LISTS

[CineMaven]

The Americans do make delicate romantic films. That is to say, they did back in the 1940s.

Really?

Name me ten.

[charliechaplinfan]

OK, my rental list is going to be huge

[movieman1957]

"The Exorcist" scared me to death. I saw it in the theater. I'm not sure why. "Jaws" was just exciting. I think the only really thing that scared me was the head falling into that hole in the boat.

I like your list April. However, "Out of Africa" was a long, slow film for me. Beautiful locations, beautiful people, beautiful music didn't make it that interesting for me. Lots of people love it.

Other than that one with the films we've both seen we're not that far apart.

[MissGoddess]

T, yes I've seen Election, it was very funny. What character did Lena Headley play in Gladiator?

Kingrat, I've never seen High Barbaree...can you tell me a little more about it, like who's in it? I know I've heard of it but I was thinking it was a western.

Chris, The Exorcist is WAY too scary for me. I saw it as a kid and never got over it. In fact, it may be the most frightening movie I've ever seen. I agree with you about Out of Africa, but I think why I love it is purely due to the score and the setting. I also liked Dinesen's books. I don't care for the two leads, really. Kate Hepburn and Peter O'Toole would have been far more interesting, but that was another time. The muted backstory about Michael Kitchen and Iman was interesting.[/b]

[MissGoddess]

Oh, dear...June and Van. Well, if you and Moira say so, maybe I'll give it a chance.

[CineMaven]

April, Lena Headley wasn’t in “Gladiator.” I got that wrong. I’m sorry I put that out there. I think I got my big, beefy, six-packed guys all mixed up. Lena Headley was the queen in “300.” I meant to say Connie Nielsen, another strong actress I like.

****

Oh no, it's Maven's challenge to me to name 10 American delicate romantic films from the 1940s. Me and my big mouth! How about...

Thank you King Rat for accepting my "challenge."

THE ENCHANTED COTTAGE - ( Dorothy McGuire & Robert Young )
Beauty in the eye of the beholder. It’s a beautiful film. I love how they slowly, tentatively reach for each other. And how the love light shown in each other's eyes no matter how the world saw them. Who cares what the world thinks or sees as long as you both are in love.

LAURA - ( Gene Tierney & Dana Andrews )
Finding the girl of your dreams...in a murder case. Dana & Gene were never better. Some way to ‘meet cute’ huh? Hard boiled delicacy. But after all he did fall in love...just from her painting.

DEEP VALLEY - ( Ida Lupino & Dane Clark )
I’ve never seen this film, but I know that Ida Lupino can play hurt and wounded, so I can see how she can melt the heart of a hardened Dane Clark. Look what she did for Robbie Ryan in "On Dangerous Ground" and you can't get any harder than he was in that film.

MOONRISE - ( Gail Russell & Dane Clark )
This movie kept me off-kilter throughout, unsettled. Frank Borzage is amazing, taps into my heart. He makes me feel something very different that I can’t quite explain and this picture showed me that. Gail Russell she is the dream, and believes in Dane Clark. I never so much cared for him, but maybe I never really gave him a chance. Gail and Ida could make me give him a chance. But it’s Rex Ingram and Allyn Joslyn who also haunt me in this. What a delicate film...hey wait a minute!

ENCHANTMENT - ( Teresa Wright & David Niven )
Oh dude, you’re killing me...killing me! Yes of course “Enchantment.” Teresa Wright is such a sweet little thing and David Niven loves this poor little waif. Mean ol’ Jayne gets in the way of love. Love that doesn’t have a happy ending is always a bonafide tearjerker. It hurts my heart.

THE GHOST & MRS. MUIR ( Gene Tierney & Rex Harrison )
A ghostly sea captain haunts and loves a lonely widower; Bernard Hermann’s music (I have the soundtrack) makes me swoon; I believe Gene in love. Love after death. Love no one else can see. (Sigh!) So romantic.

NIGHT SONG - ( Merle Oberon & Dana Andrews )
What? Who? Huh? Merle and Dana? Why have I never heard of this film? Well, thanx to your list Brother Rat, I have just ordered it from Barnes & Noble.

HIGH BARBAREE ( June Allyson & Van Johnson )
I think Van and June make as good a duo as Loy & Powell; Gable & Harlow; Tracy & Hepburn. Their wattage is just softer. I’ve never seen this, but now I want to. And from what I read, it looks like it's in mystery-limbo-distribution-land, which will make me ache more. I like mystical magical love that cuts through time. I also thought this was a Western.

THEY LIVE BY NIGHT ( Cathy O’Donnell & Farley Granger )
What a sweet pair of lovers caught up in things bigger than themselves. I rooted for them. Two little injured birds I wanted to take under my wing. They don’t stand a chance, do they?

THE UNINVITED - ( Gail Russell & Ray Milland )
I feel very protective of Gail Russell. Ghosts are after her. She's a haunted girl. Ray falls for her. And her mother wants to protect her as well.

THE CONSTANT NYMPH - ( Joan Fontaine & Charles Boyer )
Starcrossed. Muse. Love that doesn’t recognize it’s love. Heartbreaking. Wiped me out. Trying to put back the pieces.

That's 11, in case you don't like one of the choices! There's a mixture of genres here, but I would call all of these films romantic, and praise all of the directors for delicacy in their handling of the romantic elements. Perhaps The Human Comedy, Letter from an Unknown Woman, and The Reckless Moment should be mentioned here as well.

Whoa, three good ones bringing up the rear, K.R.. I've got to look up the composers of all the movies on your list. Their strings and flutes add to love's euphoria and fragility. I know music tugs at my heartstrings. (Yeah, even bombastic Korngold). Mickey Rooney is great as the boy in "The Human Comedy" (that music...that music!! Luv it!) The American town and the McCauley family depicted so lovingly. The school teacher broke my heart. And "...Unknown Woman" poignant, heartbreaking (yeah I've used that word a lot, right?) I'll never forget the look on Joan's face realizing Louis does not know who she is. That's one of the most devastating things I've seen. "...Reckless" who else but James Mason has the skill to walk that delicate fine line of falling in love with his victim.

May I please add “MIRACLE IN THE RAIN” and "A GUY NAMED JOE" or "PANDORA & THE FLYING DUTCHMAN"? How about glorious Gloria Grahame's moment in "CROSSFIRE" when she's dancing with that young soldier. Their whole romance lasted as long as their dance. Could Hitch's "VERTIGO" make the cut? And how about Jennifer Jones & Joseph Cotten in "LOVE LETTERS"? What is love without Jennifer Jones?

Thank you taking the time to create this list of American delicate romantic films. You have restored my faith in the delicacy of Americans making romantic delicate American films.

'Course I knew it all along.

[CineMaven]

Yes, "Pandora..." definitely has a European feeling and I was talking about American films. (Pssst! But it's Ava looking ravishing and in love). As for "THE CLOCK" Judy's day is Sunday. It's not included in the line-up, but we still have that great Garland voice. (Move over Whitney). Yes, we sure have our plate overflowing with delicately romantic American films from the 1940's. ( Sigh ! )

[Mr. Arkadin]

SPOILERS AHEAD:

Question to ChiO, JF, and others who put Paris, Texas on their list of faves: do you think the film has a relatively happy ending by father giving the son to the mother? I liked the film's cinematography, music, and acting quite a bit, despite the rather slow pace, but it started to go off the rails for me during Harry Dean Stanton's long monologue about how he deserted his family because he loved them so much (if I remember correctly), and the ending bothers me a lot. Wasn't the boy in better hands with his aunt and uncle at the beginning of the film? His father's deserted him again, and turned him over to a mother who hasn't seemed all that eager to get him back. I believe how you view the ending significantly affects how much you like the film.

What is your take on this?

Paris, Texas has origins in The Searchers (1956), where a man reunites a family, but excludes himself because he cannot be a part of society and must live outside it. Stanton's monologue is not about how he deserted his family, but how his own jealousy and alcoholism destroyed their marriage and he physically abused her until she finally set the trailer on fire while he was sleeping. While he realizes he can never be a part of her life again, he can love her through his child and this is the hope that he holds. Both are flawed and broken people and the film wisely leaves us with more questions than answers, much in the way The Searchers or its other offspring such as Paul Schrader's Taxi Driver (1976) (screenwriter) and Hardcore (1979) do.

I personally love the ending because it's not a tidy one. Travis attempts to investigate Jane's life (does she go home with her clients?) to see if he is doing what is best for his son, but in the end he must release him in uncertainty (is anything certain in life?) and trust that their bond as mother and son will carry them the rest of the way, judging that they both need each other more than anything else in this world.

[ChiO]

Mr. Ark beat me.

The ideal film for me allows for pondering whether there is an ending. Is Stanton "good" for reuniting mother and son? Is that better than leaving him with a family that appears to be better able to meet his material needs? Is Stanton "bad" for leaving again? Yes and no and maybe for each question. There is no neat and tidy resolution...and that's a good thing for these eyes.

And, besides, as you noted, it is beautifully made.

[ChiO]

Verisimilitude is the hobgoblin....oh, never mind.

Do the characters remain faithful to the characteristics to which the filmmaker has allowed us to be privy? (That was a long way around avoiding a preposition at the end. Drat! those grade school teachers.) That's pretty much all I need.