Howard Hawks Blogathon-Day 5

After a small break in the blogathon, due to certain reasons, back again with another excellent post this time.  The post comes from Jack Deth,      who is a regular contributor at  Flixchatter, a movie website, run by Ruth Maramis, a web designer, movie lover and blogger from Indonesia.  Jack who is a die hard movie lover, rates Sir Alec Guiness, Robert Duvall and Robert Mitchum among his favorite actors, and loves Audrey Hepburn. In  this post he takes a look at the female characters in Howard Hawks movies, and how they had their own strong individuality and presence. In his own words.

The director in question is Howard Hawks. To whom action and comedy were second nature. And often front and center. Tools to used to misdirect, while weaving a slow smoldering romance in the bargain. With the women in question being just as strong, witty and clever as their leading men.

Katherine Hepburn in Bringing Up Baby, Jean Arthur in Only Angels Have Wings, Rosalind Russel in His Girl Friday, some of the beautiful women captured with love by Jack here.

Howard Hawks Blogathon- Day 4

The Howard Hawks blogathon continues into Day 4, this time we have on Red River from Ed Copeland again and  an interesting one on Hawks comedy movies by  Leticia from Brazil followed by Jason’s take on To Have and  Have Not.

After his excellent post on His Girl Friday,  Edward Copeland is  back again with another great post. This time he explores Hawk’s classic Western, Red  River.  Red  River  dealt with a tale of  father son conflict, set against the backdrop of a cattle drive.  In Edward’s words

Hawks made other great Westerns (most notably Rio Bravo, which also featured Wayne and Walter Brennan), but Red River, despite its abrupt climax, remains my favorite with its tale of a long cattle drive, surrogate father-son conflict and unmistakable gay subtext. Wayne admittedly was a limited actor, but he always was at his best when he played a character steeped in darkness and obsession such as Thomas Dunson here or Ethan Edwards in John Ford’s The Searchers. He’s helped immeasurably by getting to act opposite the young Clift, the antithesis of acting style when compared to Wayne. Hawks’ direction of the film itself truly amazes, especially in the many scenes of the huge numbers of cattle, all done in the days without the easy out of CGI.

Jason  Taylor is an avid, but unschooled, film fan.  His passion for classic film, film noir, and Humphrey Bogart started at an early age after his mother introduced him Casablanca, and he hasn’t looked back since.  His current goal is to watch every available Humphrey Bogart film and journal about them at bogiefilmblog.wordpress.com.  Taylor happily lives in the Midwest with his Bacall and two boys.  And here he takes us through  the Hawks-Bogie classic To Have and Have Not, a wartime drama set during the German occupation of France. In  a way this is Cassablanca in France, with the gin joint being replaced by a boat, and Lauren Bacall a con woman.

The first moment when Lauren Bacall sits on Humphrey Bogart’s lap in To Have and Have Not, something inside me stirs in such a deep and private way that I’m uncomfortable watching the film with other people in the room. I can only imagine what Howard Hawks and the rest of the crew were thinking . . .To Have and Have Not is my all-time favorite Bogart film.  I know it’s not as good as Casablanca.  I know that many consider it a less-than-perfect attempt to recreate the magic that occurred between Rick Blaine and Ilsa. I don’t care.

Letícia Magalhães is a Brazilian writer born in 1993, with a big love for the past. When she is not watching classic films, she writes about culture in general, reads and learns other languages. She writes primarily in her blog in her blog Critica Retro, about films from the past, and was invited to write in four other websites. Has self-published two books and tries hard to become an accomplished writer.  Here she takes a look at Howard Hawks mastery over the comic genre, in a post aptly titled  King of  Laughter.

 

Some directors  have been known to specialize in a genre film. Thus, Hitchcock is the master of suspense, even having made the unusual comedy “A couple of the noise / Mr and Mrs. Smith” (1941), John Ford is the king of westerns, but has not won any of his four Best Director Oscar driving cowboys, and Frank Capra was always ready to make us laugh and reflect. Howard Hawks, like many others, has ventured into more than one genre, but it does not matter if they were comedies and westerns, he always used a lot of humor in their productions.

 

 

 

 

Howard Hawks Blogathon-Day 3

The Howard Hawks Blogathon enters it’s  3rd day, and this time featuring posts on two of his best movies  Sgt.York and My Girl Friday.

 

From an early age, Edward Copeland became obsessed with movies, good television, books and theater. On the side, he nursed an addiction to news and information as well that led him into journalism where he toiled for 17 years until health problems forced him to give up the daily grind of work. In addition to writing for Press Play, he ran the blog Edward Copeland on Film (later renamed Edward Copeland’s Tangents and currently in hibernation) and has written for The Demanders on rogerebert.com, at Slant Magazine’s The House Next Door, Movies Without Pity, Awards Daily as well as the political commentary site The Reaction.

As part of the Blogathon,  Edward Copeland, takes a look at Howard Hawks, brilliant screwball comedy, His  Girl Friday, that had  Cary Grant and Rosalind  Russel in the leads. Itself a remake of  The Front Page, this was one of those screwball comedies that Hawks excelled in.  In Edward’s own words.

The list of remakes that exceed the original is a short one, especially when the original was a good one, but there never has been a better remake than Howard Hawks’ His Girl Friday, which took the brilliance of The Front Page and turned it to genius by making its high-energy farce of an editor determined by hook or by crook to hang on to his star reporter by turning the roles of the two men into ex-spouses. Icing this delicious cake, which marks its 70th anniversary today, comes from casting Cary Grant and Rosalind Russell as the leads.

We have another contribution from Rich Watson,  of   Wide Screen World,  where he takes a look at Howard Hawks, WWI classic  Sgt. York, which also got it’s lead actor Gary Cooper a well deserved Oscar.   Wide Screen World as the name goes, is a fabulous introduction to the world of cinema, where you have the views, reviews, news, updates.  And do check out  his  take on  Sergeant  York here. In  Rich’s own words

I imagine that for as long as man has waged war on each other, there have been individuals with moral objections to the practice. It’s certainly not hard to imagine why. Someone once described war as a failure of the imagination, and when one considers how long some conflicts have lasted, that definition makes a lot of sense.  I like to believe that if it came down to protecting my family and/or my home – if, like, aliens invaded Earth and we had to fight them off, Independence Day-style, say – I’d do what I had to do. One can never be truly certain of what one would do in such an extreme situation unless it actually happened. Still, I know that going off to fight for any less of a reason would give me pause. I was in college when Operation Desert Storm happened, and though I never truly believed the US would start up the draft again, I admit the possibility occurred to me… and it scared me. That was one war I wanted no part of.

Howard Hawks Blogathon- Day 2

Of all the gin joints in the world, if you  have a choice to walk into one, let it beAurora’s Gin Joint.    A die hard movie lover, who goes by the pseudonym of  @citizenscreen on Twitter, Aurora, shares a love for classic cinema, Golden Age Hollywood. And in her own inimitable style here,  she  puts out a brilliant tribute to Howard Hawks. A picture is worth a million words, here Aurora manages to make sure both the words and the pictures are worth a billion, as she lovingly constructs the persona of Hawks, through quotes from him and images from his movies  in his own words.  

 

 

“I attribute the astounding breadth of his work to the fact that Howard Hawks was not contracted with any one studio.  He was never pigeonholed.  Although there are similar themes evident in many of his films, such as friendship between men, strong women and the fact his films are “fast,” whether it be by virtue of lightning-speed dialogue or quick-moving stories, he made films in genres ranging from broad comedies to action/adventure to Westerns.  And he excelled in all.”.

Howard Hawks Blogathon- Day 1

And so the Howard  Hawks Blogathon starts out here. Day 1 of the Blogathon is dedicated to some of Howard Hawks best movies.

Take of leopards, and you have Howard Hawks classic Screwball Comedy, Bringing up Baby.  And from an author who calls himself the LeOpard, aka Michael Alatorre,  we have a run down on Howard Hawks classics down the years. Michael who in his own words was “born in the 50s, grew up in the 60s, but i survived the 70s ”, into tech, runs his own movie blog It Rains You Get Wet.   And here he takes us through the 13 best movies of  Hawks.

“Name someone who defined the gangster on film — and way, way before Coppola or Scorsese. Who would also go on to shape the screwball comedy, too. Might as well throw in the dark of film noir into the mix. Plus, take on that other Hollywood staple, the Western, challenging John Ford’s domain. And use John Wayne perhaps even more effectively. The answer would be oneHoward Winchester Hawks (by the way, John Carpenter’s favorite director).He not only covered all these genres, he made them exceedingly well. Likely, the most versatile director, before or since. I can watch his films anytime.”.

Another best of  Howard Hawks comes from Furious Cinema, run by my friend Sebastian, and a long time  movie pal. I had the pleasure of working with him during his marathon Scenes of the Crime Blogathon. In his own words, the purpose of this site is to promote movies that were furious movie making at the best.   And here they give us their own furious tribute to the master.

I think what made Hawks’ work appealing to me was the fact he could take any genre and entertain you through his mastery of it. Whether it was comedy, adventure, western or a crime picture, he was one of those multi-talented journeyman filmmakers of Hollywood’s Golden Age. To celebrate his extensive and varied career I’ve decided to list a few of my longtime favorite Hawks films. Admittedly I still haven’t seen all his movies but I’m always trying to catch up on the ones I’ve missed and look forward to discovering even more gems.

Howard Hawks Blogathon, May 15- May 31,2013

Howard Hawks, a name that evokes to me memories of a group of hunters, chasing down a rhino in the wilds of Africa, one of the most epic action scenes ever in movie history.  Hatari  was the first Howard Hawks movie I saw on the big screen, and was fascinated by the scenes of the animal hunts, especially the rhino capture.  And that made me explore some of his earlier movies.

Howard Hawks to me was one of the greats of  Hollywood’s Golden era, a man who directed movies that just about covered all genres. He could switch from zany screwball comedies like His Girl Friday  to Westerns like Rio Bravo to a noir classic like The Big Sleep with ease. He was not a director  you could slot in a specific genre, war, noir, Westerns, big screen adventure, screwball comedies, he just about covered all bases. He was a director who was independent of the studio norms, adding his own style to the genres. To Have and Have Not, was essentially a love story, with a war backdrop, and not many directors could have done justice to the incredibly complex plot of  The Big Sleep, the way Hawks did. He could capture your attention with a hard core pop corn flick like Hatari, which to me is way better even now than the CGI filled summer blockbusters.

The blogathon would be dedicated to Howard Hawks,  from May 15- May 31, tentatively, this may be extended depending on the response.  What I am looking for are essentially the following kind of articles

• Reviews of  Howard Hawks movies.
• His collaborations with John Wayne and Cary Grant.
• Articles about his screwball comedies.
• Articles on the man himself.

Basically anything on Howard Hawks will do, the above list was just to get a better idea.  You could contribute to the blogathon, by either  posting an article, sharing any blog you have on Howard Hawks, sharing this with your friends.  And yes here are pictures for the blogathon, that you  could be using in your  blogs to promote it.

And if you are interested  please do  shoot a mail to  ratnakar.techie@gmail.com

Midnight Run

( This post is published by me for  Scenes of the Crime Blogathon under  the category  Action Thrillers/Comedies.  A typical guys movie, a hard core pop corn entertainer, backed up with some smart writing, witty dialogue, and great performances by Robert De Niro, Charles Grodin, this is just the kind of  movie to laze out with for the weekend, when you are not in a mood for some heavy stuff.)

Spoiler Alert: Some key scenes and moments are discussed in the review.

A hundred grand! Are you out of your     mind? Jack, this is an easy gig.     It’s a midnight run, for Christ sakes.

What happens when you set up a not too verbose bounty hunter with a character who speaks dime a dozen?  A guy who has just scammed one of the biggest  mob bosses of a cool 15 million dollars. And then you find  that  what  was supposed to be an  easy  “midnight run”( a bounty hunter’s term for an easy  task), turns out to be a wild goose chase across the length and breadth of  USA.

Midnight Run, marks a departure for Robert De Niro, from his usually intense, whacked out roles, of pyschotic individuals or gangsters, as he gets  into the character  of   Jack Walsh, a bounty hunter.  His mission to get Jonathan Mardukas aka The Duke( Charles Grodin), an accountant who has embezzled a cool 15 million, from a mob boss. The only hitch is that  the mob boss happens to be a Jimmy Serrano( Dennis Farina)  one of the big gangsters around.  From the conversation between Jack Walsh and  his bondsman Eddie Moscone(Joe Pantoliano) , Mardukas appears to be a Robin Hood character, some one who steals from the rich, read the powerful, and then gives it away in charity. It is off least interest to Walsh, who just wants his payment for what he feels is one last job. He really does not have much motivation to carry on, and just wants to make a pile of money before he calls it quits.

The  task however  does not  seem as simple as a “midnight run”, for starters  The Duke is not wanted just by Serrano,  the FBI led by their  super egoistic boss, Alonzo Mosely(  Yaphet Kotto)  wants the Duke to become a witness. Moseley  seems to have the dope on Walsh, as he corners him, and that is where we get  an inkling of  his background.  Moseley is clearly contemptuous of  Walsh, whom he calls a “third rate rent-a-thug, who could not cut it as a cop in Chicago”.  Walsh flicks off Moseley’s  FBI badge, and changes it to his id, great scene, again on the flight  with  the kid next seat looking at him incredulously.

On arriving at New York, where  The Duke is hiding, Walsh is approached once again this time by Serrano’s henchmen, Tony and Joey, who offer him a large amount, on the condition that he turns the Duke over.  Walsh manages to give them the slip, again a well shot chase scene, where he pulls a fast one on them. The scene where he captures the Duke is again well shot, with Walsh, stalking his target, in turn being stalked by a huge German shepherd, and then the chaotic melee ensuring.   Posing up as  Alonso Moseley, Walsh manages to handcuff the Duke, and take him, the fun  starts here.  The Duke is  highly intelligent, calm under pressure, and worst of all he just can’t manage to stop talking.  Add to it, he is capable of  playing mind games with  Walsh, countering  him at every stage.

THE DUKE:You heard me. I can’t fly.
WALSH:    You’re gonna have to do better than     that.
THE DUKE: I don’t have to do better than that     because that’s the truth. I can’t     fly. I suffer from aviophobia.
WALSH:    What does that mean?
THE DUKE: It means I can’t fly. I also suffer     from acrophobia and claustrophobia.
WALSH:    When we get to L.A. you can tell the     prison psychiatrist all about it.     You fuck with me you’ll suffer from
    fist-O-phobia.

One of  the best scenes  in the movie follows,  The Duke informing  Walsh that  he can’t  fly as her suffers from a fear of flying. Unknown to Walsh, the Feds  have actually tapped the phone of  Mardukas, through which he had made a call, and been tracking every move of his. It is not just the Feds,  Eddie’s assistant, Jerry is in league with Serrano, and he passes on the information to Tony. In a way they are wanted by both the Mob as well as the Feds.  Serrano on getting the information, awaits Walsh and  Mardukas, in Los Angeles, or so he believes. The hitch here is that  The Duke is mortally afraid  of  flying. And  he makes up  a huge scene on the flight, forcing the pilot to get them off the plane.

What follows is a total wild goose chase across  the country by train, an old aeroplane, a stolen car.  Midnight Run combines the “buddy movie” with  the “on the road” genre, adding the man on a run, and the thriller genre, and credit be due to director Martin Brest, he does it effectively.  This is a hard core guys movie actioner, the  purpose is to entertain, and it does well. What stands out for Midnight Run, is the writing, absolutely  top notch.  Here are characters  you actually care for,  especially Walsh and Mardukas, two men who are  as similiar as chalk and cheese.  Mardukas, the thoughtful, talkative persona, more like a philosopher, and on the other hand you have Walsh, the gruff bounty hunter who just wants to do a job and go home.  Walsh  hates  Mardukas for his talking, and what he feels is his non stop interference in his own matters.  Mardukas on the other  hand, tries to be a friend, philosopher,guide to the self centered Walsh.  We know that sooner or  later both the characters  will come together, as is the case with most buddy movies, but  the way the two characters are sketched out, it makes us root for both of them.

MOSELY  Inspector Mosely, FBI.
CAPTAIN  Mosely? Are all you guys named Mosely?
MOSELY What are you talking about?
CAPTAIN You’re here to pick up a prisoner,     right?
MOSELY How’d you know that?
CAPTAIN He was afraid to fly so he got off  the plane. He left with an Agent Mosely.

Another great hilarious scene is at the Los Angeles airport, where both Serrano’s hit men and  the Feds are awaiting the  Walsh and Mardukas.  The look of  puzzlement  on  the faces of  Serrano’s henchmen, when they find that  Walsh and Mardukas are not on the plane, is superbly captured.  The best part is however  when the  Feds  approach the captain, identifying themselves, and then the Moseley finding out his Id was flicked away.  In fact Midnight Run is an out and out action comedy, the  action scenes themselves  having a more comic touch. The comedy is not  just  with De Niro and  Charles Grodin, it also comes through the harassed, bumbling henchmen, Tony and Joey  , facing a mean boss.

Or in the scene where  Walsh, Mardukas and another bounty hunter, Marvin Doffler( John Ashton), are attacked by a helicopter, a la North by North West.  It is a typical Hollywood style action scene, firing, shouting, and tyres wheeling around and the chaos.  What stands out however is the dialog between the 3 men, as they  fight to survive the copter attack, each blaming one another  for the predicament.  Or the scene, where Mardukas and Walsh  land up at a remote border town,  Walsh’s attempts to speak in Spanish,  and then seeing that  Mardukas has no issues flying. Midnight  Run also  brings in elements of  the road genre,  as the characters  go  from a New York airport to an Amtrak train to a Cleveland bus stop, attacked on the way by a helicopter,  land up at  a border town, drop in at Chicago, where there is an emotional meeting between  Walsh and his ex wife.

Midnight Run is just the kind of  movie, you would play when you are in the mood for some fun and entertainment, when you really do not want to  deal with too heavy  stuff.  The  best  thing though  this is an entertainer  that  is smartly  written, has characters  you actually care for, and some great dialogue that makes  you laugh spontaneously.  It is  fast  paced,  and nowhere does the movie  get bogged down, and  even the action  is  neither  too gory  nor  long drawn out.   It is not  just  Jack Walsh  and Jonathan Madrukas, even the other  characters are well written, be it the mob boss  Serrano, the super egoistic FBI  boss Moseley,  the dim witted henchmen of Serrano ,  all of them stay in your  mind. Danny Elfman’s  background score  is  peppy enough, keeping along with the mood of  the movie.  Robert De Niro, shows his flair for comedy, with his deadpan dialogue delivery,  wry remarks, while Charles Grodin provides a perfect  foil  as the thoughtful, eternally philosophizing  Mardukas.