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In Dimitri Kirsanoff's Menilmontant a destitute waif, betrayed and abandoned by the man who seduced her, sits on a park bench with her newborn infant. Beside her is an old man eating a sandwich. This wordless exchange is one of the greatest moments ever committed to film. Nadia Sibirskaia’s face reveals all of life’s cruel mysteries as she gazes upon a crust of bread.
The persistence of hope is the dark angel that underlies despair, and here it taunts her mercilessly. A whole series of fluctuations of expression and movement in reaction to anguish, physical pain involving hesitation, dignity, ravenous hunger, survival, self-contempt, modesty, boundless gratitude. All articulated with absolute clarity without hitting notes (without touching the keys). Chaplin could have played either the old man on the bench (his mustache is a sensory device!) or Nadia. And it would have been masterful and deeply affecting,...
Voice...
Vitaphone...
In Dimitri Kirsanoff's Menilmontant a destitute waif, betrayed and abandoned by the man who seduced her, sits on a park bench with her newborn infant. Beside her is an old man eating a sandwich. This wordless exchange is one of the greatest moments ever committed to film. Nadia Sibirskaia’s face reveals all of life’s cruel mysteries as she gazes upon a crust of bread.
The persistence of hope is the dark angel that underlies despair, and here it taunts her mercilessly. A whole series of fluctuations of expression and movement in reaction to anguish, physical pain involving hesitation, dignity, ravenous hunger, survival, self-contempt, modesty, boundless gratitude. All articulated with absolute clarity without hitting notes (without touching the keys). Chaplin could have played either the old man on the bench (his mustache is a sensory device!) or Nadia. And it would have been masterful and deeply affecting,...
- 6/30/2014
- by Daniel Riccuito
- MUBI
Warner Archive Collection 4th anniversary DVD / Blu-ray releases The Warner Archive Collection (aka Wac), which currently has a DVD / Blu-ray library consisting of approximately 1,500 titles, has just turned four. In celebration of its fourth anniversary, Wac is releasing with movies featuring the likes of Jane Powell, Eleanor Parker, and many more stars and filmmakers of yesteryear. (Pictured above: Greer Garson, Debbie Reynolds, Ricardo Montalban in the sentimental 1966 comedy / drama with music The Singing Nun.) For starters, Jane Powell and Debbie Reynolds play siblings in Richard Thorpe's Athena (1954), whose supporting cast includes Edmund Purdom, Vic Damone, frequent Jerry Lewis foil Kathleen Freeman, Citizen Kane's Ray Collins, Tyrone Power's then-wife Linda Christian, former Mr. Universe and future Hercules Steve Reeves, veteran Louis Calhern, not to mention numerology, astrology, and vegetarianism. As per Wac's newsletter, the score by Hugh Martin and Martin Blane "gets a first ever Stereophonic Sound remix for this disc,...
- 3/27/2013
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Silent All Quiet On The Western Front: TCM's Library of Congress Tribute [Photo: Kay Francis, Leslie Howard in British Agent.] Schedule (Et) and synopses from the TCM website: 8:00 Pm The Constant Nymph (1943). A composer finds inspiration in his wife's romantic cousin. Dir: Edmund Goulding. Cast: Charles Boyer, Joan Fontaine, Alexis Smith. Bw-112 mins. 10:00 Pm Baby Face (1933). A beautiful schemer sleeps her way to the top of a banking empire. Dir: Alfred E. Green. Cast: Barbara Stanwyck, George Brent, Donald Cook. Bw-76 mins. 11:30 Pm Two Heads On A Pillow (1934). Once-married attorneys face off during a heated divorce case. Dir: William Nigh. Cast: Neil Hamilton, Miriam Jordan, Henry Armetta. Bw-68 mins. 12:45 Am All Quiet On The Western Front (1930). Young German soldiers try to adjust to the horrors of World War I. Dir: Lewis Milestone. Cast: Lew Ayres, Louis Wolheim, John Wray. Bw-134 mins. 3:15 Am : Will Rogers Winging Around Europe (1927). Bw-0 mins. 3:30 Am...
- 9/29/2011
- Alt Film Guide
Ronald Reagan, Knute Rockne: All American Kay Francis, William Powell, Myrna Loy, Jean Harlow: Packard Campus Movies Thursday, September 1 (7:30 p.m.) The Wanderers (Orion, 1979) Set against the urban jungle of 1963 New York's gangland subculture, this coming of age teenage movie is set around the Italian gang the Wanderers. Directed by Philip Kaufman. With Ken Wahl, John Friedrich and Karen Allen. Action drama. Rated R. Color, 117 min. Thursday, September 8 (7:30 p.m.) Mildred Pierce (Warner Bros., 1945) A housewife-turned-waitress finds success in business but loses control of her ungrateful teenaged daughter. Directed by Michael Curtiz. With Joan Crawford, Zachary Scott and Ann Blyth. Drama. Black & White, 111 min. Selected for the National Film Registry in 1996. Friday, September 9 (7:30 p.m.) Pre-code Drama Double Feature Jewel Robbery (Warner Bros., 1932) A wealthy, married woman becomes captivated by a debonair jewel thief. Directed by William Dieterle. With Kay Francis and William Powell. Comedy,...
- 9/15/2011
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Ann Dvorak, Three on a Match publicity shot Ann Dvorak Pt.4: Warner Bros. Co-Stars, Three On A Match, Later Years What about Ann Dvorak's relationship with Warner Bros. boss Jack Warner? I think Jack Warner was fond of Ann and had a great deal of faith in her abilities as a dramatic actress. After Howard Hawks brought her to Warner Bros. for The Crowd Roars, the studio immediately negotiated a deal with Howard Hughes to borrow her exclusively for six months. As part of the deal, Hughes had script approval for any movie Ann was to make, which Warners agreed to, even though their lawyers advised them against it. Giving Dvorak the title role in The Strange Love of Molly Louvain, and choosing her for the heaviest part in Three on a Match over two of their own contract players demonstrates how confident they were in her ability to carry a movie,...
- 8/9/2011
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Ann Dvorak, Paul Muni, Dr. Socrates Ann Dvorak Pt.3: Scarface, Warner Bros. Leading Lady, But Never a Star Ann Dvorak played opposite most big names at Warner Bros. in the 1930s. In addition to the aforementioned Joan Blondell and Bette Davis, there were Warren William, Paul Muni, Douglas Fairbanks Jr., James Cagney, Dick Powell, Pat O'Brien, and Richard Barthelmess, among others. How did she get along with her leading men? Was she easy to work with? As far as I can tell, Ann was very easy to work with. I got the chance to speak with both Jane Wyatt and Hugh O'Brian, who made movies with Ann, and while neither one had much to say, the phrase they both used to describe her was "very professional." According to Warners' production logs, she was always on time and for the most part did not miss work. Despite the headaches she...
- 8/9/2011
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Each year New York residents can look forward to two essential series programmed at the Film Forum, noirs and pre-Coders (that is, films made before the strict enforcing of the Motion Picture Production Code). These near-annual retrospective traditions are refreshed and re-varied and re-repeated for neophytes and cinephiles alike, giving all the chance to see and see again great film on film. Many titles in this year's Essential Pre-Code series, running an epic July 15 - August 11, are old favorites and some ache to be new discoveries; all in all there are far too many racy, slipshod, patter-filled celluloid splendors to be covered by one critic alone. Faced with such a bounty, I've enlisted the kind help of some friends and colleagues, asking them to sent in short pieces on their favorites in an incomplete but also in-progress survey and guide to one of the summer's most sought-after series. In this entry: what's playing Friday,...
- 8/4/2011
- MUBI
Josh gets a little superstitious and a little bit bawdy when he puts Three on a Match.
The largely forgotten Ann Dvorak sizzles in this snappy 63 minute pre-code Warner Bros. melange of booze, drugs and gambling. Scarface star Dvorak still has a cult following, which has gotten a modern boost from recent dvd releases of her films by Warner Archive. As a result, Turner Classic Movies has scheduled a Summer Under the Stars 24 hour tribute, coming up on August 24.
Click here to watch the trailer, then follow on for a little bonus linkage.
First of all, this is the second mention of The Hollywood Production Code (aka The Hays Code). You should really know all about that ifyou’re here, but, if you don’t, here’s a mighty nice primer from a few years back.
Second of all, check out this website devoted to all things Anne Dvorak, the...
The largely forgotten Ann Dvorak sizzles in this snappy 63 minute pre-code Warner Bros. melange of booze, drugs and gambling. Scarface star Dvorak still has a cult following, which has gotten a modern boost from recent dvd releases of her films by Warner Archive. As a result, Turner Classic Movies has scheduled a Summer Under the Stars 24 hour tribute, coming up on August 24.
Click here to watch the trailer, then follow on for a little bonus linkage.
First of all, this is the second mention of The Hollywood Production Code (aka The Hays Code). You should really know all about that ifyou’re here, but, if you don’t, here’s a mighty nice primer from a few years back.
Second of all, check out this website devoted to all things Anne Dvorak, the...
- 6/22/2011
- by Danny
- Trailers from Hell
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