christmas , again is a 2014 drama romance written , directed , and produced by charles poekel .

the film features kentucker audley in the lead role as a christmas-tree salesman returning to new york city .

the film had its premiere at the 2014 locarno international film festival in switzerland and the 2015 sundance film festival in the united states .

christmas , again

“christmas , again” is not rated . running time : 1 hour 20 minutes .
christmas , again becomes the kind of christmas movie not very common anymore . one lacking in cynicism and irony .
“christmas , again” premiered this week at the locarno film festival . it does not currently have distribution .
christmas , again
captures something ineffably moving about the holiday grind , as depicted in the life of a seasonal christmas tree seller .
there are no featured audience reviews yet . click the link below to see what others say about christmas , again !
plot never totally dominates ' christmas , again , ' which is largely a collection of moments , all about the grind of living in this particular skin .
the traditional holiday movie builds towards some climactic takeaway : a troubled character finds new value through the convenience of the christmas spirit . “ christmas , again , ” the bittersweet debut from writer - director charles poekel , is a welcome deviation from that tendency .
the title christmas , again says it all , really . in charles poekel’s directorial debut , christmas is less of a joyous holiday and more of a hurdle to jump over . at least that’s what it’s like for noel ( kentucker audley ) , a christmas tree salesman in new york city working the night shift . poekel isn’t cheery or sentimental in his approach , but he also doesn’t make his film an exercise in misery . with a low - key , melancholy tone throughout , christmas , again pleasantly goes against expectations , winding up as a minor , well - observed character study .
yet another indie christmas - themed film thickly coated with an overall sense of bah humbug . even the film’s title suggests a feeling of irritation towards the recent influx of holiday melancholy over the years . however , first - time writer / director charles poekel’s christmas , again reverses the trend with an uplifting tale of one man’s emotional turnaround at the hands of some old - fashioned christmas spirit .
despite its melancholy aura , however , christmas , again still manages to paint the holidays as a magical time . new york may be gloomy here , but the image of noel standing against some traditional colored bulbs should make anyone nostalgic for the childlike wonder that always accompanied christmas . a third act trip to drop off and set up trees on christmas eve delivers even more glad tidings ; during this sequence , we’re treated to scenes that find new york’s young and old finding delight in nothing more simple than a 6’ balsam fir . because , ultimately , christmas , again is about finding joy in the simple things after years of living with complicated ones . to have a happy christmas , sometimes all you need is a gift and the warmth of a companion well met .
as yuletide offerings go , charles poekel’s “christmas , again” might as well be called “it’s a so - so life” — a downbeat but never outright depressing reminder that the holidays tend to look a lot less jolly from the vantage of those peddling christmas cheer . whereas david sedaris made the same point with considerably more wit in “the [ … ]
a heartbroken christmas tree salesman returns to new york city to put his past behind him .
though not outwardly comedic in tone , “christmas , again” does offer an amusing critique of holiday cheer . as noel makes house calls , awkwardly lugging trees into a variety of homes throughout the city , his clients barely notice his presence — but we do . both pitiable and amusing , he’s like the ghost of christmas present for an age of ambivalence .
noel , who lives in a trailer , one night takes in a young woman , lydia ( hannah gross ) , who has passed out on a bench . whether these two might provide some comfort for each other is the closest that “christmas , again” comes to having a plot .
nicely done indie film about loss , might just be the most finely tuned melancholy christmas film ever .
noel ( kentucker audley ) , the appropriately named protagonist of “ christmas , again , ” approaches the holiday season more as he would a duty than an occasion for good cheer . for a brief period each year , he ventures from upstate new york to greenpoint , brooklyn , to sell christmas trees . he stands stoically while customers snap pictures of the firs on their cellphones or pepper him with questions about different evergreens .
christmas , again tells the story of noel , a young man who travels from upstate ny every year to sell christmas trees in new york city . returning without the help of his long - time girlfriend , this year noel finds it impossible to do the one thing he knows so well - - - sell christmas trees . as noel begins to spiral downwards , alienating co - workers and customers in the process , it turns out this same community of people may be the only ones capable of saving noel from self - destruction .
shot on grainy 16mm by cinematographer sean price williams ( “listen up phillip” ) , “christmas , again” offers the unique pairing of vibrant holiday colors with a foundation of gritty realism built around its impressive lead performance . the character is himself a contrast to his surroundings — a low energy sad sack named , of all things , noel .
it ' s interesting to note that poekel sold christmas trees for five years to get the money to finance the film .
the lead character of
christmas , again
is named noel ( kentucker audley ) —too cutesy a name to be believed , but it ' s skipped over like a pebble jumping across a pond . noel spends most of his year working construction
upstate
but every christmas time , he is one of those guys you see on almost every corner in new york , selling christmas trees ( plus wreaths , stands and lights ) . it ' s seasonal work , and post - christmas , those guys vanish suddenly and then re - appear the next year . poekel himself worked this seasonal job , and the film is great in showing how it all operates . noel works the night - shift and oversees his two day - shift workers .
as the title suggests , “christmas , again” is concerned with how the holidays are , for some , a time of lonely resignation . ( sporting a green winter jacket , noel sometimes looks ready to camouflage himself in his merchandise . ) the cinematographer , sean price williams , shoots on 16 - millimeter film , suffusing the film with wintry colors and , at times , visible grain . this is a christmas movie in which magic exists largely on the periphery , and that is just the right mix of chilly and sweet .
this is a christmas movie in which magic exists largely on the periphery , and that is just the right mix of chilly and sweet .
a truly quiet movie but one that ' s also consistently rewarding . i hope you guys aren ' t as lonely as noel this christmas .
by the end of christmas , again’s brief runtime , poekel’s preference of little to no narrative momentum begins to wear things down , but not enough to cause any serious damage . for the most part , the listless tone helps establish the film as a refreshing take on the christmas movie . it doesn’t like to think big or provide a neat character arc , preferring to act as a brief snapshot into one person’s wistful existence during the holidays . it may not be the most exciting thing to watch , but it provides something unique , relatable and ultimately worthwhile .
“it was christmas and mom was always going , ‘calm down . ” and i had a couple of drinks and i put it out there . ”
the very nature of their kinship implies that not every bored , disgruntled urban young adult falls into the neatly defined conventions of cynicism and privilege . by merely breaking away from those clichés and carving out an charming fresh path , poekel makes a quietly defiant statement . “christmas , again” hints at the arrival of a promising new voice , but doesn’t blast it , instead adopting the same gentle allure of the poekel’s forlorn protagonist .
notably , while “christmas , again” provides yet another microbudget snapshot of brooklyn living , it stands apart from countless rambling meditations on urban youth culture . hailing from upstate and planning to return there after the holiday , noel is a transitory figure at odds with his surroundings in more ways than one . lydia follows suit . though she’s given less of a backstory , she offers the semblance of catharsis without becoming a one - note panacea .
though it runs just 78 minutes , christmas , again still feels a touch too long and , as such , maybe overplays its hand a bit . though we’re given an admirably realistic resolution , i couldn’t help but wish for a touch more ambiguity , a reflection of the amorphousness of noel’s transition into an unsure future . focus shifts slightly in the movie’s final moments , which feels jarring in a film that’s centered so tightly around one man’s journey .
delicate and restrained , the film offers the messages of redemption and renewal we so often crave from a christmas movie without wrapping its themes and characters in tinsel .
i have a soft spot for plotless movies about sad people . the fact that it ' s set around christmas makes it sadder , and makes me like it even more .
there ' s no hollywood ending here , but though little has happened plot - wise , we sense that this christmas just might have been transformative for two lonely , drifting souls .
there are glimpses of unexplained strangeness : in the trailer , noel listens to what seems to be a tape of an old - timey melodramatic radio show . he keeps pills ( for anxiety ? pain ? sleep ? ) in different windows of a cheap advent calendar , popping one a day . when lydia ( hannah gross ) , a drunk girl he helps one freezing night after finding her passed out on a bench in the park , with only one shoe , and gum tangled in her hair , shows up the next day with a pumpkin pie she baked to thank him , he ' s not sure how to react . a more conventional film would have had lydia be the quirky girl who helps noel find joy in the christmas season .
christmas , again
resists . lydia moves out of the film . she returns , and leaves again . the two try to play cards . she tries to talk to him . he is kind but remote . silence dominates but it ' s full , not empty .
charles poekel’s debut feature christmas , again moves him from the nonfiction world he’d previously been in , working as the dp on niche occupational docs like hey bartender and all in : the poker movie , to a fictional world that retains a verite style . this isn’t far from the kind of documentaries that follow one guy through his life . there isn’t any flashy camera work or melodramatic plot twists , only a man with a symbolically interesting job . that man , noel ( kentucker audley ) , is selling christmas trees in an nyc park . where he used to do this kind of seasonal work with a long - term girlfriend , he now is selling them alone . noel’s ( get it ? ) dreary day - to - day life is juxtaposed with the cheer the…
it’s december . it’s cold . red , green , and blue bulbs glow over a small christmas tree stand . there resides noel ( kentucker audley ) , soft - spoken and swimming in flannel . he sells trees , adorns wreaths , and mingles with a rotating cast of new york locals . “christmas sucks , ” one mutters , and noel doesn’t argue . it ain’t what it used to be , that’s for sure .
none of these events are highlighted in a way that telegraphs
here is the plot .
christmas , again
asks us to submit to the mood because that is where the profundity and emotion exists . new york is narrowed down to one corner , but on that corner a bustling diverse life occurs . cinematographer sean price williams , who helped shoot albert maysles '
iris ,
and also shot indie hit
listen up philip
, often blurs out the background , fuzzed - out colored strings of lights filling up the space behind people ' s faces . the light is harsh in the morning , and dark blue at night . you can feel how cold it is .
one of the most important challenges for a director ( along with the cinematographer and editor of any given film ) is to create the proper mood for the story . mood may be more important than words , because words come out of—or are contextualized by—mood . mood is ephemeral , but it helps establish point of view and orients us in the dream - space of the film . with all of the things that
christmas , again
( written and directed by charles poekel in his feature debut ) does well ( and it does almost everything well ) , the most striking thing about it is its evocation of an extremely specific mood . once we settle into it , and it happens early , everything else becomes possible .
a heartbroken christmas - tree salesman returns to new york city hoping to put his past behind him . living in a trailer and working the night shift , he begins to spiral downwards until the saving of a mysterious woman and some colorful customers rescue him from self - destruction .
starring kentucker audley ( “sun don’t shine” ) as a downtrodden loner selling christmas trees in brooklyn in the aftermath of a breakup , and the fleeting connection he finds with a fellow lost soul , the movie makes no grand gestures but provides a satisfactory arrangement of many small ones .
for a fifth consecutive december , a heartbroken noel returns to new york city to work the night shift at a sidewalk christmas tree lot . devoid of any holiday spirit , he struggles to stay awake during the long , chilly nights in his trailer , while the daytime traffic keeps him from getting any real rest .
the monotony of noel’s job takes a turn for him when he finds lydia ( hannah gross ) passed out on a bench near his work . after letting her sleep in his trailer , she vanishes the next morning , only to return again days later . noel and lydia strike up a sort of casual friendship , one more out of necessity than by choice . both of them have similar issues , and their isolation only draws them closer together . poekel ends up taking their relationship in an unexpected direction by the end , one that’s surprisingly satisfying considering its lack of a clear resolution .
a mopey , little whisp of a film that can only be felt , rather than described . pregnant with unspoken emotions that flicker on & off across the lead actor ' s face , like the out - of - focus christmas lights that litter the screen , this a movie that is so quiet & unassuming , it most definitely requires a second viewing .
for five straight years , noel ( kentucker audley ) has traveled from upstate new york to brooklyn in order to sell christmas trees on the sidewalk . mostly working the night shift , noel struggles mightily to maintain an affable demeanor in the face of demanding customers and lackluster co - workers due to the fact that he misses his old crew ; more specifically , his girlfriend . …
audiences thus slowly get to know noel , who’s clearly become a man of few words since the breakup and who seems to just blindly forge ahead , as if on autopilot . but this being a christmas movie , a spark of good tidings and cheer can be found on a nearby park bench , where noel finds lydia ( canadian actress hannah gross ) , who’s so wasted she hasn’t noticed a homeless man has taken her mobile phone .
noel’s been selling christmas trees in this spot for five years now , but something’s different this year . “that sign’s new , ” he observes of his surroundings . “they paved the road , never thought they’d do that . ” but it’s noel , not new york , that’s changed . he’s newly single and , as such , left without his longtime crew . instead , he’s saddled with a pair of slackers ( jason shelton and oona roche ) and the aching weight of memories that accompanies not just this spot , but the holidays themselves . in pouring rain and drifting snow , noel sulks behind his beard , speaking in monosyllables as he sells trees to yuppies , scumbags , and healthy , happy families . one night , however , he stumbles upon lydia ( hannah gross ) , passed out on a park bench . he gives her refuge for the night , and , as christmas looms closer , she weaves in and out of his life .
the film consists mainly of noel’s countless short exchanges with his co - workers and a series of customers , who range from kind to disinterested , funny to bizarre ( one of them actually lands a punch on noel’s face ) . as per the press kit , most of these encounters were inspired by the director’s own interactions with clients as a christmas - tree peddler , a job poekel started with the idea of funneling both his experiences and the money earned into his feature debut .
where all this is headed can’t exactly be called shocking , though noel and lydia nicely underplay their growing rapport and there’s indeed a sense that the withdrawn noel slowly melts in the presence of this girl who — what else ? — bakes him a cake to thank him for taking care of her . cue the christmas songs about cold winter nights and heart - warming occurrences , though thankfully poekel ' s song choice is a little more offbeat and eclectic than usual for holiday films .
for a fifth consecutive december , a heartbroken noel returns to new york city to work the night shift at a sidewalk christmas tree lot . devoid of any holiday spirit , he struggles to stay awake during the long , chilly nights in his trailer , while the daytime traffic keeps him from getting any real rest . as he slowly spirals into despair , he comes to the aid of a mysterious young woman in the park . her warming presence , matched with some colorful customers , help rescue him from self - destruction .
if the new yorkers around him can be divided into white - collar and blue - collar types , noel belongs to a third category : an underspoken flannel - collar guy from upstate who feels out of place in the big city . such characters rarely serve as the focus of an entire feature , and that novelty provides a zen - like calm at the center of the stress the gothamites around him bring to the christmas season . ( an interaction with one douchebag glued to his smartphone underscores how different he is from the locals . )
customers mostly come and go , though one flirty young lady requests a christmas eve delivery that sounds more enticing that it turns out , and the girl from the park bench resurfaces — as does her jealous boyfriend — to break up the routine . efficiently trimmed by editor robert greene ( “listen up philip” ) , the pic’s charm comes from its moments of unforced naturalism : little observations about the way people behave , paired with details and anecdotes that poekel himself lived during his years operating mcgrolick trees , the same stand where the film was shot .
this movie is not for those who
l - l - l - l - ove
christmas ( insert smiley face and / or festive yuletide thingy here , with irony ) , so that takes care of the warning up front . it ' s melancholy . very , very melancholy . it ' s also surprisingly effective and quietly moving . it captures tedium perfectly , and that combined with grief and loneliness makes it a realistic , wistful trifecta . bonus : brooklyn in chilly winter . i liked this weird little gem , though will be sure not to rewatch it in the holiday season .
the story takes place
sometime fairly recently ,
at a street corner in greenpoint , brooklyn , where the auspiciously named noel ( audley ) works the nightshift at a makeshift christmas - tree stand that’s open 24 / 7 for most of december . as slowly emerges from snippets of conversations , a lot has recently changed for noel , for whom this is the fifth year on the job . this time around , he’s decided to work nights , most likely as a result of his break - up with his girlfriend , mary - ann ,
that nice girl from last year
that clients rather unfortunately keep asking him about .
and that ' s pretty much it , in terms of plot . things do happen : noel is annoyed at the lackadaisical attitude of his underlings (
nick , you gotta be better at sweeping up the needles , man . . .
) , goes every day to swim and shower at a nearby ymca , buys lotto tickets . noel is quiet , but not apathetic about his job : he is ambitious to sell as many trees as possible . people who recognize him ask if
marianna
is with him , and he replies ,
not this year
without elaborating . maybe she ' s an ex - girlfriend . it ' s not clear . maybe they worked the christmas season together and he had a crush on her and that ' s as far as it went . ( that somehow seems more likely . he seems like an unrequited kind of guy . )
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crafted with affection and attentive to workaday rhythms , this first feature from writer - director charles poekel demonstrates an authentic feel for the neighborhood , where he himself once sold trees .
the film amounts to a collection of indelible moments , many of them piercingly lovely and delicate .
the most striking thing about it is its evocation of an extremely specific mood . once we settle into it , and it happens early , everything else becomes possible .
poekel keeps things natural , letting noel ' s sadness slowly permeate the atmosphere along with the scent of pine needles rather than ringing it out at high volume .
basically the story of a man forced to finally see the injustice around him . riley’s movie is designed to do the same thing to you . …
the ballad of narayama
is a japanese film of great beauty and elegant artifice , telling a story of startling cruelty . what a space it opens…
roger ebert ' s speech on empathy for the
11th hour
series on april 9th , 1994 , being republished here in honor of his birthday june 18 .
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noel has interactions with various customers : an impatient guy with a bluetooth who takes pictures of various trees to text to his wife (
hold the tree straight ,
bluetooth guy commands ) , a seemingly flirtatious woman who admires the holly noel put in the wreaths , a woman who asks
do you have the obama tree from ohio ?
, and an intense guy who asks ,
do women like douglas fir or balsam fir better ?
some of the interactions have more reverb than others , but they remain isolated incidents with their own internal tensions and a strong cumulative effect . one night , a guy comes up behind him and punches him in the head with no warning . later noel admits ,
i been punched before
and you believe it .
kentucker audley is a naturally charismatic actor . in
kurt cobain : montage of heck ,
courtney love observes that her husband
had no idea he was as good - looking as brad pitt ,
and you get the sense that noel is the same way . his handsome face flickers with emotions , gone in a flash . when he does show humor , it is only in his eyes , but it ' s there , a slight wince accompanying . audley draws you in in the way the old movie stars used to do : his emotions are clear and mysterious at the same time . loneliness does not express itself in language . loneliness is the air noel breathes . it ' s in his posture .
all of this may sound rather dull . but it ' s not . it ' s a beautifully observed film without any overt message ( thank goodness ) but drenched in melancholy and silence and cold . things sometimes resolve themselves , gently , only it ' s fragmentary , and none of it is
the point .
the point is that noel is a guy living a specific life in a specific season , dealing with emotions that are all over his face but never verbalized . there is no self - pity , no maudlin catharsis . the film has the courage of its convictions and confidence in its mood . what a pleasure to watch a film that resists being about only one thing . that resists the conventional story . that lets us enter into the life of another .
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the man who killed don quixote .
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in the tradition of such diy day - job dramas as “the happy poet” and “beeswax , ” poekel’s debut was inspired by three years its writer - director spent hustling evergreens to hipsters in greenpoint , brooklyn — a job that transformed the normally festive month of december into a surreal state of semi - homelessness , as poekel ( and the dozens of other tree sellers doing the same thing ) passed their nights in trailers and cars near the lots where they worked .
poekel barely bothers to invent a plot ( not that such a slender film overtly needs one ) , focusing instead on the funk his sullen protag , noel ( kentucker audley ) , feels working the stand by himself . technically , he splits the job with two young lovebirds who handle the dayshift , though being confronted with their inseparability only makes it worse , since noel associates the job with his unseen ex - g . f . , who opted to spend her holidays doing something else this year .
it’s impossible to say how serious they were as a couple ( if the label even applies , since it might have been entirely one - sided ) . offering no flashbacks and precious few clues , poekel relies on the underspoken character to convey this sense of absence through a series of prickly , passive - aggressive interactions with his two co - workers and a variety of briefly glimpsed customers . taking out his heartbreak on others , noel is curt and surprisingly unhelpful with clients , though never in a snide “bad santa” sense . audley makes him sympathetic , and at times , he’s even capable of kindness , as when he rescues a drunken girl ( ) from a park bench and allowing her to sleep it off in his camper .
poekel describes this approach as “method writing , ” though most people would call it research . this specificity gives the film texture , from the way noel wraps and prepares the trees for sale to the night a synthetic blanket catches fire and nearly burns down his caravan , while an almost allergic resistance to melodrama keeps the experience feeling real , rather than sappy — which is more than can be said of the hundreds of dead trees he sold to get this movie made .
reviewed at locarno film festival ( ) , aug . 12 , 2014 . running time : 79 min .
production : produced by charles poekel . executive producer , william poekel . co - producer , clare paterson .
crew : directed , written by charles poekel . camera ( color , 16mm ) , sean price williams ; editor , robert greene ; production designer , trevor peterson ; sound , udbhav gupta ; associate producers , eleonore hendricks , anne miller , blake wilson ; casting , hendricks .
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audley’s performance is both aloof and assured , well - rounded enough to ensure the warmth that eventually emerges from behind his gruff exterior feels not like an anomaly , but rather a wounded animal that’s taking a chance on a world it doesn’t trust . we never learn much about noel’s breakup or family or life outside of december , but he still feels like a fully formed character thanks to audley’s soulfulness and the little things poekel plants in his orbit . gross also finds a great deal of honesty in her few scenes , affirming herself as much more than a manic pixie dream girl sent to help this sad man have a happy holiday . her life seems light years more complicated than his ; if anything , she sees him as an escape from the hell that is her holidays .
this family - friendly take on the classic novel takes a light approach to its naturalistic source material .
noel and liam are alleged to have broken into gladys tomlinson’s manchester home in 1989 .
the children quiz liam on his favorite disney movie , what song he most enjoys playing , and his favorite type of farts .
a customer mentions the nice girl who worked at the stand last year , clearly noel’s ex . whether heartbroken or simply laconic , noel seems reluctant to make conversation unless directly addressed .
but this is a film of process , mood , tempo and even suspense . ( noel will have to pay for any unsold trees . ) the writer and director , charles poekel , a cinematographer making his feature directorial debut , opened a stand of his own partly for research .
audley ( ain’t them bodies saints ) , in practically every frame of the film , has to carry this feather - light narrative on his shoulders and does so with ease . his noel seems to do very little and isn’t particularly warm or sympathetic , yet there’s something fascinating about simply watching him getting on with the business of selling trees , which , much like his funk , is clearly a seasonal thing . opposite him , gross ( i used to be darker ) is an affable presence , though her character is more of a vision than anything resembling a girl with an actual personality .
though the budget was clearly tiny , dp sean price williams ( the color wheel , listen up philip ) did shoot the film on 16 mm , which lends the cinematography a pleasant , old - school feeling , with the grain functioning as a kind of gauze and the initial restlessness of williams ' camera slowly steadying as noel finds his bearings .
also of particular note is the enormous , hooded green winter coat that lydia wears , which in some shots makes her look like someone out of a hans christian andersen fairy tale even if the garment always remains credible as the kind of thing a brooklyn hipster would fish out of a well - stocked second - hand store .
over the course of its trim 80 - minute plot , the subdued audley imbues his character with gently affecting melancholic depth . a far cry from some of the more energetic personalities he’s portrayed in other small - scale narratives , audley imbues noel with the characteristics of a frightened lost soul . working the graveyard shift on a bland lot and regularly berated by his boss for not selling enough trees , noel spends most of his sleepy routine sitting around and gazing wistfully at photos of his former flame . but his routine gets shaken up during a chance encounter on the street with a mysterious woman named lydia ( hannah gross ) whom he discovers passed out drunk on a park bench . dragging her back to his place , he instigates an ambiguous relationship as the similarly low key lydia regularly pays him visits to discuss her own alienated life and relationship troubles . though their relationship only develops up to a certain point , it’s that very same restraint that allows the story to make a compelling break with convention .
far from the solution to his troubles , lydia merely offers the possibility of hope in fresh companionship . poekel’s muted screenplay frames their story in basic terms , avoiding the prospects of a tidy climax and allowing the somber nature of his characters to take the lead . the result is a lightweight but utterly likable riff on urban loneliness that never forces its themes .
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a . v . club review . still haven ' t seen any of kentucker audley ' s films as writer - director , but if his performance here is typical , he ' s a hell of an actor . ( just realized you can ' t use
helluva
in front of a noun beginning with a vowel . )
ah the comfortable feeling of movies with no plot . this movie was a treat .
le tengo cierto cariño a películas sin trama y sobre gente triste . el hecho de que ésta esté situada durante diciembre , la hace más triste , y a mí me gusta más .
i hate the name , but it ' ll have to do as a placeholder . as far as i can tell , relative to…
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almost a gentleman is a 1939 american drama film directed by leslie goodwins from a screenplay by david silverstein and jo pagano , based on the story by harold shumate .

the film stars james ellison , helen wood and robert kent , and was released by rko radio pictures on march 31 , 1939 .

almost a gentleman ( 1939 film )

southern gentleman : hatfield . he ' s more gambler than gentleman , though .
16mm almost a gentleman robert kent helen wood robert warwick june clayworth - $ 69 . 99 | picclick
16 mm almost a gentleman starring robert kent , helen wood , robert warwick 1939 film nice syndicated print no cue marks near mint condition print no vinegar smell mounted on two reels . winner pays postage costs .
hattie mcdaniel and clark gable in the 1939 film
gone with the wind .
let’s also not forget the film’s insistence that a gentleman may feel free to assert his conjugal rights .
democracy in action : mr . smith goes to washington ( 1939 ) – park ridge classic film
an old traditional family and a modern family battle over land in a small english village and almost destroy each other .
for almost seven decades prince philip has been at the queen’s side and a bedrock of the royal family .
in 1947 philip was given british citizenship , allowing buckingham palace to portray him as a thoroughly british gentleman .
it ' s remarkable that after spending almost eight hours of my existence in front of this film , i can remember only two points vividly .
over almost 70 years spent as the queen’s other half prince philip has enjoyed proving the doubters wrong .
then church’s girlfriend , smitty ( muriel hutchison ) , almost shoots nick , and his friend / servant dum - dum ( abner biberman ) , almost stabs him . but nick escapes unscathed . you can watch it here .
the first scenes of oscar micheaux ' s 1939 remake of his silent film birthright have been lost for years . courtesy of kino lorber inc . hide caption
historian piers brendon says : “they thought philip was not a gentleman . they thought he was rude , un - mannerly and arrogant .
13 minutes , the new film from the director of downfall , shows how close a lowly carpenter came to assassinating the führer in 1939 . who was georg elser , and why did he fail ?
a young gentleman goes to australia where he reunites with his now married childhood sweetheart , only to find out she has become an alcoholic and harbors dark secrets .
the fox film corporation became the first american distributor to become involved in australian exhibition when it took controlling interest in hoyts theatres ltd . resigning as hoyts’s managing director , fw thring sold almost all his shares in the company and formed the production company efftee film productions .
many race films exist today only as fragments of decomposing film strips . some of the few film negatives and prints that are still intact are in an underground vault in culpeper , va . , where the library of congress stores almost 140 , 000 cans of highly flammable nitrate film shot before 1951 — including the birth of a nation ' s original negative .
the story on which the movie was based was titled
the gentleman from montana
, but the state is not specified in the movie .
more than a dozen of those movies , though , are now part of a film restoration project — pioneers of african - american cinema — by independent film distributor kino lorber .
future learning and skills – giving everyone the opportunity to build a lifelong relationship with film .
it will not seem ungracious , one hopes , to take issue with gentleman’s agreement on two points where insufficient knowledge seems to have misled its makers .
the first film to earn two best supporting actor oscar nominations . claude rains and harry carey were both nominated . both of them lost to co - star thomas mitchell for his role in stagecoach ( 1939 ) .
cathryn caviness plays the spirit of a dead woman in a scene from a remastered version of spencer williams ' 1941 film the blood of jesus .
old - fashioned though it be , we confess a preference , when it comes to matters of public enlightenment , for the straightforward approach represented by gentleman’s agreement . this film is amazingly free of the latter - day propagandist’s bag - of - tricks .
in 1939 , the film was released to near - universal acclaim . adjusting the box office figures for inflation , “gone with the wind” remains the highest - grossing film of all time . even now , the movie plays remarkably well . in scope , direction and especially acting , the film compares favorably with most of the best hollywood products of recent years .
news items ,
the gentleman from montana
( an unpublished story by lewis r . foster , alternately called
the gentleman from wyoming
by both contemporary and modern sources ) was originally purchased by columbia as a vehicle for ralph bellamy , with harold wilson slated to produce . once frank capra became the director , the project , planned as a sequel to
stagecoach ( 1939 ) is a classic western from film auteur john ford . this film - his first sound western - was a return to his most - acclaimed film genre after a thirteen year absence following fox ' s three bad men ( 1926 ) ( and the iron horse ( 1924 ) ) . in the meantime , he had produced the superb , oscar - winning drama about irish republicanism , rko ' s the informer ( 1935 ) .
to those who have had great dreams for the “cinema , ” the unreeling of gentleman’s agreement holds a secondary drama . once more , against the scoffers both inside and outside hollywood , the film is attempting to show itself as something better than combination peep show and juke box . it has been a long drought since grapes of wrath —and it is exciting to see gentleman’s agreement demonstrate once again that the medium is there , and the talent , too .
( 1939 ) . by 1946 he was getting too old to continue working however and would be replaced in the sequels by another german shepherd named flame .
oscar micheaux staged a realistic lynching scene in his 1919 film within our gates , which some film scholars believe was made in response to d . w . griffith ' s the birth of a nation .
the ballad of narayama
is a japanese film of great beauty and elegant artifice , telling a story of startling cruelty . what a space it opens…
directed by james whale . with louis hayward , joan bennett , alan hale us 1939 , 35mm , b / w , 110 min . print from sony pictures
this movie picks up almost two years later just before the baby’s 1st birthday . we open with shots of new york city and the family’s labelled trunks : they’ve just arrived !
’s success guaranteed that universal would produce a sequel . wary of being seen exclusively as a director of horror films , whale balked at the idea . to secure his cooperation , the studio granted him almost complete freedom , and whale took advantage of the situation to create his most outlandishly perverse film . the resulting horror - comedy is widely considered his masterpiece and can be read as a darkly satiric assault on the institution of marriage . the film opens with a prologue featuring a
a gang of thieves gather at a safe house following a robbery , but a detective is on their trail .
clark gable unforgettably incarnates rhett , but this film would be nothing without scarlett .
the film was banned in nazi germany , fascist italy , soviet russia and falangist spain . according to frank capra , the film was also dubbed in certain european countries to alter the message of the film so it conformed with official ideology .
a change in the academy rules required that directors could be nominated for only one motion picture in a single year . frank capra , john ford , william wyler , and sam wood - all great directors for oscar - nominated films , couldn ' t overcome the almost - total sweep of gone with the wind . best director winner victor fleming also directed another best picture nominee in 1939 , the wizard of oz .
, and in 1952 columbia considered a remake of the original film starring jane wyman in stewart ' s role .
offers an unsettling cautionary tale of scientific hubris run amok . the film’s story of a mild - mannered scientist transformed by his fantastical invention into a raving megalomaniac is less an ethical debate about man playing god than an existential allegory about the seductive nature of power . although whale cast claude rains as griffin because of rains ' extraordinarily expressive voice , the actor was chagrined to learn that his face would remain unseen for almost the entirety of his first hollywood film . destined for a place in film history due to its special effects ,
the national historical film and speaking record library was founded as part of the then commonwealth national library . in 1984 , the national film and sound archive was created as a separate commonwealth collecting institution .
the first came on november 8 , 1939 , two months after the war began , and the story behind it has now been made into 13 minutes , a gripping and thought - provoking film by oliver hirschbiegel , best known as the award - winning director of downfall ( 2004 ) .
1939 is undoubtedly the most celebrated year in american film history - the year produced more outstanding films than any other 12 - month period . it was bound to be difficult for the academy to nominate or honor all the rich , outstanding films of the year .
the film finished shooting eight days over schedule and $ 288 , 660 over budget .
willy wolff was born in berlin in 1927 . following the rise of the nazis in 1933 , he fled with his family to amsterdam , and from there to london in 1939 .
but the studio couldn’t control everything , and the third sequel almost didn’t happen . first , powell’s fiancée jean harlow unexpectedly died from kidney failure in june of 1937 . he was devastated . then about six months later , he was diagnosed with cancer just as production on another thin man was slated to begin . he immediately had surgery in early 1938 , followed by treatment and a second operation in february 1939 .
yellow earth ( 1988 ) asin : 6302917050 . color , widescreen , english subtitles . director : kaige chen . story : poetic and highly cinema graphic story of a the inspiring encounter between a young farm girl in 1939 and a communist soldier in search of folk songs to turn into propaganda for his regiment . the film gives a good look at the hardships faced by women in rural china .
in 1942 , when a ban on american films was imposed in german - occupied france , the title theaters chose mr . smith goes to washington ( 1939 ) for their last movie before the ban went into effect . one paris theater reportedly screened the film nonstop for 30 days prior to the ban .
the battle of the next century , says gentleman’s agreement , will be fought out in the homes of america . that is more than a fourth of july orator’s flourish . extend it a bit to include churches and schools , and it is the plain truth .
the ever - popular film has also had its share of detractors , for its benign antebellum southern racial stereotypes ( of happy slaves living on the plantation ) - its overall portrayal of slavery and race . many forget that hattie mcdaniel and other black cast members were not allowed to attend the premiere of the film in racially - segregated atlanta in mid - december 1939 . there were protests and boycotts by african - americans when the film opened in major cities .
this immortal classic - the definition of hollywood period epic - remains even today a splendorous spectacle that stands above most modern blockbusters with its astonishing production values and holds our full attention for almost four hours as we follow its two unforgettable characters .
fox ' s long - reigning production chief from the 30s onward was darryl f . zanuck and its finest film director was john ford , whose films in the 30s included the lost patrol ( 1934 ) , drums along the mohawk ( 1939 ) , the travelers - in - peril tale stagecoach ( 1939 ) ( marked by ford ' s first filming in his favorite monument valley , and john wayne ' s break - out role as the ringo kid ) , and young mr . lincoln ( 1939 ) . the success of max steiner ' s composed musical score for ford ' s the informer ( 1935 ) encouraged the future development of musical soundtracks and accompaniment .
life being what it is , last year’s publicity out of hollywood to the effect that twentieth century - fox was “lavishing its all” on its super - production of gentleman’s agreement could not help but arouse a certain apprehensiveness . in mr . zanuck’s wizard hands was one of the great human issues of our time . almost inevitably , some felt , there would emerge from the hollywood belt line another huge purring stratoliner of a film , in whose chromium - bright hollow interior we would be sky - borne , passive as packages , to be redeposited two hours later quite untouched , and only a little airsick .
[ note : by 1939 , the western genre had fallen out of favor , but stagecoach helped reinvent the genre , providing for its rebirth . it must be remembered however , that 1939 also saw the release of other blockbuster westerns including union pacific , dodge city , the oklahoma kid , ford ' s own technicolor drums along the mohawk , destry rides again and jesse james . ]
the tomatometer score — based on the opinions of hundreds of film and television critics — is a trusted measurement of critical recommendation for millions of fans . it represents the percentage of professional critic reviews that are positive for a given film or television show .
oscar micheaux staged a realistic lynching scene in his 1919 film within our gates , which some film scholars believe was made in response to d . w . griffith ' s the birth of a nation . courtesy of kino lorber , inc . hide caption
the film ' s subtle racism is insidious , going to great lengths to enshrine the myth that the civil war wasn ' t fought over slavery - an institution the film unabashedly romanticizes .
the set for the senate chamber was constructed on two newly built adjoining stages at columbia , stage 8 and 9 . the set was built almost to scale , and was at that time , the largest set built on a columbia sound stage .
this is a film adaptation of the cornish opera
the wreckers
( 1906 ) by ethel smyth , minus the music .
is , if not the definitive hollywood film , then certainly near the top of the list .
included among the american film institute ' s 1998 list of the top 100 greatest american movies .
[ mitchell was the third performer to have three appearances in best picture - nominated films - in 1939 : gone with the wind ( 1939 ) , mr . smith goes to washington ( 1939 ) , and stagecoach ( 1939 ) . claudette colbert was the first to star in three best picture - nominated films in the same year , in 1934 : cleopatra ( 1934 ) , it happened one night ( 1934 ) , and imitation of life ( 1934 ) , and the second was charles laughton in 1935 : mutiny on the bounty ( 1935 ) , les miserables ( 1935 ) , and ruggles of red gap ( 1935 ) . the feat would be repeated by john c . reilly , in 2002 : chicago ( 2002 ) , the hours ( 2002 ) and gangs of new york ( 2002 ) . ]
the german historical drama
13 minutes
opens with the sound of strenuous human grunting , accompanied by the regular ticktock of a mechanical timer . it ' s nov . 8 , 1939 , several hours before an explosive device , planted by georg elser , is set to go off , almost killing adolf hitler , who , as history tells us , had left the building in which the bomb was planted mere minutes earlier ( hence the film ' s english title , which has been changed from the original , limply un - thrillerish
elser
) .
crossfire was the first , gentleman’s agreement is the second in hollywood’s film cycle against anti - semitism to reach the nation’s screens . elliot e . cohen wrote the “letter to the movie makers” published in the august commentary , in which he offered some reflections on the potential of crossfire , and of the film medium generally , for fighting prejudice . in this article mr . cohen appraises gentleman’s agreement , and speculates on the uses and limitations of present - day propaganda for democratic causes . mr . cohen is editor of this magazine . perhaps we should mention that he is here expressing his own views , which are in no sense official .
paul robeson and julia theresa russell star in this scene from a remastered version of oscar micheaux ' s 1925 film body and soul .
the restoration project added new sequences to micheaux ' s 1939 remake of his silent film birthright . the first two of the film ' s nine reels have been missing for years . to replace about 20 minutes of those missing first scenes , restorers have added new title cards to introduce the story of peter siner ( played by carman newsome ) — a young black man who graduates from harvard university and returns home to the south to build a school for african - american children .
scarlett : sir , you are no gentleman . rhett : and you , miss , are no lady . . . don ' t think that i hold that against you . ladies have never held any charm for me .
it is a pleasure to report that for once in a lifetime mr . zanuck is even better than his billing . the plain fact is that gentleman’s agreement is a moving , thought - provoking film , which dramatically brings home the question of anti - semitism to precisely those people whose insight is most needed—decent , average americans . in honesty and reality , it is immensely superior to a film like the best years of our lives , hollywood’s machine - made slicky on postwar gi problems . if there is any justice , it should win at least half as many oscars .
new scores have been commissioned for the silent movies , including micheaux ' s within our gates . the new soundtrack aside , restorers plan to restore the 1919 film closer to micheaux ' s original vision . one of the shots in a lynching scene was upside - down originally , according to charles musser , a co - curator for the collection who also teaches film at yale university . but he says previous film restorers who worked on the film turned it right - side up .
nominated for eleven academy awards , mr . smith goes to washington is one of the standout films from that magical year of 1939 . with frank capra directing and james stewart starring , how could there not be magic ? mr . smith may not have been popular with politicians at the time , but the public embraced it . it’s a film of universal truths that is as relevant today as it was when it was released seventy - five years ago . there is a fundamental decency at its heart , and it is a film with a heart and soul .
so that’s another thin man ! it was in production under the working title the thin man returns from mid - july to late august , 1939 , and quickly premiered in november . like the previous films in the series , it was a hit .
this race film material presents an extremely important chapter in the long history of african - american participation behind the camera ,
says jacqueline stewart , a film professor at the university of chicago who helped curate the films in the restoration project .
the hollywood version almost feels obsessed with race . with the notable exception of hattie mcdaniel’s academy award - winning portrayal of mammy , the black characters in the film are even more offensive than those of the novel , particularly prissy , portrayed in the film by butterfly mcqueen , whose panicked wail “i don’t know nothin’ ’bout birthin’ babies” has become a famous laugh line — although prissy seems , in the equivalent scene in the novel , less panicky than sly . the film’s slaves are , for the most part , stupid but loyal . in the postwar scenes , the freedmen are fat and arrogant .
it is an epic , almost operatic , saga set throughout the civil war and tells the tale of kittenish southern belle scarlett o’hara , a girl so pampered that even to put her face in the sun is considered too tiring . she is in love with the self - consciously chivalrous gentleman ashley wilkes and near destroys the lives of those around her for his love when really she is more in love with the idea of being in love with him . and even that is with the ideal version of him .
pike , a & cooper , r 1998 , australian film 1900–1977 , 1st edn , rev . oxford university press , melbourne , p 186 .
in november 1939 , georg elser’s attempt to assassinate adolf hitler fails , and he is arrested . during his confinement , he recalls the events leading up to his plot and his reasons for deciding to take such drastic action .
it was a star - making role for him . stewart knew he had been given a great opportunity . if playing second fiddle to joan crawford at mgm in the ice follies of 1939 seemed like an inauspicious start to 1939 for him , mr . smith certainly turned things around . he would appear in another hit that same year when destry rides again premiered in december . stewart was nominated for best actor in mr . smith . though he lost to robert donat , he would win the following year for the philadelphia story .
according to contemporary sources , capra and his crew went to washington , d . c . to film background material and to study the senate chamber , which was replicated , full scale , in precise detail on the columbia lot . james d . preston , who was capra ' s technical advisor for the senate set and political protocol , was a former superintendent of the senate press gallery . a july 1 , 1939
an interview with writer / director boots riley about his incendiary new film ,
sorry to bother you .
frank capra received many letters over the years from individuals who were inspired by the film to take up politics .
with the onset of the second world war , film stock shortages were experienced as resources were directed to newsreels and propaganda films . from june 1942 film distribution exchanges provided free film prints to troops in new guinea and remote parts of australia . from late 1940 , many australian commercial producers began making propaganda films for the commonwealth department of information .
i had no idea of the acting talent and great humour he was to bring to the film , not to mention his rabbinical knowledge . willy wolff was an absolute godsend for the film . although he was only a secondary figure , he achieved the impossible , and employed his unique blend of wit , charm and intelligence to speak about death , bereavement and the concept of the afterlife . as soon as the film premiered at the 2011 berlin film festival , the rabbi became an audience darling .
gone with the wind , margaret mitchell’s pulitzer prize - winning novel , is one of the bestselling books of all time , with at least 28 million copies having been published in nearly every language . its immortality was however secured by david o . selznick’s 1939 film adaptation - winner of 11 academy awards , including the first for a black actor , hattie mcdaniel… although her character isn’t exactly… progressive .
this revolutionary , influential film - a story of redemption - is considered a landmark quintessential film that elevated westerns from cheaply - made , low - grade , saturday matinee
b
films to a serious adult genre - one with greater sophistication , richer western archetypes and themes , in - depth and complex characterizations , and greater profitability and popularity as well .
( 1945 ) and the success of that film gave him wider exposure . donaldson would be the only cast member from
the u . s . senate interior as shown in the film was an extremely accurate reproduction of the real thing .
after georg ( christian friedel ) has been arrested while trying to slip across the swiss border with a pocketful of bombmaking plans , the film flashes back to 1932 , when we are introduced to elser several years before he has become radicalized . the movie is , as it turns out , less a white - knuckle drama about the nuts and bolts of a failed political assassination than it is a psychological portrait of resistance , made all the more timely - and creepily , almost offensively , unsettling - given the current political climate in the united states .
in his autobiography , capra states that after the film ' s general release , he and harry cohn received a cablegram from joseph p . kennedy , the u . s . ambassador to great britain , saying that the film would damage
america ' s prestige in europe
and should therefore be withdrawn from european distribution . in response , they mailed favorable reviews of the film to kennedy , and , while in a letter to capra , kennedy stated that he maintained doubts about the film , he did not pursue the matter any further . according to
the washington press corps was highly indignant at the way it was portrayed in the film . consequently , a great deal of the initial reviews from the capitol were very negative . one of their chief objections was that the film made them all out to be drinking too much .
writer sidney buchman didn’t think the ending worked . he believed capra oversimplified things , citing the melodramatics of senator paine trying to commit suicide . but everything works within the context of the film . the 1939 audience wanted to see paine get what was coming to him . in real life , i don’t think any politicians would make an admission of guilt on the senate floor , but jefferson smith stirred paine’s conscience . the plot points might not be “realistic” but the film’s convictions are genuine .
in this film - actually a morality play , each of the characters are representative , archetypal character types , divided initially between respectable and disrespectable social outcasts . however by film ' s end , the disreputable members of society prove to be the most noble , virtuous , and selfless .
the internet movie database pike , a & cooper , r 1998 , australian film 1900–1977 , 1st edn , rev . oxford university press , melbourne , p 181 .
slut shaming : dallas is on the receiving end of this in both versions of the film , ringo disagrees with this .
micheaux and other race - film directors worked outside of hollywood , forging indie filmmaking at its earliest stages with low budgets .
it does appear that additional footage was shot for mr . smith goes to washington . i found this production still ( below ) from the film which depicts guy kibbee’s governor hopper visiting jefferson early in the film . when you watch the released version , the governor arrives and enters the home filled with kids . almost immediately beulah bondi ( playing jeff’s mother ) closes the door . the film then jumps to the “star - spangeled” reception where we see jefferson smith for the first time , appearing out of place at a banquet table . it never really felt like that was his first appearance . if capra had cut out the earlier scene due to time constraints , it most likely depicted smith at ease in his natural element as a boy ranger leader . this would’ve been a nice contrast to the following scene at the banquet hall . there was also an alternate ending to the film that was removed after its preview . originally , jefferson and saunders return to his hometown in an extended denouement . ( in the film’s trailer , you can see them riding in a parade . )
democrats could learn a lot from republicans these days . republicans know what it is like to sleepwalk into a government shutdown without an exit strategy while sacrificing core elements of their brand in the process . they know how frustrating it can be to have their rights as a minority party curtailed simply for exercising them . they know that having an enthusiastic base of true believers is a double - edged sword ; they’re great for winning elections but almost contemptuous of tactics .
restored ' race films ' find new audiences : code switch some of the earliest movies by african - american filmmakers from the 1910s through 1940s languished in film archives over the years on poor - quality film prints . now some have been digitally restored .
james stewart ( with his first nomination ) for one of his best , quintessential roles as innocent , crusading senator jefferson smith in mr . smith goes to washington . [ stewart won the best actor oscar the following year , often considered a consolation prize for his loss for this great performance in 1939 . ]
america , if i read the old documents aright , was not meant to be a country club for people “just like us . ” the “exclusiveness” of the gentleman’s agreement , collusive or legal , was no part of the picture ; nor was the genteel pattern , native or acquired , the prescribed ticket of admission . it was to be a free land for all kinds of people .
whale was a man of striking contrasts . although the war left him an abiding antipathy towards germany , his filmmaking was profoundly influenced by weimar cinema : the sly wit of lubitsch , murnau’s mobile camera , and the visual stylization of german expressionism . born into poverty , he projected the air of a proper british gentleman that barely concealed the wicked sense of humor so important to his films .
has edited images for documentaries , commercials and feature films since 1998 . since then the successful cinematographer now even shoots his own film material
four race films , including birthright and williams ' 1946 film dirty gertie from harlem , u . s . a . , are returning to the big screen at new york city ' s film forum for special screenings on sunday and monday . the entire collection of restored race films will be available for streaming online and as a five - disc set in july .
near the beginning of the film , when smith is appointed a senator , a joyful crowd sings
auld lang syne
for james stewart . the same song is sung for him by another joyful crowd at the end of
it ' s a wonderful life
( 1946 ) . [ note that neither film specifically references the other , and there is no appropriate category under
movie connections
. ]
if gentleman’s agreement effectively drives home the social dimensions of anti - semitism to a wide audience and points out a direction , this is perhaps contribution enough for one film . we trust that future films—and novels , the radio , and journalism—will not content themselves with covering the same ground . further exposes are not likely to be very useful ; anti - semitism hardly needs more publicity ; and there are even dangers in repetitive advertising of the phenomenon , unless we add to the public’s knowledge and insight into its mechanism and its role .
james ellison stars as a man who saves a german shepherd from the city pound , only to have the dog implicate him in a murder .
it ' s a shame that it ' s taken almost 100 years to get these films back out ,
says miller , who also composed new scores for within our gates , body and soul and other silent films .
they should be well - known , and they should be part of the basic premise of early american cinema , period .
john wayne had previously appeared in some 80
b
pictures ; most studio executives were vehemently opposed to giving him top billing in a major film , but ford ( whose first sound western this was to be ) insisted on casting wayne as the ringo kid . ( notably , the actor was paid far less than any of his co - stars except for john carradine . ) ford , well known for abusing his cast and crew , reportedly brutalized wayne to screw an effective performance out of him — and succeeded . this film also marked the first time that ford would shoot in monument valley , utah , the site that would become his favorite setting and almost a trademark of his films .
all reprints are free of charge for reporting purposes on rabbi wolff and must bear the copyright : ©
uli holz , britzka film
.
chips rafferty appeared uncredited as a man in the crowd in come up smiling , also known as ants in his pants , which premiered at the strand theatre in hobart on 3 november 1939 . born john goffage in 1909 , the lanky rafferty became a star in forty thousand horsemen ( 1940 ) and pursued a successful career in australia and hollywood . the epitome of the ' dinkum aussie bloke’ , rafferty crowned his career with a superb performance as the country police officer in wake in fright ( 1971 ) .
in his autobiography , frank capra states that after the film ' s general release , he and harry cohn received a cablegram from u . s . ambassador to great britain joseph p . kennedy saying that he felt the film would damage
america ' s prestige in europe
and should therefore be withdrawn from european distribution . in response , they mailed favorable reviews of the film to kennedy , which persuaded him not pursue the matter any further , even though he still maintained his doubts .
just as whale set the standard for horror with frankenstein , he created in the old dark house a classic of the horror subgenre named for this very film that announced whale’s distinctive blend of horror , satire , camp and farce . the typical “old dark house” film features innocents who stumble upon a sinister mansion ; here , in a typically perverse whale touch , the heroes are a flighty , cynical quintet who are hardly wholesome themselves . still , they are no match for the freakish femm family that inhabits the house . perversely , whale cast aging actress elspeth dudgeon as the femm patriarch – she is credited in the film as “john dudgeon , ” a secret joke that was not revealed until 1975 .
lives as a freelance cinematographer in berlin . he works with eric ferranti , arndt von rabenau , victor holand and david sieveking to name a few . following study at the german academy of film and television in berlin ( dffb ) , he began his cooperation with britta wauer for her documentary berlin – a square , a murder and a famous communist in 2005 . rabbi wolff is their sixth movie together .
the blue kite ( 1994 ) asin : 630342063x . color , widescreen , english subtitles . director : zhuangzhuang tian . story : banned in china for its scathing indictment of mao zedong ' s policies , this is a almost documentary look at the impact of the cultural revolution on chinese society as seen through the eyes of one child and through the hardships faced by his own family .
elser returned to the bürgerbräukeller in april 1939 and took exact measurements of the column where he intended to hide his device . he tested the prototype of his bomb that summer in a remote orchard , then returned to munich in the autumn and , having tried and failed to get a job at the beer hall , he broke in one night and began working on his hands and knees to hollow out a space in the column where he could install his device .
the musical score was by dimitri tiomkin , who had scored capra’s lost horizon . capra told him he wanted to hear america in the score and tiomkin delivered . throughout the film you hear many musical motifs right out of the american folk songbook– songs like “yankee doodle” and “my country ‘tis of thee . ” the film evokes that pioneer spirit . just listen to the scene where saunders finds a disillusioned smith at the lincoln memorial , ready to leave town after being tarred and feathered . that’s all americana in the background . the musicality of the film is often overlooked with all the standout performances , but it’s another aspect that makes the film work .
the structure of the film is very formal , divided neatly into eight episodes ( four scenes of action alternating with four scenes of character interaction ) .
director frank capra ' s film mr . smith goes to washington ( with eleven nominations and only one win - best original story ) of lewis foster ' s story about a naive and innocent junior senator
james ellison stars as a man who saves a german shepherd from the city pound , only to have the dog implicate him in a murder . ( less )
angarano’s film credits include kyle patrick alvarez’s the stanford prison experiment ; craig zisk ' s the english teacher ; dito montiel’s empire state ; steven soderbergh ' s haywire ; kevin smith’s red state ; gavin wiesen ' s the art of getting by ; and max winkler ' s ceremony . additional credits include music of the heart , almost famous , the brass teapot , gentleman broncos , snow angels , the forbidden kingdon , and lords of dogtown . angarano can be seen in steven soderbergh’s series the knick opposite clive owen and eve hewson . he appeared in a four - episode arc on fox ' s hit drama 24 opposite kiefer sutherland and guest starred on nbc ' s emmy® - winning comedy will and grace as elliot , the son of jack mcfarland ( sean hayes ) . additional television credits include e . r . , csi , less than perfect , summerland , and kevin hill .
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if the story had been cut short and tidied up at the point marked by the interval , and if the personal drama had been made subservient to a cinematic treatment of the central theme , then gone with the wind might have been a really great film .
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we also learn in the original that rhett dishonored a woman back in charleston and killed her brother in a duel . except for a brief early hint of scandal , this tale , too , does not make it into the hollywood version . we further learn in mitchell’s novel that the unmarried rhett may have a son in new orleans . the film leaves out this detail .
film is a physical artifact . it can fade . it can shrink . it can crumble to dust in less than a lifetime , and it ' s a race against time around here ,
explains mike mashon , who heads the moving image section of the library of congress .
it ' s genuinely a miracle that those [ race ] films survived .
gentleman’s agreement is advertised for what it is ; it respects itself and its audience’s intelligence ; and it has enough faith in what it has to say to risk saying it plainly and with some of its complications , rather than relying on shock , or trapping the unconscious , or sneaking up on its public from behind the ambush of soap opera dramas , fast - shooting detectives , noble hackdrivers , and the kid kourages of the comic books . it does not try to fight stereotypes with stereotypes ; or slogans with slogans . whatever its shortcomings , it chooses the open road of thought and art . in a word , it is not manipulative . gentleman’s agreement is a soberer picture than crossfire , and it may lack its thrills , but in the end it is both less preachy and more convincing .
view one of the movies on the film list below and write a response paper detailing how this work adds to our understanding of chinese culture . see your instructor ' s syllabus for further information and due dates .
crouching moron , hidden badass : doc boone is a rambling , semi - comic drunkard for most of the film , until he has to sober up to deliver mrs . mallory ' s baby . following this he takes a major role in defending the stage from apaches and even stares down a dangerous gunfighter while completely unarmed .
rhett ' s last words in the novel :
my dear , i don ' t give a damn .
in the film :
frankly my dear , i don ' t give a damn .
[ contrary to popular belief , it was not the film with the first use of the word ' damn ' ( the expletive had been said a year earlier in pygmalion ( 1938 ) and variations , such as ' damned ' , were heard in other earlier films ]
a scotland yard undercover detective is on the trail of a saboteur who is part of a plot to set off a bomb in london . but when the detective ' s cover is blown , the plot begins to unravel .
now it can be told that out of the pages of a magnificent book has leaped a magnificent motion picture .
the story of james whale’s rise and fall in thirties hollywood illustrates the high stakes risks and rewards of filmmaking in the studio era . whale’s early successes earned him only a brief freedom , and the subsequent decades have been unkind , with some of his best films remaining little - seen and the story of his life and career increasingly encrusted with myth , rumor and speculation . associated most vividly with universal’s horror films , whale in fact distinguished himself in almost every genre prominent in 1930s hollywood : the musical , the melodrama , the war film , costume drama and screwball comedy .
life on a string ( 1991 ) asin : 6302664829 . color , widescreen , english subtitles . story : this is truly an
art
film with beautiful landscapes of northwest china , haunting folksongs , long poetic silences , and vivid imagery . the main character is a blind singer who devotes his life to music , eventually becoming a saintly old man . while not for those who need action and adventure , this film does capture the essential chinese spirit of the interconnectedness of all things .
capra was making this film for penny - pinching harry cohn at columbia , who wanted less takes of scenes printed . to work around this dictum , capra would simply let the camera roll continuously in order to record the best of several takes shot together . he discovered that more times than not , the second take was almost always better than the first . his cameraman was joseph walker , who was a mainstay in capra’s productions . the stellar work of cinematographers like walker should make modern audiences appreciate the value and quality of black and white photography . the scenes at the lincoln memorial are exceptionally well - lit . one of the most striking scenes in the film is the one in which saunders finds jefferson in tears and in the shadows .
if you loved ace the wonder dog in the rookie cop ( 1939 ) , you ' ll probably like this low budget furball drama from rko that sees the clever pooch arrested and tried for . . . . . . . . . . . . . murder . go check out ace in the monster maker ( 1944 ) .
for over three years , director britta wauer and her team followed rabbi wolff through his professional and personal life . over 100 hours of conversations with willy wolff have produced not only a film but also a book full of reminiscences , reflections and insights . through anecdotes and conversations , willy looks back on his eventful life and talks about his childhood in berlin and amsterdam , about his career as a political journalist in the uk and about his lifelong desire to become a rabbi . the book includes many stories that didn ' t make it into the film .
meanwhile , church and his cronies take a late train back to new york . nick’s chat with church worked–crisis averted ! ( or is it ? ) but when the trio arrive at smitty’s apartment , another creep named diamond back vogel ( don costello ) shows up with a message from smitty’s husband . her hubby has been in prison for almost their whole marriage , so she has moved on to church . but add vogel to the list of criminals and creeps involved in the case .
20th century fox was known for its musicals ( especially in the 40s with betty grable ) , and prestige biographies ( such as young mr . lincoln ( 1939 ) ) . fox studios also capitalized on its association with shirley temple after the mid - 30s - singlehandedly , she made over $ 20 million for fox in the late 30s .
it ' s filmmaking that should not stay sitting in film archives , according to paul miller , also known as dj spooky , the project ' s executive producer .
gentleman’s agreement is neither streamlined nor glib . as a matter of fact , in its beginnings it is awkward and groping , like an earnest , unpracticed speaker struggling with a complex subject . but this is not altogether inappropriate : we are going to look at that curious , archaic aberration , anti - semitism—as it exists not in darkest naziland , nor among our own lunatic fringe , but among americans of good will—the nice lady in the next seat—yes , one suspects uneasily , even oneself .
man on the run from a murder charge enlists a beautiful stranger who must put herself at risk for his cause .
jack conway directed viva villa ! ( 1934 ) ( co - directed with howard hawks ) , tarzan and his mate ( 1934 ) , a tale of two cities ( 1935 ) , libeled lady ( 1936 ) , saratoga ( 1937 ) ( harlow ' s last film ) , and too hot to handle ( 1938 ) . before coming to hollywood , german director fritz lang ' s first ' talkie ' was the chilling m ( 1931 ) , with peter lorre ' s film debut as a deviant serial killer ( child murderer ) who whistled grieg ' s peer gynt while stalking his next victim . sam wood ' s best 30s films were goodbye , mr . chips ( 1939 ) and two marx brothers films , a night at the opera ( 1935 ) and a day at the races ( 1937 ) . king vidor directed the champ ( 1932 ) and stella dallas ( 1937 ) - among others .
michael angarano is making his mark on hollywood with diverse roles that have established him as a respected and sought - after actor . angarano marks his film directorial debut with avenues , in which he wrote and stars . the film also stars nicholas braun , ari graynor , and juno temple . angarano will star in sun dogs alongside melissa benoist , jennifer morrison , allison janney , and ed o’neill .
greer garson ( with her first nomination ) in her film - debut performance as katherine ellis - mr . chips ' sweet and vivacious wife in goodbye , mr . chips
nominated for 11 academy awards , and winning only one for best original story , it became the first film to lose at least 10 awards ( in nine categories ) .