Movie Review: ****Arsenic and Old Lace (1944)

 Mortimer Brewster (Cary Grant)is dead set against marriage.  In fact he wrote a book against marriage.  But love takes over, he falls for and marries his neighbor's daughter, Elaine Harper (Priscilla Lane).  He comes home to tell his aunts who raised him, Abby and Martha (Josephine Hull and Jean Adair) and discovers a body in the window seat.  He now has a problem on his hands.  The aunts admit that they have been killing elderly gentlemen because they look so peaceful when they are dead.  They advertise for boarders just for that reason.  Mortimer's brother Teddy (John Alexander) is mentally ill in which he believes he is Teddy Roosevelt.  The aunts impose on him to bury the "yellow fever" victims in the locks (the basement).  They have collected twelve gentlemen so far.  Another brother returns, Jonathan (Raymond Massey) after years out of the house.  He is a criminal and has a corpse in the rumble seat of the car.  He brings Dr. Einstein (Peter Lorre) with him who is to operate on his face for a disguise.  Mortimer decides the best thing to do is get Teddy to a sanitarium.  He ignores his new wife while he works on this, and keeps sending her home to her father's house next door.  That night Teddy takes the victim to the basement and Dr. Einstein brings the body in from the car.  He ends up in the window seat.  The aunts are well liked by the police and they are in and out of the house which interferes with Jonathan and his escapades.  At one point Jonathan has tied up Mortimer and is ready to kill him when the police come into the house.  Dr. Einstein hits Jonathan. on the head to keep him from killing one of the police officers.  The director of the sanitarium (Edward Everett Horton) finally arrives to take Teddy.  He has been playing his trumpet scaring the neighbors.  The aunts don't want him to go and in the end they decide to go as well.  Dr. Einstein, the fake doctor, signs the papers and makes his escape.  They finally recognize Jonathan from the police bulletins and haul him away.  Mortimer is sure his marriage won't work because of his family genes.  However he learns from his aunts that he is actually adopted.  He and Elaine can finally get on with their honeymoon.

Funny and macabre at the same time.  The aunts are distressed when a body ends up in the locks that is not one of "their gentleman."  They talk about the bodies in the basement with the police but Mortimer convinces them they are crazy so nobody goes down their to look, except for the new wife.  

A Frank Capra movie.  It has its funny parts, and its part that are too chaotic and loud.    

Alfred Hitchcock Movie: ***^The Man Who Knew Too Much (1934)

 This movie was remade in 1956 with Doris day and James Stewart.  The movies are similar but not the same.  The Lawrences (Edna Best, Leslie Banks and daughter Betty, Nova Pilbeam) travel to Switzerland for a skiing event.  There mother participates in a shooting contest, and loses as one of the finalists to Ramon Levine (Frank Vosper),  In addition to being a marksman he is part of an terrorist group headed by Abbott (Peter Lorre).  That evening at dinner their new friend, Louis Bernard (Pierre Fresnay) is shot.  Before he dies he tells them to get a note intended for the British consul.  They find the note which tells of an assassination plot.  However before they can tell anyone, their daughter is kidnapped.  However they understand that the bad guys are headed to London as the assassination is to take place at the Royal Albert Music Hall.  Clive (Hugh Wakefield) and father, Bob look for the girl .  The track one of the kidnappers to a temple of a sun worshipping cult.  Father is captured but Clive gets away and helps to expose the group.  Mrs. Lawrence goes to the concert indicated on the note.  Her scream effects the aim of Levine and he wounds rather than kills the intended victim.  But he gets away, sneaking out in the chaos, but they are able to track his vehicle to the sun temple, which sets up a final gun battle.  Many police die, as do all the criminals, including Betty's nurse and Abbott love (Cicely Oates).  Father found his daughter and helped her escape, but Levine was after her and catches her on the roof.  They are exposed to the police below.  It is a tricky shot and the police officer marksman hesitates.  Mrs Lawrence takes te gun and makes the shot.  Abbott is hiding in a closet and his watch gives him away, so he takes his own life.

This is a very good early Hitchcock movie.  It also takes on the spy theme which becomes a Hitchcock trade mark.

Alfred Hitchcock Movie: *** Secret Agent (1936)

 Alfred Hitchcock presents a spy thriller.  I don't know if this is his first, but it becomes a staple.  An Englishman, Captain Edgar Brodie (John Gielgud) is presumed dead, returns to England.  There he is given a new name, Richard Ashenden and sent on a secret mission.  He is also given a wife, Elsa Carrington/Mrs. Ashenden (Madeleine Carroll).  This film is set in WWI and they are to prevent a spy from reaching Turkey.  They are also given a companion who is a ruthless killer, Th General (Peter Lorre).  They end up on the trail of Caypor (Percy Marmont) as he claims a button they discovered at a murder seen of an informant.  They go with him to the mountains, and the General pushes him off a cliff.  Ashenden watches through a telescope, and Mrs. Ashenden is fed up with the idea of murder.  She leaves the other two with a man, Robert Marvin (Robert Young).  The other note discover a spy message which was addressed to Marvin.  They had killed the wrong man, and are now on the trail of Marvin, who is with Mrs. Ashenden.  They are on the same train, and they manage to catch up with them, but Mrs. Ashenden opposes murder with her gun.  The train is bombed.  Marvin is crushed and is dying but he shoots the General killing him as he dies.  The Ashendens leave the spy business.

It seems there is no moral theme here, other than murder is never good.  This movie does enterain.  

James Bond Movie Review: ***Casino Royale (1954)

 This is not one of the Bond Movie franchise, but it is based on the book by Ian Fleming.  It actually predates the Bond movies is a made for TV movie.  The main character goes by Jimmy Bond (Barry Nelson) rather than James Bond.  The film focuses on the gambling, and the desire to Bankrupt Le Chiffre (Peter Lorre) who is an active spy but also has a bad gambling habit.  The West is hoping that by bringing him down at gambling his handlers will eliminate him.  An ex girlfriend, Valerie Mathis (Linda Christian) stakes Bond with additional cash when he is running out.  With the extra stake he is able to bankrupt Le Chiffre.  Bond also looks to Clarence Leiter (Michael Pate) for support.  

After the gambling Bond hides the check he received as quickly as possible.  Le Chiffre and his goons show up to get hi to sign over the check.  Otherwise Le Chiffre knows he is dead.  SO he kidnaps the girl, and Bond.  He begins torturing Bond and threatens to torture Mathis as well if he doesn't say where the check is.  However fortunately he is able to free himself, and over power one of the goons, and gets the drop on Le Chiffre.  He forces Bond to shoot him.