40 lines
4.0 KiB
Plaintext
40 lines
4.0 KiB
Plaintext
by now i figured i'd seen every alfred hitchcock film at least a half-dozen times -- not that i'm complaining .
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to call him the " master of suspense " is an understatement .
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the paradine case ( 1947 ) , admittedly one of hitchcock's lesser movies , turned out to be one i'd missed .
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this one , like all hitchcock films , is well worth savoring .
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the story opens with the rich mrs . maddalena anna paradine being arrested in her home for poisoning her blind husband .
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as mrs . paradine , alida valli plays an aloof but alluring woman of the world .
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to franz waxman's stark and moody music , we see the prison guards divesting her of her luxurious garments and jewels .
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stripped of her fine raiment , she becomes a commoner again , which , as it turns out , was what she was before she met her husband .
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" a brief skirmish , and you'll be lunching at the savoy again , " anthony keane , her ultraconfident attorney tells her in their first meeting , predicting a fast and easy trial .
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gregory peck plays the successful and debonair barrister .
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" she's no murderess , " he argues simplistically , smitten by her beauty .
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" she's too fine a woman . "
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his attitude upsets his beautiful and increasing jealous wife , gay ( ann todd ) .
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unlike most hitchcock movies , which are centered on the thriller and the mystery , this one is more a romantic melodrama .
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typical is the scene in which gay flings her head back and shakes her hair while bathed in light .
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she deflects her husband's affections as she fears that he is beginning to fall in love with his client .
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the dramatic music then comes up high as the camera dwells on mrs . paradine's portrait nearby .
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in the relatively unsatisfying first half , little happens other than domestic squabbles and overtones of intense adulterous desires .
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to the sound of sweeping violins gay tells anthony that he must get mrs . paradine acquitted because , if mrs . paradine dies , his heart will go with her .
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if she is freed , he will be able to forget her .
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as part of the soap opera , a mysterious louis jordan plays mr . paradine's valet , who has had some not to be discussed relationships .
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charles coburn plays anthony's legal partner , sir simon flaquer .
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and charles laughton , who looks like coburn , is judge lord horfield .
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this being proper british society , they will all dine together at the judge's house not long before the case begins .
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court tv junkies will probably pick up the many differences , some subtle and others not , between the american and the british judicial systems .
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one , for example , of which i was not aware is that the barrister cannot speak to his own client during the recess if she is the process of testifying .
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one sometimes wonders what the academy is thinking when they make their oscar nominations .
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as the judge's wife , lady sophie horfield , ethel barrymore got a nomination for best supporting actress -- the film's only nomination -- for an inconsequential part with which she did little of merit .
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( so the big question is when does hitchcock make his obligatory walk-on ?
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at 37 minutes into the film , he leaves a train station carrying a large musical instrument case .
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don't miss it . )
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in the second half the story finally comes alive when it gets into the courtroom .
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the great master shows his hand there as the tensions build as rapidly in the second part as they lay fallow in the first .
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watch how the camera angles are sometimes from the back and other times from way on high to set the exact tone for the trial's action .
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as anthony explains it , the simple case has only 3 possibilities : mr . paradine poisoned himself , mrs . paradine did it , or the valet did it .
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the end includes many devastating revelations and some nice twists so it is too bad the first half is so languid .
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the paradine case runs 1 : 53 .
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the picture is in black and white .
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it is not rated but would be pg for mature themes and would be fine for kids around nine and up if they are interested .
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