As young Harry Potter (Daniel Radcliffe) is about to enter his third year at Hogwarts Academy, he is in trouble. Infuriated at Uncle Vernon's (Richard Griffiths) sister Marge (Pam Ferris) after she has insulted Harry's parents, he has literally blown her up. Though magic outside of school is forbidden to Hogwarts students, Harry is amazed that Minister Cornelius Fudge (Robert Hardy) is not the least concerned. But the Minister is worried that Harry was out on his own; later, Harry is warned to stick close to Hogwarts from Arthur Weasley (Mark Williams). Does all this have something to do with the recent escape of Sirius Black (Gary Oldman) from Azkaban Prison? We had the opportunity to hear the score of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004) played by the National Symphony Orchestra at Wolf Trap. The glorious music by John Williams is even more impressive with a full orchestra and choir behind the film. (Here's a sample of the song Double Trouble from the film itself). Added was a very enthusiastic audience, who showed their appreciation for the film - and for the orchestra. The crowd by and large stayed through the credits to listen to the NSO play the closing music.
Perhaps my favorite character in the Harry Potter novels is the most conflicted one - Severus Snape, as brilliantly portrayed by Alan Rickman. I'm not the only one - his first appearance was greeted by loud applause, as was his name on the credits at film's end. As with Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, we still don't know why Snape is so disagreeable, but one scene towards the end is rather remarkable. Without injecting too many spoilers, our young heroes, Harry, Hermione (Emma Watson), and Ron (Rupert Grint) are in danger. Snape throws himself in front of the trio to protect them. Nothing is said, but it is a moment that foreshadows the future relationship of Harry and Snape. This is Michael Gambon's first outing as Professor Dumbledore; he took on the role after the death of Richard Harris. Personally, I prefer Mr. Harris - he seems more like the rather whimsical Dumbledore of the books. But Mr. Gambon has a strength of character that makes you appreciate his role as Headmaster of the school. He is only in the film briefly, but he makes his presence felt.
Having seen the film several times, a new question arose about Aunt Petunia Dursley (Fiona Shaw). Given that she resents her late sister, Lily (Geraldine Somerville) and doesn't much like her nephew Harry, it's still hard to believe that she would allow her sister-in-law to call Lily a bitch with bad blood. At times, Petunia takes on the demeanor of an abused woman. She is so eager to please her rather nasty husband, that she allows all kinds of insults to be thrown in her direction. The scene ALMOST makes you feel sorry for her (almost).
I hope that we will be able to see more of these concert-driven films. In the meantime, I'll leave you with the film's trailer.
Newlywed American Kit Preston (Doris Day) is wending her way home through a London "pea-souper". A voice in the night calls her by name, then threatens her life. Panicked, Kit runs home and tells her husband, Anthony (Rex Harrison). He reassures her that it is common London practice to try to spook people in a London fog. But the next evening, Kit receives a phone call from the same voice, again threatening to kill her by the end of the month. The police are summoned, but are suspicious that no one else heard the voice but Kit. Meanwhile, Kit becomes more and more terrified as the calls escalate - calls that no one hears but her. Our film this week is the mysterious Midnight Lace (1960). Our discussion started with a birthday toast to Ms. Day, who turned 95 on April 3rd. For several members of our group, this was the first time they had seen Ms. Day in anything but a musical comedy. And while her performance here is perhaps not as impressive as her work in Alfred Hitchcock's The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956), she is still excellent as the terrorized victim. According to the AFI Catalog, Ms. Day became truly hysterical (using as an inspiration for the scene a moment in her life when her first husband became abusive) and Ross Hunter had to shut down production in order to allow her to recover. If there is one problem with the film, it is that, in many respects, it has not aged well. Kit is so remarkably helpless. Sure, she's being stalked, and that is scary, but she does nothing to protect herself (she's wealthy - couldn't she hire a bodyguard?) She is aware that the police doubt her veracity, yet when her husband is finally in the house during one of the calls, she hangs up the phone before he can get on the extension (though why she doesn't just hand him the phone is another issue!) There are times when you want to shake her!
On the plus side, you have a real mystery, with a number of worthy suspects that keep you guessing throughout the film. We'll start with Roddy McDowall (who was odds on favorite among the newcomers to the film) as Malcolm Stanley, money-grubbing son of Kit's put-upon housekeeper, Nora (Doris Lloyd). He provides the character with just the right amount of sleaze and menace, and given that he really only has a couple of scenes, Malcolm is a character that stays in your mind as the action progresses. Mr. McDowall started his career as a child actor in the UK; in 1940, his family moved to the United States to escape the Blitz in England; by 1941, he was starring in John Ford's How Green was My Valley, and in 1943, he became the first owner of the collie America loved in Lassie, Come Home. Mr. McDowall worked steadily in Hollywood, in both film and on television; worked on Broadway (he was Mordred in the original cast of Camelot, and played Artie Strauss in Compulsion, the role assumed by Bradford Dillman in the 1959 film) and in regional theatre, making a reasonably seamless transition to adult roles. A highly regarded photographer, he worked for magazines such as Look and Life, as well as publishing several books in the field. He remained close friends with his Lassie co-star, Elizabeth Taylor, was also a dear friend of his Midnight Lace co-star, Myrna Loy (he called her "Fu" because of her early role in The Mask of Fu Manchu), and was known for his parties, in which he would screen classic films for his guests. Winner of both a Tony Award and an Emmy, Mr. McDowall died of lung cancer in 1998 at the age of 70.
Herbert Marshall has a few scenes as Charles Manning, another possible culprit. A deep-in-debt gambler, Charles COULD be trying to kill Kit to distract Tony. Marshall, unfortunately, has little to do in the film; mostly, he looks worried and distracted. It's always good to see him, but he really is underutilized in the part. John Gavin's Brian Younger at first seems like a nice guy, who is always in the right place at the right time, but then there are those mysterious phone calls from the local pub. What IS he up to? Gavin, an amazingly attractive man, is well cast here, though I would say his perfect part was as Trevor Graydon in Thoroughly Modern Millie (1967), in which he mocks his white-bread good looks. A reasonably successful actor, who appeared in Spartacus (as Julius Caesar) and Psycho (both 1960), Mr. Gavin would leave film and television work for a career as a diplomat (Ambassador to Mexico) during the Reagan administration. Currently retired after a successful business career, Mr. Gavin and his wife Constance Towers have been married for over 40 years.
Finally, there is a half-hearted attempt to make Kit's Aunt Bea Coleman (Myrna Loy) appear to perhaps be in cahoots to drive Kit crazy. But really, Myrna Loy? Her role as the reassuring voice that attempts to soothe the increasingly agitated Kit is very small, but she is a welcome presence in any film. A noted liberal, Ms. Loy related in her autobiography Myrna Loy: Being and Becoming that she cautioned conservative John Gavin about being seen with her - she stated that he must have been, since he "rode Reagan's coattails right into an ambassadorship."
The voice that plagues Kit is discussed in this TCM article, comparing it unfavorably to something that "now it sounds like a character on The Cartoon Network."
And while that is true, we did find the voice unnerving enough that, if
we received a call like that, we'd be calling the police
as well. Wacky, perhaps, but also unsettling.
Doris Day has 17 glorious outfits designed by Irene in the film. The decision by the group was that the one above, was our favorite (I'm a sucker for hats that match a dress!) The midnight lace of the title was a jet black lace pegnior, that was probably the most ordinary of the items of clothing Ms. Day wears. Several of the outfits are viewable on Google Images.
The film opened to moderate reviews (see this Bosley Crowther overview from the New York Times).
In New York City, it premiered in Radio City Music Hall (along with a
new stage show and The Rockettes), always a sign of a prestige film.
We'll leave you with this trailer from Midnight Lace.
This year, the American Film Institute awarded its Lifetime Achievement Award to John Williams. In celebration of this event, and of the 35 anniversary of its release, AFI ran Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) at their Silver Theatre. I saw Indie in his first run, back in 1981, and it was with great pleasure that I returned to see the film again on a big screen. Yes, I have the DVD (for all the Indiana Jones films, as it happens), but the lure of a big screen was enough to get me into a theatre to revisit this amazingly enjoyable film. It's 1933. Dr. Indiana Jones (Harrison Ford), an archaeologist of some renown, is approached by the U.S. government to begin a dig of some importance: find the Ark of the Covenant, the receptacle of the 10 Commandments that God bestowed upon Noah. The Ark, which is alleged to possess mystical powers, is being sought by the Nazi government, and the American officials want Indie to find it before the Nazis. To do this, Indie must revisit his past, in the form of Marion Raven (Karen Allen), daughter of his former mentor, and Indie's one-time lover. Much more than hijinks ensue, as Indie has to face Marion, the Nazis, and his rival, the unscrupulous Dr. René Belloq (Paul Freeman).
I'm going to spend a moment venting my minor annoyance at the American Film Institute's Lifetime Achievement Award. Not that I think the folks who have received it aren't worthy - they most certainly are (and Mr. Williams is no exception). But what annoys me are the huge gaps. They won't give the award to someone deceased (it's hard to have a dinner given for you if you are dead) or to someone who won't COME to the dinner (so Katharine Hepburn never got the Award. She wasn't about to get dressed up for an award), so the people that, for example, Mr. Williams admired (like Erich Wolfgang Korngold, Miklos Rosza, and Alfred Newman), will never enter the pantheon. Plus, out of 44 awards, only one has gone to a person of color (Morgan Freeman) and only eight have been given to a woman (Bette Davis, Lillian Gish, Barbara Stanywck, Elizabeth Taylor, Barbra Streisand, Meryl Streep, Shirley MacLaine, Jane Fonda). It really irritates me. Rant ended.
Many stories on the history of this film exist. Perhaps the most famous is that Harrison Ford was not the first choice (or even the second or third choice) to play Indiana Jones. Tom Selleck was the initial selection for the role, but he had a contract with CBS for an already filmed (but not optioned) pilot, Magnum, P.I. CBS decided to exercise their option, Selleck decided to honor the contract, and the rest, as they say, is history (both film and television. After all, the Smithsonian Institute has both Magnum's and Indie's hats!). Among the many actors considered for the role were: Nick Nolte, Steve Martin, Bill Murray, Chevy Chase, Tim Matheson, Nick Mancuso, Peter Coyote, Jack Nicholson, and Jeff Bridges (who was offered the part, and declined). These articles on Raiders trivia from Moviefone and Business Insider (which also has a clip from Tom Selleck's screen test) have more information.
Ford is such an overpowering presence in the film, that we sometimes forget about the other wonderful actors who appear in supporting roles. Denholm Elliott as Indy's boss at the University, Dr. Marcus Brody is just delightful. Alfred Molina, in his screen debut, appears as Satipo, in the first segment of the film (Satipo does not fare very well in the caverns). But, stealing the show is John Rhys-Davies as Sallah, Indy's friend and colleague in Cairo. A big bear of a man, Sallah is smart and resourceful. At one point, he uses his children to rescue Indy from the clutches of Belloq and the Nazis. The character would appear again in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. John-Rhys Davies has had a broad career - he appeared as Gimli in the Lord of the Rings trilogy, in Star Trek: Voyager (as Leonardo da Vinci), as Joe Gargery in the BBC Great Expectations (1991), and in I, Claudius (1976).
Let's not forget the wonderful Karen Allen, who makes Marion a force to be reckoncame back to the franchise in Indiana Jones and the Crystal Skull, though she is less involved with acting presently - she now runs Karen Allen Fiber Arts, which among other things sells Ms. Allen's knit products.
The film garnered a number of awards, including Oscars for Art-Set Direction and Sound, and a Special Oscar for Sound Effects Editing. It was also nominated for Picture, Director, Cinematography, and Music. The list of other awards and nominations is too long to go into here. I suggest you visit the IMDB Awards page for the film, to see the extensive list. The AFI has also honored the film outside of its achievement awards to George Lucas, Steven Spielberg, and John Williams: it is #60 AFI Greatest Movies and #10 100 Years, 100 Thrills. I'll leave you with the trailer to the film. It's been announced that there will be an Indiana Jones #5, with a tentative release date of 2019. I'm (not so patiently) waiting!
