Macao (1952)

Intro.

In films, a "meet-cute" is the point in a story where two characters meet for the first time.  It's usually applied to romantic comedies.  Eli Wallach in the film The Holiday gives an example.  To paraphrase: suppose a man and a woman are both in need of pajamas, so they both go to the same men's department store.  The woman says she just needs a top; the man says he only needs bottoms.  They look at each other and that's it.  I have to say, even though the 1952 film Macao isn't a standout classic, it definitely has one of the funniest meet-cutes.  Onboard a ship heading for Macao, Jane Russell is in her cabin with a man she's trying to fend off.  She throws her shoe at him, but he ducks and the shoe goes right through the porthole and hits Robert Mitchum in the head as he's walking by.  He goes into the cabin with the shoe, sees Jane Russell, and that's it - a great meet-cute!

Overview

Cinderella jokes aside, Macao is really a film noir.  It opens on a ship bound for Macao, a place notorious for being 3 miles outside of police jurisdiction.  Headed there is nightclub singer Julie Benson (Jane Russell) and ex-GI Nick Cochran (Robert Mitchum).  Benson is short on money, so not only does she land a job at a local bar, but she picks Cochran's wallet.  He in turn gets stopped by the police, but she returns the money before he's arrested.  Meanwhile, Cochran teams up with another passenger, who gets him a job as an undercover special agent investigating a crime ring that just so happens to be run by Julie's new boss.  What follows is a web of crime, deceit and a blossoming romance between Nick and Julie.  Nick sets out to get Julie's boss, Lawrence Trumble, to take him on as a hired hand.  The idea is to get Lawrence to leave the safety of Macao and go to Hong Kong for some missing jewels so that the authorities can arrest him.  But the best laid plans often go awry, and after a shooting and a thrilling fight on Trumble's ship just shy of the 3 mile mark, the film comes to an end that's typical noir, though a bit happier.

Highlights

Both Robert Mitchum and Jane Russell give good, solid performances.  While not a standout film, it is nonetheless enjoyable and much of that is due to their chemistry.  This was their second film together, the first being His Kind of Woman, which is more of a noir parody.  As many reviewers on IMDb have said (and you should read those write-ups - they are much better than mine!), Macao is kind of a lighter film noir.  It is still "good triumphs over evil" rather than in some of Bogart's films or Mitchum's Out of the Past, where morality is an issue and the good and bad characters are hard to tell apart.   

Aside from that, the story was easier to follow than some noirs, partly because the script was so confusing, Robert Mitchum helped rewrite it as they filmed.  Also worth mentioning is Jane Russell's fabulous singing.  She does "One for My Baby" and the ironically named "You Kill Me."  She is quickly becoming one of my new favorite actresses.  Gloria Grahame is also featured in the film, though not in a leading role.  She nevertheless turns in a great performance as Margie, a woman you both love and hate.  You'll probably recognize Grahame from some of her other work, but for me she'll always be Violet from It's a Wonderful Life.  Overall, a good cast.

Review and Recommendation
Macao is an enjoyable film - it's easy to follow with enough suspense and romance to make for a good lighter film noir.  I recommend it to fans of Russell and/or Mitchum, and would say that it's a good film.  Not great, not horrible, but always entertaining.

Black Hand (1950)

Intro.

Can you name any films Gene Kelly made where there was no singing, dancing or music of any kind?  It's a bit hard, isn't it?  But Gene Kelly was a phenomenal actor in straight dramas too - I loved him in the film version of Inherit the Wind.  So when I saw Black Hand on the TCM lineup, I decided to watch.  All I knew was that it dealt with crime in New York City during the early 1900s.

Overview
Gene Kelly leads the film as Johnny Colombo, a boy who returns to Italy with his mother when his father is killed by the Black Hand in New York City.  Eight years later he returns as a grown man with a vow to avenge his father's death.  He soon reunites with some old friends like Isabella Gomboli (Teresa Celli) and meets an honest cop named Naish (Louis Lorelli).  Together Johnny tries to build a resistance to the Black Hand, but is sorely outmatched.  Finally a great idea comes to Johnny and Naish when a notorious mafia leader in New York is on trial (and winning because he intimidated all the witnesses).  The trial ends only because he is extradited to Italy, where he is wanted by the police.  Naish travels to Naples in order to check outstanding Italian warrants against men he knows to be mafiosos in New York.  He sends the photos and incriminating paperwork back to Johnny, only to have it used as ransom for the life of Isabella's little brother.  The film takes a few more twists as Johnny has to face off with the men who killed his father.

Highlights

IMDb has this film listed as a Thriller, Crime film and Film Noir.  Black Hand delivers on all three.  Gene Kelly is wonderful in his role, and now I am interested in catching a few more of his dramas.  He steps into the film noir like a natural, easily helping the film move through some of the more complicated plot points.  He becomes the heart of the story, as does his relationship with Isabella.  The only problem I had with this film was the opening when Gene Kelly is returning from Italy.  He cannot carry an Italian accent, though he tries.  I'm a bit ashamed to admit that I was laughing when his first lines were in flowing Italian that was thick with the accent of an Irishman from Pittsburgh.  I would have loved to have heard what Gene's friend Frank Sinatra thought of this film, but I digress.  Once Johnny gets back into New York, the accent slips away and he seems more comfortable.

I think what struck me the most in this film was the fine line between stereotype and an actual look at racism against Italians.  I think one of the most striking parts of the film comes during the trial of the mafia leader who has scared away all but one witness.  That lone witness is terrified on the stand and refuses to testify.  Naish comes up to him and gives this speech: "Carlo, did you ever go uptown, out of the district, and try to rent a room somewhere.  You couldn't get it.  They got it in their heads we're not as good as other people.  All they ever hear of us in the newspapers is murder.  All they ever see of us is in the slums or in gangs of pick-shovel men digging the subway.  They think it's because we're not good enough for anything else.  Those newspapermen out there - what are they gonna write about in tomorrow's papers?  'Scared witness refuses to testify'?  Would you like that?  Or maybe 'Brave Italian defies Black Hand warning'?  That would be better, huh? Are we an inferior race like they say, Carlo?"  To which Carlo responds by looking at the lawyer: "Ask me again."  What a great scene and a terrific speech!     

I could go on about the nuances of the film and the history of Italian immigrants, but this post would be far too long.  I did appreciate the line Isabella had in the beginning when she suggests to Johnny that he form a league for protection like they did in New Orleans.  New Orleans had been in 1891 the scene of a mass lynching of 11 Italian Americans.  (Read more about it here).  Meanwhile, groups like the Order of the Sons of Italy were founded to help Italian immigrants find jobs, get settled, learn English and become citizens.  So it made me proud to see Johnny fight the Black Hand in an honest way.  That I think is what defines this film.              

Review and Recommendation
There are some articles online suggesting that this film inspired The Godfather Part II, and after seeing Black Hand, I have to agree it must have been a strong influence.  While not as powerful or well-done a film as The Godfather Part II, this film has its merits.  It's an intriguing thriller and a good solid noir.  If you can make it past Gene Kelly speaking Italian, I have a feeling you'll enjoy it.  


P.S. Also, funniest line in the film?  The bartender, after hearing Kelly sing, says "A man with a voice like that comes here to drink, not to sing."

The Godfather (1972)

Intro.

Never has a film had such a powerful opening line as The Godfather.  It opens on a black empty screen and then you hear a voice heavy with a Southern Italian accent and a strong conviction: "I believe in America."  As the speaker continues, we begin to see his face and eventually more light brings into focus the rest of the room.  His name is Bonasera, and he has come to the one man who can give him justice that the government has denied him - Don Vito Corleone.  Right from that first moment, you know this is going to be a powerful movie.

I was fortunate enough to see The Godfather in a theater this past weekend, and one of my friends made an interesting comment - it was a very good movie, he said, but it was really predictable.  As I thought about the time it was released, The Godfather could really be called the first modern gangster movie.  So many films and other media outlets have borrowed, stolen or parodied it.  It has become a part of our essential culture, whether we like it or not.  How many times have we heard "I'll make him an offer he can't refuse" or "he's sleeping with the fishes"?  It became the icon of the mafia and an example of outstanding film making.

Overview
At a length of about three hours, The Godfather has many, many plot points that I won't be able to cover in a summary.  Basically the film follows the lives of the Corleone family, one of the Five Families in the New York City mafia of the late 1940s.  The don, Vito (Marlon Brando) is the thoughtful, strong, traditional father.  Santino, called Sonny (James Caan), is the headstrong, womanizing, fiery-tempered eldest son; lawyer Tom Hagan (Robert Duvall) is the level-headed orphan taken in and raised as a son by the Corleones; Fredo (John Cazale) is the sheepish, clumsy, easy-going middle son; Michael (Al Pacino) is the favorite youngest son - a reserved outsider who never joined the family business.  The film opens with their sister Connie's (Talia Shire) wedding.  No Sicilian can resist a favor asked of him on his daughter's wedding day, so everyone comes to see Don Corleone.  It sets up the tone of the film as Michael explains to his girlfriend Kay how his family works through violence and intimidation.  "That's my family Kay," he says, "it's not me."  That will eventually start to change though, as a big drug supplier comes to the city looking for support from the Five Families.  When Vito refuses, an attempt is made on his life.  An all out war begins and escalates when Michael steps out of his civilian status in order to get justice for his father's shooting.  He hides out in Italy, but the violence even catches up with him there.  A few deaths and plot twists later, and Michael returns home to take over as the new Don.  A huge blood-bath finale brings to a close one of the most gripping films of all time.   

Film History & Highlights
Over the years, I've read a lot about The Godfather.  The film itself has become so steeped in myth there are all kinds of stories.  First, the horse's head in the bed.  The entire story begins with Vito's godson Johnny (Al Martino) coming to the wedding.  He's a famous crooner down on his luck, and asks his godfather to help him get a part in a new film in Hollywood.  He says the part is written for him - he can just be himself and it would get him back on top.  Vito sends Tom to talk to the famous director.  The director says he hates Johnny and refuses to give him the part because it will make him a star.  The next morning, the director awakens with blood all over his silk sheets and pulls back the blanket to discover the bloodied severed head of his prized stallion.  The screaming alone sends chills through the audience.  It's worse still when you read afterward that it was a real horse's head from a butcher shop in New Jersey.  But what I find most interesting is that the story is itself a myth based on the great comeback of Frank Sinatra.  In 1952, Sinatra faced a horrible low point in his career.  Feared that he was a has-been crooner, he heard about the part of Angelo Maggio in From Here to Eternity.  The role was perfect - he wouldn't even need to act.  But he couldn't get the role.  Now with his many friends who were in the mafia, there were all kinds of rumors, but according to an interview with Ava Gardner, the real secret was that Frank agreed to do the picture for free.  That's what did it - no decapitated horse.  Audiences watching The Godfather in 1972 would probably have remembered Sinatra's comeback Oscar win, and adding that kind of American legend to a film already rich with the myths of the Italian mafia's power only heightens the film's overall stunning effect.      

The Godfather is the perfect capstone for the already amazing career of Marlon Brando.  He is brilliant in his subtle performance of Vito.  He is real, he is a man of the people, he is above all, a sympathetic hero.  You almost forget that he can have someone killed with the nod of his head.  He's a family man and always spends time with his children and grandchildren.  The film also helped make the other actors into stars - who knew at the time that young Al Pacino would rise to such iconic status?  The Godfather was only his third film!  I am always especially impressed with James Caan, who captures the hot-headed temperament of Sonny perfectly.  The supporting cast is equally wonderful (I mean, who can not love Clemenza with his line "Leave the gun; take the cannoli"?).       

I do have to admit that the film is long and feels long in some parts.  Really, it is trying to encapsulate the long, complex story of Mario's Puzo's book, and some first-time viewers may not understand all that happens.  Trust me, watch a second or even third time and you will enjoy it more each time.  The beauty of Coppola's style is that the characters and their conversations are all so realistic.  They aren't stylized, they aren't gangsters - they are family members with a fierce loyalty to one another.  Family is what the film is really about - family loyalty and the dark side of the American dream.  There is much more I could say and if you'd like to discuss it further, feel free to leave comments.

Review and Recommendation

Sometimes as a descendant of Italian immigrants, I feel ashamed to enjoy this film.  The Godfather served to fuel the negative stereotypes that groups like the Sons of Italy have fought against for generations.  But I feel that some of the underlying themes of the film are what really draw me into it and make it something Italian-Americans can value.  Devotion and love of family are central to the film's core.  Even with Santino's poor morals when it comes to adultery and murder, he will not sit still one moment when it comes to the abuse of his sister by her husband.  Vito's last talk with Michael really say a lot about immigrants the world over - "I never wanted this for you," he explains.  "I wanted you to be the one holding all the strings someday."  He wanted Michael to go farther, to live an honest, important life.  I think this depth and humanity, above all else, is what makes this film a standout from all other traditional gangster films.  Undoubtedly, The Godfather is one of the most influential films of all time across genres.  If you want to see how all our mafia cliches really started, watch this film.  You will see magnificent acting, directing, cinematography - truly every aspect is great.  As I said, it runs long and a bit slow at times, but the many breathtaking, edge of your seat scenes and haunting end sequence will show you why this film is a true classic.