F&C1940: Juninatten

It starts off as a Swedish Noir film! I didn’t know that that was a thing.

This is a very peculiar film. It careens between overly tautly cut scenes and longer, pensive scenes. I’m not quite sure whether this is because the director and editor want that effect or it’s accidental.

I’m utterly charmed by the 40s Swedish performances. They’re theatrically jolly, but aren’t superficial somehow. The most disturbing thing is the romance between the beautiful Ingrid Bergman and the rather weird looking guy playing the doctor. (See above.)

So it’s a fun, but kinda amateurish film. I’m not sure how to throw the die here. But…

Juninatten. Per Lindberg. 1940.

Petit Zinc

This post is part of the F&C series.

F&C1942: The Magnificent Ambersons

This is officially the 174th best film ever. I think it seems rather self-indulgent and melodramatic. I don’t find the “George” character very convincing.

Yes, yes, he’s an annoying twit, but can anybody really be as annoyingly twittish (that’s a word) as this? Perhaps it would have resolved itself in the last hour, but I kinda doubt it. The studio famously cut the last 50 minutes and shot a new happy ending, and it’s even more awful than you’d imagine. It’s laugh out Ell Oh Ell awful.

But it’s a rather pretty film.

The Magnificent Ambersons. Orson Welles. 1942.

Pegu

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F&C1943: The More the Merrier

Hey! Jean Arthur! I like her.

They’re aiming for screwball comedy, but it goes kinda embarrassing at times. Eek. It’s really funny. It’s also amusing how they (as is common in these war time films) weave in “inconspicuous” propaganda scenes about how union busting is patriotic and so on.

The More the Merrier. George Stevens. 1943.

Parkside Fizz

This post is part of the F&C series.