Category: Culture

Many years ago I found myself at the Eastman House in Rochester NY. If you don’t know, George Eastman was the founder of Kodak. Kodak is a small scrap of what it once was, but it has been a leader in photography and film in the past.

The house is now a museum, an archive and a cinema. They have a huge vault of films and do restorations.

I went to see a film and a chat with one of the stars, Farley Grainger, from “Strangers On A Train”. It’s a Hitchcock film from 1950.

In case you don’t know the plot, the title tells most of it. Two men meet at random on a train. Both have personal problems. They hatch a plot to kill each other’s ‘problems’ and they will never be suspected as they have no obvious motive.

I am no big fan of Hitchcock or his films, especially the later ones. I hate how he gets his cameo into each, and it’s no different here.

The original Patricia Highsmith novel is altered significantly. Raymond Chandler was brought in to do the script but it was a painful experience for him and what you see on the screen is not his.

But the film is worth a watch and has some good moments, especially the end. The very bad process photography spoils much of it, though.

The 1950s especially was a era for great science fiction films. “Invasion Of The Body Snatchers”, “The Blob”, “The Incredible Shrinking Man” (which would normally have been my recommendation for everyone to see), “It Came From Outer Space”, “This Island Earth”, even “Godzilla/Gojira”.

But our choice just has to be “The Day The Earth Stood Still”.

If this picture does not answer everything, then let’s summarise this 1951 Robert Wise production.

A flying saucer lands in Washington DC. From it emerges an alien, who is instantly shot (it’s America, after all). He goes to hospital, escapes and has to evaluate human life for a very special reason.

The alien, Klaatu, is played by Michael Rennie.

He moves into a small boarding house where he makes friends with a family with mother and son. Son Bobby shows Klaatu around Washington, including the Lincoln Memorial and Arlington Cemetery.

The title refers to a demonstration Klaatu performs to demonstrate his power. It’s not a spoiler to say that, at the end, Klaatu reveals the reason for his visit to Earth and the purpose of the robot, Gort, and it’s not great news.

Just what makes this film story so special? Well, it’s a good story well told (avoid the re-make) with a serious ending. The art direction is beyond wonderful and there are so many memorable images. There’s a lightness to the whole tale too.

But what really makes it special is Rennie, who is mild, gentle, polite, very English, unassuming and everything you would not expect an alien to be (certainly compared with some of the other films we mentioned). It’s a totally wonderful performance from the very start.

Kirk Douglas is a very odd character. He has made some very great films, and some rubbish.

Director Billy Wilder has done much the same.

The 1951 film “Ace In The Hole” is a much neglected masterpiece for them both.

The plot, and the no spoilers rule is going to be tricky today, is simple. Douglas plays a once famous but now on the decline journalist. On a story, they discover a man is trapped under a cliff and is alive. Rescue efforts are in hand and Tatum, the journalist, covers it.

It’s a very cynical story. As the days pass, sightseers come, a fairground is set up with concession stands and the rescue continues.

The end is not what you expect. Watch it to find out…

It’s a film that is rarely shown. The portrayal of the journalist as manipulating is relentless. Douglas’ character has no redeeming qualities. And the critics hated it.