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Reviews
Strictly G.I. (1943)
Hutton in a World of Her Own
A great short. Hope is fantastic -- his line after Betty Hutton's performance is absolute perfection. Garland is very moving in rendering her signature song, her voice already showing the fault lines that lent her mature vulnerability. And the Hope-Turner steak fry deserves its frequent stand-alone segment in various documentaries as a classic give-and-take of teasing between Hollywood stars.
But Hutton's rendition of "Murder, He Says," in gesture, flinch, crazy dance, crazier grimace and superb Big-Band voice -- worthy of Benny Goodman and Spike Jones at one and the same time -- is beyond comparison. It is the single most entertaining performance of a song I have ever seen.
Tomorrow Is Forever (1946)
The Saddest Movie I Know
It's interesting to compare the hero's sacrifice in Tomorrow is Forever with the hero's in Casablanca. Rick (Bogart) leaves Ilsa in Casablanca to her husband for the good of the world, and for a cause he believes in (fighting the Nazis) -- a cause he will participate in. But John/Erik (Welles), while he leaves Elizabeth for the good of the same cause he fervently believes in, can not participate. He is crippled and sickly from the First World War (he is probably emasculated, as well). Unlike Rick, he can neither reveal his identity or his love for the woman he left behind -- even though she may know it. He only says openly that the cause is all. But, unlike Rick, he is lying within himself. Elizabeth is the abiding passion in his life, his only possibility of emotional fulfillment. Yet, even so, the world comes first. And he sacrifices for this cause to the point of his own non-existence. It is truly the greater sacrifice. It is a wonderfully acted film, which makes the lost love of John and Elizabeth the most poignant I have ever shared as a movie viewer.
Take Me Out to the Ball Game (1949)
Ages So Well
Take Me Out to the Ball Game grows more charming with the years. It's a tight little story with good songs and top-flight performances. Sinatra had developed well as a comedian, and his dancing, while not as flamboyant as in Anchors Away, is more assured. The only loss is a lovely Rodgers & Hammerstein ballad, sung by Frank to Betty Garrett, "Boys and Girls Like You and Me," left on the cutting room floor.
Swamp Water (1941)
Evocative, magical film
This is a beautiful, sometimes extremely delicate, often very eerie film of love and death in the nearly primordial Florida Everglades. Both the director (Renoir) and the cinematographer have created a mystical feeling surrounding the setting, and it's a perfect match for the moral complexity Renoir draws from the characterizations. It is not an easy American film; it's morally challenging. Dana Andrews is perfect casting in this way; he is anything but a transparent presence on screen. Anne Baxter too, has an unspoken pain about her that's ideal. And Walter Brennan is just, as always, wonderful.