THE GUISES OF GUINNESS: Part One

 

         Father Brown a.k.a The Detective (1954: Dir. Robert Hamer)

Alec Guinness came to hate Star Wars (1977). Although his profit participation had provided him with financial security for the rest of his life, the role of Obi-Wan Kenobi seemed to obliterate his previous acting achievements in the eyes of younger viewers. Prior to working with George Lucas, director David Lean was the filmmaker most associated with Guinness but there was another writer-director with whom Guinness had enjoyed a successful partnership. In the post WWII British film industry of the 1940s, Robert Hamer was one of the bright young filmmakers to emerge from the editing room as a directing talent to be watched. Having garnered critical acclaim for a pair of crime melodramas Pink String and Sealing Wax (1946) and It Always Rains on Sunday (1947), Hamer co-wrote and directed Kind Hearts and Coronets (1949) an icy black comedy about a ruthless aristocrat (Dennis Price) who murders his way into an inheritance. Guinness plays nine roles - both male and female - as each member of the wealthy D'Ascoyne family is done way with in witty fashion. This tour de force of characterization together with his unrecognizable performance as Fagin in Oliver Twist (1948), helped cement Guinness in the public mind as a master of disguise. Hamer and Guinness re-united in 1954 for their greatest collaboration Father Brown, boringly re-titled The Detective for American release. Co-produced by Columbia Pictures, it is an amusing though deceptively spiritual adaptation of the first in the beloved G.K. Chesterton stories of a wily clerical investigator. Once again effecting a bold physical transformation, Guinness cheerfully embodies the heavy paunch and myopia of Father Brown while communicating his unique blend of detective skills combined with a congenial yet unshakeable moral authority. His French nemesis Flambeau is portrayed by the underrated Peter Finch, in a suave performance of criminal cunning that is both elegant and tragic in its palpable loneliness. Finch was not yet the star he would become by decade's end and here he proves every bit the equal of Guinness when sharing the screen. Father Brown enjoyed a fitful success and led to an immediate follow-up project for Hamer and Guinness, To Paris With Love (1955). Although his role as a Scottish Colonel gave Guinness the requisite opportunities for eccentric impersonation, this romantic comedy is unfortunately a light souffle of an entertainment that never adequately rises. Hamer's final film with Guinness proved more worthy. The Scapegoat (1959) is a moody filming of Daphne Du Maurier's novel of mistaken identity. Surprisingly, for a film about assuming the identity of another man, Guinness is at his most subtle and least mannered in both his physical and emotional personification. The film's lack of success is often blamed on its troubled production. Hamer, a tormented homosexual, struggled with chronic alcoholism and as a result he was often left unable to work. This caused particular conflict with Guinness, who as co-producer with Du Maurier had insisted on hiring Hamer for the job of director. In addition, Hamer came into conflict with financiers MGM who altered his director's cut by re-editing and re-scoring the film despite his protestations. Sadly, Hamer would make only one more film School for Scoundrels (1960) before dying at the young age of 52. Guinness however would continue to expand his impressive collection of masquerades. (DVD Region 2)

Liam Neeson saved me from the pandemic

While living in uncertain times we yearn for heroes on the big screen and small screens.  In the past, actors such as Errol Flynn, Sean Connery, Jean Paul Belmondo, Charles Bronson, and Arnold Schwarzenegger have embodied the dependable men of action who audiences trust for their evening of vicarious thrills. Starting with his surprise hit Taken in 2008, Liam Neeson has emerged as this generation’s Clint Eastwood – a taciturn and impressive physical threat to criminal corruption wherever it festers. Even a worldwide pandemic has not deterred Neeson from his mission to entertain. Since October of 2020, he has had an impressive 5 pictures in release as of April 29, 2022. Here is a viewing guide to the man who saved me from the pandemic.

Honest Thief (2020)

A good start to Neeson’s cycle of Covid era films. Producer-writer-director Mark Williams (creator of the tv series Ozark) has fashioned a compelling moral tale about a successful non-violent bank robber who wishes to repay the stolen money and face the legal consequences so he can marry the woman he loves. Naturally, a ruthless pair of crooked cops get in the way of his plans, but Liam proves equally deadly when pushed to defend himself. A small-scale thriller that effectively balances its hard-boiled elements with the somewhat melodramatic set up.

The Marksman (2021)

Neeson has often flirted with Clint Eastwood style characters in the past, but this script feels like it was originally intended for Dirty Harry himself, not least because it is written and directed by longtime Eastwood associate Robert Lorenz (The Trouble with the Curve). Mark Williams also produced this story of an aging former US Marine Corps sniper who patrols the US-Mexican border reporting on illegal immigrants to US Border Patrol where his step-daughter works. When he kills a member of a drug cartel while protecting an orphaned Mexican boy he is saddled with the uneasy task of dodging vengeful criminals as he drives the boy to his only family in Chicago. Neeson is very believable as a lonely widower - and dead shot- with a gruff demeanor yet kind heart that the audience knows will win the boy’s trust. Coincidently, Clint Eastwood would direct and star in a very similar film Cry Macho, released only 8 months later.

The Ice Road (2021)

The most ambitious of Neeson’s recent action films and a frigid bookend to his Scandi-noir remake Cold Pursuit (2019). Here Liam is part of a team of ice truckers racing over a frozen lake to rescue trapped miners. A perfect example of old fashioned high octane filmmaking, using minimal CGI and shot by Clint Eastwood’s longtime cinematographer Tom Stern on authentically remote Lake Winnipeg locations. Writer-director Jonathan Hensleigh (Armageddon, The Punisher) knows which classic films to steal from (The Wages of Fear, Sorceror), while proving that charismatic middle-aged actors like Neeson and Laurence Fishburne can still sell the visceral suspense and emotional extremes of the premise. Buckle up for the best truck thriller since Breakdown (1997).

Blacklight (2022)

Liam Neeson’s first movie shot during the pandemic casts him as an FBI agent who uncovers a conspiracy while on the verge of retirement. A low concept but serviceable potboiler successfully reuniting Neeson with filmmaker Mark Williams and his Michael Collins (1996) co-star Aidian Quinn. Truly a test of Neeson’s watchability even in B-movie material, with enough action and intrigue to provide a slow night’s entertainment.

Memory (2022)

It was perhaps inevitable that Neeson would eventually work with action director Martin Campbell (Casino Royale, the Mask of Zorro), and hopefully this upcoming thriller will fulfill the promise of their anticipated collaboration. A remake of the Belgian film The Memory of a Killer (2003) that tells the story of a freelance assassin targeted by his client when he refuses to complete his assignment. The hook is that the Neeson’s hitman character suffers from Alzheimer’s, so he can’t even trust his own memory as he fights to stay one step ahead of his enemies. I will be looking forward to this as my first Liam Neeson film at the cinema in over 2 years and even though he turns 70 in June, this is will hopefully not be the last of his beloved action heroes.

                     Elwy Yost : My Movie Mentor

https://www.tvo.org/video/documentaries/magic-shadows-elwy-yost-a-life-in-movies

Before Netflix and Turner Classic Movies, there was Elwy Yost, Canada’s most famous film buff. For 25 years at TVOntario, Elwy gave viewers an unparalleled access to classic Hollywood Cinema, brought to you uncut and in the comfort of your own home. Watching classic films on TV in the early 1970s was not always fun. Too many commercial breaks meant films were edited for broadcast, print quality was often lacking and you couldn’t always count on the correct title in the TV Guide being the same film that was eventually shown. Starting in 1974, the TVO show Saturday Night at the Movies (SNAM) with Elwy Yost changed all that by inaugurating a new era of film appreciation that continues to this day. Elwy was a film buff who knew the world of cinema needed proper presentation and scholarship to educate and entertain a growing generation of cinephiles. SNAM was unique in North American television programming. Audiences were provided with an engaging film history lesson every week in a commercial free themed movie double bill accompanied by introductions, commentary and interviews with the actors, filmmakers and craftspeople who made them. Elwy’s experience as a high school teacher, theatre actor, and on-air personality made him the perfect host. Unafraid to embrace his youthful enthusiasm for talking film, Elwy connected with viewers who were discovering the pure joy of movie genres such as Film Noir and Science Fiction/Fantasy. His legacy lives on to this day, with many people in the film industry and media education crediting him as a formative influence. My new TVO documentary Magic Shadows, Elwy Yost: A Life in Movies (available at TVO.org) is an affectionate tribute to this legendary TV presenter by detailing his childhood influences, how he became Canada’s most famous on air movie presenter, and the family whose love he cherished. 26 years ago I was thrilled to have Elwy contribute the foreword to a book that I wrote and self-published entitled You Ain’t Seen Nothin’ Yet: A Guide to 500 Unsung Films on Video. He was a warm and generous man who taught me how the power of cinema influences our daily lives. I am proud to salute the life and work of Elwy Yost.