Night of the Hunter

‘Night of the Hunter’ scary, suspenseful

VIDEO VIPER for WEEKENDER, May 29, 2009
ROBERT MITCHUM is the bad guy in "Night of the Hunter."

Charles Laughton had a vast career in film.
He was Quasimodo in “Hunchback of Notre Dame.” He was in Alfred Hitchcock’s “The Paradine Case.”
He was Capt. Bligh in “Mutiny on the Bounty.”
He was also a film director, well, for one film. It is called "Night of the Hunter."
It was greeted so poorly my critics, he never attempted to direct again, although thankfully he continued to make movies, his last being Otto Preminger’s “Advise and Consent,” which also starred Henry Fonda.
But I am here to tell you “Night of the Hunter” needs to be revisited.
It is a genuinely chilling picture, subtle, dark, scary, full of tension.
Laughton did everything right. Maybe the film wasn't right for 1955, but it would be for 2009.
It's a film essentially about children and their wisdom, which transcends that of adults.
The film opens with playing children coming across the body of a girl.
The scene switches to two children playing, their bleeding father staggering into the yard. Played by Peter Graves, who later starred in “Mission Impossible,” he orders his son, played by Billy Chapin, to hide money he has from a robbery. You can hear the sirens in the background.
The Graves character makes the boy and his young sister swear they will never tell where the money is hidden.
The Graves character goes to his death, but not before telling an apparent minister and fellow inmate in the prison, played by Robert Mitchum, about his haul.
Mitchum knows the mechanics of being a pious parson. He quotes scripture. But it is easy to see the man is pure evil. Mitchum's character, Harry Powell, is soon released for his auto-theft offense and heads to Graves’ character’s family.
There he meets the widow, played by a young Shelley Winters. Winters’ character is duped by the saintly sounding sadist, but the young boy isn't.
They marry but then Harry informs his new wife sex is for procreation and the two need to handle the children she already has.
The naïve Winters character meets a horrifying end after discovering what her new husband is like and the Mitchum character chases the children downriver.
Lillian Gish, the woman who invented the close-up and starred in 1915's “Birth of a Nation,” appears as a woman who takes care of orphaned children and takes the pair in.
Laughton's only effort as a director is near perfect. Billy Chapin is a natural actor as the wise-beyond-his years son who takes his little sister, played by Sally Jane Brue, on a race for survival. Chapin's sister, Lauren, played the youngest daughter on “Father Knows Best.”
But the most kudos go to Bob Mitchum. Now this is one scary guy. Nobody, but nobody, could play a frightening figure like Mitchum.
For a really scary night, watch this with the original “Cape Fear,” again starring Mitchum as the heavy.
This is prime film noir during the waning days of film noir. Check out Laughton's other talent, directing. You won't be able to shake this film from your mind.

NIGHT OF THE HUNTER
• Directed by Charles Laughton
• Written by Davis Grubb (novel) and James Agee (screenplay)
• Runtime: 92 minutes
• Not rated by too scary for young children
• 4 stars out of 4

Let the Right On In

Celebrate 100 years of vampire films

Magnolia Pictures

Lina Leandersson in "Let the Right One In."

BOB LEBZELTER / VIDEO VIPER for May 22, 2009


Vampire movies just never seem to go out of style.
Today we have “Twilight” and HBO had a hit with the series “True Blood.”
Would you believe this is the 100th anniversary of the vampire movie? Yes, the first was called “Vampire of the Coast” and was made in 1909.
There have been gory Vampire movies. There have been romantic Vampire movies. There have been erotic Vampire movies. There have been comedies.
If you love vampire movies, check out “Let the Right One In,” which recently was released on DVD and Blu-Ray.
The film was released in October in theaters and there is already talk of a remake. That’s because it was filmed in Sweden and Hollywood finds when a really good foreign film comes out, it can simply make its own version.
But guess what? The Swedish version is pretty decent, from mood and atmosphere to story and actors. Not sure how effective an Americanized version will work and what would be lost.
First, the movie in some ways is void of a time element. It could take anywhere, anytime.
Kåre Hedebrant plays Oskar, who looks pale and frail enough to be the vampire, but isn’t. He is constantly being beaten up by bullies at school. He seems lonely and friendless.
Standing outside in the snow and cold, he meets a strange but nice girl, Eli, played by Lina Leandersson, who instantly strikes up a conversation.
She is drawn to the boy, wanting to make friends, being with a contemporary. She and Oskar are both 12, but she’s been 12 a long, long time. She is a blood-thirsty vampire who has enslaved a middle-aged man to capture her prey so she can drink blood and survive.
But hey, for a girl who hops on victims’ necks and bites down to suck out the blood, with that nice apple-crunching sound for effect, she’s a pretty nice kid.
Now Oskar is a little dense. It takes him a long time to learn his confident, his one real friend, is a compact killing machine. She is often seen with blood dripping down her face, much like we see other 12 year olds with chocolate ice cream on their faces.
For instance, Oskar wants to become blood siblings with the girl, so he cuts a finger and lets it bleed. He gets a hint she is a little different when she leaps to the floor and starts licking up the blood.
In many ways, this is a tale we can all relate to. It is a story of adolescence, about that first awkward love. It just happens to include a background of a blood-crazed vampire and conflict comes because the girl doesn’t want to savagely kill Oskar, drain his blood and drink it.
How sweet.
The switching from adolescent innocence and sweetness to scenes of the macabre make this picture even more terrifying.
Once you’ve worn out or become bored with your DVD of “Twilight,” let this right vampire move into your home. It is a worthy film in this 100th year of nocturnal madness.

LET THE RIGHT ONE IN
• Directed by Tomas Alfredson
• From a novel by John Ajvide Lindqvist, who also wrote the screenplay
• Runtime: 115 minutes
• Rated R for bloody violence, disturbing images and brief nudity
• In Swedish with English subtitles
• 4 stars out of 5.

My Best Girl

Pickford more than sweetheart in film

VIDEO VIPER for May 15, 2009
CHARLES ROGERS and Mary Pickford in "My Best Girl."

I discovered a gem of a movie the other day.
It has first-rate acting, a sweet story, wonderful cinematography and good-looking actors to boot.
It only took 82 years to discover it.
Well, maybe a few people have seen this film before I stumbled over it and added it to my Netflix collection.
The movie is “My Best Girl,” starring America's sweetheart, Mary Pickford. OK, she isn't America's sweetheart any more. She's been dead 30 years.
But in the Roaring 20s she was the nation's sweetheart and after seeing this film, I understand why.
As a romantic comedy, this 1927 film certainly doesn't break new frontier, at least to the modern viewer.
But when you consider how old the film is and how much has changed, it certainly has a modern flair to it.
Maybe that can be credited to director Sam Taylor. It was written by a woman, Kathleen Norris, which probably wasn't as common as it is today.
Dashing Charles "Buddy" Rogers, plays Joe Merrill, whose wealthy family owns a chain of five-and-dime stores. The film actually opens with a well-done montage mixing coinage and merchandise, letting you know early on what type of store we are dealing with.
Anyway, Joe decides to pose as a lowly stockboy, Joe Grant, to spy on employees and get a better look at how a store functions.
Pickford plays Maggie Johnson, a witty, engaging young lady who has dedicated her life to her work and caring for her mal-adjusted family. Her father is clueless (Lucien Littlefield), her mother (Sunshine Hart) is perpetually crying and her sister (Carmelita Geraghty) keeps getting in trouble with the law. She must solve their problems, cook dinner nightly and work at her modest job. Who has time for romance, especially with the son of the owner of the store chain?
The story was probably built around Pickford's status in the film industry at the time, but this movie is much more.
We see Pickford and Rogers walking through rain-soaked downtown streets in a long, tracking shot which must have been pretty amazing in 1927.
I thought Hobart Bosworth did a fine job in a supporting role as rich Joe Merrill's father. He plays a firm, interested but eventually understanding father in what must have been a difficult role.
There are plenty of memorable scenes and like today's romantic comedies, you know how it will end.
As a side note, Pickford married Rogers for real nine years later in a Hollywood wedding. Except this marriage lasted until Pickford's death in 1979.
The quality of this DVD is especially good, although I yearned for more extras.
If you ever wonder why Pickford was called America's sweetheart, check out this movie. It will give you a real good idea.

MY BEST GIRL
• Directed by Samuel Taylor
• Written by Kathleen Norris and Hope Loring
• Silent with titles
• Runtime: 80 minutes
• Not rated but fine for all audiences
• 4 stars out of 5

Grey Gardens

Mansion the star of ‘Grey Gardens’
BOB LEBZELTER / VIDEO VIPER for May 8, 2009

HBO

DREW BARRYMORE (left) and Jessica Lange in "Grey Gardens."



There has been a lot of hype about the HBO film “Grey Gardens.”
The film debuted on the pay channel a few weeks ago and will soon make it to DVD. There was no theatrical release.
It has been reported actress Drew Barrymore withdrew from the world for a few months, to better discover the mindset of her character, Little Edith Bouvier Beale.
Jessica Lange plays her mother, Big Edith.
The story is about the two women, switching back and forth between the 1930 through the 50s and the 1970s.
Big Edith just happens to be Jackie Kennedy Onassis' aunt and Little Edith's cousin. You see young Jackie at their fashionable Long Island summer home in the 1930s.
Big Edith enjoys the social life, hosting parties in the 1930s, singing, dancing for her guests, with her accompanist, a much-younger music instructor, played by Malcomb Gets. Big Edith has the hots for this musician, who is employed as Little Edith's music teacher.
The affection isn't returned and we see early that Big Edith has become somewhat of a caricature.
Barrymore's Little Edith senses this and decides to go to New York with her father, played by Ken Howard, to find fame and fortune as a singer and dancer.
Um, it doesn't happen. Instead she spends her time as a mistress to Truman cabinet member Julius Krug, played by Daniel Baldwin.
When that disintegrates, she returns home to her increasingly reclusive mother.
Eventually, they are placed on a $150 per month budget.
While the hype has been on Drew and how this challenging film Is supposed to prove she is indeed worthy of the Barrymore name, Lange might be even more exceptional, creating a character under all of those miles of wrinkly makeup to play Big Edith later in life.
But to tell you the truth, the biggest, most unforgettable character for me, is the house. As it deteriorates, it is like the woods retakes it. There are gaps in the roof, no electricity or running water, it is overrun by cats and raccoons take up residency.
At one point we see tree branches growing through broken windows into Big Edith's room.
By then, the two are so out of it, they don't notice the total mess that was once their house. They don't wretch from the smell, the way others do. They comment about the interior design to visitors, not noticing piles of old cans or a cat urinating on a family painting.
Into this mess comes documentary directors Albert and David Maysles, played by Arye Gross and Justin Lewis, best known for the Rolling Stones film “Gimme Shelter” about the murder of a fan at a concert by Hells Angles in 1969.
Their documentary, the original "Grey Gardens," made celebrities of the Beales.
The original documentary is on my Netflix list. Unfortunately, there's a long wait.
"Grey Gardens" is a topnotch film with exceptional acting and oh, that house.

GREY GARDENS
• Directed by Michael Sucsy
• Written by Sucsy and Patricia Rozema
• Runtime: 104 minutes
• Not rated, but might be disturbing to young children, some sexuality

Paper Chase

Smart TV series finds way to DVD
Video Viper for May 1, 2009




JOHN HOUSEMAN in "The Paper Chase."

In some ways, television really hasn't changed much.
Back in 1978, CBS rolled out a new series, “The Paper Chase.” John Jay Osborn, Jr. finished Harvard Law School back in 1970 and promptly wrote a novel about his experiences called “The Paper Chase.”
In 1973 the book was made into a motion picture with Timothy Bottoms as James T. Hart, a first-year law student at a university that appears much like Harvard. The frightful, no-nonsense, powerful and respected Prof. Kingsfield was played by John Houseman.
The film was so respected it became the CBS series. Fortunately, Houseman reprised his role as Kingsfield, even though he was 76 at the time. James Stephens took over the role of Hart.
Unfortunately, the series was well written, well directed, with good characters and solid, varied plotlines. So of course, ratings were low.
And even in 1978, ratings ruled television, despite the lack of a myriad of cable rivals and only three commercial networks.
CBS said it would give the show a chance, but after one season and 22 episodes, it was gone. “Paper Chase” was dubbed “The series too good for television.”
But the series wouldn't die. PBS picked up the first season and ran the reruns for awhile, but didn't have the money to produce new episodes.
Eventually, in 1983, Showtime pay TV picked up the series, reran the first season and produced three more seasons, concluding with “Paper Chase the Graduation Year.”
Houseman was well into his 80s by the time series concluded. He owned the role for more than 10 years.
His crusty Kingsfield accepted no excuses. He was rigid in his methods. He expected perfection and would accept nothing less. Houseman was born to play the role and it is truly one of the most stunning roles ever on television.
The first episode introduces us to Hart, a boy who grew up on a farm and loved it, but yearned to become a lawyer. He ends up at an Ivy League school surrounded by legacy would-be attorneys who wear sweaters and bowties.
It is a TV series about who makes Law Review and scenes taking place in study groups.
It opens with Hart, late for school, because his new alarm clock fails to work. Like those who have nightmares about waking up and having to go to class for a big test unprepared, Hart doesn't realize he is supposed to know certain material for his first class.
Of course the gruff Kingsfield calls on Hart, mostly because he stumbles into class late and looks bewildered. When Hart admits he doesn't know the material, Kingsfield places a ceremonial shroud over him, declaring him dead in his class.
Hart eventually finds a way to make himself unshrouded, something never done before at Harvard, er, wherever this takes place. The little smirk on Houseman's face at end of Show 1 is priceless. What an actor!
If you want to sample a series about smart people talking about and doing smart things, that first season is out on DVD through SHOUT video.
It's worth researching.

PAPER CHASE
• Directed by Georg Stanford Brown, Mark Cullingham and others
• Written by John J. Osborn Jr. and many others
• Runtime: 57 episodes, 60 minutes each, the first season minus commercials
• Not rated. Good for children to watch to introduce them to academics and studying
• 5 stars out of 5

Stuck

‘Stuck’ takes off with bizarre, bloody plot




STEPHEN REA in "Stuck."

Stuart Gordon directed a bloody B-type horror picture called “Re-Animator” back in 1985.
It was so over the top and goofy, it turned out to be a lot of fun, once you got past the blood and gore.
It's sort of the same way a generation later with his film “Stuck.”
I didn't plan to like this picture, oh those of us with preconceived ideas.
But like “Re-Animator,” Gordon went over the top. But then he went down the next valley and to the top of the next hill and by then, by gosh, it started working.
It would probably make a great cult film, much like "Re-Animator." Even more interesting, it is grounded in fact. Bizarre fact, but fact just the same.
The film opens with two stories that soon converge. Mena Suvari is a young woman working in a nursing home who wants to advance. She doesn't mind handling the problems of senile-old men who can no longer control their bowels. When a supervisor asks her to work another Saturday with the promise of a possible promotion, she agrees.
Outside the nursing home, this seemingly dedicated and responsible young lady enters a different world.
She starts drinking heavily at a bar where she meets her drug-dealing boyfriend who pops a pill in her mouth, presumably to get her in the mood for some later bedroom activity.
Meanwhile, we have everyman Stephen Rea, who plays Thomas Bardo, a seemingly intelligent guy who had been downsized from his job and is about to be evicted by his nasty landlord from his crummy apartment.
It doesn't matter he has a job interview. Landlord won't let him take anything out of the apartment until the rent is paid. So the Bardo character grabs his clothes and runs out, with landlord in tow.
The poor guy goes to the interview carrying his clothing. He doesn't have anywhere to put them.
That night, he is homeless, walking the street. A bum gives him a spare shopping cart to push his meager belongs around in.
Suddenly the Suvari character careens down the street in a drunken stupor, trying to call druggie BF while Bardo is crossing the street. The two plots literally merge at that point.
Bardo flies into the windshield of the car while the drunken lady drives home, with Bardo's head bleeding onto her seat and his feet hanging out the front of the car.
You may recall a woman actually hit a man and like the Suvari character, drove home undetected to place the car and the wounded victim in her garage. The real story had the man begging the woman to call an ambulance because he was bleeding to death and she refused. In real life, the man died. It was also the topic of a "CSI" episode.
In this version, the victim tries every way imaginable to break free and get help while coping with pieces of jagged, bloody glass hanging from his body.
He seems to get a break when he finds a cell phone on the seat or when a young boy discovers him in the garage or when a young dog finds him and thinks he might make a nice meal. Yeah, it gets gross. But each time his hope for rescue is trounced.
Russell Hornsby plays the drug-dealing boyfriend who isn't as tough as he would like to be.
There are twists and turns and unexpected events. Nothing is too bizarre. Nothing is too crazy.
Just be warned. Don't watch this movie the night before you donate blood.

STUCK
• Directed by Stuart Gordon
• Written by John Strysik and Gordon
• Rated R for strong violence, disturbing content, sexuality/nudity, language and drug use
• Runtime: 85 minutes
• 3 stars out of 5

The Visitor

‘Visitor’ nice break from car chases, sex comedies

Overture Films 

RICHARD JENKINS and Haaz Sleiman in "The Visitor."

You may have heard about the film “The Visitor” because Richard Jenkins was nominated for a Best Actor Oscar for his role as a depressed college professor.

It was a rare instance where you could watch an Oscar-nominated film being streamed to your computer via Netflix before the awards were held.

Jenkins didn't win but it was nevertheless an outstanding performance in a beautiful, thought-provoking film that deals with the complicated world of illegal aliens.

Jenkins plays Walter Vale, whose piano virtuoso wife has died. He tries to learn to play but just doesn't have the talent. In fact, one of his piano teachers tells him nicely that it doesn't always work out for untalented people and if he decides to give up, she'd like to buy his piano.

You can tell immediately what you need to know about Walter from Jenkins’ acting ability and the talent of director Thomas McCarthy.

Walter is a professor at a Connecticut college who has no love for the job. He's been teaching exactly the same way for 20 years. He is set in his ways. He is supposedly working on an “important” book so has a reduced teaching load.

We know instantly the book isn't important and he's not really working on it, but resists a request to take over some classes of a fellow teacher.

He has a Manhattan flat he hasn't visited in two months. When he does, he discovers a woman taking a bath there!

He remains unruffled and even apologetic that he has disturbed the woman, played by Danai Jekesai Gurira. Her character's husband, Tarek, (Haaz Sleiman) and herself had been duped into subleasing the apartment by a crook. Tarek is at first angry but when he learns they are in the wrong, agrees to quickly leave. But Walter takes pity and allows them to stay. Walter is very much the meek, mild, no-humor scholarly type, but takes an interest in Tarek's drum playing. He becomes fascinated by musicians who line up outside to play each day.

Ever so slowly, he loosens up. He and Tarek become unusual friends, although wife seems creeped-out by the middle-aged prof. 

When a misunderstanding results in Tarek being arrested, there is no easy solution. The couple are illegals and he is held in a detention center. There we learn people are abruptly moved from one place to another. Walter hires an attorney. Tarek's mother, wonderfully played by Hiam Abbass, comes from Michigan to stand vigil.

Walter comes to grips with his life. He learns what is truly important. He learns life is more than what he has done for the past 20 years. And Tarek's mother and wife learn about humanity and unselfishness from Walter. 

There are many outstanding performances in this warm, fluid drama.

It could well be a different type of film to watch with older children, too. Suitable for discussion afterward.

If you are ready for a break from car crashes and serial killers and grossout comedy, even for a bit, give "The Visitor" a try. It's worth the visit.

THE VISITOR

• Written and directed by Thomas McCarthy

• Rated PG-13 for strong language

• Runtime: 104 minutes

• 4.5 stars of out 5