Ageism

Goodbye Again (1961) - Litvak






Melodrama of highest order! 40 year old Paula (Ingrid Bergman) is an interior designer in Paris. She and playboy Roger (Yves Montand) has a non committal relationship that's been going on for 5 years. Enter one of her clients' 25 year old son, Philip (Tony Perkins). He falls in love with Paula and starts stalking her. While Roger is sleeping around on 'business trips', Paula finally gives in to Philip's persistence. Roger gets jealous and wants her back. Torn between a charming womanizer and a lovesick puppy, Paula can't make up her mind.

Anatole Litvak's melodrama puts the focus squarely on a middle aged woman as she succumbs to ageism and societal pressure. Roger even says himself that what he's doing is 'normal', insinuating what she's doing is not. Paula is left with making bad choices. Bergman is still luminous and Montand, suave but it's Perkins again who steals the show. There is a certain child-like vulnerability in him with a hint of cynicism and cruelty. It's in his dark eyes. Here, he remains sweet and lovelorn and falls victim to the seemingly impossible love. There should be a thesis written about Perkins and older women.

Hilarious trailer narrated by Pepe Le Pew:

Greek Tragedy

Phaedra (1962) - Dassin







Phaedra is a retelling of a classical Greek tragedy of a woman falling in love with her stepson, set in modern day Greece. Phaedra (Melina Mercoury) is a wife of a ship building magnate Thanos (Raf Vallon). She is put on a task by Thanos to bring back his art student son Alexis (Anthony Perkins) from London to join them in Greece for the Summer. Before she leaves, her long time family nanny warns her of her dream where two men were fighting over her. Phaedra is intrigued by the carefree young man who introduces an Aston Martin in the car shop windo as his 'gal'. While walking on London Bridge, in a stunt act to convince him, Phaedra throws her huge diamond ring over the bridge. They start a fiery affair after reuniting with Thanos in Paris, en route to Greece. Sensing that the affair is not going to end well, Phaedra begs Alexis not to come to Greece. He obliges while heartbroken and angry. But as fate would have it, Thanos, oblivious of what's going on, chastises Phaedra for not bringing back his son- the rightful heir of his empire and recalls him to Greece. Overjoyed yet guilt stricken, Phaedra has to content with shame, guilt, jealousy and burning desire while Alexis struggles to be free from all.

Dassin deftly directs this handsome, high melodrama. His wife and muse Melina Mercoury is marvelous as a tragic heroine with her striking features and Eartha Kitt purrs. Perkins has never been as charming and handsome as here. Loved it. I gotta check out some more Dassin.

Jungle Fever

Green Mansions (1959) - Ferrer






I was browsing Tony Perkins's filmography on imdb and boy, he was such a dashing ladies' man. Too bad Psycho became such a career defining film for him. Green Mansions is a ridiculous adventure story in Amazon jungle shot in cinemascope. It stars Perkins as a privileged white boy, Abel, in Caracas who became a victim of a revolution there. He flees to the jungle and mingles in with a tribe of natives (chief and his son played by Sessue Hayakawa and always dependable ethnic man, Henry Silva) by proving his bravery (standing in one place and talking until collapsing)? He needs to find gold there, to take revenge on those revolutionaries who wronged his family or something. There is a forest nearby that is forbidden to enter by the tribesmen because there is a forest witch who lives there. She killed the chief's first son when he went in to the forest to hunt. The witch turns out to be animal loving Rima (Audrey Hepburn, playing the perfect, but sexless nymphet). For Abel, it's a love at first sight. He wants to get her out of the jungle. Rima's guardian/grandpa (Lee J Cobb) holds a dark secret and the bloodthirsty tribesmen in pursuit, and the jungle itself as adversary, the two lovebirds must make it or break it!

Sets and locations are pretty impressive. The credits indicate that they shot part of the film in Colombia, Venezuela and Guiana and it was one of the first cinemascope films. It also has wealth of set painting and campy effects. But I have to say it's pretty great.

Tony Perkins sings: