MOVIE OF THE WEEK: REBECCA

“Rebecca” is a movie you can watch on a rainy day, relax on the sofa, and savor the juicy bits of the storyline. That’s just what I did today. I’m sorry to say that I’ve never seen it because it isn’t available from Netflix.com, nor have I noticed it on Turner Classic Movies in the past. However, it was well worth the wait. The characters are highly imaginative, the story is genius, and Alfred Hitchcock nails the direction in his first American film (which also won the 1940 Best Picture Oscar).
The plot begins with a slight meeting between Joan Fontaine and Laurence Olivier. Fontaine is visiting Monte Carlo with a chatty woman (there’s always seems to be one in a Hitchcock movie) who has hired her for company. As soon as she can get away from her rotund companion, she and Oliver start a friendship. He plays Maxim de Winter, a rich Brit who is visiting. He’s kind of a stuffy guy, while she’s a free spirit, but heck, opposites attract and they get married.
I didn’t even realize until a few minutes ago that Fontaine’s character doesn’t even have a name! After they’re wed, she’s merely called the second Mrs. de Winter which brings me to the main plotlines: The apparent reason for Maxim’s travels is because he’s trying to forget his first wife, who drowned in the sea next to their estate. And now, it seems like everyone is trying to make the new Mrs. de Winter into Rebecca, the old wife.
De Winter’s got an awesome house, but it’s here that the tension begins. The whole staff is meant to serve the new lady, but the ringleader of the manor is Mrs. Danvers, played with perfection by Judith Anderson. She automatically hates Mrs. de Winter because she loved Rebecca so much. Her performance is so melancholy that she set the standard for future creepy servants, maids, and butlers (Frau Blucher [WHINEE!] comes to mind).
Throughout the movie, Danvers does things to the couple to bring up the bad memories of the past, and pretty soon I wasn’t sure if Maxim even liked the Mrs. But the plot takes several welcomed twists before the answer is revealed. And if you think I’m going to tell you, you’re sadly mistaken. I’ll just say this, Hitchcock was famous for his “MacGuffins” (telling a story and then reversing the way the audience thinks it’s going) and the ones in this movie are great doozies. All is not what it seems.
The tone and mood is just right in this film. Hitchcock was having a good day when he made this, and just think what would have happened if this movie had never been made. We would’ve missed “Vertigo,” “Psycho,” “Rear Window,” “North by Northwest,” “Strangers on a Train,” “Shadow of a Doubt,” “The Birds,” and countless others. It’s a fine American introduction and a fine film period.

And that's why "Rebecca" is the Movie of the Week.

P.S. I've added the first ten minutes of the film to this post. If you care to see the rest of the movie, I've just found out that you can watch all of it in 13 segments on Youtube.com

FREE MOVIE OF THE MONTH: KING KONG

Note: I'm going to start doing something new this week. Considering there's so much free stuff on the internet, I'm going to post a free flick for everyone to watch once a month.



I'll never know how this tradition got started, but the TV stations used to show "King Kong" every Thanksgiving day. It just so happens that I found a copy of this classic online (in about 11 different parts) and to keep with the holiday theme, I offer it for your viewing pleasure. Enjoy!

MOVIE OF THE WEEK: FRIENDLY PERSUASION

Have you ever noticed that there aren’t many good Thanksgiving movies? Of course, there’s “Hannah and Her Sisters,” “Planes, Trains, and Automobiles,” and “Pieces of April,” but when I think of this holiday, I think of pilgrims chopping the heads off turkeys, eating corn pudding, thanking God for the day, and just enjoying the peaceful, chilly land. “Friendly Persuasion” isn’t about pilgrims, nor is it about Thanksgiving. But the way it portrays a Quaker’s life is the way I picture the first Thanksgiving. Quiet and calm, with people you enjoy, lovely locations, and we mustn’t forget that blackberry pie that Dorothy McGuire cooked up from scratch.
The story is about a Quaker clan named the Birdwells. Gary Cooper is the father, while McGuire is the mother of the family. Phyllis Love is their lovestruck daughter, Mattie, Richard Eyer is “Little” Jess, their youngest son, and Anthony Perkins plays their other son, Josh, in his only Academy Award nominated performance. A good thing about their performances is that they play the family like real people instead of being stereotypical.
The time frame is set in the 1860s, during the Civil War, and the only big difference between the Quakers and the rest of the world is the way they treat these kinds of issues. Being on the Union side, instead of trying to hate the Rebels, they attempt to turn the other cheek and simply get by with life. Also, being a Quaker means going to meetings at their church house every Sunday, growing your own food, and having no music. But it doesn’t make for a bland story because they don’t always follow the rules. Mr. Birdwell races his horse and buggy against the Methodists, they buy an organ and hide it from the other Quakers, and Josh even considers joining the army.
Most of the movie consists of feelings about the ongoing war and what to do. Anthony Perkins plays his part well, and you feel for him. Josh can’t join the Union or else he breaks his Quaker rights, yet he feels he should help defend the country. The performance is so good, I promise you won’t even think about Norman Bates during the film.
The other major storyline is about Mattie’s love to a soldier named Gard. But that’s about it. It doesn’t need another couple of storylines, it’s fine just the way it is. It’s a good movie for a cold day and for Thanksgiving. Again, it’s not that it’s about pilgrims or turkeys, it’s just got that old fashioned, homey feeling.

And that's why "Friendly Persuasion" is the movie of the week.

P.S. I looked for a clip from the movie, but the best I could come up with were some stills from the film set to its' nice Dimitri Tiomkin score. Enjoy.

MOVIE OF THE WEEK: THE THIEF AND THE COBBLER

If you're a lover of unique film, this is a good choice for you. I like a lot of things about "The Thief and the Cobbler," but the best part is the eye-popping animation. It’s so amazing, it’s really all you can focus on. The characters are all second tier except Vincent Price in his last film role, and what a way to go. His character rhymes and flows like a snake in a basket and he’s very fun to watch (and listen of course). There's a long production story to this film, but I'll explain that later.

The movie is set in the ancient middle east. The two main characters are Tack the mute shoemaker, and a silent, unnamed thief. After a misunderstanding, Tack is arrested by the king’s grand vizier, Zig-Zag. However, the king’s daughter has a crush on him and saves him from execution by asking for a shoe repair. Zig-Zag is bitter and slinks away, plotting his revenge.
The plotline revolves around three golden balls resting on top of the tallest minaret. If the balls are removed, terror will grip the city, in which only the simplest soul can save everyone. That’s where the thief comes in. The only reason I could think of for having him in the film is so he could steal the balls and screw things up for the other characters. But, that’s okay. When the thief does steal the balls, it’s up to Tack to get them back and fight against Zig-Zag, who has joined up with the evil “One-Eyed Army.”
You’ve probably never heard of this movie and there's an unfortunate reason for that. Director Richard Williams began production on it in 1968 and made the story and most of the animation himself. He would work with other studios to earn money for the film and while keeping the stack of animated cells in a safe, calling them his “reason for living.” In other words, this movie was important to him and it was going to be his masterpiece. But in the early 90s, he took the movie to Warner Brothers so he could finish it and have it distributed quicker. The only problem was that he didn’t meet the required deadline and the whole film was yanked out from under his feet.
The film was finished as quick as possible by a new director. Different voices were dubbed into the film, corny new songs were added, and new animation replaced some of the old. The film was barely released in 1995 and forgotten as fast as you could say “Arabian Knight.” It was kind of similar to Aladdin and that may be part of the reason for the flop, but still, yuck!
Thankfully, there are plenty of fans who care about “The Thief and the Cobbler.” I just watched a great work print of the movie on Google Video. It’s called the “Recobbled Cut” and it features the movie the way it was meant to be shown. They’ve cut out all of the new footage, songs, and voices and kept whatever was needed as Richard Williams might have done. My only complaint is that this version drags from time to time from the loose patches of animation that would’ve been better had the true director finished it.
But I suggest you go ahead and watch the work print and pray that perhaps one day Richard Williams’ glorious film will be appreciated. And that's why it's the movie of the week. Enjoy.

P.S. I’ve included a couple of clips below. The first is a great chase scene between Tack and the Thief and the second is Zig-Zag consulting the One-Eyes.

Opening Day

Welcome to the Movie Glutton blog. I’m terrible at introductions, but my next post will be better. I’m here for all your movie needs and I hope to spread my love and joy of film to everyone…or something like that. On this blog, I’ll be riffing about recent movie stories I’ve heard or been through and even discussing movie trivia. I’ll give out my film selections of the week and other special goodies. If you have any questions or comments, I’d love to hear them. I’ve got a website coming soon, so I'll keep you posted about that. Otherwise, on with the show.