Category Archives: Claude Rains

1943 Films, Claude Rains, Drama, Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman, Michael Curtiz, Peter Lorre, Romantic Drama, Sydney Greenstreet

Casablanca-1943

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Casablanca-1943

Director Michael Curtiz

Starring Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman

Scott’s Review #838

Reviewed December 7, 2018

Grade: A

Casablanca (1943) is a classic style Hollywood film made during a decade when big studio productions were all the rage. The film may very well be in the top ten creations of its day and a film that nearly everyone has either seen or is aware of.

A grand romantic World War II drama released at the perfect time, the film contains legendary stars Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman and is flawless in nearly every way as a lavish production ought to be.

Bogart stars as Rick Blaine, an expatriate who owns a lavish nightclub in Casablanca, Morocco. The time is December 1941, before the United States emerged into the vicious World War II.

His clientele ranges from French and German officials to refugees attempting to flee the country, fearful of being stuck in a foreign land. Mixed in with the melee of varied characters is Ilsa (Bergman) a former flame of Rick’s, who appears with a new husband Victor, a Czech leader.

Ilsa begs Rick for help escaping the country and their romance begins to blossom again.

Through scenes we see Rick and Ilsa together, living a perfect life in pre-war Paris. They happily co-exist, sharing a happy life unaware of the conflict and secrets that will emerge in Casablanca two years later.

As Victor is initially presumed dead, this is the cause for Ilsa’s initial freedom and romance with Rick.

Back in Casablanca, Rick has important letters that will allow the holder to escape the city and be bound for safety in another country.  While Ilsa is desperate for these letters, she is also madly in love with Rick, and vice versa, adding a strong romantic element to the film.

Supporting characters are mixed into the plot as desperation and impending doom interplay.

Casablanca is a film with things going on simultaneously which is a major part of its draw. From the obvious romance of Rick and Ilsa- the focal point of the story part of the draw are the sub-plots weaved within.

The nasty Nazi Major Heinrich Strasser encompasses the future Third Reich and the devastation this group would ultimately cause. A multitude of supporting characters and extras perfectly flesh out both the cast and the look and feel of the film.

The most interesting character is Rick.

Once idealistic, and moral, he has changed becoming cynical and broken. In this way, the film nearly becomes a character study. The audience sees the change in Rick and slowly realizes he has given, the war the culprit.

The final sequence reveals the fate of Rick and Ilsa, their doomed romance assuredly coming as no surprise, true to the message. An “unhappily ever after” result was rare in a big studio production and is a testament to the well-written story.

The featured piano number and Casablanca’s “theme song” is the lovely yet melancholy “As Time Goes By”. Beautifully played by house pianist and close friend of Rick’s, Sam (Dooley Wilson), the number is instrumental to the plot and specifically to Rick and Ilsa’s romance.

The song is a painful memory of the once-idyllic life the pair shared.

Made in 1941 and released in 1943 the timing of the film is the key to its unrelenting success. American audiences undoubtedly found the film identifiable and uncertainties of the impending war put their current freedoms at risk.

In this way, Casablanca was marketed wonderfully and the compelling nature of the film resonated. Especially in the case of Rick audiences shared his conflict and “for the greater good” perspective.

Casablanca (1943) is a film that educates, entertains, and romances without exhibiting a shred of pretension. From the crisp black and white filming and the unique use of light and shadows to reflect the character’s thoughts, the film is lovely to look at and possesses a lofty budget.

Immersed in the richness are sadness and a timely message about a changed man, a failed romance, and the ravages of war that still resonate decades later.

Oscar Nominations: 3 wins-Outstanding Motion Picture (won), Best Director-Michael Curtiz (won), Best Actor-Humphrey Bogart, Best Supporting Actor-Claude Rains, Best Screenplay (won), Best Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture, Best Cinematography, Black-and-White, Best Film Editing

1962 Films, Alec Guinness, Andre de Toth, Best Picture Oscar Winners, Claude Rains, David Lean, Drama, Epic, Omar Sharif, Peter O'Toole, Scott's Top 100 Films

Lawrence of Arabia-1962

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Lawrence of Arabia-1962

Director David Lean

Starring Peter O’Toole, Alec Guinness, Omar Sharif 

Top 100 Films #82

Scott’s Review #355

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Reviewed January 9, 2016

Grade: A

Lawrence of Arabia (1962) is quite a grand film and one that must be seen on the large screen to fully appreciate the enormous scale of the production.

Numerous shots of objects appearing in the distance are featured and the small screen dulls the experience.

A wonderful film from top to bottom and groundbreaking at the time by the scope and vast proportions of the production, Lawrence of Arabia achieves its place in the annals of cinema history and is a treat to revisit from time to time.

The film is divided into two parts divided by an intermission as was the case with epics nearly four hours in length.

Peter O’Toole stars as T.E. Lawrence, a bored British Army Lieutenant, who talks his way into a transfer to the Arabian desert.

As the film opens, it is 1935, and Lawrence has just been killed in a motorcycle accident. This concept of revealing the ending of the story and working backward, common in current films, was a novel experience in 1962 when the film was made.

While in Arabia, Lawrence successfully bands together bitter rival tribes to work together to unite against Turkish oppression during World War I. While there he meets two young guides and other central characters such as Prince Faisal (Alec Guinness) and Sherif Ali (Omar Sharif).

Much of the film features the many battles that occur between the rival tribes and the peace that Lawrence has to achieve.

Also, a multitude of location sequences of Lawrence and company traveling across miles and miles of hot desert is featured.

Some complain that Lawrence of Arabia is too slow-moving a film, but to me, that is its selling point. I find the scenes of the group languishing across the desert incredibly lush and rich in meaning.

The intense heat and the beating sun are fantastic in their cinematic grandeur. The film is meant to take its time- exactly how the experience in the Arabian desert would really be like and the mountainous dunes and swirling winds are brilliantly filmed.

David Lean is the king of the sprawling epic and Lawrence of Arabia is his crown achievement.

The character of Lawrence is written well and he is a layered and complex individual- he is not easy to describe or to understand and that is also to the film’s credit.

The sheer weight loss that O’Toole went through over the two years that it took to film Lawrence of Arabia is impressive enough, but he is also a tortured soul emotionally.

An epic film of the grandest proportions, Lawrence of Arabia requires a half-day of dedicated viewing but is worth every minute.

For a reminder of what a true, breathtaking film looks like sans the oversaturated CGI and quick edits, one should take a deep breath and appreciate this work of art for its majestic look.

Oscar Nominations: 7 wins-Best Picture (won), Best Director-David Lean (won), Best Actor-Peter O’Toole, Best Supporting Actor-Omar Sharif, Best Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium, Best Music Score-Substantially Original (won), Best Sound (won), Best Art Direction, Color (won), Best Cinematography, Color (won), Best Film Editing (won)

1946 Films, Alfred Hitchcock, Best Film of the Year, Cary Grant, Claude Rains, Film noir, Ingrid Bergman, Thriller

Notorious-1946

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Notorious-1946

Director Alfred Hitchcock

Starring Cary Grant, Ingrid Bergman

Scott’s Review #265

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Reviewed August 11, 2015

Grade: A

Notorious is a classic Alfred Hitchcock film from 1946, a period that preceded his golden age of 1950s and 1960s brilliant works, but is a marvel all the same.

Perhaps not as wonderful as future works, but that is like comparing prime rib to filet mignon. Shot in black and white, the subject matter is familiar to Hitchcock fans- political espionage.

The film contains elements common with Hitchcock’s films- romance with suspenseful plot.

Starring two greats of the time (and Hitchcock stalwarts), Carey Grant and Ingrid Bergman, one is immediately enthralled by the chemistry between the characters they play- T.R. Devlin and Alicia Huberman. Devlin, a government agent, recruits Alicia, per his bosses, to spy on a Nazi sympathizer, Alex Sebastian (Claude Raines), who is affiliated with her father.

Her father, having been convicted and sentenced to prison, has committed suicide. Alicia’s allegiance is questioned as she goes to drastic measures to prove her loyalty and complete the hated assignment.

The film is set between Miami and the gorgeous Rio De Janeiro, where much of the action is set at Alex’s mansion.

A blueprint for his later works, Hitchcock experiments with creative camera shots and angles- specifically the wide and high shot overlooking an enormous ballroom. I also love the airplane scene- subtly, Hitchcock treats the audience to background views of Rio, from the view of the airplane, as Devlin and Alicia have a conversation.

The plane is slowly descending for landing, which allows for a slow, gorgeous glimpse of the countryside and landscape in the background.

Subtleties like these that may go unnoticed make Hitchcock such a brilliant director.

The character of Alicia is worth a study. Well known for his lady issues, did Hitchcock hint at her being an oversexed, boozy, nymphomaniac?

I did not think the character was written sympathetically, though to be fair she is headstrong and loyal in the face of adversity.

She parties hard, drives at 65 miles per hour while intoxicated, and falls into bed with more than one man. It is also implied that she has a history of being promiscuous.

Made in 1946, this must have been controversial during that period. The sexual revolution was still decades away.

Notorious also features one of the most sinister female characters in Hitchcock history in the likes of Madame Sebastian (Leopoldine Konstantin). The woman is evil personified and her actions are reprehensible. She is arguably the mastermind behind all of the dirty deeds as well as a fan of slow, painful death by poisoning.

My favorite scene is without a doubt the wine cellar scene. To me, it epitomizes good, old-fashioned suspense and edge-of-your-seat entertainment.

A cat-and-mouse game involving a secret rendezvous, a smashed bottle, a key, champagne, and the great reveal enraptures this scene, which goes on for quite some time and is the climax.

Perhaps Notorious is not quite as great a film as Vertigo (1958), Psycho (1960), or The Birds (1963), but is a top-notch adventure/thriller in its own right, that ought to be watched and given its due respect.

Oscar Nominations: Best Supporting Actor- Claude Rains, Best Original Screenplay