40s

Holiday Inn

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Holiday Inn. Paramount Pictures 1942.
Holiday Inn. Paramount Pictures 1942.

Before watching the movie:

What can this film offer to audiences seventy years later? It appears to be a show made of a bunch of Christmas songs (which have since become old standards) woven together with the lightest touch of plot. I’m sure some of the songs haven’t passed into the zeitgeist, but I wonder if the performances can be enough to really make a variety show with a plot worthwhile.

Maybe I’m coming at this too negatively. It’s very likely a fun, light way to get into the holiday spirit. Art doesn’t have to be weighty or novel to be good, what matters is if it elicited the response the artist and the audience wanted. Anyway, we’re still talking about it almost three quarters of a century later, so it’s clearly not garbage.

The Holiday Season is here, folks. Try to take it slowly enough to still enjoy it when your holiday of choice is here.

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The Great Dictator

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The Great Dictator. Charles Chaplin Productions 1940.

May is Non-Alliterative Silver Screen Classic Movie Month!

Before watching the movie:

This came close to being my first Charlie Chaplin picture ever, but it was beaten out by Modern Times. I get the sense this will be largely different, since he’s playing someone other than the Tramp and this is entirely talking.

This holds particular interest to me since it’s a satire of Nazi Germany contemporary to Nazi Germany, as opposed to The Producers or Hogan’s Heroes.

I assume a lot of prior knowledge for this film since film buffs love to gush about it, but I only really know the dance with the globe and the speech that’s recently become popular.

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Casablanca

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Casablanca. Warner Bros. 1942.

Before watching the movie:

This week I turn my attention to the oldest film yet reviewed. I admit it diverts in style from most, but Casablanca is almost universally considered a classic, and I share any classic I first watch here.

While the romance again receives a great deal of attention, the World War II backdrop is rich and contributes significantly to the plot, I am told.

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