Double Indemnity (1944)
Beloved TV dad, Fred MacMurray, plays a shady insurance salesman who plots and performs the murder of a local businessman with the blessing and assistance of the man's wife, played by the sultry Barbara Stanwyck. All that stands between a big time payday and romantic bliss is the watchful eye and brilliant mind of chief claims investigator Barton Keyes, played by the great Edward G. Robinson. Double Indemnity is must-see film noir. It's got everything a noir fan could ever need: snappy dialogue, a grisly murder, sexy dames, a shady ethnic stereotype, a heartbreaking double cross, Dictaphones, etc. If Mike, Chip, and Robbie had been aware of their father's activities in the early 40's, they'd be horrified (and maybe a little intrigued).
My grade: A
Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953)
Though I do not agree with its title, I can say that Gentlemen Prefer Blondes as a movie is a likable romp of the brainless variety. There's really nothing much here. The songs are instantly forgettably, with the exception of "Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend"; the story is simple and empty-headed; and the gender roles and obligations are clearly defined. Remember ladies: it's OK to get out there and playfully (i.e. non-sexually) mix it up with the men folk, as long as at the end of the day you settle down, get married, and fly right. That being said, I enjoyed Gentlemen Prefer Blondes for what it is: a musical-comedy trifle with some genuine laughs and more than a little T & A to make the whole endeavor that much more palatable. I totally get why people are still obsessed with Marilyn Monroe. She is delightful as the bubble-headed half of a singing duo (Jane Russell is the smart, non-blonde one) who knows what she wants from a man (diamonds) and knows how to get it (shameless flirtation).
My grade: B-
So inspiring: Jessica Rabbit's sparkly, curvy-hugging outfit in Who Framed Roger Rabbit? was clearly inspired by the dresses donned by Russell and Monroe during their opening number. And Madonna's video for "Material Girl" is an homage to Marilyn Monroe's memorable performance of "Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend" late in the film.
According to Jordan Beall: "Science has proven that gentle men do prefer blondes. But violent, ill-mannered men do not." (SHOW ME THE STUDIES!)
Cool Hand Luke (1967)
Cool Hand Luke (1967)
Luke Jackson is a former war hero who gets picked up by the cops for being drunk in public and slicing the heads off of parking meters. For these terrible crimes--we're never told whether or not he actually stole any money out of the aforementioned meters, and later in the film he mentions he only did it to "settle a score"--Luke is sentenced to two years (???) in a Georgia prison camp. After befriending the camp's top dog, an inmate called Dragline, Luke's life at the work camp floats by fairly easy, or as easy as one's life can float by in a sweltering Georgia prison camp. It isn't until Luke receives word of his mother's death that he starts to plot his escape. Anticipating this, the warden decides to lock Luke up in the dreaded Box for a few days. This only fuels Luke's hatred for his keepers. See, Luke Jackson, like Randle Patrick McMurphy, is the kind of guy who doesn't like being told what to do, so the night he is released from the Box, Luke takes off. He is captured and promptly fitted with a set of leg chains for his trouble. That doesn't stop him from escaping again and again. Oh, Cool Hand Luke, you lovable scamp! Will you ever learn? (SPOILER ALERT: No. He doesn't ever learn.)
My grade: B+
On egg eating: I wonder how many people have tried to eat 50 hard-boiled eggs in one hour after watching Cool Hand Luke. I bet tons. I wonder how many of them totally died.
On our Lord and Savior: There sure is a lot of Christ imagery attached to old Cool Hand (his crucifixion pose following the egg eating contest; his repeated conversations with the "old man" (i.e. God); the picture he sends his fellow inmates after his second escape being torn into four neat pieces and later, taped back together etc.), none of it deserved. I like Luke and all, but he is no Jesus Christ. (From Jon Morgan via Facebook: "Gotta check the deleted scenes where he walks on water, brah.")
Hey, Cool Hand Luke's got musical numbers too!:
One more week. Be here for the exciting conclusion next Sunday. And then a little something special to wrap up the whole summer viewing thingy. Hooray.
