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★ 8 / 10
As queer as mice in a cage. Ladies
John Chard
As queer as mice in a cage. Ladies in Retirement is directed by Charles Vidor and adapted to screenplay by Garrett Ford from the Reginald Denham and Edward…
As queer as mice in a cage.
Ladies in Retirement is directed by Charles Vidor and adapted to screenplay by Garrett Ford from the Reginald Denham and Edward Percy play of the same name. It stars Ida Lupino, Louis Hayward, Evelyn Keyes, Elsa Lanchester, Edith Barrett and Isobel Elsom. Music is by Ernst Toch and cinematography by George Barnes.
A housekeeper takes drastic action when the head of the household insists that her two batty sisters be evicted the next day…
Willow, Tit Willow, Tit Willow.
Hee, the title conjures up images of some batty biddy comedy set in a retirement home, but the truth is that Vidor's movie is far from it, even if does have a purposely quaint whiff of eccentric based comedy at times. Based on a true story from the 1880's and made into a popular play in 1940; with Flora Robson in the lead role, it's a story that features insanity, murder and blackmail, all deftly performed within an isolated house out in the misty marsh lands.
With George Barne's black and white photography suitably cold and Vidor leaving some indelible images, it's a tip-top production without fuss and filler. Cast perform well, especially Lupino and Lanchester, and although it's inevitably stage bound and features long passages of dialogue, the eerie mood and potent thematics don't suffer or get lost in the mix. It was remade as The Mad Room in 1968 with Stella Stevens slotting into the lead shoes.
The hook here is that sane people can do insane things if pushed into a corner, and this notion holds the film upright. Yes it could have been more sinister and daring, but there's ample here for the Gothic/thriller crowd to gorge on. 7.5/10
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★ 7 / 10
Leonora Fiske" (Isobel Elsom) is a retired actress
CinemaSerf
"Leonora Fiske" (Isobel Elsom) is a retired actress, a kindly soul, who lives in a remote cottage with her companion "Ellen" (Ida Lupino) and her maid. When…
"Leonora Fiske" (Isobel Elsom) is a retired actress, a kindly soul, who lives in a remote cottage with her companion "Ellen" (Ida Lupino) and her maid. When "Ellen" asks if she might bring her sisters down to stay for a few days, they cause chaos to the old lady's normally ordered life and she asks them all to leave. Lupino has other ideas and is soon running the house as "Fiske" has "gone away". Unbeknown to her, though, her rather roguish distant nephew "Albert" (Louis Hayward) had previously stopped by to visit them whilst she was away, and when he returns to discover the old lady gone and his aunt running the place, he - and the servant "Lucy" (Evelyn Keyes) begin to get suspicious. It's a well directed, well paced crime noir with a strong supporting cast - Elsa Lanchester and Edith Barrett play well as the bonkers sisters; and though the ending is a bit of a let-down, it is still one of those films that has fallen down behind the cushion on the sofa - and is a delight to find again.
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Where the Fog Never Lifts
dougdoepke
In 1942, I expect the studios tossed off productions like this like cars on an assembly line. But don't let that fool you. Assembly line product or no, this is…
In 1942, I expect the studios tossed off productions like this like cars on an assembly line. But don't let that fool you. Assembly line product or no, this is an atmospheric and expertly acted 90 minutes from Columbia Pictures, with that great unsung actress of the period Ida Lupino, supported by two of the daffiest character actresses of the day, Elsa Lanchester and the wild-eyed Edith Barrett.And what a wacky production it is. Adapted from a stage play, everything takes place on a single foggy sound stage. But that's okay because it's a Gothic thriller with lots of shadowy interiors and dark secrets inside a big old house. Lupino's cursed with two ditzy sisters and, by golly, she's going to take care of them come what may. It's this unbending family loyalty that finally lends Lupino's role an uncommon measure of dramatic pathos. Watch her with her tightly wrapped hairdo and stiff-necked manner. It's like she's taken a solemn oath to defend her pathetic sisters, and she's going to do it, no matter the sacrifice, unlike the bounder Louis Hayward who takes advantage of the situation only to enrich himself. But it's really the girlish Barrett, an obscure RKO actress, who steals the show-- all innocence and wide-eyed enthusiasm over the least little thing. No wonder, Lupino takes extreme protective measures. Stylish director Charles Vidor does a lot with the slender material. Just consider the single, fog-bound set that could have become impossibly static. But Vidor keeps things moving and our attention with it. Then too, he knows how to use the Louis Hayward character to liven up the Gothic solemnity. What's also notable is that neither the screenplay nor Vidor takes the easy way out by vilifying the flighty Mrs. Fiske (Isobel Elsom). She's ultimately as sympathetic as Lupino. I kept wondering what Hitchcock would have done with the material since the theme and characters are right up his alley. Be that as it may, this is one of the many by-passed gems from the studios' golden age, and deserves rediscovery on its own many merits.
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