kingrat

The 1949 Venice Film Festival chose Henri-Georges Clouzot's Manon as best film. It is now little known, but when I saw this recently I was simply blown away. It's the missing link between Le Corbeau (1943) and The Wages of Fear (1953). The classic French novel has been updated to the immediate post-war period; Robert (Michel Auclair) first meets Manon (Cecile Aubry) when the local villagers are about to shave her head for fraternizing with the Nazis, and we are actually introduced to the pair when they are discovered aboard a ship that is illegally transporting Jewish refugees to Palestine. Cecile Aubry is young, blonde, petite, flat-chested, the kind of young woman most men would feel protective toward, not looking at all like the kind of woman a man needs protection from. Had she been the right age at the time Lolita and Baby Doll were made, Cecile Aubry would have been perfect for the parts. Hypocritical villagers, desertion from the army, a thriving black market and prostitution business, this is the background against which the love affair between Robert and Manon plays itself out. Serge Reggiani, who gets top billing, is outstanding in the supporting role of Manon's venal playboy brother who is raking in the dough on the black market. Gabrielle Dorziat is a hoot as the snooty madam of an upscale bordello. If this sounds like film noir, even darker than almost all Hollywood noirs, that is correct, and Clouzot has saved a sucker punch, darker still, for the climax of the story, along with an unforgettable final image of Manon. It's time for Criterion to bring out an edition of Manon, which is at least the equal of all the Clouzot films I've seen but the incomparable Wages of Fear.

Bogie, does Gun Crazy count as 1949 or 1950?

Tom, my standard response to comments about Welles directing part of The Third Man is that it was thoughtful of Welles to match the style of Carol Reed's The Fallen Idol. It would be so much easier to believe that Welles directed part of The Third Man if the source were Carol Reed or Robert Krasker (the cinematographer). Joseph Cotten's famous line was that Shadow of a Doubt was Hitchcock's favorite of the films he directed, Citizen Kane was Welles' favorite, The Third Man was Carol Reed's favorite, and he was in all of them.

Tom, glad to see some love for Beyond the Forest. Jeanine Basinger has a great defense of it in A Woman's View. Bette is bored to death living in that hick town, and some of us might be too. 1949 was quite a year for film noir. My best performance list includes Beyond the Forest, Stray Dog, Manon, The Set-Up, The Third Man, Thieves' Highway, Too Late for Tears, White Heat, Caught, The Reckless Moment, Abandoned, and Criss Cross, and I suppose Intruder in the Dust has noirish elements as well. Noir from three continents!

I saw most of Mexican Spitfire at Sea and the beginning of Mexican Spitfire Sees a Ghost and was laughing way too much. Sea has the added bonus of ZaSu Pitts and Florence Bates. Ghost has some excellent routines by Leon Errol. The telegram scene where he stops whenever someone reads the word "Stop" in the telegram was perfectly timed. The more I anticipated the joke, the funnier it got. If I had been a kid when those movies were made, I would have wanted to see every one and would have been a big fan of Lupe Velez.

1949 seems very strong in the first three categories, especially Best Actor, but a little thin in the Supporting Actress category. (I could say exactly the same thing about the upcoming year.) Several actors arguably give their career-best film performances in 1949, including Richard Todd, Broderick Crawford, Paul Douglas, Dan Duryea, Lizabeth Scott, Richard Conte, Linda Darnell, Valentina Cortese, Juano Hernandez, Orson Welles, Margaret Wycherly, and Mercedes McCambridge. Best Actor for 1949: Robert Ryan, THE SET-UP**** James Cagney, WHITE HEAT Michel Auclair, MANON Richard Todd, THE HASTY HEART Dan Duryea, TOO LATE FOR TEARS Paul Douglas, A LETTER TO THREE WIVES Chishu Ryu, LATE SPRING Richard Conte, THIEVES' HIGHWAY Joseph Cotten, THE THIRD MAN Honorable mention: Montgomery Clift, THE HEIRESS; Broderick Crawford, ALL THE KING'S MEN; John Ireland, ALL THE KING'S MEN; Gene Kelly, ON THE TOWN; James Mason, THE RECKLESS MOMENT; Toshiro Mifune, STRAY DOG; Robert Ryan, CAUGHT; Spencer Tracy, ADAM'S RIB Best Actress for 1949: Olivia De Havilland, THE HEIRESS**** Cecile Aubry, MANON Patricia Neal, THE HASTY HEART Setsuko Hara, LATE SPRING Lizabeth Scott, TOO LATE FOR TEARS Honorable mention: Barbara Bel Geddes, CAUGHT; Joan Bennett, THE RECKLESS MOMENT; Valentina Cortese, THIEVES' HIGHWAY; Linda Darnell, A LETTER TO THREE WIVES; Bette Davis, BEYOND THE FOREST; Susan Hayward, MY FOOLISH HEART; Katharine Hepburn, ADAM'S RIB; Deborah Kerr, EDWARD, MY SON; Ann Sothern, A LETTER TO THREE WIVES; Ann Todd, THE PASSIONATE FRIENDS Best Supporting Actor for 1949: Juano Hernandez, INTRUDER IN THE DUST**** Ralph Richardson, THE HEIRESS Orson Welles, THE THIRD MAN Serge Reggiani, MANON Lee J. Cobb, THIEVES' HIGHWAY Honorable mention: Raymond Burr, ABANDONED; Dan Duryea, CRISS CROSS; Alec Guinness, KIND HEARTS AND CORONETS; Dean Jagger, TWELVE O'CLOCK HIGH; Will Kulova, ABANDONED; Gary Merrill, TWELVE O'CLOCK HIGH; Edmond O'Brien, WHITE HEAT; Claude Rains, THE PASSIONATE FRIENDS; Gilbert Roland, WE WERE STRANGERS; Takashi Shimura, STRAY DOG Best Supporting Actress for 1949: Margaret Wycherly, WHITE HEAT**** Mercedes McCambridge, ALL THE KING'S MEN Gabrielle Dorziat, MANON Marjorie Rambeau, ABANDONED Hope Emerson, THIEVES' HIGHWAY Honorable mention: Ethel Barrymore, PINKY; Connie Gilchrist, A LETTER TO THREE WIVES; Elsa Lanchester, COME TO THE STABLE; Thelma Ritter, A LETTER TO THREE WIVES; Ethel Waters, PINKY

One 1949 movie I haven't seen, and am unlikely to see, is Top o' the Morning, starring Bing Crosby and Barry Fitzgerald, an attempt to cash in on the success of Going My Way. It did, however, inspire the Harvard Lampoon to give the following awards: Least Likely To Warm Cockles of Heart: Barry Fitzgerald Least Likely To Warm Anything: Barry Fitzgerald Least Deserving But Most Due for a Pension: Barry Fitzgerald [chortle, chortle, chortle]

The schedule lists the Patrick McGoohan/jazz musicians/Othello in London version of All Night Long, not the Hackman and Streisand in the supermarket film of the same title. A Covenant with Death and The Split sound like Gene Hackman films I'd like to investigate. Scarecrow can be recommended to Hackman and Pacino fans. La Promesse is an outstanding film from the Dardenne brothers. I'd like to re-visit Lilith and Hour of the Gun. Il Sorpasso, Grey Gardens, Designing Woman, and Mon Oncle are films I keep intending to watch but never have. Maybe this time. We were discussing Desire Me and Julia Misbehaves in the Favourite Performances thread. Both will shown in the Greer Garson tribute. The Velvet Touch is like All About Eve as a film noir. Rosalind Russell does some of her heavy emoting, which may be appropriate in a stage actress afraid that her career is about to slip. Good supporting cast. Two films I'd like to see are Harakiri and Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein. Some viewers will want to get all dolled up to see Susan Slade again. Films don't get much campier than this one.

Bogie, thanks for the recommendation. I just saw this and absolutely loved it. Anna Magnani gives one of the best comic performances I've ever seen. The film is very much like Billy Wilder at his best. As a bonus, it has absolutely gorgeous black and white cinematography, which you don't expect from a comedy.

TOP TEN FILMS OF 1949: Stray Dog Manon Late Spring The Third Man The Heiress A Letter to Three Wives Criss Cross White Heat The Passionate Friends Twelve O'Clock High Note: I also really like all the films on Lawrence's list that aren't on my list. 1949 was a very good year for films.

Yes, I think playing all the different supporting characters for Guinness in Kind Hearts and Coronets makes him a lead, but you're right, Dennis Price has the true leading role.

Notes on a few of the films people mentioned not having seen: RAW DEAL is an Anthony Mann noir with great cinematography by John Alton. What's unusual is that it's narrated by the bad girl (Claire Trevor). Not to be missed for noir fans. PITFALL - You could just say noir, Dick Powell, Lizabeth Scott, Raymond Burr, and you'll know if it's your kind of film. ACT OF VIOLENCE is an essential film, as far as I'm concerned. Because there's a twist that causes you to see the situation differently in mid-film, I won't say more. JULIA MISBEHAVES - The audience of the time didn't want to see Greer Garson doing screwball comedy. But she's good at it. It's a fun film. Seeing the young and lovely Elizabeth Taylor is a plus. Lawrence's description of COMMAND DECISION is right on point. It's very much filmed theater. TWELVE O'CLOCK HIGH will deal with the same issues in a much more cinematic way. If you haven't seen either, that's the one to see first. But COMMAND DECISION has a good cast and deals with serious issues in an intelligent way. ENCHANTMENT is a good romantic drama. Teresa Wright and David Niven fall in love, but Jayne Meadows wants Niven and will do anything to separate them. There's a next generation subplot with Farley Granger as a young American soldier in London during the Blitz. HOMECOMING is another WWII romantic drama. Clark Gable is married, but he falls for the cute photographer (Lana Turner) he meets aboard ship as he's transported to Europe. Even though the affair isn't consummated, this creates a gap between husband and wife (Anne Baxter) when he returns. Very honest and true to life in this regard. SO EVIL MY LOVE - A Victorian noir, with Ann Todd as the innocent seduced by charming villain Ray Milland. Geraldine Fitzgerald plays the friend who is married to the repressive Raymond Huntley, who gets a bigger part than usual and knows what to do with it. MOONRISE - Dane Clark reprises the same kind of character he played in DEEP VALLEY. The lovely Gail Russell is the girl who loves him, and he learns an important lesson from Rex Ingram. One of Frank Borzage's last films. Not so good as Negulesco's DEEP VALLEY, but still good. SARABAND FOR DEAD LOVERS - A historical drama of political and personal conflict set in seventeenth-century Germany, based on an actual situation. Yikes, that description probably scares everyone away. Good story, with Stewart Granger and Joan Greenwood as the young lovers whom the sexy (yes) villain Flora Robson tries to drive apart. Good cinematography, and a remarkable traveling shot across a crowded ballroom. I like this film a lot.

One of the interesting things about Heston as an actor is that even though one might think some (by no means all) of his work in The Ten Commandments is over the top, it's difficult to think of other actors who would have had as much charisma in the part. An actor playing Moses or some of the other strong leaders Heston played cannot finesse the role; either you have that intensely masculine force or you don't, and most actors don't. Heston did take acting seriously, and he had a very attractive voice. Of course his shirtless appeal won him a lot of fans, too. The major part of Heston's film career was over when he began to be a political figure, which is different from Jane Fonda, who became a controversial political figure in mid-career, or Vanessa Redgrave, a controversial political figure pretty much from the time she began to be well-known as a film actress.

Dedee d'Anvers is a French film noir, said to be the film that made Simone Signoret a star. She's gorgeous and sexy, she commands the screen, and she can act up a storm. An excellent script, top-flight co-stars, and a terrific director (Yves Allegret, whose work I want to explore further) also help. "Anvers" is the French form of Antwerp, where the film is set. Simone plays Dedee, a young woman whose lover/pimp (Marcel Dalio) has brought her to work in a bar/dance hall/bordello run by Bernard Blier, a not unsympathetic guy who doesn't want any of his girls to be abused by their pimps. One night with much fog and atmosphere, as in Port of Shadows, Dedee meets a sailor (Marcel Pagliero) who's involved in smuggling contraband. They immediately fall for each other. The film expertly blends the romantic, the sordid, the matter-of-fact, and the downright twisted in just the right proportions. An early scene shows us the "family" of owner, girls, and pimps having a meal together. Jane Marken, who plays one of the older working girls, adds some comic moments. Several scenes could not have been shown in Hollywood at the time. One of Jane Marken's clients is black, and no one thinks this is a big deal. Dedee and her sailor are seen in bed together, and though there's no nudity, the afterglow of lovemaking is beautifully captured. The ending of the film wouldn't have been acceptable to the Code, either. If you like film noir and don't mind subtitles, this is strongly recommended.

Dargo, I think Mr. O'Neal's line reading perfectly matches the quality of the writing, don't you?

skimpole, thanks for those marvelous shots of Anton Walbrook. One thing that's so admirable about The Red Shoes and Anton Walbrook's performance is that Lermontov, despite everything that can be said against him, isn't altogether wrong. Victoria does have to make a choice between a normal family life and her art. A writer may produce great work at eighteen or eighty. A dancer has a limited timespan in which to become great. Just as she can no longer bear children after a certain age, her body can no longer perform all of the demanding and complex dance movements after a certain age.

Spence, I think The Remains of the Day is one of the best films of the 90s. Anthony Hopkins is great. A really heart-breaking film.

Carnival in Flanders is a treat. TCM has scheduled Gribiche before but had to remove it from the schedule. Feyder is a talented director. Knight Without Armour is good, too.

That's a good question. Sometimes it's easier to tell why a performance doesn't work for me! Richardson is not the most likely romantic lead, yet his feelings for Michele Morgan are clear even with British restraint and the presence of a child. He's not a likely hero, yet it's clear why the boy can see him in heroic terms. Richardson treads the fine line between being affected by a shrewish wife, yet not crushed by her. His reactions to events are always clear, always interesting. Of course, it doesn't hurt that Richardson gets to work with a fine script, a first-rate director, and a first-rate cinematographer. Of his great theater contemporaries Richardson seems the least likely to be successful on screen, yet in The Fallen Idol and The Heiress he has two parts which are perfect for him. In 1962 he gets another such role in Long Day's Journey Into Night. Like Gielgud, he developed his voice into a rich and subtle instrument.

Walter Huston is now a candidate to win both Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor in our 1948 voting! 1949 may be just as confusing. How do the rest of you see these worthy performances? Are they leads or not? Ralph Richardson, THE HEIRESS Orson Welles, THE THIRD MAN Edmond O'Brien, WHITE HEAT I'm inclined to consider both Robert Ryan and James Mason as leads in CAUGHT.

Bogey, thanks for mentioning three fine candidates for supporting actress that I had overlooked: Aline MacMahon in The Search, Michele Morgan in The Fallen Idol, and Jan Sterling in Johnny Belinda. I completely agee with speedracer about the disappointing turn toward the end of Silver River. It's still one of the three or four best Raoul Walsh films.

I count Huston as supporting rather than lead, but there are arguments either way. For me it's a three-way race for best actor, four top candidates for best actress, two great character actresses in the supporting category, and Mr. Huston. Best Actor for 1948: Ralph Richardson, THE FALLEN IDOL**** Anton Walbrook, THE RED SHOES Humphrey Bogart, TREASURE OF THE SIERRA MADRE Montgomery Clift, RED RIVER Montgomery Clift, THE SEARCH John Dall, ROPE Honorable mention: Lew Ayres, JOHNNY BELINDA; Joseph Cotten, PORTRAIT OF JENNIE; Errol Flynn, SILVER RIVER; Farley Granger, ROPE; Ray Milland, SO EVIL MY LOVE; Robert Mitchum, RACHEL AND THE STRANGER; Marcel Pagliero, DEDEE D'ANVERS Best Actress of 1948: Simone Signoret, DEDEE D'ANVERS**** Olivia De Havilland, THE SNAKE PIT Joan Fontaine, LETTER FROM AN UNKNOWN WOMAN Jane Wyman, JOHNNY BELINDA Claire Trevor, RAW DEAL Honorable mention: Greer Garson, JULIA MISBEHAVES; Viveca Lindfors, THE ADVENTURES OF DON JUAN; Gail Russell, MOONRISE; Moira Shearer, THE RED SHOES; Ann Sheridan, SILVER RIVER; Barbara Stanwyck, SORRY, WRONG NUMBER; Ann Todd, SO EVIL MY LOVE; Lana Turner, HOMECOMING Best Supporting Actor of 1948: Walter Huston, TREASURE OF THE SIERRA MADRE**** Robert Ryan, ACT OF VIOLENCE Bernard Blier, DEDEE D'ANVERS Marcel Dalio, DEDEE D'ANVERS Raymond Burr, RAW DEAL Honorable mention: Charles Bickford, JOHNNY BELINDA; Raymond Huntley, SO EVIL MY LOVE; Rex Ingram, MOONRISE; John Ireland, RED RIVER; Robert Newton, OLIVER TWIST Best Supporting Actress of 1948: Flora Robson, SARABAND FOR DEAD LOVERS**** Mary Astor, ACT OF VIOLENCE Jane Marken, DEDEE D'ANVERS Jayne Meadows, ENCHANTMENT Betsy Blair, THE SNAKE PIT Honorable mention: Anne Baxter, HOMECOMING; Agnes Moorehead, JOHNNY BELINDA; Geraldine Fitzgerald, SO EVIL MY LOVE; Eileen Herlie, HAMLET; Claire Trevor, KEY LARGO CAST AGAINST TYPE AWARD (tie): FLORA ROBSON, getting to play a sexy intriguer in SARABAND FOR DEAD LOVERS, and MARY ASTOR, known for playing intelligent and sophisticated women, as a "lower depths" prostitute in ACT OF VIOLENCE Best Juvenile Performance: Bobby Henrey, THE FALLEN IDOL

Kay, thanks for writing about They Made Me a Fugitive, a very good and surprisingly dark Brit noir, and Born To Kill, which I was lucky enough to see on the big screen, where it's even more twisted and perverse and fun. You could give your Synergy award to Born To Kill, which has some unlike combinations of actors (like Esther Howard and Elisha Cook, Jr., or Esther Howard and Walter Slezak) who seem to be having a blast working together. Speedy, thanks for writing about Escape Me Never, which I also like. It's the mirror image of The Constant Nymph, also based on a novel by Margaret Kennedy. In Nymph the composer character marries the tall beauty rather than the more eccentric and artistic girl, and neither pairing really works out that well.

In addition to trying to praise actors who do good work in bad films--as Bogey just did with Greer Garson in Desire Me--I like to give special credit for actors who play roles that are difficult to make a good impression in. One such thankless role is the boyfriend or girlfriend not quite good enough when the leading man or lady comes along. Another kind of problem part is the one played by Robert Preston in this year's excellent film The Macomber Affair. Preston plays a man who goes big-game hunting but, when faced with a lion, shows cowardice by running, and then shows even more cowardice when he takes out his frustration by slapping one of the native bearers. Almost any actor will offer a judgment on the character, emphasizing and underlining these unattractive qualities. Sometimes this is what the director wants: poor Billy Zane is every bit as ridiculous a cartoon villain in Titanic as James Cameron requires him to be. This is not what Robert Preston does. He finds the humanity of Macomber, a man who has plenty of unattractive qualities, but in Preston's performance is not defined by them. That is why for me Preston ends up at the top of a strong list of supporting actors for this year.

TOP TEN FILMS OF 1948: The Red Shoes Letter from an Unknown Woman Treasure of the Sierra Madre Act of Violence The Fallen Idol Bicycle Thieves Dedee d'Anvers Raw Deal Johnny Belinda The Snake Pit