Riddle (2013) What is Radiant, Lustrous, And Attached To Your Huckleberry? Val Kilmer's Ponytail

Synopsis: A few years back, Nathan Teller (Ryan Malgarini) vanished. The shy, socially awkward boy had taken a ride with a couple of boys from the town of Riddle and just vanished into thin air when they stopped at a gas station.  His sister Holly (Elisabeth Harnois) has yet to give up hope, and when she returns home from college for a visit, she believes she sees Nathan in a truck heading to Riddle. Along with the two boys that lost her brother, she begins to investigate, but what she finds will uncover unpleasant truths about her own life and the whereabouts of her brother.

Review: I have to admit that I watched Riddle because of Fat Val Kilmer. Ok, sure, he's probably not all that fat, but compared to his lean years when he was playing Doc Holliday, he's looking more like Veruca Salt on her way to the squeezing room than anyone's Huckleberry. Sadly, Val isn't in this much. He makes an appearance as the do-nothing sheriff who sports a ponytail, but that is about the extent of his role. The other name actor, William Sadler, fares little better, but he does have one good dramatic moment before cashing in his check. 

Riddle is really a story about the younger players, and the Southern Gothic tale it spins, one of a town, already impoverished by the loss of the local mental hospital, dealt its final blows in the ongoing hunt for Nathan Teller. I really liked the look of the setting. The boarded up Appalachian town looks like many  run down communities that I've passed though over the years. There's a quaint feeling that seems to lay on the surface, but underneith, you can almost feel the sense of loss as it pervades the boarded up windows. Sadly, that's where the best of Riddle lies, in the look of the town of Riddle. The rest of the film flounders with little conflict until the last twenty or so minutes, and the only other real moment of menace is over and done with so quickly,  without really adding anything to the plot, that it feels throwaway. 

Elisabeth Harnois, who is apparently one of the leads on CSI (I'm not sure I've ever watched that.), does well enough as the tour turned sister, but it would have liked to seen her be a little stronger. When confronted by adversity or danger,her character generally cried or ran when I wanted her to fight. Not really her fault, but it left me less drawn in by the character than I would have liked. The other female lead, the sherriff's daughter played by Diora Baird, was much more what I wanted out of the main character, and Baird has some genre cred having appeared in Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Begining as well as Night of the Demons (2009) and Stan Helsing. The two male leads were so disposable that I hardly remember what they did in the film. 

The real problem with Riddle is that there was no riddle. From the moment Holly sees her brother in town, the audience knows she will be reunited with him by the time the credits roll. While it vaguely hints at some supernatural mysteries, these are never explored, and that leaves no diverting paths or red herrings to follow. A clever viewer will figure out the whole scenario by twenty to thirty minutes into the film, and it leaves little surprises from there. Except Val, and how big he has gotten, and the fact that 50 Cent didn't co-star with him this time. Which is, naturally, a shame. 

Final Note: The only town in the United States named 'Riddle' is in Oregon. This film was not set in Oregon. It is possible Val ate Oregon. 

Rating:4/10 

The American Friend (1977): Hopper Hops to Hamburg

Synopsis: When Tom Ripley (Dennis Hopper) comes to Hamburg, he is approached by a French mobster to perform a hit. Instead, Ripley proposes to convince humble frame maker Jonathan (Bruno Ganz) to commit the murders instead by spreading a rumor that his terminal medical condition has taken a turn for the worse. When the plan works and the mobster makes plans to continue to use Jonathan, Ripley has a change of heart about his newfound friend.

Review: The American Friend is my first Wim Wenders movie. So I have nothing to compare it to in that arena. In all honesty, I didn't realize it was based on a Patricia Highsmith Ripley book until I had already got the film. I wanted to see it based solely on the cast which included two of my favorite directors, Sam Fuller and Nicolas Ray, in supporting roles alongside Hopper and Ganz. Their appearances, especially that of Fuller as a mobster and pornographer, were enough on their own to make me adore this film. However, there was much more to unfold here in The American Friend’s neo-noir tale of betrayal and friendship.

The American Friend moves with a sleekness though a world awash with an exaggerated color palate that brings the feeling of Noir without sacrificing the spectrum of tones. Since it moves so effortlessly, Wenders chooses wisely what to show the audience and what to leave out. Certain portions are hard to follow in a spacial sense with characters moving across countries or continents suddenly. Ganz and Hopper both bring the goods, and they deliver on the relationship between the two men with an effortless ease.

Final Note: With a dreamlike quality, a complex relationship between two male leads, and a crime story, The American Friend is recommended for True Detective fans who need some cinematic methadone.

Rating: 9/10

Going Home (1971): Mitchum Strikes

Synopsis: Fifteen years ago, Harry Graham (Robert Mitchum) murdered his wife in front of his three year old young son. Now, Harry is out of jail, and his eighteen year old son Jimmy (Jan-Michael Vincent) tracks him down for reasons that don't seem to even be known by Jimmy. As the two begin to know each other, Harry doesn't seem to know how to be father, despite putting in some effort, and Jimmy doesn't know if he wants to hug or stab his Dad.
 
Review: Going Home isn't an easy sell of a movie. Beginning with Mitchum’s character murdering his wife, it’s hard to feel sympathy for him. On the other hand, Vincent’s character is sullen and moody, not really the hero type either. Then again, this isn't a movie about heroes and villains. It’s about an unlikely relationship and the emotional scars that murder leaves on a family. It really boils down to a character study, and a somewhat haphazard one at that.

It is hard to say where the blame lies. Mitchum had just come out of retirement (and he claimed he signed the papers for the wrong film intending to star as a San Francisco jazz musician), and he’s as solid as ever, but the role of the son might have been neurons Vincent whose expressions range from blank to has to poop and back to blank. He does finally work up enough Oedipal rage to merit the Golden Globe for which he was nominated. Director Herbert Leonard definitely believed in the project, waving his fee entirely, but, as his second (and last) feature film, the material might have been too complex. The final blame may lay with the producers who cut 12 minutes from the film, reassembled it, dumped it into theaters for a week, and then pulled it into obscurity. This one is mostly for Mitchum fans.

Final Note: Mitchum’s character kills his wife with a bowling trophy, and then continues to talk to his grown son about bowling and going to bowling alleys. Ummm, insensitive much?

Rating: 5/10

Hitch on the Hump: Spellbound (1945)

Hitchcock's films are often collisions of popular culture and art, and with 1945’s Spellbound, Hitchcock himself grew interested in combining the two in a meaningful way. Ever since coming to America, Hitch had found his relationship with studio head David O. Selznick to be contentious at the best of times. This friction was exacerbated by Selznick's own deepening depression. His brother Myron, the top agent in Hollywood, had died due to conditions relating to his alcoholism and his girlfriend, Jennifer Jones had broken up with him. David sought relief through the newest craze in mental health, psychoanalysis. With possibly two pictures left in his contentious deal with David O. (The contract had been amended so many times, the terms were unclear to all parties involved.), Hitchcock had very little choice but to accept whatever the next project Selznick had in mind. Hitch's last film, Lifeboat, had been given an uneven response by audiences and critics alike, but Alfred was a pioneer of the "one for them, one for me" school of thought. He often sought out two picture deals for this reason, and when Selznick asked the director to adapt the novel The House of Dr. Edwardes, there is no doubt he already has his sights set on the next picture he wanted to direct (which would become Notorious). First, he had to cull a movie from a book laden with psychobabble, something Hitch had no use for, but it did provide him an opportunity he hoped would leave audiences Spellbound.

The Other Andy: Gramps (1995)

Everyone has that one relative that they would rather avoid (some of us have many), and it could be for any number of reasons. Perhaps it's what they said to Aunt Bernice last Christmas after a few too many Nogs. It could be bad breath or the scent of Vicks and moth balls that permeates the air around them. It could be you don't like their current and soon to be ex-spouse or their political or religious bent is just too much to bear. Or still, it could be some part of their past and yours intertwined and left a stain on your relationship. Such is the case in today's made for television triumph, but the perpetrator is not an expected menace. Instead, it's Matlock. Over the course of The Other Andy series, I feel like I've made a case for the genial protector of Mayberry being able to turn in the dark side in a number of under appreciated villain roles. He even got pretty evil on The Andy Griffith Show once. Just watch Season 5, Episode 17, "Goober Takes a Car Apart", for the first glimpse of menace in Andy's work since Kazan's A Face in the Crowd. I mention that first because I believe Gramps a.k.a Relative Fear is the last time Griffith played against type. In the abstract, having Andy Taylor as your Grandpa sounds pretty good, but Clarke MacGruder might share some of the same favorite songs with "The Sheriff Without a Gun" yet he’s a far cry from anyone Aunt Bee would invite over for dinner. 

Only God Forgives (2013) Refn and Gosling's Grudge Match

I have to hand it to Ryan Gosling. The Mickey Mouse Club alum has crafted a career built off finely selected indies with just enough major studio work to still keep his finger in it. Meanwhile, outsider director Nicolas Winding Refn has made his name by being stridently independent and preserving his particular vision on the screen. When the two came together in Drive (2011), it was a match made in cinematic heaven. Gosling’s restrained performance was the perfect balance to Refn’s violent story rife with neon imagery. Refn had originally wanted Only God Forgives to be their first film together, but Gosling convinced him to do Drive first, a good choice as it maintained a high quality cinematic feel while being accessible as well as scoring commercially and critically. Only God Forgives will be a more divisive film (though Drive had plenty of detractors) as evidenced by the fact that it got booed after its premiere at Cannes, but I was interested to see for myself whether the sins of Refn and Gosling could be absolved or if it was time for their partnership to be dissolved.

Berberian Sound Studio (2012) Mi senti adesso? Mi senti adesso?

Modern cinema is the marriage of sound and vision. So is David Bowie if you ask him, but that's an entirely different story. However, it is not merely the advent of the spoken word that made film into such a transformative experience. It was also the click of a woman's heels, the whip of the wind through the trees, the score rising as an awful sound denotes the ripping of flesh. These atmospheric elements are happening all the time as we take in a movie, and often we don't even realize that these tiny moments are pushing our viewing experience, making it come alive. Today's selection, Berberian Sound Studio exists in the behind the scenes magic that makes these kind of cinematic moments possible. It also engenders something of the dangers when they become all too real and the experience too visceral. It almost comes as no surprise that the particular genre of film being made at the titular studio is an Italian giallo.

Absentia (2011) Absence Makes the Heart Grow Colder

Absentia is a film that I started to watch a dozen or more times before finally making the plunge. I don’t know if it was the generic looking art of a screaming woman being dragged away or the legalese sounding title which looked out of place on a horror film, but it just didn't seem like the kind of horror that would appeal to me. However, after hearing about it for a while, and Netflix’s relentless campaign to suggest it to me, I relented and I am glad I did. There seems to be a new wave of horror that combines the bone chilling and the supernatural with a hefty dose of human drama. Stories of longing or loss pervade these films, and while some succeed in the balance (Exit Humanity), others (I’m looking at you The Tall Man.) feel more like a bait and switch than horror fare. While Absentia takes some time to get rolling, it is a film that manifests some genuine emotional moments nestled neatly with the notes of a creepy creature feature.

Rosewood Lane (2011): or The Paperboy Vs. Rose McGowan

When you name a horror movie after a street, then you’re making kind of a ballsy move. The whole horror street market has kind of been cornered by a certain Mr. Kruger after all, but then if you make it a film about a killer paperboy than you’re really just trying to show what kind of cojones you have. However if there’s any director who can surely be easily attributed such a trait it is Victor Salva. From his discovery by Coppola which lead to the strange piece of cinema called Powder to a pair of Jeepers Creepers films, and soon to be a third, he has blazed a trail as a film maker of distinct vision if nothing else. Salva seems to have a fascination with making the antique extra creepy. Think about the signature tune in Jeepers Creepers, and you’re sent back to an era where paperboys abounded. Maybe it’s just where I've lived, but I don’t think kids on bikes delivering papers exist anymore. In fact I never remember anything like it in my lifetime. An evil paperboy is central to the concept of the newest film from Salva, Rosewood Lane.

Fuller Himself: The Naked Kiss (1964)

Hello, everyone, and welcome to August’s third new feature, Fuller Himself. We all know that I adore Hitchcock, and he is easily my favorite director, but you might wonder who comes in at the number two spot. Well, that’s none other than the titular director that this whole feature will be about, Mr. Samuel Fuller. In the past I have looked at several of his films including Shark, I Shot Jesse James, Forty Guns (which stars The Irrepressible Miss Stanwyck), and Pickup on South Street, but I wanted to delve deeper into his catalog and share some more favorites with you, both new and old. Today’s film is a first time watch for me, and how I went so long without seeing this gem I’ll never know. Throughout Sam’s career he stayed on the cutting edge. No matter if it was the rough and ready female ranch owner, examining racism, or the integrity of cops and crooks, Fuller was willing and able to post the envelope, but with today’s film, The Naked Kiss, he found out just how dangerous to a film maker that could be.

The Irrepressible Miss Stanwyck: Jeopardy (1953)

When I hear the word “jeopardy”, a few things comes to mind, but I’m guessing that director John Sturges didn’t have either the Trebeck hosted game show, the hit by the Greg Kihn Band, or the subsequent parody by Weird Al on his mind. More than likely because these things were not even invented yet because if they were it surely would have been all he could think of. If you haven’t guessed by now, today’s film is Jeopardy from 1953, and it is the inaugural post in the second new feature in August, The Irrepressible Miss Stanwyck. My love for Miss Stanwyck is deep and unabated by the passage of time. I love her tough gal characters, always with a soft, sensitive center, and no matter if she’s doing romance, action, drama, or comedy, Stanwyck always gave it her all. Sadly, in four years I’ve only got to take a look at two of her films here at The Lair, the Sam Fuller (also a feature holder for this month) weird Western 40 Guns and the Christmas flavored Remember the Night. So over the next few weeks, I hope you enjoy my look back at Babs. First up, a movie where Stanwyck would do anything for love, and yeah, I think she would do that. 

The Other Andy: The Girl in the Empty Grave (1977)

It was only a little over a month ago that entertainment lost a real legend, Andy Griffith. Since then, I’ve found myself taking quite a few trips to Mayberry to catch up with a number of episodes of The Andy Griffith Show that I had missed, but my mind often drifted to The Other Andy, the one that isn’t as strong in the zeitgeist as the folksy character Andy Taylor. I’m talking about the actor Andy Griffith who made some really interesting, and, yes, campy, genre filled films both before and after his career as a TV lawman. After beginning his career as a singer and storyteller, Griffith found his way to the Broadway stage in No Time for Sergeants which quickly became a successful film property. This lead to his casting in Elia Kazan’s tale of fame gone awry, A Face in the Crowd, a film which is nearly universally regarded as a classic. It wasn’t too long after this heavy hitting film that the backdoor pilot for The Andy Griffith Show appeared as part of The Danny Kaye Show. The segment proved popular, and Griffith assumed the role which would define his career. Unless, that is, you run into one of those rabid Matlock people, and then I advise you to use all applicable caution

The Lonely Violent Beach (1971): Bikers, Beaches, and Not So Bloody Revenge

If you laid out brochures for a number of vacation destinations, many people would choose to go to Sandals or Atlantis. Some might pick an iconic locale like Muscle Beach or head off to Atlantic Beach for some gambling, and Bikini Beach Resort in Panama City, Florida might tempt a number of folks. The one brochure that would never be touched is for The Lonely Violent Beach. No matter how stunning the photographs of waves on the beach might be or how many assurances there were about the area being devoid of roving biker gangs, people simply wouldn’t want to go. There could be pictures of beautiful sunsets and wide open, deserted stretches of beach laid out under a legend claiming less rape this year than ever before, and I just don’t think anyone would be convinced. Unless, I suppose, you were a member of a roving, raping biker gang who didn’t buy into the hype.

Hey, Girl. Hauer You Doin'?: The Osterman Weekend (1983)

I can hardly believe this month is nearly over and this should be the last of Hey, Girl. Hauer You Doin'? I’ve had a great time with Rutger, and we've seen him ride across fantasy landscape with a bad case of ornithophilia, be menaced by a brat packer turned cyber bully, and hunt a rapper in Oregon while accompanied by Ghandi. If there's one thing that can certainly be said about Mr. Hauer, his career has been as varied as the scope of cinema. This week's selection is no exception. Not only is it the last film of a great.... or once great director; The Osterman Weekend is a prescient film that missed its audience during its original release but speaks to today's society awash with surveillance. It was also Rutger's big stab for mainstream leading man credibility. Coming out directly after his well received performance in Bladerunner, the adaptation of spy writer Robert Ludlum's novel seemed a perfect choice for the star. However, just like the world his character enters, the mechanizations behind the scenes proved to be his undoing.

Yellowbrickroad (2010): Where The Dogs of Horror Howl

I'd been thinking about seeing Yellowbrickroad for some time now. After all, The Wizard Of Oz is one of my favorite movies of all time. So I couldn't pass up a chance to check out a horror film based out of L. Frank Baum's magical world. The 1938 classic film is not without it's own share of eeriness, and don't even get me started on how freaky The Wiz is. While I had no idea which direction Yellowbrickroad might take with the film, I was seriously hoping for some flying monkey action. Sadly, there's no wildlife on display, winged or otherwise, but there is scarecrow and a group of travelers on a journey to seek a legendary place. While none of it amounts to a horse of a different color, Yellowbrickroad still manages to shine in the dull world of modern horror.

Blood Simple (1984):'Cause When Blood Gets Difficult Things Get Really Messy

Before Raising Arizona made it cool to put a panty on your head, before the Dude abided, and way before No Country for Old Men made cattle guns the 'it' thing for the hip killer on the streets, the Coens started off their career with Blood Simple, a flick that brought the Noir of the 40s right into the neon arms of the 80s. While the screenplay was wholly original, the Brothers took the title of their film from a passage in famed pulp novelist Dashiell Hammett's novel Red Harvest. In the novel, Hammett describes blood simple as the addled, fearful mindset of people after a prolonged immersion in violent situations. A perfect term to describe the reactions of many of the characters in the Coen's films, and it fits this film like a glove. Violence, greed, lust, and suspicion are the engine that fuels this film, and with a coterie of astounding performers, the Coen's kicked off their careers with a movie that is anything but simple.

It Came From TCM: Niagara (1953) Slowly I Turned, Step by Step

After a month long affair with Turner Classic Movies and their awesome horror programming in October, I thought I could kick the habit in November, but it seems like I'm more locked in than ever. With a steady stream of noir, comedy, horror, and the just plain obscure and weird, my DVR seems to constantly fill up with selections from the TCM vaults. So what better way to clear some of these up than by talking to you folks about them, so check back here each Wednesday in November for another classic film from the cable network. Usually in a given month, TCM puts the spotlight on a star or director, but occasionally they'll throw together a theme. This month is one of those occasions with each Monday and Wednesday night featuring films from famous blondes. Over the month the network will feature platinum classics from May West, Veronica Lake, Ursula Andress, Grace Kelly, Carol Lombard, and Jayne Mansfield. Naturally no celebration of Hollywood blondes would be complete without Marilyn Monroe, but tonight's film features a Marilyn many may not recognize. The ditsy sexpot of The Seven Year Itch and Some Like It Hot is nowhere to be found and instead Marilyn slips into the cool, crisp skin of a femme fatale for a trip to Niagara (1953).

Polly and Ray Cutler (Jean Peters and Max Showalter) arrive in Niagara Falls for a belated honeymoon only to find their cabin is still occupied by another couple, The Loomis', Rose and George (Marilyn Monroe and Joseph Cotton). Rose is blonde, beautiful, and overtly sexual, but her husband is an older man, jealous, and possibly mentally unstable. Accepting another cabin, the Cutlers try to settle in, but Polly finds herself drawn into George and Rose's world. After seeing Rose cheating on her husband and tending to George's hand when he cuts it in a fit of rage, Polly begins to feel sympathy for the blonde's put upon hubby. What neither of them suspects is that Rose is planning his demise. Rose's lover attacks George under the falls, but falls to his own death instead. Collecting the lover's shoes in instead of his own on the return trip, soon everyone, including Rose, thinks George is dead, and he's got a murder of his own on the mind.

If someone described this movie to me, visions of black and white scenes sharply filmed would dance in my head, but even though Niagara was filmed in color it doesn't get much more Noir than this. Thematically it fit right in with Film Noir. The film's events hinge on the sexual powers of one woman while another, more conservative, woman is pulled toward that shadowed world. There are also no easy answers, no heroes, and the bad guys get what bad guys have coming to them. Stylistically it also comes through. Though color inhabits every frame, there's a deft use of shadow and framing to set the tone for the film. Director Henny Hathaway perfectly translated the classic '40's Noir look of his films Kiss of Death, The Dark Corner, and Call Northside 777 and brought it into the color era. The transition from black and white to color was a challenge for many directors, but Hathaway was clearly up to the task. Several of the scenes I'd like to mention specifically come late in the film and would spoil the film, but there are some particular stunners where the melding of color into the shadows and light push the Noir form into full color fruition.

While Jean Peters and Max Showalter were the main characters of the film, Niagara clearly belongs to the less savory pairing of Cotton and Monroe. Peters seems like the literal 'girl next door' when compared to Monroe, but she holds her own and even shows off some sex appeal. (In her next film, Pickup on South Street, Peters would inhabit the dangerous female lead instead to great effect.) Showalter (Sixteen Candles, '10') seems like he has the least to do, and all that is expected of his character is to be a solid, stand-up guy. If Peters and Showalter represent middle America of the 1950's, then Cotton and Monroe must be the decadence of city life. Cotton gets to show off rage early in the film, but when he gets to go full psycho, he summons the same inner evil he channeled in Hitchcock's Shadow of a Doubt. I love to see Cotton in these kind of roles because he has the ability to turn on a dime. On the other hand, Monroe plays a character unlike any other I've seen from her. The film clearly relied on her sexuality, which was on full display. (I would say they don't make gals like that anymore, but they do, they just starve themselves instead of looking like a woman.) Niagara falls into Marilyn's career just as she was becoming known as a sex icon (Playboy would publish their first issue the same year), and for the next decade, Marilyn's looks were emphasized beyond her acting ability. For another role of this caliber from the blonde bombshell, I also suggest 1961's The Misfits co-starring Clark Gable and Montgomery Clift.  

Niagara doesn't rank as one of the all-time best Noir films, but it does make for an interesting late entry into the genre. The film's use of color, its meditations on sexuality going into the '50's, and solid performances from the villainous stars make it more than worth watching. It's easy to remember Marilyn Monroe in one way, and generally that way is in a white dress with air blowing up it, but Niagara proves that she could play more than the spaced out sexpot if given the chance. It also proves a good point about TCM. I've probably seen this title in the store more than a few times. I've noticed it's stars and made note of it, but the underwhelmingly bland title didn't inspire me to check it out. Turner Classic is the type of place where it's easy to give films a chance, and while Niagara didn't get me over the barrel, it did make me falls for it somewhat.(Plus I got to use a completely unrelated Three Stooges reference in the title. So my work here is done. )

Bugg Rating

Deadly Doll's Choice: A Perfect Getaway (2010)

When Emily picked A Perfect Getaway for this month’s film swap, it made me pose a couple of questions. First, what kind of summertime fun would I get her involved in? Well, that was easy because I had just watched one of The Harder They Come’s lesser cousins, the stream of dub-consciousness 1978 film Rockers, and so I sent her on a trip down Jamaica way. So head over to The Deadly Doll’s House and see if Emily is got her Dread on or if it was just a film filled with dread. The second question was this. Would my perfect getaway include Timothy Olyphant or Milla Jovovich? That’s a question that I had to mull over for a while so more on that in a bit. For now, let me turn my attention to the film at hand today, A Perfect Getaway. Contrary to the trailer which makes the film look like an action packed thrill ride, director David Twohy produced a tense thriller that almost works, but this getaway is far from perfect.

The plot to the film is pretty easily spoiled, and I’m even going to do a bit of that later (don’t worry there will be fair warning). As the film begins we are introduced to newlyweds Cliff and Sydney (Steve Zahn and Jovovich), self proclaimed “American Jedi” Nick and his girlfriend Gina (Olyphant and Kiele Sanchez), and scroungy beach bums Kale and Cleo (Thor’s Chris Hemsworth and Planet Terror’s Marley Shelton). There’s a pair of killers on the loose in a Hawaiian Islands, and during a hike to a secluded beach the couples begin to suspect each other. I really think that’s about all on the plot that need be explained. Anything else would be just an examination of the red herrings (or snappers as the case may be) that run wild throughout the movie, but the problem is they’re not worth examining.

You may be wondering why. After all, longtime fans of The Lair know that while my love for horror runs deep, thrillers and suspense films run a close second. A Perfect Getaway even set out to be a great example of a thriller, but then it hit’s the thirty two minute mark. There, with only a pair of raised eyebrows, the entire mystery of the film was completely spoiled, and yet the next forty minutes of the film continue to play with misdirection for no reason that I could ascertain. For a moment I want to talk spoilers so I’ve made the text in the next paragraph much darker. Highlight it if you dare!

Here’s the thing. It wasn’t the script that made it obvious, and I have a hard time believing the two actors (Zahn and Jovovich) would have so cavalierly tipped the twist. That is unless the director thought that it would be subtle. In my case, it was anything but. I had no problem with the misdirection or have them act in opposition to their character’s true nature, but at last save it for the sixty minute mark. Giving it up that our newlyweds were anything but so early just left me angry and markedly less interested in the remainder of the film.

Ok now we’re back from that, and I think we can all agree that Nic cage is always money in my book. However, I should really talk about the actors in A Perfect Getaway. Tim Olyphant I have but one question for you sir. Why are so good in everything (except Hitman)? From Deadwood and Justified to Go and The Crazies, I’m an Olyphant fan. A Perfect Getaway is no exception for if anyone got away with anything it was Olyphant with the whole film. Milla Jovovich looks typically lovely and turns in a performance that is assuredly equal to Olyphant. The same can’t be said of Steve Zahn. While I love him on season 2 of the New Orleans based show Treme, for my money, he just wasn’t quite the fir for the part. Kiele Sanchez definitely shone when it came to the action sequences, and she provides a good companion for Olyphant. However, being a Southerner, I just wanted to reach through the TV and slap that terrible accent out of her mouth.

A Perfect Getaway almost made off with the goods, but instead it just seemed to give me the business. While it tries to follow the Hitchcockian rules of a suspense film, revealing information to the audience that the characters don’t have, it deals far too fast and loose for its own good. What could have been a movie that got a strong four from me will only end up with a lousy two, and that is on the strength of the performances alone. Now back to my question, my perfect getaway. Would it be with Milla or Tim? After some careful thought I realized there was only one way to answer a question like that. I would have to take them both…. And my wife. After all, how else am I going to get away with sitting on a beach sipping Mai Tais with Leeloo?

Bugg Rating

That’s all for today folks. Make sure you head on over to the Deadly Dolls to see what she thought of Rockers, mon. It’s sure to be a high old time, and I’ll be back soon with more Summer fun!

Hitch on the Hump: Freddie Young (and Innocent?) of Full Moon Reviews Guests!

For as long as I've been doing this site, there's been a blogger who has been a great pal. He's always had kind words to say about the ever lovin' blue eye'd Bugg, and if you ask me, he's one hell of a writer. Plus if there's a full moon out, then he's always up for an all-nighter. I'm talking about Freddie Young a.k.a Fred the Wolf of the fantabulous site Full Moon Reviews. I'm thrilled that Freddie would take part in Hitch on the Hump so let me stop yammering and let the man do it to it.

I would first like to thank TL Bugg for requesting my services for this month's Hitch On The Hump. It's truly an honor to have the opportunity to discuss the work of one of the Masters of Cinema - Alfred Hitchcock. From the moment I was asked to contribute, I wanted to discuss a Hitchcock work that probably not many people have talked about or even used as a basis for Hitch On The Hump. I mean, how many times can one read about Psycho? Or Rear Window? Or Vertigo? Or The Birds? I think you get my point.

So I looked into Alfred Hitchock's filmography to find this month's subject. And to my surprise [and thanks to Netflix Instant Watch], I found a Hitchcock film that I have never heard of or read anyone discuss. And that film is 1938's Young and Innocent - or The Girl Was Young in the United States.

Young and Innocent is one of Hitchcock's British films, showcasing the director's trademarks long before his American films. The film begins with a couple arguing - Christine (Pamela Carme), who happens to be a famous actress, and her lover Guy (George Curzon), who accuses Christine of cheating on him with random "boys". The next morning on a nearby beach, a young man named Robert Tisdall (Derrick De Marney) strolls along and finds Christine's corpse washed up on the shore. The only evidence is a belt from a stolen raincoat that belonged to Robert. Running off to find help, two female witnesses arrive finding not only the body, but assuming that Robert is the guilty party. When the police arrive, the girls accuse Robert of murder. He's arrested and quickly put on trial.

After some commotion in the courtroom, Robert is allowed to escape in order to hunt down the real killer. He meets up with the police constable's daughter, Erica Burgoyne (Nova Pilbeam), who he charms into helping him. Even though she doubts Robert's innocence at first, as well as not wanting to risk her life and her father's job and reputation, Erica falls for Robert and decides to help him prove his innocence. Their only lead is one Old Will (Edward Rigby), who claims the murderer has really twitchy eyes.

Young and Innocent is based on a Josephine Tey novel titled "A Shilling For Candles". Tey's novel, published in 1936, was her first mystery novel with Inspector Alan Grant, who would be her main character over a 25 year span. Like the film adaptation, the story of "A Shilling For Candles" involves a murdered actress, whose young friend named Robert Tisdall is considered the prime suspect for her murder. The rest of the story involves Alan Grant trying to solve the case as Robert escapes with Erica, who believes in his innocence.

However, Hitchcock and screenwriters Charles Bennett, Edwin Greenwood, and Anthony Armstrong, decided to go against Tey's novel, changing things around to lessen the mystery aspect while focusing on the relationship between Robert and Erica to craft a more cinematic thriller. The killer in the novel is completely changed in the film [it's pretty obvious who the real killer is here from the start] and there's no Alan Grant character anywhere to be seen here. Instead, we have the traditional Hitchcock male-female duo protagonists that can be seen in The 39 Steps, North By Northwest, and Vertigo. Both Robert and Erica happen to meet at chance, which links them together for the rest of the film in order the solve the case. Also in the film, the killer is given a specific trait [eyes that twitch] to make him easy to spot. This is similar to The 39 Steps again, where the villain is missing one of his fingers. This trait is not in the novel at all. Also Robert's backstory is different. In the novel, Robert is a young unemployed man. In the film, he has a higher social status and is wittier and more charming than his book counterpart.

There are also moments where Young and Innocent gives hints to other Hitchcock trademarks. In one scene, Robert, Erica, and Old Will are caught in a crumbling mine shaft after being chased by police. While Robert and Will are safe, Erica needs help and reaches for Robert's hand, teasing the audience with slight fingertip touching, before he pulls her out of the pit. This was used again in North By Northwest in the Mount Rushmore scene.

Another moment is a great crane shot in the final act of the film inside the Grand Hotel. There seems to be some sort of gathering or event at the Grand Hotel, involving a group of musicians dressed in blackface as Old Will and Erica search for the killer [who happens to be at this event]. It takes its time really setting up the location of where the mystery would be revealed, ending on a close up on the killer and his twitching eyes. The same technique was used similarly in Notorious during that film's party scene. It's just done so well and it's easy to see why Hitchcock would use it more than once.

Hitchcock also focuses on the idea of eyes and vision in general. The killer can be identified by his eyes. The Robert's lawyer can't do his job without his glasses [the idea that justice is blind]. The hotel clerk needs a pair of magnifying glasses to read her notes. The opening shot is a close up on Christine's eyes. At a birthday party, Erica has to escape her aunt's suspicions about her relationship with Robert by sneaking out after her aunt is blindfolded in a game of "blind man's bluff". And you got to love the title of the film, as the young [Erica] and the innocent [Robert] are the only ones who see the truth, while everyone else is blinded by what they hear from others. It's a motif that Hitchcock comes back to in many of his other films, from Psycho, to Rear Window, The Birds, Frenzy, etc. Young and Innocent is a showcase on things Hitchcock would continue to add to his movies years later.

As for Young and Innocent itself, it seems to have been overshadowed by other British works, such as The 39 Steps and The Lady Vanishes - two films that are considered to be the highlights of Hitchcock's British era. And it's easy to see why that's the case. While Young and Innocent isn't a terrible film, it's flawed in a lot of ways. Pilbeam and De Marney don't have much chemistry with each other, which makes the characters they play feel forced in their union. The mystery isn't there, as we know who the killer is. In fact, the police characters are probably the worst policemen you could ever have in your town. Not only do they not go after Christine's main lover, but they don't even check her background, with involved her playing a cougar to multiple younger men. Also for a thriller, it's not really all that exciting to watch. It's more humorous than anything. It's more light-hearted than Hitchcock's other works, making it sort of a black sheep in his filmography.

That being said, even an above-average Hitchcock film is better than most other films. The direction is solid, with some editing issues at times but you can only tell if you really look. The picture, while faded out a bit, still looks beautiful. The acting is solid all around. And the story still happens to be entertaining for 83 straight minutes, even if you want more depth out of it.

I think to ignore Young and Innocent is a shame if you're any kind of an Alfred Hitchcock fan. It's not a classic like his other films, but considering the low-budget he had to deal with many of his British films, the film is put together quite nicely. I believe this lesser-seen film was a blueprint for the great stuff he would put out in later years, which makes Young and Innocent more than worthy of a watch.

I can't thank Freddie Young a.k.a Fred the Wolf for stopping by and dropping the knowledge on The Young and Innocent. Makes sure you stop over at Full Moon Reviews and check out more of Fred's great work!  If you'd like to take part in Hitch on the Hump, then drop me a line at thelightningbug (AT) charter.net and we'll set you up!

GUEST POST- Hitch on the Hump: Rupert Pupkin Is a Saboteur

Hello folks and welcome to another wonderful Guest Post in my Hitch on the Hump series. Today's Hitchcocky goodness comes to us by way of the one and only Rupert Pupkin of the blog Rupert Pupkin Speaks and frequent guest host on The Gentlemen's Guide to Midnite Cinema. If you visit Rupert's site, then you're in store for lists and lists of great movies spanning all categories. Plus Rupert keeps me up to date on what's new and interesting on Netflix Instant Watch, and if you like to watch streaming like I do, it's a feature that can't be missed. Then on The Gentlemen's Guide, Rupert joins Big Willie and The Samurai as they talk about all the best and worst in cult and genre cinema. It's a show I never miss and neither should you. You also also shouldn't miss out on Rupert's thoughts on Saboteur. So don't try and pull a fast one and keep on reading....

Hitchcock made so many classics over his wonderful career, it's no surprise that the occasional film gets lost in the shuffle. For me Saboteur is one of those films. It's a film that is often remembered for one specific effects shot having to do with the Statue of Liberty, but it seems even that shot's inclusion in a plethora of 'best of' Hitch montages hasn't inspired enough people to go and seek the movie out. Falling in an interesting period on Hitch's timeline, the film came out in 1942, wedged betweenMr. and Mrs. Smith (A rare Hitch Screwball comedy) and one of his masterpieces(and his favorite) Shadow of the Doubt. It was also Hitch's first feature for Universal(where he did a lot of his best work). The film's climactic sequence on the famous U.S. monument predates (and most probably inspires) North by Northwest's standoff on Mount Rushmore by 17 years. There's even a moment in the last sequence that was borrowed(and lampooned) by the Coen Brothers in TheHudsucker Proxy.

Saboteur is a dark tale of high-reaching conspiracy and one that seems interestingly poignant especially today. Though it is just a shade above a straight propaganda film and it seems a bit steeped in the nationalism of the time(Pearl Harbor had been bombed just as they were getting started with pre-production), it still rings of true and classic Hitchcock. Star Robert Cummings(who would also appear in Dial 'M' For Murder more than a decade later) is a great everyman type, haplessly caught in a frame and thrust into a nerve-wracking tangled web. The lovely Priscilla Lane (Arsenic & Old Lace) who starred in some great John Garfield films previous to this ( Dust Be My Destiny, Four Daughters) stacks up well against other Hitchcock heroines and is very darned cute in my estimation. The film is a great suspenseful ride from it's alarming opening to the harrowing climax up top of lady liberty herself. It is almost always my overlooked Hitchcock pick to recommend to fans that may have missed it.

That wraps it up for this week's Hitch on the Hump Guest Post, but I'll be back this week with more Road to Horrorhound goodness, and Hitch on the Hump will return next week with special guest The Mike of From Midnight With Love.