MAKSQUIBS CINEMATHEQUE: THE 'MAGGIE' / HIGH AND DRY (1954)

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RECOMMENDED - Meaning Strongly Recommended. A film that's good enough or historically important enough to demand viewing. WARNING: A few real stinkers are important enough to rate this label. And, on the other hand, lots of pretty good or pretty valuable films, don't quite measure up to our RECOMMENDED level. (See also UNIQUE, below.)

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LINK - To quickly find any Write-Up that includes an InterNet Link of interest for that specific film.

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READ ALL ABOUT IT - While there's a book or two (or ten dozen) closely related to just about any film you might think of, here's a specific book you might not have known about (or thought of) that opens a window on the chosen title.

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POSTER - Hmm, I bet you can figure this one out.

(Hint: most of the posters will enlarge if you click on them.)

WATCH THIS, NOT THAT - sort of like those EAT THIS, NOT THAT diet books only with film instead of food as the topic. Sometimes, the substitute pick isn't the obvious 'better' choice, but one of those 'flawed-but-interesting' films that often get left behind.

ATTENTION MUST BE PAID - some easy to miss element worth noting.

SILENT FILM - hey, figure it out (LOL)

. . . and DOUBLE-BILL - a suggested second feature.

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Like just about everyone with an interest in the movies, I'm watching more films on DVD and going out to movie houses a lot less. Convenience trumps the better experience.
Of course, you lose audience interaction and the poor film now has to compete with all the comforts of home.
It's a bit like seeing Rembrandts & Titians in a book reproduction, or from posters with iffy color values, no texture or weight to the surface and the wrong dimensions . . . all while snacking on chips & soda. (Oops! You get that at your local cinema,too.)
The ease of instant movie gratification risks turning an art form (well, sometimes) into little more than low-grade eye-candy & mindfodder. So, maybe it's worthwhile to write a bit down on what we're all viewing, just to keep fully engaged.

DVDs: the latest opiate of the people meets the internet, where everyone's a critic.
God help us.

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Friday, April 29, 2022

THE 'MAGGIE' / HIGH AND DRY (1954)

Undervalued charmer from writer/director Alexander Mackendrick, its rep swamped by comic masterpieces he made just before (THE MAN IN THE WHITE SUIT/’51) and soon after (THE LADYKILLERS/’55). Add in shared elements of past & future masterpieces I KNOW WHERE I’M GOING!/’45 and LOCAL HERO/’83, loudly echoed in character & storyline, and you’ll see why this remains something of a rarity. But it shouldn’t be. Paul Douglas is just about perfect as an American businessman trying to get a shipment of personal luxury items to a new vacation home up north in Scotland, apparently in a bid to save his marriage. But with all the big boats booked, his agent is either tricked or just confused enough to hire an old ‘puffer’ (The ‘Maggie’) and it’s three-man/one boy crew of eccentric locals. You get the idea: Ugly American warns up to non-efficient priorities and eventually stops to smell the roses. Well, yes and no. Douglas isn’t what you expect in many ways: smart, self-made, a quick study able to adjust, fair & honest, not by any means a closed book. And the crew: something less than sweet-natured anarchists, if living in their own mental time zone, so to speak, and responsibly irresponsible. Naturally one rendevous after another missed; stops for a birthday celebration in a little town (an exceptional scene for Douglas & a local colleen stuck on two men); pub visits (don’t leave any pother in the glass). Accents pretty fierce in the first reel, but once Douglas shows up, it subsides . . . a little. Often quite beautifully shot (Gordon Dines) and truly winning. And if it’s not as great as the four films mentioned above; in horseshoes and film, close counts.

SCREWY THOUGHT OF THE DAY/DOUBLE-BILL/LINK: Fans of I KNOW WHERE I’M GOING! (and if you’re not, you should be!) will get a kick seeing Douglas in what is essentially that film’s Wendy Hiller role. And if you get to this post in time, Martin Scorsese’s nonprofit The Film Foundation is launching a free virtual screening room to showcase restored films starting May 9 with (of all things) I KNOW WHERE I’M GOING! https://www.film-foundation.org/

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Friday, April 29, 2022

THE 'MAGGIE' / HIGH AND DRY (1954)

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