55 Days at Peking (1963)

55 Days at Peking begins as a kind of epic colonial war–melodrama in yellowface starring Charlton Heston, Ava Gardner, and David Niven (none of these three actors is in yellowface, but Flora Robson, Leo Genn, and Robert Helpmann are). It's exciting enough for a time in its orientalist way, and John Ireland is excellent. By this film's end, though, 55 Days at Peking has become laughably absurd. The rescue sequence that comes at the film's 11 o'clock hour is nearly hilarious it's so stupid. And I fail to understand why we are supposed to be rooting for these eleven imperialist countries who are in China for their own profit.

They Live by Night

Nicholas Ray's They Live by Night is a different kind of crime film, or, rather, it feels different because Cathy O'Donnell and Farley Granger are so young. They're sweet and kind and sad, and the whole thing is very good.

I saw They Live by Night on the Criterion Channel. It's leaving on April 30th, so I needed to get it in before the end of the month. I need to remember to check out some more Farley Granger movies. He's a legendary midcentury gay actor, but I hadn't realized he'd been in quite so many movies!

In a Lonely Place (1950)

This script is dynamite. It's actually just brilliant. Bogart and Grahame are fucking fantastic. No... everyone's good. This is an extraordinary film. It's absolutely excellent from start to finish. It's clearly a kind of riff on Greek tragedy, and one can easily see why this movie is such an important inspiration for the Safdie Brothers. I streamed it on Criterion on a channel of films that have been inspirational for the Safdies. Totally tracks.

But man this thing is good. The script is just so nuanced and well done. In a Lonely Place toys with its audience, effectively turning us into Gloria Grahame, so that we worry along with her. It's a great, great movie.

Plato

While recently watching The Celluloid Closet in preparation for showing it to my Sexuality & Representation class, some clips from Rebel without a Cause came on the screen. "He died so young," I mumbled with a sigh. My roommate offered that "Yes, he did. And he only made three movies." I thought a bit about what she said, confused, and then I realized she was talking about James Dean and I had been talking about Sal Mineo.

Love him.

Monday Bloody Monday

How did Justice Clarence Thomas get to be so nutso? The man is crazy. I think he's damned intelligent and all, I just don't understand how he gets to his conclusions.

I had the most productive, successful evening! I did a load of laundry. I cleaned half-cleaned my kitchen. And then I got a call from Matthew Guerra saying he wasn't going to do The Two Gentlemen. Then he called back like an hour later saying he'd changed his mind. He'd spoken with one of the other cast members and had a change of heart. Cheers! I am excited for this show. It's coming up so soon!

And then... I made the most delicious food ever: macaroni and cheese. The baked kind. The kind where the cheese bubbles up to the top and turns brown and good on the surface. The kind where the cheese and the "cheese sauce" are completely different elements blending together in harmony to create perfection. Plus I put jalapeños in mine. I took it out of the oven about twenty minutes ago and it is SO FUCKING GOOD.

I am feeling sooo tired. I went with Elizabeth and Justin to the late show of Rebel Without a Cause at the NuArt in Westwood last night, which meant getting home around 12:30a, going to bed at 1:00a and still waking up at 6:00a. Rebel is, obviously, a classic 1950's teen angst picture, but I had never seen it before last night and neither had my friends, so that was fun. Plus they took me to eat excellent Indian food before the picture. Such good times. They are my favorite couple (even better than Brad and Angelina) and I hadn't seen them in forever so it was definitely a nice evening, but now I am wiped out.

Mmmm. Macaroni and cheese. Oh yeah, and I made brownies. I am going to get so fat.