Every now and then, you come across a movie, whether it’s on a streaming platform, flipping through the channels on cable, going to a small, local theater, or back years ago, picking up something random at a video rental store. Let me tell you how I first came across The Third Man. I was in college, taking film-related classes at school, and there was a guy named Louis who acted as a librarian of sorts for the film collection at the school. His job mostly consisted of sitting in a chair and keeping tabs on which professors are borrowing which movies at what times. It was thrilling stuff. He had a lot of time on his hands, so he would pop in a movie at his desk when he wasn’t busy and sit there and watch it. And he got paid to do it.

Based on my school/work schedule, I got to most of my classes 20-30 minutes early and have to sit out in the hallway while classes were going on. Louis’ library was just around the corner, but I wouldn’t normally know anything about what he was watching as he would usually have headphones in. However, on this fateful day, his ears were naked, and I heard the strangest tune coming from the library. It sounded like a mix between a guitar and a harp, and it had a nice bounce to it. Later, I would learn that the instrument was called a zither, and the movie he was watching was The Thin Man. I watched maybe 10-15 minutes of the movie with him, so intrigued by the soundtrack I was, and I immediately was enthralled. The visuals of a post-war Vienna, the camera angles and stark lighting, even the narration from Joseph Cotten held my attention.

Upon Louis’ recommendation, I checked out my public library to see if they had a copy, and sure enough, they did. I took a well-used DVD copy of the movie home, and sat through the entire thing. It wasn’t until about the 40-minute mark that I remembered the popcorn I had in the microwave. Anyway, because the disc was rather scratched up, it froze on me just as a little cat walks in front of a doorway where a foot is barely revealed from behind the shadows. If you’ve seen the movie, you know exactly what scene I’m talking about. I had to find a way to finish it. Because I’m a snob, I try to buy Blu-rays when I can instead of DVDs, so I snagged an out-of-print copy on eBay for $130. Watch the movie so you can believe me when I say it was worth it.

Holly Martins (Joseph Cotten), a Western author, travels to Vienna after receiving a job offer from his friend Harry Lime. Only trouble is, once Martins arrives, he learns that Lime is dead. At the funeral, he hears of two men who witnessed Lime’s death – he was run over by a car while crossing the street – who carted his body to the side of the road. Martins seeks out Anna Schmidt (Alida Valli), Lime’s girlfriend, to console her and discuss how neither of them believe the stories they hear of Harry’s death. In fact, as they talk, they realize there are conflicting accounts of the incident and Martins is convinced that there was a third man to help transport the body. In order to find out what really happened to his friend, Martins decides to investigate and find out who could possibly be the third man. The chase sequence in the sewers alone makes the film worth a watch, but there’s much here to be witnessed. Do yourself a favor and watch this movie.

Bonus Review: Double Indemnity

Another Billy Wilder classic. The only other filmmaker I have seen juggle both intense drama and ridiculous comedy is Howard Hawks. It’s not a feat many can do and do well. But what makes Double Indemnity so special is two-fold. One, it is the blueprint by which nearly every other noir goes by: the chiaroscuro effect of light and dark, the Venetian blind look (where the light casts the shadows of window blinds over the characters to make them look like prison bars), the femme fatale, the doomed protagonists, and so on. Every movie in the genre after it can trace something back to Double Indemnity. And two, it had the writing power of Billy Wilder and the two biggest names in pulp fiction of the era: James M. Cain, who wrote the book that the film is based on as well as The Postman Always Rings Twice and Mildred Pierce, and Raymond Chandler, who wrote the novels for the Philip Marlowe detective character as well as the screenplay for Double Indemnity. The crime-story know-how attached to this film has yet to be duplicated in any crime film since.

Walter Neff (Fred MacMurray) is an insurance salesman who meets the wife of one of his clients, Phyllis Dietrichson (Barbara Stanwyck). When she brings up the idea of getting a life insurance policy for her husband without his knowledge, Neff agrees to help her get one, finding himself attracted to Phyllis’ calculating nature. Together, they hatch a plot to get the policy and then killing her husband. If they can make it look like an accident, they can invoke the double indemnity clause, which means double the payout. However, Neff’s boss, Barton Keyes (Edward G. Robinson), is not taken for a fool, and tries to investigate the nature of Mr. Dietrichson’s death and Phyllis’ role in it. As things play out, Walter and Phyllis lose faith and trust in each other, and their relationship deteriorates. All the while, Keyes gets closer and closer to discovering the truth.

In 1989, Martin Scorsese was invited by Akira Kurosawa to come to Japan and play the part of Vincent Van Gogh in his film, Dreams. In his downtime, Scorsese came across a novel called Silence by the Japanese novelist, Shūsaku Endō, and read it. As soon as he returned to the U.S., he obtained the film rights to Silence. Fast forward to 2015 and he is finally able to make good on that purchase and begin work on his film adaptation. 26 years for a passion project is not the longest amount of time a movie has spent in development hell, but it’s up there. Silence is the last installment of a spiritual trilogy of sorts over crises of faith, following The Last Temptation of Christ and Kundun, and funnily enough, it’s the only one that didn’t receive backlash upon release, presumably because the real life figures portrayed in the film are not well known or considered sacred, like Jesus Christ or the Dalai Lama, to get religious groups up in arms.

Two young Jesuit priests, Rodrigues and Garupe, are informed that their mentor, Ferreira, has renounced his faith while acting as a missionary in Japan. Rodrigues and Garupe go to Japan, following a man named Kichijiro, who is trying to make up for renouncing his faith to save his life while the rest of his family died as martyrs. They arrive in Japan and are hidden by a local village because Christians are being killed for their beliefs and anyone hosting them is also put to death. The two priests learn that the shogunate is capturing reported Christians and making them stomp on a fumi-e (a tablet image of the crucified Christ) as a sign of them renouncing their faith, and those who do not are drowned and cremated so they cannot receive a proper Christian burial. Rodrigues and Garupe separate and Kichijiro betrays Rodrigues to the authorities, getting him captured. A man who is called The Inquisitor forces Rodrigues to witness one of these drownings, which involves hanging the Christians on simple crosses in the ocean until the tide comes in. Kichijiro is thrown in prison as well and Rodrigues hears his confession. Rodrigues is taken to meet Ferreira, who is now fully assimilated into Japanese culture, apostate, and believes Christianity does not belong in Japan. Later on, Rodrigues is taken to where five Christians are being tortured. He is informed they have already apostatized, but they will continue to be tortured until Rodrigues also apostatizes. Rodrigues struggles and wonders if it is self-centered to refuse when it will end the suffering of others. He hears a voice in his head, supposedly Jesus, telling him it’s okay to step on the fumi-e and that his purpose was to be trampled on for the sake of others, and so Rodrigues does. Rodrigues is assimilated into Japanese life and is ordered to help Ferreira sort through Danish paraphernalia to look for Christian propaganda. When Rodrigues dies, he is given a Japanese burial and his wife places a crucifix in his hand, implying that he never apostatized in his heart and remained a “Kakure Kirishitan” – a “hidden Christian”.

Silence is named for the supposed silence from God that Rodrigues wrestles with. It’s a very spiritual/psychological movie but the near-three hour runtime won’t do most people any favors. However, if you’re willing to put your brain to work, Silence is so very rewarding. The best-case scenario for most Christians is to die a martyr’s death – never verbally denying the God they claim to love – but as this movie points out, there’s also the potential for a lot of pride in that mentality. So, the film proposes a very interesting thought: Is it okay to deny Christ (even in word only) if it means others will be spared? I don’t have an answer for that, but I don’t believe it’s as cut-and-dry as others might argue. Considering how black and white theology is most of the time, it can be so interesting when there’s a grey area to explore, and that’s what makes the movie so incredible.

Bonus Review: A Hidden Life

Another film by the wonderfully poetic Terrence Malick, A Hidden Life is another true-story war film about a soldier that cannot reconcile his faith and his country’s demand that he fight and kill (if I had a nickel for every one of those I’ve seen, I’d have three nickels, which isn’t much, but it’s weird that it’s happened thrice). The only difference between this film and Hacksaw Ridge – and it is a big difference – is that Franz is Austrian, meaning his country’s authority is Adolf Hitler, and Hitler is much less forgiving of defiance against country than Americans. The film covers a lot of ground, and even though it moves slowly, it earns its three-hour runtime – a trait that it shares with Silence. Also similar to Silence, the film is a meditation on faith under God’s deafening silence and that is a theme that I think should be explored more.

Franz Jagerstatter is a farmer in the Austrian village of St. Radegund. He and his wife, Franziska, live a quiet life raising their three daughters. However, when World War II breaks out, Franz is called for basic training in the German army, spending months away from his family. However, he gets to go home when France surrenders as it’s assumed the war is almost over. However, the war continues and soon Franz and the other men of the village are called to fight. Their first requirement is to swear allegiance to Hitler and the Third Reich. Despite conversations with his neighbors, the mayor and the Bishop of Linz, Franz refuses to do so. Franz understands that his refusal will result in his imprisonment and likely his death, he remains steadfast, finding strength in Franziska and God. Franz is arrested and imprisoned, and waits several months for his trial. He and Franziska write letters to each other, and Franziska and their children deal with the hostility of the rest of the villagers. Eventually, Franziska is allowed to see Franz. They reaffirm their love for one another, and Franz stays committed to his faith in God despite God’s apparent silence in his situation. When Franz goes to trial, he is quickly found guilty and sentenced to death. He is given several more opportunities to pledge his allegiance and is also promised he will not face combat, but still he refuses. The real Franz Jagerstatter was executed by the Third Reich on August 9, 1943.

A Hidden Life, which was released in 2019, was Terrence Malick’s first plot-driven film since 2005. Because of the change in filming style, it was in post-production for over two years, slowly being pieced together in a way Malick liked, that flowed more with what he was used to. Malick, who is known for his poetic way of filming natural beauty, shines in the contemplative nature of this story. The camera moves across the mountainous German landscape and through the empty prison walls as if we are exploring it for ourselves and the movie’s narrative is happening around us. It’s very immersive. That immersion is beneficial, especially with the inward struggle Franz is going through. It allows to feel it with him. It allows us to empathize with his circumstance and pray along with him that his choice is the right one.

His Girl Friday is a screwball spin on a play, called The Front Page, about a newspaper editor and his star reporter who do everything in their power to get the exclusive scoop on a man who has escaped prison to avoid the gallows. His Girl Friday twists it up slightly by making the reporter a woman, and making the two leads a divorced couple where the reporter is now about to marry someone else. It adds extra stakes for the characters and a whole other layer to the chaos that ensues throughout the film. Cary Grant stars as the editor, Walter Burns, and Rosalind Russell is his star reporter, Hildy Johnson. Ralph Bellamy rounds out the leading cast in another role where he’s the new beau of Cary Grant’s ex (The Awful Truth is the first). The movie is hilarious, sharp-witted and quick. The director, Howard Hawks, encouraged his actors to improvise and be spontaneous in their performances, and he also wanted them to step on each other’s lines in an attempt to be the record holder for fastest film dialogue – a record I believe the film still holds to this day. The dialogue clocks in at 240 words per minute. For comparison, most other movies at the time ran at 90 words per minute, and we talk casually to each other, we average 140 words per minute.

Walter learns that his ex-wife, Hildy, is about to marry an insurance salesman, Bruce. He convinces Hildy to cover one last story: the execution of a bookkeeper named Earl, who is convicted of killing a police officer. She interviews Earl in prison and he claims he shot the officer by accident. Meanwhile, Walter does whatever he can to keep Hildy from leaving and accuses Bruce of stealing a watch, which lands him temporarily in jail. Hildy bails Bruce out of jail and quits Walter’s paper right away, but just then, Earl escapes from prison and she becomes glued to the story. Walter frames Bruce again, and gets him sent back to jail, but instead of bailing him out right away, Hildy prioritizes the story. Earl sneaks into a deserted press room to hide, but Hildy finds him and he is forced to hold her off at gunpoint. At the sound of the other reporters returning to the room, Hildy hides Earl in a rolltop desk. Hildy and Walter are forced to keep police, the other reporters, and Bruce’s mother away so they can get their scoop to varying degrees of success. In the end, Earl is revealed and Hildy and Walter are arrested for assisting his escape. However, the governor issues a reprieve on the execution and Hildy and Walter are released. Hildy realizes that Walter still loves her and, after bailing Bruce out of jail again, Hildy and Walter plan to remarry.

His Girl Friday has practically no soundtrack until the end of the film, though you wouldn’t notice for how fast-paced everything about the movie is. It also is an early example of breaking the fourth wall, which is when characters in a production speak or nod directly to their audience. Cary Grant adlibs some of his lines and at one point claims that Bruce, played by Ralph Bellamy, looks like Ralph Bellamy. He later uses the name Archie Leach (Cary Grant’s legal name) when talking about an off-screen character. His Girl Friday has been remade multiple times and has been referenced by several filmmakers as one of their favorite movies. It’s crept into pop culture in many ways. Particularly, Russell’s Hildy is the inspiration for Lois Lane in the Superman series. It’s a classic that begs to be watched and rewatched and rewatched, if only to actually understand the dialogue.

Bonus Review: Arsenic and Old Lace

Frank Capra was mostly known for his idealistic humanist films such as Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, Mr. Deeds Goes to Town, and It’s A Wonderful Life, but two years before that last one was released, Capra released Arsenic and Old Lace. Because of the serious nature of these films, Arsenic and Old Lace almost seems like an outlier, but Capra was mostly known for his screwball comedies before the late 30s. His career consisted of classics like Platinum Blonde, Mr. Deeds Goes to Town and It Happened One Night before he turned into the king of the patriotically critical. What does make Arsenic and Old Lace stand out somewhat is the horror underlining of the story. Even though it’s a comedy, it is still darker than the majority of Capra’s output.

This screwball comedy takes place on Halloween night, and Mortimer Brewster (Cary Grant) has just been married. He runs home to tell his aunties only to discover that his sweet, old aunties have a dead body in the window seat. In fact, they have been killing sad old men for awhile, trying to help them out of their lonely, depressing lives. From there, the film spirals out of control as Mortimer fends off his brothers, Teddy (who believes he’s the president with the same name) and Jonathan (who looks just like Boris Karloff and is an actual killer), asylum doctors, the police, and his new bride. It’s such a mad-cap night that, by then end of it, even Mortimer walks away a little insane.

Cary Grant plays in screwballs so well, because he plays out-of-his-element so incredibly well. Bringing Up Baby is another example of some of Grant’s best work as a paleontologist who gets caught up with a scatterbrained Katherine Hepburn and her pet leopard, but even that pails compared to Arsenic and Old Lace. It’s a perfect Halloween comedy although it really doesn’t have any references to the holiday outside of the fact that movie takes place during it. And of course, even Arsenic and Old Lace can’t compare to the uproarious action of His Girl Friday and those reporters that will literally do anything for the sake of their story.

After making his first film in 1977, The Duellists, Ridley Scott was given the chance to direct Alien. Given Scott was such a small name in that day and the other directors that passed on the film (Robert Aldrich, Robert Altman, and John Boorman), it’s clear that 20th Century Fox considered Alien to be B-movie schlock instead of the pillar of science fiction it is considered today. In the studio’s defense, this was only two years after the first Star Wars film was released. To this point in history, sci-fi was Flash Gordon, Buck Rogers, and Ed Wood, the schlockiest of schlock, and until that first Star Wars film, there was no precedent for a big, blockbuster sci-fi film. The beauty of Alien is that it crosses genres. It’s not just a sci-fi film like The Incredible Shrinking Man, but it’s also a monster movie, like Jaws or the Universal Horror films of the 1930s. In its defiance of its genres, it elevates itself to a different kind of movie – one that can look incredibly detailed and expensive but also be very simple and cost-effective. The film only has two real set pieces: the alien planet and the spaceship, Nostromo. When you think about it like that, Alien is like 12 Angry Men in a way.

The spaceship, Nostromo, is carrying its crew back home. Aboard the ship are Dallas, Kane, Ripley, Lambert, Ash, Parker and Brett. The ship’s computer, called Mother, awakens the crew after receiving a distress signal from a nearby planet. Dallas, Kane and Lambert explore the planet, finding an alien ship with a dead alien inside. The alien happens to have a huge hole in the middle of its torso. They continue across the planet, and Kane discovers a chamber with hundreds of eggs inside. He touches one of the eggs and out pops an alien creature that latches on to his face. Dallas and Lambert carry Kane back to the Nostromo where Ash lets them inside, despite Ripley’s objections over quarantine regulations. As the ship takes off again, Ash attempts to remove the alien from Kane’s face, but discovers that its blood is incredibly acidic and could kill Kane or destroy their ship if he’s not careful. However, when looking in on Kane later, the crew discovers the alien has detached itself and died, and Kane wakes up, seemingly normal albeit with a bit of memory loss. The crew enjoys a meal together before they return to sleep for the remainder of the trip, and suddenly, an alien creature bursts forth from Kane’s chest and runs away. The crew attempt to find the alien and destroy it before anything worse happens. Using the computer, Ripley discovers that the company they work for has instructed Ash to bring the alien back for research at all costs and considers the rest of the crew as expendable. Before Ash can kill Ripley, Parker bashes Ash’s head with a club, revealing that Ash was actually an android. The remaining crew decide to self-destruct the Nostromo and escape in the escape pod, but the alien picks them off one by one until only Ripley remains, and the alien blocks her path to the escape pod. However, while she is able to get into the pod and ship off just before the Nostromo explodes, its revealed that the alien stowed away on the pod and attacks her. She shoots the alien out of the pod by opening the airlock and returns home.

Alien is an interesting pairing of a 50s B-horror film, such as Creature from the Black Lagoon, and Agatha Christie’s And Then There Were None. Though there’s little mystery to it, the film’s slow loss of crew member after crew member is terrifying, and the relative simplicity of it all makes it feel incredibly fast-paced. Therefore, it gets the heart racing, gives you hardly any time to breathe, and makes you feel like more is happening than what really is. Despite the initial critics, Alien has become a staple of sci-fi cinema and is considered one of the greatest films of all time. A lot of this can be attributed to that simplicity. It also feels more believable than some other sci-fi films. Yes, it involves aliens, and it’s set in the future, but take out the outer space location and replace it with an 1800s logging camp in Minnesota and take out the aliens and replace them with wolves, you’re well on your way to a very grounded and potentially award-worthy period film. All that to say, whether it’s the iconic scene where an alien pops out of Kane’s chest or it’s easily accessible premise, Alien is a classic for good reason.

Bonus Review: Tremors

Now, if Alien is a good sci-fi monster movie, then Tremors is a terrible one, but it’s incredibly entertaining all the same. Roger Ebert, in his review of the film, says he felt “embarrassed” by how much he enjoyed the film, and also pointed out that the success on the film was focusing on the fun, goofy characters that make up the town of Perfection, rather than the creatures that were after them. I have to agree. There are some very entertaining characters in this movie, particularly Val (Kevin Bacon) and Earl (Fred Ward), the two handymen who discover the creatures and help the rest of the small town escape, and Burt (Michael Gross) and Heather (Reba McEntire), a married couple that are well-loaded and well-prepared for the end of the world and would feel right at home as my MAGA next door neighbor. The beauty of Tremors, however, is that it knows what kind of movie it is and it doesn’t try to be anything beyond that. It wears its B-movie status as a badge of honor.

Val and Earl work as handymen in the very isolated, very small town of Perfection, Nevada. They decide one day that they’re tired of the town and their work and make for the next nearest town, Bixby. As they leave, they find a dead body sitting on top of an electrical tower and the severed head of a nearby farmer. Thinking there’s a serial killer on the loose, they turn back to Perfection to warn everyone. They even warn a couple of construction workers on the side of the road as they make their way back, but their warnings go unheeded, and the two construction workers are also killed by something, and that something also causes a rock slide, blocking the exit out of Perfection. Val and Earl try to make a call, but discover that the phone lines are also down, and, just as something grabs ahold of Val’s truck, they hightail it back into town. They alert the town, who only believe them when they see what remains of the creature that grabbed on to Val’s truck, and then attempt to get to Bixby for help via horseback. However, they are waylaid when from the ground explodes a giant worm-like creature. It chases them across the desert, but since it does not have eyes, it run headfirst into a concrete aqueduct, killing itself. Rhonda, a student conducting seismology tests in the area, looks over her results and determines that there are three more of these creatures around and that they hunt by detecting the seismic vibrations coming from above ground. To avoid making any vibrations, the three of them pole vault from boulder to boulder until they can get to Rhonda’s truck and back to Perfection. In town, everyone gets on their rooftops to avoid attracting the worms. Burt and Heather successfully kill one at their bunker by unloading round after round of heavy gunfire into its face. The two remaining worms follow the townspeople as they attempt to escape on a single track loader. However, the worms force them on to some boulders out in the desert. Burt has made some pipe bombs for a rainy day and they use one to successfully kill another worm. When they attempt with the last worm, it has grown smarter and sends the pipe bomb back at them. They duck and cover, but in the process are down to one last bomb. Val decides to run towards a cliff and uses the last pipe bomb to distract the worm into charging through the cliffside and falling to its death hundreds of feet below.

Like Alien, Tremors has created a successful franchise for itself, though the quality of the subsequent films certainly declines with each new movie. Tremors, I think, is also partially responsible for the rise in purposely-bad sci-fi and monster movies, such as Sharknado, Sharktopus, Megaladon, Ghost Shark, Shark Night, Planet of the Sharks, Dinoshark, Dinocroc vs. Supergator, Piranhaconda, Lavalantula and Anonymous Rex (that sure is a lot of shark-related movies). There is such a thing as too much of a good thing, and these franchises surely define what that looks like incredibly well. Alien, Tremors and Sharknado are all basically worthless after the second movie, and I don’t even want to get into some of these other spinoffs and cheap imitations, but for those first few movies, there’s something genuinely enjoyable there, and it makes the existence of the sequels worth it.

The Night of the Hunter has had a rollercoaster of an existence. The film was hated on its original release, and the conversation surrounding it was so abysmal, that it’s director, Charles Laughton (an actor known for his roles in Mutiny on the Bounty and Witness for the Prosecution) never made another film. Since then, the film has been reevaluated significantly, and is now considered one of the greatest films of all time from most critics and filmmakers. It has inspired filmmakers such as Martin Scorsese, the Coen brothers, Spike Lee (if you remember, he references The Night of the Hunter in Do the Right Thing), Guillermo del Toro and Robert Altman. It is overwhelmingly considered a masterpiece and it’s a shame that Laughton never got to experience its success in his lifetime. He only lived seven more years after its release.

Harry Powell (Robert Mitchum) is a traveling preacher who marries lonely widows and then kills them for their fortunes. While in prison, Powell shares a cell with Ben Harper (Peter Graves), who reveals that he was arrested for a big bank robbery and that he left the money with his wife, Willa (Shelley Winters). Powell is released and Ben Harper is sent to hang, so Powell travels to see Willa, wooing her and the entire town with his charm and demonstration of the continuous war between “love” and “hate”. John, Willa’s eldest child, remains skeptical of Powell, and refuses to tell him where the money is when Willa’s not around. Powell becomes increasingly erratic, and so John and his little sister, Pearl, steal away in the middle of the night to escape, but Powell is on their trail, stalking them like, well, a hunter, intimidatingly singing “Leaning on the Everlasting Arms” to make his presence known, and he won’t stop without getting what he wants.

The visuals of the film are striking in their use of shadow and straight edges. It’s very much influenced by the art of German Expressionism, which took the norm and made it rigidly abstract. Think this painting:

The art movement bled into filmmaking during the silent years for backdrops and aesthetic. Most famously in The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, but also seen in films such as The Golem, Destiny, Nosferatu and Metropolis, German Expressionism even crept into American films, such as the early Universal Horror films like Dracula, thanks to the cinematographers that came from Germany to escape persecution and Nazism. Most noir films reference German Expressionism in their look and use of shadow, and even today, the works of Tim Burton are a return to that look of early Expressionism. The Night of the Hunter, too, uses this art technique to great effect. Below are two images, the first of a shot from The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, and the second from The Night of the Hunter for comparison.

As a director, Laughton was supportive and open to input from his actors. Being an actor himself, he was better at knowing what they needed for a good performance and was accommodating. He was also significantly worried about his time and budget and refused to cut in between takes, instead directing his actors and if they did not give him what he wanted, he would demand they do it again with the cameras still rolling. This was a method that by 1955 had all but been done away with. It was more a method during the days of silent films. Interestingly enough, Laughton’s goal with The Night of the Hunter was to return to the feel of silent cinema, and bemoaned the more current nature of the film-going audience of relaxing in your seat with popcorn. He wanted to, in his own words, “make people sit up again”.

To add to the aura of silent films, Laughton cast silent film star, Lillian Gish, as Rachel Cooper, an old woman who takes care of orphan children and who takes John and Pearl in as they attempt to escape Harry Powell. Lillian Gish was called “The First Lady of American Cinema” for her work as the strong, beautiful heroines in the films of D.W. Griffith, including The Birth of a Nation (considered the most racist film of all time), Intolerance (Griffith’s attempt to say, “Nuh uh, I’m not racist.”), Broken Blossoms (also called The Yellow Man and the Girl, so you can see how well that “not racist” thing worked out) and Way Down East (this one’s okay). Gish’s role as Rachel Cooper is one of the highlights of the film. Once he discovers where they are, Harry Powell attempts to charm Rachel to get John and Pearl back. However, she is not ensnared by the gleam in his eye and forbids him from coming to get them. In perhaps the greatest scene in the film, Powell stands outside the house and sings “Leaning on the Everlasting Arms”. Rachel, unintimidated, sits on the porch, rifle in her lap, and joins him in a duet.

Bonus Review: Gaslight

After her famous opera-singing aunt is murdered, Paula Alquist (Ingrid Bergman) inherits her estate and follows in her footsteps. She falls in love and quickly marries her accompanist, Gregory Anton (Charles Boyer), and they move into the estate. Soon after, Paula finds a letter addressed to her late aunt from a Sergis Bauer and encounters several strange incidents – there are haunting noises coming from the attic and the gaslights outside of the house seem to dim and brighten. Gregory convinces Paula that it’s all in her imagination and that she’s a kleptomaniac. However, when Inspector Brian Cameron (Joseph Cotten) starts snooping around, he helps Paula discover that, not only is she not crazy, but her husband might be gaslighting her.

Yes, it’s true. This is where that term comes from. If you’re gaslighting someone, you are the Charles Boyer to their Ingrid Bergman. Gaslight is a beautiful piece of London gothic in film that harkens back to the novels of the Bronte sisters and such, as well as sits among its contemporaries of 1940s thrillers that seemingly fall under the same category: Don’t Trust Your Husband! Movies like Rebecca, Suspicion, Shadow of a Doubt, Jane Eyre, Dragonwyck, Notorious and The Spiral Staircase that were all released within six years’ time. It’s interesting the trends you can find in cinema. Bergman gained a lot of attention for her role as Paula, garnering several awards for the film (more for this film than even Casablanca), and it is also the film debut of Angela Lansbury. That’s right, Jessica Fletcher was a maid in her early days before becoming an novelist and amateur detective!

Man. Some Like It Hot and now Tootsie. Apparently, I really like movies about cross-dressing. What can I say? These comedies are hilarious! And what I love about Tootsie in particular is that it fits right in with the screwball comedies of the 30s and 40s. It’s a satirical love story with quick and witty dialogue, and with an outlandish premise. Dustin Hoffman’s ability to transition from Michael Dorsey to Dorothy Michaels and back within the same scene is a level of acting that has rarely been duplicated. From the walk, to the posture, to the talk – he nails it. It’s certainly more convincing than Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon. It’s impossible to imagine anyone other than Dustin Hoffman in the role, so it’s probably a good thing production was delayed long enough that neither Michael Caine or Peter Sellers could take it.

Michael Dorsey is a struggling actor in New York City. Between specific qualities wanted for roles and Michael being difficult to work with, it’s been months since he’s successfully landed an acting job. His friend, Sandy, casually brings up a role she’s pursuing – the hospital administrator for the soap opera, Southwest General. Desperate for work not in a restaurant or classroom setting, Michael disguises himself as a woman, Dorothy Michaels, and lands the part. Dorothy takes charge of her part, playing the administrator, Emily, as a strong, confident feminist, which makes her a national sensation. To look for clothes for Dorothy, Michael raids Sandy’s closet, but she catches him in a state of undress and plays it off that he wants to sleep with. She reciprocates. However, Michael is actually falling in love with one of his costars, Julie, who is also the girlfriend of the soap’s director, the sleazy Ron (if you recognize the guy in this role, it’s because he plays the equally sleazy boss in 9 to 5). Julie and Dorothy become close friends, and it’s Dorothy who encourages Julie to end things with Ron for her own well-being. Dorothy has a couple of admirers of her own, the veteran actor on the soap, John, and Julie’s father, Les. Les goes so far as to propose marriage to Dorothy. John just shows up to her apartment and attempts to put himself on her. As soon as John is removed from the apartment, Sandy shows up, having been ghosted by Michael since their night together. Michael admits to her that he’s in love with someone else, which obviously upsets Sandy. To get out of his contract, Michael sets up a situation where the soap has to go live for their next episode and reveals himself a man, claiming to be Emily’s brother, Edward, who is seeking revenge for Emily’s “murder”. The reveal is a shock to everyone and Julie punches Michael as soon as the cameras stop rolling. Some time later, he approaches Julie to apologize and admit that “I was a better man with you as a woman than I ever was with a woman as a man.” Julie admits to missing Dorothy’s company and they walk down the street in conversation.

I’ve already said plenty on Dustin Hoffman’s performance, but alongside that, it should be mentioned that Hoffman has been on record multiple times to explain what the role in Tootsie has done for him. He claims that playing Dorothy allowed him to realize that he found the woman incredibly interesting, but because she’s unattractive, if she were a real person, he never would have approached her. He felt ashamed of his internalized sexism. While that easily sounds like a celebrity posturing to make themselves sound better, it still opens up a conversation about the truth behind what he’s saying. That’s what all the best comedies do anyway – open the doors that would otherwise remain closed. I guess it’s true what they say: you can’t judge a woman until you’ve walked a mile in her heels.

Bonus Review: Mrs. Doubtfire

Speaking of men dressing as women for the sake of work, there was another film, very similar to Tootsie, that came out eleven years later: Mrs. Doubtfire. I expect most of my readers have seen this film, so it’s not much of a recommendation to watch something new as much as a recommendation to rewatch this hilarious movie from one of the greatest comedy talents ever to walk the earth.

Daniel quits his job as a voice actor over a scene that he argues encourages kids to take up smoking. He picks his three children up from school, and takes them home to have a birthday party for his son, Chris, despite, Miranda’s, his wife, objections. Miranda, who is very devoted to her job, returns home and sees the chaos ensuing in her living room. In her frustration and with the news that Daniel quit his job, Miranda decides to divorce. Because of Daniel’s lack of a job or home, Miranda gets sole custody of the children. Daniel gets a job in shipping at a television station, and then, when Miranda reveals she’s putting a want ad in the paper for a nanny, he takes a second job. His brother who is a makeup artist helps Daniel create Mrs. Doubtfire, the greatest nanny across two continents. As Mrs. Doubtfire, Daniel is very strict with his children, allowing them to be more disciplined and Miranda to be more relaxed, and Daniel himself becomes more responsible. After hours, Daniel is caught playing with some of the props for the children show the station works on by the CEO, Jonathan. Impressed by his talent and imagination, Jonathan invited Daniel to dinner to discuss ideas. The same night, Miranda is having a birthday dinner at the same restaurant with her new boyfriend and the children and insists Mrs. Doubtfire join them. Daniel must juggle both dinners to little success. However, Miranda admits his help in raising their kids is best for everybody so she works out a joint custody deal. He also becomes the star of a successful children’s show, as Mrs. Doubtfire.

I know I’ve reviewed Good Morning, Vietnam already, but I’ll mention it again because that film left so much open room for improvisation that some of Robin Williams’ monologues feel like retreads of his stand-up specials. There’s no harm in that fact. The material’s funny so why would anything else matter? However, Mrs. Doubtfire is significantly more structured than Good Morning, Vietnam, which means that Williams’ improv had to fit the scenes and was much more tightly leashed. This also means that the comedy in Mrs. Doubtfire feels more original. So when Williams, as the Doubtfire character, is ignored in his attempt to discourage his ex-wife from wearing sexy clothing on a date and instead suggests an ugly frock, his comment that he will “get the frock out of here” is immaculate. Or when he throws a fruit at Pierce Brosnan’s head, he can claim as a witness that it was “a run-by fruiting”. It’s a film that is hilarious, joyful, and tender.

The Coen brothers have made a career of genre bending and homages to old Hollywood. They have made six noirs, three westerns, a retelling of the Book of Job, an homage (borderline parody) of Frank Capra comedies, two of the most quotable movies ever made (The Big Lebowski and O Brother, Where Art Thou?), and a movie where Nicolas Cage steals a baby and robs a convenience store with pantyhose on his head. “Eclectic” doesn’t even begin to describe them. Though they have elements of genre filmmaking across their entire filmography, the one example that is equal parts noir and western, is their critically lauded masterpiece, No Country for Old Men, an adaptation of the novel by Cormac McCarthy. As I said in my review of Fargo, the Coens frequently play with the Yiddish concept of the schlemiel. However, whether it’s because the film has source material or just the serious nature of the film, this film has no schlemiel (though it could be argued that Llewelyn Moss is one for taking the drug money).

Llewelyn Moss (Josh Brolin) stumbles across the results of a bad drug deal and finds two million dollars in a briefcase. Feeling his luck has changed, Moss takes the money home, but little does he know that Anton Chigurh (Javier Bardem), a ruthless and nihilistic assassin is hot on his trail and leaving bodies in his wake (depending on how they call a coin toss). Meanwhile, Ed Tom Bell (Tommy Lee Jones) is following after Chigurh, and investigating Chigurh’s break-in at Moss’s house. Moss finds a tracking device in the briefcase, but as he goes to get rid of it, realizes that it’s too late. Chigurh has found him. It’s an intense game of cat-and-mouse that is sure to end up terribly for all parties involved.

No Country for Old Men is the very definition of “sparse”. The West Texas landscape is vast and void. There is minimal amounts of dialogue throughout the whole film and practically none during the tense chase scenes which make up a big chunk of the movie. Josh Brolin even commented on the lack of dialogue and how hard it was for him as an actor to emote on screen without the assistance of words. The most interesting part of the film, however, is the significant lack of score. There is virtually no music until the end credits, and even when there is music in the background, it’s drastically muted. It makes the sounds that are heard in the film that much more singled out and loud. It builds the tension considerably, like during a scene where Llewelyn is listening for Anton Chigurh’s footsteps outside his motel door. Each step carries with it so much weight because it and Llewelyn’s breathing are all you can hear. What No Country for Old Men does better than most thrillers is captivate its audience. That, and staying true to its source material. The movie is almost exactly like Cormac McCarthy’s novel. Nothing is added and very little is removed. It’s simply condensed. McCarthy’s themes of fate and the presence of evil are front and center, as well as right in the Coen’s wheelhouse.

Bonus Review: Miller’s Crossing

Miller’s Crossing is set during the Prohibition era. Tom Reagan (Gabriel Byrne) is the right-hand man for crime boss, Leo O’Bannon (Albert Finney). Oh, and he’s also sleeping with O’Bannon’s girlfriend, Verna (Marcia Gay Harden). When this news arrives to O’Bannon’s ears courtesy of Tom’s own mouth, Tom is understandably beaten and kicked out of O’Bannon’s outfit. Tom then turns his attention to O’Bannon’s rival, Johnny Caspar (Jon Polito), who demands Tom kill Bernie (John Turturro), Verna’s brother, as a sign of good faith. When Tom looks into his heart and spares Bernie, his act of mercy comes back to bite him big time.

The Coen brothers’ Miller’s Crossing is another fine example of their ability to twist and combine genres. Where No Country for Old Men is a western/noir hybrid, Miller’s Crossing is a noir twist on the gangster genre. In fact, the movie is bookended by an homage to each. The beginning of the film, in Leo’s office, is a sendup to the opening of The Godfather, while the funeral scene at the end is a nod to the ending of The Third Man. Bookending the bookends is a repeated shot of a hat, blowing through the wind along the ground, which is likely a reference to the film, Le Doulos, a French crime film that ends with a hat falling into the frame on the forest floor as its owner, Silien, falls down dead. There’s a sense of futility that arises from witnessing a hat floating on the wind, with no one in proximity to grab it. I suspect from how they treat their characters throughout their films, the Coen brothers view the lives of their characters in much the same way we view the hat. It comes into view for a bit and then is carried away by the lightest breeze.

The first time I watched Some Like It Hot, I thought it was funny. The second time I watched it, I thought it was surprisingly clever. The third time I watched it, I saw it for the genius it truly is. I’ve always believed that Billy Wilder is one of the great comedy screenwriters of all time, but it wasn’t until Some Like It Hot that I had clear, definitive proof. Originally pulled from another film, Fanfare of Love, that follows two down-on-their-luck musicians who dress in drag for the sake of gig, Some Like It Hot adds an interesting element: the two musicians are on the run from a gangster who they witnessed killing his rival.

In Prohibition-era Chicago, Joe and Jerry are two friends who perform with a jazz ensemble in a speakeasy. When the police raid the place, Joe and Jerry narrowly escape the scene only to witness the speakeasy’s owner, “Spats” Colombo, gunning down his rival and the man who tipped off the police, “Toothpick” Charlie. Without other options, Joe and Jerry pose as women so they can tour with the all-female band, Sweet Sue and her Society Syncopators, and become obsessed with the band’s singer and ukulele player, Sugar Kane. Joe goes by Josephine and Jerry goes by Daphne, and both struggle to avoid giving themselves away and not make passes at Sugar. In Miami, Joe adopts another persona, Junior, the heir to the Shell Oil company in an attempt to woo Sugar, while an older millionaire named Osgood attempts to woo Daphne. Joe uses Jerry as Daphne to occupy Osgood while he uses Osgood’s yacht to spend a night with Sugar. When both men return to their room, Jerry reveals that Osgood proposed and Daphne said “yes”. Meanwhile, a secret meeting between the country’s gangsters under the name “Friends of the Italian Opera” is happening at the same hotel, and of course, Spats is there. Joe and Jerry are discovered, even in their disguises, and must escape. Seeing his last chance, Joe as Josephine jumps onstage and kisses Sugar, causing her to realize that Josephine and Junior are the same person. Jerry as Daphne convinces Osgood to bring them on his yacht as he sets sail so they can escape. In a last ditch effort to get out of marry Osgood, Jerry, as Daphne makes the following argument:

Jerry: We can’t get married at all!

Osgood: Why not?

Jerry: Well, in the first place, I’m not a natural blonde.

Osgood: Doesn’t matter.

Jerry: I smoke! I smoke all the time!

Osgood: I don’t care.

Jerry: Well, I have a terrible past. For three years now, I’ve been living with a saxophone player.

Osgood: I forgive you.

Jerry: I can never have children!

Osgood: We can adopt some.

Jerry: But you don’t understand, Osgood! I’m a man!

Osgood: Well, nobody’s perfect.

Typing the punchlines out will never be as funny as witnessing the actual film, so forgive me for that whole bit there, but it’s such a famous bit of dialogue that I didn’t see any harm in it. Anyway, it’s one of the few movies I would argue that’s “laugh out loud” funny. So much so, that the scene where Jerry explains his engagement to Osgood to Joe had to be redone and the dialogue spaced out because the first audiences were laughing over the jokes. Things behind the scenes, however, were not as humorous. Marilyn Monroe, who plays Sugar, showed up late to set frequently, delaying filming, and had to do multiple takes on simple scenes because she couldn’t remember her lines. One line, “It’s me, Sugar”, required 47 takes before she got it right. Legend has it that Tony Curtis (Joe) and Jack Lemmon (Jerry) placed bets on how many takes any particular scene would require. It’s incredibly heartbreaking to know how much her life and addiction was taking a toll on her, but it’s also impressive the performance she could bring to the table despite all of that.

That was a surprisingly depressing note to end on, so against my better judgment, here’s another snippet of dialogue where Jerry as Daphne attempts to hit on Sugar with a private drinking party, hoping to reveal he’s an eligible man:

Daphne: No lights. We don’t want anyone to know we’re having a party.

Sugar: But I might spill some.

Daphne: So spill it! Spills, thrills, laughs and games. This may even turn out to be a surprise party.

Sugar: What’s the surprise?

Daphne: Not yet.

Sugar: When?

Daphne: Better have a drink first.

Sugar: There. That’ll put hair on your chest.

Daphne: No fair guessing.

Bonus Review: Cat Ballou

Much like Some Like It Hot, Cat Ballou is riotously funny movie. Perhaps with a little more pathos than the former, but it doesn’t cut short the comedy for it. There are actually a small handful of excellent Western comedies, including Blazing Saddles and the made-for-television film, Evil Roy Slade (which gets no other mention in my Top 100, though it probably should…Dick Shawn is hilarious as a singing, scatting, guitar-strumming cowboy). Cat Ballou, however, is special. The two leads are not well-known for comedy – Jane Fonda more so than Lee Marvin, perhaps, but both are more dramatic types.

Catherine Ballou (Jane Fonda) is a schoolteacher who returns home to her father’s ranch only to discover that the Wolf City Development Corporation is threatening Frankie Ballou (John Marley) to give up his ranch so they can use it for their own purposes. When Frankie refuses to give in to their demands, they send the killer, Tim Strawn (Lee Marvin), to do what he does best. Cat hires the notorious sharpshooter, Kid Shelleen (also Lee Marvin), in an attempt to save her father, but Shelleen is revealed to be a drunken buffoon – still a crack shot, but past his prime. After the murder of her father, Cat Ballou demands justice from the town of Wolf City, but she doesn’t get it. With a ragtag team, she decides to take matters into her own hands, becoming a notorious outlaw. When she accidentally kills the head of the Wolf City Development Corporation, she finds the town now all too willing to pursue justice. It’s hard out there for a woman.

This Western Comedy is equal parts hilarious, dramatic, and action-packed, and Lee Marvin shines as the uproarious Kid Shelleen, and as his own brother, Strawn. It’s a shame that this is the role Lee Marvin gets accolades for, but it’s also well-warranted. There’s also Nat King Cole and Stubby Kaye as two banjo-wielding minstrels to narrate the story, which is a fun play on the Greek chorus storytelling device and an unusual comedic addition. Cat Ballou is great, especially for a first-time watch, because you’re not quite sure what you’re going to get until you get it.

Fantasia is unlike any other animated movie. All at once, it is an audio and video experiment, a collection of vignettes held together with a concert, and an overbudget Mickey Mouse cartoon gone wrong, and somehow, totally right. Walt Disney was not only innovative, he was smart about turning a disaster into a masterpiece, and Fantasia is certainly no different. Originally, Fantasia was no more than the famous The Sorcerer’s Apprentice sequence – intended to be a Mickey Mouse cartoon short to springboard the mouse back into the zeitgeist after Walt spent years devoting all his attention into Snow White and the Seven Dwarves. When the short got to be so expensive that Walt and his brother, Roy, were convinced it would never recoup its money, they decided on the feature film we got. Leopold Stokowski, conductor of the Philadelphia Orchestra, was brought in to conduct the musical segments as well as give input on which pieces of music were chosen. Great attention was given to each segment and the overall experience for the audience, and though it was abandoned before release, there was originally intended to be an early example of smell-o-vision for certain segments. Ballerinas and dancers were filmed for the Dance of the Hours and The Nutcracker Suite segments. For the Rite of Spring dinosaur sequence, Disney brought in the director of the American Museum of Natural History, and Edwin Hubble, the namesake of the Hubble Space Telescope. Bela Lugosi, the quintessential Dracula, was brought in as a character model for Chernabog, the huge demon portrayed in the Night on Bald Mountain segment.

The film is interspersed with introductions and intermissions from master of ceremonies, Deems Taylor, including a segment where he shakes hands with Mickey Mouse – Disney’s first example of the blend of live action and animation they leaned into in the 40s through 60s, and therefore a very impressive feat at the time. Beyond that, each musical segment is its own. Inspired by an abstract animation called A Colour Box, the opening Toccata and Fugue in D Minor segment is a demonstration of the experimental nature of the film. Images of the orchestra turn to animation and then simplify into lines and shapes that move with the nature of the music. The Nutcracker Suite uses the medley from the ballet to carry images of the changing of the seasons and animates faeries, fish, flowers, and mushrooms to visualize it. The Sorcerer’s Apprentice is a musical piece based on a poem by Goethe, and the animation tells a very Disney-fied version of that poem, starring Mickey Mouse and the new sorcerer character, Yen Sid (read it backwards). The Rite of Spring segment visualize the beginnings of the Earth through the extinction of the dinosaurs. It scared me as a kid, but now, it’s my favorite part of the whole movie. The Pastoral Symphony is a pastiche on Greek mythology. No particular story is told, but it features centaurs, fauns, and cupids as they prepare a celebration of Bacchus. I guess Zeus gets jealous because he starts throwing lightning bolts at everybody. Dance of the Hours follows four groups of animals as they dance the four parts of the day: ostriches (Morning), hippos (Afternoon), elephants (Evening) and alligators (Night). And finally, there are two pieces put together: Night on Bald Mountain and Ave Maria. The demon Chernabog releases the restless, villainous spirits from their graves. They dance and celebrate their release until a church bell tolls, signifying the coming morning. The spirits return to their graves and Chernabog returns to his sleep as a procession of monks pass through the forest to the ruins of a cathedral.

Upon its release, Fantasia was not a financial success. Though that can mostly be attributed to the fact that it came out in 1940. There was a war going on. Since then, it has been rereleased numerous times throughout the years and, adjusted for inflation, is the fourth highest-grossing animated movie of all time. Even with some controversy hanging over its head (the Pastoral Symphony segment had depictions of Black centaurs that were subservient to the White ones in its original release that have since been edited out), it remains one of the greatest cinematic achievements and experiences for animation as a medium.

Bonus Review: Pinocchio

Earlier that same year, Disney released their second feature film, Pinocchio. And much like Fantasia, it scared a very-young me half to death. The scene on Pleasure Island where the children turn into donkeys for doing bad things? The mischievous little boy I was couldn’t bear the thought. Critically comparable to both Fantasia and Snow White and the Seven Dwarves, Pinocchio still suffered the same fate as Fantasia financially, due to the active World War going on in the background. It too made up its budget over time thanks to Disney’s concept of rereleases (which was started for this very purpose). It also has a permanent place near the top of the Disney canon for what has become the Disney mantra and theme song, “When You Wish Upon a Star”.

Jiminy Cricket attempts to make a home at Geppetto’s workshop as he finishes a wooden marionette named Pinocchio. Geppetto wishes on a star that Pinocchio will be made into a real boy. After Geppetto falls asleep, the Blue Fairy appears and halfway grants Geppetto’s wish, turning Pinocchio, but he will remain a puppet until he learns to be brave, honest and unselfish. The very next day, Pinocchio is led astray by “Honest” John and Gideon on his way to school. They convince him to join Stromboli’s traveling puppet show, despite Jiminy’s objections. Stromboli locks Pinocchio away, only letting him out to perform. The Blue Fairy appears, catches Pinocchio in a lie, but helps him get free and escape. She tells him she can offer no further help. “Honest” John finds Pinocchio again later, and convinces him to join a Coachman who delivers children to a place called Pleasure Island. Along with the other kids, Pinocchio participates in drinking beer, smoking cigars, fighting the other boys and vandalizing the Island. What is initially a rocking good time, quickly becomes a nightmare when the boys physically transform into that which they have already been acting like. Pinocchio barely escapes before completely transforming, but he does have ears and a tail now. Pinocchio discovers that Geppetto has gone looking for him and has been swallowed up by the great whale, Monstro. Pinocchio goes out to find him, and is also swallowed. He reunites with Geppetto and gets Monstro to spit them out by starting a fire. However, the whale gives chase, and soon Pinocchio is killed. As Geppetto mourns Pinocchio, the Blue Fairy returns and turns him into a real boy.

Pinocchio has been called “the most down to earth film Disney ever made”, despite the magic and fairytale nature of the story, because it acts as a simple morality tale. And it’s through changes to the original story that makes this possible. In the original book by Carlo Collodi, Pinocchio is a brat if ever there was one. He baulks at authority figures, especially Geppetto, and he willingly goes astray to explore the world around him. Jiminy Cricket, Pinocchio’s conscience, is also original to the Disney movie, though there is a cricket in the book that Pinocchio gleefully smashes to death with a hammer. Walt Disney insisted on finding ways to make Pinocchio likable so the audience could sympathize with him, so he turned the very rude boy into an innocent, albeit ignorant, one, and expanded the cricket’s character to not only have a role, but act as the moral compass for the wayward boy. If you want to see what a “true to the source material” version looks like, watch Guillermo Del Toro’s stop-motion adaptation. It’s practically unwatchable outside of admiring the craft that went into making it.

I task each and every one of you to find a better Civil War film than Glory. You can’t do it. Maybe Lincoln comes close, but still pales in comparison to this rich story of the 54th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment, even with a great performance from Daniel Day-Lewis. What Glory does that most slavery-centered movies don’t is round out the Black characters. Typically, the plot is a Black person trying to escape the tyranny of their master, and so strongly are their convictions to escape that there is no further characterization beyond that. However, in Glory, the slave emancipation storyline is broadened to the scope of the entire Civil War. And each character that makes up the 54th has their own personality. Rawlins is a wise and diplomatic older man whose demeanor gets him promoted. Even though he doesn’t want it, he accepts the promotion because he knows he can be used for the betterment of the regiment. Trip is an angry young man, who lashes out at everyone, including his fellow Black soldiers just to try and make himself feel better. Thomas is a well-educated and articulate freeman who is somewhat ostracized from the others because he walks and talks like a White man. Despite his own freedom, he fights just as determined as the others for the sake of them all.

Captain Robert Gould Shaw is promoted to colonel of the 54th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment, the first all-black regiment in the Union army. He appoints his friend Cabot Forbes as his second-in-command. They receive a group of volunteers that includes the men I mentioned above. Thomas is Shaw’s family secretary, so they are already well-acquainted. The Confederacy issues a response to the Emancipation Proclamation claiming they will capture any Black men fighting for the Union and enslave or kill them, as well as many White men charged over them. Other problems plague the regiment. Trip seemingly deserts and is returned and flogged. Shaw learns from Rawlins that Trip was not deserting, he was only going to find shoes, something the 54th in particular has been denied. Shaw confronts the quartermaster and gets the regiment shoes. The federal government makes it clear that the Black soldiers will not be paid as much as the White soldiers. Trip leads a protest by convincing everyone to tear up their payment vouchers. Shaw tears his up as well and declares the White officers will not take payment either until the dispute is settled. Shaw works to finally get his regiment to see combat. The regiment is sent to Fort Wagner to capture it for the Union.

Glory is an intense, thrilling war movie and it contains many staples of that genre: excellent camera work, powerful and emotional score, and great performances. The film stars Matthew Broderick, Cary Elwes, Morgan Freeman, and Denzel Washington, as well Andre Braugher (Captain Raymond Holt of Brooklyn’s 99th Precinct) in his first film role. Denzel Washington not only received awards for his performance as the hot-headed Trip, but he also turned into a household name, nearly overnight. Morgan Freeman was already known to some for his work on The Electric Company, but he also had a big year in 1989 between Glory, Driving Miss Daisy, and Lean On Me, which certainly increased his stardom.

Glory is a powerful film. It is an important film, because it is an important story in our nation’s history that doesn’t often get told.

Bonus Review: Mudbound

It feels like an eternity ago, but there was a brief time in history where Netflix tried with its original programming. The very first Netflix Original Movie was Beasts of No Nation – a story about a child soldier in an African civil war – for crying out loud. Mudbound, also based on a novel, deals with themes of surviving PTSD, racism in the South, and generational sins. Quite a step up from The Noel Diary.

Henry McAllen is conned out of renting a home and must take his wife, Laura, their children and his father, Pappy, to live next to the Jacksons near Marietta, Mississippi. Hap Jackson is a Black tenant farmer and a preacher at a nearby church. He and his wife, Florence, do what they can to provide for their family. Henry’s brother, Jamie, and the Jackson’s eldest son, Ronsel, enlist in the military to fight in World War II. The two families work together to stay afloat, financially, but at the encouragement of Pappy, Henry pushes for an edge over the Jacksons, demanding half of the Jackson’s crop for the use of his mule. Hap breaks his leg while building a church and is unable to work. Laura sneaks some of Henry’s money to them to keep the Jacksons going until Hap can get back on his feet, but this further sours the already loveless McAllen marriage.

Ronsel and Jamie return from the war and develop a friendship. Jamie, however, medicates his PTSD with alcohol and Ronsel deals with increased racial disdain. Because of Jamie’s alcoholism, Henry demands that he leave the farm before Henry returns from a trip. Ronsel receives a letter from a White German woman he fell in love with while overseas, along with a photo of her and the mixed-race child they conceived. Jamie and Laura grow close while Henry is away, keeping Jamie from leaving the farm. Pappy finds the letter from Ronsel’s love and with the help of his friends in the Ku Klux Klan, they ambush and beat Ronsel within an inch of his life. When Jamie shows up and sees the state Ronsel is in, he points a gun at his father. However, he is immediately restrained and beaten as well. Pappy makes Jamie choose what sensitive part of Ronsel’s body he will lose or they will kill him and a dejected Jamie picks his tongue. Later that night, Jamie returns to the farm and smothers Pappy with a pillow. When Henry returns home, Laura tells him that Pappy died in his sleep. Henry and Jamie struggle to bury Pappy the next day, and Henry asks Hap to help them as the Jacksons are leaving. Jamie also gives the Jacksons the letter and photo of Ronsel’s lover and child to return to him. Jamie moves to the city and Ronsel returns to Germany.

As Pappy is buried, Hap says a prayer over the grave and quotes the following passage from the Book of Job:

He cometh forth like a flower, and is cut down: he fleeth also as a shadow, and continueth not. And dost thou open thine eyes upon such a one, and bringest me into judgment with thee? Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean? not one. Seeing his days are determined, the number of his months are with thee, thou hast appointed his bounds that he cannot pass; Turn from him, that he may rest, till he shall accomplish, as an hireling, his day. For there is hope of a tree, if it be cut down, that it will sprout again, and that the tender branch thereof will not cease. Though the root thereof wax old in the earth, and the stock thereof die in the ground; Yet through the scent of water it will bud, and bring forth boughs like a plant. But man dieth, and wasteth away: yea, man giveth up the ghost, and where is he? As the waters fail from the sea, and the flood decayeth and drieth up: So man lieth down, and riseth not: till the heavens be no more, they shall not awake, nor be raised out of their sleep.