White Heat (1949)

The Raoul Walsh Classic Production - White Heat with James Cagney;

After killing two men in a train robbery, Cody Jarrett pleads guilty to a far less serious crime that occurred at the same time, but in a distant location, thereby giving him a perfect alibi. The Treasury Department decides to plant one of their officers, Hank Fallon, in the prison to see if they can learn where Jarrett hid the Treasury Bonds he stole. Jarrett and Fallon become good friends and when Jarrett makes a break for it, Fallon goes with him. Jarrett s next robbery involves stealing the nearly half-million dollar payroll from a chemical factory, but using modern technology the Feds are able to track him down and bring his robbery and killing spree to an end.



Bracingly directed by Raoul Walsh, this fast-paced thriller tracing Jarrett's (James Cagney) violent life in and out of jail is also a harrowing character study. Jarrett is a psychological time bomb ruled by impulse. He murders a wounded accomplice and revels in the act. He neglects his sultry wife (Virginia Mayo) and adores his doting mother. It is among the most vivid screen performances of Cagney's career.

 

Alternative Viewing Options;








Funny Stuff;

If the surprise expressed by James Cagney's fellow inmates during "the telephone game" scene in the prison dining room appears real, it's because it is. Director Raoul Walsh didn't tell the rest of the cast what was about to happen, so Cagney's outburst caught them by surprise. In fact, Walsh himself didn't know what Cagney had planned; the scene as written wasn't working, and Cagney had an idea. He told Walsh to put the two biggest extras playing cons in the mess-hall next to him on the bench (he used their shoulders to boost himself onto the table) and to keep the cameras rolling no matter what.

Related articles by Zemanta

• Silent Movie Mondays returns to the Paramount (seattle.metblogs.com)
• Watch This: Warner Bros. Movie Bloopers from 1936 (cinematical.com)
• Film: Gateways To Geekery: Humphrey Bogart (avclub.com)

Mighty Joe Young (1949)

Mighty Joe Young is an RKO Radio Pictures film made in 1949 by the same creative team responsible for King Kong.

Written by Merian C. Cooper (who provided the story) and Ruth Rose (screenplay), and directed by Ernest B. Schoedsack, it tells the story of a young woman, 'Jill Young', played by Terry Moore, living on her father's farm in Africa, who ends up bringing the title character — a giant ape — to Hollywood. The movie co-stars Ben Johnson, as 'Gregg', in his first major role.

Willis O'Brien, who created the animation for King Kong, was the supervisor of special effects on this film, although by some accounts the majority of the animation was performed by Ray Harryhausen. The models (constructed by Kong's builder Marcel Delgado) and animation are more sophisticated than Kong's, containing more subtle gestures and even some comedic elements, such as one chase scene where Joe is riding in the back of a speeding truck and he spits at his pursuers. Despite this increased technical sophistication, this film, like Kong, features some serious scale issues, with Joe noticeably changing size between many shots. (The title character is not supposed to be as large as Kong - perhaps 10-12 feet tall.) Harryhausen has attributed these lapses to producer Cooper, who insisted Joe appear larger in some scenes for dramatic effect.

The film has become a minor classic, and has an affectionate following. Special effects artists consider it highly influential, with the elaborate orphanage rescue sequence lauded as one of the great stop-motion sequences in film history. It was remade in 1998 with Charlize Theron playing 'Jill Young'. Another remake that takes place around 1949 is in talks.



Plot;

After being taken from his home in Africa, Joe is an instant hit in the Hollywood nightclub "The Golden Safari" (on opening night he wins a tug-of-war with ten real-life strong men, including ex-boxer Primo Carnera, whom he throws into the audience), but the novelty wears off and he is tired and homesick after seventeen weeks of performing. An ill-conceived skit with Jill as an organ-grinder leaves Joe (and Jill) storming off-stage, and, to make matters worse, three drunks sneak backstage and ply Joe with liquor. Intoxicated, he breaks out of his cage and into the club, his rampage turning lions loose and inflicting massive damage. A court orders him shot.

Jill, Gregg, and O'Hara cook up a plan to get Joe out of the country--but on the way to a ship, they stop to rescue children from a burning orphanage, and Joe redeems himself.

Related articles by Zemanta

• King Kong's metal skeleton sold for £120,000 (guardian.co.uk)
• The 10 Sexiest Scream Queens (cinematical.com)

She Wore A Yellow Ribbon (1949)

John Wayne stars in the Classic John Ford Western

She Wore a Yellow Ribbon is a 1949 western film directed by John Ford and starring John Wayne. The film was the second of Ford's trilogy of films focusing on the US Cavalry (and the only one in color), the other two films being Fort Apache (1948) and Rio Grande (1950). With a budget of $1.6 million, the film was one of the most expensive westerns of the time, but became a major hit for RKO and remains a popular classic today.

Known for its breathtaking views of Monument Valley located in the Navajo reservation, at the northern edge of Arizona; the cinematographer, Winton Hoch, won the 1950 Academy Award for Best Color Cinematography. Ford and Hoch based much of the film's imagery on the paintings and sculptures of Frederic Remington.

Ford demonstrated a number of standard Cavalry procedures in horse management in this and other movies. Strict rotation between walk, trot, and leading the horses made them last as long as possible. They were still no match for the lightly burdened Indian horses for endurance, but US Cavalry horses were fed grain (when available), and this helped even the odds a bit.

The film is named after a song common in the U.S. military, "She Wore a Yellow Ribbon", which is still used today to keep marching cadence. It is a variant of the song "All Around My Hat"



Plot Synopsis;

On the verge of his retirement at Fort Starke, a one-troop cavalry post, the aging US Cavalry Capt. Nathan Cutting Brittles (John Wayne) is given one last patrol, to take his troop and deal with a breakout from the reservation by the Cheyenne and Arapaho following the defeat of George Armstrong Custer. His task is complicated by being forced at the same time to deliver his commanding officer's wife and niece, Abby Allshard (Mildred Natwick) and Olivia Dandridge (Joanne Dru)), to an east-bound stage, and by the need to avoid a new Indian war. His troop officers, 1st Lt. Flint Cohill (John Agar) and 2nd Lt. Ross Pennell (Harry Carey, Jr.) meanwhile vie for the affections of Miss Dandridge while uneasily anticipating the retirement of their captain and mentor. Rounding out the cast are Capt. Brittles' chief scout, Sgt. Tyree (Ben Johnson), a one-time Confederate cavalry officer; his First Sergeant, Quincannon (Victor McLaglen); and Major Allshard (George O'Brien), long-time friend and C.O.

After apparently failing in both missions, Capt. Brittles returns with the troop to Fort Starke to retire. His lieutenants continue the mission in the field, joined by Capt. Brittles after "quitting the post and the Army". Unwilling to see more lives needlessly taken, Capt. Brittles takes it upon himself to try to make peace with Chief Pony That Walks (Chief John Big Tree). When that too fails, he devises a risky stratagem to avoid a bloody war.

Related articles by Zemanta

• 4 reviews of Searchers, The (1956) (rateitall.com)
• 68 reviews of John Wayne (rateitall.com)
• "Wagon Master" (John Ford, 1950) (somecamerunning.typepad.com)
• June 25, 1876: Was Custer Outgunned at Little Bighorn? (wired.com)
• DVD Reviews: John Wayne, "Liberty Valance," and "El Dorado" (popdose.com)
• Eric Rohmer's movies convey more than what words could (thestar.com)
• Manny Farber's best films of 1951, #1: "Little Big Horn," directed by Charles Marquis Warren (somecamerunning.typepad.com)