22. Shadow of a Doubt (1943)
Directed by Alfred Hitchcock
Screenplay by Thornton Wilder, Sally Benson, and Alma Reville
Starring Teresa Wright, Joseph Cotten, Macdonald Carey, Patricia Collinge, and Henry Travers
Oscar Nominations: 1
I have to say that this might be Hitchcock's best film. The movie is about a woman and her uncle that she was named after. The uncle murders rich older women after romancing them. The movie, like anything Hitchcock, is suspenseful and the performance turned in by Wright as the niece is splendid. The character develops perfectly and organically. At first she's a naive small town girl but she slowly reveals herself to be the only person to see through her uncle's facade, ready to kill herself to stop him. The most notable thing is that while Hichcock female leads tend to meet bad ends or are mostly wooden, Charlie survives, finds love, and remains a strong woman up to the end.
My favorite part of the movie is how most of the people aren't quite right. Two of the supporting cast members discuss how to plan the perfect murder for much of the movie. It's funny but then disturbing when an actual murderer walks among them. The youngest daughter, Ann, is also kinda cool. She is older than her years and seems almost as wrong as her uncle. In addition, we have the use of tows. The uncle and niece are both names Charlie. There are two investigators, two church and garage scenes, and many other duets. By the way, Hitchcock's cameo is about fifteen minutes in, playing bridge with a winning hand.
21. Cabaret (1972)
Directed by Bob Fosse
Screenplay by Jay Allen from the play by Joe Masteroff
Music by John Kander and Lyrics by Fred Ebb
Starring Liza Minnelli, Michael York, and Joel Grey
Oscar Nominations: 10 Oscar Wins: 8 (Best Director, Best Actress Liza Minnelli, Best Supporting Actor Joel Grey, Best Cinematography, Best Editing, Best Art Direction, Best Score, Best Sound)
A musical about the rise of Nazi Germany, alternatively cheery and depressing. Possibly one of the best musicals of all time, it deals with risque elements with dignity. The actors, doing their own singing thank god, are perfect. They realize the heaviness of the roles but also realize the need to have some jollity. Liza Minelli's Sally Bowles is sexy and funny. It's a powerhouse performance. Joel Grey's performance as the Master of Ceremonies isn't a big attribution to the plot but he serves to provide commentary and the scene at the end where he realizes that the air of change has come and he hasn't noticed is heartbreaking.
The songs are mostly performed in the titular cabaret. The sole exception is the most haunting. "Tomorrow Belongs to Me" is sung in a beer garden. At first, it seems like a pretty song sung by a blond headed youth. A crowd watches and then the camera pans back, first showing his brown shirt and then the swastika on his arm. A Hitler Youth. Then the crowd starts to sing along. What seemed like a hopeful song is revealed to be a song to incite. The other song, "Cabaret," is just as happy when you hear it but then you realize that Sally Bowles is singing it, not because she's happy, but because she's unsure of her future, she's just had an abortion, and she got rid of a man who loved her. Her life is in ruins and she has to cling to an ideal of a life that is gone.
Next Time: "I already know an awful lot of people and until one of them dies I couldn't possibly meet anyone else." "Once you've met someone, you won't really forget them. It just takes a while for your memory to return."
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