Peril on the Screen: The Haunting

Back on September 24th I read The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson.  It had been billed as "super scary" and a book that "scared the crap" out of more than one of my blogging buddies.  I didn't find it to be quite so scary to read (click on title above for my review).  So I decided to give the 1963 movie adaptation, The Haunting, starring Julie Harris, Claire Bloom, and Richard Johnson a try as another entry for Carl's R.I.P. event.

I found Nelson Gidding's script and Robert Wise's direction to be much more affecting than reading the novel.  While, the script does remain pretty faithful to the novel, Gidding read the book as more about mental deterioration than the supernatural and, even after a meeting with Shirley Jackson in which she stressed that the book was, indeed, about the supernatural, Gidding kept elements of mental breakdown in the story.  The viewer is left with even more definite questions about Eleanor's stability in the movie than in the novel.  Her mental fragility is exquisitely portrayed by Julie Harris--and even when the scenes make it clear that all members of the "ghost-hunting" party have experienced a taste of the other-worldly, we are tempted to believe that it's all in Eleanor's mind.

The cast, director, and crew all work together to create a perfectly spooky film.  A film that is regarded by many as the best, most unsettling horror film of all time--and has made the top twenty of many lists of horror movies.  I much prefer my spooky films in black and white with the atmosphere building up most of the suspense.  This is the way to scare me--no blood and gore, no crazy, slashing psycho-killers.  Everything from the lighting, to the music, to the pounding, to the indistinct voices, to the door that appears to "breathe" works together to thoroughly creep the viewer out.  When the trap door opened above the stairway balcony, I thought I was a goner.  A marvelous "thrills and chills" movie that did an excellent job with Jackson's book.


(also viewed for the Book to Movie Challenge--book review linked above)

Death in the Air [Clouds]: Review

Death in the Air (aka Death in the Clouds) is another fine Agatha Christie outing.  In this one, the murder takes place right under Hercule Poirot's airsick nose.  Yes, fortunately for the killer, Poirot's famous little grey cells were sleeping their way across the Channel in order that he might not be aware of his discomfort--fortunately for a little while, that is.  Because, of course, once Poirot is awake and realizes that a crime has been committed he's on the trail of the murderer.

The victim in this case is one Madame Giselle, a money-lender to the upper-class who uses a bit of judicious blackmail as security on her loans. She is found dead in her seat just prior to landing from what appears at first to be a wasp sting but soon proves to be from a dart tainted with an obscure snake venom.  A blowpipe is found stuffed down behind Poirot's seat--of all places!  There are a few of Poirot's fellow passengers who may fit the profile of Madame Giselle's clients, but it seems impossible that any of them could have used a blowpipe to kill her within the small confines of the plane.

It doesn't take long for Poirot to spot the essential clues--objects that were listed in the tally of each passenger's belongings.  But he is puzzled because the objects he expected are found on the wrong person.  He will make several trips to France and interview all of the passengers and the stewards before the final pieces fall in place.

It had been quite some time since my first reading of this particular Christie novel (a good 20 years, I'd say).  If I hadn't watched the production with David Suchet earlier this year (for the Book to Movie Challenge), I wouldn't have spotted the killer in this reading.  I believe I was distracted by the same darn red herring in my first reading and during the watched episode.  That's the beauty of Christie for me--if I go long enough between rereads it's quite possible for her to pull the wool over my eyes repeatedly.

I thoroughly enjoyed both the Suchet production and this reread.  It's always a treat to watch David Suchet play the quintessential Poirot.  And I also enjoy Philip Jackson as Inspector Japp.  One thing I did notice between the show and the book--Christie's novels have taken a lot of flack for some of her racial representations and stereotypes.  This time the production is a bigger culprit than Christie's original work.  The production has Inspector Japp working closely with his French counterpart--in France (the only contact in the book is in England)--and Japp treats him pretty shabbily, just because he's a "Frenchy."  The scenes in the novel show a much more collegial and respectful collaboration.  I'm wondering if the writers/producer decided to emphasize Japp's supposed mistrust of French investigations and investigations as a replacement for the few racial comments made by other characters in the book.

Overall, a fine performance in both print and onscreen. Four stars.


Quotes: 
These detective story writers always making the police out to be fools and getting their procedure all wrong. Why, if I were to say the things to my super that their inspectors say to superintendents, I should be out on my ear. Set of ignorant scribblers! This is just the sort of fool murder that a scribbler of rubbish would think he could get away with. ~Inspector Japp (p. 31)

(about Poirot)
NG: What an extraordinarily rum little beggar. Calls himself a detective. I don't see how he could do much detecting. Any criminal could spot him a mile off. I don't see how he could disguise himself.
JG: Haven't you got a very old-fashioned idea of detectives? All the false-beard stuff is very out of date. Nowadays detectives just sit and think out a case psychologically. 
~Norman Gale; Jane Grey (p. 42)

I know by experience that most people are blind as bats, but there are limits. ~Inspector Japp (p. 54)

IJ: I don't think it's healthy for a man to be always brooding over crime and detective stories. Reading up all sorts of cases. It puts ideas into his head.
HP: It is certainly necessary for a writer to have ideas in his head.
~Inspector Japp; Hercule Poirot (p. 60)

Nothing can be so misleading as observation. ~Poirot (p. 70)

Listen, I will tell you something. In every case of a criminal nature one comes across the same phenomena when questioning witnesses. Everyone keeps something back. Sometimes--often, indeed--it is something quite harmless, something, perhaps, quite unconnected with the crime, but--I say it again--there is always something. ~Poirot (p. 78)

The African Queen: Review

It seemed absurd that there was nothing two people with a boat full of explosives could do to an enemy in whose midst they found themselves, and yet so it appeared. (pp. 22-3)


 In 1935 C. S. Forester published his World War I adventure story, The African Queen.  It begins with missionaries, Samuel and Rose Sayer (brother & sister), deep in Central Africa (Tanzania).  They have been working diligently with the African people for ten years when WWI begins and the Germans come and conscript the villagers.  Samuel's spirit is broken and he dies--leaving Rose alone.  Charlie Allnut, a Cockney who runs the steam launch The African Queen for a Belgian mining company, arrives to check on the village. After burying Samuel, he and Rose go down-river to hide behind an island and determine their future course.

Rose is full of patriotic fervor and a desire to revenge her brother and decides that she and Charlie must head down river to Lake Wittelsbach where the German gunboat reigns supreme.  Allnutt initially agrees just to humor her--but after a drunken rebellion and a round of the silent treatment, the two set out in earnest.  They face thunderstorms, fire from a German-held outpost on the river, raging rapids, and near-death on the rocks.  They overcome buzzing hordes of flies and mosquitoes, blood-thirsty leeches, a twisted shaft and broken propeller.  They steer and paddle, prod and push....and eventually carry the steam launch down the river to the reedy edge of the lake.  There they prepare oxygen canisters to serve as torpedoes and make ready for a night-time assault on the Königin Luise.

Classic movie buffs should all know the basic story of The African Queen.  Set during WWI, Katharine Hepburn and Humphrey Bogart set out down the supposedly impassable Ulanga River on a mission, devised by Hepburn's character Rose, to blow up the Germans' gunboat Königin Luise (aka the Louisa) and allow the British to move into Central Africa. True to Hollywood form, Hepburn and Bogart conquer all odds and even when it looks like they have failed, the heroes come out on top.  It makes for an exciting classic adventure film--and it's one of my all-time favorites.  Hepburn is perfect as the proper British Missionary Rose Sayer thrown into contact with Bogart's pragmatic, down-to-earth mechanic-cum-riverman, Charlie Allnutt.  And both Rosie and Charlie go through transformations on their journey down the river that might seem rushed in the hands of lesser actors.  The book allows for more time and description of the events and interactions that bring about the transformations--the film, of course, has to keep the action moving.

And over all, the film follows the book pretty closely--except for the ending.  There are things to like about both versions ( I like the German Captain's sense of honor in the book)--but if I have to choose, I think Hollywood did it better. The book's ending is fairly anti-climactic.  And after following Rosie and Charlie all the way down the river and joining them in all their brave adventures, it hardly seems fair to the intrepid couple.

I thoroughly enjoyed Forester's adventure novel and appreciated the characters of Rosie and Charlie.  Their interactions and development are spot on and I thought their romance very believable given the circumstances.  It was definitely nice to see Rose blossom once she was out from under the overbearing influence of her brother. Watching the film again was just an added pleasure--I have watched it many times and always enjoy the characters as played by Hepburn and Bogart.  I do like the line in the movie by German Captain when he is asked by Charlie to marry them before he hangs them: "By the authority vested in me by Kaiser William II, I pronounce you man and wife. Proceed with the execution."

Four stars for the book and five stars for the movie.

Challenge Complete: Book to Movie

Katie at Doing Dewey is hosting her first ever reading challenge, the 2013 Book to Movie Challenge. The mission, should you choose to accept it, is to review books and the movies which they’ve been made into.  Back in December, I committed myself to the Movie Fan level (3 books and their movies).  I have now completed my commitment with the wonderful 84, Charing Cross Road.  I have several more books on the docket which have been made into movies, so it's possible I'll make it up to the Movie Devotee level--but for now, I'm complete.

 

Movie Fan - read 3 books and watch their movies

Here are the books and movies completed so far :

1. Mary Poppins by P. L. Travers (3/11/13)
2. The Lady Vanishes by Ethel Lina White (3/17/13)
3. 84 Charing Cross Road by Helene Hanff (3/20/13) 

4. The African Queen by C. S. Forester (4/6/13)
5. Death in the Air (aka Death in the Clouds) by Agatha Christie (8/5/13)

84, Charing Cross Road: Review

84, Charing Cross Road by Helene Hanff is an absolutely delightful book.  It is one of those rare things--a book that is not a vintage mystery that, having now read it from the library, I simply MUST get my hands on and own as soon as possible.  Yes, it's that good. It speaks directly to the soul of every book lover.

It begins in October of 1949 when Hanff, a poor proofreader and budding scriptwriter, first writes a letter to Marks & Company in London.  She is in search of inexpensive antiquarian books of good quality--something she can't find in her native New York. What begins as a search to quench her literary thirst turns into a twenty-year correspondence with Frank Doel (and other staff members at the British bookshop).  Although Helene writes often about her dream of visiting London one day, the two never meet and their correspondence becomes a lovely friendship based on their common love for the written word.  

This is a charming book that immediately won over this long-time bibliophile.  I can certainly understand Helene's raptures over receiving a perfect copy of a book long sought after.  I share her horror at finding that Marks & Co. wraps its shipments in pages from dismantled books (although I am dismayed to discover she had no problem tossing some of her lesser valued books in the trash to make room for more beloved books).  At just 100 pages, it seems hard to believe that two personalities could take such a firm hold on the imagination.  It is wonderful to read these letters from an era when one could get three antiquarian volumes (yes, THREE) for about $5.00 (and it doesn't make me too envious....).  Once I get my hands on my very own copy I will most definitely be rereading to discover any gems that were overlooked on this go-round.  Five stars--absolutely.  Filmed version is next on the docket.  Review to be added soon.

3/21/13: The film

Oh my.  How often does a film version of a book live up to expectations?  Not very.  But, oh my goodness, this does. Anne Bancroft is marvelous as the brash American looking for rare books in all the wrong places....until she discovers that ad for Marks & Co in London.  And Anthony Hopkins is perfect as the reserved British bookman who can't help smiling over the outrageous notes he receives from overseas.  The movie perfectly captures the time period as well as the camaraderie that develops between the two book lovers who never have the chance to meet.  I don't tear up often over movies, but I did when Helene had to cancel her plans for a trip to London in favor of necessary dental work and then again when she finally makes it "across the pond" after Marks & Co is closed and Frank Doel has passed away.  A touching, charming, delightful movie that breathes life into the letters that passed between these two.  A five-star movie as well as a five-star book.

Quotes:
I don't add too well in plain American. I haven't a prayer of ever mastering bilingual arithmetic. (p. 3)

Savage Landor arrived safely and promptly opened to a Roman dialogue where two cities had just been destroyed by war and everybody was being crucified and begging passing Roman soldiers to run them through and the agony. It'll be a relief to turn to Aesop and Rhodope where all you have to worry about is famine. (p. 7)

I do love secondhand books that open to the page some previous owner read oftenest. The day Hazlitt came he opened to "I hate to read new books," and I hollered, "Comrade!" to whoever owned it before me. (p. 7)

I require a book of love poems with spring coming on. No Keats or Shelley, send me poets who can make love without slobbering-- (p. 10)

WELL!!! All I have to say to YOU, Frank Doel, is we live in depraved, destructive and degenerate times when a bookshop--a BOOKSHOP--starts tearing up beautiful old books to use as wrapping paper. (p. 17)

WHAT KIND OF PEPYS' DIARY DO YOU CALL THIS?  this is not pepys' diary, this is some busybody editor's miserable collection of EXCERPTS from pepys' diary may he rot...i enclose two limp singles, i will make do with this thing until you find me a real Pepys. THEN i will rip up this ersatz book, page by page, AND WRAP THINGS IN IT. (p. 31)

you better watch out. i'm coming over there in 53 if ellery is renewed. i'm gonna climb up that victorian book-ladder and disturb the dust on the top shelves and everybody's decorum. Or didn't I ever tell you that I write arty murders for Ellery Queen on television? All my scripts have artistic backgrounds--ballet, concert hall, opera--and all the suspects and corpses are cultured. Maybe I'll do one about the rare book business in your honor, you want to be the murderer or the corpse? (p. 47)

First, enclosed find $3, P-and-P [Pride & Prejudice] arrived looking exactly as Jane ought to look, soft leather, slim and impeccable. (p. 58)

Don't remember which restoration playwright called everyone a Varlet, i always wanted to use it in a sentence. (p. 61)

Why is it that people who wouldn't dream of stealing anything else think it's perfectly all right to steal books? (p. 61)

I'd love to have the Macdonald edition--or any nice edition. If it's Reasonable, of course. Nothing's cheap any more, it's "reasonable." Or "sensibly priced." There's a building going up across the street, the sign over it says:
     "One & Two Bedroom Apartments
     At Rents That Make Sense"
Rents do NOT make sense. And prices do not sit around being reasonable about anything, no matter what it ways in the ad--which isn't an ad anymore, it's a Commercial. (p. 69)


Challenges: 150 Plus Reading Challenge, Outdo Yourself, Library Books Challenge, Book to Movie Challenge, Book Bingo, A-Z Reading Challenge, Book Blogger Recommendation, 150 Plus Reading Challenge, Monthly Mix-Up Mania

The Lady Vanishes: Review

my copy

Here is another entry into the Book to Movie Reading Challenge (as well as a whole boat load of other challenges).  Ethel Lina White's novel The Wheel Spins (1936) was snapped up by Alfred Hitchcock and transformed into The Lady Vanishes (1938). This is another of the very rare cases where the movie is better than the book.  Or maybe it's just that once I find something in one medium I rarely like it better in another....I first watched The Lady Vanishes about 20 years ago.  I thoroughly enjoyed Margaret Lockwood as Iris Henderson, a rich young Englishwoman who befriends a governess by the name of Miss Froy while traveling on a train through Europe.  Mid-way on their journey, Miss Froy disappears and Iris cannot make anyone believe that the woman ever existed, let alone that she has vanished.  Her fellow passengers blame Iris's "fantasy" a blow to the head that she had received earlier, but Iris knows that something is wrong.  Gilbert, a musicologist and fellow passenger, is the only one who finally believes her and together the two piece together how someone could not only disappear into thin air, but have their existence erased completely as well.

The book is very slow-moving. The beginning, which I guess is supposed to drill firmly into the reader's mind how selfish Iris is, really doesn't seem to all that necessary--at least not in the length presented.  And it takes a good half of the book to get to the real action--the disappearance of Miss Froy.  There is good build-up of Iris's frustration and her feeling that perhaps she really is mad (as suggested by several passengers)  She is far more on her own than in the movie--in the book, she appeals to a professor and his young friend, a linguist, but neither of them truly believe her the way Gilbert does in the film.  The novel, as a whole, didn't hold me the way the movie did and it ended fairly abruptly.  Hitchcock is a master and mixed just the right amount of humor with his suspense.  He adds a few characters (such as Charters and Caldicott, the cricket enthusiasts) for color and tells a ripping good tale.  He also adds a more detailed, action-packed ending to add a bit more excitement.

If you're going to do both--I would definitely suggest reading the book first.  It's possible that a reader coming to the story in book-form first might have a greater appreciation for White's novel.  I don't think reading the book first will dampen your enthusiasm for the film.  Two and a half stars for the book.  Four stars for the film.

Challenges: 150 Plus Reading Challenge, Book Bingo, Book to Movie Challenge, Ethel Lina White, Mount TBR Challenge, Off the Shelf, Outdo Yourself, Vintage Mystery Challenge, European Reading Challenge, Around the World [For European & Around the World Challenges--takes place on a train in the "Balkans" which covers parts of Bulgaria, Serbia, Turkey, etc. I have arbitrarily attributed the action to Bulgaria.]

Mary Poppins: Review

I picked up Mary Poppins by P. L. Travers a couple of years ago from a stack of free books here in the halls of the English Department.  I was well-versed in the Disney film version starring Julie Andrews and Dick Van Dyke (having a small person who was fascinated with all things Disney when he was growing up helped fill in whatever Disney films I'd managed to miss when I was growing up)--but had never read the book.  Stumbling across the 2013 Book to Movie Challenge sponsored by Katie over at Doing Dewey gave me the extra shove necessary to put Mary on my 2013 TBR list.  Now to see what I think of the book and how it compares to Disney's version (which I have also re-watched this year)....as a bonus, I'll also briefly mention my experience seeing the staged version on Broadway in 2009.

The basic story in all three is pretty much the same.  The Banks children have a way of running through nannies. They just don't seem to get along with any of them. That is until Mary Poppins arrives on the scene.  She manages to tame the children and show them just how magical their lives can be.  The children learn to love her and don't want her to leave...but she only promised to stay until the wind change.

Mary Poppins, the book, is a bit darker in tone than the Disney version.  While still very magical, Travers' nanny is far less cheery than the one brought to life by Julie Andrews.  Mary Poppins is sharp-tongued and vain--always peering at herself in shop windows and any available reflecting object.  She still serves as a gatekeeper for the fantasies of childhood--talking animals, odd old ladies who serve up candy lady fingers (no, not cookies--real lady fingers made out of candy) and gingerbread, and tea parties on the ceiling, for example--but the fantasies are far more tinged with the harsh realities of life than the Disney film.  The film does produce a bit of medicine to go with the sugar: there's the grimy woman who says "Granny will hide you" when the children run from the bank. Children may not get the overtones in that scene, but obviously Jane and Michael do NOT want to go with "Granny" in turn of the century London. And, of course, the moral of the story--that Mr. Banks is ignoring his children and should be spending time with them--is driven home.

The film nanny is obviously fond of the Banks children, even if she does insist that she couldn't possibly get attached to all the children she has cared for--after all, what would become of her if she did?  In the book, it is much more difficult to discern any affection for the children and, quite honestly, she's often mean.  Her appeal in the book is much more attached to her ability to provide magical adventures for the children and to represent the magic of childhood.  

It has been reported in many places that P. L. Travers was very upset with Disney's adaptation of her novel.  She particularly took exception to the use of animation.  I find that rather astounding.  Here is a woman who has incorporated the most unlikely scenes into her novels.  She pens adventures that require talking animals; animals who behave like humans--from animals in charge of a human zoo to animals hosting a birthday party for Mary Poppins to having a cow dancing across the countryside and jumping over the moon--and she somehow believed Disney (one of pioneers in animation) was going to do the film as strictly live action?  Seriously?  I'm not sure how she thought he was going to pull that off successfully in the 1960s.

I've been to a production of the staged version on Broadway.  It, of course, is all live action.  And, while it is delightful in its own way, it definitely loses some of the magic of the children's fantasies.  The best part of both the film and the staged production is the very lively dance number "Step in Time" with Bert and the chimney sweeps.  Dick Van Dyke is absolutely brilliant in the film and Gavin Lee had a difficult legacy to live up to.  Imagine my amazement when we watched him perform the "Step in Time" dance across the floor, up one side of the stage wall, across the ceiling (upside down), and down the opposite wall.  A trick Fred Astaire did on film in Royal Wedding--except he did it in a revolving room and was never truly upside-down.  

The stage version also incorporates a bit more of the darkness from the books.  Rather than have Mary Poppins remain with the children throughout (as in the film), she leaves them between Acts I and II (as happens at the end of the first book).  Mrs. Banks engages her husband's old nanny, Miss Andrews (aka the "Holy Terror"), but it winds up that Miss Andrews is a mean and nasty tyrant.  After she has terrorized the children, Mary Poppins returns for a nanny showdown and runs the tyrant off.  The play then proceeds to follow much of the film's action,

All three incarnations of Mary Poppins are enjoyable--however, if I have to rate them, then I'm afraid the book suffers at the expense of my previous experiences.  This is one of the few instances where I would rate a film (and stage production) over the original novel.  In order of preference: 1) film, 2) stage production, and 3) novel.  Three stars for the book.

Book to Movie Challenge

Katie at Doing Dewey is hosting her first ever reading challenge, the 2013 Book to Movie Challenge. The mission, should you choose to accept it, is to review books and the movies which they’ve been made into. 

To enter, just click through to the linky at the bottom of the Challenge post (link above) and link to a post on your blog mentioning the challenge and the challenge level you’re attempting. You can change challenge levels at any time and the challenge levels are listed at the site. Here is my chosen level:

 

Movie Fan - read 3 books and watch their movies

I will read (and watch) at least three of the following:

1. Mary Poppins by P. L. Travers (3/11/13)
2. The Lady Vanishes by Ethel Lina White (3/17/13)
3. 84 Charing Cross Road by Helene Hanff (3/20/13) 



4. The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson/The Haunting 1963 film (10/7/13)
5. Death in the Air (aka Death in the Clouds) by Agatha Christie (8/5/13)
6. The African Queen by C. S. Forester (4/6/13)

Bonus: The Maltese Falcon by Dashielle Hammett [read last year, but read a pastiche called Hammett Unwritten by Owen Fitzstephen (Gordon McAlpine) and will watch the movie as well as link up last year's review]


IF I manage to do all of these, then I'll upgrade to Movie Devotee--but I'm gonna start small. Black Widow may be difficult to find in movie form (1954 production date). [Addendum--managed to find Black Widow--but couldn't finish the movie.  Replaced it with The African Queen.]