Ready for Love, but Not Ready to go Home for the Holidays

The 1940 film Remember the Night is a romantic dramedy film centered around Christmas, though this is a flick for adults, not the whole family. It was the last film written by Preston Sturges before he added director to his job description and was directed my Mitchell Leisen. The film stars Fred MacMurray and Barbara Stanwyck as a passionate, opposites attract couple.

When Lee Leander (Stanwyck) is arrested during the holiday season for shoplifting from a jewelery store, she is brought in before Assitant DA John Sargeant (MacMurray). Being in the Christmas spirit, Sargeant decides to postpone her trial date until after Christmas so she won't be behind bars during the holidays. John and Lee get to talking and find out they have some things in common. He offers to drop her off at her parents' house on his way to his mother's (Beulah Bondi ). When Lee's mother (Georiga Caine ) disowns her for her crimes, John brings Lee home to stay with him, his mother, Cousin Willie (Sterling Holloway ) and his Aunt Emma (Elizabeth Patterson ). John confides Lee's history of crime to his mother, who becomes upset when it is apparent that John and Lee have fallen in love during the holidays. John offers Lee an out to getting sentenced, but she refuses. When the trial comes, their love is tested. The filmography and music helps to create the emotion of this film.

Struges originally wanted to call the film Great Love, but director Leisen disliked it. Leisen changed around a lot of Sturges' script and changed the focus of the movie from MacMurray to Stanwyck, perhaps the final nail in the coffin that lead Sturges to directing his own movies rather than letting others direct his scripts. The friendship between Sturges and Stanwyck on this film lead to Sturges latter writing The Lady Eve , which Stanwyck starred in.

Tons of reviews have been done of this movie, each with their own personal style and focus. The blog Self Styled Siren did this review of the film, focusing primarily on Stanwyck. The blog Abby Normal Ramblings did a short review of the film, as did Allmovie.com, which can be read here, and the blog Phoenix Cinema, which can be read here. Filmjournal.net did this review and summation of the film and why it remains widely unavailable, despite its quality and early popularity. The Washington Post also did a review of the film, talking about how it is an underrated holiday classic. So, if you dread going home for the holidays and want to see something with a little romance, Remember the Night is the movie for you. Just in case you aren't persuaded, here is the original trailer to help you make up your mind:

"Uh, you folks American citizens...?"

Today Entertainment Weekly did a review for the 50th anniversary of Touch of Evil, a 1958 film with an all-star team behind it. Orson Welles directed and played a part in the film with Charlton Heston, Janet Leigh, Joseph Calleia, Akim Tamiroff, and Marlene Dietrich in various roles. One of the last of the Film Noir genre, the controversially made film still remains timeless.

The last film Orson Welles made, he was reluctant to sign on for the project. He was fired during post-production and in his will left instructions on how the film should be edited. The studio ignored his request and Welles's version of the film was not created until a version of it was released in 1998. Monsters and Critics did a good piece on Welles's problems with the film and how the modern version he wanted was finally created.

The story of Touch of Evil is that of Mexican narcotics officer, Mike Vargas (Charlton Heston), having a quickie honeymoon in a border town with his newly wed wife Susie (Janet Leigh), who is an American. Vargas must testify against drug lord Grandi (Akim Tamiroff) , who has all of his goons out to threaten and scare Vargas out of testifying. Soon, Vargas gets too involved in the case, endangering his wife, after a wealthy US developer is killed by a car bomb. Vargas catches a famed US cop (Orson Welles) planting evidence to make a Mexican national responsible for the bombing. The plot gets thicker and Vargas uncovers twisted tales of corruption, lies, deceit, drugs, and that justice and law don't mean the same thing to everyone.

The Chicaco Reader has done a great overview and analysis of the film that you can read here. This film is truly a marvelous one. You can tell from the all-star cast, Welles's direction, and the impact it has had on the culture since. It is amazing that we have had fifty years with this film.