Valiant

In 2005, Disney distributed a British film produced by Vanguard Animation and Odyssey Entertainment. Starring Ewan McGregor, Ricky Gervais, John Cleese, Olivia Williams, John Hurt, Jim Broadbent, Hugh Laurie and Tim Curry, Valiant was inspired by true stories of the pigeons that helped in World War II. It made $61.7 million.

In May 1944, a team of Royal Homing Pigeon Service carrier pigeons, headed by Mercury (Cleese) are ambushed by German falcon, Von Talon (Curry). Mercury and the message are taken prisoner. Meanwhile Valiant (McGregor) is a young pigeon who aspires to be a carrier and signs up. They are trained and para-dropped into France to rescue Mercury.

This movie exudes mediocrity. There’s nothing really special about it, but then there’s nothing particularly bad. Except for one thing. Tim Curry as the villain. He’s great in everything he does, even managing to make The Enchanted Christmas someone tolerable. And he’s good here. But it’s an odd casting choice as he’s not exactly German.

But I suppose this film is worth mentioning as it did pave the way for subpar CGI movies in the mid to late 2000s. But for what it’s worth, it could have been a lot worse considering the idea they were working with. But it’s just so bland that it really needed to have been better. 

#68

Casablanca

Based on the unproduced stage play, Everybody Comes to Ricks, Michael Curtiz’ 1942 film Casablanca was nominated for eight awards, winning Best Picture, Best Director and Best Screenplay. Starring Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman, and Paul Henried, the film features a man who must choose between love and virtue.

The film begins in December 1941, where American expatriate, Rick Blaine (Bogart) is the proprietor of Rick’s Café Americain, a nightclub and gambling den in the Moroccan city of Casablanca.  The café attracts a variety of people: Vichy Frency, Itallian, and German officials alongside refugees who are desperate to reach the United States. Rick professes to be neutral in all matters, but ran guns to Ethiopia during the war with Italy and fought against the Nationalists during the Spanish Civil War.

The petty criminal Ugarte (Peter Lorre) shows up one day and shows Rick letters of transit he gained by murdering two German couriers. The papers allow the bearer to freely travel around German-controlled Europe and to Portugal. He plans to sell them at the club later that night but is arrested by Capt. Louis Renault (Claude Rains), a corrupt official. He dies in custody without revealing he entrusted the letters to Rick.

Soon, Rick’s former lover and the source of his bitterness, Ilsa Lund walks into the bar and sees Rick’s friend and house pianist, Sam. She asks him to play “As Time Goes By.” Rick is furious that Sam disobeyed his order to never perform that song but is stunned to see Ilsa. Her husband, Victor Laszlo (Henried) the Czech Resistance leader, is with her as well. They need the letters Rick has to escape to America where he can continue his work. German Major Strasser (Conrad Veidt) has come to Casablanca to prevent it.  

Laszlo makes inquiries and Ferrari (Sydney Greenstreet), Rick’s business rival and black market figure, believes that Rick has the letters. But he refuses to sell at any price, telling Laszlo to ask his wife the reason. They are interrupted when Strasser leads a group of officers in singing “Die Wacht am Rhein,” a German patriotic anthem. Laszlo orders the house band to play “La Marseillaise” and starts singing along. He is alone at first, but the crowd soon joins in and drowns out the Germans. Strasser has Renault close the club under any means necessary. He chooses gambling.

That night Ilsa confronts Rick in the café. He refuses to give her the letters and she threatens him with a gun, but confesses she still loves him. She explains that when they first met and fell in love in Paris in 1940, she believed Laszlo had been killed in attempting to escape a concentration camp. However, when she was preparing to flee with Rick from the fall of Paris to the German army, she learned he was alive and in hiding and left Rick without explanation.

Rick’s cynicism and bitterness dissolve and he agrees to help her. Laszlo shows up unexpectedly having escaped a police raid on a Resistance meeting. Rick has his waiter take Ilsa away and Laszlo, now aware that Ilsa loves Rick, tries to persuade him to use the letters to take her to safety. The police turn up to arrest Laszlo on a minor, exaggerated charge, but rick convinces Renault to release him by promising a set up for the more serious crime of possession of letters of transit. When trying to arrest Laszlo as arranged at the airport, Rick holds Renault at gunpoint to assist in their escape. But at the last moment, he makes Ilsa board the plane to Lisbon with Laszlo, explaining that she would regret it if she stayed.

Strasser drives up alone and is killed by Rick when he tries to intervene. The police arrive, but Renault tells them to round up the usual suspects. The film ends as Renault suggests to Rick they join the Free French and walk away into the fog with Rick saying that it was the beginning of a beautiful friendship.

Rick’s character development is a big part in making this film what it is. Rick is introduced as a stubborn cynic who really wants no part in anybody’s affairs but his own. But when his past comes back in the form of Ilsa, he’s faced with the reality of why it all happened. He releases his grudge and does everything he can to get Ilsa and Laszlo out of Casablanca. It’s true and realistic development too, as he doesn't turn into a complete idealist as the film ends, but is slowly developing into a better person.

The music is done exceptionally well too. Written by Max Steiner, who also wrote the score to Gone with the Wind, he based the entire score on “As Time Goes By” and “La Marseillaise” and had the latter and the opening bars of “Deutschlandlied” as leitmotifs. This gave greater depth to the setting and characters. Also, the duel of songs between Strasser and Laszlo is one of the best parts in the film and sets up arguably the funniest line.

It should also be noted that the script was continually going through re-writes, even during filming. The screenwriters essentially made the film up as they went along. Yet it was still cleverly written and continues to be one of the most quoted films. However, at no time is Sam told “Play it again, Sam.” Blame Woody Allen for that.

While Ingrid Bergman's acting may have been a little off at times, but even she said it wasn't one of her favorite performances. 

Why did this get Best Picture: Because it involved the Czech Resistance most likely.

Final Call: An enjoyable and unforgettable film with great characters, music and writing. It jumps to #1.

Mrs. Miniver

William Wyler’s 1942 film Mrs. Miniver was nominated for 12 Academy Awards, winning Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actress (Greer Garson), Best Screenplay, Best Supporting Actress (Teresa Wright), and Best B&W Cinematography. With Garson alongside Walter Pidgeon, the film centers around A British housewife in rural England during the early months of World War II.

Mrs. Kay Miniver (Garson) and her family live at a house called Starlings in Belham just outside London. The house has a large garden that overlooks the River Thames. Mr. Clem Miniver (Pidgeon), a successful architect owns a motorboat. The two have three children: Toby, Judy and Vin (Christopher Severn, Clare Sandars, and Richard Ney) and a staff of Gladys the Housemaid (Brenda Forbes) and Ada the cook (Marie De Becker).

On the eve of World War II, Vin comes home from university and meets Carol Beldon (Wright), the grandaugther of Lady Beldon (Dame May Whitty). Despite disagreements, especially in Vin’s idealistic attitude to class differences, the two fall in love. Vin proposes to Carol but when the war comes clower to home, feels he must do his part and enlists in the Royal Air Force. He qualifies as a fighter pilot and is posted to a base near his parents’ home and is able to signal safe return from operations by cutting his engines briefly as he flies over the house. Clem also volunteers to take his motorboat to assist in the Dunkirk evacuation.

One morning, while Clem is still away, Kay is unable to sleep and wanders down to the private dock. She discovers a wounded German pilot (Helmut Dantine) hiding in her garden. He holds her at gunpoint and demands food and a coat while asserting that the Third Reich will mercilessly overcome its enemies. She feeds him, disarms him and calls the police. Soon after, Clem returns home.

Lady Beldon visits Kay to convince her to talk Vin out of marrying Carol due to her youth. She is unsuccessful when Kay reminds her that she was married young. Soon, Vin and Carol are married, and honeymoon in Scotland. Later, Kay and her family take refuge in their garden bomb shelter and keep their minds off the bombing while reading Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. Clem calls it a lovely story as they barely survive a bomb landing and destroying parts of the house.

At the village flower show, Lady Beldon disregards the judges’ decision that her rose of the winner and announces that the local stationmaster, Mr. Ballard (Henry Travers) is the winner of the Mrs. Miniver rose, with her own taking second place. Air raid sirens sound and the villagers take refuge in the cellars of Beldon Hall. Kay and Carol drive Vin to join his squadron. On the way home, they witness a dogfight. For safety, Kay stops the car and they see a German plane crash. Carol is wounded from the plane’s fire and Kay takes her back to Starlings, where she dies in minutes. Kay is devastated and Vin is told when he returns from battle.

The film ends as the villagers assemble at the badly damaged church where the vicar (Henry Wilcoxon) delivers a sermon affirming their determination. Lady Beldon stands in her family’s church pew and Vin moves to stand alongside her. The congregation sings Onward, Christian Soldiers while RAF fighters are seen though the bombed church roof flying to face the enemy.

Where All Quiet on the Western Front exposes the harsh realities of war in the eyes of the fighting men, Mrs. Miniver shows it from the perspective of the civilians and families. The film gives an honest look at that perspective. There are painful moments and the characters are indeed afraid, but they exhibit outward bravery and strength for the well-being of their community.

The aforementioned would not have been possible had not the acting been so great. Garson and Wright put on amazing performances with simply their eyes. With Kay and Carol showing their outward bravery, their eyes truly showed that inside, they were unsure and frightened of what would lay ahead. Those two deserved the Oscars they received.

Sure, this is one in a series of WWII propaganda films. But apart from the end, it doesn't feel like it.

This most definitely won Best Picture due to its portrayal of a small community during the early war.

Final Call: An honest look at the home front’s perspective of the war with acting that drives it home.  I suppose it’s impossible to rank a film like this for enjoyment. It prompts the creation of an “Exceptions” list. And the more I think about it, All Quiet on the Western Front belongs there too.