TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD

(December 1962, U.S.)

Like so many, I read Harper Lee's TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD in high school, and I'm sorry to say I remember almost none of it. Like too many of my generation (and others, I'm sure) I've come to rely on the movies for even my knowledge of popular literature, because we're often apt to watch movies multiple time instead of reading books more than one time. Truth be told, there are times when I embrace this classic tale as nothing more than a series of vignettes and episodes in what is otherwise nothing more or less than a coming of age story of two children in Maycomb, Alabama, during the Great Depression of the early 1930s. To cling to that opinion would be ignorant, though, if not a crime in the world of literature (both in print and on film). While I may not fully appreciate the reasons for Lee's novel earning the Pulitzer Prize, I cannot deny the story content as it fits in the world of racism, civil rights, and basic human decency.

The story is narrated by the adult Jean Louise Finch, or "Scout", as she prefers to be called. Scout and her older brother Jem live modestly (despite the town's poverty that surrounds them), and enjoy a happy, carefree childhood with their father, Atticus Finch (played by Gregory Peck) and the family housekeeper, Calpurnia. Their summer is filled with games that include searching for "Boo" Radley, the reclusive and mysterious neighbor who's gained the reputation of being the town oddball. On several occasions, Jem has discovered small objects (including a broken stop watch, a pocket knife and two carved soap dolls resembling him and Scout) left inside the knothole of a tree on the Radley property.

As the town lawyer (and seemingly the only decent and moral man in town), he believes in fair treatment for all and turning the other cheek to defend your beliefs (oh, that sounds so good on paper). When he's appointed to defend Tom Robinson (played by Brock Peters, later of STAR TREK IV and VI fame) who's accused of raping a white girl, he exposes himself and his children to the town's harsh racism. Tensions are raised when Atticus declares his belief that Tom is innocent of the crime he's accused of, and is even forced to sit in front of the local jail to safeguard Tom from an angry lynch mob. The trial itself is intriguing, as Atticus mounts evidence that appear to exonerate Tom, including the fact that Tom has only one working hand, as well as the fact that the victim's father is prone to fits of violent rage whenever he's been drinking. Before the verdict is handed down, it appears as though the white girl kissed and seduced Tom, and was subsequently beaten by her father as a result for her seducing a black man. In his closing argument, Atticus asks the all-white male jury to cast aside their prejudices and focus on Tom's obvious innocence. Such a plea is futile, because a black man like Tom in a racist town like Maycomb doesn't stand a chance. Tom is found guilty and is later killed during his transfer to prison while attempting to escape.

We might expect the story of TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD to conclude with this sort of climactic tragedy, but the story chooses to not only resume the journey of Scout and Jem, specifically on Halloween night when the two are violently attacked in the woods, but to also point out the lessons of prejudging another human being, when it's revealed that it was, indeed, Arthur "Boo" Radley who not only saved the children by killing their attacker, but also that he appears to be a very shy and gentle soul. Scout concludes the film by drawing an analogy which compares the unwelcome public attention that would have been heaped on "Boo" with the killing of a mockingbird that does nothing but sing to make people happy.

TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD is surely a message film that seeks to tear at our social conscience, to not only remind us of a time when racism ruled our souls, but perhaps to also remind us that we haven't come very far in the years since. This is surely Gregory Peck's finest role in a career that must stand up against other classic titles like Hitchcok's SPELLBOUND, GENTLEMEN'S AGREEMENT, CAPE FEAR, THE GUNS OF NAVARONE and even THE OMEN. As Atticus Finch, his goodness must not only do battle with a town population surviving on their ignorance, but also to help his children grow up in a world they're slowly discovering is filled with evil during the course of their carefree innocence in a time that is supposed to 1930's small town Alabama, in which an honest white man must stand up and fight for the life a helpless black man. There is truly intense drama during the scene in which Atticus faces the armed lynch mob, ready to break into the jailhouse and hang Tom Robinson, and yet we cannot ignore that it's also the innocence of children who save the day, when Scout and Jem arrive unexpectedly on the scene and manage to innocently shame the men of the mob into retreating in peace. Could children possibly do such a thing at that time in real life, or in this life now? It's a nice idea to dream about, I suppose.

Favorite line or dialogue:

Atticus Finch: "I remember when my daddy gave me that gun. He told me that I should never point it at anything in the house, and that he'd rather I'd shoot at tin cans in the backyard. But he said that sooner or later he supposed the temptation to go after birds would be too much, and that I could shoot all the blue jays I wanted, if I could hit 'em, but to remember it was a sin to kill a mockingbird. Well, I reckon because mockingbirds don't do anything but make music for us to enjoy. They don't eat people's gardens, don't nest in the corncrib, they don't do one thing but just sing their hearts out for us."

TO HAVE AND HAVE NOT

(October 1944, U.S.)

If you're familiar enough with the Golden Age of Hollywood, then I suppose you're familiar enough with the off-screen romance and eventual marriage between legends Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall. That in mind, I can't help but watch their first of four films together, TO HAVE AND HAVE NOT with a pair of wider eyes, trying to see just what it was that sparked their initial chemistry and heat that would inevitably lead to Hollywood history.

The story, loosely based on Ernest Hemingway's 1937 novel, centers on the romance between charter fisherman Harry Morgan (Bogart) living in Martinique and American drifter "Slim" (Bacall), which is complicated by the growing French resistance in Vichy France during World War II. Harry makes a modest living with tourists alongside his drunken mate Eddie (played by Walter Brennan). The island of Martinique is a haven harboring assorted people sympathetic to a Free France. While Harry stays at his hotel home owned by "Frenchy" (to his English-speaking customers), he's urged to help the French Resistance by smuggling in some people onto the island with his boat. Refusing at first, he reluctantly accepts when he not only hooks up with "Slim" and wants to help her get out of Martinique, but also finds himself dead broke. Upon picking up his cargo, a young married couple, his boat is seen and fired up by a navy patrol boat. The male passenger is wounded, but Harry manages to escape by turning his boat into a dense fog bank.

Returning to the hotel, Harry is able to apply his experience with gunshot wounds to remove the bullet from his wounded passenger. Still seeking Harry's assistance in their operation, he continues to respectfully turn them down. When the police arrive, they confront Harry, having recognized his boat from the night before. They also reveal they're holding Eddie and will exploit his drinking problem to get the information they require about the smuggling plot. His back against the wall, Harry acts with "Slim's" help, and gains control of a hidden gun and the situation he's faced with, turning the tables on the police and killing one of them in the process. He forces the police captain to release Eddie, and the two of them with "Slim" escape on Harry's boat, having finally agreed to help with the mission for the French Resistance.

It's curious to note the theme of fishing in TO HAVE AND HAVE NOT, because it was apparently during a fishing trip that director Howard Hawks tried to convince his friend Hemingway to write the script, despite Hemingway's disinterest in working in Hollywood. I also have to say that I've never been truly convinced of the line that apparently put Bacall on the map when she told Bogart, "You know how to whistle, don't you Steve? You just put your lips together and blow." I'm sure there's plenty of sexual innuendo behind it, even for the 1940s, but I still just don't get it. Still, one can't deny the strong connection between Bogart and Bacall which continued in three more films (including THE BIG SLEEP and KEY LARGO). While this film is certainly no CASABLANCA, it remains a solid romantic melodrama with the traditional Bogart wit his fans love. However, I personally can't help but feel cheated when the film ends the moment the main characters decide to leave the island, their police enemies still undefeated and the story lacking any credible closure. Regardless, I suppose if you're even a small fan of the Bogey-Bacall screen phenomenon, you take what you can get and try to enjoy it.

Favorite line or dialogue:

Harry Morgan: "Johnson's my client."
Slim: "He doesn't speak so well of you."
Harry: "He's still my client. You ought to pick on someone to steal from who doesn't owe me money."

TO GILLIAN ON HER 37TH BIRTHDAY

(October 1996, U.S.)

TO GILLIAN ON HER 37TH BIRTHDAY is a story about loss, and as I sit and write this blog post, I'm dealing with a loss of my own; the same loss every fan of the Canadian rock band Rush is dealing with upon learning the news of the death of drummer Neil Peart (so naturally, I'm listening to the music of Rush as I write this).

By the time I saw this film when it was released on video, it was the summer of 1997, and I'd just re-opened the beach house in Westhampton Beach that had been in the family for nearly twenty years. I'd always been a sucker for poignant stories that took place on the beach (think SUMMER OF '42, as an example), so my interest was immediate. What I didn't expect was an almost atypical ghost story in the tradition of GHOST (1990), but without the thrills. I was instantly drawn to David Lewis's (played by Peter Gallagher) Nantucket beach house and it's isolation from neighbors and town's hustle and bustle. The beach and the ocean right outside his doorstep was an easy way for him to lose himself in his own private world after the loss of his beautiful wife Gillian (played by Michelle Pfeiffer) two years earlier when she foolishly climbed the mast of their sailboat and fell to her death. David is so affected by her death, that he willingly and knowingly communicates with Gillian's spirit as if she were standing right in front of him, while unwittingly neglecting his daughter Rachel (played by Claire Danes).

During a family weekend gathering, in what's supposed to be the second anniversary celebration of Gillain (who happened to die on her birthday), David's sister in-law and her husband have brought with them a woman they hope will spark a romantic interest in David's heart. No such luck. David ignores her and proceeds with a series of rituals to celebrate his deceased wife's birthday. The events of the weekend prompt the grown-ups to re-examine their own lives and relationships, while Rachel's best friend Cindy (played by Laurie Fortier) has no problem being as provocative as she can, even while showing off her developing body on the beach (sorry, no pictures, as that would be inappropriate due to her character being underage). It's not until Rachel has a very realistic nightmare about her mother that David finally realizes his isolation and self-indulgent fantasies are hurting his daughter, and finally agrees to her moving in with her aunt and uncle permanently. He also comes to realize he must close the beach house and move back to Boston in order to move on with his own life...and above all, to give up the ghost, while not betraying the memory of his beloved wife.

It's easy enough to simply dismiss this film as just another tearjerker that could've easily been a TV movie on the Lifetime network instead of a theatrical release. The story and performances are solid enough (particularly Claire Danes's anguish as the troubled daughter), though hardly worthy of Oscar mentions. The exterior shots of the beach and the ocean offer the traditional sort of moonlight and magic one might expect from such a setting.

Beyond all of this, I suppose the film needs to feel personal to the one who's watching it. As I mentioned, I'm a sucker for beach stories (though I'm not a fan of Bette Midler in BEACHES), particularly it its power to heal painful emotions and experiences (always worked for me). The timing of my seeing this film was effective in that by the time I saw it in 1997, I was alone in the family beach house and struggling with my own painful memories of love lost. However, upon seeing GILLIAN and it's ultimate message of closure, I was inspired to take a daring step in my own life that would bring closure of my own. I contacted a woman I'd once been in love with and had also ended things badly with. After nearly four years of not speaking to each other, I was inspired to reach out to her in order to finally settle my demons with her so that I could finally move on with my life. In a nutshell, my efforts paid off. I settled things, I moved on, and soon met the woman who would one day become my wife.

You see - this is the point I've always tried to make - that movies continue to have the power to inspire us in our own personal lives. They may not be great movies, but if they managed to touch a nerve within us, then they work, nonetheless.

So thank you GILLIAN for touching that nerve within me.

Favorite line or dialogue:

Cindy Bayles: "Live people can't compete with dead ones."

TO CATCH A THIEF

(August 1955, U.S.)

Happy New Year to all of my readers! I said I'd be back, and here I am...and what better way to return than with the all-mighty Alfred Hitchcock. But while TO CATCH AT THIEF is a great film, it's not necessarily a great Alfred Hitchcock film. As the "Master of Suspense", Hitchcock will be forever known as the genius behind great thrillers like PSYCHO, THE BIRDS, VERTIGO, NORTH BY NORTHWEST and NOTORIOUS, just to name some. But we have to remember that every once in a while, Hitchcock told stories that often concentrated more on romance and intrigue rather than hardcore suspense. While TO CATCH A THIEF may play up on the traditional cat-and-mouse tactics of who-did-what-and-how, it's surely the on-screen chemistry between Cary Grant and Grace Kelly against the cinematic backdrop of the French Riviera that captures our attention and our hearts.

As cat burglar John Robie (also known as "the Cat"), Grant is retired and looking to save his reformed reputation by tracking down and catching an imposter burglar who's been victimizing the wealthy tourists of the Riviera. An ongoing pattern of jewel robberies leads the French police to believe that Robie has come out of his alleged retirement of growing flowers and grapes to resume his life of crime. When they try to arrest him, Robie gives them the slip and looks to clear his name by consulting his former gang (now restaurant workers) who were paroled for their efforts in the French Resistance during World War II. They're the first to suspect Robie of the recent crimes, and it's the restaurant's owner's daughter Danielle (played by Brigitte Auber) who gets him to safety due to the fact that she has a crush on him.

Determined to catch the thief, Robie works with insurance man H.H. Hughson (played by John Williams), who provides him with a list of the most expensive jewelry owners currently vacationing on the Riviera. A rich widow and her daughter Frances (Kelly), are the ones that top the list. Robie befriends them, and is immediately attracted to Frances (because who wouldn't be attracted to Grace Kelly?), while her reaction to him is modest, at best. Robie maintains his facade as a wealthy American tourist, despite Danielle's jealousy of the new relationship between him and Frances. Frances is no fool, however, and easily sees through Robie's cover, playfully confronting him about his true identity, even teasing him with her priceless jewels, and offering up herself as a partner who can share in his life of crime. This moment ends with an unforgettable visual scene of distant fireworks in the night sky as they kiss for the first time (this is also a moment when we should remember that Hitchcock could be a master or romance, as well as suspense). The next morning, the jewels belonging to Frances's mother are gone, and Frances wastes no time in accusing Robie, demanding he give them back to her, and accusing him of using her as a romantic distraction so he could steal the jewelry.

Again, Robie disappears before the police can catch him, and proceeds to stake out a targeted estate. He struggles with an attacker (Danielle's father) who ends up dying in the fight. The police are satisfied they have their man as the accused jewel thief, but Robie is not convinced, citing that the attacker had a wooden leg and couldn't have possibly climbed all those rooftops to steal the jewels. As the love develops between Robie and Frances, the investigating to the thief's true identity draws closer. When the film climaxes on yet another rooftop, we learn that Danielle is the true thief (truth be told, it's not to hard to figure that out while you're watching the film) when she's forced to confess loudly to the police below while she dangles from the rooftop ledge. The thief is caught, love prevails, and the French Riviera continues to shine brightly on the screen before us...

As is often the case, a film shot on location in such a vivid and colorful manner often entices its viewer to fantasize of its reality. I'm no exception - I've wanted to visit the French Riviera ever since I first saw TO CATCH A THIEF, and I'm still awaiting the opportunity to go there. Beyond that inspiration for luxurious world travel, the film may be regarded with mixed reactions, at best, in the grand scheme of Hitchcock's impressive career. The film certainly lacks the true suspense that one comes to expect from Hitchcock, so it becomes necessary to embrace the film on a different level, mainly its visual setting and romantic intrigue between its two major stars. Cary Grant and Grace Kelly express a sly and grand seduction toward each other, and their performances strongly support that seduction. In the daring cat-and-mouse process in which Grant seeks to clear his name, we concentrate on his tight and fast-paced technique against the backdrop of dramatic developments. These developments are not particularly exciting or suspenseful, but again, when we're so delighted and seduced by a locale that provides wealth, romance and intrigue, perhaps it's one of those moments when we give our traditional expectations of Hitchcock a break, and embrace the alternate possibilities of what defines suspense. Whether it works or not depends our our ability to open our minds and hearts to a filmmaker who had so much to tell us, in so many different ways and places. Perhaps that's what made Hitchcock so special.

Favorite line or dialogue:

John Robie: "Say something nice to her, Danielle."
Danielle Foussard: "She looks a lot older up close."
Frances Stevens: "To a mere child, anything over twenty might seem old."