Hidden Gems #8

Hidden Gem #80: Rogue Cop (1954, U.S.A.)

Director: Roy Rowland

From the same writers who brought us 1953's The Big Heat (Sidney Boehm adapting William P. McGivern's source material) comes this far lesser known but just as potent film noir that replaces Glenn Ford's vengeful but clean cop Dave Bannion with Robert Taylor's conflicted but dirty cop Christopher Kelvaney.   

Hidden Gem #79: Hunger a.k.a. Sult (1966, Denmark/Norway/Sweden)

Director: Henning Carlsen

The director, highly impressed with Nobel Prize winner Knut Hamsun's novel 'Sult', has provided this penetrating and emotionally consuming adaptation that delivers an equally unwavering performance from lead actor Per Oscarsson.

Hidden Gem #78: Between Time and Timbuktu (1972, U.S.A.)

Director: Fred Barzyk

This TV movie is a wildly creative sampling of writer Kurt Vonnegut's various literary works and deserves far more exposer and recognition than it has so far received.

Hidden Gem #77: Série noire (1979, France)

Director: Alain Corneau

An eccentric door-to-door salesman (a stunning performance from Patrick Dewaere) becomes progressively unhinged after encountering a teenager turned prostitute (pimped out by her money grubbing aunt) in Georges Perec and Alain Corneau’s bizarre but energised adaptation of noir writer Jim Thompson's novel.

Hidden Gem #76: He Was Her Man (1934, U.S.A.)

Director: Lloyd Bacon

A little gem that once again pairs stars James Cagney and Joan Blondell, may have less of the snappy banter between them we've come to expect, but their romantic feelings for one another run deeper, and really hit home after witnessing the shocking finale, a conclusion only made possible during the film's pre-code time period. 

Hidden Gem #75: Adam at Six A.M. (1970, U.S.A.)

Director: Robert Scheerer

Adam at Six A.M. is a finely etched and subtle "coming of age" film with Michael Douglas in the starring role that was overshadowed by the same year's similarly themed and more dramatic Five Easy Pieces; still, this hidden gem deserves more attention especially for the remarkable character portrayal provided by Joe Don Baker.

Hidden Gem #74: If I Had a Million (1932, U.S.A.)

Directors: James Cruze ("Death Cell")
                 H. Bruce Humberstone ("The Forger")
                 Ernst Lubitsch ("The Clerk")
                 Norman Z. McLeod ("China Shop", "Road Hogs")
                 Lothar Mendes (unknown contribution)
                 Stephen Roberts ("Violet", "Grandma")
                 William A. Seiter ("The Three Marines")
                 Norman Taurog ("Prologue", "Epilogue") 

Eight different episodes concerning the surprised recipients of one million dollars comprise this delightful and enchanting pre-code gem with a stellar cast of rising stars.

Hidden Gem #73: Apartment Zero (1988, U.K.)

Director: Martin Donovan

This unique and compelling relationship/mystery-thriller has the admirable distinction of investing, rather than ignoring as many similarly themed films do, a well substantiated emotional centre in its main characters which not only heightens our engagement when the conflicts get out of hand, but provides impetus for pondering the events long after they occur.    

Hidden Gem #72: The Lost One a.k.a. Der Verlorene (1951, Germany)

Director: Peter Lorre

The celebrated actor returned to his native Germany to make his one directorial effort: a shockingly bold, deeply analytical and expressionistic character study about a research scientist living under the Nazi regime compelled to commit murder and its devastating aftereffects on his tortured soul.  

Hidden Gem #71: The Sea a.k.a. Il Mare (1963, Italy)

Director: Giuseppe Patroni Griffi

The director here, better known for his work in opera, emulates Antonioni in the way he captures, develops and exposes the nature of his three principal subjects' emotional dependencies in this little known Italian masterwork. 

A.G.

Hidden Gems # 1 - 8 begin here.

Capturing a Golden Moment #21: The Swimmer

The Swimmer (1968)

Director: Frank Perry, Sydney Pollack (uncredited)

Scene: "Empty Pool"

I've chosen the following scene for several reasons. This film, although a cult favourite, still remains unknown to many and celebrates its 50 year theatrical release anniversary this month. The central character effectively communicates a sincere paternal concern for the young boy whose pool he wishes to swim on his journey home. These moments also perfectly summarise how Ned Merrill, played with deep conviction by Burt Lancaster, typically deals with adverse situations by reimagining them differently. I've recently written about The Swimmer here.   

The Swimmer is available on Blu-ray and DVD here:

The Swimmer (Blu-ray/DVD Combo)

Starring Burt Lancaster, Janet Landgard, Janice Rule, Joan Rivers

Buy on Amazon

Time Out - Catie Turner "Once Upon a Dream"

George Bruns (1914 - 1983)

Not having given much attention to early Disney songs, suddenly changed when I heard TV's American Idol contestant Catie Turner sing with heartfelt conviction and impeccable precision a song adapted from Tchaikovsky's Sleeping Beauty ballet by George Bruns and used in the 1959 animated film by the same name (his first of many for Walt Disney Studios) entitled "Once Upon a Dream." Bruns' score for this film received an Academy Award nomination. Turner brings out all of this song's emotional sincerity in a most impassioned and personal manner.