1941: Sergeant York (Howard Hawks)
I love Howard Hawks, and almost all of his films I've seen. He manages to be insightful and human and entertaining and fun all at the same time (in many ways, what I see as the very definition of Classical Hollywood).
In general, I would never call Hawks' formal approach gritty, raw, or naturalistic. It's something slightly more glossy with a little artifice here and there. In other words, films shot indoors with excellent production design that makes you forget you're not watching the real thing.
But I've always felt differently about this one. When I first saw Sergeant York, it caught me off guard. I'm not sure the locations are any many more real than in Hawks' previous work, but there's a certain realism on display here that feels new and different for him. Obviously a large part (maybe the only part) has to do with the fact that this is based on a true story. If that's the case, that's fine. Whatever the case may be though, this bio film (along with a Walsh entry that I'll discuss in my 1942 post) feels more real, more true, closer to life than any bio film I've ever seen.
Other contenders for 1941: This year seems to be unusually rich. I have several major gaps, but also several films that would be close runners-up. The major films I haven't seen are: Frank Capra's Meet John Doe, John Ford's How Green Was My Valley, HC Potter's Hellzapoppin', William Dieterle's All That Money Can Buy, Fritz Lang's Man Hunt, Jean Renoir's Swamp Water, Howard Hawks' Ball of Fire, Kenji Mizoguchi's The 47 Ronin, Ernst Lubitsch's That Uncertain Feeling, Michael Powell's 49th Parallel, John Ford's Tobacco Road, and Yasujiro Ozu's Brothers and Sisters of the Toda Family. I admire the hell out of Orson Welles' Citizen Kane and consider it one of the most important films of all time. But for some reason it's yet to impact me on an emotional level, personally and deeply. I really like The Lady Eve, Sullivan's Travels, and They Died with Their Boots On, but just slightly less than my two runners-up. I love The Strawberry Blonde. It captures a lost time and era in a way that feels extremely real to me (realism is one of the things I respond to most in film). Then there's Alfred Hitchcock's Suspicion. It remains one of my favorite films from the director and probably my favorite film ever dealing with paranoia and marital suspicion (Gaslight would be up there, too.) Finally though I gave the year to the Hawks as it grabs hold of me in a way that I've rarely experienced with any other film.
8/22/10 I watched John Ford's How Green Was My Valley. A Ford family epic, full of depth, some marvelous moments, and some tremendous visuals. I wasn't carried along at all times, but once again Ford proves that he was a filmmaker of great heft with a very fluid, almost effortless style.
8/22/10 I watched William Dieterle's All That Money Can Buy. An interesting premise and some admirable visual touches. But I never found myself caring quite that much or terribly engaged by it.
8/25/10 I watched John Ford's Tobacco Road. I must say I struggled with this film about as much as I've ever struggled with a film by a master. It all felt very broad and the comedy never really worked for me. Ford seemed pretty out of his element to me, and this film is as much a testament as any that it's impossible to make a good film every time out, even for someone like John Ford.
8/26/10 I watched Michael Powell's 49th Parallel. A propaganda piece certainly, as attacking and venomous as anything I've ever seen made during a wartime. Powell shows a tremendous feel for nature and an incredible ability to traverse tone. He also does violence in an unusally direct and hard-hitting way. There's a certain modernism on display here. And even though at times, I felt like Powell could have tightened this thing up a bit, it's still an impressive work.
8/27/10 I watched Fritz Lang's Man Hunt. Propaganda but a pretty personal piece for Lang, too. Full of some magnificent moments, particularly the opening sequence. And Pidgeon has a great role. All in all, pretty strong, with the exception of the romance, which really didn't work for me.
8/27/10 I watched Frank Capra's Meet John Doe. This one felt even more farfetched to me than some of the other Capra I've seen. It had a few nice underdog moments. But mostly I found it a little tedious and heavy-handed.
8/28/10 I watched Howard Hawks' Ball of Fire. It's one of his films with a pretty major reputation, but I must admit it overwhelmed me a little less than much of his other work. I just never cared that much about the story, and it all felt more screwy than depthful, important, or even that much fun.
1/17/11 I watched Alexander Korda's That Hamilton Woman. Leigh is quite appealing, and the film at its best moments reminds me a little of Letter from an Unknown Woman. Unfortunately though it often feels overly melodramatic, and Olivier feels a little less powerful than in his most memorable roles.
1/14/12 I watched Alfred Hitchcock's Mr. & Mrs. Smith. It's of interest to see Hitch working in such different territory for him. And Lombard is extraordinary. But Montgomery is no Cary Grant, and the whole romantic comedy just feels like sub-par His Girl Friday or The Awful Truth.
11/22/12 I watched Michael Curtiz's The Sea Wolf. A great, atmospheric first five or ten minutes followed by a pretty engaging nautical drama. The movie features an unusually sexy Lupino and some memorable moments by both Garfield and Edward G Robinson.
1/12/13 I watched Raoul Walsh's Manpower. An unusual Walsh outing full of more artifice than I typically expect to see or feel from one of the director's films. Yet Walsh still gives it power, mostly stemming from the emotions bubbling up around the Robinson, Raft, and Dietrich triangle. The theme of unrequited love is clearly dear to Walsh as it shows up in another of his films from '41, the extraordinary The Strawberry Blonde.
9/20/14 I watched Ernst Lubitsch's That Uncertain Feeling. Merle Oberon was a bit of a revelation to me. I am not sure how often I have seen her before but she is quite beautiful and fitting for the role in what is a mildly entertaining Lubitsch. It creaks along at times and Meredith seems a strange choice for the role of threatening male to the Baker marriage.
10/26/14 I watched Josef von Sternberg's The Shanghai Gesture. It certainly maintains von Sternberg's reputation as one of cinema's masters of ambient art. And it is of interest as being somewhat of a precursor to Chinatown and the noir sensibility in general. The plot though and much of the vitality seem to be lost and it is much more interesting than affecting.
1/1/16 I watched Jean Gremillon's Stormy Waters. The first film by Gremillon that I have seen and though I did not fall for it entirely it reminded me of a Hawks film from this era coupled with some of Prevert's sensibility from his work with Carne. It has this interesting variation on the noir theme of the criminal's last job. But instead of the final job going awry, it is an affair that puts everything and everyone into a tailspin.
12/16/17 I rewatched Raoul Walsh's Manpower. Interesting that I had seen it before as I don't remember watching it at all. It is okay but nowhere near the very best of his work.
1/15/18 I watched Edward F. Cline's Never Give a Sucker an Even Break. There is some really fun stuff like Fields' Sqwuigilum. I just wish he didn't find so much fun in ending his films with long, chaotic car sequences.
1/5/20 I watched Yasujiro Ozu's Brothers and Sisters of the Toda Family. The first full-blown Ozu sound masterpiece.
5/14/22 I watched Gregory La Cava's Unfinished Business. A film that on the surface impresses by never going where you expect it. In the way it feels like a romantic comedy dressed up like a drama, it reminded me of Cukor's Holiday. La Cava puts it all together with great restraint and confidence and I can't ever recall liking Montgomery more than his performance here.
