Author: womo

Beat The Devil (1953) [Action] [Adventure] [Comedy]

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Beat the Devil is a 1953 British film directed by John Huston, starring Humphrey Bogart, Jennifer Jones and Gina Lollobrigida, and featuring Robert Morley, Peter Lorre and Bernard Lee. Huston and Truman Capote wrote the screenplay, loosely based upon a novel of the same name by British journalist Claud Cockburn, writing under the pseudonym James Helvick. Houston made the film as a parody of a genre of film. Although often described as a parody of The Maltese Falcon, which Huston directed and in which Bogart and Lorre appeared, this is not the case.

The script, written on a day-to-day basis as the film was shot, concerns the adventures of a motley crew of swindlers and ne’er-do-wells trying to claim land rich in uranium deposits in Kenya as they wait in a small Italian port to travel aboard a tramp steamer en route to Mombasa.

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Plot: Billy Dannreuther (Humphrey Bogart) is a formerly-wealthy American who has fallen on hard times. He is reluctantly working with four crooks: Peterson (Robert Morley), ex-Nazi Julius O’Hara (Peter Lorre), Major Jack Ross (Ivor Barnard) and Ravello, who are trying to acquire uranium-rich land in British East Africa. Billy suspects that Major Ross murdered a British Colonial officer, who threatened to expose their plan. While waiting in Italy for passage to Africa, Billy and his wife Maria (Gina Lollobrigida) meet a British couple: Harry (Edward Underdown) and Gwendolen Chelm (Jennifer Jones), who plan to travel on the same ship. Harry is a very proper and traditional Englishman, while Gwendolen is flighty and fanciful and a compulsive liar. Billy and Gwendolen have an affair, while Maria flirts with Harry. Peterson becomes suspicious that the Chelms may be attempting to acquire the uranium themselves. His suspicions are unfounded, but they seem to him to be confirmed by Gwendolen, who lies about her husband and exaggerates his importance.

Billy and Peterson are in a car accident and wrongly reported to have been killed. In order to replace Peterson’s lost capital, Ravello approaches Harry Chelm and explains their scheme. Just then, to everyone’s surprise, Billy and Peterson return to the hotel alive and unharmed. The purser announces that the ship is at last ready to sail. On board, Harry reveals that he knows about Peterson’s scheme and intends to inform the authorities. Peterson orders Major Ross to kill Harry, but Billy thwarts the murder attempt. Harry’s outraged accusations alienate the ship’s drunken captain, who locks Harry in the brig, where he is uncomfortable, but safe from Major Ross.

The ship’s engine malfunctions and the ship sinks. When Billy goes to free Harry he finds that Harry has escaped and left the ship, intending to swim ashore. The passengers abandon the sinking ship in a lifeboat and land on an African beach, where they are arrested by Arab soldiers. They are interrogated by Ahmed, an Arab official who suspects that they may be spies or revolutionaries. Billy befriends Ahmed by talking with him about Rita Hayworth, upon whom Ahmed has a crush. Billy persuades him to send the party back to Italy. When they land, they are met and questioned by a Scotland Yard detective (Bernard Lee), who is investigating the murder of the Colonial officer. Gwendolen reveals Peterson’s scheme, and his involvement in the murder, and his attempt to murder Harry, to the detective, who promptly arrests Peterson, O’Hara, Major Ross and Ravello. As the four crooks are led away in handcuffs, Gwendolen receives a telegram from British East Africa saying that Harry has acquired the land Peterson and the others meant to steal, and is now extremely rich and willing to forgive Gwendolen, Billy and Maria. Billy laughs happily, saying “This is the end, the end!”.

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Directed and produced by John Huston, screenplay by John Huston and Truman Capote, based on the novel Beat the Devil (1951) by Claud Cockburn (as James Helvick), starring Humphrey Bogart as Billy Dannreuther, Jennifer Jones as Mrs. Gwendolen Chelm, Gina Lollobrigida as Maria Dannreuther, Robert Morley as Peterson, Peter Lorre as Julius O’Hara, Edward Underdown as Harry Chelm, Ivor Barnard as Maj. Jack Ross, Marco Tulli as Ravello, Bernard Lee as Insp. Jack Clayton, Mario Perrone as Purser on SS Nyanga, Giulio Donnini as Administrator, Saro Urzì as Captain of SS Nyanga, Aldo Silvani as Charles, restaurant owner and Juan de Landa as Hispano-Suiza Driver

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Source: “Beat the Devil (film)” Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc.. 27 November 2016. Web. 29 December 2016. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beat_the_Devil_(film)

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The Hitch-Hiker (1953) [Film Noir]

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“The Hitch-Hiker” is a film noir directed by Ida Lupino about two fishing buddies who pick up a mysterious hitchhiker during a trip to Mexico. The movie was written by Robert L. Joseph, Lupino, and her husband Collier Young, based on a story by “Out of the Past” screenwriter Daniel Mainwaring, who was blacklisted at the time and did not receive screen credit. The film is based on the true story of Billy Cook, a psychopathic murderer. Two men (Edmond O’Brien and Frank Lovejoy) on a fishing trip pick up a hitchhiker named Emmett Myers (William Talman), who turns out to be a psychopath who has committed multiple murders. Continue reading “The Hitch-Hiker (1953) [Film Noir]” →

Easy Virtue

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A young and beautiful woman, Larita Filton, is married to an alcoholic and is cheating him with a young artist. Her young lover can´t take the feelings and the immoral attitude of his beloved and commits suicide. Then the marriage of the Filtons is divorced. Larita flees to France where she continues her immoral life without any remorse. She marries again and leaves her husband also from spurious reasons. Hitchcock shows Larita as a woman without any decency and morality. Continue reading “Easy Virtue” →

Murder!

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The film was originally to be released under the same title as the novel “Enter Sir John” but this was changed to the simpler “Murder!” during shooting. A number of changes were made from the book including the alteration of the names of the two principal characters. The portrayal of the character Sir John Mernier was loosely based on that of the actor Gerald du Maurier who was a friend of Hitchcock. Hitchcock makes his cameo appearance in the film as a man walking past the murder victim’s house.*

The film has different names in various countries. The original UK title is “Murder!”. In France the film is known as “Meurtre”, in Germany the name of the movie is “Mord – Sir John greift ein!”, in Spain it’s “Asesinato”, in Portugal it’s “Assassínio”, in Italy it’s “Omicidio!”, in Greece it’ “Dolofonia”, in Finland it’s “Epäiltynä murhasta”, in Sweden it’s “Mord” and in Argentinia the move is known as “Murder”.

The film was also shot in German language with the same scenarios, some small changes in the film script but with different actors beside two side roles. This version was released under the name “Mary” in Germany (http://youtu.be/FVCSofdMyqk) and “Geheimnis der Nacht” in Austria.

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Champagne

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“Champagne” is a silent comedy film directed by Alfred Hitchcock, based on an original story by English writer and critic Walter C. Mycroft. The film is about a young woman forced to get a job after her father tells her he has lost all his money.

Heiress Betty (Betty Balfour) draws the ire of her father after using his airplane to fly to her boyfriend (Jean Braden) on an ocean liner headed to France. She has dinner alone when her boyfriend becomes seasick and is joined at her table by a mysterious man. Betty receives a telegram from her father who disapprovingly warns her the boyfriend is a golddigger. To prove her father wrong she asks the boyfriend to marry her. A quarrel ensues and the two part company when the ship docks.

The boyfriend regrets the fight and goes to Betty to apologize. He finds her entertaining guests, including the mysterious man. Another quarrel between the two is interrupted by the arrival of Betty’s father (Gordon Harker). He tells Betty the family fortune, earned in the “champagne” business, has been wiped out in the stock market. The boyfriend leaves after hearing the news of their fortune. The father sees this as proof the boyfriend is only after money. Betty decides to sell her jewelry but is robbed en route to the jewelers. Now penniless Betty and her father move into a small shabby apartment. Unbeknownst to Betty her father sneaks out to eat at an expensive restaurant after her cooking proves to be terrible. Once again her boyfriend tries for a reconciliation but is rebuked by Betty, who now thinks her father is right about the boyfriend, vows to get a job. Betty finds work at a swank restaurant. Soon the mysterious man shows up and invites Betty to his table. She becomes uncomfortable with the stranger and is relieved when her boyfriend once again arrives. The mysterious man leaves after handing her a note that advises her to call him if she ever needs any help. The boyfriend openly disapproves of Betty’s job. He leaves after a still angry Betty dances wildly to provoke him.

The boyfriend soon returns with Betty’s father. He is outraged at Betty’s “unseemly” job and confesses he lied about the loss of their fortune to teach her a lesson. Rather than being pleased, Betty is further angered by both the father and the boyfriend. She turns to the mysterious man who offers to take Betty back to America. Betty gladly accepts but is later horrified to find she has been locked in her cabin. She imagines the worst about the mysterious man’s intentions and is both relieved and delighted when her boyfriend arrives yet again and releases her from the cabin. They soon reconcile. The boyfriend hides in the bathroom when they hear the mysterious man approaching. He enters with her father who confesses he hired the man to follow and protect her. The boyfriend is furious and comes forth to attack the man. Betty’s father pacifies the boyfriend’s anger by telling him he no longer disapproves of their wedding. The reunited couple start discussing the wedding when once again another argument starts.

The film has different names in various countries. The original UK title is “Champagne”. In France the film is known as “A l’américaine” and “Palace de luxe”, in Hungary the name of the movie is “Pezsgő” and in Italy the name is “Tabarin di lusso”.

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Downhill

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Downhill (released in the U.S. as “When Boys Leave Home”) is a 1927 silent film directed by Alfred Hitchcock and based on the play Down Hill. It is Hitchcock’s fifth film as director.

At an expensive English boarding school for boys, Roddy Berwick (Ivor Novello) is School Captain and star rugby player. He and his best friend Tim (Robin Irvine) start seeing a waitress Mabel (Annette Benson). Out of pique, she tells the headmaster that she is pregnant and that Roddy is the father. In fact it was Tim, who cannot afford to be expelled because he needs to win a scholarship to attend Oxford University. Promising Tim that he will never reveal the truth, Roddy accepts expulsion. Returning to his parents’ home, he finds that his father (Norman McKinnel) believes him guilty of the false accusation. Leaving home, Roddy finds work as an actor in a theatre. He marries the leading actress Julia (Isabel Jeans) after inheriting £30,000 from a relation. The unfaithful Julia secretly continues an affair with her leading man (Ian Hunter) and discards Roddy after his inheritance is exhausted. He becomes a gigolo in a Paris music hall but soon quits over self loathing at romancing older women for money. Roddy ends up alone and delirious in a shabby room in Marseilles. Some sailors take pity on him and ship him back home, possibly hoping for reward. Roddy’s father has learned the truth about the waitress’s false accusation during his son’s absence and joyfully welcomes him back. Roddy resumes his previous life.

The film is based on the play, Down Hill, written by its star Ivor Novello and Constance Collier under the combined alias David L’Estrange. The stage performance had a short run in the West End and longer in the provinces. In the play Novello thrilled his female fans by washing his bare legs after the rugby match. An appreciative James Agate, drama critic for the London Sunday Times, wrote “The scent of good honest soap crosses the footlights”. Hitchcock included a similar scene of Novello for the film in which he is shown naked from the waist up.

Hitchcock’s emerging style is well demonstrated in this film. He used a variety of screen techniques to tell the story with a minimum of title cards, preferring instead to allow the film’s visual narrative tell the story. A good example is the scene after Roddy leaves home. It opens with the title card “The world of make-believe”. This is followed by a closeup of Roddy in a tuxedo. The camera pulls back to reveal Roddy is actually playing a waiter on stage in a theatre. Hitchcock also incorporated shots of a descending escalator at Maida Vale tube station as a visual metaphor for Roddy’s downhill descent. He experimented with dream sequences by shooting them in super impositions and blurred images. He played with shadow and light in much the same way as directors of German films of the time.*

The film has different names in various countries. The original UK title is “Downhill”. In the U.S. the film is known as “When Boys Leave Home”, in Germany the movie name is “Abwärts”, in Italy it’s “Il Declino”, in France it’s “C’est La Vie” and in Argentinia as well as in Venezuela the move is known as “Decadencia”.

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Juno And The Paycock

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Juno and the Paycock (1930) is a film directed by Alfred Hitchcock, and starring Barry Fitzgerald, Maire O’Neill, Edward Chapman and Sara Allgood.
The film was based on a successful play by Sean O’Casey.

Barry Fitzgerald appears as an orator in the first scene of the film, but has no other role. In the slums of Dublin during the Irish Civil War, Captain Boyle (Edward Chapman) lives in a two room tenement flat with his wife Juno (Sara Allgood) and children Mary (Kathleen O’Regan) and Johnny (John Laurie). Juno has dubbed her husband “Captain Paycock” because she thinks him as useful and vain as a Peacock. Juno works while the Captain loafs around the flat when not drinking up the family’s meager finances at the neighborhood pub.

Daughter Mary has a job but is presently on strike against the victimization of a co-worker. Son Johnny has become a semi invalid after losing an arm and severely injuring his hip in a fight with the Black and Tans during the Irish War of Independence. Although Johnny has taken the Anti-Treaty side during the continuing Irish Civil War, he has recently turned in a fellow IRA member to the Irish Free State police. As a result, Captain Paycock tells his friend Joxer (Sidney Morgan) of his disgust for his son.

Daughter Mary is courted by Jerry Devine (Dave Morris) but dumps him for Charlie Bentham (John Longden) who whisks her away after telling Mary’s family the Captain is to receive an inheritance. The elated Captain borrows money against the (as yet un-received) inheritance and spends it freely on new furniture and a Victrola. Family friends are invited to an impromptu party at the once shabby tenement.

The Captain soon learns the inheritance was a lie by Charles to gain Mary’s favors. The Captain keeps the bad news a secret until creditors show up. Even Joxer turns on the Captain and gleefully spreads the news of the nonexistent inheritance. The furniture store repossesses the furniture. The tailor demands money for new clothes. Pub owner Mrs. Madigan’ (Maire O’Neill) takes the Victrola to cover the Captain’s bar tab.

The worst is yet to come, however. Mary reveals that she has shamed the family by becoming pregnant by Charles, who has long since disappeared. Her former fiancé Jerry proclaims his love for Mary and offers to marry her back until he learns of her pregnancy. As a parting shot, it is revealed that Johnny’s body has been found riddled with bullets. Almost certainly through Joxer, the Anti-Treaty IRA has learned of his status as an informer for the Garda Síochána. Realizing that their family has been destroyed, Mary declares, “It’s true. There is no God.” Although completely shattered, Juno shushes her daughter, saying that they will need both Christ and the Blessed Virgin to deal with their grief. Alone, however, she laments her son’s fate before the religious statues in the family’s empty tenement.

The film was based on the successful play Juno and the Paycock by Sean O’Casey. Hitchcock filmed a faithful reproduction of the play using few of the directorial touches he had incorporated in his previous films. Instead he often held the camera for long single shots. He was eager to have a scene set outside the flat inserted into the film, and after permission from O’Casey, added a pub scene. O’Casey made quite an impression on Hitchcock, and was the inspiration for the prophet of doom in the diner in The Birds.
This was the second sound film by Alfred Hitchcock. The cast’s strong Irish accents, along with the still primitive sound recording techniques, rendered the dialogue nearly incomprehensible to anyone outside of the region.

The film has different names in various countries. The original UK title is “The Pleasure Garden”. In the USA the film is known as “The Shame of Mary Boyle”, in Italy the name of the movie is “Giunone e il pavone”, in Hungary it’s “Juno és a páva”, in Portugal it’s “Juno e Paycock”, in Finland it’s “Juno ja riikinkukko”, in Sweden it`s “Juno och påfågeln” and in Venezuela the move is known as “Juno y el pavo real”.

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The Farmer’s Wife

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A widowed farmer wants to marry again and meets, after intensive consultations with his housekeeping woman, with some candidates. None of these girls will appear as the right one and the girls show only little interest in him. Gradually, the farmer realizes that his housekeeper could possibly be the right one for him.

The Farmer’s Wife was as a successful stage play in London and caught Hitchcock’s interest. He was attracted by the idea to replace the rich dialogue and static stage version with film techniques. Alfred Hitchcock would later implement several of these and similar projects successfully (Manxman, Juno and the Paycock, Lifeboat, Rope, Dail “M” for Murder, Rear Window). Due to the illness of his cameraman John J. Cox, Hitchcock was also forced to take on this role and to shoot most of the film itself. The outdoor shots were filmed in Wales, first performance was in March 1928 in London.

The film has different names in various countries. The original UK title is “The Farmer’s Wife”. In France the film is known as “Laquelle des trois?”, in Italy the name of the movie is “La moglie del fattore”,in Portugal it’s “A Mulher do Lavrador”, in Hungary it’s “A farmer felesége”, in Finland it’s “Farmarin naimakauppa” and in Argentinia as well as in Venezuela the move is known as “La esposa del granjero”.

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