Movies I’ve recently seen: November 27

Here are five films that I saw for the first time – or saw once a long time ago and barely remember. They’re listed below from the best to the worst:

• The Holdovers
• Arsenic and Old Lace
• Illusion Travels by Streetcar
• Hangover Square
• The Raven
• Svengali

A The Holdovers (2023)

The trailer tells you that it’s a comedy, but there are only occasional funny moments. This is a mostly serious drama, set in 1969, when young men could be drafted into a hateful war. It follows three broken human beings set at and around a very expensive, all male, conservative, private middle school. First, there’s the history professor, played by Paul Giamatti, who seems to hate all his students, and they all hate him back. Dominic Sessa plays a student with serious problems related to his mother’s new marriage. Da’Vine Joy Randolph plays the school’s cook. Her son died in Vietnam, and she is now connected to the school for life.

I saw the film at the Elmwood, the last commercial theater running in Berkeley. As I write this article, it’s still playing in theaters.

B+ Arsenic and Old Lace (1944)

Here’s the film version of the ultimate black comedy Broadway hit of the 1940s. Two very nice old ladies help elderly, lonely men by killing them with poison. But don’t worry, everyone in the family is a bit off. For instance, brother Teddy thinks he’s Theodore Roosevelt. Director Frank Capra managed to make it look like a movie instead of a stage play. But Capra forced Cary Grant to do too much mugging, and the theater’s final gag disappeared in the film.

B+ Illusion Travels by Streetcar (1954)

Another Luis Buñuel comedy about the rich and the poor (mostly the poor). Two streetcar mechanics (along with one very beautiful woman) get drunk and take their favorite car on a last drive through Mexico City. People come and people go, and there’s no fare. At times the car is filled with fresh meat. Another time musicians play music for other passengers. Some come to a film set, and a well-clothed woman claims the mechanics are Communists.

I saw the film at the BAMPFA. The 35mm print was scratchy, and the subtitles were difficult to read. Hopefully, someone will give this film the restoration it deserves.

B Hangover Square (1945)

A great composer suffers from memory blocks, including the times he committed murder. Good girl Faye Marlowe wants him to create serious music, but bad girl Linda Darnell wants him to write popular songs. It ends with a very big and exciting climax. There’s also a cat.

C+ The Raven (1935)

Another Universal horror flick starring Bela Lugosi and Boris Karloff. Lugosi plays a very mad scientist, while Karloff is a violent criminal who needs another face. Lugosi keeps torture devices in his basement, and apparently, he keeps them in very good condition. Why is it called The Raven? Lugosi’s character loves Poe’s work. The movie is very short – just over an hour.

D Svengali (1931)

John Barrymore overacts (as he usually did) as an evil and very competent hypnotist. He controls a beautiful woman to bring him money and fame. From what I’ve been told, it was based on a very anti-Semitic novel. Aside from Barrymore’s make-up (which isn’t all that bad), the film is not especially bigoted.