The Horse's Head

#95) Laura (1944)

OR “The Original Gone Girl”

Directed by Otto Preminger

Written by Jay Dratler and Samuel Hoffenstein and Elizabeth Reinhardt. Based on the novel by Vera Caspary.

Class of 1999

The Plot: Business executive Laura Hunt (Gene Tierney) is murdered and Det. McPherson (Dana Andrews) is brought in to investigate. Among the suspects are her charming fiancé Shelby Carpenter (Vincent Price), her mentor/famous columnist Waldo Lydecker (Clifton Webb), and her socialite Aunt Ann Treadwell (Judith Anderson). As the clues pile up and stories are changed, McPherson finds himself falling for the deceased Laura.

Why It Matters: The NFR calls it “[l]ess a crime film than a study in obsession” and praises Preminger’s direction, as well as the score and cinematography.

But Does It Really?: “Laura” still packs quite the punch over 70 years later. Its style is prime noir and the whole cast plays it in the most wonderfully suspenseful way. At no point are you ever completely sure who killed Laura, and the twists just keep coming. Anyone trying to craft the perfect murder mystery needs look no further than “Laura”.

Everybody Gets One: Title character Gene Tierney**, as well as Clifton Webb and two of the three screenwriters.

Wow, That’s Dated: ‘40s terminology like “dames” and “dolls”, cars with suicide doors, newspaper columnists with any sort of major clout or influence.

Seriously, Oscars?: “Laura” received five Oscar nominations, and took home one for Joseph LaShelle’s black-and-white cinematography. Preminger, Webb and the screenwriters all lost to that year’s feel-good big winner “Going My Way”. “Laura” wasn’t nominated for Best Picture, perhaps to make way for that other, more famous 1944 noir film. More surprisingly, David Raksin was not nominated for film noir’s most iconic score. And this was back when Best Score had 20 nominees. Come on!

Other notes

• This film stars a man named Dana and a woman named Gene.
• McPherson’s handheld puzzle game; the Fidget Spinner of 1944.
• Perhaps the greatest joy of watching this film is seeing young Vincent Price in one of his early films. This film’s second biggest mystery is Vincent’s disappearing/reappearing southern accent.
• Like so many of the New York elite, Waldo dines at the Algonquin. Do you think he knows Benchley?
• As is often the case with the great film noir mysteries, so much is conveyed through action and reactions rather than dialogue. And everyone plays it so close to the chest it creates wonderful tension.
• Shelby briefly mentions hearing Laura’s “mules” across the room. Mule in this case being an old term for slippers. Though the alternative is a fun visual as well.
• After making a career playing characters like Bessie the maid, Dorothy Adams must have been pissed when Thelma Ritter came along.
• She doesn’t get much to do, but Gene Tierney has more sex appeal in just a few shots than most actors do in whole films.
• If the murder described throughout the film was actually that gruesome, then my kudos to the unseen cleanup crew. That apartment is spotless.
• Waldo quotes Ernest Dowson’s “Vitae Summa Brevis”, which is where we get the phrase “days of wine and roses”.
• And as always, buy your War Bonds at this theater!

Legacy

• The film has been remade a few times. In 1955, “Laura” was condensed to an hour-long episode of “The 20^th Century-Fox Hour” starring Robert Stack, Dana Wynter, and a well-cast George Sanders as Lydecker.

• The Germans took a shot at “Laura” (poor choice of words) for television in 1962.

• The last remake of “Laura” was in 1968, adapted by Truman Capote and starring Lee (younger sister of Jackie) Bouvier. Seeing as how Lee’s acting career never took off, it’s safe to say this version is not very good.
• Following the popularity of the score, Johnny Mercer wrote lyrics to the “Laura” theme (despite not having seen the film) and created a jazz standard.

Further Viewing: Gene Tierney followed-up “Laura” with “Leave Her to Heaven”, the rare color film noir. Tierney’s femme fatale performance gives her more range to play than her more iconic work in “Laura”, and she received her only Oscar nomination.

** 2018 Update: Gene Tierney now appears on the list in “Leave Her to Heaven”. Hey, that’s this post’s Further Viewing! Who knew I could be so prescient?

#94) The Hitch-Hiker (1953)

OR “Gas, Grass, or Harass”

Directed by Ida Lupino

Written by Lupino and Collier Young. Adaptation by Robert L. Joseph.

Class of 1998

Defunct Film Company plus Defunct Distribution Studio equals Public Domain Theater!

The Plot: Two buddies from El Centro, California (Edmond O’Brien & Frank Lovejoy) drive to Mexico for a fishing trip in San Felipe. While stopping through Mexicali, they pick up a hitchhiker (William Talman), who turns out to be wanted murderer Emmett Myers. Holding the two men at gunpoint, Myers forces the men to follow his orders and drive to Santa Rosalia, where a ferry (and escape) awaits. Police on both sides of the border try to track Emmett and the men, but will they get to Emmett before he gets to Santa Rosalia?

Why It Matters: Both the NFR write-up and the essay by Film Studies Professor Wheeler Winston Dixon discuss the importance of this being the only film noir directed by a woman.

But Does It Really?: I will say I enjoyed this film quite a bit. “The Hitch-Hiker” is a wonderful example of how you can create a very suspenseful film on a shoe-string budget. The script is very tight, and answers all logical questions that may come up in an exciting and interesting way. The three leads are all well cast, and Ida Lupino proves that good directing is about talent and preparation, and not about gender. It’s not the first on anyone’s top film noir list, but “The Hitch-Hiker” can still more than hold its own over 60 years later.

Everybody Gets One: While making a name for herself as an actor in various studio films of the ‘40s, Ida Lupino paid close attention to the work being done behind the camera, and caught the directing bug. She and then-husband (and “Hitch-Hiker” screenwriter) Collier Young created independent film company The Filmmakers to create more opportunities for Ida when she was between acting gigs. After ghost-directing “Not Wanted” in 1951, “The Hitch-Hiker” was Ida’s first credited film as a director. She helmed a few more films before The Filmmakers ceased production in 1956, but continued to direct (and act) for television well into the early 1970s.

Wow, That’s Dated: Radio as the main news source of the day, “puss” as an alternative to the word “face”. But perhaps most dated is the film’s incredibly lax border patrol.

Seriously, Oscars?: No nominations for “The Hitch-Hiker” at the Oscars or any other awards organization. Not even a Safe Driver Award from the National Safety Council. You try driving that safely while at gunpoint!

Other notes

• This film is loosely based on the real-life killing spree of Billy Cook. He was in prison when the film was in production, and was executed just three months before “The Hitch-Hiker” was released. Part of this film’s appeal at the time was its “Ripped-from-the-headlines” story that no major studio would dare touch.
• Surprisingly for one of the few studio films directed by a woman, there are no credited female actors in “The Hitch-Hiker”, and only a few brief uncredited ones that add nothing to the actual story.
• Ida Lupino and her husband Collier Young divorced just months before production began. Yikes.
• It took me almost 100 films, but I finally got one of my favorite film tropes; spinning newspaper headlines!
• William Talman kinda looks like a cross between William Holden and Van Heflin.
• Of course every time they turn on the radio in this movie it’s a news bulletin about Emmett. Also, that first radio announcer really sounds like Corey Burton.
• EMMETT IS 28!? Jesus that is a hard 28. For the record, William Talman was 37 during filming.
• Lifted directly from the real-life Billy Cook, Emmett sleeps with his deformed eye open and it leads to some really suspenseful moments when they camp for the night.
• How much dramatic tension could have been cut from this film if they had used Google Maps or Siri to give directions?
• I had never heard of the Chocolate Mountains before this film, but they’re real, and they’re spectacular.
• This film very briefly features actual Fake News.
• Jeez, Edmond O’Brien gets knocked out with the slightest tap. I keep expecting a moth to take him down next.
• A lot of suspense throughout this film, but the climax falls apart just a bit. It doesn’t quite release all of this tension in the right way.
• While this film doesn’t have a “feminist agenda”, the moral is very clearly “Don’t Lie To Your Wife”.

Legacy

• As previously mentioned, Ida Lupino continued directing primarily in television. Among her credits are episodes of “The Twilight Zone”, “The Fugitive” and “Gilligan’s Island”.

• The hitchhiker himself, William Talman found success on the small screen as D.A. Hamilton Burger on “Perry Mason”. After CBS fired him from the show due to his arrest at a party, a surge of fan-mail protest led to him being rehired.

• I’m going to assume hitchhiking went way down in America after this film came out.

#93) Tulips Shall Grow (1942)

OR “Pal the Ally”

Directed & Written by George Pal

Class of 1997

The Plot: Quintessential Dutch tropes Jan and Janette sing and dance together amongst the tulips and windmills of Holland. Their beautiful day is ruined by an invasion from the Screwballs, a group of metallic soldiers that are definitely not Nazis. The Screwballs tear the couple apart, but all hope is not lost in this stop-motion short.

Why It Matters: The NFR’s write-up discusses George Pal and his creation The Puppetoons, while an essay by animator Mark Mayerson gives us the film’s historical context.

But Does It Really?: The Puppetoons were a brief but important moment in film animation. George Pal used the series as a springboard for bigger and better things, but the shorts are still entertaining due to their unique animation style and bold storytelling. “Tulips Shall Grow” is the perfect candidate to represent the Puppetoons in the NFR (a distinction it now shares with “John Henry and the Inky-Poo”).

Everybody Gets One: George Pal spent most of his early adult life moving about Europe in an effort to avoid the Nazis’ continued growth. He lived in the Netherlands for a few years before his visa to the United States was finally granted in 1939. The German invasion of the Netherlands in May 1940 hit George hard, and once Paramount was evicted from Germany a few months later, “Tulips Shall Grow” was rushed into production.

Wow, That’s Dated: I mean, the whole thing has such strong WWII imagery throughout how could it not be 1942?

Seriously, Oscars?: “Tulips Shall Grow” was nominated for Best Short Subjects, Cartoons, one of four nominees that year that tackled the war. The winner was the short that tackled Nazis the hardest: Disney’s controversial “Der Fuehrer’s Face”. This was George Pal’s second of seven unsuccessful Oscar nominations, although the Academy did give him an honorary Oscar the next year for the Puppetoons series.

Other notes

• The voices of Jan and Janette go uncredited, and many online sources incorrectly list Rex Ingram and Victor Jory as the (nonexistent) narrators. Anyone actually know who the voices are?
• What makes Puppetoons different from traditional stop-motion animation? In stop-motion a figure has a metal skeleton that can give it a variety of movements. For the Puppetoons, each individual movement has its own interchangeable piece. More time-consuming to be sure, but the end result was three-dimensional figures that appeared to have the fluid movement of two-dimensional drawings.

Legacy

• George Pal eventually transitioned from animation to live-action, producing many sci-fi classics of the ‘50s. Most notably, “The War of the Worlds”.

• George also once said to his bride, “But when worlds collide, I’m gonna give you some terrible thrills.”

Further Viewing: If you can track it down 1987’s “The Puppetoons Movie” is a compilation of the very best of George Pal. Subsequent releases included even more Puppetoon shorts.

#92) The Producers (1967)

OR “Hitler on Ice”

Directed & Written by Mel Brooks

Class of 1996

The Plot: Washed-up Broadway producer Max Bialystock (Zero Mostel) is struck by inspiration when visited by nebbish accountant Leo Bloom (Gene Wilder); he could make more money producing an expensive flop than a cheap hit. After persuading Leo to join him, Max finds “Springtime for Hitler”, an awful and offensive musical by ex-Nazi Franz Leibkind (Kenneth Mars). With the enlisted help of flamboyant director Roger De Bris (Christopher Hewett), beatnik actor Lorenzo St. DuBois (Dick Shawn), Swedish secretary Ulla (Lee Meredith) and a devoted group of little old ladies, what could possibly go right?

Why It Matters: The NFR calls it “an entertaining ride” and commends Brooks for “temper[ing] the over-the-top gags and stereotypical characters with a touch of sweetness”. An essay by Gene Wilder biographer Brian Scott Mednick is an overview of the film’s production that focuses, not surprisingly, on Gene Wilder.

But Does It Really?: Full disclosure: I am a longtime Mel Brooks fan, so this one’s a no-brainer for me. Watching it again, I was amazed just how hard I still laughed at everything. Mostel and Wilder are perfectly cast against each other, and Mel’s script – while not as jaw-droppingly controversial as it was in 1967 – is a solid foundation from which everything is built. It loses a bit of steam towards the end, but “The Producers” is a landmark in film comedy and led the way for the zany masterwork of Mel Brooks.

Shout Outs: A brief mention of “The Wizard of Oz” from Roger De Bris.

Everybody Gets One: Despite Mel’s eventual stock company of actors in later films, this is the only Registry appearance (and only collaboration with Mel) for stars Zero Mostel, Dick Shawn, Lee Meredith and Christopher “Mr. Belvedere” Hewett. Also be on the lookout for Barney Martin (aka Jerry Seinfeld’s Dad) and Renee Taylor (aka Fran Drescher’s Mom) in the “Springtime for Hitler” book scenes.

Wow, That’s Dated: This round of “What’s Playing on Broadway Back Now?” features the short-lived musicals “Hallelujah, Baby!” and “Henry, Sweet Henry”, which puts the film somewhere in fall 1967. Also someone definitely had to explain to me what a Karmann Ghia was. But nothing is more 1967 in this film than Dick Shawn’s performance as flower child Lorenzo St. DuBois (“And what have you done, LSD?”).

Seriously, Oscars?: “The Producers” survived a studio shelving and a critical skewering, but in the end the right people “got it” and Mel managed to win the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay. It would be the only Oscar for any of Mel’s films. Newcomer Gene Wilder was nominated for Best Supporting Actor (despite having as much screen time as Zero Mostel), and lost to Jack Albertson’s more sentimental turn in “The Subject Was Roses”. Wilder would take this out on Albertson three years later.

Other notes

• Zero Mostel’s real first name is Samuel. He was told that if he didn’t do better in school he’d be a zero. As someone once wrote, children will listen.
• Wait, this movie said “It’s only a flesh wound” first?
• I love this movie, but god the opening credits go on forever.
• The first 20 minutes (essentially just Zero and Gene Wilder) are about as perfect as film comedy gets. Proof that sometimes all you need is the right script with the right actors.
• When I went to New York for the first time, I made sure to visit the fountain in front of Lincoln Center. Thanks to this film, it’s as iconic as the Statue of Liberty.
• Kudos to Casting Director (and former Mel Brooks assistant) Alfa-Betty Olsen. This film is populated with some of my favorite bit players in any film, among them Shimen Ruskin as Bialystock’s landlord and Madelyn Cates as the conci-urge.
• On a less fun note, this film’s jokes on gay stereotypes have aged the poorest.
• Why does Lorenzo’s band have a saxophone that sounds like a flute on the soundtrack?
• How do you think “Springtime for Hitler” did at that year’s Tony Awards? I mean, the 67-68 season was known for heralding the end of Broadway’s Golden Age, so “Springtime” could’ve managed a win or two.
• My favorite line; “You are the audience. I am the author. I outrank you!”

• Does anyone else notice that LSD completely vanishes from the film after opening night? Same goes for Carmen, with Roger not too far behind.
• Oh how I wish the song “Springtime for Hitler” had gotten a Best Song nomination at the Oscars. Can you imagine the hoops Mel would’ve had to jump through just to get it on the air?

Legacy

• Mel referenced “The Producers” in almost all of his subsequent films.
• The film finally made it to Broadway in 2001 with a stage musical that, while never beating the original for its perfect timing, is a delightful old-fashioned book musical.

• The “Producers” musical got its own film version in 2005. It…is a film version of the musical and falls flat on almost every level.

• U2’s Achtung Baby

• The entire fourth season of “Curb Your Enthusiasm” involved Larry playing Max in the aforementioned musical version of “The Producers”. Mel and his wife Anne Bancroft cameoed in the finale with their own little “Producers” twist.

Further Viewing: A expertly researched and impeccably pointed video essay by Lindsay Ellis (who has really blossomed since breaking out of the “Nostalgia Chick” mold) focuses on “The Producers”, its specific kind of satire, and why it’s okay for Mel Brooks (and not you) to make fun of Hitler.

Listen to This: Before he was a legendary filmmaker, Mel Brooks was 2000 years old. Based on a bit Brooks and Carl Reiner did to entertain each other while writing “Your Show of Shows”, “2000 Years with Carl Reiner and Mel Brooks” was the surprise comedy album hit of 1961, earning the two a Grammy and eventually a place in the National Recording Registry.

#91) The Last of the Mohicans (1920)

OR “Seven Years’ Bore”

Directed by Maurice Tourneur and Clarence Brown

Written by Robert A. Dillon. Based on the novel by James Fenimore Cooper.

Class of 1995

The Plot: In the midst of the French and Indian War, title character Uncas (Alan Roscoe) and a white man raised by the Mohicans named Hawkeye (Harry Lorraine) are sent by the English to escort Cora and Alice Munro (Barbara Bedford & Lillian Hall) to their father (James Gordon) at Fort William Henry. They are thwarted along the way by Cora’s jilted suitor Captain Randolph (George Hackathorne) and Huron Indian Chief Magua (Wallace Beery), an ally of the French Army. In the middle of all of this, Cora starts to fall for Uncas.

Why It Matters: The NFR says that the film “astutely balanced the romantic angle with plenty of action sequences, albeit often stereotypical and brutal.” Their description also mistakenly identifies director Maurice Tourneur as his son (and fellow film director) Jacques Tourneur. Whoops.

But Does It Really?: Many (including Cooper himself in his later years) called the novel unreadable, and this film adaptation, while not unwatchable, is a real slog. I can’t tell if it’s just the limitations of the silent film medium, or if the film as a whole just hasn’t aged well. Regardless, I really can’t find a compelling argument to preserve this film. There are other film versions of this novel (see “Legacy” below) and other opportunities to preserve the works of this cast and crew. I suspect it’s on here due to a restoration of the film in 1993, two years prior to its induction, which was probably only initiated because of the success of the 1992 film version. Who knows?

Everybody Gets One: Barbara Bedford and Alan Roscoe were married not too long after working together on this film. They divorced, but re-married two years later and stayed together until Roscoe’s death in 1933.

Wow, That’s Dated: You mean besides having all of the Native Americans played by white people in redface? I feel like we should just focus on that one.

Other notes

• Director Maurice Tourneur also directed the fantasy film (and fellow NFR entry) “The Blue Bird”. An injury on the set of this film led to his assistant Clarence Brown taking over the picture, and a 32-year directing career began.
• Barbara Bedford has a face for silent movies. She may be the only actor in this film aware that the audience has to be able to see your face.
• Why would you invite along someone who admits he is just going to sing psalms the whole time?
• The action scenes help pick things up a little bit, but they are few and far between. And how many of these scenes are going to end with two people rolling down a hill?
• As with a lot of silent films based on novels, this film really doesn’t know how to adapt to a different medium. So much of the visual translation is muddled, and so little of the pertinent text from the book is displayed as title cards.

Legacy

• The novel has been remade several times over the years, most notably a 1936 version starring Randolph Scott as Hawkeye, and the 1992 version with Daniel Day-Lewis in the role.

• This prequel

• Bonus Clip: Perhaps the best line reading in film history.