The Philadelphia Story

Is there a more beloved,sacred genre in the annals of Hollywood cinema than the romantic comedy? Maybe sacred isn't the right word, try exploited. Romantic comedies have taken a beating over the years, lacking any sense of real romance or sincerity in favour of stupid humour and sometimes meanness. Romance was once a reason to go to the movies because they always made it better than it was in real life.

There was a time when romantic comedy was done well, its golden age came in the 1930s and early 40s. Usually slapstick was involved, but there was also a sophistication to it, this was mostly due to the clever screenwriters and directors, along with a charismatic cast.

One of the best examples of romantic comedy done absolutely right is "The Philadelphia Story". The film already boasts a trio of the biggest stars there ever was Cary Grant, Katherine Hepburn, and Jimmy Stewart. Although at the time Grant was really the only true bankable star, Stewart's star was rising after his breakthrough hit "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington" the year before. Hepburn was dubbed "box office poison", she had done "The Philadelphia Story" on stage in New York and acquired the rights to it in hoping it would revive her career, it did in spades. Hepburn originally lobbied for Clark Gable and Spencer Tracey to be her co-stars, but how could you argue with Grant and Stewart as unworthy substitutes?

The story involves Hepburn's character Tracey Lords, a high class woman about to be married for the second time. Her last marriage was with Grant's character C.K. Dexter Haven, which ended very badly, and rumours of their violent relationship plays throughout the film.

On the eve of Tracey's wedding, Dexter has concocted a plan in which we think is a way to get back at his ex-bride. He hires reporters from a gossip magazine to do a story on her wedding, something Tracey and her family would frown on. These reporters are played by Stewart and Ruth Hussey. Stewart is Mike Connor, who's a real writer and hates working for the seedy magazine and its publisher. Hussy's Liz is a tough talking photographer in the same boat, yet they do the job anyway in order to eat.

It is soon revealed that Dexter's plans for the reporters is truly noble and he in fact still has strong feelings for Tracey, but in order for there to be happiness, both parties need to be taken down a peg.

"The Philadelphia Story" is a film about growing up a bit,and it's also about class systems. Both Tracey and Dexter come from the upper class, yet there is a certain dignity about them, they never pretend to be who they are, yet they later both admit to have made mistakes. Tracey's fiancee George comes from the lower class but worked his way up, but it is revealed he did it all for the wrong reasons. Then there are Mike and Liz who have known nothing but being in the working class, it seems they might be the most honest and decent all together, Mike and Tracey even share a brief romance and it is then we think she has to end up with him. But really in the end, it's really about who Katherine Hepburn will end up with, Cary Grant or Jimmy Stewart, and of course any cinephile who has an inkling on who these leading men are will know it can only end one way.

"The Philadelphia Story" is a romantic triangle, yet it's clever enough to see past the cliches, I'm not sure back then there was a cliche, since everything seemed so fresh, it must've been the later generations who used up all the ideas till they became dull and boring. Tracey's fiancee George is shown as a phony right off, everyone seems to know it but Tracey herself, the real triangle is between Dexter and Mike, yet neither of them are competitors at any moment, they even share a delightful scene where Mike comes to Dexter's door drunk, they both fall for the same women, but they always act like adults instead of fools.

I might just love "The Philadelphia Story" because of the stars who are in them, all of which show off just why they became stars. Dexter was just the kind of role for Cary Grant, I'm surprised Hepburn didn't want him for the part right away (The two made three other films prior to this). When Grant plays a role like this, it's hard to imagine anyone else filling those shoes, we sense his cheekiness, but also his bitterness and sorrow, Grant never had to grandstand for attention, the way he carried himself spoke volumes.

For Stewart, he never had another part like this, Stewart became America's everyman, which overshadowed his greatness as an actor. As Mike Connor, he's able to walk away with the film, his scenes where he is drunk are absolutely the funniest scenes in the film, and despite Mike's somewhat misguided direction in love, Stewart is still able to make him likable.

Then there is Hepburn, who tailor-made this film for her comeback, for me this is the Katherine Hepburn performance I think of, when I think of a Katherine Hepburn performance. Tracey like Hepburn is quite the modern woman, you can sense the firey nature in both these woman, you could swear they were the same woman. Hepburn made a habit of not feminizing herself too much, she never played a damsel in distress on purpose. Tracey is a woman who must discover that she does need saving by the right man.

Along with the three actors, the heart of the film comes from the sophisticated screenplay by David Ogden Stewart, it's one of those screenplays that can only exist in Hollywood, where the actors get to say such wonderful, romantic, and witty lines to eachother, that kind of spark is hard to come by these days. The film is quite talky, but when the lines are this good, and are being said by actors who can say them well, who can complain.

The film was also directed by George Cukor, a man known for women's films, he also had a long professional relationship with Hepburn. He made the original film "The Women", and made two great musicals "A Star is Born" with Judy Garland, and "My Fair Lady" with Audrey Hepburn. He has a way for sophistication in this film, it never becomes riotous funny, it has a heart, and Cukor knows when to play the humour without it going too far.

"The Philadelphia Story" remains a benchmark in the romantic comedy, it's as well known and loved as "It Happened One Night" or "His Girl Friday" from that same era, it reminds us exactly how well romance could be done in the movies, and how wonderful it could be made if there was great talent behind it.

Up

We're getting to the point where it's safe to say Pixar has made about as many animated masterpieces as the golden age of Disney. There's no doubt in my mind their films will be around long after this generation and the generation after that are long gone. As one critic said about Pixar, they make movies for everyone, they are crowd pleasers on the surface, yet they aren't afraid to tackle real human emotion. Think of their flag ship franchise "Toy Story" which deals with talking toys, yet in the three films they starred in, the one constant theme is a fear of abandonment, something we all must face. Also take "Wall-E", which deals with a romance between two robots, and gets to the same kind of pathos and sentiment usually seen in a Chaplin film.

To me the most powerful film of the Pixar label, and the one that enriches with repeat viewings is "Up". "Up" represents much of what I love seeing in movies, it's sweet, funny, sentimental, and full of adventure and unexpected moments. Pixar is known for all of these elements in their films, but with "Up" I think they reached the peak of that certain kind of storytelling which definitely struck a chord with me.

The heart of the story is about a promise between a couple who grow up as childhood sweethearts, and live a happily married life. The wife is seen as very outgoing, while the husband is the more stable easy going type. They both have a dream to some day go to South America to a place known as Paradise Falls. They try to save up for the trip, but things always come up such as car repairs or house repairs which delay their trip. When the husband tries to surprise his wife with tickets to go, she falls ill and dies. All of this happens within the first ten minutes of the film in a wonderful silent montage of the couple who spend an entire lifetime together.

The beginning of the adventure begins when the now 78 year old husband who's name is Carl decides to make his and his wife's dream come true by attaching a bunch of balloons to his house sailing him to Paradise Falls, it's a way to keep his promise. Carl doesn't see much of a future at home anyway after he is being forced into a retirement home, but what he doesn't expect to find is a young boy named Russel who is trying earn a badge for his wilderness explorer group. Russell comes to Carl's house one day, and mistakenly gets on board when the house flies away.

The two make it to Paradise Falls but on the wrong end of where Carl plans to land his house, so they must walk there. It is here where they run into a tall but lovable endangered bird, who is being hunted by a famous old Adventurer Carl used to admire as a boy. There are also a bunch of talking dogs who try to track the bird. That's right, they talk through a radio transmitter embedded in their collar, the most vocal and lovable is a misfit dog named Doug who isn't as mean as the others and soon joins Carl and Russell on their adventure.

The first thing to notice in "Up" as in all Pixar films is the use of color, when the balloons appear for the first time from Carl's house, it's an extraordinary sequence, "Up" is definitely one of the brightest films made in a long time, in fact the whole film has an irresistible cheery quality to it, even the title evokes the kind of mood you're supposed to get when watching this film.

What sets "Up" apart from other films of its kind is its use of an old man as a protagonist. Carl is the heart of this film and his love for his departed wife grounds it to a type of reality that we can relate to, it's because of this, the film can also incorporate talking dogs, and still be believable. There is also the relationship between Carl and Russell that is very touching. Neither character is a cliche of the usual cartoon canon, Carl is a widower and there is always a kind of sadness that comes with him, his house is a symbol of his past, something he must get behind him. Russel is a kid from a broken home, we learn in a very touching scene he doesn't have a father figure, yet he isn't depressed about it, he has a positive attitude, but we know he's probably hurting as well.

We can sense that where these two characters are coming from motivates their actions in the film which makes it all the more enjoyable. The film was directed and written by Pete Docter and Bob Peterson, who have created a wonderful Hollywood movie, it's ironic that the films made in Hollywood which have the most heart these days seem to be coming from animation departments. Perhaps because animation is able to open up to a world of wonder because it is all make believe, but Pixar seems to understand better than most, there must always be something behind that wonder to add any weight to it.

"Up" is a joyous film, it represents the best Hollywood has to offer these days of entertainment, it's a film that doesn't lose any of its magnificence for me no matter how many times I watch it, I have a feeling it will last long after I'm gone, and more and more people will discover it as they did with films like "Pinocchio" or "Bambi".

The Lady Vanishes

One of the things, movies can do so well is play with our expectations, it's so interesting as a viewer to not know what's going to happen yet. This is one of the reasons why Alfred Hitchcock is considered such a master of cinema, he toys with our emotions, sending a plot in one direction, when we thought it was going another. "The Lady Vanishes", one of Hitchcock's early masterpieces and surely one of his most purely entertaining films is an exercise on playing with our expectations.

"The Lady Vanishes" opens with a very light touch, it takes place in an over crowded hotel in Europe where we get the chance to meet all the major players of the film. At the beginning, we really aren't even sure who the main character is, or who the lady the title refers to is. The most prominent characters in the beginning are two British cricket fans (Nauten Wayne and Basil Radford) who are worried about missing the upcoming tournament. These men in fact are minor, but provide the best comic relief. There is also a man and a woman posing as a married couple but are carrying on a secret affair (Cecil Parker and Linden Travers). Finally we meet the romantic leads, they are Iris (Margaret Lockwood) and Gilbert (Michael Redgrave). Their story starts off as more or less a romantic comedy, he annoys her to no end, yet you realize the first moment they meet that they will fall in love.

There is also Miss Froy (Dame May Whitty) a sweet natured elderly women who Iris meets on the train back to Britain. Miss Froy is indeed the woman eluded to in the title, when she suddenly for no reason she becomes missing with Iris falls asleep. Throughout the majority of the rest of the movie, Iris is convinced Miss Froy is on the train, yet no one seems to have any recollection she is there. Gilbert of course helps her out, even though he is skeptical at first as well.

Other characters are introduced on the train as well, and Hitchcock was a master at casting people with villainous or treacherous faces, throughout Iris' search, we know something isn't quite right, yet it's hard to put our finger on it. Before the train, Miss Froy is seen outside her hotel room listening to a singer from outside her window, but the singer is seen killed, later, before the train, an attempt on her life is made. We are meant to feel what Iris feels while she is searching the train, we the audience have seen Miss Froy, yet everyone else is saying we haven't. Iris is accused by a doctor (Paul Lukas) that she is delusional, and we also feel it with her, Hitchcock plays with this sense of uncertainty for as long as he can, almost until we can't take it anymore, when will he answer this burning question?

"The Lady Vanishes" was made at the height of Hitchcock's success in England, two years after this film, he would go on to Hollywood and make "Rebecca", and the rest as they say is history. People have often argued that Hitchcock lost some of his charm when he left England, and his films were mostly about craft. I can understand what they mean, yet I disagree with them, his British films do have a certain sensibility, at times they are more playful and there is always that kind of wit you don't see in the American films, yet that is something I think Hitchcock always brought with him no matter what nation he worked under. Hitchcock might've grown stale in Britain, and Hollywood seemed to be suited more for his kind of storytelling, and it's a good thing too, since he pretty much changed the way American films were made afterwards.

"The Lady Vanishes" however remains terrific entertainment, it's the type of film Hitchcock made so well, blending genres such as comedy, mystery, and suspense so well, it actually does keep you guessing. "The Lady Vanishes" actually wasn't always the first film I thought of when I thought of Hitchcock, yet when I watch it again and again, it becomes more and more delightful, it depicts a master right before he would conquer the film world.