cinema history class: i, the jury (1953)

The session: "Yuletide Noir"
An abbreviated session (two films) featuring Christmas-based films noir.

As always, there may be spoilers here. And the trailer may be NSFW and/or NSFL.

Week 2: I, the Jury (1953)
Directed by Harry Essex

My Impressions Going In:
I had never heard of this.

Plot:
A hard-boiled private detective hunts for his friend's killer. But didn't foresee where the clues would take him

Reaction and Other Folderol:
I do have to note that we were watching a flawed release of ItJ. The image was grainy, and the sound kept going out for a half a second (or so) at a time. I try not to let that cloud my judgement, since it's not really a flaw in the movie itself. Of course, I am only human.

Nothing in the movie really grabbed me. It did what it had to do as a film noir -- beatings and all. There were some really well-done scenes, notably the fight on the outdoor stairs. I had a hard time accepting Biff Elliott in the role of Mike Hammer. His voice and face didn't really convey the hardened character that I imagine Hammer to be, and he just wasn't believable as the fight-happy brute.

It was fun seeing a pre-Flintstones Alan Reed, and listening that gravelly voice, But I kept wanting him to let out a hearty "Yabba Dabba Doo." But, alas, he was still a decade away from that.

Ratings
Me: 6.5
Dave: 9.4
Ethan: 7
Joe: 10

cinema history class: lady in the lake (1947)

The session: "Yuletide Noir"
An abbreviated session (two films) featuring Christmas-based films noir.

As always, there may be spoilers here. And the trailer may be NSFW and/or NSFL.

Week 1: Lady in the Lake (1947)
Directed by Robert Montgomery

My Impressions Going In:
I had never heard of this.

Plot:
A private detective decides to become a writer. But his efforts only get him embroiled in another murder case.

Reaction and Other Folderol:


LitL does well as a film noir. It's got that crisp, clever dialogue and the surprising plot twists that the genre requires. So I found myself surprised several times. And the denouement definitely caught me off guard. But the thing is that all that doesn't really make it stand out as film noir. It establishes it as one of many really good films noir out there.

What makes this movie special is that Montgomery used it to experiment with a "camera as protagonist" approach. Essentially, the movie is all POV, seen from the vantagepoint of protagonist Philip Marlowe (played by director Robert Montgomery). Montgomery's idea was to recreate the style of the novel,. which was told in first-person. As a result, we rarely actually see the protagonist. He only appears when he looks in a mirror or when he delivers a monologue. It was an interesting technique, but it could be disconcerting at times.

And in case anyone asks, I do think this counts as a Christmas movie. At least it dies if Die Hard does...

Ratings
Somehow I neglected to write down the ratings for this, so those are lost to time. My bad.

cinema history class: i, marquis de sade (1967)

The session: "Porno Month...Well, Sort of: de Sade Month"
We watch films inspired by the works of the Marquis de Sade.

As always, there may be spoilers here. And the trailer may be NSFW and/or NSFL.

Week 4: I, Marquis De Sade (1967)
Directed by Richard Hilliard

My Impressions Going In:
I had never heard of this.

Plot:
Convicted of murder, a psychotic writer, believing himself to be the Marquis de Sade, remembers his exploits

Reaction and Other Folderol:
I really puzzled over this grade. IMdS can't really be said to be a good movie. The story is thin, the acting is uninspired. And it's really frickin' ugly. But there was something about it that had me interested. Enough that I still found myself thinking about it days later.

It was really odd how the script worked its way around Los Angeles, cutting back and forth between the unfolding story and the protagonist in jail, with his de Sade fantasies. The ugliness (both visual and plotwise) reminded me of a Russ Myers film. And I kept reliving the final scene.

It's not a good film. But it is interesting.

Ratings
Me: 6
Bob-O: 5.5
Dave: 8
Ethan: 4

cinema history class: eugenie de sade (1970)

The session: "Porno Month...Well, Sort of: de Sade Month"
We watch films inspired by the works of the Marquis de Sade.

As always, there may be spoilers here. And the trailer may be NSFW and/or NSFL.

Week 3: Eugenie De Sade (1970)
Directed by Jesus Franco

My Impressions Going In:
I had never heard of this.

Plot:
A beautiful woman and her creepy stepfather have an extended affair and commit murder.

Reaction and Other Folderol:
The big problem here is that the story is just too damn flimsy. The beautiful cinematography can't make up for that. It's actually obscene in its beauty. Bob-O described the film as a sort-of pornographic film noir. And I guess there's something too that, though this lacked the rapid-fire clever dialogue of noir. I wanted to like it, but had a hard time getting into it.

Ratings
Me: 4.5
Bob-O: 8.6
Dave: 9.5
Ethan: 6

cinema history class: de sade (1969)

The session: "Porno Month...Well, Sort of: de Sade Month"
We watch films inspired by the works of the Marquis de Sade.

As always, there may be spoilers here. And the trailer may be NSFW and/or NSFL.

Week 2: De Sade (1969)
Directed by Cy Endfield

My Impressions Going In:
I had never heard of this.

Plot:
The life of Marquis de Sade -- fictionalized and dramatized.

Reaction and Other Folderol:
I had to miss this session. And I didn't get a chance to borrow Keith's copy of the disc (and for all I know it's a European format I can't play anyway), so I really can't comment. I'm providing a post about this movie just for the sake of completeness.

For what it's worth, I've read that this movie is majorly psychedelic. Also, I wasn't the only one who missed it -- Bob-O and Ethan did as well. Not that that really matters.

Ratings
Dave: 9.5
Joe: 10