Cruel, Usual, Necessary (2024)

A documentary on film director Silvio Narizzano. Written, photographed, edited and directed by Daniel Kremer (OVERWHELM THE SKY). Silvio who? Unfairly designated as a one hit wonder, his most well known and successful movie was GEORGY GIRL (1966). Born in Canada but considered a British director, Narizzano was a contemporary of directors like Ken Russell, Nicolas Roeg and Mike Hodges but the auteurs never embraced him because he never had a signature style ..... or did he? Kremer makes an excellent case for Narizzano as an important and undervalued film maker. A Catholic homosexual, Narizzano's films are full of subtle religious and gay subtext. He made nine feature films and two movies for television. His debut film was FANATIC (retitled DIE DIE MY DARLING in the U.S.), a "hag horror" film with Tallulah Bankhead that has subtle echoes of Tennessee Williams' SUDDENLY LAST SUMMER. The success of GEORGY GIRL had Hollywood courting him and he made his only American film, a western called BLUE (1968) which was such a failure that Hollywood never asked him back. As the movie passes through his filmography, it illuminated the subtext (which had eluded me) of the films which I'd seen although it was there right under my nose. It made me want to seek out more of his work which, alas, is hard to find. I've seen six of his films and some of his TV work like COME BACK LITTLE SHEBA (1977) with Laurence Olivier and an episode of Miss Marple (THE BODY IN THE LIBRARY). In the last years of his life, he gave up directing for religious studies.

Hold That Ghost (1941)

Two gas station attendants (Bud Abbott, Lou Costello) inherit a tavern from a gangster (William B. Davidson). They reach the tavern amid a fierce storm so they invite their fellow bus passengers to spend the night till the storm blows over. But the tavern isn't as deserted as they think. Directed by Arthur Lubin (FOOTSTEPS IN THE FOG). Comedic haunted house movies were often a staple for movie comics in the 1940s and 1950s. Bob Hope (CAT AND THE CANARY), Jerry Lewis (SCARED STIFF) and the East Side Kids (GHOSTS ON THE LOOSE) for example. This was Abbott and Costello's stab at it and it's one of their middling efforts but still very amusing. They began filming it immediately after BUCK PRIVATES but when that was a box office smash, filming stopped and they did another military comedy (IN THE NAVY) instead and resumed filming this one after that. Critics were very enthusiastic and so were audiences. Two musical numbers performed by The Andrews Sisters were inserted at the last minute and it shows. They seem out of place. With Joan Davis, Richard Carlson, Evelyn Ankers, Mischa Auer and Marc Lawrence.

Les Distractions (aka Trapped By Fear) (1960)

A reporter and photographer (Jean Paul Belmondo) comes to the rescue of an old army companion (Claude Brasseur) in Algeria after the accidental killing of a police officer. As a police manhunt closes in on the fugitive, the reporter must also deal with his tumultuous personal life. Based on the novel by Jean Bassan and directed by Jacques Dupont (CONGOLAISE). Dupont was a documentary film maker and to my knowledge, this was the only fictional narrative film he made. It's not a bad film at all but while I've never seen any of Dupont's documentaries, I suspect he wasn't entirely comfortable working in a fictional narrative. The film is split into two halves. The fugitive's hiding and escape from the law and the reporter's love life which is less interesting. Belmondo's womanizer treats women abominably here although Alexandra Stewart as his obliging doormat girlfriend annoyed the hell out of me. Much more interesting are Sylva Koscina as an ambitious model and Eva Damien as a promiscuous salesgirl. With Mireille Darc and Yves Brainville.

The Ballad Of The Sad Cafe (1991)

Set in a small town in 1930s Georgia that is dominated by the androgynous and mysterious Miss Amelia (Vanessa Redgrave). She controls the locals through the careful distribution of her own secretly brewed moonshine. But her eccentric existence is threatened by the arrival of a hunchbacked dwarf (Cork Hubbert) and later, the reappearance of the husband (Keith Carradine) she rejected on their wedding night. Based on the novel by Carson McCullers (MEMBER OF THE WEDDING) by way of the stage adaptation by Edward Albee (A DELICATE BALANCE) and directed by actor (A ROOM WITH A VIEW) turned director Simon Callow. Taking the play as the film's inspiration rather than McCullers' source material, director Callow loses the lyricism of McCullers' writing and instead, we get a straightforward telling of McCullers' bizarre tale of the hopelessness of love. Unable to find a cinematic equivalent of McCullers' prose, the focus of the film is on the great Vanessa Redgrave's performance. Fully committed to the part, she's sensational. With Rod Steiger, Austin Pendleton and Annie Pitoniak.

Night Of The Lepus (1972)

A hormone intended to alter the breeding cycle of rabbits overrunning ranchlands instead turns them into flesh eating 150 pound monsters. Based on the novel THE YEAR OF THE ANGRY RABBIT by Russell Braddon and directed by William F. Claxton (ROCKABILLY BABY). The 1950s saw a spate of sci-fi horror movies about small creatures mutated into giant beasts so we had giant ants, tarantulas, mantises, crabs, spiders etc. on the screen. The 1970s revived the genre so we had FROGS, EMPIRE OF THE ANTS and this one about killer rabbits on the rampage. Not normal size rabbits but giant bunnies attacking towns in herds! The film's biggest problems is ..... how do you make cuddly bunnies scary? They try smearing blood on the their faces, bare their teeth, dub them with fierce growls but none of it works. It's a ghastly misguided project with several unintentional funny moments. My favorite is when the sheriff (Paul Fix) tells a crowded drive in movie theatre, "There's a herd of killer rabbits heading this way, we need to evacuate everyone". Nobody laughs or says "What the f*ck?" or "Huh?", they dutifully and immediately evacuate the drive in. Not as fun as it sounds. The poor humans stuck in this mess include Janet Leigh, Stuart Whitman, Rory Calhoun and DeForest Kelley.

Little Caesar (1931)

A pugnacious and arrogant hoodlum (Edward G. Robinson) with a massive chip on his shoulder has few friends and no sense of underworld diplomacy. But his ambition leads him to climb the ranks of organized crime until he reaches the top. But how long will he stay there? Based on the novel by W.R. Burnett (THE ASPHALT JUNGLE) and directed by Mervyn LeRoy (QUO VADIS). Brutal and gritty, this was the movie that made Robinson a star and forever associated with him. Robinson didn't have movie star looks but he held the screen with authority for over 40 years. As far as gangster movies go, this pre code drama is one of the best though it's inconceivable to think of the film without Robinson's commanding performance. With Douglas Fairbanks Jr., Glenda Farrell, Sidney Blackmer and Ralph Ince.

I Was A Male War Bride (1949)

Stationed to work side by side on a mission in post war Germany, a French army officer (Cary Grant) and an American WAC Lieutenant (Ann Sheridan) fall in love. When they marry, complications arise as the only way for her husband to enter the U.S. is through the congressional act governing war brides. Based on MALE WAR BRIDE TRIAL TO ARMY by Roger Charlier and directed by Howard Hawks (RED RIVER). Hawks is an admired auteur but there's a surprising amount of routine films on his resume, this one among them. It's not bad, mind you but it's essentially a one joke movie that gets tiresome pretty quickly. Fortunately, Grant and Sheridan have a nice antagonistic chemistry but the entire red tape complications which are meant to be amusing are as frustrating to the viewer as it is to Grant's character. Even Grant's drag act falls flat. The film was a huge hit, however. With Kenneth Tobey, Eleanor Audley, Randy Stuart and Marion Marshall.

Tom Thumb (1958)

A childless woodcutter (Bernard Miles) and his wife (Jessie Matthews) live in the forest when the husband encounters the Queen (June Thorburn) of the forest. As a favor for not cutting down a tree that is special to her, she grants him three wishes which he and his wife foolishly fritter away. But feeling sorry for them, she grants them one more wish. A child that they will love no matter how small he is. Based on the fairy tale THUMBLING by the Brothers Grimm and directed by George Pal (THE TIME MACHINE). A rather charmless and cloying musical saved by the marvelous athletic dancing of Russ Tamblyn in the title role. Musically, the highlight of the film is a ten minute number with Tamblyn bouncing, flipping, spinning and showing off his acrobatic skills. Filmed in both England and Hollywood, the movie feels more British than American. By today's standards, the Oscar winning special effects look very primitive. Audiences liked it enough to make it a hit and a sequel was talked about but never materialized. With Peter Sellers, Alan Young, Terry Thomas and Ian Wallace.

Big Leaguer (1953)

A group of young baseball hopefuls head out to a Florida baseball training camp for the New York Giants where an ex major league player (Edward G. Robinson)  puts them through their paces and reports to the front office on who has the potential to make it to the major leagues. Directed by Robert Aldrich (KISS ME DEADLY) in his directorial film debut. This was a job for hire for Aldrich and the movie displays none of the complexities, resonance or subversion of his best work. It's an "inspirational" baseball flick and although I'm not fond of sports movies, this one moves quickly and with a tight running time of one hour and ten minutes, it's painless. It was a low budget effort from MGM but it still lost money. With Vera Ellen (in a rare non dancing role), Jeff Richards, Richard Jaeckel, William Campbell, Paul Langton and Lalo Rios.

A Darkness At Blaisedon (1969)

After inheriting a house that has a reputation for being haunted, a young woman (Marj Dusay) hires a parapsychologist (Kerwin Mathews) to investigate and prove that the house is not haunted. Directed by Lela Swift (NIGHTMARE AT 43 HILLCREST). An unsold television pilot that would have Mathews' parapsychologist and his assistant (Cal Bellini) investigating the supernatural each week. As a haunted house movie, it's predictable and dull and it looks ugly (it was shot on videotape instead of film). It was produced by Dan Curtis who has some history with horror (he created, produced and directed the gothic soap opera DARK SHADOWS) but came up with a lemon here. With Thayer David and Louis Edmonds.

28 Years Later (2025)

Almost three decades since a rage virus escaped from a biological weapons laboratory, a small group of survivors live in a ruthlessly enforced quarantine village off the coast of Scotland. A father (Aaron Taylor Johnson) takes his young son (Alfie Williams) to the mainland to hunt infected mutants for sport. Directed by Danny Boyle (SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE). The third entry (or sequel if you prefer) in the 28 DAYS LATER film franchise. It's a grisly example of gore porn, this is a thoroughly unpleasant movie. The first half hour is torture to sit through as director Boyle seems to relish and dwell over every bleeding hole, decapitation, hanging intestines etc. It improves after that but honestly, it's still a relentlessly downbeat movie whose main purpose seems to be to gross out its demographic audience. If gore porn is your thing, go for it. For others, I suspect they'll be repelled by it as much as I was. With Jodie Comer, Ralph Fiennes and Jack O'Connell.

The Red Shoes (1948)

An aspiring ballerina (Moira Shearer) is taken under the wing of a renowned ballet impresario (Anton Walbrook), who intends to make her a star in the world of ballet. Complications arise when she falls in love with a young composer (Marius Goring), who proves an impediment to her career. Directed by Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger (BLACK NARCISSUS). If A CHORUS LINE is to be believed, this is the movie that aspired many a young girl to become a dancer. Shot in eye popping three strip Technicolor by the great Jack Cardiff (DEATH ON THE NILE), it features a marvelous 17 minute ballet based on the Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale choreographed by Robert Helpmann (he also has a featured role in the film) which is tied in to the movie's finale. Heavily melodramatic, the film does have a serious theme of one's commitment to one's Art over one's personal life. The Oscar winning score is by Brian Easdale. Even if you're not into dance or ballet, this is a visual treat worth seeking out. With Leonide Massine, Albert Basserman, Ludmilla Tcherina and Irene Browne.