04/24/08

Bob's Big Screen

Check out these neglected classics

by Bob Connally

The next two weeks offer the saddest collection of DVD releases in recent memory, so I thought it would be fun to review some neglected classics.

One is the best movie Tim Burton and Johnny Depp have ever done, together or apart. The other pairs maybe the two biggest movie stars in history, Audrey Hepburn and Cary Grant. Still, these films have managed to go unnoticed by a great many people. Don’t walk past these again!

Ed Wood

After his death in 1978, Edward D. Wood, Jr. was crowned the “worst director of all time.” This hardly seems a fitting tribute to a man with imagination, ambition and optimism, until one remembers he had practically no talent. As bad as his movies are, however, one cannot help but admire Wood.

His love of film and his childlike innocence shine through “Glen or Glenda” and “Plan 9 From Outer Space,” widely considered his “masterpiece.” Wood’s work endures because unlike most bad movies, his are never boring. They’re completely awful yet absolutely mesmerizing. He also managed to influence generations of filmmakers, most notably Tim Burton.

It’s only fitting that Burton was the man to tell Wood’s story. Guided by Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski’s wonderful script, Burton’s film has the structure of a standard biopic but the tone of a comic fantasy, aided in no small part by the beautiful black and white cinematography and Howard Shore’s musical score (my favorite ever).

“Ed Wood” opens in the early fifties when Ed (Johnny Depp) is a struggling playwright. Thanks to an unlikely friendship with screen legend Bela Lugosi (Martin Landau), he’s able to convince film producer George Weiss (Mike Starr) to let him into the director’s chair. The resulting film was “Glen or Glenda,” a shamelessly autobiographical film about Ed’s love of angora and dressing in women’s clothes, something that his girlfriend, Dolores Fuller (Sarah Jessica Parker) doesn’t quite understand. Still, Dolores stands by Ed to play the female lead in the movie.

Due to the complete disaster of “Glen or Glenda,” Ed must finance his next film himself. Through making “Bride of the Monster,” probably the least incompetent of Wood’s movies, Ed assembles a crew of loyal friends who help bring his visions to life. They stay with him through “Plan 9,” universally known as the ultimate Ed Wood movie.

While watching “Ed Wood” you know deep down that events didn’t really unfold the way they’re presented in the film, but you wouldn’t want it any other way. Burton’s film is a loving ode to a man who probably really wasn’t the worst director of all time. It is to the film’s credit that we stay on Ed’s side throughout.

Depp (in his best performance) infuses Ed with wonder and optimism. No matter how bad his movies are, we wish him the best and hope that things will work out. Sadly for Ed, they never did, but the movie ends before his life really goes downhill.

Burton’s track record is not the most stable but when he’s good, he’s great. “Ed Wood” is the finest example of this. Landau deservedly won a 1994 Oscar for his work as the aging Lugosi. There are also great performances from Bill Murray and Jeffrey Jones in small roles.

This is one of my favorite movies and one I enjoy watching regularly. For fans of Burton and Depp, “Ed Wood” is essential.

Charade

It’s been called “the greatest Hitchcock film Hitchcock never made.” This is actually a great disservice to Stanley Donen’s 1963 film, as it’s a lot more fun than anything Hitchcock ever directed.

“Charade” opens with a dead man being tossed from a train, which leads into the sort of colorful opening credits sequence films of the sixties are known for. We then meet Regina Lampert (Audrey Hepburn), an unhappy American living in Paris with plans to divorce her husband, Charles. Upon arriving home one afternoon she discovers the place has been ransacked and everything is gone. It turns out Charles was the man thrown from the train.

Through a series of conversations and encounters, Regina learns that her husband was not the man she thought he was. Charles had several identities and had apparently left her in possession of $250,000 belonging to the U.S. government.

She tries to explain to CIA man Mr. Bartholomew (Walter Matthau) that she had no idea the money existed, nor does she know where it could be. Unsympathetic, Bartholomew tells her to look for it, as she will be in grave danger until the cash is back in the government’s hands.

The men coming after her aren’t the least bit shy about threatening her life. Played by James Coburn, George Kennedy and Ned Glass, each brings menace to their respective roles. Her greatest ally becomes a man who calls himself Peter Joshua (Cary Grant), but there may be more to the debonair Mr. Joshua than he’s letting on.

“Charade” is about as entertaining as a movie can be. It boasts a script by Peter Stone that genuinely keeps you guessing, featuring some of the sharpest and funniest dialogue ever written. Director Stanley Donen (“Singin’ in the Rain”) keeps things moving along, trusting his actors to bring the story to life.

It doesn’t hurt that Hepburn and Grant play the leads. Among movie stars of any era, you really couldn’t do any better. Regina is a character who is completely vulnerable yet never loses her head, and Hepburn plays it perfectly. Cary Grant shows once more why he is still one of the most beloved stars in movie history. No actor before or since has shown a greater ability to instantly win over an audience simply by walking into frame. Soon after “Charade,” Grant retired from acting and movies became poorer for it.

Young or old, for a fun night in with a movie, you can’t top “Charade.”

New Releases:

April 29: 27 Dresses (PG-13)

The Golden Compass (PG-13)

The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (PG-13)

The Fall of the Roman Empire (NR)

May 6: P.S. I Love You (PG-13)

I’m Not There (R)

Over Her Dead Body (PG-13)