Seriously, January?

Carey Mulligan on W and Meryl Streep on Vogue. Top two actresses. Top two magazines. I like 2012 already.

BAM:

"Blackmail" (1929)

The first ten minutes of Alfred Hitchcock's  Blackmail begin as a silent, as Scotland Yard catches a criminal. One of these, detective Frank Webber, meets his girlfriend Alice later that night. Their awkward dinner conveys Webber's lack of interest in Alice, so her late night date with another man remains no surprise. However, Alice walks away from this secret date a murderer, and the plot twists from there.

I am a fan of early talkies, and this one is one of the best I have seen. When the film transitioned from silent to talkie, I literally exclaimed, "whoa!" It would have made sense either way. Furthermore, I am fascinated with what a consistent and quality filmmaker Hitchcock always was. His early work maintains the same standards classics like "Psycho," "The Birds," "Rear Window," etc. have that make him legendary today.

And, as always when I review a Hitchcock film, this review ends prematurely because of what I do not want to reveal. It remains worth seeking out.

~F.

Book: "A Killing in Comics"

New York City, 1948: a birthday party for the publisher of the most popular comic book super heroes of the day, Wonder Guy. 

Guests include savvy ex-striptease artist Maggie Starr, who heads her late husband's newspaper circuit, which includes the comics; her stepson, VP, and occasional private detective Jack Starr; Wonder Guy's original creators, who bear chips on their shoulders for getting cheated out of some of the profits; and Donny Harrelson, the publisher, who weaves drunkenly through the guests --- before he drops dead on the floor.

This opening to Max Allan Collins' novel, A Killing in Comics concludes, and then takes readers, in Jack's point of view, through the classic "who done it," case, with a few twists. These include a film noir moments here (Jack tempting information out of Harrelson's secretary, Honey), and some comic book art there. Terry Beatty, who illustrated the Batman comics, combines his art with Collins' prose. Even adults can get picture books.

The characters remain devious. Jack discovers they each have a motive to kill Donny. Collins' tight and witty prose is, like I mentioned, similar to film noir, and it keeps the tension throughout. It remains filled with short lines of dialogue, sarcasm, use of nicknames like"Jackie," and femme fatales who wear red nail polish and negligees with company. The conclusion spins from an unexpected climax (introduced, of course, with comic book panels), where the killer's identity seems obvious, yet clever.

Collins wrote another graphic novel, Road to Perdition, among others. However, A Killing in Comics marks my introduction to his work. I could not stop this one, and I wanted to pick up something else once I admitted I finished. This book remains unique, in my opinion, and I am hungry for more. 

Natalie Wood's Death: Case Re-opened

I feel I should report this rather HUGE classic film news. Natalie Wood who, is one of my favorite actresses, just made headlines! The case of her death has just been re-opened after thirty years. I heard rumors of this happening, but never thought it would become official. Her death has been well-documented, and is a rather complicated story, so Google it if you're not familiar. Here, also, is the article from The New York Times.


Natalie Wood's Death is Being Re-investigated

Let's Make it Legal (1951)

The opening scene of Let's Make it Legal reveals the old beauties of post-WWII suburbia: white houses, white fences, lawns lined with cars and dotted with rosebushes. Enter Hugh Halsworth (Macdonald Carey), who cares deeply about his own rosebushes. He makes special trips to the home he used to share with his soon-to-be ex-wife Miriam (Claudette Colbert) to tend them, much to her annoyance. Hugh and Miriam will soon see their divorce finalized. While Miriam feels elated, proclaiming several times she does not need a man, Hugh fights his grief. He "won" Miriam in a gamble years before, and considers it his luckiest moment.

Now, enter Hugh's competitor in the gamble and Miriam's old flame, Victor (Zachary Scott). Victor, a wealthy "businessman," spends the film pursuing Miriam, and convinces her to become engaged. To counter this, Hugh flaunts a blonde tart, Joyce, (Marilyn Monroe) in Miriam's face, but she does not convey jealousy.

Then there's the Miriam's live-in couple: the daughter, the son-in-law (Robert Wagner), and their newborn baby. The daughter refuses to grow up, as she asks Miriam to take care of the baby and keep house for her. While I admire how Wagner's character constantly calls her out for this while keeping so darn handsome, it remains an annoying subplot in this otherwise cute film.

And it boasts cuteness. I could not get over the happy ending. Claudette always gives a good performance, as does Marilyn (even though I always find it odd watching her early films where she plays smaller roles), but Macdonald Carey stole my heart. What a romantic.

At only an hour and sixteen minutes, Let's Make It Legal may not provide layers of depth, but I am always down for alternate retro worlds where nothing but the best persists. Wunderbar!

~F.

Beautiful Elizabeth Taylor

To make up for how lame I thought Blue Valentine was, I thought I would post this Elizabeth Taylor tribute I found via YouTube. She is, after all, the epitome of Classic Hollywood Glamour, in my opinion.

The dealio

Hey readers!

Well, if there are any readers anymore, ha! I feel awful I do not update anymore. I work over 40, sometimes 50 hours a week, and I am still adjusting to living in such a different city. When I have free time, there just seems to be so many other things to do besides blog (like, negotiate how much time I have to buy groceries).

But, anyway, Waterloo Bridge, and Bob and Carol and Ted and Alice are awesome, and is anyone else as excited for The Artist and My Week with Marilyn as I am?

Hopefully I will blog more in the future, and read all of your blogs again :-)

~F.