Day After the Fair (1986)

 Based on the short story On the Western Circuit, by Thomas Hardy, first published in 1891.

An illiterate girl who works as a servant to a household convinces her mistress to write love letters in her name addressed to a young barrister she met at a fair.

This female version of Cyrano de Bergerac is based on a 1972 play which changed several elements of the original short story. Here, the servant's mistress is married; in the short story she was a widow. Her husband, originally a wine merchant, now deals in beer. The servant girl didn't get pregnant in the short story. Here, the master of the house is roughly the same age of his wife, but he is business-obsessed and puts his wife down; in the short story, all we know is that he was older than her and died after three years of marriage, leaving her childless (it's unclear why they don't have children in the movie version). All these changes affect considerably how we should view the characters' behavior. In the short story, the mistress is a real competitor to the servant; here, since she is married, perhaps the whole affair is more life a fantasy she engages in, but we aren't really sure. But the main difference, in my view, is in the barrister's character. In the short story, he is a gentleman. In the movie, the young man is a cad -- he seduced the girl and wouldn't have married her out of obligation alone. The girl, in turn, is also different. In the short story, she is naïve and immature, but not as stupid and selfish as here. Also, she was not a slut. (Note that in Tess of the d'Urbervilles the protagonist is raped, not seduced.)

This TV film is available on YouTube:

THE DAY AFTER THE FAIR (1986)

The short story it is (loosely) based on is available on Wikisource:

On the Western Circuit - Wikisource, the free online library

Rating: 38

Mélodie en sous-sol (1963)

 U.S. title: Any Number Can Win

An ageing man is released from prison and plans to rob a seaside casino and then to retire. He partners with a younger man who had been his cellmate, also hiring the latter's brother-in-law as driver.

I had a feeling of déjà vu over this film's basic premise, and could not really remember which film had a similar one. A few days after watching it, I was randomly browsing the book 501 Must-See Movies (Bounty Books, 2004), and found the probable source of my previous encounter with this plotline: The Asphalt Jungle (1950), which I watched long ago. Here is the pertinent excerpt from that book:

Doc Riedenschneider (Jaffe), a criminal mastermind, is just out of prison and has a brilliant plan for a million-dollar jewellery heist. He recruits Louis (Caruso) as a safecracker, Gus (Whitmore) as the driver, and Dix (Hayden) as a strong-arm man to help with the raid. Initially the plan runs like clockwork but each member of the gang proves to have his own fatal flaw and each contributes to his own downfall.

The author of that synopsis is presumably Paul Frost-Sharratt, who is responsible for the book's Mystery/Thriller section. The authors of the other sections are, respectively, Ann Lloyd (Comedy, Musical and Romance), Rob Hill (Horror and Science Fiction & Fantasy), Ronald Bergan (War and Western), Chris Darke (Action/Adventure & Epic), and Cara Frost-Sharratt (Drama).

Back to Mélodie en sous-sol, it is a well made heist movie which has lots of suspense and makes for fairly good entertainment. However, the plot has some weaknesses toward the end of the movie, which I will discuss below -- warning: there will be major spoilers in what follows. Before that, one minor remark about the French title: it's really disgraceful, consisting in an unfortunate play on words. The U.S. title is no better, I'm afraid, because it simply does not describe anything about the movie except that it has a casino in it. The Brazilian title is also terrible ('Gangster in Overcoat', later changed to 'Gangsters in Overcoat') -- below I show the Brazilian poster. If you want to quit reading now, my rating is 62, so you may just skip the remainder of this text.

Spoilers ahead:

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There isn't exactly a plot hole that I could detect, but the after-robbery events, while possessing a certain aesthetical appeal, reveal a certain lack of intelligence on the part of the robbers. They had chosen to hide the loot in a private cabin that the younger robber had rented for the season. When the older robber sees the photo of his younger partner on the newspaper, he abandons his initial plans to stay put until the heat is gone, deciding instead to flee at once with the loot. But in my opinion the assumption that the money would otherwise be safe in the cabin was unwarranted, photo or no photo. In the morning after the heist, the police was already around the swimming pool inquiring about the cabins, which suggests that the screenwriter is of the same opinion as me. The police search certainly wasn't prompted by the newspaper photo: the police didn't pay any attention to the younger robber while he was near them by the pool. Also, the poolside was perhaps not the best place for the robbers to meet; it isn't clear to me why they couldn't just choose a place away from the hotel. I would expect the police to be watching roads and train stations, not every single place in the city. Another easy precaution they could have taken would have been to move the loot to other bags (or, if in a hurry, at least provisionally put the compromised bags inside bigger ones).

Rating: 62

E.T. the Extraterrestrial (1982)

 Second viewing; previously viewed between 1983 and 1986.

An intelligent extraterrestrial gets stranded on Earth and a little boy befriends him.

The kids are good actors. The house is lovely. Otherwise I didn't really find much of value in this production; this second viewing didn't improve it to me. One curious thing about it is that the generally accepted notion that it is a paean to empathy is seriously problematic. The alien's "empathic" organism actually made the kid so sick that his life was in danger. If there's a moral to this story, it's that aliens are dangerous.

For further reading: The Alien (unproduced film) - Wikipedia

Rating: 32 (unchanged)

Un linceul n'a pas de poches (1974)

 International English title: No Pockets in a Shroud

Based on the novel by Horace McCoy, first published in 1937.

A newspaper reporter gets fed up with having his stories censored by his boss, and decides to start his own publication, a magazine. He specializes in denouncing the evil deeds of the powerful: bribery in sports, the illegal (and fatal) abortionist practices of a conservative deputy, and the liaison between the mayor and a teenage boy, which entailed the murder of the latter's father. This last case involves several powerful people, who set out to stop the journalist by any means necessary.

Drama with a very serious subject matter. I suspect that it must feel a little dated in France, where corruption doesn't seem to pay anymore, and conservatism has lost its hegemony, but of course I could be wrong. Anyway, it's not a great movie, but it has some great sequences. The plotline is very complex, and the film is a bit long, with some parts dragging somewhat.

Rating: 50

Making a Living (1914)

Second viewing; previously viewed on January 6. 2006.

This is about a reporter and a man who keeps getting in his way and thus becomes a source of great annoyance and trouble to him. The reporter witnesses by happenstance a car accident and rushes to cover it. The jobless man, as expected, shows up at the scene of the accident.

Passable silent short comedy. The most interesting aspect of it is probably the way it portrays who is unsympathetic to people in a situation of need (the reporter gives money to the begging man with reluctance and mutters 'bum' after his initial encounter with him). Instead of being rewarded for his moderate generosity, he is punished with continuous setbacks. The film's implicit message seems to be that people without real compassion are always doomed. Or something like that.

Rating: 50 (unchanged)

Against the Wind (1948)

A team of saboteurs engaged in the Resistance during World War II must rescue one of their top men who has been captured by the Germans after an operation in occupied Belgium.

I've read that this is one of the first films about the WWII Underground. As such, many of its story elements will feel like déjà vu to modern audiences. Even so, it stands out for its excellent craftsmanship, and two or three sequences are really thrilling. There are some errors in the Wikipedia page for this movie.

(...) Michèle the Belgian émigrée (Signoret), whose sweetheart has died after the occupation of Belgium (...)

Michèle's sweetheart has not died; he has turned quisling.

On completion of their training Fr Elliott and Julie are parachuted into Belgium, briefed to destroy a Nazi records office in Brussels and to spring prominent SOE agent Andrew from custody (...)

The records office was destroyed by agent Andrew, who subsequently is captured by the Germans.

Rating: 51

Toda Donzela Tem um Pai que É uma Fera (1966)

 Joãozinho is living with his girlfriend in his apartment without the latter's father's knowledge. When her father finds out about it, he becomes enraged and tries to enter the building where Joãozinho lives. Joãozinho hears the ruckus and manages to hide his girlfriend with a friend who lives in the same building. A series of mix-ups ensue.

Comedy which artificially stretches the initial situation into the duration of a feature film. Although the plot development is in itself tedious and more than a little implausible, the film is done with such verve that it somehow succeeds, albeit only barely, at holding the viewer's attention. Other than that, the cinematography is fine, and the film has some interest as a record of a contradictory period in Brazilian history.

Rating: 34

Un drôle de paroissien (1963)

English titles: Heaven Sent (UK); Light-fingered George (US); Thank Heaven for Small Favors (unknown)

 A penniless aristocrat turns into robbing churches' alms boxes for a living.

Comedy which has no other apparent ambition except lightly entertaining its audience. All the same, one could draw some psychological truths (or truisms) from it, such as that one's morality is conditioned by one's familial environment. This is the theme of lots of Mafia movies. Here, however, the crimes are of a less shocking nature and no one gets hurt.

Rating: 51

Solo (1970)

Upon his return to France, a diamond smuggler looks his brother up and discovers he is a terrorist in hiding. He tries to locate his brother and in the process ends up becoming a suspected terrorist also.

Routine thriller with much dialogue and the most repetitive musical score you will ever hear. It has some entertainment value, but not much.

Rating: 44

Pygmalion (1938)

Based on the play by George Bernard Shaw which premiered in Vienna (in German) in 1913 and in London (in English) in 1914.

A phoneticist makes a bet that he can teach a flower seller to talk like a person from the nobility.

This follows the strange pattern of so many films of that era, starting out as though it were approaching an important or interesting social theme and later simply shifting into a purely romantic conflict. The way the character Eliza moves and speaks after her transformation resembles that of an automaton, which draws a weird parallel with Hoffmann's short story The Sandman. Despite lacking any kind of depth, this film is entertaining on a scene-by-scene basis.

Rating: 51

Topper Returns (1941)

 A young woman returns to America to meet her father of whom she has no recollection. On the first night she spends at her father's mansion, the friend she had brought along with her, and with whom she had exchanged rooms, is murdered and her ghost summons the help of a middle-aged man who lives nearby to find the murderer.

Entertaining comedy which makes fun of mystery movies. This is the second sequel to Topper, and is perhaps the finest film of the three. There's plenty of action, the comicity, while somewhat predictable, is quite effective, and the special effects are well done. 

Rating: 51

Una muchachita de Valladolid (1958)

 English title: Girl from Valladolid

The plot centers around a couple and the matrimonial conflicts brought about by the husband's activities as an ambassador, which involve courting other women as a way of influencing their husbands.

Sex comedy which is not badly made, but is pretty conventional and tame by today's standards. I suppose the film's main merit is that it managed to adapt a theatrical play in a reasonably non-verbose manner. I didn't have the curiosity to read the play, but, for anyone who does, here's the link:

Una muchachita de Valladolid | Biblioteca Virtual Miguel de Cervantes (cervantesvirtual.com)

Rating: 38

Topper Takes a Trip (1938)

 Topper's wife is divorcing him and he must follow her to France in order to avoid it. Marion, the ghost who caused all his marital troubles in Topper, comes along with the intention of helping him, but as previously she causes a lot of trouble as well.

Sequel which is more than a tad repetitive. How many times in a row can one find people marveling at a man interacting with an invisible ghost funny? There is some humor in Cosmo's wife's daft utterances, but mostly the film feels creaky.

Rating: 35