BEFORE: My review of "Amazing Spider-Man 2" will have to wait - I'm estimating that I'll be posting it around July 20. I'm avoiding publishing any spoilers this way. If you haven't seen that film by July 20, then it's your own fault. It's very simple for me to determine what constitutes a "spoiler". If I haven't seen the film or TV show, then the information is a spoiler and should not be published where I can see it. However, if I HAVE seen the movie or show, then it's not a spoiler. Now if I could just get everyone in the media to check with me about what's OK to print, then I'll be all set.
Linking from "Mr. & Mrs. Smith", Carole Lombard was in at least three films with Cary Grant (last seen in "His Girl Friday"), including "In Name Only". Hitchcock carries over and does another cameo tonight, so I'm covered either way.
THE PLOT: A shy young English woman marries a charming gentleman, then begins to suspect him of trying to kill her.
AFTER: A man and woman meet on a train (Man, did Hitchcock love trains, or what?) and this leads to a romance. The opening scene of this film was used in the Steve Martin movie "Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid", only with Steve Martin in the lead female's place. They gave Steve Martin dialogue that would play off of Cary Grant's pick-up lines, very cool.
Cary Grant plays "Johnnie", who has trouble paying his train fare - so our first impression is that he's a no-good bum. But then Lina sees his photo in the society pages, and naturally assumes that he's well-off. Yeah, maybe she should have stuck with her first impression. After they get married he resorts to his old ways, skipping work and hanging out at the racetrack, even selling off her parent's museum quality chairs to pay off his debts. Worse yet, he's wondering when his wife's parents are going to kick the bucket, so she'll get an inheritance.
The situation seems to get better when he finds a job, but it actually gets worse. And then he gets involved in a shady land deal - all the while, his wife stands by him and doesn't assert herself. I guess this is a step up from the previous Hitchcock women who were unfaithful and irrational beings, but who can say? Does she (fail to) act here out of love, or is it naivete, or perhaps desperation? That much is unclear.
But as bad as Johnnie is, is he capable of murder? As his situation grows more desperate, how far will he go to clear his name, and his credit rating? Why does he show such an interest in untraceable poisons? And why does he keep asking people up to the top of the mountain to check out the fabulous view? No, really, just step a little closer...
Also starring Joan Fontaine (last seen in "Rebecca"), Nigel Bruce, Cedric Hardwicke, Dame May Whitty (last seen in "The Lady Vanishes"), Leo G. Carroll (also last seen in "Rebecca")
RATING: 5 out of 10 anagrams
No comments:
Post a Comment