Soldier in the Rain - Fight Scene - Courtesy of JMoney http://www.youtu...

Garden Of Evil (1954) - Title Sequence -

SOME CAME RUNNING (1958) Dir: Vincente Minnelli

How can you go wrong with this melodrama from 1958? It has ALL the ingredients of classic Hollywood filmmaking at the time. A GREAT CAST at THEIR PEAK...Frank Sinatra when he still was giving great performances as an alcoholic/failed writer who is in love with a schoolteacher who TEACHES writing (Martha Hyer). Dean Martin in a performance that should turn people around (and sure did at the time) as an alcoholic/diabetic/gambler. A charming ne'er do well with the ladies (for my money he gives the best performance in this, as great as everyone ELSE is), Shirley MacLaine (Oscar nominated for supporting actress) as a streetwalker who happens to love failed writer/ex-serviceman Frank,  Martha Hyer (who wound up marrying Producer Hal Wallis, that's another story) as an ALMOST becoming an old-maid schoolteacher who has CUT HERSELF OFF FROM HER "Basest feelings" (i.e., SEX) and consequently LOVE TOO, who is so screwed up she let's Frank make love to her in a "weak moment" and then won't forgive him or herself for allowing him to. So she punishes both him and herself by saying she is scared of how overwhelming and violent his feelings are AND HER OWN!. It's quite a character she has to play (also Oscar nominated that year with Shirley Mac Laine in the film, so they probably "cancelled each other out" that year, as often happens when more than 1 performer is nominated in the same category from the SAME film). Her performance is alternatively alluring yet frigid. 

Shirley MacLaine's performance is also rather remarkable. At the time she had been mostly in musical comedy and wasn't known for dramatic performances. She does overdue a bit in her scene with Martha Hyer whe she visits her school to plead with her over her love of the Sinatra character (too many sniffles which are NOT FELT, this is my feeling ONLY). But there are too many other scenes where she is spot on! Watch the scene at the near end where she and Frank are arguing after he has read a story of his that's just been piblished and he starts to "quiz" her about it! It is truly wonderous.
And, lest I forget, Arthur Kennedy (another Oscar nominee) as Frank's older brother who is financially successful as a jeweler, on the board of directors at the local bank, is involved in a marriage he is less than happy with (sexually and as it turns out personally too). He was younger brother Frank's guardian who had him placed in an orphanage when the parents died and had  Frank put there as a child when HE wanted to marry.  He could play this part of a morally conflicted individual (remember the year before in another Oscar nominated turn he raped Hope Lange, who played his STEP DAUGHTER in PEYTON PLACE!)  and does VERY WELL with basically the most stereotyped part in the film....The entire cast is wonderful.

The story is WONDERFUL. Minnelli's Direction is a just amazing in it's use of the CinemaScope frame (please do NOT LOOK AT THIS IN ANY OTHER WAY THAN WIDESCREEN 16 x 9, you ARE cheating yourself) and it's use of color. NOT to mention the subtlety of the performances which is funny considering in VARIOUS bios, Sinatra and Martin both had thought Minnelli a fuss pot and TOO meticulous. During the CLASSIC end SET PIECE, director Minnelli had dictated that the FERRIS WHEEL be moved to facilitate tha shot HE had in mind. Sinatra and Martin bolted from the set thinking Vincente had been being too much the director....But Minnelli GOT WHAT HE NEEDED...Just watch  it. It is quite astounding! It is akin to watching CHOREOGRAPHY. The motion objects and characters WITHIN the frame, the camera movement, the editing and music all contribute to the OVERALL effect which is serendipitous.
Cinematographer William Daniels outdoes himself here and goes a long way to showing why Sinatra hired HIM a lot years later as an associate producer on several projects. And not to forget Elmer Bernstein's great music score! Very collectible LP (yeah that's right VINYL) and I don't think it's been reissued on CD yet).

Just going to mention moments of the film that STICK with me rather than offer a plot synopsis...First the Sinatra bus ride into PARKMAN (the city of his birth on his way to visit his brother to pay him off for putting him in the orphanage for years, which his older brother Arthur Kennedy paid for,  how's THAT for SHOVING IT UP HIS ORIFICE!). Sinatra plays this scene like a throwaway natural was (which he indeed he was, whatever you think of him personally). He wakes up from the night on board this bus after obviously drunk. (He almost does not realize WHERE he even is) and the FIRST thing he searches for is his WALLET! And where he finds it and knowingly KNOWS where to find it is NOT IN HIS BACK POCKET! They didn't DO stuff like this then. It was pretty daring in 1958. 
Second,  the scene where he gets off the bus with Shirley MacLaine following him! They both are playing the scene so beautifully. He is someone who picked up Shirley the night before and almost doesn't remember her (because he was SO DRUNK that night), and she as someone who has fallen hopelessly in love with Frank even as a streetwalker or pig (significance of that term later) and is gullible and a bit stupid and uneducated, but whose love seeks to conquer Frank's insecurity, make him HAPPY at all costs, and is self-sacrificing (ultimately too as it turns out, in a plot change from JAMES JOYCE'S original novel ending). Just wonderfully well played by "ONE TAKE FRANK." Legend has it that Frank used to HATE going more than a couple of takes and the conflicts he had with the likes of Marlon Brando (on GUYS AND DOLLS, both personally and professionally, and even Edward G. Robinson (on A HOLE IN THE HEAD)
are well known, because these actors could or would go onto many takes and Frank would lose that spark after the first 2 as a rule).
Third, the scene where Frank meets up with Arthur Kennedy again after years of resentment that Frank has for his being a phony and a sellout (mainly of himself). Kennedy's supercilious self-righteousness in feigning concern for his brother Frank and Frank's disdain of all his brother's self-deceiving tricks of concern for Frank are really much more subtle than either actor was given credit for at the time. Don't forget ALSO that Arthur Kennedy had ALSO been Oscar nominated in the supporting actor category the year before in another great melodrama (not quite as inventively directed as this, but as "soap operas" go another winner, "PEYTON PLACE"). Kennedy was in a number of films before the bottle got the best of him years later and was in a number of Italian films before his death which while interesting for OTHER reasons, were far beneath his talent and gave him nothing to do as an actor.

Fourth, the scene where Sinatra and Dean Martin meet. Dean plays BAMA Dillert (where this name comes from is an enigma in itself, as I can think of NO other character in ANY fiction or even NON-fiction with THAT name). The verbal sense of humor and sensitivity (which Martin was NEVER noted for) are in abundance.  Forgive me at this point I should have mentioned
that this entire movie is very well written (and were it NOT for the fact that I have lent out my DVD copy, I'd be able to feign remembrance of just who the screenwriter was)...There is an awareness in both Sinatra & Martin (remember, he used to be a croupier) that shows just how mutually connected they are even verbally sparring with each other. Those in doubt about Martin AS AN actor (a funny story just came to mind which I must relate too). Check these out, THE YOUNG LIONS (1958, Dir: Edward Dmytryk, CAREER (1959, Dir: Joseph Anthony), RIO BRAVO (1959, Dir: Howard Hawks), TOYS IN THE ATTIC (1962, Dir: George Roy Hill, and already blogged about), and also  KISS ME, STUPID (1964, Dir: Billy Wilder).


As an aside before continuing with the film at hand.

While directing Dean in KISS ME, STUPID, there was a scene where Wilder was becoming, shall we say, "uncommonly TEUTONIC" in his direction of Martin. Giving him VERY specific direction which interfered with Martin's naturalistic quality in front of a camera.  Dean diffused the situation with humor. His response to Wilder which has been quoted in various biographies was the following;
"Well Jesus Christ, what the fuck? If you wanted an actor why didn't you go get fucking Marlon Brando?" Isn't that just as you would have thought his reaction would be? And if  THAT doesn't make you laugh I feel kind of sorry for you! Read Nick Tosches bio on Dean for many more stories like that one!


Fifth, the scene where Frank has just said he's going to marry Shirley Mac Laine's streetwalker, and ADMITS this PROUDLY to Dean. There is no scene like this ANYWHERE, that I can think of. Dean is totally incredulous at this admission. When Frank tells him this, his incredulity coupled with complete dumbfounded dejection at his friends' perceived stupidity and even a subtle sense of UNDERSTANDING WHY at the same time, is rather remarkable. This NUANCED playing which Dean Martin was never given his due for. In particular during this exchange note the GUTS it TOOK to call the Shirley MacLaine character a "pig" not once but twice in the same scene with just the right amount of regret too is remarkable. This after (it seems) his ONLY new found friend Frank has told him he's going to MARRY her. This was subversive STUFF for the 50's.
It has supremely inventive (in the classic style) direction by Minnelli (his late period films which are in many ways extensions  of the direction of his musicals ( probably THE BAND WAGON being the peak)...The last scene I will note of his the entire climactic scene. It takes place in a CARNIVAL atmosphere. I will not reveal the details of the plot here as I HATE spoliers. But suffice to say outside of the work of Douglas Sirk or Mario Bava (both directors who were absolute MASTERS OF PURE COLOR) can I think of many scenes in film history which are as blatantly inventive, luxuriant and appropriate as Minnelli and Daniels' use of color and camera movement, even the editing is perfect! It is a cimematic equivalent to Sam Peckinpah's show piece blood baths in his classics, the cinema of Mario Bava's use of color in a potboiler like "Blood on Black Lace", Dario Argento's classic giallo "Deep Red" with it's perfectly edited and shot murder sequences, or Minnelli's own musicals ONLY BETTER. A truly astounding set piece. For anyone wanting to see mainstream Hollywood film making at it's best go no further than this film. More later as I have the time...And thanks for all who have read and please do not be afraid to comment whether in agreement or otherwise. This is one of my top 10 favorite films. AND if you liked this one, catch HOME FROM THE HILL by Minnelli too. It stars Robert Mitchum, Anthony Perkins, George Peppard, Eleanor Parker and (that scene stealer character actor Dub Taylor)...released in 1960 also in succulent MILTON KRASNER shot CinemaScope. AND "TWO WEEKS IN ANOTHER TOWN" (1962) with Kirk Douglas, Edward G. Robinson (playing a film director much like Fritz Lang),  Claire Trevor,  Cyd Charisse, George Hamilton, Daliah Lavi (also in her standout performance in Mario Bava's THE WHIP AND THE BODY, aka "What!").  And what was perceived to be the prequel to TWO WEEKS IN ANOTHER TOWN, 1952's, THE BAD AND THE BEAUTIFUL w/ Kirk Douglas (Oscar nominated for Best Actor), Lana Turner, Dick Powell, Gloria Grahame (Oscar Winner for supporting actress),  and  Walter Pidgeon (he was in FORBIDDEN PLANET, he can do NO wrong!)

Minnelli's work continues to be underrated by all younger generation film goers who are NUMBED by MTV style editing (MAINLY), have no sense of color and it's ultimate meanings (but PREFER to be inundated with it no matter WHAT is may say), SURFACE performances of stereotypes and NOT FULL BLOODED CHARACTERS, stories which lack the minimum of verisimilitude and believability on basic levels, characters which have no basis for their motivations,  music scores which sound like third rate wallpaper (The school of HANS ZIMMER, who I have NEVER heard do a brilliant work yet, but manages to work all the time and very profitably). Sorry this is not an "eldritch" sensibility here. As Tim Lucas (of Video Watchdog and also the author of the finest film book imaginable "ALL THE COLORS OF THE DARK" on director MARIO BAVA) put it when referring to all his criticisms of TODAY'S FILMS versus yesterdays. And if he is NOW unwilling to admit it, I will for him. This "eldritch" sensibility about film and criticism of it is beyond technique. It has to do with entirety of any film and it's circumstances of production. 
Seek out the films I mention in this blog, though I have been lax in writing for it, I haven't been lax in writing and performing music, both of which music and film are the two things I know most about and love as pursuits. I hope any and all comments I may make in my blog are taken in the spirit of LOVE and wanting to turn people ON to achievements in film and music and all the related arts and spur YOU on to a further investigation of ALL of these art forms.