1952
I came into existence in this year; and probably stopped my parents' movie-going for a while. Here are
my favorites for this year as thin a year as it is for me:
ANGEL FACE - Otto Preminger
Jean Simmons & Robert Mitchum
Boy Meets Girl. A very disturbed girl. I like how this plays out. Jean Simmons is the disturbed girl with a serious Electra Complex. And Robert Mitchum is, well...he's the man who
once again, gets led down the garden path by his...by a woman. I’d say Brian DePalma took this movie’s last shot, and used it in
his last shot of “Sisters.” Jean Simmons is beautiful
...and has edge.
* * * * * * * * * *
THE BAD & THE BEAUTIFUL - Vincente Minnelli
Kirk Douglas & Lana Turner
There was “What Price Hollywood” and “A Star Is Born” but my favorite Hollwyood on Hollywood movie is this one. It’s big, splashy and melodramatic. It’s Kirk like you love to hate him. It's Lana as blonde as blonde can be. And Hollywood? Well, it’s as backstabbing and phony and cut-throat and glamorous as you imagine it to be. What more can you want from Peyton Place-West?
* * * * * * * * * *
HIGH NOON - Fred Zinnemann
Gary Cooper
A deceptively simple Western. Bad guys previously sent to the hoosegow are back in town for revenge. But the sheriff that sent them up the river is now ready to start a new life with his new bride. Somebody’s got to face those guys but the town’s too scared to do so. So Coop decides to face them alone.
AND in real time. No frills, no Monument Valley. Just One...Lone..Man.
* * * * * * * * * *
THE MARRYING KIND - George Cukor
Aldo Ray & Judy Holliday
This movie just totally won me over. It wasn’t what I expected and I don’t even know
what I expected. It’s the 50’s but the movie wasn’t all sugar and spice and everything nice. Marriage is more than the wedding day. We see two people joining their lives together and the roller coaster ride that it is. Aldo Ray and Judy Holliday were perfectly matched. And Cukor...an old pro does a story with a cutting edge.
* * * * * * * * * *
THE NARROW MARGIN - Richard Fleischer
Charles McGraw
Taut, suspenseful, sparse, twists. What a train ride. I was in it all the way. Yes, I'd want Charles McGraw to protect me especially when he's on the right side of the law. The fight scene on the train rivals the fight in "From Russia With Love." But 'Rosa Klebb' is
no Marie Windsor.