Movie Review: Port of New York (1949)

Greetings, all!

I like to be "organized" by reviewing books or movies on special occasions. Birthdays are one of those special times! Today, July 11th, would have been the 100th birthday of actor Yul Brynner! Because of this I watched a new movie of his (his first, actually), and am going to review it for you now. Enjoy!

My guarantee: On ALL of my reviews there are NO spoilers unless I give you warning. This is spoiler free!


Port of New York (1949):

A narrator opens telling about the port of New York, and how all the people who work there have to check for contraband items. This film is about one of the hardest cases where a very dangerous supply went missing. Detectives Flannery and Walters have to figure out who did it and find the goods before it is too late. With a crime empire rising, will they be able to stop who is in charge?
"We're really starting from scratch on this one, finding a guy that looks like ten thousand other guys."
Genre: Fiction, Film Noir, Crime.
Length: approx. 81 minutes.
Costumes: 7, no comment from me here, as they are just standard.
Script: 10, no bad words.
"You're also developing the irritating habit of not minding your own business."
Crew: Directed by: László Benedek. Written by: Eugene Ling, Arthur A. Ross, & Bert Murray.
Starring:
Richard Rober as Jim Flannery.
Scott Brady as Mickey Waters.
Yul Brynner as Paul Vicola.
K.T. Stevens as Miss Toni Cardell.
Arthur Blake as Dolly Carney.
Lynne Carter as Lili Long.
Chet Huntley as the narrator.
John Kellogg as Lenny.
William Challee as Leo Stasser.
Cinematography: 7, Film Noir is famous for its outstanding cinematography, but this one didn't have anything that caught my eye.
Cinematography by: George E. Diskant.
Music: 7, it was the usual intense in places, but nothing remarkable.
Music by: Sol Kaplan.
Quotes: N/A, as I just watched it today and don't know how much I'll quote it in the future. I'm guessing about a 7 here.
Content: 8, there is murder, fighting, and drug dealing, but all of it is shown as bad, and they are trying to stop the people who did it. There is also some smoking.
Originality: 6, I don't watch a lot of Noir because I don't often get the chance, but there wasn't anything new and exciting in this one. I just felt neutral the whole way through.
Good For: Noir fans, Yul Brynner fans.
Age Range: Though I mentioned the killing and fighting, it isn't gruesome, so any age could watch this. I will bet you that most would be bored with it, though, unless they really like the genre.
Overall Score: 7.
Bonus thoughts:
Well, as you can see, this movie didn't enthrall me, to say the least. I actually watched it while doing the dishes. A part that I thought was really relevant to today is that the smuggled items were some drugs and bacteria that was going to a hospital. When it got into the wrong hands it was said, "Bacteria to start a plague of violence and misery..." Right now we are going through a plague, and I was surprised to see it in there.

His first time!

But, I am glad that I watched it! Why? Yul Brynner! I've only seen a few of his movies, but I really liked his performance in it! I'm not used to seeing him as the antagonist, but he did such a good job, and in his first film, too! It was very strange to see him without his trademark shaved head, because he hadn't started doing that yet.

Yul in The Magnificent Seven (1960)

Why did I choose this film for today, his 100th birthday? At first I wanted to talk about The Magnificent Seven (1960), which is my favorite role of his, but I decided to save that for another day. When planning this month's blogging schedule out I realized that it is #CleanMovieMonth2020, hosted by Pure Entertainment Preservation Society!

I talked more about how I'm doing it HERE, but the quick run down is this: The challenge is to only watch American movies made from 1934-1954 in July. This film is the only one that Yul Brynner made in those years, so that is why I chose it! Once again, his performance was really great, just like all the other films that I've seen him in. I look forward to all the ones that I haven't seen yet!


There you have it! Even though Mr. Brynner isn't alive anymore, I wish him a happy birthday!

Thanks for reading! Tell me your favorite Yul Brynner movie, or if you've seen any Film Noir!

MovieCritic

Movie Review: The Dark Mirror (1946)

Hello, everybody!

It is so fun to watch actors and actresses in different roles. You can compare the characters to each other and see how wide a range the actor or actress can play. Today I'm going to review a movie where an actress played TWO roles! That actress is the fabulous Olivia de Havilland who is turning 104 today!

My guarantee: On ALL of my reviews there are NO spoilers unless I give you warning. This is spoiler free!


The Dark Mirror (1946):

Dr. Frank Peralta was murdered and two people undoubtably saw Miss Collins with him that night. Police Lt. Stevenson talks to her, but she has a solid alibi where three people saw her miles away at the same time. Lt. Stevenson is trying to get more information out of her when he learns that she is an identical twin! He knows that one of them committed the murder and one was out walking in the park, but they refuse to tell him who was where! And it's impossible to tell the difference between them. He gets a twin specialist to try to figure it out without either of them knowing what he is up to. Which girl did it, and more importantly, why?

'"What am I supposed to say to that?"

"I'm just waiting to see."'

Genre: Mystery, Drama, Film noir.
Length: approx. 85 minutes.
Costumes: 9, they weren't magnificent, but I really liked the way they really incorporated the clothes with the girls same outfits as opposed to when they have a T and an R on their jackets.

Script: 10, no bad words!

"For a policeman you sure spend a lot of time thinking about love."

Crew: Directed by: Robert Siodmak. Written by: Nunnally Johnson & Vladimir Pozner.
Starring:
Olivia de Havilland as Terry Collins & Ruth Collins.

Lew Ayres as Dr. Scott Elliott.

Thomas Mitchell as Police Lt. Stevenson.

Richard Long as Rusty.
Charles Evans as Dist. Atty. Girard.
Gary Owen as Franklin.
Lester Allen as George Benson.
Lela Bliss as Mrs. Didriksen.

Cinematography: 10, ah, black and white is so cool. There is such an awesome element here of Olivia de Havilland playing both of the girls, so the had to film twice and merge the two together. I could spot several of the transitions. As you would suspect from the title, the use of mirrors was fantastic!

Cinematography by: Milton Krasner.
Music: 7, it helped build the suspense and tension really well, but even though I just saw it this morning I can't think of what it was.
Music by: Dimitri Tiomkin.

"I don't get it, I just don't get it. It doesn't make anymore sense to me than Chinese music."

Quotes: N/A, I just watched this movie this morning, so I don't know how often I'll quote it, yet. I wouldn't suspect that I'd do it a lot.

"You know, there ought to be a state law against the sale of gloves to murderers."

Content: 8, there is murder and manipulation, but it is shown as being wrong. There is also a bit of smoking, but I think that's it!

Originality: 9, movies where there are twins are rare, so I love it! The plot was very original.
Good For: fans of Olivia de Havilland, mystery and film noir lovers.
Age Range: It is very clean, but I think the ages here are old based on the story. It seems that younger viewers just wouldn't be interested! I thought it was great, but it might be boring for a 12 year old.
Overall Score: 8.5!


This is my entry in Charity of The Sacred in the Secular's Olivia de Havilland Blogathon! As I said above, she is 104 today! That is amazing.

I loved seeing her play two characters in this! At the beginning it was hard to tell them apart, as it is meant, and I'm sure with a rewatch I would nail it, but at the ending the development was so vivid. Just subtle parts were so important. Ah, so good. I don't watch a lot of thriller or suspense movies, but this was good. I guessed what was going to happen at the end seconds before it did happen, but I'm still thoroughly satisfied with it. It shows how terrible manipulation is, and the difference in personalities.

Thanks to Charity for giving me an excuse to watch this! Check out the other entries HERE.


Thanks to all of you for reading! Happy Birthday, Olivia de Havilland! Readers, tell me your favorite of her roles!

MovieCritic

Movie Review: My Favorite Brunette (1947)

Hello!
Today marks the start of Hamlette's Alan Ladd Blogathon!!!! (Wow, MC you are actually participating on the first day instead of the last minute? Shush.) Be sure to check it out HERE.

So, I had never seen anything with Alan Ladd in it but when Hamlette announced this I knew that this was my chance! Digging through our DVD and VCR collection (and it is digging, we have a lot) I found one, starring Bob Hope with a cameo by Alan Ladd. I was worried that it wouldn't be enough, but he has a big enough part to actually have a character name!
It was actually really enjoyable, and I was laughing quite a few times!

My guarantee: On ALL of my reviews there are NO spoilers unless it says so.

My Favorite Brunette (1946):

"All my life I wanted to be a hard boiled detective like Humphrey Bogart, or Dick Powell, or even Alan Ladd."

Ronnie Jackson, baby photographer, wants to be a detective. When Sam McCloud, the next door detective, goes away for awhile he leaves Ronnie the job of answering the calls. Ronnie is messing around in there pretending he is a detective when Baroness Carlotta Montay comes in asking for help finding her relative. Ronnie plays the part, pretending he is Sam McCloud because she is so beautiful and this is his chance. He gets into a lot more then he thought he would...
"You don't have to pull a gun on me to kiss me."

Genre: Comedy, Film Noir, Mystery, Romance.
Length: 88 minutes (approx.)
Costumes: 6, there are parts where people are just wearing towels or bathrobes.
Costumes by: Edith Head.

Script: 9, "Well, let me tell you something...I like long drives."
Crew:
Directed by: Elliott Nugent
Produced by: Danny Dare
Screenplay by:
Edmund Beloin
Jack Rose
Starring:
Bob Hope as Ronnie Jackson. "He'll take any kind of a role."

Dorothy Lamour as Carlotta Montay.

Peter Lorre as Kismet.
Lon Chaney, Jr. as Willie.
Alan Ladd as Sam McCloud.

Frank Puglia as Baron Montay

John Hoyt as Dr. Lundau
Charles Dingle as Major Simon Montague
Reginald Denny as James Collins
Ann Doran as Miss Rogers

Music: 8.
Music by: Robert Emmett Dolan.
Quotes: 7, "Nutty as a fruitcake with all that beautiful frosting."

Notes: Kismet at one time asks, "Can either of you tell me who the eighth president was?" But we never get the answer. Right off the top of my head I can tell you Martin Van Buren.

My favorite scene is the one where Ronnie is "looking" for evidence.
Who doesn't want a camera like that!?
Storyline: 7, there is some suggestive stuff, death, kissing, smoking (bleh!), and drinking(gross!). But this is a hilarious film, and it is a good one!

Overall Score: 7!

Sorry that my pictures are sort of blurry!

Thank you so much for reading! Be sure to check out all the goings on HERE!

MovieCritic