Summer of Darkness Week 4 6/22 - 6/28
The Woman on the Beach - 1947 - Jean Renoir
A coast gaurd lieutenant suffering from PTSD meets a woman on the beach. She is married to a blind painter obsessed with hanging on to her.All of the scenes with the three leads together ooze tension.
The Stranger - 1946 - Orson Welles
A Nazi hiding out in Connecticut with Edward G. Robinson on his trail. Minor Welles but a fun romp. The scene with Welles on the phone casually drawing a swastika stands out as a low for Welles. The lighting is well done, casting Welles in the deep shadows to emphasize his deviousness.
The Mask of Dimitrios - 1944 - Jean Negulesco
Peter Lorre and Sydney Greenstreet are both excellent as men trying to solve the mistery of Dimitrios Makropoulos. Lorre is an author looking to make Dimitrios character in one of his detective stories and Greenstreet is an old friend of Dimitrios who need Lorre's help to secure a large some of money.
Dimitrios is a great plot device. Like a poor man's Harry Lime, he is know throughout the capitals of Europe. Of course the movie being made in 1944 means it is confined to the studio lot with the war not yet over.
Lady in the Lake - 1947 - Robert Montgomery
Bold but ultimitly a failed experiment in film persentation. Shown entirely from Marlowe's first person point of view. Just as ambitious as Hitchcock's Rope a year later but far less remembered. Montgomery's take on Marlowe feel strange but some of that could be he is doing the equivalent of a radio play most of the movie.
Best of the Week: The Woman on the Beach - 1947 - Jean Renoir
A coast gaurd lieutenant suffering from PTSD meets a woman on the beach. She is married to a blind painter obsessed with hanging on to her.All of the scenes with the three leads together ooze tension.
The Stranger - 1946 - Orson Welles
A Nazi hiding out in Connecticut with Edward G. Robinson on his trail. Minor Welles but a fun romp. The scene with Welles on the phone casually drawing a swastika stands out as a low for Welles. The lighting is well done, casting Welles in the deep shadows to emphasize his deviousness.
The Mask of Dimitrios - 1944 - Jean Negulesco
Peter Lorre and Sydney Greenstreet are both excellent as men trying to solve the mistery of Dimitrios Makropoulos. Lorre is an author looking to make Dimitrios character in one of his detective stories and Greenstreet is an old friend of Dimitrios who need Lorre's help to secure a large some of money.
Dimitrios is a great plot device. Like a poor man's Harry Lime, he is know throughout the capitals of Europe. Of course the movie being made in 1944 means it is confined to the studio lot with the war not yet over.
Lady in the Lake - 1947 - Robert Montgomery
Bold but ultimitly a failed experiment in film persentation. Shown entirely from Marlowe's first person point of view. Just as ambitious as Hitchcock's Rope a year later but far less remembered. Montgomery's take on Marlowe feel strange but some of that could be he is doing the equivalent of a radio play most of the movie.
Best of the Week: The Woman on the Beach - 1947 - Jean Renoir
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