Movie Watching in Quarantine – Scene 4

Here is scene 4 in my Movies Watched in Quarantine series. 

The Roaring Twenties

WNEW Channel 5 broadcast, on Sunday afternoons, one Warner Brothers movie after another. The Roaring Twenties was a mainstay. It was James Cagney’s last gangster film until White Heat some ten years later.
The Roaring Twenties is a rise and fall tale, in this case, of Eddie Bartlett (Cagney) a World War 1 vet who came home alive but with no prospects for the future. His old job as a mechanic is taken. He settles for a job driving a taxi with his old buddy Frank McHugh, that is until he accidentally stumbles in the bootleg business. With prohibition now the law of the land Eddie builds an empire becoming the king of New York. His old war buddy, George (Humphrey Bogart) works with him. However, like in many of his early roles, Bogie is a sniveling weasel who cannot be trusted. He runs true to form here.
Eddie’s world comes crashing down with the end of prohibition, and the girl (Priscilla Lane) he loved, but never loved him back. The film ends with one of the great endings of all time. Severely wounded in a shootout, Eddie is left stumbling along a snowy street, collapsing in front of a church in the arms of another woman (Gladys George). When asked by a cop what he did, she replies, “he used to be a big shot.”
Cagney, along with Raoul Walsh’s sharp direction drives the film never letting a moment of dullness creep in.

Da 5 Bloods

There are a few rare times in history when art and life collide at the perfect moment in time. Spike Lee’s Da 5 Bloods is one of those films that has come out at the right moment when the anguished cries of Black Lives Matter have been in the headlines and history is being made. Lee has delivered what may be the best and most innovative film of the year. The director intercuts archival and newsreel footage into the film, nicely providing historical content. Da 5 Bloods is a thought provoking work about war, America, and race. Delroy Lindo leads the way in a cast of superb performances. There have been many films about The Vietnam War some great (Apocalypse Now Hamburger Hill, Platoon, Hearts and Minds) and others that have been false takes of the war including The Green Berets, any and all Rambo and Missing in Action movies. Fortunately, Spike Lee’s new epic tale falls into the first category. Watch on Netflix.

The Boston Strangler

Based on Gerold Frank’s non-fiction best-seller. In the early 1960s, 13 women were strangled in the greater Boston area. The unknown killer was labeled the Boston Strangler. It made national news. Albert DeSalvo was eventually arrested and confessed to the hideous crimes. The 1968 film claims to be a true representation, but as with almost all fact based films there is plenty of fiction tossed in. This a typical police procedural spruced up with plenty of unnecessary “modern” split-screen effects that add nothing. Unlike Richard Brooks earlier true crime film, In Cold Blood (1966), which delves deep into the personalities of the killers, the filmmakers here though seeming to want to make a serious film couldn’t help themselves to make a sensationalistic tabloid feature. Tony Curtis gives what may be his best performance and was rewarded with a Golden Globe nomination. Henry Fonda co-stars. Look for future stars Sally Kellerman (one of DeSalvo’s victims who survives) and James Brolin. 

Out of Sight

Elmore Leonard created some of the most quirky characters to ever grace the page. In “Out of Sight,” Steven Soderbergh, along with screenwriter Scott Frank, captures Leonard’s tone and spirit perfectly. Leonard has generally not been served well when translated to the screen. “Get Shorty” and this film are the exceptions. Cheeky, sexy, witty, and poignant with a few unexpected bursts of violence. The performances are all pitch-perfect. Clooney is full of wisecracks and charm. Jennifer Lopez, in a pre J-Lo performance, has never been better possessing both a toughness yet vulnerable facade. The rest of the cast includes. Ving Rhames, Don Cheadle, Albert Brooks, Isaiah Washington, Steve Zahn, and Nancy Allen all deliver spot-on performances.