Designing Woman (1957)

Intro.

Romantic comedies have been around since the beginning of film's history.  The comedy inherent in relationships goes back even further.  It is interesting (to me at least) to watch romantic comedies from different eras as the silver screen reflects the values, imaginations and everyday lives of those bygone eras.  It's true that the same can be said of any genre, but lately I've been focusing on romantic comedies because the basic premise is always the same - two people meet, fall in love and spend the rest of their lives together.  How they get from beginning to end is another matter entirely. 

Overview

Designing Woman takes after many films from the fifties.  The plot is very similar to other stories - two people meet, fall in love, marry in a whirlwind, then return to their normal lives only to realize how incompatible they are.  In this case, it is Gregory Peck as sports writer Mike Hagan, and Lauren Bacall as fashion designer Marilla Brown.  The two meet on vacation, marry quickly and return to New York.  The comedy starts with them trying to live together - Marilla finds a torn up photo of Mike's ex-girlfriend while Mike discovers that Marilla out-earns him.  Their first fight erupts after they both invite friends to their now shared apartment.  The usual insanity persists when Mike's sportswriters and ex-fighters come over for poker while Marilla's theater crowd works on plans for a new musical.  Such differences cause problems that continues to complicate the relationship.  First Marilla discovers that the actress in the musical she's designing gowns for is Mike's ex, then Mike not only lies about it, but then has to go into hiding because his articles have exposed a particular mobster as the leader in a corruption ring in boxing.  It wraps up with a lot of madness, jealousy and finally an all out bout of honesty, and of course Mike and Marilla live happily ever after.

Highlights and Interesting Points

First of all, Gregory Peck and Lauren Bacall are both wonderful in this film.  They have an easy chemistry and are both genuine talents in their own right.  Especially worthy of note is how well Lauren Bacall carries herself despite the fact that at home, her husband Humphrey Bogart was dying of cancer (he died in January and the film premiered in May of 1957).  Her strength of character and superb acting comes out in her performance.

As it is a traditional film of the 1950s, the gender-specific roles are very conservative.  This could be due to the politics of the day and a time in Hollywood where it was safer to stick to more conformist views.  However, there are some points of the film that break away from the norm.  For instance, Lauren Bacall is far from being June Cleaver - she still actively holds onto her thriving career and holds her own in equality with her husband.  Also, their respective groups of friends have men who aren't all what they seem, particularly Marilla's friend, a choreographer who, despite how he carries himself, is in fact straight and a happily married man and father of two.  But the film does come back to some standard (and somewhat sexist) views, like making Marilla stoop to petty jealousy and almost faint during a boxing match.  Her strength in the rest of the film redeems her, thanks mostly to Bacall's own fortitude.  What else helps is the humor - that deep down, the film doesn't take itself too seriously.  Both characters take turns with voice-overs that are steeping with irony and deadpan sarcasm.  Without such a device, the film could easily be made into a melodrama.   

What struck me about the picture was how, unlike most romantic comedies and musicals, it begins with marriage instead of ending with it.  At first I thought that was only something that came with the fifties and that society, but films like that have really been around for some time (think about Vivacious Lady from 1938).  In a way, it's kind of another wooing - a couple deprived of the usual complicated (and hilarious) courtship face problems after 'I Do' and have to get through it in order to achieve their happily ever after. 

Review and Recommendation
Designing Woman is a good, enjoyable fun - good talents, good chemistry and good jokes make it entertaining.  While a typical rom-com film of the 1950s, it goes a little further as both Bacall and Peck make it work.  Pay particular attention to the ending, where each character has their own epilogue, directly addressing the audience much like the old credits in 1930s B-films that show clips of each actor along with their name and part.  It's a nice break in the fourth wall and allows each character to have an equal voice.  Although the film is a bit predictable, it is good-natured fun.  If you get a chance to see it, break out the popcorn and have fun.

Fun Fact: My friend Catherine read that the film originally was to star Jimmy Stewart and Grace Kelly, but as Grace Kelly became engaged to the Prince of Monaco, she couldn't do the film and Jimmy Stewart didn't want to do it without her.  I wonder what would have happened if the two of them had filmed it - in many ways it would be like a follow up to Rear Window, where Grace Kelly worked in fashion and Jimmy Stewart worked as a photographer covering dangerous things like racing and other sports.

The Guns of Navarone (1961)

Intro.
February is the month of love.  Even though I hate Valentine's Day, I decided that the theme for posts this month would be Leading Men We Love.  It's been a bit tough lately because of the blizzard that hit the whole state of Maryland, but between Netflix online and TCM, I've been able to put together a few films.  I wasn't planning on watching The Guns of Navarone, but as it starred the always wonderful Gregory Peck, I decided to add it to my list. 

Overview
The Allies are trying to save a group of 2,000 British prisoners from the island of Kiros.  The only thing stopping them is the pair of gigantic anti-ship guns situated in the rocky cliffside of the island of Navarone.  The fortress around the guns makes an air attack impossible, and the Allied ships don't have a chance against those guns.  So the only solution is to send British officer Keith Mallory (Gregory Peck) with a team of the best fighters and explosives experts to Navarone, where they will climb a sheer cliff, meet up with a few Greek Resistance fighters and then make their way into the fortress and destroy the guns with explosives.  No part of the mission goes smoothly - the ship they take on the way to the island sinks in a storm; they have to climb the cliff in the rain at night; the head British officer, Roy Franklin (played by Anthony Quayle) breaks his leg; they get captured by the Germans; and finally when they reach the fortress, they discover someone has destroyed all of the explosive devices.  Through it all, Mallory must lead his men with conviction, even with the most difficult decisions and obstacles.  The Allies win of course, and the ending is one of the most triumphant of all WWII films.

Highlights
The acting in this film is incredible.  Anthony Quinn, as Col. Stavros, is outstanding as the friend/enemy of Mallory.  You both love and fear him.  Gregory Peck is at the top of his game as well and gives a commanding performance.  He shows us how difficult his job is without saying so.  Also worthy of note is the charming David Niven, whose witty remarks offer the necessary relief both for the men and the audience.  Nivens plays the role of the chemistry professor turned anti-officer very well, and his role in figuring out who the traitor is reminded me of his work in murder mysteries (like The Pink Panther and Death on the Nile).  His is the much needed foil for Gregory Peck's ramrod-like command, and together the two men truly lead the film.

Points of Note
Robert Osborn introduced this film as part of TCM's 31 days of Oscar.  The Guns of Navarone won the Oscar for Best Special Effects, and was nominated for several more honors.  The ending truly deserves the honor, as do all of the actors.  David Niven reportedly had an accident on set which resulted in a split lip which got infected and sent him to the hospital for four weeks.  And Gregory Peck, with his solid acting, had this film named as the highest-grossing picture in his career up to that point.  Memorable on all fronts, perhaps the best is the way the film pays tribute to the real-life battles on the Dodecanese islands in Greece.  While some of the story is elaborated or completely different from the true story, many elements remain (read more here).

Review
Often called the greatest war film of all time, The Guns of Navarone is definitely one of the most memorable.  The fine cast and great effects has established it as an undeniable classic.  There is enough action, intrigue and full character development to interest any viewer, and the unusual setting of Greece for a WWII film makes it even better.  While it is not among my favorite WWII films (like The Great Escape), I still found the entire film very enjoyable and well worth watching.  I recommend it to fans of Gregory Peck and fans of war films, particularly those set in WWII.