe’s character that I’ll dig in to a bit later.

Directed by Otto Preminger, River of No Return is apparently based on a story by Louis Lantz. Lantz based his story on Vittorio De Sica’s Bicycle Thieves, although I’m having a hard time piecing that together. In any event, the Lantz story got in the hands of screenwriter Frank Fenton and River of No Return was born. The movie was filmed in fancy new CinemaScope.

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Mar 10

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Samurai I: Musashi Miyamoto

Eiji Yoshikawa is probably one of the most well-known Japanese historical novelists and his Musashi novel is widely considered as Japan’s Gone with the Wind. It is an epic account of the life of Miyamoto Musashi, one of Japan’s most renowned swordsmen. The Samurai Trilogy, directed by Hiroshi Inagaki, is a film adaptation of Musashi and Samurai I: Musashi Miyamoto is the first film in the series.

Comparisons to Gone with the Wind are more than valid, as the chaotic backdrop of the story is couched in civil war and devastation. The Battle of Sekigahara sets the backdrop for Samurai I, putting us in the year 1600 during a three day fight in which some 70,000 people lost their lives. It is true that the real Musashi Miyamoto took part in the Battle of Sekigahara and it is true that his heroism created a sort of legend around his actions.

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Jan 26

Dial M for Murder

dial_m_for_murder

If I were to list some of my favourite film directors of all time, I can safely say that Alfred Hitchcock would top the list or, at the very least, come very close. His films, along with those of Woody Allen, Federico Fellini, and Martin Scorsese, have always made me sit up and take notice. Hitchcock simply has a way about him that infuses his movies with humour, wit, and staggering suspense.

1954’s Dial M for Murder finds Hitch working the inverted detective story angle. Essentially the commission of the crime is shown and the identity of the perpetrator is known to the audience. The film then works through the process of identifying the perpetrator and restoring justice. The inverted detective story was used frequently during television programs like Matlock and the like, but here Hitchcock gives it his own slightly askew treatment.

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Mar 25

La Strada

La Strada

Italian neorealism is a style of film branded by stories set against a milieu of the poor or working class. Neorealism usually uses a good amount of amateur actors and is often filmed on location. Most Italian neorealist films contend with the economic and moral conditions of Italy after World War II, thus reflecting the change in the consciousness of the Italian people as they encounter change, poverty, despair, and defeat. Federico Fellini worked with neorealism a few times in his career, but his films often reflected a shift from neorealism to the tragic malfunction of the human condition to rise to the challenges set after the war.

La Strada is one such transitional movie. Fellini’s 1954 masterpiece reflects the shift from the neorealist notion of social concerns to the concerns of the individual, namely that of compassion in the face of desolation. The title, which means “The Road,” refers in part to the journey Fellini’s characters take throughout the film. Along the road, his characters meet a cast of humans gifted with compassion and warmth. This reflects the true heart of La Strada, demonstrating that this plain and frank little film has something affectionate at its core.

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Mar 18

Rear Window

Rear Window

Hitchcock’s 1954 classic Rear Window is often considered one of his very best. Based on Cornell Woolrich’s short story It Had to be Murder, Rear Window is a wonderfully crafted suspense thriller. It won four Academy Awards, including Best Director, Best Screenplay for John Michael Hayes, Best Cinematography, and Best Sound Recording. In 1997, the film was selected for preservation by the National Film Registry and ranks at #14 on AFI’s 100 Years…100 Thrills list. It is also one of the most critically acclaimed films of all time and ranks at #14 on IMBD.com’s Top 250.

James Stewart stars as L.B. “Jeff” Jefferies, a professional photographer who is laid up in his Greenwich Village apartment after an accident that left him with his leg broken. Suffering from boredom, Jeff begins to spy a little on his neighbours through his window. The neighbourhood appears normal, as various people are going about their business. Hitchcock’s direction keys in on this point beautifully, as we never leave Jeff’s apartment viewpoint and always see things through his eyes. His neighbours become as interesting to us as they are to him. We share his obsession and, through the magic of the movies, we share in his life.

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