Under Capricorn

 

(1949)
Directed by Alfred Hitchcock
Written by James Bridie, Hume Cronyn from novels by Helen Simpson (novel) and John Colton and Margaret Linden (play)
Starring Joseph Cotten, Ingrid Bergman, Michael Wilding, Margaret Leighton, Cecil Parker
IMDB Entry

I've been a fan of Alfred Hitchcock for years and have seen nearly all of his films. But even Hitchcock had his stinkers. Jamaica Inn  is what usually comes to mind, and it certainly deserves the "honor." But I have found the Under Capricorn is also pretty bad, just in different ways.

In 19th Century Australia, the new governor, Sir Richard (Cecil Parker) arrives with his cousin Charles Adare (Michael Wilding).  Adare is approached by Sam Flusky (Joseph Cotten) to help with a shady land deal. He goes to a dinner at Flusky's house, which is only attended by other men, their wives unavailable due to flimsy excuses. When Sam's wife, Henrietta (Ingrid Bergman) joins, Adare realizes he knew her when they were children. Henrietta is now an alcoholic and embarasses herself in front of the guests. Sam asks for Adare to stay to help cheer up his wife.

She begins to feel better, but is sabotaged by the housekeeper Milly (Margaret Leighton), who wants to keep Henrietta helpless (supplying her with whiskey) so that she can be gotten rid of for Milly to marry Sam. When Milly spots Adare and Henriette kissing in a moment of weakness,* she has the ammunition she needs to destroy them. But Henrietta holds a deep secret.

The main problem with the film is that it's all talk and little else. It's written more like a soap opera than the tightly plotted films that made Hitchcock famous. The characters are stiff and generally uninteresting.  The obvious source of potential conflict -- Henrietta choosing between Sam and Adare -- is just sloughed off.  Milly has her moments as the scheming villain, but it also devolves into telling, not showing. There is an opportunity for suspense near the end, but, oddly, Hitchcock drains all the suspense out of it.

The film doesn't reach the level of badness of Jamaica Inn, but ultimately is too long, too melodramatic, and completely lacking in the set pieces that make movies pop. It might have been better with a director more attuned to the soap opera elements, but it a disappointment from the man billed "The Master of Suspense."

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*Featured on the poster, which gives the impression that it's a story of forbidden love between Adare and Henrietta.

The Horse's Mouth

 

(1958)
Directed by Ronald Neame
Written by Alec Guinness from a novel by Joyce Carey
Starring  Alec Guinness, Kay Walsh, Renée Houston, Mike Morgan, Robert Coote, Veronica Turleigh. Michael Gough, Ernest Theisinger
IMDB Entry

Most people these days remember Alec Guinness as Obi-Wan Kenobi or Colonel Nicholson in The Bridge on the River Kwai and categorize him as one of the British dramatic actors. But Guinness was a gifted comic actor, too, and The Horse's Mouth shows this off.

Guiness plays Gully Jimson an artist with a strong ego and utter disregard for what others think about him. We first see him leaving prison for harassing one of his sponsors, Mr. Hickson (Ernest Theisinger). He is met by Nosey Barbon (Mike Morgan), who idolizes him and wants to be his protege. Jimson tells him to leave him alone. He continues his campaign against Hickson for buying his art from his ex-wife for a very low price. Lady Beeder (Veronica Turleigh) contacts him for a commission, and after seeing a blank wall, he insists on painting his masterpiece "The Raising of Lazarus" on it. When the Beeders leave for six weeks on vacation, he sneaks into his house and begins to paint. A second artist, Abel Bisson (Michael Gough) catches wind of the plan, and uses the house for a major sculpture, which leads to some slapstick disaster.

The movie is most a character study of Jimson. He is crude, egotistical, devious,and selfish. Speaking in a raspy voice, he tries to dominate anyone who gets in his way. Guinness is superb in the role, making the character likeable despite his flaws. Guiness also wrote the screenplay, and got an Oscar nomination for it.

The other characters are adjuncts to Guiness. Kay Walsh stands out as the woman who admires him despite all is flaws. Renée Houston is his ex-wife, who can  be just as devious as Jimson. Ernest "Dr. Pretorius" Thesiger and Michael Gough (Alfred in the Burton Batman) are familiar faces.

The music soundtrack was all taken from a single source, Prokofiev's "The Lieutenant Kijé Suite." It's up there as one of the most familiar pieces of classical music that most people can't name:  the "Troika" portion of it has become a popular Christmas piece, though it's only used once in the film.

Homicide Hlls (Mord mit Assicht) (TV)

(2006-2022)
Created by Marie Reiners
Starring Caroline Peters, Bjarne Madel, Meike Droste, Petra Kleinert
IMDB Entry

One of the great things about the Internet and TubiTV is the ability to find TV shows from all over that the standard streaming services don't carry. I happened to stumble upon Homicide Hills, a charming German police series.

Sophie Haas (Caroline Peters) is a chief of detectives in Cologne who is sent to be the head of the police in Hengasch, a small town in the Eifel mountains.* It's a small force, with Dietmar Schaffer (Bjarne Madel) and Barbel Schmied (Meike Drost) the only other cops. Thing rarely happen in Hengasch, but when Haas arrives, there are murders galore. Dietmar's wife Heike (Petra Kleinert) is a nosy type who gets involved with the police business.

Caroline Peters** is great as Haas. She is very expressive and her expression is a source of the show's humor. Bjarn Madel is amusing as the slightly clueless deputy who is overwhelmed by his busybody wife. Meike Drost is the more serious of the two officers. All have quirks to make the show so watchable.

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*Hengasch in German sounds like "hanging butt." 

**The name sound English, but she was born in and lives in Germany.

The Beautiful Blonde from Bashville Bend

 

(1949)
Directed by Preston Sturges
Written by Preston Sturges from a story by Earl Felton
Starring Betty Grable, Cesar Romero, Rudy Vallee, Olga San Juan, Porter Hall, Hugh Herbert, El Brendel, Margaret Hamilton, Sterling Holloway
IMDB Entry

A few years ago, I did a series of posts on Preston Sturges and stopped after covering his major films. Sturges's career fell apart in the late forties, and I wondered if any of his work was worth considering. So I'm starting with a film from 1949 and his last film from his Hollywood years, The Beautiful Blonde from Bashful Bend.

It begins with a short scene about a grandfather teaching his granddaughter how to shoot. Years later, the girl, Winnifred "Freddy" Jones (Betty Grable) is a saloon singer with a boyfriend Blackie Jobero (Cesar Romero). When she catching him romancing another woman, she shoots -- hitting Judge O'Toole (Porter Hall) in the butt. He vows to put her in jail, so, with her friend Conchita (Olga San Juan) she jumps on a train with a stolen ticket to Bashful Bend. She is mistaken for the new schoolteacher and takes up the job, attracting the eye of Charles Hingleman (Rudy Vallee). But Blackie tracks her down and there's a price on her head, leading to complications.

The movie misses the wild bawdiness that was a part of Sturges's stock in trade. The Hayes Office loosened up on its censorship during World War II, but it was back in place by 1949. There are hints of it, but nothing like his earlier films.

The film is also hurt by the lack of Sturges's stock company. There are plenty of great character actors in it, but they are not as wild and revolutionary as things were at his peak. The ending was an extended gunfight scene that just goes on too long.

Still, there are some funny scenes. The judge being ministered to by the town doctor is very amusing, as are several of the bits in the schoolroom.

There are some very good actors in the film. Betty Grable is just fine as a character that seems to be highly influenced by the story of Annie Oakley.* Cesar Romero makes a good cad, but one who isn't really all that bad, if having a bit of a wandering eye.

There is a whole host of memorable character actors.  Porter Hall is best known today as Mr. Sawyer in Miracle on 34th Street. Margaret (Wicked Witch ) Hamilton, Hugh Herbert (well known enough to be charactured in Looney Tunes occasionally), and El Brendel (famous for his Swedish characterization) all appear.  

Most notable is Sterling Holloway, best known for being the voice of Winnie the Pooh and other characters with Disney and also a busy actor in television, where his squeaky voice made him memorable. I remember him well playing a couple of mad scientists in The Adventures of Superman.

The movie flopped. Sturges already had a dicey reputation in Hollywood and no one was willing to hire him. Time had passed his type of comedy by, and he was discarded by the studios, directing only one more film (in France) after this.

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*She later played the role in Annie Get Your Gun when Judy Garland was removed from the part.