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Rob Edelman: Oldies But Goodies

One of the pleasures of DVDs, Blu-rays, and other sources for home entertainment is the opportunity to discover older films that, not too long ago, only would be screened at museums or in specialized movie houses. This was never more apparent when, a few years ago, I was screening DVDs of a number of 1930s features directed by the Japanese master Yasujiro Ozu for inclusion in the Leonard Maltin Classic Guide. While doing so, it hit me: Once upon a time, in order to see these films, I would have had to travel into New York City-- if they were being shown, for example, at the Museum of Modern Art. Or perhaps they might be found in a small theater in Paris’s Left Bank. Plus, I would have had to adjust my schedule to the dates and times in which the individual films were screening. Happily, this is no more-- and I've recently been discovering some excellent (but little-known) French films that are well-worth seeing and enjoying.

Claude Chabrol is one of the masters of the French New Wave who is best-recalled for his Hitchcockian thrillers. À DOUBLE TOUR, which dates from 1959 and also is known as WEB OF PASSION and LEDA, is an enticing early Chabrol concoction in which he lampoons upper-class shallowness and overindulgence. The setting is a country manor that is home to a family whose members either are eccentric or downright disturbed. And right in the middle of it all, someone is murdered!

Chabrol is aided by some crisp color cinematography and a whimsical music score. And here is a bit of trivia. Jean-Paul Belmondo has a supporting role as a self-centered slacker whose name is LászlóKovács. This László has nothing to do with the celebrated cinematographer of the same name. Rather, it happens to be the alias of Belmondo’s character in Jean-Luc Godard’s BREATHLESS.

REMORQUES, also known as STORMY WATERS and dating from 1941, is a lyrical, slyly powerful drama of a tugboat captain, played by the great Jean Gabin. He must face a host of issues, including the backdoor deal-making of his bosses, the personalities of his crew, and two very different women. One is his loving, ailing wife, played by Madeleine Renaud. The other is charming and lovelorn, and is played by Michéle Morgan.

If you savor the celluloid sparks that are ignited when such acting duos as Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall or Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn are eyeing each other, well, Jean Gabin and Michéle Morgan certainly are their equal. If you want more of them, you’ll find them burning up the screen in Marcel Carné’s PORT OF SHADOWS, which predates REMORQUES.

Three other titles date from the silent era. Each deals with a theme that reverberates today: class differences and class inequities. GRIBICHE, from 1924 and also known as MOTHER OF MINE, is the heartfelt tale of a working class boy who is being raised by his widowed mother. How will he respond when he enters a world of privilege after attracting the interest of a kindly millionairess?

THE LATE MATHIAS PASCAL, from 1926, is an engaging mixture of illusion and reality. The title character is a freethinking everyman who longs to take charge of his life but exists in a world of unbridled avarice. How will Mathias respond when he discovers that he’s been reported dead, and now has the opportunity to take on a fake identity and re-start his life?

Finally, in THE NEW GENTLEMEN, from 1929, an attractive and desirable ballerina is pursued by two suitors. One is a spirited blue collar union organizer. The other is older and aristocratic, and holds high political office. THE NEW GENTLEMEN is a piercing film which mirrors the reality that those in power and with money are ultimately-- and irrevocably-- in control.

Rob Edelman teaches film history at the University at Albany. He has written several books on film and television, and is an associate editor of Leonard Maltin’s Movie and Video Guide.

 

 The views expressed by commentators are solely those of the authors. They do not necessarily reflect the views of this station or its management.

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