ANGELA MADE TIM WATCH: Sabrina (1954)

 

SABRINA (1995), starring Humprhey Bogart & Audrey Hepburn. Written by Billy Wilder, Ernest Lehman & Samuel A. Taylor. Directed by Billy Wilder.

ANGELA SAYS: 

Neither of us were ready for sleep and Tim was scrolling through the TMC on demand movies and we decided to watch Sabrina. We've both seen it before, but it's been awhile and it had three great things going for it: black and white, Audrey Hepburn and Humphrey Bogart. There isn't much that will beat that combination in this house (except maybe Katherine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy).

 

Hepburn was believable as the somewhat frumpy, star struck daughter of the family chauffeur who transformed into an elegant and beautiful adult. Unfortunately, she still hasn't outgrown the infatuation with the younger son of the manor house. William Holden was perfect as the playboy (David Larrabee) with three ex wives who hasn't worked a day in his life. Bogart plays the workaholic older brother (Linus Larrabee) who picks up the pieces after his brother's affairs fail, mostly by paying off the unacceptable women.

 

When David fixates on the adult Sabrina, threatening to disrupt the marriage/merger that Linus has manipulated, Linus decides to manage the situation. The obvious happens and the couple fall in love, despite some twists and turns along the way.

 

Ben Mankowicz (TMC host) mentioned that Cary Grant was the first, and (in his opinion) better choice for Linus Larrabee. I disagree. While it's true that you wouldn't normally expect Bogart to play the lead in a romantic comedy, I think he is much more believable as the workaholic brother. Grant is much too suave and debonair. The surprising love affair between Linus and Sabrina would have had no impact and failed as a twist for the first audiences.

Overall, a pleasant way to spend a couple of hours during the Christmas weekend.

TIM SAYS:

There were a couple of crime movies and Film Noirs on demand, but I can never get Angela to watch any of those. My goal of  Angela and I being inspired to enter into a life of crime, eventually double-crossing each other and coming to tragic, violent ends remains a distant dream. 

It does seem a shame to put Humphrey Bogart in a movie and not give him an opportunity to shoot Conried Veidt or Barton MacLane. But Bogie is indeed great in the role, as is everyone else. This includes the supporting cast, especially John Williams as Sabrina's dad, who obviously loves his daughter but is convinced that she won't be happy if she tries to cross class lines.

The script is clever and funny and I did enjoy seeing Sabrina once again. I'm not sure I completely buy the plot twist at the end, since the 30-year difference in age between Audrey and Bogie is a bit extreme.  And, to be fair to the movie, the characters Audrey and Bogie were playing did require there to be a gap in their ages.  

Angela mentions that Bogie fits the role better than Cary Grant would have, since it would have been too obvious from the beginning that Grant would be a love interest. I can't argue that, but at the same time, it would have been fun to see Grant play the workaholic businessman.

And, I suppose the part of me that wishes that there had been a gun battle between Bogie and William Holden is just being silly. 

ANGELA MADE TIM WATCH: Daddy Long Legs (1955)

 

DADDY LONG LEGS (1955), starring Fred Astaire and Leslie Caron. Written by Henry and Phoebe Ephron. Directed by Jean Negulesco. 

TIM SAYS:

It is obvious almost right from the beginning of the film that this has to be judged on its own merits. Though it takes the bare bones of the plot from the novel, several major changes to the story structure and characters essentially make it a different story.

For instance, the movie set in the then-contemporary 1950s, Judy is now from a French orphanage and we find out right away that Jervis is her sponsor (though it is still a secret from her). 

And this is fine, because it's a fun movie. The dance sequences are magnificent and (in every case) also serve to further either the plot or character development. Both Astaire and Caron exude their usual charm in their roles and both seem to be having fun (though in real life, Astaire was mourning the death of his wife, so perhaps he wasn't having all that much fun). 

As Judy, Caron doesn't have the same "Anne of Green Gables" vibe that book-Judy had, but she is still smart and vivacious. 

I also liked the supporting cast, especially Fred Clark as Jervis' assistant and Thelma Ritter as his secretary. The script succeeds in giving them all three-dimensional personalities.

ANGELA SAYS:

If you read the book before you watch the movie, please note, the book clearly inspires the movie more than anything else. The feel of the book is rural, quiet and content. The feel of the movie is urbane, sophisticated and splashy. This is just an observation, but an important one if you have read the book.

Jervis Pendleton (Fred Astaire) is presented, not as a playboy in the traditional sense, but as a swinging New York bachelor. Without the book's foundation of philanthropic orphanage trustee, Hollywood had to create a reason for him to send an orphan to college. Their rather ham-handed approach was to send him on a government mission to France where he stumbles across an orphanage after his car runs off the road. The orphanage just happens to have a beautiful, former ward, who is now a teacher. Pendleton sees Julie Andre (Leslie Caron) teaching the children and is enchanted with her, arranging for her to attend college in the United States. Fast forward two years and Pendleton's majordomo forces him to read the thick stack of letters that has accumulated from Andre. This sets off the events that leads to the inevitable conclusion.

The movie was amusing and Caron's depiction of a bemused and confused Frenchwoman coming to the US for college was charming. As this cast would suggest, the movie is a dance musical and the routines fit the plot well. There isn't the feel that they are just shoved in somewhere to allow the actors to show off their abilities. 

BONUS: the fantasy scene of Astaire as a dancing Texas cowboy is hilarious. 

The supporting cast is excellent, and even the minor characters are given enough to work with that they feel fleshed out and real. And the finale, when Julie learns the truth, is believable and doesn't feel contrived.

Some minor critiques.

• There is no real explanation of why an orphan girl, from an out of the way institute in the backwater of France would speak perfect English. Like many things Hollywood does, you just have to accept it and move on.

• I know the ages of the actors rarely has a real influence on the ages of the characters they play, but I really dislike Hollywood's insistence of casting leading men who are old enough to be the father; sometimes even grandfather, of the leading lady. It's disconcerting at best and creepy at worst.

I love old movies, partly for the fact that they rarely fail entirely and make me regret the time I spent watching them. And this is far from a fail; it's a fun movie and well worth a couple of hours of your time.

ANGELA MADE TIM READ: "Daddy-Long-Legs," by Jean Webster

 

TIM SAYS:

Since Angela and I became a couple (not counting the approximately one year period in which we were apparently dating without my being aware of it), she has commanded that I read Jane Austin novels, Anne of Green Gables and the Little House on the Prairie books. I've enjoyed them all--which is just another example of why she is The Perfect Wife.

So when she next handed me a copy of the 1912 novel Daddy-Long-Legs, I figured I would enjoy it as well. And, in fact, I did enjoy it.

It's an epistolary novel, collecting the letters of 17-year-old Jerusha (Judy) Abbott, who had grown up in an orphanage, but now has acquired a mentor who is paying her way through college.

The mentor insists on remaining anonymous. He's a trustee of the orphanage, but Judy only caught a single, brief glimpse of him. Told to write him regularly (with no expectation of the letters ever being answered), she dubs him "Daddy-Long-Legs."

Judy is a fun character--someone who reminds me a lot of Anne Shirley from Anne of Green Gables. Her letters are fun, sometimes jumping from one topic to another and sometimes rambling on a bit, but always full of humor and emotions we can relate to. Judy slowly builds up her own image of Daddy-Long-Legs and a one-sided but still very real sense of a father-daughter relationship builds.

I thought the ending, which includes an important revelation and a change from a father-daughter story into a love story, was a bit abrupt and not completely satisfying. But overall, the novel was a lot of fun to read and, as I've said, yet another indication that Angela is indeed The Perfect Wife.

ANGELA SAYS:

I read Daddy Long Legs as a young adult and remember enjoying it. So when I saw it on my bookshelf a couple of weeks ago; I thought it would be a good one for this blog. And BONUS, there is a movie version we could review also.

I found the book mostly how I remembered it. The letters and drawings are more juvenile than I recalled (which makes sense, because I was much younger when I read it then). But the zingers included in this one sided conversation are still amusing as an adult. I can understand, and sympathize with, a young girl's response to some heavy handed tactics used by an absent guardian. And I can also see the growing jealousy on the part of that absent guardian.

 

I agree with Tim, that the ending was a bit abrupt. I don't agree that he should have kept his role secret forever, but there wasn't much of a transition from guardian to fiance. Perhaps another few letters easing us into the knowledge would have improved the book.

 

Addendum,

 I discovered there is a sequel to Daddy Long Legs about Judy's college roommate, Dear Enemy. It is also an epistolary style book, and I found it to be even funnier and more witty. I would highly recommend you read both.

TIM MADE ANGELA WATCH: Father Goose (1964)

 

FATHER GOOSE (1964), starring Cary Grant & Leslie Caron. Written by Peter Stone and Frank Tarloff. Directed by Ralph Nelson

ANGELA SAYS:

This one didn't live up to my expectations. I found the first part of the movie very funny as Commander Houghton manipulated Eckland (Cary Grant) into becoming a reluctant coast watcher in the early days of WWII. The interactions between the two is hilarious, and the frustration of Lt. Stebbings as he tries to insist on proper radio protocol and code names is a good side joke. The first real issue I had with the movie was the small launch Eckland took to pick up his replacement. Once it was overloaded with another adult and seven children, of assorted sizes, there wouldn't have been any question about it's being swamped and sunk in the wake of the larger ships.

Once the school girls and Freneau (Leslie Caron) appeared on the scene it felt like a different movie. I felt like it became the typical “orphans sent to the inappropriate uncle movie”. They took over the island and refused to listen to Eckland, granted, they cleaned up and organized the hut. But Freneau refused to listen to anything Eckland said, even when it made sense. It felt like Eckland was the only one who was aware a war was on and the Japanese were coming any day. The children, especially the younger ones, get a pass here, but Freneau should have been much more careful with, and aware of, what the girls were doing.

Lastly, the romance felt contrived. It was like someone said, “Oh, this is supposed to be a ROMANTIC comedy, these two have to fall in love and get married.” I got much more of a brother/sister chemistry between Grant and Caron than a romantic couple. Even the “romantic” moments of the movie felt disjointed.

Overall, not one of my favorites. But (and it's a big but) no time spent with Cary Grant is ever wasted. He is one of my favorite classic-era stars.

TIM SAYS:

Angela is being too hard on the movie. For instance, the point that the dingy was overloaded when Eckland brought the ladies to the island was made in the movie and we see them frantically bailing out water to keep from sinking. Yes, there is an excellent chance they would have sunk in real life, but that would have been a pretty abrupt and depressinging ending. And Catherine not listening to Eckland even when he was giving them reasonable instructions (such as "Stay off the beach") fits her character and shows that she needed just as much character growth as he did. She was initially stuck up enough to automatically dismiss anything the "filthy beast" said.

Also, for a movie that is a broad comedy, I enjoyed that there were subtle examples of character growth, such as Eckland gradually beginning to do his job as a coast watcher without needing to be bribed with whiskey first.

The romance was indeed contrived, but it was hilarious--especially the wedding. I'm sure Angela would agree that our own wedding would have been infinitely more interesting if we had held the ceremony in a seedy hut in the South Pacific while being strafed by a Japanese Zero. That's everyone's dream wedding, by golly!

So for me, the romance gets a pass due to Rule of Funny, even if it fails to be romantic in any real-life sense. It is, after all, a comedy. 

Tim Makes Angela Watch: The Frisco Kid (1979)

 

The Frisco Kid (1979) Starring Gene Wilder and Harrison Ford. Directed by Robert Aldrich. Written by Michael Elias and Frank Shaw

TIM SAYS:

A very funny movie that seeds its humor with great characterizations and real emotion. In 1850, a Polish rabbi is sent to oversee the Jewish community in San Francisco. Landing by ship in Philadelphia, he has quite the oddysey treking across the nation, much of it in the company of a bank robber who becomes his loyal friend. The unlikely friendship the two form is the backbone of the movie, with the clever script and strong performances making us believe that they could indeed become friends.

What impresses me the most is that Avram (played by Gene Wilder) is the source of most of the movie's humor, but the laughs are generated in such a way that we never think of him as merely a clown. That he is a thoroughly decent and kindhearted man and a man of extreme faith is always obvious to us throughout the film. We laugh with the film without ever laughing at anyone.

ANGELA SAYS:

At first this movie seemed to have an odd combination of stars and setting. I don't think of either Harrison Ford or Gene Wilder as western hero types, but they both worked in this film. Ford played a thief with a heart of gold (in the prostitute with the heart of gold vein that is common in many westerns). At first Wilder seemed to be playing the obligatory gullible tinhorn that gets fooled by every schemer and conman within fifty miles. But it soon becomes apparent that Rabbi Avram isn't really that foolish; he just prefers to look for the good in people first.

At the beginning of the movie we see the Rabbinical council deciding who to send to San Francisco and Avram isn't at the bottom of their list; he isn't even on the list. But the head of the council overrules them and sends Avram anyway. One wonders if he just wanted to get this problem child out of his hair (Avram graduated 87th out of 88 students) or if he saw something in Avram. Because the one adjective to describe Rabbi Avram is persistence. He IS going to get to San Francisco; despite thieves who steal his money, no sense of direction whatsoever, and a “partner” who robs a bank along the way. Avram WILL get there. No matter the problems; he just keeps putting one foot in front of the other.

Tommy (Ford's character) feels sorry for Avram; afraid he would wind up back east or wandering in circles forever so he takes the Rabbi under his wing and guides him across the American prairie. We quickly come to see that Tommy isn't the hardened robber he tries to be because he refuses to leave Avram along the way, despite some provocation. Ford and Wilder are great as the unlikely friends, buddy movie duo and play well off of each other.

Each has a crisis of faith toward the end of the movie. Tommy learns that friendship is worth the problems it can create and the outlaw path isn't really what he wants. Avram learns that life can give you situations where there is no good solution, and it takes more than training to be a man of God.

The character development and friendship was believable and the religious people (Jewish and Amish primarily) were given the respect they deserve for their beliefs and not shown as kooks, simpletons or superstitious; something lacking in many modern movies. Although I would have preferred a movie with much cleaner language (initially some was justified to depict the gap between the two characters; in my opinion, it went too far and became unnecessary); I loved it.

Angela Makes Tim Watch: The Thrill of It All (1963)

 

The Thrill of It All. Released in 1963. Starring Doris Day & James Garner. Directed by Norman Jewison. Written by Carl Reiner from a story by Larry Gelbart

ANGELA SAYS:

I've seen this movie before and remember thinking it was funny, and this re-watching did not disappoint. Day was convincing as a harried housewife and mother and the children were typically precocious and entertaining.

 

The movie begins with Andy, who is about five, talking to his father on the telephone and attempting to relay messages to his mother, setting up a series of missed phone calls and messages that anyone under thirty will not quite understand. In today's era of cell phones and texting, most of what is funny in this movie would just not have happened today. The beginning of the movie also centers around Beverly Boyer's consideration of the household finances. It would seem that the family is financially secure; able to afford a very nice house, live in housekeeper and convertible. But Boyer is frequently referring to how much things cost (even if it is strange to hear her talk about $1 an hour for a babysitter).

 

She seems to be sincerely worried about finances, which causes her to take on the role of marketing spokesperson for Happy Soap. In this role she initially bombs dramatically, but her sincerity and freshness encourage the company to sign her for a year at $80,000. This amount would be a good salary today so it must have been a small fortune in the 1960s, making it very difficult to turn down. Unfortunately, the shooting schedule for the television, print and billboard ads means she is frequently away from home, which causes her husband's frustration level to gradually increase until it boils over into a poorly planned strategy to make his wife jealous.

 

The antics mount throughout the movie as one crazy event results in another.  One of my favorite scenes is the city maintenance men clearing out a mound of soap suds that is higher than the two story house where the Boyers live (you have to watch it to believe it). The movie’s main plot is resolved with a hilarious sequence where a first time mother is giving birth in the back of a limousine while her husband is frantically running up and down a street full of cars while stuck in a traffic jam.  Although, Arlene Francis, who plays the first time mother, just looks too old to be believable. She is fifty-five when the movie is filmed and just can't pull off a women in her late thirties to early forties. Fortunately, this minor detail doesn't spoil the fun of the film.

Overall, this is a fun movie with a lot of classic screwball moments. Well worth seeing, even if you are my husband and a fan of comic books, war movies and westerns.

 

 

 

TIM SAYS: I had seen Doris Day and James Garner in Move Over, Darling—the other movie in which the two co-starred as wife and husband—some years ago and enjoyed it. Both are talented comedic actors and both are enormously likeable, so I’m not really surprised I enjoyed this one as well. Day and Garner play off each other very well.

 

And the plot is a fun one. Angela picked up quicker than me that Beverly (Day’s character) is shown to be a bit money-conscious, which provides a great motivation for an otherwise happy stay-at-home mom to want to become a star of a soap commercial. From there, the movie effectively builds one gag on top of another. Angela noted that the opening scene is one that would have been spoiled by cell phones and texting. This is actually true throughout the movie—confused or missed messages play a role in the plot on several other occasions.

 

I do like that Beverly is never portrayed as being star-struck or indifferent to her husband and kids. The amount of time her job takes sneaks up on her and the tension between the Boyers is believable enough to engage us emotionally even as the dialogue and performances keep it all funny.

 

So thumbs up to Angela for “making” me watch this one.