The Final Take with Parker Mott

Knock on Any Door – 2.5 stars out of 4
In a Lonely Place – 4 stars out of 4

From left: Gloria Grahame, Humphrey Bogart, and Nicholas Ray on the set of "In a Lonely Place".

While it is true that Humphrey Bogart’s career was driven by star power, this should not shortchange his assured ability to master a wide range of film roles, none which would be too far out of his reach. Most of them were channeled by a flair of bravado that ultimately helped form his enduring image as the “tough guy”. However, what makes Bogart such an interesting figure of movie maleness is, as James Neibaur notes, “not because he was particular strong and virile, but almost totally because he was not” (72). Bogart was small in stature and, unlike James Cagney, did not have the muscular frame or fighting prowess (Sklar 87). (continue reading…)

4 Stars out of 4
(110 minutes)

Nicholas Ray's Johnny Guitar.

A stage coach is robbed and its owner is killed at the beginning of Nicholas Ray’s Johnny Guitar. The plunderers, wearing masks, run off into the oblivion of the Western desert. What a terrible occurrence. We are to assume this is a revenge story, about bringing justice to those who were unjust to one. Nicholas Ray (Rebel Without A Cause), the master of irony, tells us no; this is about the ones being avenged, but wrongly so. They did not do anything. We think. Clearly, Johnny Guitar is a film about questioning our sympathies.

Westerns commit to stereotypes - you have the feral Apaches, the drunken cowboys, and promiscuous dames. You find none of that here. No Indians, some of the cowboys do not touch the stuff (Vienna: “you don’t drink, you don’t smoke, you’re mean to horses - what do you like, Mr. Lonergan?), and the women are filled with aggression, ambition, and strong yet less conspicuous notions for desire. (continue reading…)

3,5 Stars out of 4
(111 minutes)

James Dean.

It’s as if the archetypal muscleman has a heart of gold. James Dean himself carries a grandeur persona as that notorious rebel without a cause — he cares about nothing, while really caring about so much. It takes him a while to get the girl, but he always does. It takes him a while to triumph, but he ultimately pulls through. Rebel Without a Cause is not necessarily pampered by its simple plot, nor is it underwhelming in its emotional display. We have a hunk with elaborate sentiment. James Dean proves to be more than the robust here in director Nicholas Ray’s honest yet candidly crystalline version of teen life. We easily can comprehend the material behind Rebel Without a Cause, but it breaks ground in its performances and stylistic display. Ray knows how to execute those vehement love scenes and knows when to place you in dejectedness. Rebel Without a Cause is not a tragedy, it’s more of a choral adventure into the youth. (continue reading…)