White Cliffs of Dover (1944) Review

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(More customer reviews)There are few films that I could honestly say are faultless in my opinion but without doubt "The White Cliffs of Dover" is one of them.
This beautiful film never fails to move me tremendously and I always screen it on ANZAC DAY which in Australia is a day on which we celebrate and remember our brave soldiers achievements. The film is based on the celebrated poem "The White Cliffs" and is narrated by Irene Dunne at intervals throughout the story in a beautiful moving prose.
What a story it is!!! Covering two world wars it tells of the life of a young American woman who comes to England originally for two weeks and ends staying a lifetime, who marries, loses her husband in the conflict of WW1 and lives to see her only beloved son suffer the same fate in WW2. The incredibly moving and sensitive way the story unfolds will have you riveted from beginning to end and the talented director Clarence Brown never lets the massive story lag for one minute with his sensitive direction and obvious love for the material.
Surprisingly this classic film is not as well known as other famous wartime sagas like "Mrs. Miniver" and "Since You Went Away" but I find it so much more arresting and memorable. Certainly this feeling is engendered because of the simply wonderful cast assembled for a story that covers almost 40years. Irene Dunne, so memorable in classics like "The Awful Truth", has in this film the role of a lifetime and she is superb. Never have I loved her more than in the truly beautiful scenes she shares with Roddy McDowell who plays her son. And with Dame May Witty, Frank Morgan, the brilliant Gladys Cooper, and Alan Marshall in a knockout performance the production is blessed with A class talents displayed to perfection. One of the smaller parts is taken by a very young Elizabeth Taylor and these couple of scenes in a role for Elizabeth, pre "National Velvet" really shows her incredible beauty and very sweet persona to perfection. Her interactions with the Roddy McDowall character of Sir John really show a special chemistry between the two child performers who became life long friends.
The production side of "The White Cliffs of Dover" is exceptional and considering the inability to film in England because of the war it has captured that English feel perfectly. Hollywood always seemed to be able to create that special English feel in its productions at this time.
"The White Cliffs of Dover" is an incredible experience for those of you who like good heartfelt sentimental dramas. It is my favourite wartime film and I discover new things to admire about it with each screening.

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A Guy Named Joe (1944) Review

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(More customer reviews)A Guy Named Joe is THE classic movie about a cracked up WWII bomber pilot (Spencer Tracy) sent back from Heaven as a ghost to provide guidance, like a guardian angel, to a new pilot trainee who turns out to fall in love with the ghost's girlfriend (Irene Dunne). I think this is the only movie in which Spencer Tracy played opposite Irene Dunne, who was one of the classiest leading ladies of her time (The Awful Truth, Penny Serenade, Life With Father, I Remember Mama, Anna and the King of Siam, The Mudlark, etc.).
The stellar supporting cast includes Van Johnson (Brigadoon, The Pied Piper of Hamlin), James Gleason (Here Comes Mr. Jordan, The Bishop's Wife), Lionel Barrymore (On Borrowed Time, It's A Wonderful Life), Ward Bond (Sgt. York, The Searchers), Don Defore (The Human Comedy, Ramrod), Barry Nelson (Airport, The Shining), and Esther Williams, soon to become a star in a class of her own (Bathing Beauty, Take Me Out To The Ball Game). Unfortunately remade as "Always" - nothing against Richard Dreyfuss, but he's no Spencer Tracy, and ditto the rest of the respective casts.
In addition to well-acted fantastic romance, there are some great air combat scenes, some of the best of its time. (Van Johnson also appeared with Spencer Tracy in Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo the same year.)
If you like fantasies like Heaven Can Wait, That's The Spirit, The Dust Factory, Beyond Tomorrow, etc., you must see this one. If you're a fan of Spencer Tracy or a movie buff who likes a lot of character actors, you must see this movie. If you're interested in old World War II movies with combat action, you shouldn't miss this one!

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Cimarron (1931) Review

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(More customer reviews)You know, I have to agree with Mr. Erdelac - the movie is progressive for its time. For those of you who judge a movie by the degree to which it beats a political or social drum, there is much here to admire.
But there is more. There is something artistic. There is an odd balance between melodrama and something really substantial, something actually edifying to the viewer. I think a large part of why this movie doesn't descend into the sludge of cinematic slop is because the characters are all flawed, and in those flaws the viewer cannot help but recognize a touch of human frailty. Every individual in this movie is at times ridiculous and at other times supremely dignified. This, I believe, gives it a certain depth.
The characters in any great movie MUST be larger than life if the piece is to avoid being either a documentary or a soap opera. But here the larger than life characters seem firmly rooted in the earth, which brings them closer to us. I like that.
Overall, I think the sensitive viewer will find in this movie much that is both emotionally and philosophically stimulating, if he/she is willing to look past the inevitable veneer of 74 years. I personally consider it a particularly moving and thought-provoking cinematic experience.

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Spaces were neither wide nor open in most early Sound Westerns. Not so in Cimarron. It starts with one of the most renowned giddy-ups in cinema history: a thundering recreation of the 1889 Oklahoma Land Rush. From there Cimarron, based on the bestselling epic by Giant and Show Boat novelist Edna Ferber, traces the generations-spanning saga of that land. There rugged Yancey Cravat (Richard Dix) and his resourceful pioneer wife Sabra (Irene Dunne) sink roots, persevere, give shape to their dreams. It's a saga of change, told with an authenticity that moviegoers who had lived through that era recognized - and told with a skill that earned it three Academy Awards * including Best Picture!

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