"This is a Halloween tale of Brooklyn, where anything can happen--
and it usually does."
13 dead bodies + 2 sweet yet murderous old maids + 1 overwrought Cary Grant. These ingredients all add up to equal the perfect black comedy, Arsenic and Old Lace. It all takes place on a seemingly ordinary Halloween day in Brooklyn. However, it turns out to be a pretty rough day for dramatic critic and marriage condemner, Mortimer Brewster (Cary Grant). First he finds himself laying aside all his criticisms and diatribes on marriage, and marrying the girl next door, Elaine Harper (Priscilla Lane). After which he has to find a way to break the nuptial news to her disapproving Reverend father.
Oh, and then he finds a dead body in his Aunts' window seat.
Grant's priceless facial expression as he discovers the dead body. Via.
Mortimer's discovery of Mr. Hoskins (the stiff in the window seat), quickly uncovers many more family skeletons-- pun intended. After a distressing conversation with his two saintly Aunts, Mortimer learns that Mr. Hoskins not only died at their house, he was in fact poisoned- by his two sweet, innocent Aunts. And, Mr. Hoskins is unfortunately not the first gentlemen they've poisoned; he is number 12, making a perfect dozen that they've killed. His Aunts, seeing no problem whatsoever with the situation, nonchalantly explain that it's one of their charities; they invite lonely old gentlemen who have nothing left to live for into their home for tea and a seemingly innocent glass of elderberry wine.
"For every gallon of elderberry wine, I take one teaspoon full of arsenic, then add half a teaspoon full of strychnine, and then just a pinch of cyanide."
Problems for poor Mortimer don't end there! While trying to figure out what to do with his benevolently murderous Aunts, Mortimer is also trying to get his younger brother Teddy (who hilariously believes himself to be President Teddy Roosevelt) committed to a sanitarium. Then his estranged and criminally insane older brother, Jonathon, shows up on the Aunts' doorstep along with his partner-in-crime, Dr. Einstein, and a dead body of their own! When he realizes that Jonathan and Dr. Einstein are hoping to dispose of the body at the Aunts' house, Mortimer suddenly finds a baker's dozen of dead bodies on his hands. Mortimer, who is supposedly the only sane character, is slowly but surely loosing his mind too throughout the day's events.
"Look Aunt Martha, men don't just get into window seats and die!" - Mortimer
Mortimer: "Aunt Abby, how can I believe you? There are twelve bodies in the cellar and you admit you poisoned them!
Aunt Abby: "Yes, I did. But you don't think I'd stoop to telling a fib!"
Through all these entertaining plot twists and turns, the comedy does not let up. Arsenic and Old Lace is a hilarious slapstick comedy with the perfect macabre twist added to it. Cary Grant's facial expressions and reactions are absolutely priceless. If you are used to seeing Cary Grant as a suave and sophisticated gentleman, watch Arsenic and Old Lace; he is anything but cool, calm, and collected in this film- and the results are hilarious. The other character who never fails to make me laugh is poor Teddy "Roosevelt" Brewster (John Alexander). He is completely delusional and completely dedicated to maintaining that delusion. His trips to "Panama" and charges up the stairs are laugh-out-loud funny no matter how many times you've seen the movie!
"The stairs are always San Juan Hill." - Aunt Abby
Based on the Broadway play of the same name, Arsenic and Old Lace was filmed in 1941. At the time, Frank Capra was one of Hollywood's most successful directors. After three Best Picture wins and numerous box office hits, Capra could pretty much afford to make any movie he wanted to. In the 1930's and early 40's, Capra was known for his "American values" films, which celebrated the every-man and combined light comedy with social commentary. In 1941 however, Capra was looking to make something different with his next film. He wanted to make a movie without a message or moral lesson, just pure entertainment and escapism. When Capra attended a performance of the hit play Arsenic and Old Lace, Capra knew immediately he'd found his next project. Capra quickly went to work to make what he called, "an anything goes, rip-roaring comedy about murder."
A photo of the entire cast, appropriately taken in the cemetery. Via.
Due to a contractual agreement made with the still-running play production, the film wasn't actually released until 1944 to prevent the movie taking sales away from the play. When it did finally premiered, it was welcomed with big laughs and huge commercial success. Critics' responses varied however, some feeling that certain lead performances, namely Cary Grant's, came across too exaggerated and overplayed. Grant personally hated his performance in Arsenic and Old Lace. Having not done much physical comedy before making this film, Grant was uncomfortable with the type of over-the-top comedy and expressive acting Capra expected of him. When Grant saw his final performance, he agreed with the critics admitting his performance was overplayed and embarrassing; for the rest of his life he would say Arsenic and Old Lace was his least favorite film he was in.
At least Grant and Lane seemed to have a good time on set! Via.
Grant may have considered his performance to be a disaster, but many people consider Arsenic and Old Lace to be one of his funniest performances. What Grant saw as overplayed, audiences saw (and still see) as a hilarious and skilled performance that is the primarily source of comedy in the film. For me personally, it's definitely one of the funniest black comedies I have ever seen. The physical and slapstick humor is absolutely timeless and still keeps me laughing today. Every Halloween Arsenic and Old Lace is on my "must watch" list. Despite being over 70 years old, the film never gets old and never stops being funny. That's what makes Arsenic and Old Lace the perfect example of a classic film: it's both of its time, and timeless. If you have never seen this film, I highly recommend you watch it this Halloween; it will not disappoint!
"What a costume designer does is a cross between magic and camouflage."
- Edith Head
Today's Google Doodle inspired me to write a quick post about the famous Hollywood costume designer, Edith Head.
Today's Google Doodle in honor of Edith Head's 116th birthday.
Head's career in Hollywood spanned over 50 years and includes over 400 film credits as Head Costume Designer, 35 Oscar nominations and 8 Academy Award wins. She is still to this day the most honored costume designer and woman in the history of the Academy.
Ironically Head had very little art and design experience- let alone costume design experience- when she began her Hollywood career back in 1924. She actually was a French teacher with a masters degree in romance languages from Stanford. Her first job was teaching French at the Hollywood School for Girls. Looking to make a little more money, Head also offered to teach art in addition to French despite having only studied the subject briefly in high school.
A young Edith Head, mostly likely taken around the start of her Paramount career. Via.
While taking college art classes at night to polish up her skills for her teaching position, Head discovered a passion and talent for design. In 1924 she applied for a costume sketch artist position at Paramount Pictures using, she admitted in late years, a fellow student's art portfolio. Despite having no professional experience and submitting someone else's portfolio, Head earned the job.
"You can have anything in life, if you dress for it." - Edith Head
She started off designing costumes for silent movie pictures, with her first credit being The Wanderer in 1925. By the 1930's- just a few short years later- she had established herself as one of Hollywood's leading costume designers.
Actress, Natalie Wood's eyes go round with excitement while looking at Head's costume sketches. Via.
She costumed numerous leading ladies and men, with her costumes completing the illusions they portrayed on screen. Head quickly became a favorite among the Hollywood stars, known for dressing actors impeccably, and for a diverse range of characters. Some of her films include: The Lady Eve, Sullivan's Travels, Holiday Inn, Sunset Boulevard, All About Eve, A Place in the Sun, Roman Holiday, Rear Window, To Catch a Thief, The Sting, and many, many more.
Head with Elizabeth Taylor at a costume fitting for A Place in the Sun. Via.
"Your dress should be tight enough to show you're a woman,
and loose enough to show you're a lady."
- Edith Head's words of wisdom
Head worked for Paramount Pictures for 43 years, before moving to Universal Studios, a move many attribute to her frequent partnership with director Alfred Hitchcock, who was at Universal as well. She continued to work in film throughout the rest of her life, taking on smaller projects in her later years such as made-for-TV movies. The last film she worked on was the Steve Martin and Carl Reiner comedy, Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid; it premiered shortly after her death in 1981 and was dedicated in her memory.
Today, October 28th, 2013, Edith Head would have been 116 years old. She will always be remembered for her immense design talent, and for the crucial role she played in making the Golden Era of Hollywood the epic generation of film its known as today.
A picture of Edith Head at work, from a LIFE magazine spread. Via.
Lisa Helene.
Sources: 1 and 2. Visit both for more information on Edith Head's life and career.
To me, Howard Hawks' 1940 film, His Girl Friday is quite a unique movie for its time. This film, which is based on the play The Front Page, delves into the fast-paced world of journalism. As the title screen explains, it depicts the "dark ages of the newspaper game" when "getting that story justified anything short of murder." The journalists in His Girl Friday are the now-cliche "old time-y" newspapermen wearing their fedora hats and talking in a funny accent with a cigarette clench between their teeth. I can't say for certain if in 1940 this was an accurate depiction of journalists, or if it was Hollywood doing what it does best- exaggerated and romanticizing reality for dramatic effect. Either way it is a thoroughly entertaining film that keeps you laughing with its jokes, your head spinning with the crazy-fast dialogue, and, if you watch closely, an interesting representation of a modern and independent woman for the 1940's.
Cary Grant as Walter and Rosalind Russell as Hildy. Via.
At the beginning of the film you are quickly introduced to Hildy (Rosalind Russell), an ex-newspaper gal who's dropping by her old stomping grounds in order to tell her ex-editor, who is more importantly also her ex-husband, that she is getting married and quitting the newspaper racket for good. Of course Walter (Cary Grant) has no intention of letting her go- from the newspaper or from his life.
The ex-husband coming between the soon-to-be newlyweds. Via.
Although very similar to the original play, Front Page, Howard Hawks' made one major adjustment to the screenplay- a change that came about by complete accident. In the original story, the character of Hildy Johnson is a male. During early screenplay readings, Hawks had his secretary read Hildy's lines, which made him realize that the fast witty dialogue sounded even better with a female in the mix.
Rosalind Russell was just the actress to be added to the mix. Via.
Hawks took a witty and fast-talking male character and turned him into one of the most clever and modern parts written for a woman. At the time His Girl Friday was released, Hildy was one of Hollywood's few female movie characters who was equal to her male counterpart. Hildy can give as good as she gets, never letting her ex-husband Walter get the upper hand despite all his tricks and schemes.
Not only can Hildy banter with the best of them, she also is unique in the sense that she's not the typical 1940's housewife. As much as she tries to convince Walter- and, more importantly herself- that she really does want to quit the newspaper biz and settle down as housewife, it's clear that it's not what she really wants. Hildy repeatedly says that she wants to have a "normal" life, but what is normal? I find it fascinating that this 1940's movie features a woman who doesn't end up as the "normal" housewife. Instead it shows an alternative lifestyle that involves chasing down witnesses and hunting down exclusives. One of the main themes of the film is that Hildy, a woman, not only survives in a man's industry, but flourishes in it.
It's also obvious that she doesn't want to be taken care of or treated with kid gloves like the way her new finance (Ralph Bellamy) treats her. She's the one who always trying to take charge in their relationship and tell him what to do; Hildy is definitely the pants-wearer in the relationship. Walter, however, knows that Hildy doesn't need to be taken care of. He knows she can handle anything that's thrown at her- and Walter throws a lot of trouble her way.
The original trailer for His Girl Friday gives you a sneak peek at this hilarious screwball comedy.
Hawks, who was known for featuring strong female characters in all his films, actually insisted that he was not a feminist nor a feminist supporter. Ironically however, he did admit that strong, independent, and ambitious females were the type of women he was attracted to, which explains why he spotlighted them so often.
Grant, Russell, and Hawks onset of His Girl Friday.Via.
No one could have pulled off the character of Hildy with such sass and conviction as Rosalind Russell, but it's actually luck that she won the part at all. Russel was far down on Hawks' list of possible lead actresses. And, unfortunately, Russell knew she was no where near the director's first choice. This led to her being very self-conscious and insecure at first on set. After the first few stressful days of filming, Russell had had enough. In a very Hildy fashion, she marched up to Hawks and said, "You don't want me, do you? Well, you're stuck with me so you might as well make the most of it." From then on, Hawks took her more seriously.
Another challenge for Russell was Hawks' encouragement for the actors to ad-lib and improvise during filming, which Russell wasn't use to or comfortable with. The other lead actor however was more than comfortable with ad-libbing; Cary Grant was known for his improvisation skills and used them to the fullest while filming His Girl Friday. One of my personal favorites is his line "Listen, the last man who said that to me was Archie Leach just a week before he cut his throat." For those of you who might not know, Cary Grant's birth name was Archie Leach. (Fun fact: Grant also slyly referenced his 'real name' in a improvised line for the film Arsenic and Old Lace.)
This clip gives you a glimpse at Grant's hilarious improve skills.
Russell however did not have such skills. So to keep up with Grant's extemporizing, Russell secretly hired someone to write jokes into her scenes for her. Each day Russell would show-up on set with her pre-planned "ad-libs" for the scene they were scheduled to shoot. Although Hawks never caught on to Russell's setup, Grant did. After the first couple days, Grant started to greet her each morning with a smile saying, "Well what have you got today?"
In addition to improvising, Hawks also directed the actor to cut each other off and talk over each other to keep the fast-paced dialogue more realistic. Shortly before he started working on the script for His Girl Friday, Hawks had the realization that in real life people don't wait for others to finish talking before starting themselves, especially when arguing. It's only natural to have conversation that's overlapping. After realizing this, Hawks and his screenwriting team purposely "wrote the dialog in a way that made the beginnings and ends of sentences unnecessary," in order to facilitate fast-paced and natural conversation flow. The dialogue is actually so fast-paced that the substantial 191-paged screenplay translated into a film that is only 92 minutes long. The quick banter also led to a breakthrough in sound recording for film; because His Girl Friday was filmed before multi-track sound recording, they used multiple microphones which had to be continuously turned on and off in time with the flow of the dialogue. Some scenes required the sound mixer to make over 35 switches during a single shot.
This hilarious (albeit blurry scene) is a great example of the fast-paced dialogue of His Girl Friday.
To this day His Girl Friday is a charming and funny film. The jokes still make you laugh and the fast dialogue still keeps you on the edge of your seat. Hawks' film is a classic screwball comedy, and a rare example of a modern 1940's woman who proves she's equal to her male counterpart.
Since its release in 1960, Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho has shaped, inspired, and
completely permeated pop cultural. It has influenced numerous film makers, and
has become so ingrained in our film and cinematic culture that it’s
recognizable even to people who have yet to even see the movie. Famous scenes
from this film are still used and parodied in movies and TV shows today, over
50 years later. Psycho turned two
shrill notes on a violin into the haunting sound of a killer looming into the scene.
It made a swinging ceiling light bulb the perfect addition to a cinematic standoff
with death. And of course, it made a porcelain white shower the perfect locale
to commit murder. These, and other horror flick trademarks, all affectionately
hark back to Hitchcock’s Psycho, the
film that set the standard for horror thrillers.
In 1959 prolific crime novelist, Robert Bloch published the
novel, Psycho, which was loosely
based on the real-life story of an obscene small-town murderer, Ed Gein. Alfred
Hitchcock’s personal assistant discovered the novel and brought it to
Hitchcock’s attention. After he read the novel himself, Hitchcock anonymously bid
on the rights, acquiring the story for a mere $9,000. Hitchcock’s initial idea
for Psycho was actually inspired by the
series of bad, inexpensively-made “B” horror flicks that were so successfully
at the time. Hitchcock was curious to see what would happen if he made a good,
inexpensively-made horror flick. He shot the entire film using the film crew
from his television show, Hitchcock Presents, and chose to film in black and
white to cut costs. Shooting in black and white would also help tame the gory scenes
in the script, and make it (a little) easier to pass through the censorship.
The novel itself was actually much more gory and gruesome
than Hitchcock’s film. Hitchcock and screenwriter Joseph Stefano worked through
the novel, changing and adapting the story into a script. Stefano was actually in
Freudian analysis himself at the time, and greatly relied on his own
experiences in therapy while working on the script, especially when developing the
dark, yet sympathetic, villain Norman Bates. Stefano also quickly impressed
Hitchcock with the idea to deviate from the novel and start the film with
Marion’s story and point of view rather than Norman Bates’. Hitchcock quickly
latched on to this idea, adding that they should get a big-name star to play
that role, in order to shock the audience even more with the character’s sudden
death.
Shocking the audience was always Hitchcock’s main motive.
Once publicity for the film began, Hitchcock designed the promotional trailers
and posters to feature Janet Leigh (Marion), solidifying in the public’s mind
that Leigh was indeed the star of the picture. That way the audience would be
so taken aback by her abrupt murder less than a quarter ways through the film.
Hitchcock even filmed a scene of co-star Vera Miles screaming in a shower just
for the trailer, making the shower sequence even more unexpected.
Hitchcock's very long and very droll original trailer for Psycho.
See 6:00 mark for Vera Miles shower cameo.
Leigh’s death wasn’t the only secret Hitchcock had to keep.
He also went to great lengths to keep up the idea that there really was a “Mrs.
Bates.” Hitchcock felt that the plot twist involving Norman’s mother was the
true fun and thrill of the story; the audience had to be convinced to the very
end that Mrs. Bates was indeed alive. During pre-production, Hitchcock spread
casting rumors for the part of “Mrs. Bates;” for weeks agents were calling and
sending in their recommendations, vying to get their clients an audition for
the role of “Mother.”
Even after shooting finished, the sly secrecy continued.
Hitchcock refused to have early showings for newspapers and reviewers, making
them see the film with the rest of the public; he feared that early reviews
would spoil the twist ending for the general public. Taking it even one step
further, Hitchcock had posters and cutouts of himself made for all the theaters
that would be showing Psycho. The
signage warned all patrons that “No one… but NO ONE” would be allowed into the
theater after the showing began.
He wanted to make sure everyone saw the film
from the beginning; to Hitchcock’s thinking, if audience members came into the
theater late, they would be sitting there wondering where Janet Leigh was. Hitchcock
also didn’t want anything to distract the viewers from the story being played
out on screen. This led to another concern for Hitchcock- his own role in the
film.
Hitchcock’s signature cameo in all his films actually began out
of necessity back during his silent era. His film budgets back then were much
smaller than the budgets he was granted once he signed with Paramount Pictures.
In order to physically fill up crowd shots, everyone on set- including Hitchcock-
would appear in the scene. Once Hitchcock became more well-known, so did his
face and distinct, rotund figure; audiences began to recognize and pick him out
in his films. This quickly became a game for both Hitchcock and the audience:
when and where would you see Hitchcock in this film? What started out as a
mischievous game however quickly became a complication for Hitchcock. If the
audience was too busy looking for his cameo, then they wouldn't be paying
attention to the story. So with Psycho,
and all of his subsequent films, Hitchcock strategically placed his cameo early
on in the film before any significant storytelling began. This way, he was
still playing this ongoing game of hide-and-seek with the audience, but without
disrupting the mood of the film.
Hitchcock's Psycho cameo. In the first 10 minutes of the film.
Once the scenes were all shot- including Hitchcock’s cameo-
the crew and some of the cast gathered to watch the rough cut. And, according
to screenwriter Stefano, it was horrible. He recalled being so disappointed
after that first viewing, and having no idea how to admit this to his director.
Hitchcock however, just patted Stefano on the leg and reminded him “it’s only a
rough cut.” The film then went on to Bernard Herrmann who performed a miracle;
he wrote and added the now-famous Psycho
theme. His original compositions, made up solely of string instruments,
completed the film. After viewing the film again with the added score, Stefano
described it as being a completely different movie. It made that rough cut into
a cinematic experience.
For its time, the Psycho
had some pretty racy scenes in it. It explicitly discussed and displayed illicit pre-marital sex, nudity, and insanity. Many people were scandalized by the various
scenes of Janet Leigh undressing or laying around in her slip and bra. There
was also a big upset about the use of the word “transvestite” in the
psychiatrist scene. What I find most
entertaining however is the reactions people had to the famous shower scene.
Hitchcock and Leigh rehearsing the shower sequence. Via.
This 3 minute scene required 78 shot set-ups and took 7 full
days to film. It’s a fantastic scene that makes your heart race no matter how
many times you've seen it. What’s most interesting is the illusion of the
sequence. Not once do you ever see the knife actually pierce Leigh’s skin. The
stabbing is instead represented with the rapid cuts in the film; the audience automatically
associates every film “cut” as another literal “cut” with the knife. Audience
members, however, were so convinced by Hitchcock’s cinematic device, that many
left the theater talking about the gory stabbing, describing the knife slashing
through Marion’s skin as if they saw it. One reviewer was so engrossed by the
scene that he actually described Marion’s red blood swirling down the drain- in
the black and white movie. Many audience members however agreed, swearing they
saw the red blood as well.
Hitchcock was such a visionary, making his films not simply
entertainment, but an experience. While all aspects of Psycho are astounding- the story, the characters, the acting- what
really makes this film so prevalent today is the sheer mastery of this film. As
Hitchcock said, when people watch Psycho
they are “aroused by pure film.” Even if you’re not schooled in film technique
or even if you don’t consider yourself a film enthusiast, it’s still impossible
not to notice the how inventive and creative this movie is. All around, it’s an
exceptional example of film at its best.
Lisa Helene.
Just for fun, here are some fan-made, minimalist movie posters for Psycho that I think Hitchcock would have loved:
I love how this one is reminiscent of the opening title sequence. Via.
