The Barefoot Contessa (1954)

Humphrey Bogart makes the best fairy godfather ever.

Intro.

1954 was the year of fairy tales, at least for Humphrey Bogart's filmography.  First he had a huge success with The Caine Mutiny, for which he was nominated for an Academy Award.  Then he made Sabrina, which is in itself a fairy tale about a little girl turning into a fine lady and falling in love.  And then came The Barefoot Contessa, an interesting Hollywood take on the Cinderella story.  The Barefoot Contessa is the third in the trio of classic films often referenced as the best ones made about the industry (the others being The Bad and the Beautiful and Sunset Boulevard).

Overview 

The Barefoot Contessa opens with a funeral for the title character, led by a voiceover from Harry Dawes (Humphrey Bogart), a writer-director who knew the whole story.   He tells us of the Contessa from the beginning, back when she was just a poor nightclub dancer in Spain named Maria Vargas (Ava Gardner).  Millionaire producer Kirk Edwards (Warren Stevens), his PR guy Oscar Muldoon (Edmond O'Brien) and Harry.  Maria is anything but impressed by them and when she leaves the club without warning, Harry is ordered to find her or lose his job.  He does and she comes to realize that he's not like the others - he's honest.  He sees her unstable family and her desire to leave Spain and she in turn tells him about being a poverty stricken child hiding shoeless in the dirt during the Civil War.  She has a world weariness attached to this pure hope of something beautiful, like a fairy tale coming true.  She taps into that duality and becomes a smash hit in Hollywood, where Harry directs her in three films.  Her career hits a curve ball though when her father is arrested back in Spain for the murder of her mother.  Instead of laying low and avoiding the press, Maria goes to Spain and defends her father in open court.  It's a huge trial and she takes an awful chance on her career, but really she is keeping her values and her honesty in a business where that isn't easy.  Back in Hollywood she tires of being under contract to (and under the thumb of, really) Kirk Edwards.  It comes to a head during a fancy society party and she agrees to go with Kirk's enemy, Alberto Bravano (Marius Goring) to Monte Carlo.  Oscar goes with her (as we learn since he has taken over the narration now), having quit Kirk and joined up with Bravano as well.  He describes Bravano's extravagance and quick temper, which he takes out on Maria, who doesn't at all fit in with the high society set.  Not only does she still keep company with lower class workers and gypsies, she has a string of lovers.  But when Bravano finally goes too far and verbally attacks Maria in the hotel, a handsome stranger steps in and defends her.  The stranger walks off with Maria as if in a dream and then we switch to the stranger's narration.  He is Count Vincenzo Torlato-Favrini (Rossano Brazzi) and he had seen Maria earlier dancing barefoot in a gypsy camp as he drove to Monte Carlo.  For him it was kismet that they meet again at the hotel and that he swoop in to defend her.  They have a quick, lovely romance back at his villa in Italy, where he decides to make her the last Contessa.  Harry picks up again, recounting when he had gone to Italy for a picture and run into Maria as she was about to marry Vincenzo.  In Harry's words, "the Prince had finally caught up with Cinderella and all that was left was the slipper business."  Maria marries her Prince alright, but the marriage is a far cry from the happy, Disney-style fairy tales when we learn exactly what Vincenzo meant by calling her the "last Contessa."  His meaning, however, takes a much darker twist, ending with the death of Maria.

Highlights
I really liked that Harry Dawes was a writer-director, as that writing side came out with his great narration.  Vincenzo and Oscar did a good job with their stories, but Harry's is the stuff that sticks.  He's got some wonderful lines in here, besides the slipper one.  On describing Edwards, Harry says "he had as much in common with anything creative as I have with nuclear physics."  My favorite line though is "Life every now and then behaves as if it's seen too many bad movies; everything fits too well."  Not only is the writing good, but the delivery is impeccable.  It reminded me a great deal of Joe Gillis in Sunset Boulevard, which makes sense as both characters are writers disenchanted by Hollywood after having hit its rocky bottom.

Another note on the narration - I really loved the set up for Bogart.  There in funeral, in the pouring rain, we get his gravelly, nasal, distinctively weary voice and the camera passes over all of the mourners in black, hiding under black umbrellas and then we see Harry Dawes, no umbrella, just an old raincoat with the collar turned up, standing apart.  It sets up his character well.  I think it's risky to reveal the death of a character (especially the title character) right at the beginning, but the overall story and the changing narration helps to keep The Barefoot Contessa moving and interesting.  I think it works so well because we want to know where the fairy tale went horribly wrong.  I did want to hear it from her point of view, but I guess telling it from the outside creates more of a legend, of a woman on a pedestal or out of a story book.  I was miffed that her story is told by three men (come on, people!  Couldn't we get Jerry a story line?  She was awesome as Harry's wisecracking girlfriend!) though truth be told, I'm glad that Kirk didn't get a narration, because he was a bit possessive and creepy.  I'm wondering now if Maria's really long monologue when Harry finds her is really her way of narrating (since they can't make a dead person talk, unlike Sunset Boulevard).  Now I realize that's probably why we have that scene; I was annoyed at first that Ava Gardner was talking so much and for so long to this guy she just met, but in the overall storytelling purposes I think I can understand.   

Now what about all this fairy tale business?  What is it about marrying the idea of a perfect life and romance with the dark side of Hollywood?  We've seen it in many films that focus on the film industry, but The Barefoot Contessa goes out of its way to make Maria into a Spanish Cinderella.  What's really interesting to me is the duality of her character as both this honest, loyal woman wanting a perfect romance but still a bit rough around the edges and unprepared for the curve ball Vincenzo throws (oh, you know you want to watch now so you can see it!).  But in reality, we didn't need to make her a film star or get her involved with Hollywood at all to make the story work - Sabrina didn't send Audrey Hepburn to Hollywood; it sent her to Paris.  So what is it about this industry of dream-making that is both so hopeful and attractive, but also so crushingly sad? (Ha, another duality!)  Why doesn't the dream work?  Is it that when something is too well put together, like one of Harry's "bad movies" it is bound to fall apart?  Is it that the dream creators see behind the gossamer and paper cutouts and the dream is lost on them?  What does that say about our own cynical culture?  There are so many questions, and films like The Barefoot Contessa, The Bad and The Beautiful and Sunset Boulevard do a wonderful job of trying to find answers.  The mystery of film-making isn't beautiful from the inside.  All that glitters is not gold, but can look like it in Technicolor.  Lastly, would this movie have been as good or as powerful if she had lived?  What if it had a Sabrina type ending where Prince Charming and his Cinderella lived happily ever after?  Does Maria set her own course for sadness and disappointment (and death)?  It's an interesting perspective on destiny and one I'd like to consider as I re-watch this great film.

As if to reinforce my point, I heard a great back story from TCM host Robert Osborne.  It was something I had actually suspected while watching and was really interested to hear afterward.  Bogart and Gardner have a great relationship on screen - their characters are great, they seem like a matched pair.  Harry even refers to himself as her "fairy godfather" at one point.  You'd think they would get along swell off screen - Ava Garnder was a self-possessed, confident, hard drinking, straight talking kind of woman - Bogart's kind of woman.  However, in 1954 Ava had just ended (though not officially by divorce; that would come in 1957) her rocky marriage to Frank Sinatra, Bogart's good friend and member of Bogie's Rat Pack.  So Bogart and Gardner weren't exactly friends by any means.  It always amazes me at how that kind of animosity can be so well camouflaged by darn good acting.     

Review and Recommendation
I highly recommend The Barefoot Contessa.  It's a fascinating look based on the real life rise of Rita Hayworth, who married Prince Aly Khan (but didn't have the whole devastating ending) and some aspects of Gardner's life as well.  It's a great story with depth and beauty that will leave you rethinking all those happy ending fairy tales.

*One additional side note: I had no idea Muldoon had been played by Edmond O'Brien, whom I had seen and loved in an earlier film, a film noir called The Killers.  Guess who co-starred with him in that picture?  Ava Gardner.  I love these connections!  He does a good job here in The Barefoot Contessa; well enough to earn an Academy Award. 
 
*Also, one major gripe.  Remember how I said women don't have a voice in this movie?  I just saw the film's tagline on IMDb: "The world's most beautiful animal!"  Is that for real?  I hope not.  Maria is a strong woman with a definite mind and will of her own, not an animal.  I'm angry about this, but really, I don't want to rant, because I'd ruin such a great movie if I went on about this poor marketing line.  So watch it and decide for yourself.
     

Key Largo (1948)

That Florida hurricane isn't the only ill wind that's descended on the Largo Hotel.    

Intro.

Bogart and Bacall are probably the most iconic couple in Hollywood.  There's even a song about them called "Key Largo" by Bertie Higgins, which has the line "we had it all, just Bogie and Bacall."  You can find references to them just about anywhere, but the best place to see and learn about their chemistry is in the four films they made together.  Key Largo was the last of those four. 

Overview

Frank McCloud (Humphrey Bogart) comes down to the Largo Hotel on the Florida Keys to visit the father and wife of his friend and fellow soldier George, who died in the war.  While he gets a warm reception from George's father James Temple (Lionel Barrymore) and George's widow Nora (Lauren Bacall), he doesn't take to well to the gangsters who have holed up in the hotel.  At first the men say they've rented the whole place out to go fishing, but when they beat up a police officer who recognizes the leader, Rocco (Edward G. Robinson), the truth comes out.  With the gangsters is Rocco's alcoholic girlfriend Gaye Dawn (Claire Trevor), whom Frank pities and tries to help.  Tensions start to brew when a hurricane forces the group to stay together within the hotel.  Rocco dares Frank to kill him, to get rid of all their trouble.  He's just a gangster who was deported and trying to sneak back into the US - who would miss him?  But Frank doesn't fight anyone else's battles.  At least, not until Rocco threatens Nora - we don't hear what Rocco says to Nora, but she spits on him.  Frank reminds him that there would be too many witnesses if Rocco tried to take revenge.  Things go from bad to worse as the hurricane gets closer.  Rocco's getaway boat disappears, Gaye has a breakdown, and the police officer they've been holding gets killed.  Not only that, but a police detective shows up and discovers the body.  With the arrival of some of Rocco's friends (and some freshly laundered money), it's clear that they have to figure out what to do with the hostages and how to escape.  They take Frank with them and overtake a nearby boat in the harbor, forcing him not only to drive the boat, but to try and put an end once and for all to their evil plans.

Highlights

Key Largo is a must for any Bogart and Bacall fans.  It's clear right from the start that their chemistry isn't manufactured.  I loved some of their unspoken interactions as we see Frank and Nora start to care for each other.  One of the most tender actions is when Nora's asleep and Frank, sitting beside her, brushes her hair back gently to wake her.  This is the stuff that makes legends.  The best part is that Bacall had matured since her first film and holds her own as a great leading lady, something that would only get better with time.  As wonderful as Bacall is in the film, it's Claire Trevor who is the real standout.  She's a sweet but tormented woman who has taken the brunt of both Rocco's anger and the alcohol she craves.  She won a well-deserved Oscar for her role too.
  
And finally there's Bogart.  Not only was he at the top of his career here, he just falls naturally into this role.  In fact, his line about fighting his own battles sounds just like it's coming from Rick in Casablanca instead.  He's the perfect embodiment of a worn out, reluctant hero.  And his victory in the end (sorry for the spoiler) is not only a testament to how Frank was and still is a war hero, but how far Bogart had risen in his career.  In his earlier days, he was always the gangster being shot and killed by Robinson; this is the first and only time the roles were reversed.  It's a great scene too - there's no fight, no real struggle.  Just a clean, dead shot (okay, three shots).  Also, Frank's line, "my first sweetheart was a boat" isn't far from Bogart's truth - as a young boy he fell in love with the sea when he would go sailing on his father's boat.  He later joined the Navy and eventually bought his own boat, the Santana.  That's the boat that's used in the end of this film, just with the place, Key Largo, added onto the stern.  

Review and Recommendation
I know this is a bit short, but I'm afraid I'm a bit sleepy.  I might add some more points to the comments - check them out this weekend!  Key Largo is one of those films you really should see not just for its place in film history, but because it's a great example of acting, cinematography and really telling a story by what is said and what is left unsaid.  Pay attention to the silences just as much as the dialogue.  Overall, a good film noir/drama, though watching tonight on such a rainy night really made it even better.  So next time you've got a rainy day, I'd recommend this classic!

Sabrina (1954)

Bogart's a little too old, Holden's a little too blond, but Audrey is just right.

Intro.

I think everyone is familiar with the story of Sabrina. An ordinary girl falls in love with a rich man who doesn't know she exists, she goes away and transforms into a lady and upon her return, he falls in love with her.  There's more to it, of course, but at its heart, Sabrina is in every sense a Cinderella story.  With a seemingly perfect combination like Billy Wilder, William Holden, Humphrey Bogart and Audrey Hepburn, Paramount was excited to see what a great film would be created.  They were right, though the off-screen story was far from a fairy-tale.

Overview
"Once upon a time, on the North Shore of Long Island, some thirty miles from New York, there lived a small girl on a large estate."  So begins the story of Sabrina Fairchild (Audrey Hepburn), the timid young daughter of the chauffer employed by the very wealthy Larrabee family.  She is in love with the younger of the Larrabee sons, David (William Holden), who is a playboy with three divorces to his name and no work ethic.  That ethic is instead present in his older brother, Linus (Humphrey Bogart), who is a regular workaholic with no time for fun.  Distraught because David doesn't know she exists, Sabrina tries to commit suicide, only to be stopped by Linus.  Her father has saved his money and sends her to Paris the next day to cooking school.  Over the next two years, she not only learns how to cook, but also how to live and returns to Long Island as a sophisticated, knowledgeable and absolutely beautiful lady.  David is quick to notice her now and finds himself ignoring his fiancee in favor of Sabrina.  Linus won't stand for that, though, as David's marriage is part of a company merger in a multi-million dollar plastics manufacturing deal.  So Linus decides to distract Sabrina so that she'll forget about David; he'll even pay her off it that's what it takes.  None of them expect what happens next, as Linus learns to loosen up some and winds up falling for Sabrina himself.  When Sabrina gets two tickets to sail back to Paris, just who will accompany her?   
 

Highlights

Sabrina has all of the charm and humor of a classic romantic comedy.  It is one of the best examples of the genre and I believe a lot of that has to do with the fine writing and even finer performances.  You can tell Bogart and Holden are well versed in acting, and even though this was only Audrey Hepburn's second film, she is captivating and ideal for the role.  I know I wouldn't want to be in her shoes as Sabrina, having to choose between Linus and David.  What a sweet, funny movie.  Sabrina proves my point that a great film doesn't need violence, awful language or sex to be entertaining.  I swear if you don't at least smile when David is getting broken glass removed from his rear end (yes, he sat on two champagne glasses) and Linus calls out "goodbye, Scarface," you don't have a sense of humor.

As I mentioned above, the back-stage story is even more interesting than the one on the celluloid.  I have a DVD of Sabrina, and watched the short documentary for the first time.  Like the film it was upbeat, innocent and featured a voice-over that sounded more like a trailer introduction than a documentary.  Originally Cary Grant had held the role of Linus, but had to back out one week before shooting began.  Paramount needed an older, well-established star and turned to Bogart.  This was unlike any role he had previously held, and he was excited for it.  He even remarked during production that "if I were as handsome as Bill Holden, I wouldn't have any doubts as to why Bacall married me."  That's all well and good, but I knew something was a bit off, so I pulled out my copy of Bogart by A.M. Sperber and Eric Lax (a fabulous book that I highly recommend!) and checked into it.

There's a very funny story from Bogart.  In 1939, Bogart was a bit upset that he took fourth billing after much younger William Holden in a film called Invisible Stripes.  On set, Holden insisted on doing a stunt by himself, where he drove a motorcycle with Bogart as the passenger.  The book has it written this way: "Bogart objected - 'That S.O.B., he'll crack it up!' - but Holden insisted. He promptly ran the bike into a wall.  Only egos were injured. (pg. 103)"  No wonder Bogart was a bit leary when he worked with Holden again. 

According to Sperber and Lax, Bogart was excited to do Sabrina, but that excitement faded once he realized that Holden and director Wilder were already buddies (they had just made Sunset Boulevard and Stalag 17 together), and along with young Hepburn, they formed a sort of clique that left the older star out in the cold.  As they wrote in their biography, Sperber and Lax talked about the private meetings and lunches between the others.  "Evidently no one thought of inviting Bogart.  Then again, probably no one observing one of the biggest stars in Hollywood, with one of the loveliest women waiting for him at home, would have guessed the wells of insecurity tapped by this exclusion." (pg. 492)  He just wanted to be asked, to be recognized.  He became difficult to work with, arguing and throwing tantrums, though he wasn't the only difficult one - Wilder was just as difficult, and would sometimes get Hepburn to pretend to be sick because he didn't have the day's script finished yet.  None of those problems show in the finished film, however.  Bogart and Wilder made peace a few years later, but what happened during the filming of Sabrina is still a part of Hollywood history.

One last point I should make is that the Paramount costume and wardrobe designer was Edith Head, whom I adore.  She designed all the gowns in What a Way to Go! and those absolutely jaw-dropping dresses for Grace Kelly in Rear Window.  So when Audrey Hepburn decided to ask new fashion designer Hubert de Givenchy to make her clothes for the post-Paris part of the film, I was a bit disappointed.  Not by the gowns, because they are gorgeous.  Still, I should say it must have been harder to make dresses for Audrey Hepburn that made her pretty but still a bit school-girlish.  And those were entrusted to Edith, who did as wonderful a job as ever.  I think I have a bit of a crush on her, or at least on her work.

Review and Recommendation
Sorry to make this such a long post!  All in all, Sabrina is a true classic.  Funny, charming and sweet, it's a perfect example of a romantic-comedy.  I highly recommend it for the great acting, the beautiful Audrey Hepburn, and those early dresses from Edith Head.  Can I say the obvious tagline?  Let your heart be stolen by Sabrina!

P.S. Bogart really is one of the best biographies I've ever read.  Maybe even the best.  It's by A. M. Sperber and Eric Lax, published by William Morrow and Company, New York, 1997.  No copyright infringement intended. 

Casablanca (1942)

Intro.
Casablanca.  The name alone conjures the now-iconic images from the film: Bogart slumped at a table drinking and muttering about all the gin joints in all the world, the look on Ingrid Bergman's face as she asks Sam to play "As Time Goes By", the ending that leaves us breathless - the plane, the fog, the beginning of a beautiful friendship.  This film above all others defines what it means to be a classic. 

The first time I saw this film, I have to say, I wasn't all that impressed.  I couldn't follow the German/French resistance storyline and Claude Rains just got on my nerves.  But now that I've seen it about four times, I have to say that it's grown to be one of my favorite films.  However, like some of the people I've talked to, I have to be in the right mood to watch it, mainly because it is a bit slow in some parts.  I wasn't feeling very festive this past Valentine's Day, but TCM aired the film and for some reason I couldn't turn it off.  That's when I knew I had to bend my blog rules and write about it.

Overview

Rick (Bogart) runs a bar and nightclub in the town of Casablanca.  It's 1942 and while Morocco is unoccupied, the German Gestapo is a real presence.  With WWII raging in Europe, many refugees are coming to Casablanca in order to make the trip to America.  Travel papers are hard to come by, so most of them come to Rick's to find contacts.  Such is the case of Victor Laszlo and his wife Ilsa.  Rick, it so happens, has gotten two passes to America - tickets to freedom.  And Ilsa happens to be the woman he loved a long time ago in Paris (hence "we'll always have Paris") who left him without explanation and completely broke him.  Ilsa and Rick must ask themselves if their love is still alive and worth fighting for, despite the danger that lies for Victor, who is a key leader in the Resistance.   

Highlights

I think part of what makes this film work is the mood - as I wrote earlier, you have to be ready to watch it.  Despite its usual label of a "love story" I would argue that it is instead a film about love and heartbreak.  I'm never ready to watch it when I'm happy or want a fun movie to cheer me up.  I want to see it on those days when I'm curled up in blankets on the couch with the rain beating down on the windowsill.  It's a melancholy type of film.  We see the love that Rick and Ilsa had and we are made painfully aware that it is gone.  Ilsa tries to convince Rick she still loves him, but does she really?  I change my mind each time I watch.  Which leads to the next point - great acting.  Ingrid Bergman is beautiful, smart and such a natural.  Claude Rains is funny and a bit over the top as Captain Renault (although after viewing it a few times, I've noticed more of his backstory, which made him more endearing).

I was going to keep this post short since it's such a famous movie, but I can't stop without mentioning Bogart.  Humphrey Bogart makes this film.  It was his "breakout" role in the sense that it established him as a romantic leading man, not just a gangster or tough guy or wisecracking detective.  He had just done The Maltese Falcon the previous year, and established himself as an icon in film noir.  This film, however, makes him even more of a star.  And most of that is how well he plays the role of Rick.  This tough, neutral-standing saloon keeper lets down his rocky facade and shows how vulnerable he is.  It's moving, it's completely human and it's darn good movie-making.  Rick becomes the classic American hero - he is willing to sacrifice his own happiness for the "greater good."  He's got a criminal past, he runs a saloon with illegal gambling, has lousy friends yet somehow we love him. 
 

Review

This part I will keep short - if you haven't seen this film, watch it.  If you've seen it once and not been too impressed, wait awhile and watch it again, preferably on a rainy night when you're in the mood to think about things like lost loves and old memories.

As always, check out IMDb, and if you get a chance, try to see the documentary "Bacall on Bogart."  It's a great look at the life and career of Bogie, and will shed some light into this film as well.