Notorious (1946), directed by Alfred Hitchcock. This is the one about drinking, about patriotism in the extreme, about government callousness, and about a mother and a father, especially a mother. Oh, it is also a spy thriller, set just after the Second World War and involving uranium (the atomic threat). The film uses rear projection extensively and the technique seems somehow appropriate in a film dealing with subterfuge and sleight of hand (literally in the scene with the key exchange). We also have many close-ups of bottles, of glasses, of cups and saucers to drive home the ominous aspect of drinking. It can be lethal! The morality of using a young woman's sexuality to obtain information is questionable, and the hero is possibly less likeable than the villain. Leopoldine Konstantin, in her only American film, plays Claude Rains's mother; she is memorable. Hitchcock appears about an hour into the film, drinking a glass of champagne at a party. He exits quickly. This is not my favourite of Hitchcock's films, but it just might be his first fully-formed Hitchcock movie with all his signature elements, a central love story that centres on trust and suspicion, a camera that has a voyeuristic lens, a playful manipulation of objects, framing that limits the characters' actions, and so on.

These Three (1936), directed by William Wyler. Adapted from Lillian Hellman's "The Children's Hour," this film tells the story of three people whose lives are ruined by malicious lies and gossip. The lies first come from a young schoolgirl, played by Bonita Granville, who is as bad as they come. She reminds me of the character in the 1956 film, The Bad Seed. She is selfish, mendacious, hysterical then sweet, bullying, and without an ounce of compassion. She is, as they say, a piece of work. Granville and Marcia Mae Jones, as the other principle schoolgirl, play their roles convincingly. The sets strike the right notes. The cinematography is in the best tradition of studio, in this case MGM, work (Gregg Toland is the cinematographer). The camera works seamlessly in order not to distract from the action or the actors. This is an impressive film about a plausible and disturbing subject.

Today We Live (1933), directed by Howard Hawks. From the story "Turnabout" (1932) by William Faulkner. Faulkner also wrote the dialogue for the film. Hawks and Faulkner, a potent duo, somehow miss the mark here. Oh the film has Hawks's familiar themes: men in groups, professionalism, and a hearty woman in the midst of things. But the story has all the excitement of a fight between cockroaches, something that, by the way, takes place in the film. One character, played by Roscoe Karns, keeps a cockroach named Wellington in a matchbox and brings it out to do battle with other cockroaches. No, I am not making this up. Late in the film Wellington takes one for the gypper, as it were. The film contains sequences of aerial battle taken from Howard Hughes's Hell's Angels (1930). It also contains some strange wardrobe worn by Ms Crawford. For some reason the film reminded me of Jules Dassin's later Reunion in France (1942), also starring Joan Crawford. All in all, this is for those interested in Howard Hawks and his friendship with William Faulkner.

 

The Man With Two Faces (1934), directed by Archie Mayo. Mayo is perhaps best known for Humphrey Bogart's breakout film, Petrified Forest (1936), but this little gem has its virtues. Its virtues are mostly in the acting category with Edward G. Robinson playing a dual role with finesse and Louis Calhern playing the slimy Vance with abundant scenery chewing. Calhern plays a Svengali character who dominates his wife, played by Mary Astor. He has been married previously, but his wife (or was it wives?) died mysteriously. He also is more attached to his two pet mice than to the women in his life. Anyway, this little closet drama plays out with charm and commitment on the part of the actors. The film provides a distraction for these strange and troubling times.