Somehow, for me, the black and white films of the 30's and 40's are my favorites for such times. They aren't always particularly calm, quiet stories, they aren't always deep drama, but they have a soothing, otherworldly quality that suits me at night. One that I picked for tonight is a sweet and funny little detective story released in 1934 called Murder on the Blackboard. My favorite crotchety spinster with wry humor and a good heart is Miss Hildegarde Withers, played so well by dear Edna May Oliver. She is a schoolteacher who finds herself in the middle of a murder mystery and uses her particular talents of biting wit and action to follow the clues and reveal the murderer. Edna May did two other movies as Miss Withers, The Penguin Pool Murders and Murder On A Honeymoon. I wish she had done more.
If I don't fall asleep, which I believe will be the case, I am putting on The Lodger, a 1944 film about a mysterious man (Laird Cregar) who shows up at a London home late one night looking for a room. In the streets, newsboys are crying out headlines about Jack the Ripper's latest murder that very night. I guess you can see where this is going. Merle Oberon and my favorite dashing Englishman, George Sanders, find themselves enmeshed in the life of this menacing man. It is a great film, rich with fog and shadows and sinister atmosphere.
I might have picked one of Val Lewton's films of the early 40's, like Cat People or I Walked With A Zombie, perhaps something of the early 1930's, like Dracula or The Werewolf of London, maybe one of the 1940's series The Saint with George Sanders. All have the qualities of light and shadow, atmosphere and story that appeal to me.
I wonder what you would choose in the dark hours of the night.
I like to watch Vincent Price in THE LAST MAN ON EARTH. Years ago, I was pulling an all-nighter (for no good reason, other than that I was trying to prove that you could not sleep at all and still function the following day), and that movie was running at around 4:00 in the morning. This was old school cable, so there was no guide to tell me what the movie was. All I saw was Vincent driving around. Then he burst into a room and started hammering stakes into people's chests. I was hooked. Nowadays I can throw in my DVD, and it's just like back then (especially since the DVD transfer is so horrendous, it's just like a subpar TV broadcast).
ReplyDeleteI don't know why, but sometimes grainy old prints are better. Maybe because that's how I saw all the classics on TV that way when I was a kid, on an old black and white TV. I LOVE The Last Man On Earth. Of course, I LOVE Vincent Price. Good choice for a late-nighter, Sark.
ReplyDeleteBeck and Sark, I'm a morning person, but I did enjoy reading your darkest hours of the night, movie picks :)
ReplyDeleteMy feel-better pictures are the teen pics of the 1960s, whether it's Susan Slade getting a pony (well, a horse) for her birthday, Troy Donahue fighting with bad boy Robert Conrad (PALM SPRINGS WEEKEND), or Candy Johnson dancing up a storm at the end of a BEACH PARTY movie. A thoughtful post, Becky!
ReplyDeleteIf I get up during the night, I'm usually tempted to watch one of the "Thin Man" movies. That way, is I still can't sleep, I can put in another! Sometimes I get an urge to watch "The Avengers" with Patick MacNee & Diana Rigg! Again, I can watch several episodes if I don't fall asleep right away!
ReplyDeleteI'm joining the discussion late but I adore Cary Grant and "Holiday" or "Bringing Up Baby" would be light-hearted enough to hopefully encourage me back to sleep. Possibly with dreams of that very attractive gentleman, as well. Loved this post, Becky! Sweet dreams!
ReplyDeleteIt's never too late, Toto! Those are great movies for a sleepless night. And I agree that Mr. Grant is a dream, whether you are asleep or awake!
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