Stubs: Citizen Kane - A Second Screening

Citizen Kane (1941) Starring: Orson Welles, Joseph Cotton, Dorothy Comingore, Ray Collins, George Coulouris, Agnes Moorehead. Directed by Orson Welles. Screenplay by Herman J. Mankiewicz, Orson Welles. Music by Bernard Hermann. Produced by Orson Welles. Run Time: 119 minutes. U.S. B&W Drama.

There is a real difference between watching a film on home video and watching it in a theater. This recently happened to me with Citizen Kane, which recently was part of a Fathom Event, celebrating its 85th anniversary. I had previously reviewed the film for this blog, based on watching it on disc. I won’t go through the history of the film, or a detailed synopsis, please see the previous post for that.

Classic Hollywood films, of which this would definitely count, were made to be seen in theaters and that is really the only way to get the full experience filmmakers intended. While I had seen the film several times, I did get a different appreciation for it, seeing it in a theater.

We were treated before the film with an introduction by Leonard Maltin, the well-known film critic/historian. In his prologue, he lauded Citizen Kane as the greatest film ever made. That’s a high honor to lay on something and the only way to prove that is to watch the film.

Toy Story 3 (Film)

Note: This review contains spoilers for Toy Story, Toy Story 2 and Toy Story 3.

While a third entry to the popular Toy Story franchise would seem inevitable due to high box office returns, Toy Story 3 had quite a rough development. The short version is that, due to the distribution contract Pixar had signed, Disney owned the rights to all of their characters and could make sequels for any of their films, which strained the relationship between the two companies. Disney would push forward with their own Toy Story 3, to be produced by new studio Circle Seven Animation, for a 2008 release. Disney’s acquisition of Pixar, however, placed Disney Animation under new management, Ed Catmull and John Lasseter, with Circle Seven shutting down shortly after and sequel production transferred to Pixar. Pixar would craft a whole new story, which would eventually see the light of day as the final version of Toy Story 3 in 2010. Although the film would cost about $200 million to create, making it one of the most expensive films ever made at the time, it was the first animated film to make over $1 billion, even becoming the highest-grossing animated film ever until Frozen, and would receive numerous nominations and awards, including an Oscar for Best Animated Feature and Best Original Song (“We Belong Together”).

At the time the film came out, when I was in high school, I felt cautious optimism going in; optimism from Pixar’s flawless track record up to then and caution from how the third film in a series usually isn’t as good as the first two. Fortunately, it stuck the landing as perhaps the perfect ending to the trilogy (with not a dry eye in the audience by the time the credits rolled). Admittedly, I hadn’t seen this entry as much in the interim, partly due to the devastating emotional core and some rather heavy imagery, but by the time I finished watching it now, over 15 years later, I remembered why it had left an impact at the time it had come out. However, I had also forgotten how intense it could be at the same time.

Stubs - A Farewell to Arms (1932)

A Farewell to Arms (1932) Starring Helen Hayes, Gary Cooper, Adolphe Menjou. Director Frank Borzage. Screenplay by Benjamin Glazer, Oliver H. P. Garrett. Based on the novel A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway (New York, 1929) and the play of the same name by Laurence Stallings (New York, 22 Sep 1930). Produced by Benjamin Glazer (Associated Producer) Run time: 90 minutes. Black and White. USA Drama

As a writer, you’re often advised to write what you know, and the novel A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway, may be a good example. Responding to an International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement recruitment effort, an 18-year-old Hemingway signed to be an ambulance driver with the American Red Cross Motor Corps in Italy. Within two months of landing in Italy, Hemingway was badly wounded in mortar fire and would spend six months recovering in the Red Cross hospital in Milan, where he fell in love with a nurse, Agnes von Kurowsky, seven years his senior. The two would become engaged but she would break off the engagement after Hemingway came back to the States. That experience would be the basis for his third novel, A Farewell to Arms first serialized in Scribner's Magazine (May-Oct, 1929).

The Devil Wears Prada 2

In a more risk-averse post-pandemic Hollywood climate, decades-long gaps between movie sequels are more common. This is especially true for films under the Disney umbrella, with The Devil Wears Prada 2 (distributed by 20th Century Studios) strutting down the runway 20 years after the original The Devil Wears Prada from 2006. Despite the passage of time between productions affecting both the returning cast and the world that their characters inhabit, this is one case where the using the same passionate crew results in a follow-up that manages to stand with the original as a natural next step rather than fall painfully short.

Stubs - The Devil Wears Prada

The Devil Wears Prada (2006) starring Meryl Streep, Anne Hathaway, Stanley Tucci, Emily Blunt, Simon Baker. Directed by David Frankel. Screenplay by Aline Brosh McKenna. Based on The Devil Wears Prada by Lauren Weisberger.  Produced by Wendy Finerman. Run time: 109 minutes. Color. USA. Comedy, Drama

Lauren Weisberger was 26 when she turned her experience as an assistant to Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour into a book. The best-selling novel, The Devil Wears Prada, spent six months on New York Times's bestseller list. Fox bought the rights to the novel even before it was finished. Carla Hacken, then the studio's executive vice president, had only seen the first hundred pages of the manuscript and an outline for the rest of the plot.

As is common practice in Hollywood, four screenwriters worked on the property. Peter Hedges wrote the first draft; another writer passed. Paul Rudnick did some work on Miranda's scenes, followed by a Don Roos rewrite. Aline Brosh McKenna produced a draft that struck a balance for Finerman and Frankel, whose notes were incorporated into a final version, rearranging the plot significantly, and focusing the story on the conflict between Andy and Miranda.

Meryl Streep was not the first choice for Miranda. She was initially not considered because no one knew she could be funny. Before her, Michelle Pfeiffer, Glenn Close, and Catherine Zeta-Jones were considered before her. Signing Streep allowed Fox to greenlight the project.

Stubs - Little Amélie or the Character of Rain

Little Amélie or the Character of Rain (2025) English voices: Lily Gilliam, Lucille Ainsworth, Francesca Calo, Page Leong, Jayne Taini. Directed by Maïlys Vallade, Liane-Cho Han Screenplay by Liane-Cho Han, Aude Py, Maïlys Vallade, Eddine Noël. Based on the novel The Character of Rain (Métaphysique des tubes) by Amélie Nothomb. Produced by Claire La Combe, Edwina Liard, Henri Magalon, Nidia Santiago. Run time: 78 minutes. Color. France, Belgium Animated. Drama.

Sometimes, it takes awards season to make you aware of the films that were released, which is what brought Little Amélie or the Character of Rain to my attention. This year, it was one of five films nominated for an Academy Award for Best Animated Feature. That awareness took the film from unknown to one of my favorite animated films of the year and my personal front runner to win that award.

Stubs - They Call It Sin

 

They Call It Sin (1932) starring Loretta Young, George Brent, Una Merkel, David Manners Directed by Thornton Freeland. Screenplay by Lillie Hayward, Howard J. Green Based on the novel They Call It Sin by Alberta Stedman Eagan (New York, 1932). No Producer Credited. Run time: 68 minutes. Black and White. USA. Pre-Code, Drama.

If you’re ever looking for a film to watch, the old adage "you can’t judge a book by its cover" can come into play if you go simply by the title. Case in point, They Call It Sin from First National. I saw the title in the guide for TCM and saw that Loretta Young was the star. Young had been the lead of many racy pre-code films and the promise of one with this title was too much to pass up.

Stubs - O. Henry’s Full House

O. Henry’s Full House (1952)  Starring (in alphabetical order): Fred Allen, Anne Baxter, Jeanne Crain, Farley Granger, Charles Laughton, Oscar Levant, Marilyn Monroe, Jean Peters, Gregory Ratoff, Dale Robertson, David Wayne, Richard Widmark. Directed by Henry Koster, Henry Hathaway, Jean Negulesco, Howard Hawks, Henry King. Screenplay by Richard L. Breen, Walter Bullock, Ivan Goff, Ben Hecht, Nunnally Johnson, Charles Lederer, Ben Roberts, Lamar Trotti. Based on the short stories "The Cop and the Anthem" in New York World (Dec 4, 1904); "The Clarion Call" in New York World (Oct 29, 1905); "The Last Leaf" in New York World (Oct 15, 1905); "The Ransom of Red Chief" in The Saturday Evening Post (Jul 6, 1906); and "The Gift of the Magi" in New York World (Dec 10, 1905) by O. Henry. Produced by André Hakim. Run time: 117 minutes. Black and White. USA Comedy, Drama, Anthology, Christmas.

While it wasn’t common practice for studios to make a series of short stories into movies, 20^th Century-Fox thought that the writings of William Sydney Porter, also known as O. Henry, were worthy of such a treatment. That is not to say anthology films were not made; they have been made frequently in India, Italy, and Great Britain, to name a few. Anthology films had been made prior to this one in Hollywood, most notably If I Had a Million (1932), produced by Paramount and including a segment directed by Ernst Lubitsch.

That said, it is thought that three films produced in the UK were the inspiration for O. Henry’s Full House: Quartet (1948) was based on stories by Somerset Maugham, who also personally introduced each one. Quartet was such a success, two sequels were made Trio (1950) and Encore (1951), also based on Maugham short stories. Paramount picked up the sequels for distribution in the U.S and the films were both critical and commercial successes.

Seeing as each segment was written, directed and starred different people, we’ll take each segment of the film one at a time.

Stubs - Larceny, Inc.

Larceny, Inc. (1942) starring Edward G. Robinson, Jane Wyman, Broderick Crawford, Jack Carson, Anthony Quinn, Edward Brophy. Directed by Lloyd Bacon. Screenplay by Everett Freeman, Edwin Gilbert. Based on the play The Night Before Christmas by Laura and S. J. Perelman (New York, 10 Apr 1941). Executive Producer: Hal B. Wallis. Run time: 95 minutes. Black and White. USA. Comedy, Drama, Christmas

Towards the end of his career at Warner Bros., Edward G. Robinson made movies that spoofed the hard-nosed gangster roles that had made him a star; comedies, like A Slight Case of Murder (1938) and Brother Orchid (1940). Both of these films were directed by Lloyd Bacon, so it is no surprise that Bacon would be chosen to direct Robinson’s final film at the studio, the comedy Larceny, Inc.

Stubs - Armored Car Robbery

Armored Car Robbery (1950) Starring Charles McGraw, Adele Jergens, William Talman Directed by Richard Fleischer. Screenplay by Earl Felton, Gerald Drayson Adams. Produced by Herman Schlom. Run Time: 67 minutes. Black and White. USA Film Noir, Crime, Drama, Police, Heist

Many films that get categorized as film noirs fit into another group of titles called B pictures. Armored Car Robbery is such a film. An RKO Pictures production, Armored Car Robbery, according to film professor Bob Porfirio, possesses the "film noir visual style" of the many RKO crime and suspense films of the early 1950s, such as: high-contrast photography integrating studio and location shooting, expressionistic lighting, deep focus, and haunting music (by Roy Webb).

Stubs - Odds Against Tomorrow

Odds Against Tomorrow (1959) Starring Harry Belafonte, Robert Ryan, Shelley Winters, Ed Begley, Gloria Grahame. Directed by Robert Wise. Screenplay by Abraham Polonsky and Nelson Gidding (credited to John O. Killens, Nelson Gidding) Based on the novel Odds Against Tomorrow by William P. McGivern (New York, 1957). Produced by Robert Wise Run time: 96 minutes. Black and White USA Drama, Film Noir

Harry Belafonte was perhaps best known as a singer aka King of Calypso, but he was more than that. A vocal and visible supporter of civil rights, he was also an actor, and in the case of Odds Against Tomorrow, also a producer, having founded his own production company, HarBel, which was behind the film.

Stubs - The Sound of Music

The Sound of Music (1965) starring Julie Andrews, Christopher Plummer, Eleanor Parker.  Directed by Robert Wise. Screenplay by Ernest Lehman, with the partial use of ideas by Georg Hurdalek. Based on the musical The Sound of Music, music by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II, book by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse, and originally produced on the stage by Leland Hayward, Richard Halliday, Richard Rodgers, and Oscar Hammerstein II (New York, 16 Nov 1959). Produced by Robert Wise. Run time: 172 minutes. Color. Musical, Drama, Romance

In 1965, 20^th Century Fox put out a movie that would not only help it recover from the $30 million loss on Cleopatra (1963), but would go on to be, for a time, the highest grossing film of all-time. By all standards, except for some early reviews, the film was wildly popular and a runaway hit. I remember it playing at my local theater for a year; unheard of today.

The movie is based on the musical that started its run in 1959. The musical’s narrative was derived from Maria Augusta von Trapp’s 1949 autobiography, The Story of the Trapp Family Singers. At that time, the book had already been made into two popular West German feature films directed by Wolfgang Liebeneiner, Die Trapp-Familie (1956), and its sequel, Die Trapp-Familie in Amerika (1958). The Broadway musical saw $2,325,000 in advance sales and ran from November 16, 1959 to June 15, 1963.

Paramount Pictures had optioned rights to Die Trapp-Familie, and approached Vincent J. Donehue, the musical’s Broadway director, about directing an American version, starring Audrey Hepburn, but Donehue advised the studio not to, “You can’t possibly make it as a movie, you’ve got to let it go; the way to do this is a musical for Mary Martin.” Paramount dropped its option when Hepburn wasn’t available.

Stubs - Big City Blues

Big City Blues (1932) Starring: Joan Blondell, Eric Linden, Jobyna Howland. Directed by Mervyn LeRoy. Screenplay by Ward Morehouse, Lillie Hayward. Based on the play New York Town by Ward Morehouse (copyrighted 5 Jan 1932). Producer Uncredited. USA Run time: 63 minutes Black and White. Drama.

There are some actors that when I see one of their movies is going to be on TCM, I make a point of recording to make sure I can watch it. Joan Blondell is one of those whose films I try to catch if I can. Recently, I happened to see that Big City Blues was going to be on, which is how I ended up watching this film.

At this point in her career, Blondell was very busy. Having arrived in Hollywood in 1930 thanks to her Broadway appearance in Penny Arcade and was cast to reprise her role in the film version Sinners' Holiday (1930). By the end of 1932, she would have appeared in 21 films, some as a co-star or in a supporting role and some as the star, as with Big City Blues.

Stubs - Mata Hari (1931)

Mata Hari (1931) Starring Greta Garbo, Ramon Novarro, Lionel Barrymore, Lewis Stone. Directed by George Fitzmaurice. Screenplay by Benjamin Glazer, Leo Birinski. Produced by George Fitzmaurice, Irving Thalberg (uncredited). Run time: 92 minutes. Black and White. USA Drama. Espionage.

While the film Mata Hari is based on Mata Hari’s life, hers is a bio that flies in the face of the Production Code that the Hays Office was there to enforce. A one-time exotic dancer, Mata Hari was known for using her sexuality to get men to do her will, which was supposedly giving her military secrets. Thought to be a double-agent working for both France and Germany during World War I, she was eventually executed for her treason.

Stubs - Anora

Anora (2024) starring Mikey Madison, Mark Eydelshteyn, Yura Borisov, Karren Karagulian, Vache Tovmasyan, Aleksei Serebryakov. Directed by Sean Baker. Screenplay by Sean Baker. Produced by Alex Coco, Samantha Quan, Sean Baker. Run time: 239 minutes. Color. USA Comedy, Drama

Sometimes the hype hits the road and it’s not a pretty sight. You hear over and over again how good a film is and how many awards its won and you think you need to watch it to keep up. A few years ago, it was Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, and this year it’s Anora. But after watching, you wonder why it’s being hailed as a possible Academy Award Best Picture winner.

Stubs - The Locket (1946)

The Locket (1946) starring Laraine Day, Brian Aherne, Robert Mitchum. Directed by John Brahm. Screenplay by Sheridan Gibney. Produced by Bert Granet. Run time: 86 minutes. Black and White, USA, Drama, Psychological Thriller, Film Noir

As part of the clean out the DVR Saturday, we watch The Locket. The recording, as it turns out, dates from the 2015 edition of Summer of Darkness. This fact speaks to the need for clearing out old recordings and the fact that the recording was still playable after nearly 10 years.

Stubs - The Red Badge of Courage

The Red Badge of Courage (1951) starring Audie Murphy, Andy Devine, Robert Easton Burke, Douglas Dick. Directed by John Huston. Screenplay by John Huston, Albert Band. Based on the novel The Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane (New York, 1895). Produced by Gottfried Reinhardt. Run time: 69 minutes. Black and White. USA. Drama, War

Texan born Audie Murphy enlisted in the Army as soon as he could after the attack on Pearl Harbor at the start of World War II. He first saw action in the 1943 Allied invasion of Sicily; then in 1944 he participated in the Battle of Anzio, the liberation of Rome, and the invasion of southern France. Murphy fought at Montélimar and led his men on a successful assault at L'Omet quarry near Cleurie in northeastern France in October. He received every American combat award for valor available at the time of his service, including the Medal of Honor. He also received recognitions from France and Belgium.

As a result, he made the cover of Life magazine on July 16, 1945. That cover brought him to the attention of actor James Cagney, who had recently formed a production company with his brother William. They gave him training in acting, voice and dance, but never cast him in any production. A personal disagreement ended the arrangement in 1947.

Stubs - A Complete Unknown

A Complete Unknown (2024) starring Timothée Chalamet, Edward Norton, Elle Fanning, Monica Barbaro, Boyd Holbrook, Dan Fogler, Norbert Leo Butz, Scoot McNairy Directed by James Mangold. Screenplay by James Mangold, Jay Cocks Based on Dylan Goes Electric! by Elijah Wald. Produced by Fred Berger, James Mangold, Alex Heineman, Bob Bookman, Peter Jaysen, Alan Gasmer, Jeff Rosen, Timothée Chalamet Run time: 141 minutes. Color. USA. Biographical, Musical, Drama

Hollywood has been on a roll making film biographies of musicians of late. The current subject is Bob Dylan in A Complete Unknown. This is the second Dylan fictional biography; he was also the subject of I’m Not There (2007), an experimental biopic, which included Cate Blanchett representing one aspect of Dylan’s life.

Stubs - Sin Takes a Holiday

Sin Takes a Holiday (1930) Starring: Constance Bennett, Kenneth MacKenna, Basil Rathbone. Directed by Paul L. Stein. Screenplay by Horace Jackson. Produced by E. B. Derr. Runtime: 75 minutes Black and White. USA. Drama.

Constance Bennett was a star in Hollywood best known for her fashionable wardrobe and her ability to wear it stylishly. Apparently, Depression-era audiences would flock to see her wearing fashions and living in a world that only existed on the screen. Viewers of Sin Takes a Holiday would not be disappointed.

Stubs - The Cat's Meow

The Cat’s Meow (2002) Starring Kirsten Dunst, Cary Elwes, Edward Herrmann, Eddie Izzard, Joanna Lumley. Directed by Peter Bogdanovich. Screenplay by Steven Peros. Based on a play by Steven Peros. Produced by Kim Bieber, Carol Lewis, Dieter Meyer, Julie Baines. Run time: 112 Minutes. Color. United States, Germany, United Kingdom Mystery, Comedy, Drama, Historical

It almost sounds like a movie, film pioneer Thomas Ince, actress Marion Davies, fellow filmmaker Charlie Chaplin, British writer Elinor Glyn, gossip columnist Louella Parsons, and actress Margaret Livingston take a weekend cruise aboard William Randolph Hearst’s yacht Oneida to celebrate Ince’s birthday. However, the guest of honor dies onboard or soon afterward, depending on who’s story you believe. How did Ince die?