365 Days: #33 The Long Night (1947)

I first watched this movie in 2017 and would have been interested in watching it for the cast alone, even if I hadn't already seen the film that inspired it. 

#33  The Long Night

Joe Adams, a former soldier, has shot a man, and then refuses to open the door to the police, instead shooting at them through the door. They run away to seek reinforcements, allowing Joe time to reflect on the circumstances that led up to him becoming a murderer. We learn he is a working stiff with a sandblasting job that's damaging his health, who falls in love with a cute, young girl, who's been taken in by charming creep, Maximillian. After Joe catches her sneaking around to see Maximillian perform, he takes up with Maximillian's former assistant for a no strings relationship. Joe and JoAnn finally decide they love each other enough to commit to one another, but Maximillian isn't having it, and he confronts Joe in a way that isn't very smart. JoAnn mounts a last ditch attempt to save Joe.

"A murderer. A killer. Thought I was all through with killing. Had no use for it. Hated it. Maybe even more than you. Well, here I am. You ever see a killer before? I've seen plenty. And plenty killed. Lots of murderers around. All kinds of them. And lots of ways of getting killed. Everybody kills a little bit, quiet like. With nobody knowing it." 

This movie is definitely worth watching, but of the two films, I think it's fair to say that Le jour se lève is a superior movie. Henry Fonda has a lot more dialogue to explain what's going on inside his head, taking away some of the imagination required, and Barbara Bel Geddes, in her first screen role, narrates an extended sequence explaining thoroughly her relationship with Maximillian. Vincent Price is as entertaining as ever, hamming it up in the role of charlatan, and Ann Dvorak is comparable to Arletty, though she maintained a safe distance from Henry Fonda in the bedroom scene, lest we think there was a possibility that they were doing more than drinking beer and snacking on pretzels. The Hollywood ending is less powerful than the punch-in-the-gut ending of the French version. The sets in this film have the same visual style as the French version, which makes it interesting to compare the two.

The Long Night

Le jour se lève

The Long Night

Le jour se lève

The Long Night

Le jour se lève

The Long Night

Le jour se lève

The Long Night

Le jour se lève

The Long Night

Le jour se lève

The Long Night

Le jour se lève

The Long Night

Le jour se lève

The Long Night

Le jour se lève

The Long Night

Le jour se lève

The Long Night

Le jour se lève

The Long Night

Le jour se lève

The Long Night

Le jour se lève

The Long Night

Le jour se lève

The Long Night

Le jour se lève

The Long Night

Le jour se lève

The Long Night

Streaming Streams No Mortal Ever Dared to Stream Before: Caught (1949)

Deep into that darkness peering, long I stood there, wondering, fearing, doubting, streaming streams no mortal ever dared to stream before. --Edgar Allen Not

Welcome to what I hope will be a regular feature, to venture forth into the abyss of streaming TV to pull out something from the flotsam and expose it to the light.

I recently acquired this newfangled thingy called Fire TV at a greatly reduced price during a members-only day of being incentivized to spend money. It's a flat black box and somehow they crammed at least a bazillion different movie and TV shows into it. I don't know how they accomplished that awesome feat and I don't care. I also don't know where the Fire is, but hopefully it won't burn the house down. So far, I love this thing.

I have cruised the listings to find some interesting and obscure movies to add to my watchlist and I will be sharing my discoveries with you, for good or ill. Join me in my folly.

Caught

Today's adventure in streaming TV leads us to a film directed by Max Ophüls from 1949. This one caught my eye  because it has Barbara Bel Geddes, whose performances I enjoyed in Alfred Hitchcock Presents and Vertigo. I didn't recognize James Mason by name, but by his familiar accent as Captain Nemo from 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea and Philipp Vandamm from North by Northwest. Although Robert Ryan has appeared in many movies, this will be the first one in which I've seen him. Natalie Schafer, who I remember as Mrs. Howell on Gilligan's Island, plays a very small part as charm school teacher, Dorothy Dale. Also appearing briefly as a "store customer in flowered hat" is Barbara Billingsley, the well known mom from Leave it to Beaver. The picture and sound quality on this film is pretty decent, likely due to the involvement of UCLA Film Archives. I am giving this a fairly thorough treatment, which means you may not need to watch the movie if you read to the end. I'll give you fair warning before I get there. Here's the description given on Amazon:

After marrying a millionaire, a young woman eventually realizes his abuse and exploitation are symptoms of insanity. When she tries to obtain a divorce, he demands custody of their child. Desperate, she plots his murder.