MOVIES AND DREAMS

A (STRANGE) DREAM

Early this morning I dreamt that I, Kris (my recently deceased mother-in-law), and perhaps some family members whom I couldn't distinguish, were breaking into a joint to steal money. The door was locked, and Kirk Douglas stepped \in to prove that he wasn't too old to break a lock (something he used to do and still had the knack for). The door handle was one you swing down, like the doors between subway cars, and Kirk had to somehow calibrate the timing of his actions so that with a single, forceful downswoop the door opened. Thereafter, the only person I recall is Kris. For some reason, I had to xerox a form (which I didn't think was important) as part of the money acquisition, and I made two copies, one without the title paragraph on top, and one with it, But since the latter was crooked, with type too close to the edges, I gave Kris the other one. As she, however, wanted that title paragraph, I switched forms with her. More than that I can't remember.

NOTE: Kris was honest to a fault. Stealing money was the least likely thing she could ever do.

ALL THROUGH THE NIGHT, 1941

Director: George, Stevens; starring Humphrey Bogart, with supporting roles by Phil Silvers, Jackie Gleason and other fine performers.

Bogey is trying to escape a false murder rap. In the process, he gets entangled with a bunch of American Nazis and a girl who helps him at first. With delicious tough-guy dialog tinged with subtle undertones of rye humor, he foils the bad guys. In addition to that, however, are hilarious small roles by his hench men. One guy has his hat on backwards and walks around with an axe over his shoulder. He is a wildly humorous spectacle, and at times the movie feels like a Marx Brothers film.

The movie is beautiful, and had me reflecting on film’s relationship to art. There’s an implicit collaboration between the urban scene of New York, the art of Hopper, and movies like this. Cornices and string courses abound. So do street lights, sidewalks and stoops. Edward Hopper used these props to create fixed, monumental scenes. The movie scenes flash by like liquid. Hopper couldn’t do that. Neither could he as effectively capture the shimmer of reflecting water on the streets.

EASTER PARADE

I've never much liked Easter Parade (1948), with Fred Astaire, Judy Garland and Peter Lawford, and Irvin Berlin's music), but I forced myself to watch a little snippet of it yesterday. As luck would have it, this snippet included two of the show's greatest numbers: Steppin' Out with My Baby and A Couple of Swells, which came close to each other.

I was hugely impressed by Steppin' Out, which I consider the best Fred Astaire movie dance routine of all. He's 49, and transitioning to the exclusively balletic phase of his later years. But here he still mixes in tap. Grace is wedded to crispness and precision. His varied partners for this number are unknowns, who, while very good, don't get in the way of Fred's spotlight. Yellow suit, red vest, white shoes...the guy is sharp! I was not that crazy about the slow motion sequence within that act, however.

But A Couple of Swells, with Fred and Judy as hobos, is absolute perfection. They're as unlikely as a couple of sparrows, which they resemble, to be invited to the Vanderbilts for tea, which they claim. But I was so struck by the performance, a vaudeville skit, that I applauded the end just as if I'd witnessed a live performance. I consider it the crowning achievement of cinematic musical comedy. As they "walk" UP the avenue, the flimsy looking Fifth avenue backdrop wobbles slightly, while a floor conveyer belt glides them forward, depending on the narrative..

I'm nostalgic for Fifth Avenue, where my mother once worked. But that's not all.

I enjoy it as pantomime, and I enjoy it as dance. The music, a work of comic genius, alternates between the querulous verses, and the counterpoint, declarative refrain, whose last lines vary to rhyme with those of verse just before it.

We would ride on a trolley car but we haven't got the fare (last line of the verse)
So we'll walk up the Avenue
Yes, we'll walk up the Avenue
Yes, we'll walk up the Avenue till we're there

We would ride on a bicycle, but we haven't got a bike (last line of the verse)
So we'll walk up the Avenue
Yes, we'll walk up the Avenue
And to walk up the Avenue's what we like

We would swim up the Avenue but we haven't any lake (last line of the verse)
So we'll walk up the Avenue
Yes, we'll walk up the Avenue
Yes, a walk up the Avenue's what we'll take

Maybe, though, this performance can't be analyzed, and just has to be enjoyed.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LkAJFk-U9wY&NR=1