On tuesday night, I watched the 1969 horror film What Ever Happened to Aunt Alice?, starring Geraldine Page and Ruth Gordon. Page played a cruel, spoiled widow, in need of cash, who hired housekeepers only to murder them and steal their money. Ruth Gordon played a housekeeper of Page’s, who went undercover to find out about the murders. I hate a lot about 60s/70s movies—the costumes, the picture quality, the editing, the general vibe—it’s all pretty unappealing. But the acting in this movie was so fantastic I forgot about all the unappealing stuff. Ruth Gordon’s character, especially, was fantastic. She reminded me a lot of my neighbor Donna. The movie’s plot was seriously scary but tastefully done and really enjoyable.
On friday, I watched one of Hitchcock’s pre-Hollywood films, from 1932, Number Seventeen. Except for a train-chase scene at the end, the entire film was shot on one set. The editing was clumsy (lots of sloppy jump cuts), and the story itself had some continuity problems. Leon Lion played a funny old tramp, but characters like that always kinda creep me out. An altogether disappointing movie!
On saturday, I watched a 1933 film The Kennel Murder Case. This was glorious. Even if this movie hadn’t had any plot, it would’ve been worth watching solely for the suits. I could go on and on about men’s suits in the 30s. William Powell, who played the protagonist, Philo Vance, looked totally killer. Suits or not, this was a great little murder mystery. Really inventive camera work: sweeping crane shots of city blocks, split-screen phone call scenes, and peeking-through-the-keyhole shots. The cinematography made this film pleasant to watch. My only complaint is that I’d have liked to see more of Mary Astor. Oh, and the typography in the title sequence was awesome. You can watch the whole film on YouTube. I recommend it.