Rebecca and the Screenwriter

 Monday: Night and the City (1950)

      Harry is a London man always going from one scheme to another. He has little success. His wife, Mary, wants him to settle down and find a good job. Mary wants to leave the club they both work at. She doesn't know how to get through to her husband. One night Harry wanders into a wrestling match. He over hears a man talking to the gangster Kristo. His son was meant to have a different kind of fight. He is unhappy and doesn't want his son to be Kristo's fighter anymore. Then Harry learns that this man is Gregorius, a great fighter in his own right. Kristo is his son also. Harry has an idea to take over the London wrestling scene. He wants Gregorius's son to be his prize fighter. But he needs money. He makes a deal with his boss. If he can come up with half his boss will pay the rest. His boss's wife gives him the money because she wants her own club and Harry promises to help. There is some success before Kristo finds out that Harry stole his fighter and comes after him. I thought this movie was alright.

Tuesday: In a Lonely Place (1950) 

      A famous screenwriter, Dixon, becomes a suspect in the death of a young woman. His new neighbor, Laurel, is his alibi saying she saw him that night. So he couldn't have killed the woman. Dixon takes a liking to Laurel. She is resistant at first, but then she comes to like him as well. They start to date. Dixon goes from an unmotivated grouch to a happy inspired writer. But soon Laurel starts to wonder if his a good man. She wonders if he could have killed the woman. He has a temper and starts to scare her. She doesn't know how to get out of the relationship. This is a good movie.

Wednesday: Orlando (1992)

         The movie starts in the early 1600s. Orlando is a young man serving in the court of Queen Elizabeth I. He becomes her favorite and his given land and money. She commands that he never grows old. He is never content. At an outing with his wife he meets a foreign woman who fascinates him. He falls in love with her. Orlando gives up everything for her. They are happy for a time and then she leaves him. He is depressed and goes to sleep. One hundred years later he wakes up. He asks to work as a diplomat. They send him to the Middle East. He is happy for a time, but then war comes. It destroys everything. Again he goes into a depressed sleep. Time passes. Then he wakes up as a woman. Orlando travels home. When she arrives she struggles to hold onto her house being that she is dead and now a woman. Only her heir can keep them in the house. She is unsuccessful in finding a solution. Another hundred years pass. She takes a lover but won't leave with him to America. Yet another hundred years go by and she finds success in the 1990s. I thought this movie was alright. An interesting concept.

Friday: All Together Now (2020)

      Amber is an enthusiastic and optimistic teenager. She teaches English to Korean women, works at a retirement home and donut shop, and puts on a variety show every year for a good cause. She is a very talented singer. That being said her life is not easy. She is homeless and sleeps on the bus that her mom drives for work. Amber's mom gets fired and they have no where to stay. Things go downhill. Her friends do their best to be there for her and support her and her talent. This movie was ok. Way more depressing than I thought it was going to be. It was filmed in Portland. As usual apart from some beauty spots of the skyline and of course St. John's bridge, it could have been any city. 

Saturday: Rebecca (2020)

       A young woman works as a companion for a rich older woman. They are vacationing in Monaco when she meets Maxim de Winter. He is a wealthy man who recently lost his wife. He is kind to her. They start to spend a lot of time together. Then her boss decides to leave and go to America. Scared she will never see him again she runs crying to Maxim. He comes up with a solution. They get married. After a long honeymoon they return to his great big house. From the beginning the new Mrs. de Winter feels unwelcome. Everyone loved Maxim's wife Rebecca. They are not happy that she has been so easily replaced. Her lady's maid, Mrs. Danvers, is most unhappy by this. She does everything to drive Mrs. de Winter away. Maxim is distant. He doesn't tell her anything about himself or Rebecca. Mrs. de Winter starts to put together what happened. The mystery unfolds in unexpected ways. This is a good movie. I saw the original. But that was before I started this blog. I like them both. Although in this one they seem to date a little bit more before they get married. In the original I remember them only knowing each other for a couple days before getting married.

Sunday: Intermezzo (1939)

        This is a Swedish film. Holger is a famous violinist. He is often away from his wife and children. On one of his trips home his accompanist tells Holger that his is retiring. Holger is not ready to settle down and looks for a new accompanist. His daughter is taking piano lessons from a young woman named Anita. Anita is a very talented pianist. She could go far with her talent. One night Holger hears her playing. He wants her to be his new accompanist. Anita likes him but is resistant to going. They spend more time together and start an affair. His wife knows about it. She can no longer look past his wild wandering nature. She makes him choose and he chooses Anita. They go on tour and are happy for a time. But it doesn't last. This movie was alright. Good for the most part but there was some overacting. Which I think was the style back then, but it just didn't work. It was nice to see Ingrid Bergman, Anita and a Swede, in a Swedish movie.