007: Reflections in a Goldeneye

Oh, to have a time machine, and travel back to 1962 to see the premiere of the first Bond film, Dr. No, starring a relatively unknown Scottish ex-truck driver, Sean Connery. I’ve seen Dr. No on the big screen at a repertory theatre, but I doubt that it captured the magic. But there again, with my jaded modern filmgoer eyes, it would be impossible to know the excitement of audiences as they realized they were seeing a new type of hero in a new type of screen adventure.

Bond has now been on the screen for over 40 years, the character has become a cultural icon, and the films have long become formula. But what a glorious formula it is, and what incarnations the character has survived—rogue, clown, killer, superman (not to mention Scottish, Australian, English, Welsh, and Irish).

I’m a Bond fan. I’ve seen every movie at least three times, read all the books. My first movie theatre experience with a Bond film was unfortunate—1979’s Roger Moore opus Moonraker, surely the worst of the series. But I survived that, and went on to look forward to the release of each new Bond picture. Here are my reflections, thoughts, and opinions on the Bond film series, starting with a brief homage to the creator of 007.

Fleming: Father of Bond
Ian Fleming, the English writer who created agent 007, wrote 14 books based on the character, starting in 1953. The first Bond novel was Casino Royale, which Fleming wrote on the eve of his marriage at age 42. The Bond novels are characterized by Fleming’s attention to detail and ingenuity with plot and character. Bond himself, while not exactly a great literary character, is nevertheless fleshed-out, human, and a far cry from most of the later film portrayals. The Bond novels remain great reads to this day and the best of the Bond films are those that follow at least the spirit of the books.

Fleming always thought that his Bond novels would make good films, and this was proved when producers Harry Salzman and Albert “Cubby” Broccoli teamed up to film the first Bond big screen adventure, Dr. No.

The casting of Bond was a difficult one. At one time or another, Carey Grant and James Mason were considered for the part. Fleming himself thought David Niven would be right for Bond. (I’m glad Fleming wasn’t the casting director.) Instead, they chose a little-known actor, Sean Connery, who ended up delivering the definitive screen 007.

Connery’s the Man
No doubt about it. No matter how good they are, any subsequent Bond actor falls in the shadow of Sean Connery. He defined the screen character, and played him perfectly. He had the looks, the style, the moves, and the voice. And though not letter-perfect to the character from the novels, Ian Fleming liked him in the part. So much in fact, that Fleming even gave the literary Bond a Scottish background.

The best Bond films are the first three—Dr. No, From Russia With Love, and Goldfinger. All of these films feature a greater emphasis on plot and character, too often lost in later movies. My favourite moment from these three is the fight scene in From Russia With Love. If you’re familiar with this film, you know the scene I’m talking about.

The setting is the Orient Express. The villain, Red Grant (superbly played with convincing menace by Robert Shaw) has got the drop on Bond. 007 is on his knees in front of Grant, holding a gun on him. Through ingenious means that I won’t reveal here for those who haven’t seen the picture, Bond gets the upper hand, and a fight ensues. Though the fight takes place in a small compartment, with very little room to maneuver, the choreography is so well done that the scene is riveting. It still remains one of the best fight scenes ever filmed. In a much later Bond film, GoldenEye, director Martin Campbell intentionally pays homage to this scene with a close-quarters fight between Bond (Pierce Brosnan) and Alec Trevalyan (Sean Bean). But the original is best.

The scene encapsulates everything that made the first Bond films work so well. Memorably-played characters, plot ingenuity, well-filmed and exciting violence, convincing danger, and a glib remark to provide some release from the suspense. Screenwriter Richard Maibaum and directors Terence Young and Guy Hamilton deserve much of the credit for the early Bond style. (Though Hamilton deserves a raspberry for his later Bond films, some of the weakest ever.)

By the third film, Goldfinger, the Bond Formula became well-established. It includes the following: pre-credits scene that is a mini-movie in itself; visit to M that sets up the mission; visit to Q branch where Bond receives his latest equipment; beautiful woman that has to be wooed; big villain surrounded by “little villains” or henchmen; Bond ally who is murdered by a henchman (or woman); Big Villainous Plot that Bond uncovers; and climactic battle where the villain is defeated (after the body count racks up significantly). Other elements include the one-liners that Bond delivers (usually after or during action scenes), the high tech villain hideout, and of course the gadgets that Q (Desmond Llewellyn and, later, John Cleese) provides.

When the fourth Bond film Thunderball was released, Bond mania was at its height. With that film, the series began to rely on its sets and gadgets more than its characters and plot. You Only Live Twice was even more gadget-laden, and completely ditched the Fleming novel for the first (but sadly not the last) time. Connery quit the part after this film, and the producers desperately hunted for someone to assume the Bond mantle and continue on with the series. They chose an Australian model, and thankfully went back to Ian Fleming for inspiration.

Lazenby: Honestly, Mr. Bond
Pity George Lazenby, chosen to follow the most-loved actor of his time in the most successful film series ever. And he had no acting experience, beyond television commercials. Though relatively unsuccessful at the time, Lazenby’s only appearance as 007, On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, is now considered by many Bond fans to be one of the best in the series. And it’s a terrific film, with a convincing and involving plot, refreshing lack of gadgets, and spectacular action (it’s ski chase sequence is still one of the best ever filmed). The big twist in the plot is, of course, that Bond falls in love and gets married. Diana Rigg plays his bride, Tracy. She is excellent in the role, playing a Bond woman who is tough and independent.

Lazenby is quite good as Bond, though his inexperience shows. He lacks the self-assured presence of Connery. In a way, though, this fits the film perfectly, and allows a more honest, human Bond that jives better with the story. Though initially derided by critics, Lazenby’s only Bond film stands as one of the most memorable and powerful of the whole series.

OHMSS, however, did not fare as well at the box-office. So the producers lured Connery back for one more turn as 007 in 1971’s Diamonds Are Forever. This film, while entertaining and well-acted by Connery, marks the beginning of an emphasis on comedy and outlandish plots. It also began a downward slide in quality, which continued with the casting of Roger Moore as Bond.

Moore: The Comedy Years
Even in Moore’s first Bond film, Live and Let Die, the problems are obvious. The filmmakers continue the lighthearted comedic style they began in Diamonds Are Forever, and this time they have an actor more than willing to take that style and run with it. The result is what is widely known amongst Bond fans as the James Bond Comedies. They are characterized by outlandish plots, silly villains, cardboard characters, ridiculous slapstick humour, unbelievable gadgets that 007 relies upon to get out of sticky situations, and a Bond that is more concerned with spouting bad puns and not wrinkling his suit than dispatching villains.

The ultimate bad Bond movie is Moonraker. To sum up how bad this film is, one need go no further than considering the chase scene in Venice. Bond is in a gondola, pursued by evil villains, and calmly opens a panel to reveal electronic controls that turn the gondola first into a speedboat, and then into a hovercraft. We are then “treated” to a scene where Bond drives the gondola/hovercraft through a crowded square, and shots of pigeons doing double-takes and drunks staring at their liquor bottles and throwing them away. Funny, I was 13 when I saw Moonraker, and couldn’t believe how juvenile the film was. Gone is the interesting Bond character created by Ian Fleming. Instead we have a cardboard superman, invulnerable in any situation, tossing off bad jokes and raising his eyebrows. Sigh.

But perhaps I’m a bit too hard on the Roger Moore era. Sure, it produced the worst films of the series, but Moore did have some effective moments. The Spy Who Loved Me was very good (if overrated amongst Bond fans), with effective set pieces, a memorable villain (“Jaws,” the steel-toothed giant), and some sporadic good acting from Moore. For Your Eyes Only was a return to the Fleming style, and features Moore’s most effective performance as Bond. When he coolly dispatches a villain by kicking his car, precariously perched on the edge of a cliff, onto jagged rocks below, you actually sense his anger and desire for revenge. Great stuff, and true to the Fleming character.

The last two films of the Moore era, Octopussy and A View to a Kill, were passable. There were scattered good moments vying for attention with scenes like Bond swinging on vines through a jungle, a Tarzan yell on the soundtrack. All in all, though, I was glad to see the end of the comedy years. And for a fan of the books longing for a return to the true spirit of 007, the next Bond incarnation was a dream come true.

Dalton: Back to Basics
Initially, Pierce Brosnan was the actor chosen to next portray James Bond. At the last minute, however, his contract to the TV series Remington Steele prevented him from playing 007. So the producers of the Bond films decided to go with Welsh actor Timothy Dalton, who was one of the actors originally considered when Connery first left the role.

Dalton made a great 007. He brought the character back to earth, paved the way for the incredibly successful Brosnan films, and made an acting contribution to the Bond films surpassed only by Sean Connery. It’s odd that most people don’t seem to like him as Bond. I think that you have to have read the Fleming books to really appreciate Dalton’s performance. Back in 1987, with the release of the first Dalton Bond The Living Daylights, I breathed a sigh of relief that the years of the James Bond Comedies were over. Here was an all-too-human James Bond, who was also a ruthless killer when required. Bond was back with a vengeance.

There’s one scene in The Living Daylights that comes close to summing up all of Dalton’s strengths as Bond. It’s set in a fairground in Vienna. Bond has met one of his allies, Saunders, in a café that features an electronic sliding door at the entrance. Saunders gives Bond some valuable information, and Bond thanks him, clearly showing his respect. As Saunders walks out of the café, one of the villains activates an electronic device that slams the sliding door into Saunders, killing him. Bond runs over, kneels in front of Saunders’ body, and spots a balloon with the words “Smiert Spionom” (“death to spies”) written on it, indicating that the death was not an accident. The look on Dalton’s face as he realizes this is priceless—in that moment you see Bond the killer, a side of the secret agent too often ignored. And you also see compassion for a friend viciously killed. Above all, you see a human being, and not a cardboard character with an expensive suit.

Dalton’s next, and last, appearance as 007 took the tough, human side of the character even further, and even kicked him off the secret service. In 1989’s Licence to Kill Bond operates as a rogue agent to bring down powerful drug baron Sanchez (Robert Davi). The film is more serious, darker, and one of the best in the series since Connery left. It includes several plot elements taken directly from Ian Fleming, and takes Bond in a new direction. Unfortunately, the movie was released in the same summer as Batman, Lethal Weapon 2, and Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. This, together with a lackluster marketing campaign, sank Licence to Kill at the North American box office, though it did quite well elsewhere around the world.

The Bond films then entered a hiatus as MGM/UA and the producers of the series fought a legal battle. During this period, Dalton resigned from the part, and it seemed like 007 was finally dead as a cinematic hero.

Brosnan: High-Octane Cocktail
After the legal wrangling was resolved, seven years had passed, and Pierce Brosnan finally got his shot at playing Bond in GoldenEye (named after the Jamaican estate where Ian Fleming wrote the Bond novels). Brosnan was good as Bond. In fact, he was very good. He combined the best of the Bond actors—Connery’s style, Moore’s humour, and Dalton’s edge—and mixed in his own screen persona to create sort of a high-octane cocktail. Shaken, not stirred, of course.

GoldenEye was an entertaining, and relatively well-plotted addition to the Bond series. There are hints of Bond’s darker side, and some troubling spots of Moore-like humour, which are thankfully kept under control. Bond is updated for the 90’s, but still retains the core characteristics that make him interesting. The next Brosnan Bond, Tomorrow Never Dies, was an entertaining addition to the series, but was unfortunately weaker in plot. Brosnan has some effective moments, but is not given enough to play. In the last third of the movie, the plot basically stops advancing, and we are left with wall-to-wall action. Slick and entertaining, with a great performance by Michelle Yeoh, Tomorrow Never Dies is not up to the standards of the classic Bonds. But three’s the charm, it seems, with the Bond series actors, as Brosnan’s third 007 outing, The World is Not Enough, was his best to date.

Directed by renowned documentary and dramatic director Michael Apted, The World is Not Enough reemphasized drama and performance, while still delivering on suspense, derring-do, and action. The plot includes Bond falling dangerously in love with Elektra King (Sophie Marceau), who may not be what she seems. Events in Bond’s past (especially On Her Majesty’s Secret Service) echo menacingly here, and Brosnan delivers a subtle, nuanced performance that, together with the interesting script and some great action sequences, elevates The World is Not Enough into the upper echelons of the 007 film series.

Unfortunately, Die Another Day, the next Bond film and the 20th 007 movie, hovered almost perfectly between the upper and lower ranks of the series. The first half is done in the style of the classic Connery Bonds, while the second half is essentially a latter Connery/Moore-era action extravaganza updated with MTV-style film techniques. As a result, after a riveting first half, the second half slides slowly into a dull assault on the senses, with a lackluster and seemingly endless climax on a burning plane. What saves the film, though, is Brosnan’s commanding performance, which centres the movie even in its sillier passages. Pulling in over $160 million at the U.S. box office alone and heaps more around the rest of the world, Die Another Day is one of the most successful 007 adventures ever. Clearly, the Bond films still entertain a mass audience, but EON Productions, the creators of the Bond film series, have recently looked for new directions.

James Bond Will Return
In a morass of political intrigue spun instantaneously and often inaccurately through the veins of the Internet, Pierce Brosnan was let go from the role, and a lengthy search for a new 007 ensued. Internet rumours popped up like fungus through soil, but an official announcement didn’t happen until November 2005, and acclaimed English actor Daniel Craig was proclaimed the new James Bond in Casino Royale, an adaptation of the very first Fleming Bond novel.

Craig is a fascinating choice. Little known by mass audiences, he is a respected actor in mostly dramatic films (Road to Perdition; Enduring Love; Layer Cake; Munich). His chiseled looks are handsome, but not in an airbrushed, GQ kind of way. He conveys a certain toughness and cynicism. In short, he appears to be perfect if the producers wish to return to Ian Fleming basics.


Which they at least say they do. EON and the director of Casino Royale, Martin Campbell (who also shepherded new 007 Brosnan to the screen in GoldenEye) have stated that the film will feature an early mission of the secret agent and that 007’s character will be forged throughout the dramatic arc of the story. Certainly, Casino Royale is one of the darkest and most cynical of the Bond novels, ending with an unforgettable last line (“The bitch is dead now.”). Ripe with dramatic potential, the novel is nevertheless problematic for film adaptation. There is little action in the story, a sadistic torture scene that gives me the willies, and the thriller story arc ends about two-thirds of the way through the book. It appears that the writers of the film adaptation will keep the book’s plotline largely intact, though updated, for the last third of the movie, and the first two-thirds will be new material. A more faithful adaptation of Ian Fleming’s immortal secret agent is certainly tantalizing, at least to die-hard fans. We will have to see; Casino Royale will be released in November 2006.

Whatever happens, “James Bond will return.”

Syriana

In reference to a newly-merged oil company, one character says to another that they have just visited what will be the biggest company in America, "as long as they don't start to run cars on water and there is still chaos in the Middle East." Syriana is about the poisonous, corrupting nexus of big oil companies and geopolitics. With enough plot for a miniseries packed into a 2-hour film, Syriana's story threads include: a grizzled CIA ground soldier in the Middle East (George Clooney); an energy analyst for a derivatives trading company (Matt Damon); a lawyer called in to give the impression of due diligence when the Justice Department goes sniffing around a merger between Connex and Killen, two U.S. oil companies (Jeffrey Wright); a royal prince bent on reforming his Persian Gulf country (Alexander Siddig); and an itinerant oil field worker from Pakistan who is thrown out of work by Connex-Killen, becoming a ripe target for religious fundamentalists.



Writer/director Stephen Gaghan won an Academy Award for his screenplay for Traffic, and his writing here is similarly layered and complex, based on the book See No Evil by ex-CIA agent Robert Bauer. No character in the film knows the whole picture, and we as the audience are not meant to understand it either. We're just meant to know that this shit is going down, and that the exploitation of a natural resource, oil, is having a morally devastating impact on humanity. That's all you need to know; the plot washes over you. But to its credit, Syriana is always complicated, but never frustrating. Gaghan, in his second film as director, turns out to be a talented filmmaker, and the piece is edited with clarity and precision.

In a uniformly superb cast, George Clooney stands out in a performance worthy of a veteran charactor actor. He inhabits the role of George Barnes to the extent that you feel weariness, confusion, anger, and, ultimately, reawakened moral clarity leaking out of his pores. Clooney's transformation goes way beyond his reported weight gain; its another bullseye in an impressive career dedication to meatier roles post-Batman & Robin.

Syriana is a must-see for anyone even vaguely interested in modern geopolitics, and beyond its political interest, it's a terrific drama. Definitely one of 2005's best films.

Val Lewton Collection: Curse of the Cat People

As expected by the title, Curse of the Cat People (1944) is a sequel to producer Val Lewton's first horror film Cat People. Unexpectedly, at least by RKO Studios, was the fact that the sequel is not a horror film at all, but a moody exploration of childhood fantasy. Lewton took the road less travelled in delivering a sequel, and the result is a beautiful and quite brilliant fantasy drama.

DeWitt Bodeen again wrote the screenplay, and the story does have some narrative connections with its eerie predecessor. Oliver (Kent Smith), Irena's husband from the first film, is now married to Alice (Jane Randolph), and they have a child, a young girl, Amy (Ann Carter). Often retreating into a fantasy life, Amy has trouble developing friendships with other children, and begins to have visions of Irena (Simone Simon). Irena died in Cat People after being tormented with the belief that she has the occult power to transform into a black leopard. Amy befriends Irena, much to Oliver's disbelief and annoyance. His punishment of Amy after she refuses to deny that she has seen Irena is one of the film's most moving passages. Irena's magical friendship is a source of comfort and wonder to Amy, but most adults in the film are determined to suppress Amy's fantasy life, and the film seems to argue that by denying childhood fantasies we actually expose children to danger.

The credited co-director Gunther von Fritsch was fired by Lewton for running behind schedule; most of the film appears to have been shot by Robert Wise, who of course went on to direct Hollywood classics like West Side Story and The Day the Earth Stood Still. Imbrued with the atmosphere of a gothic fairy tale, some scenes foreshadow Wise's great The Haunting, one of the eeriest supernatural films ever made, particularly a shot of Amy approaching a foreboding, mysterious house. Haunting and moving, Curse of the Cat People is one of the most beautiful cinematic meditations on the inner life of a child.

The Curse of the Cat People DVD pairs it with the original film. The picture is very clear, especially in a night scene with Irena's Christmas present to Amy in the garden.

Val Lewton Collection: I Walked With a Zombie

The poetic voodoo drama I Walked with a Zombie (1943) was the second of Val Lewton's horror film series, and the second of three that director Jacques Tourneur helmed for the producer. A reworking of Bronte's Jane Eyre, the story involves nurse Betsy Connell (Francis Dee) accepting a job to care for the wife of Paul Holland (Tom Conway, who also appears in two other Lewton films, in which he plays the same character) on a West Indies island. Mrs. Holland (Christine Gordon) is catatonic, apparently as the result of a tropical disease, but the native islanders believe that she is a zombie--hovering between life and death as the undead.

The literate screenplay by Curt Siodmak and Ardel Wray allows the hidden backstory of the Holland family--Paul Holland, Jessica Holland, and half-brother Wesley Rand (James Ellison)--to slowly emerge. Exposition is sometimes done in unique ways, as in the folk song about the Holland family that a musician plays during two scenes. The dialogue is smart and well-written, the characters efficiently sketched, and the shroud of death and inescapable fate haunt the film like it does most of the Lewton horror series. Paul Holland has some particularly memorable dialogue at the start of the film, about grim reality lurking behind beautiful facade. (Sidenote: Oddly enough, according to the IMDB, the screenplay was the source for a recent and failed third Tales from the Crypt movie, Ritual, which seems to have sunk like a lead brick.)

Though there are several suspense set-pieces, the horror elements are relatively minor. In place of the horrific, however, the film boasts Tourneur's typical visual poetry; this is arguably the most beautiful of his films. Particularly striking is a shot with Betsy Connell framed in a doorway gazing up at a darkened stone stairway that winds above her into concealing shadows. The much-discussed and admired night walk through the sugar cane fields, scored to the eerie whistle of the wind, is also beautifully shot and memorable.

The treatment of voodoo in I Walked with a Zombie is strikingly respectful, especially considering other films of the era (e.g., King of the Zombies). It is treated as a valid belief system, and is never mocked or sensationalized.

The DVD of I Walked with a Zombie pairs it with The Body Snatcher. The transfer is a mixed bag, with several instances of noticeable print damage, and frequent speckling. There is an audio commentary by "film historians" Kim Newman and and Steve Jones, which I did not listen to due to a lack of time. (Seriously, does anyone actually have time to listen to these things?)

Val Lewton Collection: The Leopard Man

Adapted from a story by Cornell Woolrich (a suspense master whose work was also the source of Hitchcock's classic Rear Window), The Leopard Man (1943) was director Jacques Tourneur's last film for producer Val Lewton. Dennis O'Keefe stars as entertainment agent Jerry Manning on tour in New Mexico who hires a leopard to accompany dancer Clo-Clo (Margo) in a grand entrance to her act. Things backfire--the leopard is startled and escapes, and later appears to be responsible for a series of deaths. But while the first killing of a girl is undoubtedly the work of the leopard, Manning suspects that the subsequent murders may in fact be committed by a man, using the leopard as an alibi.

While the mystery plot is enjoyable but pretty thin, The Leopard Man holds three trademark Lewtonesque "dark fear" sequences, all involving the stalking and killing of a woman. Two of these stand out as landmarks in horror cinema.

The first is the much-discussed passage involving a girl entering the night, at her mother's insistence, to buy cornmeal. To do so, she has to pass under a bridge, which is thick with shadow and may harbour the black leopard. Masterfully shot and cut, this sequence invokes genuine dread of the dark, and includes what Tourneur describes as a "sharp edit". This sharp edit was known as "the bus" named after the sudden, startling cut to the hiss of a bus's brakes and door opening from Cat People. The bus in this sequence is a sound edit with the sudden shrieking of a vehicle passing over the bridge. This is more than a cheap shock--the slow, skilful build of fear in the sequence earns the effect. The sequence concludes with the film's most famous scene, involving terror behind a locked door and the seeping of blood.

The second landmark sequence is set at night (of course) in a walled graveyard, with a woman locked in, and convinced that something is lurking in the trees. The bending of a tree branch by the weight of something frightening is one of the most effective yet subtle payoffs to any suspense sequence.

The concept of inescapable fate, a key theme in many Lewton films, is also apparent here. There is a short passage of dialogue where one character points to a ball hovering in a fountain, and remarks that people are like that, being buffeted by forces beyond their understanding or ability to control. Inevitability also manifests itself in a scene with a fortune teller and a character who always turns up the death card, no matter how she cuts the cards.

Though the ending seems a bit rushed, The Leopard Man is required viewing for all horror/suspense film fans, especially for those interested in how editing, lighting, and sound can be used to economically build suspense. As Tourneur himself noted in an interview, Lewton's films were cheaply made, but never cheap.

The DVD pairs The Leopard Man with The Ghost Ship. The picture on The Leopard Man is not great. There are many speckles apparent throughout, but overall it is a notable improvement on the old VHS version. A restoration of the film would be nice.

Val Lewton Collection: The 7th Victim

A real gem, The 7th Victim (1943) is a visual poem of a film noir/horror hybrid. This was the first Lewton film to be directed by Mark Robson, who worked as an assistant to Robert Wise on the editing of Citizen Kane (Wise, of course, would also go on to direct several films for Lewton). Moody and boldy depressing for its time, the film's story concerns Mary Gibson's (Kim Hunter) search for her missing sister Jacqueline (Jean Brooks) in the dark streets of Manhattan. The search reveals Jaqueline's secret husband and her connection to a hidden society of devil-worshippers.

Boldly, almost expressionistically shot, the film is packed with memorable scenes. Jacqueline's apartment is found to contain only a chair sitting ominously beneath a rope noose, a grim symbol of the shadow of death that hangs over the lives of several characters. Mary is menaced while in the shower by a satanic cult member, only her shadow visible through the translucent curtain, in a scene thought by many to be a precursor to the famous murder sequence in Hitchcock's Psycho. Jacqueline is stalked through the shadowed streets of late-night Manhattan by an anonymous hitman. Robson photographs the night scenes with a visual poetry that captures the claustrophobic, inescapable nature of fate.

The inevitability of death draws over The 7th Victim like a shroud. The film begins and ends with a quote from John Donne: "I runne to death, and death meets me as fast, and all my pleasures are like yesterday." The double suicide that concludes the film is one of the most striking, depressing endings to any film, and will likely haunt your thoughts long after the shadows of The 7th Victim have faded.

The DVD of The 7th Victim beautifully captures the crisp black and white photography, and is certainly the best this film will look until someone does a full restoration. The disc pairs the film with a documentary on Lewton, Shadows in the Dark, the viewing of which I'm saving as a treat for when I've finished viewing the entire Lewton horror oeuvre on disc.

Val Lewton Collection: Bedlam

From the first Val Lewton-produced horror film (Cat People, see previous post), now onto the very last: Bedlam (1946). Directed by Mark Robson, who helmed three other Lewton films, Bedlam is less a horror film, and more a historical drama with horrific overtones, much like the previous year's The Body Snatcher. The film is one of three Lewton movies to star the legendary Boris Karloff, who was famous for his roles in the Universal horror cycle.

Karloff plays George Sims, the cowardly, simpering, and quite loathsome head of the Bedlam asylum in 17th century London. Sims curries favour with Lord Mortimer and convinces him to institutionalize his former companion, Nell Bowen (Anna Lee), in the dank and oppressive confines of Bedlam.

Though boasting some grim sequences, Bedlam ultimately turns out to be a humanistic message picture about the dehumanizing treatment of "lunatics". Once locked up in Bedlam, Nell works to better the lives of the inmates and wins their sympathies. Karloff's Sims never receives sympathy, however. His character is despicable and morally contemptible. Karloff's performance here is astonishing--notice the way Sims walks with bent knees, reflecting the twisted insides of the character; he seems to scuttle around like a deranged insect. Nell's internment in Bedlam is at first foreboding and grim, but we soon come to realize that the real monster does not lurk among the inmates--it is Sims.

In retrospect it is easy to see why Bedlam was a failure upon its initial release. Marketed as a straight horror picture, with Karloff's face and name front and centre in the posters, it does not deliver the same Lewtonesque chills as the producer's other genre films. However, it succeeds as a grim, humanistic drama. Often visually striking, Bedlam is well worth watching for classic horror fans.

The DVD of Bedlam boasts a clear picture for the most part, but there is some obvious print damage in a couple of scenes. The DVD also includes Isle of the Dead, which was also directed by Mark Robson and starred Boris Karloff. That film is singularly chilling in a couple of scenes, but I'm getting ahead of myself.

Val Lewton Collection: Cat People

I finally bought the Val Lewton Horror Collection, $49.99 at WalMart in Canada, if you want a deal. You get nine films produced by Val Lewton at RKO studios in the 1940s. Lewton was a producer hired by RKO to develop profitable horror "B" films on low budgets, using studio-tested and approved titles. As long as he used the titles, kept the running time under 75 minutes, and didn't spend too much money, he was pretty much given free rein to assemble a creative team and develop the films he wanted (though apparently, following the box-office success of Lewton's films, the studio did begin to interfere). The result was some of the most intelligent, evocative, and effective psychological horror films ever made. If you don't know Lewton's films but are a horror fan, and if you are already a Lewton fan, this DVD box set is an absolute must. I'm slowly making my way through the collection, and will post thoughts on each.

Today, the first of the Lewton series, Cat People (1942). This was also the first of the three Lewton films to be directed by Jacques Tourneur, who went on to direct the classic noir Out of the Past, with Robert Mitchum and Kirk Douglas, and Night of the Demon, a very Lewtonesque supernatural thriller from 1958 (more on that in a later post). Cat People involves the relationship between Irena (Simone Simon) and Oliver (Kent Smith), a marriage that begins with Oliver meeting Irena at the zoo, while the latter sketches a black panther as it paces its cage. Irena lives a lonely, melancholic existence, deliberately cutting herself off from any meaningful relationships.

She later explains the reason for this. Her family is originally from Serbia, and according to local legend the people of her village worshipped Satan and learned how to transform themselves into cats--black panthers, to be exact. She is desperately afraid that an emotional (and sexual) connection will change her into a panther and kill the one she loves. The rest of the film involves their doomed marriage and the growing alienation between Oliver and Irena.

As with all Lewton horror films, the question as to whether the supernatural is involved is up for debate. Does Irena truely have the ability to transform into a giant cat? Or is her inner demon figurative, in the mind? Cat People provides no definitive answer.

Aside from the superb performances, what makes Cat People so memorable is its evocative, palpable atmosphere. Events slowly build, and light and shadow-soaked cinematography result in a film imbrued with mounting dread. There are two justly-famous scenes that embody this dread: a suspenseful night walk where one character is convinced she is being followed by something; and another scene involving the same character treading water in a darkened swimming pool while what we suspect is a panther menaces her from the shadows. Both sequences are masterfully filmed and lit, and still invoke fear to this day. Cat People is also notable for its exploration of sexual repression, which is mostly symbolic given the censorship limitations of the time.

On the DVD, Cat People is paired with its quasi-sequel, Curse of the Cat People, which is a perceptive study of fantasy and reality in childhood. The picture quality on Cat People is very nice, rendering the noirish cinematography in a crisp fashion.