Monday, December 22, 2008


Alicia: There's nothing like a love song to give you a good laugh. It's too stuffy in here for a picnic. Do you want to finish that? [gesturing toward his drink]
Devlin: It's a shame to leave it. [He downs most of the drink]
Alicia: You're quite a boy. [She finishes his drink] My car is outside.
Devlin: Naturally.
Alicia: Do you wanna go for a ride?
Devlin: Very much. What about your guests?
Alicia: They'll crawl out under their own steam. I'm, I'm gonna drive. That's, that's understood.
Devlin: Don't you need a coat?
Alicia: You'll do.

(Notorious, 1946)

16 comments:

Darcy said...

Oh, man. I adore this movie. I thought they had a real chemistry.

blake said...

I adore Bergman. But I'd like to add that I think it's hilarious that your Google Ad is always "Become a State Trooper".

Darcy said...

Wasn't she mesmerizing in this, blake? So beautiful and wild.

Hehe...I've noticed that, too. And when Santa pic was up, it had an ad for Sexy Santa suits!

blake said...

Honestly, Darcy, for me she can't be surpassed in Casablanca. A lot of people think her daughter is more beautiful but--well, I'm gonna end up going into a "good old days" thing where I talk about how nobody was bigger than Wayne, sexier than Hayworth, more suave than Grant, etc., etc., etc.

And I'm admittedly biased. I've only seen Notorious once or twice and Casablanca countless times.

As I recall in Hitch's movie there was a sort of barely contained sexuality, which she did surprisingly well.

Darcy said...

Oh, no...Isabella is striking, but she's no match for her mother's beauty, I agree. Give Notorious another look. It's such a different role for her - the naughty/wild but good girl role. It's pretty risque for that time, too. It's always been my favorite Bergman film.

My second favorite is Gaslight, and then Spellbound. I love Casablanca the movie itself, but for highlighting Ingrid, I would say it's the least of my favorites.

Oh, and there's another film that Ingrid did with Grant - where they were middle aged, and Grant was pretending to be married to avoid entanglements, can't remember the name, but I remember one scene that was really so funny and well done. Cracked me up. Not a great movie, but fun to watch, and I did love their chemistry.

And the clothes Ingrid wears, Ok, that's a chick thing, I guess, in the last movie I mentioned...just fantastic style. Timeless.

Darcy said...

The movie was called Indiscreet.

And I just watched this scene from Notorious and cried again! LOL. I'm a sucker for this stuff.

blake said...

Hey, that's pretty good film quality, too.

Yeah, I remember being a bit surprised by it, but the great directors of the time were very sophisticated about conveying what they wanted within the confines of the Hays Code.

I have often thought one of the negative effects of that censorship is that we missed out on having these guys' input on how to handle certain issues.

Darcy said...

Would you elaborate on that last thought, blake? I'm not sure what you mean.

blake said...

I mean, basically, you didn't get to see how Hawks or Capra or Welles dealt with (e.g.) sexuality out from under the watchful eye of Hays.

So what happens is we get to the late '60s and early '70s and all of a sudden, the gloves are off: We can talk about anything, show anything, and the directors who were around were all into the counter-culture. The culture-culture didn't really have its say.

Maybe I'm just romanticizing, but I've seen some of the things that the Code was in response to, and it seems like it was less polarized. Like, Hedy Lamar could be naked, Garbo could be bisexual, etc. The world didn't end because of these things.

I think they handled it well, and it was a reflection of their times. I also think the next generation could've learned from it.

Instead, we floundered around trying to figure out how much to show and what, and then there was that period of the '70s where every film had to have a sex scene (all the way in to the '80s when Top Gun put a stop to that).

I think it's better nowadays. Sex is usually relevant, and directors have a feel for how much violence is the right amount--though they still fumble around with the political issues, don't they? Some of them still seem to be fighting the Code on things like miscegenation and stuff no one cares about anymore.

Darcy said...

See, I knew I would get a really interesting reply to that question!
Thanks. Very interesting.

I was a little too young to see this overnight change, but I definitely understand what you're talking about, and it really was like night and day - no transition.

Oh, and thanks for calling me a guy at Althouse for liking Wedding Crashers! LOL.

blake said...

Heh. I was too young as well. (I think we're rather close in age.)

And I should've said, "It was a guy movie, and also one that cool chicks like."

Actually, I decided I would be showing my daughters all those movies when they got old enough: Wedding Crashers, all the Judd Apatow movies, etc.

Also, they'll be reading Troop's blog. Heh.

Forewarned is forearmed, they say.

Darcy said...

Teasing you about that. I did laugh when I read it.

Trooper's place is a family blog. :P

Darcy said...

Also, I think you have good instincts about the idea that young women don't need to be so carefully shielded from male humor, blake.

blake said...

It's not just male humor, but male behavior.

Loving the first makes them cool, knowing the latter is the best protection.

Darcy said...

Right!

I grew up with 3 brothers - all older than me. Well, 3 sisters too, but the male behavior/humor stuff was well covered is my point.

blake said...

Wow! Six siblings!

I can scarcely imagine it.