A Bloody Good Time

A very important film from 1935 that is probably not as well known today as it should be, the swashbuckling action adventure Captain Blood, directed by Michael Curtiz (The Sea Wolf, The Breaking Point), featured numerous important happenings that would leave rippling effects on the industry for many years to come. Though Curtiz had immigrated to the United States years before, having some success in the silent era with Noah’s Ark (1928) and with the early sound pictures Doctor X (1932) and Mystery of the Wax Museum (1933), it was this bigger budget extravaganza that would help him become a top tier film maker, someone who would go on to make an inordinate number of future classics, including The Adventures of Robin Hood, Angels with Dirty Faces. Yankee Doodle Dandy, Mildred Pierce, and perhaps most importantly, Casablanca... among others.

A fun little fact to start... the colourful monikers utilized by Quentin Tarantino as criminal code names in his breakout feature Reservoir Dogs (1992) was done in homage to the film reviewed here today, Joseph Sargent’s crime thriller The Taking of Pelham One Two Three (1974) – which used a similar method to keep the criminals unknown to others. Set in the cement underground that is the New York City subway system, all cold, rugged, and dirty, it seems like any other day. . . that is, until these code named gun wielding assailants, led by accented mastermind Mr. Blue

Leaning heavily into some outrageous sight gags best described as over the top slapstick, co-writer and director Blake Edwards reunited with star Peter Sellers for this, the fifth feature of their illustrious comedy franchise, titled Revenge of the Pink Panther (1978). As always, Chief Inspector Jacques Clouseau (Sellers – Being There) continues to be a thorn in the side of the criminal underworld – despite his klutzy ways. Infuriating Philippe Douvier (Robert Webber – 12 Angry Men), a French businessman as well as the secret head of the largest drug conglomerate in the country, as the New York Mafia feels like their Parisian counterparts aren’t pulling their weight, he decides to okay the assassination of Clouseau.

Sometimes, even the best laid plans for your future, discussed and organized for years, Backfire (1950). A post World War II, Los Angeles set film noir directed by Vincent Sherman proves that in life, nothing is a guarantee. Set over Christmas and New Years 1948, even though we are three years on from the conclusion of the War, soldier Bob Corey (Gordon McRae) is still convalescing at an army hospital after undergoing numerous back surgeries. Relying on fellow military tank buddy Steve Connelly (Edmond O’Brien – D.O.A.; The Hitch-Hiker) to do all the legwork (and military paperwork) to fulfil their long talked about plan... that is, to find a ranch property that they can go oil hunting on, they finally think “we’re out of the jungle now”... alas, they’re far from it.

Some people just have a natural aura... a mesmeric vibe that draws people to them. Whether it’s looks, personality, a combination of both, or perhaps something else that’s completely inexplicable, other human beings are just instinctively attracted to them. Of course, that happened in the comedy There’s Something About Mary (1998), but long before that, a similar scenario involving the titular character in the legendary film noir Laura (1944) occurred, all orchestrated by producer and eventual director Otto Preminger – River of No Return)... but more on that complicated tale later. Opening with the news that Laura Hunt (Gene Tierney – The Ghost and Mrs. Muir; Night and the City) is dead by way of murder, it is all told by way of our voice-over narrator (and famed writer/radio voice) Waldo Lydecker (Clifton Webb) – there is no denying that he is one of the gents truly infatuated with the lady.