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Escape from the Planet of ...

     I've been trying to find some escapist entertainment of late and for some reason, all I've been running into on TV are westerns.  Now, I may have mentioned at some point that this is not my favorite genre as its target audience is male, but when you are desperate to escape, it does blot out reality as well as Law and Order reruns -- a sort of movie equivalent of white noise. The westerns that I found myself leaving on in the background happened to be John Wayne films,  El Dorado (1966) and Rio Bravo (1959), both directed by Howard Hawks and The Sons of Katie Elder (1965) directed by Henry Hathaway. If you are familiar with these films you already know that El Dorado
is practically a remake of Rio Bravo with Robert Mitchum replacing Dean Martin as the sheriff and James Caan substituting for Ricky Nelson as the young guy. 

Otherwise, it's pretty much the same plot. There actually is a third Howard Hawks film with John Wayne and a similar plot called Rio Lobo (1970), but I digress. The Sons of Katie Elder is entertaining enough with a mystery to uncover and that takes time until the climactic shoot out and then it still goes on for what seems like another hour.  But as I said, it's entertaining.

   

 I know what you're thinking -- why don't I pop in a DVD and watch whatever escapist film I want?  Because, then I'd have to CHOOSE.  That would take the whole time time slot that I had allotted.  Fortunately, Turner Classic Movies had decided to celebrate Thanksgiving by playing Marx Brothers films all day Wednesday while I was cooking and then followed that with a day of Rogers and Astaire. Now that's what I call escaping!

    When I was a child, one local TV station played Marx Brothers and Ginger and Fred every New Years Eve.  Several years later, I was in LA on New Years Eve and a local station there had the same idea.  These films are always enjoyable, but not so absorbing that you couldn't talk or have snacks or beverages at the same time, tuning in for your favorite parts and then tuning out in between. To fill the escape bill, they also can't be so realistic that you get involved in the drama and pick up the mood. I mean, I've got enough problems. But I would guess that although some men might find the Marx Brothers totally escapist, they might get absorbed in something more -- oh, I don't know, violent, like a gangster film or The Three Stooges. There are individuals that find find many modern films with lots of explosions and fast cuts an ideal way to escape reality.  To me, however, that is reality.  I can only escape when the setting and the style of the film take me far away from now.

     So, what would be my go-to list of reliable films guaranteed to fly me away from any present misery?  Here are 10 with not a bit of reality in the bunch.

1. Casablanca (1942) Know this script practically by heart (OK, who doesn't?) so I don't have to pay rapt attention but still delight in hearing all of the great lines (I am shocked, shocked, to find that gambling is going on in here.)

2. Mr Blandings Builds His Dream House  (1948) I also know this so well yet I could watch it over and over again.  I particularly love the painter interpreting Myrna Loy's color scheme. Cary and Myrna and Melvyn in their most down-to-earth selves.

3. Laura (1944) This is a fun to watch film noir with the lovely Gene Tierney. Beautiful black and white photography, smart script. It changed my mind about Dana Andrews.






4. The Big Sleep (1946) I'm a huge Raymond Chandler fan and this is Bogart and Bacall in one of his very complicated plots, compounded by William Faulkner who co-wrote the screenplay.  But I know who dunnit so I can watch casually. You might want to read the book.

5. The Uninvited (1944) A ghost story and a mystery, but not really scary. Ray Milland and Ruth Hussey aiding Gail Russell as Stella, hence the score's well-known, Stella by Starlight by Victor Young.

6. The Palm Beach Story (1942) A little harder for me not to watch closely because there are so many great vintage Preston Sturges scenes.  So funny, especially, Mary Astor as Rudy Vallee's sister, pursuing Joel McCrea who is married to Claudette Colbert.

7. The Maltese Falcon (1941) There is no mystery left after so many viewings, but it is comforting in its familiarity. This is the film where Bogart becomes Bogart -- the tough, cynical guy with a touch of humor.




8. Rebecca (1940) I'm not a big Joan Fontaine fan and she plays such a dope in this (I would have told Danvers to back off or find other employment).  But I

love hearing Olivier saying, "You think I loved, Rebecca? I hated her."  Oh, I guess I should have said 'spoiler' first.

9. Mildred Pierce (1945) Joan Crawford raises a monster daughter (Ann Blyth) and we all root for her comeuppance.  Eve Arden is great as usual as Joan's friend with the wisecracks.





10. Now Voyager (1942) Bette Davis has a monster mother and we all root for her comeuppance. And she can never marry the man she loves.  But does Bette think this is a tragedy.  No, she does not.  She does not wish for the moon

because, after all, she has the stars. Whatever that means.