Call Northside 777

Call Northside 777 is a noir based on the true tale of Frank Wiecek, who was wrongly convicted for the murder of a police officer in Chicago. After nearly a decade in jail, his mother placed a classified ad in the local papers promising a reward for anyone who could provide evidence that would overturn her sons conviction. When reporter Jim McNeal is given the assignment of checking on the human interest side of the story, he ignites all of Chicago and begins quest to clear Wiecek while being opposed by the entire Chicago police force.

The only downside to Call Northside 777 is the confusing title. The phone number seems to have little to do with the movie, and been slapped on as a remnant of an era where titles didn’t always relate to the films they belonged to (I Wake Up Screaming is another film that comes to mind in terms of titles). This film is a gem – fantastic performance by Stewart, a inspiring true story I’d never heard of, and a marvel of writing and line delivery that was an identifier of the era in Hollywood. Needless to say, from start to finish, I was impressed.

I could immediately tell that I am a child of technology, as when I was watching this film, taking place in the 1940’s the thought of doing investigative reporting where your most high tech tools were a lie detector test and photo enlargement was confounding. All that popped into my head was the wonders of DNA testing and how the invention of photoshop could have killed McNeil’s new evidence. It was much harder to be an investigative reporter before the internet and cell phones.

Based purely on the fact that I didn’t know this film existed before I purchased it as part of the Fox 75th Anniversary lineup, I’m guessing it’s quite under viewed by today’s audiences. I think that should be changed. And so, I encourage you, give Call Northside 777 a watch.



Director: Henry Hathaway


Laura: What's the matter, won't the pieces fit together?
McNeal: Some of them, but they make the wrong picture.
Laura: Pieces never make the wrong picture. Maybe you're looking at them from the wrong angle.

The Loveless

As I’ve stated before, every biker film made since 1969 suffers from the curse of being compared to Easy Rider no matter how different the films may be. The Loveless suffers from this comparison. I’m not normally one to watch a mortorcycle film, but seeing as Kathryn Bigelow just became the first female to ever win the best director Oscar, I thought I’d like to see where she started and I am glad I did.

The Loveless is co-directed by Bigelow and Monty Montgomery and I have to say that it proves that from the get-go Bigelow didn’t concern herself about being a female director who should be concerned with woman’s issues – a rhetoric I hear quite a bit once the gender of a director is discovered by a critic. Instead, Bigelow concerns herself with the stuff of human emotion, namely conflict, rebellion, adversity and the hard to love hero. These are things normally placed within male protagonists and male-centric films, but the theme is universal to all.

In The Loveless, like The Wild One, the conflict comes from a group of bikers that head into town and stir up the prejudices and fears of the residents. The bikers are all ex-cons, unafraid of the locals disdain and willing to use the few residents who find them appealing, creating an end for their journey that ruins the town in a way The Wild One could not and the nomadic journey of Easy Rider didn’t allow.

This film is an exercise in the study of a rebellious character, but for those who want to see how Bigelow became who she is, or want to watch Willem Dafoe shine in his first major role this is a definite film to see.



Directors: Kathryn Bigelow & Monty Montgomery



Vance: You never can tell on a day like this- things could be goin' jake one minute, then, presto- before you know it, you're
history.

Laura

Laura_035Pikturz
Originally uploaded by Pikturz

There are great film noirs and there are imitations of great noirs - Laura is not an imitation. This is a mystery that works hard at what it gives the audience, and if the viewer is willing to uncover the layers of plot the payoff is worth it. I love a complicated film that keeps me guessing. I see so many movies, that seeing a film that keeps me guessing (and makes sense in the end) is a rare thing. Laura is nothing, if not complicated.

What keeps Laura fresh, and easy to follow despite it’s complicated tale of murder and betrayal are the characters. Each character from minor to major all have a distinct voice and purpose in the tale that unfolds, right down to Laura’s housekeeper.

If I had any complaint about Laura, it would be that it ends too abruptly. The killer is revealed, and then the end credits immediately roll. I can attribute that to a style that fit the films of the era though and remember that after seeing the original The Italian Job - any ending is less abrupt.



Waldo Lydecker: Love is eternal. It has been the strongest motivation for human actions throughout history. Love is stronger than life. It reaches beyond the dark shadow of death.

The Wild One

The Wild One was made a bit more than a decade before Easy Rider and yet I can’t help but compare the former to the latter. That’s the curse of making the definitive counter-culture movie – you even overshadow Brando.

The Wild One is about a bike gang in the 50’s that roll into a small town out of boredom and discover the divisive nature of the town. Within 24 hours they manage to overrun the town, getting neighbor to turn on neighbor until they inspire a modern day mob ala Frankenstein out to get Johnny and his gang to either kill them or get them out of town. The films really as simple as that, it feels as though it was trying to do for leather jackets and motorcycles what Reefer Maddness did for MJ.

As always, the one saving grace of this film was Brando. That man could light up a silver screen when he turned it on, and even in a very Rebel Without A Cause kind of phase, he ignites here. Brando was a man that could do and would do anything he wanted in the industry and it’s evident here that he was a cinematic force to be recokened with.





Director: Laslo Benedek


Mildred: What're you rebelling against, Johnny?
Johnny: Whaddya got?

On the Waterfront

Waterfront_077Pikturz
Originally uploaded by Pikturz

On the Waterfront is one of the films that’s bandied about on critic’s top 100 lists, when artists and historians talk about the career of Marlin Brando, and even in the dialogue about unions or the mob. Why? Because the story of Terry Malloy is just as relevant to the American spirit of rebellion and perseverance today as he was when the film was first released.

Let me start by saying that Brando is amazing in this film. What should have been a really simple character is given depth and a soul by the life Brando breathed into him and I can’t imagine how gleeful that must have made the director during filming.

However, the single favorite element in this film for me had to be Father Barry; the priest moved out of the abbey and into the streets because of some harsh words from a parishioner is a picture of the church that I rarely see in the movies. Father Barry gets shaken out of apathy, thinking he can only work God’s work inside his four walls only to remember that God and His people exist outside those walls too, and perhaps he can help them. Barry becomes a champion for the dock workers, taking on their challenges and their dangers in the hopes that he can make a difference.

There is a reason this film is lauded by historians and critics alike as one of the best. It simply is. On the Waterfront is a film that has a soul that’s lived on long after it’s initial audiences sat in a darkened theatre and watched 24fps go before their eyes.




Director: Elia Kazan