krishkmenon Blog

Under discussion:

Rebecca  (1940)

The master once again delivers a suspenser that marks his class and  caliber. Not the first time that Hitchcock had adapted Daphne Du Maurier, he had done it  earlier in England with Jamaica Inn which is mostly forgotten but had in its offering a newcomer who would be lapped up in Hollywood-Maureen O'Hara and as a villain Charles Laughton. The film is supposed to have been a failure but its brooding photography and direction was in a class of its own.

In Rebecca he once again converts the book into a great film with astounding performances by Joan Fontaine & Laurence Olivier. The novel is adapted in its entirety with the ending changed to protect the image of the hero from that of a murderer which spoils the climax a little. In the book the climax where Mrs DeWinter realizes that her husband is a killer transforms her character and the reader is left to imagine the life that she has to live with him in later years. In the movie the entire episode is projected as an accident and the hero is made to look as absolved of any attempt to kill.

Joan Fontaine is explicitly photographed as the terrified young wife, Mrs.Danvers (Judith Anderson) is frightening. All the characters from the book come alive and the musical score is excellent. A must see.

Krishna Kumar Menon, Chennai(Madras) India

Under discussion:

My Fair Lady  (1964)

Pygmalion it is not but undoubtedly the similarities are wonderfully delivered to the audience. A wonderful adaptation of Pygmalion in musical form though the original with Leslie Howard & Wendy Hiller was known to be Bernard Shaws favorite.

Audrey Hepburn as always comes out vivacious and appealing as Eliza and Rex Harrison is impeccable as Professor Higgins. The  movie is long but you never feel the length as it moves. The songs are legendary and who can forget The Rain in Spain or All I want is a Room Somewhere. The ending probably as the audience wanted it is now folklore-"Eliza where the Devil are my Slippers?" but would evoke angry reactions from the feminist organisations of today.

A movie for the entire family to watch over and over again.

Krishna Kumar Menon Chennai(Madras), India

Under discussion:

The Lady Vanishes  (1938)

One of the most repeated themes in films was originally perfected by Hitchcock in this masterpiece. The stories of people going missing without a trace and a lonely soul fighting against all odds to prove that the missing person exists has been retold after Lady Vanishes umpteen times and most recently in the Jodie Foster film "Flight Plan" but none of them can come anywhere near Hitchcock.

The fast pace of the film its excellent actors and the settings in Black and White make it memorable. The "Secret Agent" Miss Froy itself is the most unlikely spy one may think of but the story telling and the Director makes it plausible. The period setting of the film makes it obvious that the villains are Nazis but steers away from calling them so but does not restrain itself in depicting them as despicable villains telling the world in 1939 what it was in store for.

What more than to call it an unforgettable Classic.

Krishna Kumar Menon, Chennai(Madras), India.