Your mom's an architect...

It's been quiet around here -- too quiet. School unfortunately has a way of cutting into my movie-viewing time, but today it made up for that by presenting me with quite a lovely opportunity. I'm going to break here from my usual classic-movie theme to talk about a more current independent film, Happy Birthday, Harris Malden. Why? Well, because one of the actor/writer/director/producers went to my school, and today he and one of his buddies came by the Honors film series to show us their movie and were kind enough to stick around and talk to us afterward.

The movie centers around a man (named, if you can't guess, Harris Malden) who for much of his life has drawn his facial hair. In the shelter of his community on Franklin Street in Philadelphia, this is all well and good; there is a silent agreement among Harris' friends and neighbors to never, ever bring it up. It's left up to Harris' best friend, Paul, to keep him from venturing out of the neighborhood, but when Paul can't keep the outside world -- in the form of his obnoxious girlfriend, Susan -- from intruding on Franklin Street, Harris has the very existential crisis that Paul has spent his entire life trying to prevent.

This is not just a movie about a man and his mustache. I found a lot of different themes running through this movie -- truth, community, the nature of friendship -- but the one that I could relate to most was change. In one of my favorite scenes, Harris says to Paul's grandmother that he feels like he's still talking about the good times he's had in the past, while everyone else is trying to move forward. I think that this is something everyone goes through at some point; I certainly did when I went off to college, in between losing touch with old friends and making new ones. And that, in a nutshell, is why I enjoyed this movie so much. I'm a sucker for films that take a completely off-the-wall premise, and manage to say something meaningful with it.

Now, on to my post-movie experience. Ben Davidow and Eric Levy were both on hand to answer questions after the screening, and they had quite a few interesting things to say. Here's some of what I learned:

This film is independent in every sense of the word. The guys of Sweaty Robot did everything from pre-production to distribution. I happened to have caught this movie on a PBS affiliate from New York last weekend, and apparently that was their doing as well. They're trying to get on PBS stations in other major cities as well, so keep a look out.

Shooting took 20 days. In August. In Philadelphia. From what I gather, it was a little warm. The 'stache kept melting off, so instead of makeup in some scenes they had to use foam latex and glue. Due to budget issues, they had to start buying cheaper, thicker latex, which is why in some scenes the mustache looks 3-dimensional. Nick Gregario, who played Harris, is listed as the Foam Latex Mustache Engineer in the end credits.

For the most part they stuck to the script, but a few scenes were smooshed together and others were added after filming started. The scene between Harris and Grams that I mentioned above, for instance, was filmed when they had a spare minute in between shots of the birthday party.

Many, many thanks to Ben and Eric for coming out and talking to us, and to the Rowan Honors Film Series for sponsoring this event.

You'll do as I tell you, and if I tell you to lie you'll do that too...

Screw Valentine's Day; the most interesting "holiday" this weekend was today, Friday the 13th. Since I'm not home to go see Rocky Horror and have no interest in viewing the latest slasher-movie remake, I thought I'd celebrate by finally posting something about the only horror movie I've seen lately that's actually earned the label.

A lot of movies try to create suspense by using plot twists to keep the audience on its toes. Hush... Hush, Sweet Charlotte is one of the few movies I've seen use that technique successfully. Not only did this movie keep me guessing; it managed to do so in a way where everything still made perfect sense by the end of the film. Director Robert Aldrich strikes the right balance between presenting questions, leading the audience astray, and providing clues to the right answers anyway. Yes, there are plenty of opportunities to correctly guess how the story is going to play out, but these hints are so obfuscated by the madness entrenched in that old Southern house that I jumped from theory to theory several times before having my suspicions confirmed -- and there were parts of the solution that I never saw coming.

Even the movie's unusual opening credit sequence brings the creepy. There's something about Bette Davis standing alone on a black screen, looking utterly devastated and vulnerable yet completely out of context, that's more than a little grotesque. It sets the tone beautifully for the rest of the movie.



Hush... Hush is all at once a psychological thriller, a classic horror flick, and a whodunnit mystery that's consistently one step ahead of its audience. It's not a movie to watch while half-asleep on the couch; if the all-star cast doesn't command your attention, the intricate plot certainly will.

Superior Scribbler Award

Many, many thanks to Sarah for honoring me. The rules are as follows.

1. Name five other Superior Scribblers to receive this award.
2. Link to the author and name of the blog that gave you the award.
3. Display the award on your blog with this LINK which explains the award.
4. Click on the award at the bottom of the link and add your name to the bottom of the list.
5. Post the rules.

I'd like to pass this on to Fletch, Carrie, Wendymoon, Stacia, and Ed, in the hopes that you will all click on those lovely little links and see these wonderful blogs for yourself.

20 Actors Meme

Nicole and Sarah were kind enough to tag me in the 20 Actors meme, and I've given my word not to cheat this time. Luckily, this time I have all night.


Cary Grant


Claude Raines


George Brent


Gary Merrill


Spencer Tracy


Joseph Cotten


Clark Cable


Humphrey Bogart


James Stewart


William Powell


James Cagney


Fred Astaire


Errol Flynn


Melvyn Douglas


Gregory Peck


Sidney Poitier


Lee J. Cobb


Tyrone Power


George Sanders


Dana Andrews


Jack Lemmon

Since I'm permanently late to the party, I'll just tag anyone who hasn't done this yet.

Sometimes I do that, but my aim is better...

I'm not quite sure what it says about me that I won't go to class before noon but I'll gladly get up at 8 to watch some Bette Davis movies. In my defense, class doesn't happen in my living room, although I can't guarantee I'd get up for it if it did. Today, however, I arose hours ahead of my alarm clock, took a quick shower, and set up shop on the couch just in time to catch the second of five movies airing on TCM today from early in Miss Davis' career. I've only seen Bette as a blonde once before, in Dangerous, so this marathon was a particular treat for me.

I started out with The Girl From 10th Avenue, which features Bette in one of her rare good-girl roles. As a rich businessman's wife of not-quite-convenience, Miriam is a sympathetic character who nonetheless gets to exhibit all the passion and temper of Bette's later performances but with the benefit of being the innocent (or at least well-intentioned) party. I'd never actually heard of this movie until I saw it on TCM's schedule for today, so I don't know if it's really underrated or I'm just really uninformed, but it was an enjoyable, relatively light film and a nice contrast to the more dramatic roles I'm used to seeing Bette play.

The Petrified Forest seems to be one of the best-known movies of her early career, at least among the sources I've encountered. I've wanted to see this one for a long time, and although I had high expectations it definitely did not disappoint. Bette plays a good girl here, too, and although she's also a bit of a snob I can relate to her anywhere-but-here mentality as a lot of my peers seem to feel the same way. The idea of a free-wheeling intellectual, an arteest not bound by earthly possessions, coming in and whisking her off to France is quite appealing, I have to admit. I also liked that said intellectual didn't actually know everything there is to know about everything, after all. The fact that Alan missed the most important point of all -- that he found something to live for, and someone whose life could be made better by his presence -- demonstrated such a basic human flaw in his character that I sympathized with him all the more. That might not be what the film was going for, but it's what I got out of it. Well, one of many things, and maybe eventually I'll see it again and give it its own post (which it definitely deserves), but for now this'll do.

The last movie I watched before I had to go to class was Satan Met A Lady. Here Bette plays the darker type of character that she tended to gravitate towards, and she does so with the kind of self-assuredness that makes a truly great villain. This comedic version of The Maltese Falcon may be a bit over the top, but I thoroughly enjoyed it -- and yes, I've seen the 1941 version already. My favorite part was the final scene, wherein Bette's Valerie Purvis outsmarts Detective Shane even as he's sending her up the river. Really, any scene with Bette Davis and Warren William facing off had my attention. Their mutual charm in increasingly absurd situations had me rooting for a quite different outcome. Check out this scene and I think you'll see what I mean.

Just a couple of rose-colored glasses. Let's try them and see how the world looks...

I had to choose tonight between doing laundry and getting home in time to watch 42nd Street. I'll bet most of you can guess which activity I picked. Clean clothes are overrated*; this movie certainly isn't. I saw my first glimpse of it in that film history class I'm always going on about. We didn't have time to watch the whole thing, but I got to see the "Young And Healthy" number as an example of pre-code musicals.

Now that I've seen the whole thing, I can say without a doubt that it's by far my favorite musical. The story, the cast, the choreography, the cinematography -- all wonderful. And so different from every other musical I've seen! Of course, I haven't had the opportunity to see many examples of the pre-code cinema at its best, but this was certainly an interesting place to start.

We all know how much I love classic movies, but what struck me while I was watching this one was that although it's the oldest musical I've seen, it's also very much the most modern. Don't get me wrong, a lot of supremely witty and creative work came out of the Code era and the need to work around those restrictions, but for someone around my age who hadn't been exposed to classic musicals before, I really think that 42nd Street would be the perfect way to ease into it. Some of the costumes and even the script in some places ("Sexy ladies from the 80's," anyone?) would almost feel right at home in a theater today, if not for obvious changes in style and slang. If and when I finally convince my friends to sit down and watch a movie with me, this would definitely be in the running for which one I'd show them.

I even loved the musical numbers. That may seem obvious, considering the genre, but I'm not a fan of musicals in general. Usually I watch them for the plot or the acting or even the dancing, but the songs themselves I can take or leave with very few exceptions. However, how could I not sit up and pay attention to this?



I can't believe it took me a full year to finally see the rest of this movie. Hopefully it won't be so long before I see another Busby Berkeley flick.


*That makes me sound disgusting. I promise, not everything I own is actually dirty. It can wait until tomorrow.

Ring the bell, close the book, quench the candle...

As a child, my favorite part of summer was getting to stay up late for "Bewitched Be-Wednesdays" on Nick at Nite. I spent every Thursday night of the fourth grade hiding under my blankets with the remote control, keeping the volume down as low as possible to avoid getting caught watching Charmed way past my bedtime. When I discovered the Harry Potter books in middle school, well, I don't think I need to explain how quickly I took to that particular phenomenon. I've just always loved stories about magic, so Bell Book and Candle is right up my alley.

The story is in many ways similar to every other portrayal of withcraft I've seen churned out by Hollywood. A group of decidedly odd and garishly dressed individuals who keep more or less to themselves go around casting spells until one of them decides not too anymore, and hilarity ensues. My fantasy-related fandoms have gotten increasingly complex as I've grown older, and this movie reminded me of the very simplest of them. I don't mean that negatively; it was like slipping on an old robe, but less tattered and more comfy.

Of course, clichés are sometimes necessary as a means of avoiding too much exposition. Director Richard Quine uses certain clichés to the best possible effect in this film. Immediately through the opening credits, the audience sees what kind of artifacts are for sale in Gil's shop and knows that these are Not Normal People, before any of the characters are even seen. The shot of Pyewacket jumping onto Gil's shoulder clarifies exactly what type of Not Normal we're dealing with; where there's a cat, there's usually a witch.

Before I give anyone the wrong impression, there are also a lot of original and interesting ideas at work here. Many fantastical works pay lip service to the notion that magical beings are a distinct species, but in this movie they have qualities apart from their powers to back that up. Witches and warlocks have no emotions, including love. If a witch experienced love, she would cease to be a witch -- at least, according to Queenie. The idea of magical powers coming with a high and very real price was interesting to me, because it's a concept that many stories flirt with but few truly follow through. I was glad to see this one did.

Overall, this is a good movie with a great cast. Anyone who has ever enjoyed a good witchcraft-and-broomsticks yarn should definitely check this one out.