I'm not so sure it was unintentional; Universal and other studios often cast Una O'Connor (the Innkeeper's wife, Jenny Hall) as the "comic relief" character. Conversely, E.E. Clive (Constable Jaffers) generally played the stereotypical "irritable, British stiff upper lip" characters regardless of whether they were aristocrats or butlers, but may also have been cast in The Invisible Man for comic relief because that kind of overly formal character would be a stark contrast to the working class inhabitants of the village. Regardless, the comic relief seen so early in the movie does help to "ease" the audience into the story.Lat movie was The Invisible Man. The innkeeper's wife's reaction is still unintentionally hilarious, as is the cop's stereotypical "What's all this?"
Sealed Cargo with Dana Andrews and Claude Rains. I really enjoyed it. Unfortunately, I can't find the DVD for a decent price!
I'm not so sure it was unintentional; Universal and other studios often cast Una O'Connor (the Innkeeper's wife, Jenny Hall) as the "comic relief" character. Conversely, E.E. Clive (Constable Jaffers) generally played the stereotypical "irritable, British stiff upper lip" characters regardless of whether they were aristocrats or butlers, but may also have been cast in The Invisible Man for comic relief because that kind of overly formal character would be a stark contrast to the working class inhabitants of the village. Regardless, the comic relief seen so early in the movie does help to "ease" the audience into the story.
James Whale was brilliant at blending the humor and the thrills and chills without making either feel as if they had been inserted with a crowbar. His movies (the few I've seen, anyway) have a nice, natural flow to them, and if he wasn't in the editing room he and film editor Ted Kent must surely have had the same mindset.Also remember that The Invisible Man was directed by James Whale, whose style incorporated humor along with thrills and chills. I mean, The Old Dark House and Bride of Frankenstein also have plenty of humor (and Bride includes return appearances by Una O'Connor and E.E. Clive, who were part of the Hollywood "British Colony" along with Whale).
I agree, though I found the movie a bit lacking overall. By the time the credits rolled, I felt I knew Ian McKellen better than I knew James Whale.Recommendation: Ian McKellen is wonderful as older, retired has-been James Whale in Gods and Monsters (1998).
"Porky's Double Trouble," a wonderful black-and-white Looney Tune from 1937 directed by the brilliant and gifted Frank Tashlin. This is a perfect little gem of a cartoon, which also manages to succinctly capture every ridiculous cliche of 1930s crime melodrama moviemaking -- the fast cuts, the montage effects, the seedy plot, the hardboiled characters. Even the narrator is bona fide -- he's none other than Charles Frederick Lindsley, who narrates, without a trace of snark, in exactly the same cast-iron style he used on the "Calling All Cars" radio program. Should have won an Oscar that year as best short, but then as now the Academy has absolutely no sense of humor.
The Big Sleep (1946)
A young Dorothy Malone!
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She delivers an incredible performance of passionate sexual verve in a controlled-for-the-code way that might be the best of the entire era. From a bit aloof, to modestly interested, to I'm becoming attracted, to I'm going to fire this up myself, to let go! - Malone, in this scene, through facial expressions, eye contact and body English, conveys more sexual energy and desire than all the gratuitous sex in movies and TV shows today manage.
I’m a "The Big Sleep” junkie!
I have this 1946 version that TCM shows every now and then.
Also the original 1945 version, plus a documentary on why the changes were made
with scenes to illustrate the differences.
I made a copy to include scenes that were left out into my own version
and added a slight sepia-tone coloring simply because I like it.
Btw: This two versions is probably still available in DVD.
Chandler liked his tricky, convoluted plots. His Philip Marlowe stories always seemed more tangled, plot-wise, than Dashiell Hammett's -- at least when we compare Maltese Falcon (the novel, though the Bogart version is very faithful to it) and Big Sleep. A Chandler novel, or even shorter piece, would have something like "Persons A, C, and E are killed, but not all by the same person; B bumped off A, D took out E, but E shot C before he himself was offed."I always liked the movie, but for decades never fully embraced it because I could never fully follow it.
Then I read the book and learned the plot, so now I thoroughly enjoy the movie as I can just appreciate its value as a film without being frustrated that I don't know what the heck is going on half the time.
That said, while I really like the movie and love the bookshop scene, I enjoy "The Maltese Falcon" as a movie more.
Chandler liked his tricky, convoluted plots. His Philip Marlowe stories always seemed more tangled, plot-wise, than Dashiell Hammett's -- at least when we compare Maltese Falcon (the novel, though the Bogart version is very faithful to it) and Big Sleep. A Chandler novel, or even shorter piece, would have something like "Persons A, C, and E are killed, but not all by the same person; B bumped off A, D took out E, but E shot C before he himself was offed."
(Hey, not a bad outline for a story --!)