Cinematic Distractions...

[dulcedemon]

Scandal(Shûbun - Akira Kurosawa - 1950):
A pop singer(Yoshiko Yamaguchi) and a famous artist(Toshirô Mifune) find themselves at the center of a scandal, when a celebrity gossip rag fabricates happenstance into an illicit tryst.
The one thing that bothered me about this movie is when their innocent motorcycle ride just happens to pass a bus full of paparazzi. That was entirely too convenient.

Amour magazine is the gossip rag in question. A writer who worked on the story comes to his boss with second thoughts after it has been published:
Boss: A love affair is a love affair. Details don't matter.
Writer: What if they complain?
Boss: We'll bury an apology where people won't see it.
Writer: What if they sue?
Boss: We'll sell 10,000 more copies.

Sue they do, but only after the artist, Ichirô(Mifune), pays their office a visit in a bid to get them to print a retraction. Words are exchanged, a punch is thrown, and both sides hire lawyers. Ichirô puts his faith in an opportunistic lawyer of dubious merit who shows up unsolicited at the artist's studio late one night. The lawyer, Otokichi Hiruta, is played by a familiar face from several other Kurosawa films, Takashi Shimura. He absolutely steals the show. His character frequently utters the line:
"It's a danger...a real danger."
His client seems to know he has made a poor choice, but retains him out of pity. In seeking him out for hire, Ichirô encounters Hiruta's tubercular young daughter(Yôko Katsuragi) to whom he quickly takes a liking. After meeting her, he can't bring himself to refuse her father's services. Even though the gossip rag hires a well respected, highly experienced lawyer, they plot to undermine the other side's case by attempting to bribe and coerce the opposing counsel. Hiruta has no shortage of vulnerabilities for them to exploit, and he quickly ends up in their pocket.
And...
It's a Christmas movie!
Actually, it's a Christmas through New Year's movie. The most powerful scene outside of the final courtroom scene takes place on New Year's Eve at the Red Cat hostess club:
Ichirô tries to calm Hiruta who is trying to drown his guilty conscience in alcohol. A very drunk patron gets up and gives a speech about being a new man in the new year. Hiruta staggers over to him, and begins talking about his daughter:
"Such lovely eyes...When she looks at me with those eyes, I want to crawl into a hole. But next year, when she looks at me, I'll have nothing to be ashamed of...
Hey! Let's all sing!"
The entire club joins him in singing(and crying) Auld Lang Syne. It's a brilliant, and moving scene.
It's one of those scenes where the background actors are so artfully chosen that their faces and gestures tell mini-stories of their own without any lines being said.

Bitter Rice(Riso amaro - 1949):
A steamy little drama unfolds in the rice fields of Italy. Francesca(Doris Dowling) uses her access as a hotel maid to heist some jewels for her avaricious lothario of a boyfriend, Walter(Vittorio Gassman).
The movie begins just after the heist with the duo on the run in a rail yard crowded with seasonal rice workers about to depart for the fields. With the cops at their heels, they try to blend in with the workers.
Enter the statuesque, sensual beauty of Silvana(Silvana Mangano), a young rice worker who is dancing to a jazzy pop tune alongside the tracks while waiting for her train. The lothario decides to keep a low profile by sexy dancing with Silvana. He is quickly spotted by the cops. The duo is separated. Francesca hops the train, and it's off to the rice fields. She is soon approached by Silvana, who acts solicitous in spite of being suspicious of the newcomer. Francesca doesn't have a work contract, and workers without documentation are usually turned away. Silvana promises to help her get the appropriate papers. Sparks begin to fly when that promise proves empty.
The workers stay in a dormitory on site for the entire season. As they arrive, they cross paths with its soon to be former tenants --the army. The two ladies meet Marco(Raf Vallone), a handsome soldier awaiting discharge.
He flirts with both women, but he is smitten with Silvana.
"chi un po d'amore vuole godere"
The above words are graffiti scrawled on the wall above his bunk which he bequeaths to Francesca, but not before crossing out all but "amore".
Our maid turned jewel thief turned undocumented rice worker gets off to a rough start on her first day in the fields. There is a great deal of resentment from workers with contracts toward those without. They loudly complain about the "illegals". They are not permitted to talk during work, but they are permitted to sing. They sing complaints, insults, and brags back and forth until push literally comes to shove, and full scale brawl breaks out in what is one of the most memorable scenes of the movie.
An uneasy truce is eventually arrived at, and the "illegals" are allowed to stay. Francesca gets into the groove of agrarian work, and becomes respected among her peers. Toward the end of the growing season, the lothario shows up ready to hatch yet another get-rich-quick heist scheme.
With all that I have mentioned, there is still so much more to this movie. It's absolutely gorgeous. It's beautifully shot in black and white. This is the first movie directed by Giuseppe De Santis that I've seen.
I'm fairly certain this was recommended to me based upon other titles featuring Doris Dowling that I've rented.

Separate Tables(1958):
A seaside hotel serves as the stage for minor scandals and intrigue among an assortment of peculiar and lonely long-term residents.
The theme song set me up with the driest white toast of expectations. Thankfully, I was soon disappointed.
In watching the extras, I was pleased to find out that the director agreed with me about the sappy song.
The plot involves two triangles.
Triangle 01:
David Niven plays Major Angus Pollock, a retired military man who never tires of talking about his days in the service.
Deborah Kerr plays Sibyl Railton-Bell, a young woman who is ever eager to listen to the Major's stories as the best years of her life pass her by while she dutifully obeys and attends to her [s]mother.
Gladys Cooper plays the aforementioned [s]mother, the wealthy and prim busybody, Mrs. Railton-Bell.
Triangle 02:
Wendy Hiller plays Pat Cooper, the overseer of the hotel, and its residents. She is often privy to the details of their personal lives, yet she keeps a secret of her own.
Burt Lancaster plays John Malcolm, a handsome though hard-bitten alcoholic trying to forget his past.
Rita Hayworth plays Ann Shankland, an actress coming to the end of her glamour days. She is the past John Malcolm would like to forget.
The other residents include a retired professor, a graduate student and his frisky financé, Lady Gladys Matheson(Cathleen Nesbitt) a contempory and sort of sidekick to Mrs. Railton-Bell,
and Miss Meacham(May Hallat) a charming and plucky spinster with a penchant for playing the ponies. May Hallat played the same part in the original stage productions prior to the making of this movie.
Giving away the plot would spoil all of the fun with this one. Niven and Kerr have the better of the two stories in terms of originality. Their characters have the most depth.
I can relate to Sibyl Railton-Bell in every way except coming from money. I don't like synopses describing her as "frail". It's not an accurate assessment. If this were made today, she might be designated as ASD --ASD, and constantly pecked and bullied by her [s]mother. Yet, my favorite character is Miss Meacham. The role is small, but it's played very well. Hallat's experience playing that character really shows.

Have Gun Will Travel: Season 05(1961):
On this, the next to last disc of Have Gun--Will Travel:
The Hanging of Aaron Gibbs - Stars singer, actress, and civil rights activist Odetta(Odetta Holmes). Paladin comes to the aid of a lady stranded when her mule dies en route to her husband's execution.
The Piano - A talented but demanding concert pianist of international acclaim has his beloved piano stolen and held for ransom. This is by far the silliest episode of the group.
Ben Jalisco - Charles Bronson is the heavy in this dark tale of a murderous bounty hunter escaped from prison to seek revenge against those who put him there. There is a popular still image of Richard Boone as Paladin that was taken from this episode.
The Brothers - Paladin is hired by a woman to bring the man who murdered her husband to justice. Buddy Ebsen stars as the bounty in question. Things get complicated when Paladin must cross the desert with his feisty prisoner in tow. They are out of water and fading fast, when a squirrelly prospector(Paul Hartman) happens upon them. This was my favorite episode of the group. Runner-up goes to the first one of the list.
A Drop of Blood - Paladin is invited to serve as best man at the wedding of an old friend's daughter. Some thugs with a grudge try to crash the party.
A Knight To Remember - Paladin meets Don Quixote.