Classic Movies…Today!

Sleeping Beauty Still Maleficent er Magnificent! 

By Kristin Battestella

            I’m not a fan of the Disney conglomerate, but when the 50^th Anniversary Platinum DVD release of the 1959 classic Sleeping Beauty was announced, I marked my calendar.  My VHS copy has long since worn out and disappeared, so this wonderfully restored disc is an essential delight for me-and you-this holiday season.

            Along with all their kingdom, King Stefan and his Queen celebrate the birth of their daughter Princess Aurora.  At the baby’s betrothal to Prince Phillip, the three good fairies Flora Fauna and Merryweather give the child lovely gifts such as beauty and song.  Unfortunately, the evil Maleficent appears and vows that on her sixteenth birthday Aurora will prick her hand on the spindle of a spinning wheel and die.  Fearing Maleficent’s wrath, the three good fairies hide Aurora in the forest and rename her Briar Rose. 

            Based on the fairy tale by Charles Perrault, Sleeping Beauty has everything I loved as a kid-and still do; Castles, good versus evil, swords and dragons.  There’s the fair share of lessons and morals, sure, but there’s also good entertainment.  Sleeping Beauty is darker than other Disney tales. This doesn’t seem like a kid’s story in many ways.  Death? Evil? Hell? True Love’s Kiss? Then again, some of it is very relevant, like never talking to strangers and ‘True love conquers all.’  This classic is a classic for a reason.  I shouldn’t admit it, but every time I lift my toilet lid and see the blue tidy bowl water, I think of Merryweather’s vow, “Make it blue!”  Darling quips and humor from Sleeping Beauty have seeped into our cultural lexicon.

            Even if you don’t remember all the words, George Bruns Oscar nominated adaptation of Tchaikovsky’s ballet has us humming whenever we hear it. Despite it’s lovely classical score, Sleeping Beauty isn’t packed with vocal compositions like more recent Disney features. Opera singer Mary Costa only sings as Briar Rose for ‘I Wonder’ and ‘Once Upon A Dream.’  The chorale background voices handle the charming titular lullaby.  I suspect everyone my age had a ‘See. Hear. Read.’ record associated with this film.  ‘Once Upon A Dream’ is still a Disney staple-as seen by the new remake video on the DVD.  I bet a lot of us do, in fact, know all the words. 

Unlike other cartoons, Briar Rose’s animal friends don’t sing along with her.  They have wit and fun, sure, but it’s a little more realistic that Rose is a tad aloof in her singing and loneliness. What kid can’t relate to that?  Who doesn’t have hopes and dreams?  Kids can learn a lot through catchy tunes. Some of the music is silly, sure; I could do with ‘Skumps’.  Nevertheless, Sleeping Beauty’s onscreen medieval style is unlike any other full length feature before or since.  The art is tall, lanky, askew like an old château; A visual allusion of enchantment and magic.

            I’m not one for princesses and such, but as much as I like Princess Aurora, it’s the evil fairy Maleficent that makes Sleeping Beauty for me.  Unlike later Disney villains, she doesn’t sing or have some sort of crutch and humor about her.  Maleficent takes being jilted very seriously, and her look is purely diabolical.  I wonder if more folks go as Maleficent for Halloween then Sleeping Beauty?  Big M has that Darth Vader appeal.  She actually appears more than Aurora, and the genesis of the story comes from Maleficent.  What is she? What is her problem?  We never exactly find out, but we know her power.  Some of her dragon and thorn sequences might even be scary for younger folks.  Voiced by Eleanor Audley (the Wicked Stepmother in Cinderella) Maleficent can still freak me out.  I mean, her pet is a raven named Diablo!

            Although some of the menus and game features are juvenile and targeted towards a ten year old girl, I could certainly do without all the Disney crap and language selections clogging navigation. Promos, previews, logos, commercials- Sheesh!   The behind the scenes documentaries are, thankfully, informative and exhaustive.  The deleted songs, alternative sketches, documentaries; its quite the treat-and I still haven’t finished the second disc of material.  For how-to fans of animation or Disney insiders, the features disc alone is worth the purchase price.

Costing six years and six million dollars doesn’t seem like a lot compared to the high standards Hollywood holds itself to today, but Sleeping Beauty’s widescreen innovations show in this gloriously restored wide presentation.  The details of which are explained here by Walt Disney himself.  For budding artists who only know Disney via High School Musical, the behind the scenes here are a lovely way to remind children about the film innovations the Disney company has achieved. The musician in training might be too old to appreciate the overly sentimental ‘Peter Tchaikovsky story’ dramatization, but it’s a fine reminder about how this darling tale of charm and music came to be.

A seemingly unrelated short film photographing the Grand Canyon is also included in the Backstage segment.  Unrelated, but no less beautiful in its restored glory. Audio commentaries, live action references, art work and storyboards, pop up features, and sing along options-when Disney puts something out on DVD, they really go all out, I’ll give them that!

            Sleeping Beauty: 50^th Anniversary Edition is of course more pricey and limited than your standard DVD fare, but for collectors and fans young and old, the joy and memories are worth the price of admission.  Even with today’s abundance of kid’s channels, videos, and cartoons, it can be tough to find something appropriate that the whole family can enjoy.  Lovely animation, timeless storytelling, and fine music still make Sleeping Beauty a sight to behold. 

The Bishop’s Wife is Still Lovely

By Kristin Battestella

            Modern audiences are familiar with the story of The Bishop’s Wife from the 1996 remake The Preacher’s Wife.  Fine in its own right with stars like Denzel Washington, Whitney Houston, and Courtney B. Vance , The Preacher’s Wife also shines for its African American spotlight.  As representative as The Preacher’s Wife  is of its time and place, The Bishop’s Wife is chock full of fifties nostalgia, quirks, and holiday magic.

            Cary Grant (Bringing Up Baby, Suspicion, Arsenic and Old Lace) stars as the angel Dudley, who is sent to earth before Christmas to help Bishop Henry Broughman (David Niven, My Man Godfrey) raise enough funding for the town’s new cathedral, but more importantly, save the tense marriage between the Bishop and his wife Julia (Loretta Young, The Farmer’s Daughter).  Things aren’t as easy as they seem for Dudley.  Henry doesn’t believe he’s an angel, and Dudley becomes more fond of Julia then he should. 

            Let’s get some of the hokey out the way.  Wise folks today can clearly see that it isn’t Cary Grant and Loretta Young in the ice skating sequence, and a few other miracles from Dudley haven’t stood the test of time either.  No, if you’re looking for special effects, look elsewhere.  The Bishop’s Wife is about the exact opposite.  We can’t seem to put aside our crazy commercial Christmases as it is, so maybe the absurdity of an angel is just what we need to keep us warm and fuzzy and nostalgic inside.

            Cary Grant is his usual suave self as the angel Dudley.  It’s a given that there would be some charming of the Missus with Grant around, but the Hitchcock alum also shows a bit of conflict for Dudley.  He’s an old angel caught between doing the good of his job and never getting too attached to his earthly charges.  Likewise Niven’s Bishop Henry is in the right place.  Instead of giving us an abusive father or alcoholic or some such, writer Leonardo Bercovici (from Robert Nathan’s novel) gives us a man trying to build a church.  What could possibly be wrong with that?  The realizations from Niven are touching and humorous, as are Gladys Cooper’s (My Fair Lady, The Song of Bernadette) as his rich benefactor Mrs. Hamilton.  Monty Woolley (Since You Went Away) as the cooky old man Professor Wutheridge is also a delight.  It’s a touch of the young at heart old man we often see in old films, but we can always use a good dose of someone who really, gosh honestly believes.

            And of course, we have the beautiful Loretta Young nearly stealing the show as Julia.  When I was younger, I wasn’t that familiar with Young.  Her eponymous show was a bit before my time.  She’s an unconventional beauty in a way, yet her charm is undeniable.  Julia’s a housewife without a care in the world, there should be no complaints really, but something is in fact missing in her life.  It’s a lovely performance that we can still relate to sixty years later.

            Nominated for Best Director here, Henry Koster (The Robe, Mr. Hobbs Takes A Vacation) may seem to take The Bishop’s Wife a toe over in sentimentality, but in today’s Hollywood, we don’t often get an overly sappy and sentimental film that is actually good. Were this another silly B flick, The Bishop’s Wife would have disappeared from our collective conscious.  But no, we keep coming back to this charmer every holiday season for a reason.

I much prefer my black and white VHS, but now is the time to upgrade to an affordable DVD copy.  There are, however, colorized versions of The Bishop’s Wife available to those that prefer it.  Both versions can usually be found on television sometime in December.  Younger folks who can’t stand black and white might enjoy the color version or be put off by the saturation process.  If you haven’t seen The Bishop’s Wife in awhile, then this is the holiday season for young and old to reminisce and enjoy.

Samson and Delilah Still Enchanting
By Kristin Battestella

So I’m up all night with the flu and lo and behold what’s on Turner Classic Movies but one of my all time favorite films: Cecil B. DeMille’s 1949 essential Samson and Delilah. This epic tale from the Book of Judges has lost none of its charm.
Respected and revered Danite strongman Samson (Victor Mature) falls in love with Philistine beauty Semadar (Angela Lansbury). They plan to marry, despite the objects of Gaza Captain Ahtur (Heny Wilcoxon). Samson is tricked by Ahrtur and Semadar’s scheming sister Delilah (Hedy Lemarr) and becomes an outlaw. After he defeats The Saran of Gaza (George Sanders) and his army ‘with the jawbone of an ass’, Delilah plots to destroy Samson and his legendary strength-by cutting off his long hair.

Alright, I’ll say it. Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned. I’m sure that phrase has been used to describe Delilah before. Hedy Lamarr had a relatively short film career, and today she’s probably more well known for later controversies and scientific work-if at all. There’s no mistake, however, that Samson and Delilah is Lamarr’s film. Although I sometimes wonder if her sultry delivery was dubbed, Lamarr’s vixen villainy and ruthless love give Delilah all the allure and power she needs. Heaven forbid we see her navel, of course, but the tight wraps and halter tops show plenty of cleavage and a lot of leg. What a delightful shock to post World War II America!
I’ve seen plenty of Victor Mature films (My Darling Clementine, Chief Crazy Horse, The Robe) but he’s not one of my favorite classic leading men. He’s a little too dramatic and droopy eyed for my tastes. However, as big and angry strongman Samson, these qualities work. In fine epic support is the young and beautiful Murder She Wrote star Angela Lansbury. As many times as I’ve seen Samson and Delilah, it’s still a novelty to see Lansbury beyond her spunky detective old lady. George Sanders (Rebecca, All About Eve) is his usual vile self, and DeMille staple Henry Wilcoxon (The Ten Commandments, Mrs. Miniver) always fits in historical garb. I must also note a fine Olive Deering as Miriam, a role she would reprise-sort of- in The Ten Commandments.

After spending my childhood watching Samson and Delilah almost daily (I had to make time for The Ten Commandments, too), I hadn’t seen the film in years. I’ll admit some folks don’t like old school classics because they think older films look hokey and people act over the top. Samson and Delilah, however, is as perfect today as it was in 1949. It’s a shame that later sprawling DeMille epics and sandal flicks seems to overshadow this fine film. Maybe they aren’t historically authentic, but the costumes are metallic, colorful, still gorgeous. The landscapes and ancient tents are lush as ever, and the action still looks cool. I was expecting Samson’s fight with the lion to look silly and the destruction of the temple cheesy. The beauty onscreen and the powerful story, however, forgive any jump cuts remaining.
There are old school tricks to be had in Samson and Delilah, of course, but this was a DeMille epic-top of the line stuff, none of that B production shoestring stuff. So we know it isn’t Victor Mature battling the lion, yep. Our titular couple is supposed to be so passionate, yet they only kiss a handful of times-and remember that three second kiss rule! I also love the color of these old bible sword and sandal epics. It’s so bright and rich. It’s literally like you can’t look away for all the flash catching your eye.
If the sights don’t get you, the sound certainly will. 22 time Oscar nominee Victor Young’s (Around The World In Eighty Days) score was nominated for an Academy Award. It’s instantly recognizable, and all the booms and strings come and go in the right places. I also love DeMille’s touch of onscreen music in Samson and Delilah. Lyres and harps and ancient feasts allow for more enchanting tunes for Delilah to bat her eyes to.
Last but certainly but not least, Samson and Delilah has a dang good story beneath all its Hollywood spectacle. Love and revenge, Israel versus the Philistines, Prayer, betrayal, Monotheism. It’s all there. The Bible doesn’t give writers Jesse Lasky Jr. (Salome, The Ten Commandments) and Fredric M. Frank (The Greatest Show On Earth) much to go on, but the essence of this tale speaks for itself. The dialogue is crisp and memorable. Despite its familiarity, the tale isn’t predictable and stale. On the contrary, Samson and Delilah has aged in reverence like a fine wine.

In this era or remakes and reboots, its refreshing to see only one major attempt has been made to recapture the story of the strongman and his vengeful woman. TNT’s miniseries Samson and Delilah received mixed reviews for length and content, further proving some classics are classic for a reason. Part of me wants to say that I would love a big screen lush and lavish biblical interpretation, but with the story such as it is, an update could quickly turn into a sex and spectacle fest. I find it amusing that we need silly role reversal films like Enchanted to empower women, but this classic Delilah is getting no respect.
I am very disappointed to see the limited availability of Samson and Delilah on DVD. Several editions have been previously released, but now these appear out of print. How dare Turner Classic Movies spoil me with a restored and perfect showing then make me return to my jumping and faded taped from TV VHS. It should be required that every film on the National Registry be preserved on DVD before Disney can make another direct to video release. Whatever version of Samson and Delilah you have, love it, cherish it, and share this wonderful morality tale with future generations.

For more, visit http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_gw?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=samson+and+delilah+dvd&x=0&y=0

Rediscover We’re No Angels This Christmas

By Kristin Battestella

Robert De’Niro, Sean Penn, Demi Moore. I love the 1989 drama We’re No Angels. But that’s not what I’m talking about here. No, that departure stems from the 1955 classic of the same name. Humphrey Bogart, Aldo Ray, Peter Ustinov. That’s what I’m talking about.

Maybe you’ve heard the story. Three convicts (Bogart, Ray, Ustinov) escape from a prison on Devil’s Island just before Christmas. They want to steal some money and clothes, then be ship bound and on their way, but they take a liking to Felix Ducotel (Leo G. Carroll) and his general store. Instead of stealing from Felix and his family-wife Amelie (Joan Bennett) and daughter Isabelle (Gloria Talbott) the criminals seek to keep up the family’s Christmas Cheer against the vile Uncle Andre Trouchard (Basil Rathbone)-who’s trying to close the store that’s making no money for him.

The story is heartwarming enough for a tune in. Scrooges dethawing, crooks doing right, a family trying to keep things together at Christmas. Written Ranald MacDougall from a play by Albert Husson and Directed by Michael Curtiz, We’re No Angels is sold by its cast and its cast alone. Casual fans know Bogie for his dramatic turns in Casablanca (Also directed by Curtiz) or The Desperate Hours or his Sam Spade in The Maltese Falcon- or many others, of course. Here-in color no less- Bogart shows a wry, underutilized comedy note that delivers just as many quotable lines as Casablanca. Together with Ray (Battle Cry) and Ustinov (Spartacus), talents also known more for drama, the trio creates a witty, intellectual comedy. There isn’t much side splitting laughter in We’re No Angels-simply quirky puns, funny mannerisms, and quick, but light physical comedy. It’s not The Three Stooges. It’s better.

Of course, humor isn’t funny unless there’s a straight man. Hitchcock alum Leo Carroll’s Felix is wonderful as the kindly, but financially troubled storekeeper who can’t see the crooks for what they really are. He’s blissfully innocent and trusting, as is Joan Bennett as Amelie. Strange on my part that I recognized her voice from Dark Shadows, but the hint of chemistry between Bennett and Bogart is delightful. Likewise Aldo Ray’s liking of church-going daughter Isabelle adds another dimension to the film. She also, is innocent and accepting-not seeing the criminals as such, but rather as angels.

Even the notion of their pet snake Adolf could be handled very poorly in today’s cinema, cgi and all the hijinks. Bogart, Ray, and Ustinov, however, do most of the work regarding the snake simply by looking into its basket. Some dismiss comedy as easy, or of a lesser value, but the cast here proves that humor is not done lightly. On the contrary, one false move, and the entire illusion falls apart. Everyone in We’re No Angels is on his or her mark. A case for each as the star could be made. The script is tight, quick, all the storylines and misunderstandings weave into a fine conclusion.

Traditional villain Basil Rathbone (The Mark of Zorro, alas a hero as Sherlock Holmes) also serves perfectly as snooty rich Uncle Trouchard. His uppity attitude versus the average joe crooks makes it easy for the audience. We want the crooks to be our good guys. Even Bogart says you meet better people in prison. I can’t spoil the ending, but as unbelievable as the starting premise may be, the conclusion has you believing that angelic peoples do in fact walk among us.

Young folks may find We’re No Angels slow, as there are several segments of silence that require complete attention to catch the onscreen hijinks-probably lingering from its transition from stage to screen. The coloration on my VHS is odd, too, and the younger set might also chuckle at such signs of the times-both in the onscreen turn of the century style and the fifties film making look and techniques. By contrast, also check out the aforementioned 1989 remake. It’s serious, heavy, and dark. Still good, but not as charming. We’re No Angels is kind of like those weird big old fashioned outdoor lights on your grandparents house. They are still ticking, after all these years, aren’t they?

Fans of classics no doubt already know and love We’re No Angels. Upgrade to DVD and share this one with anyone who’s willing to view this Christmas season.