Meshes In The Afternoon - 1943 - USA

Meshes In The Afternoon - 1943 - 6/10

 
A woman seems caught in a  recurring dream.
Entering her apartment, realizing someone has been there, sleep, then spying a hooded figure outside.
An unsuccessful chase, return to her apartment, slumber, repeat.
Each recurrence, elements differ, there are changes.
Mesmerizing film, rather an abstract mystery.

Sight & Sound listed this short as one of the greatest films of all time.  Top 20.
I watched this, then asked,  “Really?”
Curious, I went to their list of the 250 greatest films, and noticed glaring omissions.
Including – Zhang Yimou, John Huston, Chabrol, Soderbergh, Riefenstahl, Parajanov …

Show-Business At Home - 1943 - USA

Show-Business At Home - 1943 - 6/10

 
Morale booster and propaganda reminder of show business during WWII.
USO clubs, Hollywood Canteen, Command Performance, stars touring the front.
Studios (image = Disney) given over to creating training films, along with Allied version of news.
Less than half the talent shown is referenced.  Likely viewers then knew every star.
March Of Time newsreel from 20th Century Fox.

I Walked With A Zombie - 1943 - USA

I Walked With A Zombie - 1943 - 7/10

 
Nurse arrives at a Haitian sugar plantation to care for the owner’s ill wife.
The story told, is that the young wife was stricken with fever which left her mute and listless.
Nevertheless, there are drums at night, voodoo, a priest, and the long shadow of slavery.
Genuinely eerie film, shot for next to nothing, has layers of meaning that reward repeated viewing.
Understated performances help, as does the serious tone.
Nothing cheeky or overwrought.  Good intro for those curious about Val Lewton.

Crime Doctor - 1943 - USA

Crime Doctor - 1943 - 6/10

 
Kicked from a speeding car, the man is rescued, taken to hospital.
Revives.  Oh, no!  Amnesia.
So, like so many who have lost their memory, he goes to medical school and becomes a doctor.
Of course, amnesia or not, somebody pushed him from the car.
B-film crime thriller shuffles at a brisk pace, leaving numerous clues who the doctor had been previously.
No great shakes, but adequate entertainment.
First of the Crime Doctor series.
Ray Collins plays his initial doctor, later partner, and his character already resembles Lt. Tragg.

Flesh And Fantasy - 1943 - USA

Flesh And Fantasy - 1943 - 6/10

 
Follow-thru film to 1942’s Tales Of Manhattan.
Three stories of Fate, disguises, palm reading, premonitions.
The opener during masked Mardi Gras is the most romantic, perhaps the weakest.
Next is the misfortune of a dire palm, based on an Oscar Wilde story.
Nice camerawork here, watching Edward G. Robinson argue with himself.
Finale of aerialist suffering premonition, then meeting the girl from his dream.
Charles Boyer and Barbara Stanwyck as star-crossed lovers.
Fine anthology, lacks the powerhouse cast and snap of the first film.

Calling Dr. Death - 1943 - USA

Calling Dr. Death - 1943 - 6/10

 
Lon Chaney, taking a break from monster roles, plays a neurologist who uses hypnosis.
His own life ain’t so hot.  His glamorous wife Maria runs around on him.
Until she is grotesquely murdered, that is.
Who do police target as suspect numero-uno?
Chaney is OK, supporting cast far better.  Internal monologues used to good effect.
Several montages, excellent.
Fun commentary with film historian C. Courtney Joyner and Regina LeBorg (director’s daughter).

One Stormy Night - 1943 - Romania

One Stormy Night - 1943 - 6/10
AKA - O Noapte Furtunoasa

 
Rumanian comedy, filmed in the middle of World War II, which aroused my curiosity.
Set in the 1860's, a jealous husband suspects his wife of infidelity.
The chief culprit seems to be a sissified dandy, who always turns away from the man’s glare.
The only one he trusts is his live-in assistant, and from the opening scene we know how very wrong he is.
Narrative moves quick and plunges into farce numerous times.
Several of my favorite sequences occur in the music hall - which, alas, were not translated.
In fact, the few subtitles available are only “fair” at best.
A cursory glance online suggests this is a classic, as there is a recent theatrical version on YouTube, as well as a TV production from the 80's.
Comical proceedings fairly amusing, though poor subs (again, few available) are tedious.

Wolf Estate - 1943 - France

Wolf Estate - 1943 - 6/10
AKA - La Ferme Aux Loups

 
Bouncy French mystery finds two fledgling newspaper hounds investigating murder of Russian homeless man.
The lead deadends, so the pair head to the country with the boss’s attractive secretary.
During a howling thunderstorm, their car breaks down and they seek shelter in an “old dark house."
Inside - hey, there’s that dead Russian bum!
Not the most original, yet fast paced, light on its feet, with rather salty dialogue.
Thinking afterward, I wondered if this was filmed in Vichy France.

Forever And A Day - 1943 - USA

Forever And A Day - 1943 - 6/10

 
American businessman is tasked with selling long held London property.
He meets the prospective buyer during a nightly Luftwaffe bomb run.
While waiting, the potential buyer tells him the history of the home, as well as bygone inhabitants.
From the old crust who founded it in 1804 during the Napoleonic Wars to the present Blitz occupants.
Defenders of the realm, scoundrels, lovers, souls trapped by Fate.

Almost the entire "British colony" of 1940's Hollywood participated in this forgotten chestnut.
Meant as a morale booster for the home front, as well as a vehicle to stir the Yanks.
This might have been a good film to watch with my father who was also a film buff.
I recognized 20 of the 80 stars involved, I imagine he would have caught far more.

The Phantom - 1943 - USA

The Phantom - 1943 - 6/10

 
Classic Columbia serial, perhaps their best.  Tom Tyler stars as the Ghost Who Walks.
Here, the Phantom helps a jungle expedition search for the lost city of Zolos.
Opposition includes evil saboteurs, zealous tribal leader, treasure hunters.
Fairly decent cliffs include lion, alligator, tiger, gorilla.  Luckily the Phantom has a great dog, Devil.
Tyler excellent in title role.  Athletic and muscular.  Perhaps the template Bionic Bob had in mind for Strikes!
Credits only list two, but also starring Frank Shannon (Dr Zarkov from Flash Gordon) and the ever wily, Kenneth MacDonald who was a stellar villain.

 
Hard to tell where this was set.  Expedition members all wear pith helmets, porters seem to be South American, natives appear South Pacific, then there’s a Mongol ruler.
Wholesome matinee fare, though many more killings than anticipated.

Note:  Though helmed by SPCA poster child B Reeves Eason, animals seemed to fare OK in this series.
 

Le Corbeau - 1943

Le Corbeau - 1943 - 7/10
AKA - The Raven

 
Inhabitants of French village start receiving poison pen letters.
Stylized calligraphy signed by le Corbeau.
Malicious gossip, innuendo, facts mixed with falsehoods.
Some shrug it off, others laugh, some worry, most try to guess the culprit.
Venomous  movie is packed with jaded, angry, spiteful souls.
Excels at casting suspicion on almost everyone.
From the date, I imagine this was shot during the Occupation.  You wouldn't know, the standards are high.

The Seventh Victim - 1943

The Seventh Victim - 1943 - 7/10

 
When funding for her private school stops, young Mary embarks to Greenwich Village, searching for older sister Jacqueline.
There, however, shadows gather.
She discovers Jacqueline had sold her prospering business and vanished.
Marked as Horror, this is more Gothic Noir, with creative lighting throughout.
Tension is more suggestion and implied, rather than crimson lashed.
Peculiar resolution, though, and Beaumont’s wishy character is uneasy to modern eyes.