BEST FILMS OF 1956
by Mike Lorefice

Attack
Robert Aldrich

***1/2

Baby Doll
Elia Kazan

***

The Burmese Harp
Kon Ichikawa

***1/2

Friendly Persuasion
William Wyler

***

Jubal
Delmer Daves

***

The Killer is Loose
Budd Boetticher

Shy, meek, unimposing Leon Poole (Wendell Corey) was picked on all his life. His horrible vision made obvious by his coke bottle glasses made him an easy target, earning him the nickname "Foggy". Poole is the dorky teller who would get held up in any other crime film, but this fed up WWII vet is actually the inside man. Detective Sam Wagner (Joseph Cotten) quickly figures him out, and when Poole shoots at the fuzz through the wood, Wagner bursts through his door and accidentally guns down Poole's wife instead. Poole comes across as the victim, a cruel heartless society spoiled him, an even crueler twist of fate took the one good thing in his life. Predating Cape Fear, Poole horrifies us with his wrong-headed obsession with destroying the other man's family, in this case killing Wagner's wife Lila (Rhonda Fleming) for revenge. He's scary because he's so incredibly ordinary, a psychopath who seems more like an accountant. He can pull the trigger, but he's not capable of lashing out in aggression. Anticipating Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho, Boetticher's film focuses on a mild mannered killer who even threatens in a whisper, and eventually winds up in drag. Bringing out the similarities between Poole and Wagner rather than focusing on good and bad, both kill once when it wasn't their intention to do so and are concerned with their wife to the detriment of everything and everyone else. Sam's battle is with unsupportive annoying Lila, who thinks her husband should be the only cop who doesn't put his life on the line, and acts as if that would make Poole forget about his diabolical plot. Fleming plays her like a rich man's trophy wife as if she thinks she's in another movie. Poole's wife was the only one who gave him a feeling of worth. Though killing Lila won't bring her back or accomplish anything we see enough of Lila to agree Poole's wife was better, even if by default. Boetticher delivers his doom-laden cinema of inevitability. Five minutes in we know the climax will be Poole blowing Lila away or more likely getting gunned down trying to do so, but this actually increases the tension because Boetticher consistently plays against our anxiousness. Everything is slowed down and held off. He refuses to ever work us up, always downplaying by having all the proceedings be so matter of fact. The ordinariness of it all is the key to the terror, from the regular locations during the day where violence breaks the illusion of safety and tranquility to the unimposing nature of the killer himself. Cotten was one of the best actors of any generation, but like his character his performance is disappointingly routine. Corey gives his best performance as the fish out of water whose contempt is caused by and hidden from others due to his awkward interactions and bland personality. He's the only interesting character, and even though we don't agree with him we do feel for him. [3/24/07] ***

The Killing
Stanley Kubrick

****

A Man Escaped
Robert Bresson

****

Full Movie Review

The Man Who Knew Too Much
Alfred Hitchcock

***

Moby Dick
John Huston

***

Rififi
Jules Dassin

***1/2

Samurai III - Duel at Ganryu Island
Hiroshi Inagaki

Luckily this trilogy matures with its lead character, causing each entry to top the proceeding. A disillusioned Musashi has grown weary and regretful of his battles, and is looking for something more, to discover and be a great man for some reason other than defeating others. We can see the transformation of Miyamoto when rather than kill a hooligan who has interrupted his lunch he awes him into backing off by plucking flies out of the air with his chopsticks. Musashi finally discovers the meaning of life, which gets him to tone down his ego, kill as little as possible, and finally notice the earth. It's the least easternized of the trilogy, focusing more on a "true samurai's" way of life and less on big action and a melodramatic love story. The final battle on the beach at sunset is incredibly beautiful. You have to watch the entire trilogy because it's not so much 3 different stories as one long cohesive story separated into three parts, and especially with that in mind there are many other samurai films you want to see first. [1/25/06] ***

The Searchers
John Ford

****

Tea and Sympathy
Vincente Minnelli

***

These Wilder Years
Roy Rowland

***

Trapeze
Carol Reed

***

While The City Sleeps
Fritz Lang

***

The Wrong Man
Alfred Hitchcock

****