Showing posts with label Anthony Mann. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Anthony Mann. Show all posts
Thursday, July 03, 2008
Man of the West
Mies lannesta / Mannen fran vastern. US (c) 1958 Ashton Productions. Originally released by United Artists. D: Anthony Mann. SC: Reginald Rose - based on the novel The Border Jumpers by Will C. Brown. DP: Ernest Haller - CinemaScope - De Luxe. Starring: Gary Cooper, Julie London, Lee J. Cobb, Arthur O'Connell. 100 min. Print: Cin. fr. Viewed in Bologna, Cinema Arlecchino, 3 July 2008. - The print is a mixed bag from brilliant to mediocre colour and definition. - A masterpiece revisited in a magnificent scope presentation. Anthony Mann had fallen out with James Stewart, and the aged Gary Cooper brought his own tragic charisma into the part (interesting to see this soon after Morocco, made 28 years earlier). - There is Dostoyevskian grandeur in this story of the man's return to his criminal past, and conquering the evil father figure. - Lee J. Cobb's barking may get a bit monotonous. - Humoristic touches in the beginning, as the man of the West boards a train for the first time in his life. - Julie London presents a romantic interest which remains only a beautiful, unrealized opportunity. - This film is a noble entry in the "good-bad man / woman" tradition of the Western. The story would have been perfect for William S. Hart.
Tuesday, April 07, 1998
Reign of Terror
031110 / 16 / US / 1949 / Mann, Anthony / / historical thriller
Reign of Terror / The Black Book / Yllämme giljotiini. © Pathé Industries, Inc. Presented by Walter Wanger Pictures. P: William Cameron Menzies. D: Anthony Mann. SC: Philip Yordan, Aeneas MacKenzie - based on the story by MacKenzie. DP: John Alton. PD: Edward Ilou. M: Sol Kaplan. CAST: Robert Cummings (Charles D’Aubigny), Arlene Dahl (Madelon), Richard Basehart (Robespierre), Arnold Moss (Fouché), Jess Barker (Saint Just). 89’. B&w Academy. MPAA 13481. British 16mm print carrying the title The Black Book and the Eagle Lion distributor’s logo. Viewed in Helsinki, SEA, Cinema Orion, Tuesday 7 April 1998. **** A Dumasian adventure plot is mixed with a film noir ambience. It is about a race against time - the quest for Robespierre’s black book. The whole film is based on a chase, often on horseback. The dialogue is sharp and the production design effective. Most memorably, the cinematography is masterful and can be appreciated even in this 16mm print.
Reign of Terror / The Black Book / Yllämme giljotiini. © Pathé Industries, Inc. Presented by Walter Wanger Pictures. P: William Cameron Menzies. D: Anthony Mann. SC: Philip Yordan, Aeneas MacKenzie - based on the story by MacKenzie. DP: John Alton. PD: Edward Ilou. M: Sol Kaplan. CAST: Robert Cummings (Charles D’Aubigny), Arlene Dahl (Madelon), Richard Basehart (Robespierre), Arnold Moss (Fouché), Jess Barker (Saint Just). 89’. B&w Academy. MPAA 13481. British 16mm print carrying the title The Black Book and the Eagle Lion distributor’s logo. Viewed in Helsinki, SEA, Cinema Orion, Tuesday 7 April 1998. **** A Dumasian adventure plot is mixed with a film noir ambience. It is about a race against time - the quest for Robespierre’s black book. The whole film is based on a chase, often on horseback. The dialogue is sharp and the production design effective. Most memorably, the cinematography is masterful and can be appreciated even in this 16mm print.
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