Carmen Jones (1954)

 While this film brought Dorothy Dandridge an Oscar nomination, it still wasn't that great.

Carmen (Dandridge) works at a parachute factory and has her eyes set on pilot Joe (Harry Belafonte), but he's in love with his childhood sweetheart, Cindy Lou (Olga James). Thanks to some masterful manipulations, Carmen gets Joe to fall in love with her and go AWOL for her and then she just tosses him aside because he has to stay hidden in their slum apartment so she starts dating the famous boxer, Husky Miller (Joe Adams) who she initially rejects in favor of Joe but Joe then gets to be jealous and controlling. So yeah, she wants to do what she wants and Joe can't stand it. He ends up killing her in the final scene. 

And did I mention that this film is a musical? Written by Oscar Hammerstein, he is definitely missing Richard Rogers. While the songs are well-written and performed well (despite the actors largely being dubbed, which is just beyond unfortunate), they are not memorable, though the score is legendary. The plot is also trite but it should be noted that throughout the entire film, not one white person appears on scene though there is one behind the camera as Otto Preminger directed this film. Also, while Carmen may be wearing a wedding ring, it is presumed that Joe and Carmen were not married but shared that tiny apartment nonetheless.  There is also a scene, albeit brief, where Carmen appears in her stockings, bra and panties, so that is revolutionary as is her opinion of not wanting a man to control her. 

So, despite the solid performances and ground-breaking, this film is ultimately not great which is such a shame that such talent is ruined. Grade: B

Side Notes:

-Despite the talent that Dandridge and Belafonte both have, they made shockingly few films in their life time.

-Pay attention to Brock Peters (Tom Robinson from To Kill a Mockingbird) makes a cameo as the Sergeant Joe beats up. 

-While Dandridge was nominated for an Oscar, another black woman was not nominated for Best Actress until 1972, which is just unacceptable. 

Guess Who's Coming to Dinner? (1967)

 From Spencer Tracy's first Oscar nomination, to his last. 

Again, the plot of this film is simple and would be outdated if the film was made today. A daughter brings her brand spanking new fiancé home to meet her parents. Barely sounds like anything right? Only this is 1967 and her fiancé is black and she isn't. 

Joanna Drayton (Katharine Houghton) returns from Hawaii (why she was there in the first place is never explained) when she quite literally ran into Dr. John Prentice (Sydney Poitier) and falls nearly instantly in love and doesn't see or even feel that there will be any issues because her liberal parents raised her to be color-blind, even though that couldn't have been possible since her parents were well-educated and had great, near high-profile jobs and to get everything done, they employ a black housekeeper, Tillie (Isabell Sanford). 

And needless to say, Christina (Katharine Hepburn) and Matt (Spencer Tracy) are both shocked, flabbergasted as Matt later says and while Christina warms to the idea in a reasonable amount of time (which is to say less than five minutes), it takes Matt much longer (basically the whole evening). 

It gets more complicated when John's (Roy E. Glenn, Sr and Beah Richards) parents arrive along with the Drayton's family friend, Monsignor Ryan (Cecil Kellaway). John's father is on the same page as Matt while Mary scolds Matt, believing that he and her husband are too old to remember what it was like to remember to be in love. 

Fortunately, the film ends happily with Matt giving them his blessing and everyone finally heads off to eat. 

My problems with it are well, the ones the film rarely discusses. While the film focuses on the issue of race, there is also a sizable age difference. Joanna is fourteen years younger than John and John is a widower which is mentioned several times, to fairly good effect. But while John is off to Geneva for his job with the WHO (World Health Organization), but what will Joanna do? Her mother has a great job so, I wished that her career was at least mentioned. And they had a whirlwind courtship, one that was far too short. 

Still, the performances cannot be ignored and Tracy's speech at the end was certainly one of the best in cinematic history. And this is a multi-generational love story. While John and Joey are in the bloom of love, Christina and Matt also realize how in love they still are with each other. The film isn't perfect and it is quite dated, but the issues are still real. Grade: A-

Side Notes:

-A side note, the issue of ageism is also brought up, just in one scene when Matt backs into a car (owned by a black man) and the owner goes off, saying that someone of his age shouldn't drive. Matt does admit fault, mainly because it is his fault and gives the guy some money on the spot when it should have been reported to the insurance.

-Christina fires her one co-worker at the gallery as Hilary (Virginia Christine) who cannot believe that Joanna is marrying a black man as she clearly doesn't approve.

-There is also an interesting scene between John and his father on parenting. 

-I'm glad the issue of children is brought up, as well as the issue on if John and Joanna slept together. They haven't, which is probably the most unrealistic part of the film. 

San Francisco (1936)

 This was an up and down film.

Of course it was formulaic, but Jeanette McDonald is a true treasure. Newly arrived to San Francisco, she's in desperate need for a job after her night club burned down so she turns to legendary Blackie Norton (Clark Gable) who is so well-liked, he's recruited to run for city supervisor to improve the buildings in the city. Still, while McDonald as Mary Blake is incredibly talented but her voice is not suited for a nightclub but rather an opera though Blackie is reluctant to let her go as he loves her though shows it oddly and doesn't let her truly choose for herself as he is incredibly manipulative. She ends up engaged to the opera representative Jack Burley (Jack Holt) who seems to be decent until he shuts down Blackie's club and arrests all the workers using some lame excuse to get the liquor license revoked so naturally, she's furious at him.

And then the earthquake happens and that's actually an especially good scene with Blackie running around afterward, trying to find Mary, which he finally does and he's delighted so they end up together, joining the survivors to re-build the city. 

The fourth main character is Father Tim Mullen (Spencer Tracy) who delivers the best performance of the film, albeit small, as a life-long friend of Blackie and finds a kindred spirit in Mary, who is a believer like him. Despite his small amount of screen time, he was nevertheless nominated for an Oscar for Best Actor for this film. While he was great, his role was much too small for this category especially since this was the first year for the supporting character. 

Still, despite the numerous issues, the ending was truly excellent even though Mary shouldn't have gotten back together with Blackie (Jack was killed in the earthquake with all its falling buildings). Yet, he needed the win. She had already won without a man. Grade: B

Side Notes:

-Spencer Tracy described this film as the one where Gable got the girl but I got the Oscar nomination. True, on both counts.

-This film has a heavier religious undertone than most, with Blackie being grateful and thanks God for sparing Mary's life, somehow.

-Blackie is a wretched nickname, both now and then.

-When Mary first applies for a job and states that she's a singer, Blackie asks to see her legs and she once again states that she's a singer, in a great feminist moment.  

The Queen (2006)

 All hail Helen Mirren, she's brilliant.

However, this film belongs just as much to Michael Sheen's Tony Blair and Princess Diana herself.

The bulk of the film occurs just after the sudden and shocking death of Princess Diana and how the Queen Elizabeth II (Mirren) refuses to truly acknowledge the event until after much insistence from the Prime Minister (Sheen). Instead, she tries to keep life as normal as possible, tending to her grandchildren and distracting them and herself by mourning the beauty of a stag on their vast Scottish estate. 

But when she finally does make a statement, it is met with great success and despite their differences, she and Tony finally have a solid relationship and seem to be even working toward a friendship which is a great accomplishment considering where they started at the beginning of the film.

Now, while the film had a rather simple plot and some odd cuts intermixing authentic news footage in with the actors portraying their roles but it is done brilliantly, truly showing how and why the royal family acted the way they did and how and why the public reacted the way they did and how Tony as he insisted on being called, tried to tow the line between the two. And certainly the acting is impeccable, with Mirren saying so much by saying so little though Sheen is just as good and they are backed up by James Cromwell as Prince Philip and the late Helen McCrory as Cherie Blair. Alex Jennings gets his chance to portray Prince Charles and he does well, portraying Charles almost as a sympathetic character for a change. So, this is must watch and Mirren deserved all the awards she won for this performance. Grade: A-

Side Notes:

-Also note that Peter Morgan penned the screenplay. He also wrote most episodes of The Crown. 

-Charles's children's faces are never shown. 

-None of The Queen's other children are even mentioned though her sister is, twice. 

Dangerous (1935)

 There's not many reasons to watch this film other than it won Bette Davis her first Oscar. 

She's solid as Joyce Heath, a brilliant stage actress, who is known for being jinxed. She's now a raging alcoholic but luckily, she runs into Don Bellows (Franchot Tone) who has idolized her since he saw her on stage. He rescues her, despite her being completely ungrateful. She does recover and Don decides to revitalize her career and proposes to her to boot.

But she refuses to tell him the truth, she's already married to a man whose miserable because of her but won't let her go even though it would be better for both of them. So she crashes a car into a tree and nearly succeeds in killing her husband, Gordon (John Eldredge).

However, unlike other Bette Davis films, she atones for her sins, manages to become a successful and visits her injured husband in the hospital. 

Still, despite the trite and rather boring and overwrought plot, Davis is still great, though this performance is nothing compared to the ones she would deliver later in much, much better films. Too bad the chemistry between Davis and Tone was non-existent. That might have helped the film. Grade: B

Side Notes:

-Davis almost always plays a rich character.

-The only two minorities in this film are servants and Davis treats her maid wretchedly.  

A Passage to India (1984)

 This film was largely decent, though it was far from perfect. 

Adela Quested (Judy Davis) journeys to India in roughly 1924 to meet her boyfriend and eventual fiancé, Ronnie Heaslop (Nigel Havers ) who is a district magistrate there. She's also a companion for his mother, the kind, understanding and knowledgeable, Mrs. Moore (Peggy Ashcroft), who doesn't even get a first name. It is by chance that Mrs. Moore meets the talkative, genuine but wanting Dr. Aziz (Victor Banerjee). Desperate to meet more Indians and truly get a lay of the land, Mrs. Moore and Adela meet with Dr. Aziz and two professors from the local college, Fielding (James Fox) and the eclectic Godbole (Alec Guinness) and it is there where Dr. Aziz invites everyone on an epic hike to some remote, boring caves. 

And it is there was where the centerpiece scene occurs. Through a series of circumstances, Adela and Dr. Aziz and the guide go to a cave alone and Adela goes into the one cave alone and then bursts out, bleeding. Dr. Aziz is accused of rape and the case becomes a huge media sensation. Now, what isn't clear is why Adela signs the affidavit accusing him of rape when he just peered in, without seeing her. Adela breaks down on the stand and recants her statement. 

Fortunately, everyone gets a happy ending, though Mrs. Moore dies on her way home to England, and is shockingly never called to testify for either side. Fielding meets Mrs. Moore's daughter and Aziz eventually forgives Adela, though it is unclear if she got a happy ending or not, but hopefully she doesn't marry Ron as she doesn't love him. 

Now, despite the solid plot and well-developed characters, there are some jarring edits and minor plot holes, including the already mentioned Mrs. Moore not being called as a witness. Some of the scenes at the beginning are weird as they cut and jump to new characters without an explanation. And we never learn what really happened to Adela. But given how injured she was, something had to happen and I don't believe it was Dr. Aziz, so we're left to wonder, and I also don't believe that she was type who would have signed the affidavit with a clear mind but she was surrounded by those pressuring her to do just that. Still, the performances are solid and Ashcroft fully deserved her Oscar and I liked how the roles were different than tradition. The sets were also great and the score haunting, so the film was almost really great. Grade: B+

Side Notes:

-It is interesting how you see Fielding get a telegram for Mrs. Moore's death but if Ron is notified, that isn't shown.

-Ron really is the boring fiancé ever. 

-We also cannot forget the traumatizing monkey scene with Adela not long before the cave scene. 

The Farmer's Daughter (1947)

 While this film might be dated and generic, I actually found it rather delightful. 

If everything had gone to plan for Katrin Holstrom (Loretta Young), then we wouldn't have had this film. Her plans for nursing school falls through so she needs work immediately and gets a temporary job as a maid for the politician Glen Morely (Joseph Cotton) and his wise mother, Agatha (Ethel Barrymore). And of course, she stays on and Glen falls in love with her, all completely predictable but then she gets a chance for run for Congress herself, for the opposite party. And everyone seems to love how wholesome and sweet and genuine she is so Katie quickly climbs in the polls until something threatens to derail not only her campaign but her reputation as well. Remember, this is 1947 and that stuff actually matter. 

Fortunately, Glen breaks party lines and disavows his running mate and throws his supports behind Katie and gets the jerkface Adolph (Rhys Williams), who tried to claim that Katie spent the night in a hotel with him when she wasn't married, to state that his story was a lie, and he proposes to Katie to boot so she gets it all, the job and the guy. Happy endings all around, just like a Hallmark movie, only with true acting, and yet, despite the relatively predictable plot, it managed to seem fresh. And Katie was a strong character and values her own opinion. Young gives a brilliant performance which won her an Oscar and she was solid. Cotton was never more delightful and he was in Citizen Kane. Grade: A-

Side Notes:

-The Capitol City is never named, the political parties are never named nor is the Klan truly called out, though it is heavily implied.

-I loved how Katie's brothers were named Peter, Olaf and Sven, and I couldn't help but think of Frozen. 

-Charles Bickford won his second supporting actor Oscar nomination as the butler Mr. Clancy who is firm but kind and supportive of Katie and can't resist making a bet with Agatha.

-While women appear in basically every scene though minorities never appear. 

The Accused (1988)

Jodie Foster won her first Oscar for this film and boy, did she deserve it. However, top billing was given to Kelly McGillis, famous in the 80s but she's since faded from the limelight though I don't understand why, she was solid here though Foster had the showy role.

Foster is Sarah Tobias, who is a waitress and I guess you could call her white trash, but when her father left when she was an infant, she was at an instant disadvantage, but she was brutally gang-raped in the back room (the game room) of a seedy bar and only one of the on-lookers even has the audacity to look disgusted while the rest remain stony-faced or cheer them one and eventually urge the third man to rape her. 

Sure, Sarah was a bit drunk and her clothes left little to the imagination and she wasn't even wearing a bra, but she absolutely did not consent to the sex and it was brutal, none of them even bothered using protection, which is also rank. Still, she runs away and manages to get to the hospital and reports the rape where the investigation takes off. And despite Sarah's character, the assistant DA, Kathryn Murphy (Kelly McGillis) believes her but knows that it will be a difficult case to win so she manages to get the defendants to agree to a plea deal. And they take it. 

And that's the first half an hour of the film so I wondered where it was going to go next. A chance meeting with an asshole at a record store leads Kathryn to take a different approach, she charges to bystanders, though who egged on the rapists. 

Some movie magic and sleuthing lead Kathryn to Kenneth Joyce (Bernie Coulson), the other frat boy in attendance with his bowl-cut mullet, the one who calls the cops but refuses to give his name. She gets him to testify and he does, in the end though his friend begs him not to and he testimony makes all the difference. Against the odds, the three men are found guilty which they are, and they will face some time. And they deserve it, for not stepping in, for not doing the right thing, for believing a woman is nothing more than an object to please and satisfy men. 

The film has a basic appeal to it, with mostly unattractive actors playing real roles but Foster is brilliant, fully deserving of every award she won and she won plenty of them. But this story is important and it shows that you cannot get away with just being a bystander, with encouraging a crime to take place, there is punishment and justice was served in the end. Sure, Sarah's trust was destroyed, but at least they didn't get away with it. This film shows a valuable lesson and that cannot be forgotten. Grade: B+

Side Notes:

-One of the side plots, of Kathryn's job being threatened because of her gamble is not brought up again. Who knows what will happen to her after the verdict is read?

-I find it just a little odd that Ken was able to visit both his frat brother in prison and then was left alone in a room with Sarah all before he testified on the stand. 

-I cannot believe that a gang rape happened in the game room of a seedy bar and no one in the front room seemed any the wiser. Those men had real nerve.