‘Lady from Shanghai’ is richly surreal, haunting in its intensity

July 29, 2011 by

The Lady from Shanghai/1948/Columbia Pictures/87 min.

Rita Hayworth and Orson Welles

“Citizen Kane” is hallowed cinematic ground, I know, but my favorite Orson Welles film is “The Lady from Shanghai” (1948), which he wrote, produced, directed and starred in, playing opposite his real-life wife Rita Hayworth, one of the most popular entertainers of the 1940s.

In “The Lady from Shanghai” Welles plays Michael O’Hara, an Irish merchant seaman, in between ships in New York. By chance, or so he thinks, he meets the wily blonde operator Elsa Bannister (Hayworth) and saves her from being mugged in the park.

Elsa invites Michael to join her as she sets sail for Acapulco. The boat belongs to her husband, a wizened, creepy criminal lawyer named Arthur Bannister (Everett Sloane), and he’ll be on the trip too. So will his partner, the moon-faced and sinister George Grisby (Glenn Anders). O’Hara agrees regardless. “Once I’d seen her,” he says, “I wasn’t in the right frame of mind.”

On their voyage (the yacht belonged to Errol Flynn), Elsa and Michael flirt every chance they get; Arthur gets touchy and calls her “Lovah,” in a most unloving way; Grisby is generally unpleasant. The tension builds, then breaks when they reach San Francisco. But not for long.

Grisby has a plan to cash in on an insurance policy by faking his own murder and bribes Michael to help him. Need I say the plan doesn’t quite work out as they’d hoped? This is film noir, you know.

“The Lady from Shanghai” is richly surreal and haunting in its intensity. Welles and cinematographer Charles Lawton Jr. use staggering angles and startling black shadow almost to the point of abstraction. Two of the most famous sequences are the aquarium and the funhouse hall of mirrors at the end. Of the latter, Time Out notes that “it stands as a brilliant expressionist metaphor for sexual unease and its accompanying loss of identity.”

The script, based on the Sherwood King novel “If I Die Before I Wake,” crackles with noir attitude (“Everybody’s somebody’s fool,” says O’Hara). Hayworth, the perfect femme fatale, looks contemporary and sexy whether in her chic nautical garb or the filigree hat she wears in the courtroom. [Read more…]

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‘The Lady from Shanghai’ quick hit

July 29, 2011 by

The Lady from Shanghai/1948/Columbia Pictures/87 min.

Irish sailor Michael O’Hara (Orson Welles) knows from the start that it’s probably not going to work out well when Elsa Bannister (Rita Hayworth, Welles’ real-life wife) invites him to join her on a sailing trip with her husband and his business partner. “When I start out to make a fool of myself, there’s very little can stop me,” says O’Hara. The plot is downright acrobatic; the visuals are dazzling. Welles directed, wrote and produced.

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High praise for Tightline from a makeup junkie

July 26, 2011 by

Laura Mercier's cake liner comes in six stunning colors.

I figure that a cosmetic, or really any product, that has the word cake in its name is worth a try. And Laura Mercier’s Tightline Cake Eye Liner is suitably decadent, the makeup equivalent of a coconut-lemon layered confection.

You add a drop or two of Tightline Activator to the cake and mix with a flat brush to form a lightweight paste. It takes a few extra minutes to apply (compared with liquid liners) and you may need a few practice rounds, trying different brushes, to get the precise line you want. But to a makeup junkie like me, that’s a plus.

And the color is gorgeous, vibrant but not over the top. In fact, the best thing about Mercier’s cake is the choice of colors: black (duh!), mahogany brown, plum, forest green, charcoal grey and, my favorite, bleu marine.

The activator contains a polymer to make the liner last longer, so once it’s on, it sticks. That said, it doesn’t blend very easily so be careful until you really have the hang of it. As much fun as it is to play with, this product is pricey. The cake is $22, the activator is $20 and the Mercier flat brush is $25, so almost $70. (I used other brushes.)

Still, it’s a chance to have dessert first thing in the morning without an actual sugar fix. How can that be bad?

Product source: From my own collection; I did not receive product or compensation from Laura Mercier. (This post is part five in my quest for the perfect eyeliner.)

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‘In a Lonely Place’ an ode to romantic, cynical noir love

July 22, 2011 by

In a Lonely Place/1950/Columbia Pictures/94 min.

Gloria Grahame

One of Gloria Grahame’s most nuanced performances is as Laurel Gray in 1950’s “In a Lonely Place,” a noir love story from director Nicholas Ray. Laurel eschews any double-dealing or dark deeds in this film. She’s got enough on her hands trying to navigate a new romance: Does she like the way he kisses? Will he call when he says he will? Did he brutally kill a girl for no reason? You know, the usual dating stuff.

Her love interest is her neighbor, Dixon Steele (Humphrey Bogart), a volatile, sometimes violent, screenwriter, with a history of fights and scandals. Her cool affection seems the perfect salve for his simmering aggression.

The fly in the ointment is that Police Capt. Lochner (Carl Benton Reid) is convinced that Dix, in a fit of temper, murdered a hatcheck girl named Mildred Atkinson (Martha Stewart). He was, after all, the last person to see her alive. Dix professes his innocence and Laurel backs him up. But Dix’s erratic behavior gets worse and, when he proposes, Laurel’s too scared to say no.

“In a Lonely Place” is an exquisitely tender love story and it holds up incredibly well for contemporary audiences, who know the ropes of brief, ill-fated affairs. “It’s complicated” would be Laurel’s Facebook relationship status if she’d lived in the age of online communication.

On one hand, she tries to take it slow with Dix, telling him, “I don’t want to be rushed.” But she’s already lied to the police to give him an alibi for the night of the Atkinson murder. At first, the pair conveniently push the reality of Dix’s rage under the rug, though it becomes harder and harder as their shared fear (that he is capable of such a killing) slowly and steadily builds.

Much of the action takes place at the Beverly Patio Apartments complex, where Laurel and Dix both live, offering ample opportunity for skulking and spying.  Director Ray lived in a similar complex in West Hollywood and it served as the model for the film set.

If Ray is a poet as a director, this film is an ode to impossible love, a sensitive portrayal of a strong, egoic man succumbing to dark inner demons and the pain he inflicts on those around him. It might be just as apt to compare Ray to a painter so arresting and assured are his compositions (he studied architecture with Frank Lloyd Wright).

As with most of Ray’s films, “In a Lonely Place” offers powerful, sometimes blisteringly raw, performances all around. Grahame’s tear-stained face at the end is an image that never leaves you once you see it. (Ray and Grahame married in 1948, separated in 1950 and divorced in 1952).

Bogart, though he never loses his swagger, brilliantly conveys Dix’s growing desperation and alienation. Excellent in supporting parts are Frank Lovejoy as Dix’s friend and lone ally at the police station, Jean Marie “Jeff” Donnell as his friend’s wife and Art Smith as Dix’s agent.

Scripted by Andrew Solt, “In a Lonely Place” is based on a novel by Dorothy B. Hughes, which is well worth a read; it’s a very fast read by the way. In the book, Dix is a shadowy, psychopathic killer, not a successful screenwriter with a bad temper, and Hughes explores his psyche in great detail. She also conjures a gritty picture of LA after World War Two.

The movie contains a good dose of noir cynicism about Hollywood and how it treats its struggling denizens. “In a Lonely Place” would make an excellent double bill with Billy Wilder’s “Sunset Boulevard,” also from 1950.

Grahame played in many noirs (and won the best supporting actress Oscar in 1952 for her role in “The Bad and the Beautiful”) but by the early ’60s, her career was dragging and she saw for herself how Tinseltown’s chummy embrace could turn to cold shoulders and closed doors.

“In a Lonely Place” plays at 7:30 p.m. Friday, July 22, at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA), 5905 Wilshire Blvd.

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Quick hit: ‘In a Lonely Place’

July 22, 2011 by

In a Lonely Place/1950/Columbia Pictures/94 min.

Laurel Gray (Gloria Grahame) and Dix Steele (Humphrey Bogart) are neighbors in LA’s Beverly Patio Apartments complex. Instead of providing the odd cup of sugar, Laurel goes the extra mile – she gives Dix an alibi when he’s accused of murder and that leads to a tortured romance. A sensitive, subtle, touching noir by Nicholas Ray, a master of the form; based on the novel by Dorothy B. Hughes.

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A deadly duo and classic of ’70s noir: ‘Honeymoon Killers’

July 21, 2011 by

The Honeymoon Killers/1970/107 min.

Shirley Stoler and Tony Lo Bianco star in "The Honeymoon Killers."

Based on a notorious real-life murder case, shot in striking black-and-white, and scored to the ominous strains of Gustav Mahler’s Symphony No. 6 (“Tragic”), this is one of the true classics of ’70s neo noir: a low-budget masterpiece about a couple of ruthless killers who make the murderous lovers of “Double Indemnity” look almost normal.

Hefty Shirley Stoler unforgettably plays Martha Beck, a deadly nurse who joins with sleazy Lothario Ray Fernandez (the equally unforgettable Tony Lo Bianco) to seduce, kill and rob her wealthy women patients. Crime doesn’t play, but not before your blood is thoroughly chilled.

The movie was both written and directed by Leonard D. Kastle, and despite consistent rave reviews for “The Honeymoon Killers“ from François Truffaut and many others, Kastle never made another movie. A young director who was fired from the project earlier on did slightly better. His name was Martin Scorsese.

— Michael Wilmington

“The Honeymoon Killers” plays at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, July 21, at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA), 5905 Wilshire Blvd.

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New Debbie Reynolds’ exhibition opens at Paley Center

July 21, 2011 by

Debbie Reynolds: The Exhibit opens Saturday at the Paley Center for Media in Beverly Hills.

This new multimedia show comes on the heels of last month’s Debbie Reynolds Hollywood memorabilia exhibit, which culminated in an auction during which Marilyn Monroe’s famous white dress from “The Seven Year Itch” sold for $4.6 million.

On display will be iconic costumes, posters and props from Academy Award-winning film classics including “Gone with the Wind,” “Show Boat,” “The Yearling” and “Moulin Rouge,” as well as costumes worn by icons such as Monroe, Frank Sinatra, Katharine Hepburn, Bette Davis, Carmen Miranda and Doris Day. Film clips will accompany the items.

Reynolds’ collection will stay at the Paley Center throughout 2011; additional items will be added each month. The first-floor viewing is free of charge. Admission to the second-floor space is free to Paley Center members and $6 for the general public. Visitors will also have access to the center’s media archive featuring more than 150,000 programs spanning the history of television, radio and digital media.

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Lip color for sizzling days of summer

July 20, 2011 by

Maybelline's ColorSensational lipstick offers excellent value.

Friends and family in the Midwest tell me is is hot and sticky there, too hot for makeup, they say. Hello, have we met? True, items like coverup or bronzer have a way of melting off my face but, for me, it’s never too hot for lipstick.

I’ve been experimenting with ColorSensational lip color by Maybelline. Ruby Star, though it looks a bit autumnal in the tube, turns out to be a great neutral. Not quite as bright as a classic red or fuchsia, it’s a nice pop of pure color that looks fresh and natural.

ColorSensational hydrates (it contains honey nectar), feels light on my lips and smells good. The line features 54 shades so if your AC suddenly stops, you can always browse the makeup aisles of your local drug store while waiting for the repair. At $7 a tube, you might try several shades. Pictured here, from left, is: Red Revolution, Fuchsia Fever, Fifth Ave. Fuchsia and Ruby Star.

Other ColorSensational lip products include High Shine, Lipstain and Pearls.

Product source: I received samples from Maybelline; I did not receive compensation.

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In ‘The Letter,’ Bette Davis captivates as a woman both elegant and evil

July 18, 2011 by

The Letter/1940/Warner Bros. Pictures/95 min.

“Strange that a man can live with a woman for 10 years and not know the first thing about her,” says Howard Joyce (James Stephenson) in 1940’s “The Letter,” directed by William Wyler. The woman in question is Leslie Crosbie (Bette Davis), vivacious, charming, self-assured and willful. The man is her husband Bob (Herbert Marshall), sweet, gentle, kind and trusting, and apparently not the sharpest tool in the shed. Or maybe he’s just too busy with work – he runs a rubber plantation in British Malaya. Leslie runs the house and occupies her free time with lace work, tennis parties and gin slings.

Bette Davis and Herbert Marshall play a married couple in "The Letter" from 1940 by director William Wyler.

Howard, a lawyer and friend of the couple, makes his comment in the course of defending Leslie after their tranquil existence suddenly becomes threatened. While Bob is away on business, Leslie receives a late-night visit by an acquaintance, Geoff Hammond, who professes his love for her and tries to force himself on her. So, she shoots him dead; a clear case of self-defense to hear her tell the story. And who doesn’t believe Bette Davis when she’s holding court?

It’s an unpleasant matter, “horrible,” as she says, to be dispensed with as quickly and neatly as the British colonial justice system will allow. And that’s pretty quickly and neatly as these are white, upper-middle-class, upstanding citizens of the empire. It’s smooth sailing, until the appearance of a letter, in Leslie’s handwriting, demanding that Hammond come over the night of the murder and noting that Bob would be away all night.

The letter is in the possession of Hammond’s wife (Gale Sondergaard), a Eurasian native, and she’s willing to let it go for $10,000. But keeping it away from the prosecution and keeping it away from Bob are two different things.

While “The Letter” predates the most prolific period of classic American film noir and its femme fatale is a patrician, married Englishwoman, it is nevertheless a fine example of the form. Just look at the dark, moody, high-contrast lighting, courtesy of cinematographer Tony Gaudio. Nearly every interior scene contains shadowy black bars suggesting confinement. Exterior scenes of lush moonlit landscapes and close-ups of those Bette Davis eyes (the opening scene is particularly memorable) convey the surfacing of the wild, devilish impulses we all struggle to contain.

Then there’s the taut direction by Wyler and sterling acting all round. Wyler, one of Hollywood’s most admired directors, demanded subtlety from Davis, knowing that her strength would resonate on its own. As Leslie Crosbie, she’s an extremely complex femme fatale, equal parts supreme elegance and base evil, one minute winning our sympathy, the next minute making us feel like utter fools for liking her.

Known for being a perfectionist, the German-born Wyler earned the nicknames “90-take Willie” and “Once Again Wyler.” He and Davis had worked together on 1938’s “Jezebel” (for which she won her second Oscar; the first was for “Dangerous” from 1935, directed by Alfred E. Green). Wyler and Davis had an affair that lasted through the production of “Jezebel.” He remained one of her favorite directors. Wyler won three best director Oscars, for 1942’s “Mrs. Miniver, “The Best Years of Our Lives” from 1946 and 1959’s “Ben-Hur.” [Read more…]

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‘The Letter’ quick hit

July 18, 2011 by

The Letter/1940/Warner Bros. Pictures/95 min.

Some things never change. Whether you are talking via texts or parchment paper and feather pens, femmes fatales should always take care to destroy any incriminating evidence of the “Dear So and So,” variety. If in doubt, just watch the formidable Bette Davis in “The Letter” directed by William Wyler, a masterful director and the perfect match for Davis.

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