REBECCA
Selznick International, 1940, B&W, 130 mins.- Criterion DVD


Laurence Olivier: “Happiness is something I know nothing about.”

Ah, those brooding, filthy-rich Englishmen, with their dark pasts and huge, mysterious estates in the country- if only they could just kick back and hang out on the French Riviera with some pretty young thing, then maybe they’d be able to get rid of those dark clouds hovering over their heads. Actually, that’s just what widower Laurence Olivier does, courting Joan Fontaine and bringing her back to the old homestead- but it’s all downhill from there.

For the poor girl, who is so darned mousy that she doesn’t even have a name, finds herself a bit overwhelmed by her new household. It doesn’t help that the place is still haunted by the tragic death of Olivier’s first wife, Rebecca, whom creepy housekeeper Judith Anderson was enamored of in a, shall we say, “Inappropriate” way. Before long, all sorts of dirty little secrets are coming to light, and Fontaine and Olivier will go through the proverbial wringer on their way to a fiery climax.

Alfred Hitchcock’s first American picture, and his first collaboration with legendary producer David O. Selznick, gleams with the luster of the old Hollywood dream factory. The story is a veritable compendium of gothic melodrama clichés, but everyone involved tries their damnedest to pull it off, and they largely succeed.

The Criterion two-disc set looks and sounds great, and is loaded with extras including an isolated music track, screen tests, radio show adaptations, production correspondence, and info on the source novel.


M. HULOT’S HOLIDAY
Cady Films, 1953, B&W, 87 mins.- Criterion DVD

Tourist: “Some people are no better than children.”

French writer/director/actor Jacques Tati brought his recurring character Hulot to the screen for the first time with this naturalistic but satirical look at a seaside vacation. From the opening shot on, this picture shows us the vacationers’ frenzied and determined approach to having a good time, as though modern people are incapable of simply relaxing and must treat their holiday as a sort of job.

Driving- just barely- into this scenario, via his rattletrap old car, is Tati. With his hesitant, jerky movements, his odd forward-leaning walk, his attempts at a gallant manner, and his general cluelessness, Tati doesn’t exactly fit in with the moderns, but he does connect with a few free spirits.......before alienating virtually the entire town with his mishaps. The charming thing about Tati is that he often has no idea of the chaos he is wreaking- and when he does realize that he’s done something wrong, he runs away. He’s like an overgrown kid, off in his own world, and when he bungles his interactions with the “Grownups,” he optimistically moves on to try something else (when he’s not running for cover, that is).

This film is in the tradition of the great silent comedies- sight gags, thin plot, very minimal dialogue, and a tolerant, humane vision of human foibles. Extras on the disc include an introduction by Monty Python’s Terry Jones and an early short film with Tati.


THE MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE
MC Prods., 1962, B&W, 129 mins.- MGM DVD

Frank Sinatra: “I’ve been havin’ this nightmare- a real swinger of a nightmare, too.”

As well he should, for Ol’ Blue Eyes and his Korean War patrol were captured by the Commies, and he’s having a subconscious recollection of their brainwashing- a classic scene that manages to be bizarre, chilling and funny all at the same time. The men are home again, trying to get on with their lives, but there’s that nagging dream to contend with.

One who seems unaffected is Medal Of Honor winner Laurence Harvey, who is, frankly, a real prick. But when we see his mother, Angela Lansbury, the scheming power behind her McCarthyish Senator husband, we can understand how Harvey wound up the way he is. And he turns out to be the key in a dastardly plot to affect the upcoming Presidential election, a plot which Sinatra does his best to derail......but you know the old saying about the road to Hell.

This is a pretty weird picture, with a pretty melodramatic premise, but the presentation saves it. The icing on the cake includes a scathing portrayal of political opportunism, a good dose of biting, funny dialogue, and a karate fight between Sinatra and foreign agent Henry Silva (during the filming of which Sinatra accidentally broke his finger). Disc extras include audio commentary by director John Frankenheimer, and a reunion interview with him, writer George Axelrod and star Sinatra.

      

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© Melt Magazine 2002