1947 Project, Outsourced

The Self-Styled Siren continues her thorough and fascinating write-ups of classic Hollywood movies with a post on a 1947 film, Ivy. This is in addition to her other 1947 entries Crossfire, The Man I Love, The Private Affairs of Bel Ami, Dead Reckoning, and Nightmare Alley. There is a difference between her approach and mine, but a lot of overlapping interests, too. And in general, I'm humbled by the knowledge of many film enthusiasts.

UPDATE: And here's Catherine Grant compiling online writing on Black Narcissus.

Comments

DavidEhrenstein said…
Well let me put my cards on the table.

I was born in 1947.

February 18th.

Tons O Stuff happened in 1947 moviewise, the most important being the instigation of the House Unamerican Activities Comittee. One of the earliest "unfriendly witnesses" was Alvah Bessie. As a result of his recalcitrance his name was taken off of Ruthless (Edgar G. Ulmer's very best film, IMO) and not restored until afew years ago, long after his death. He was one of the "Hollywood Ten."

The Red Shoes went into
production in 1947, for release the following year. in '47 P&P had Black Narcissus and I Know Where I'm Going

Among my fave '47 flicks: Yasujiro Ozu's The Record of a Tenement Gentleman (SO much better than the very nice but wildly overpraised Tokyo Story), Chaplin's Monsieur Verdoux, Jacques Tourneur's Out of the Past, Jean Renoir's Woman on the Beach, David O.Selznick and King Vidor's Duel in the Sun, Eddie Goulding's Nightmare Alley, Joseph L. Mankiewicz's The Ghost and Mrs. Muir (with one of Bernard Herrmann's best scores), Joe Losey's The Boy with Green Hair and last but FAR from least, Chuck Walters' Good News
Chris Cagle said…
David,

Thanks for chiming in. I agree about Good News - it's been one of my favorites so far.
DavidEhrenstein said…
Comden & Green: "We always say the three greatest pictures are The Birth of a Nation, Battleship Potemkin and Good News."

They weren't kidding. When they were assigned by Arthur Freed to script Good News they wondered what they -- New York sophisticates -- could do with an old-fashioned college musical. But working with Roger Edens, Kay Thompson and Chuck Walters taught them how the dramatic construction of a screenplay differed from that of a Boradway show. On film you can move faster and change moods quicker.

The heart of the film is "The French Lesson" -- the number they wrote with Roger Edens. It's no from the original score but it sets up that score's most important number "The Best Things in Life Are Free." It also serves to instigate the roamnce between Peter Lawford and June Allyson in a delightfully casual and knowing way.

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