[clydefro]

"Throughout, Preminger maintains a signature cool aloofness that often seems almost involuntary. His demeanor as a director has always been advertised as strict and harsh, but there's an elegance in the finished product...His deserved status as an auteur was built mainly on exquisite work within the confines of the camera. He may not have had anything in the realm of the "Lubitsch Touch" but there was a certain equivalent involving exquisite tracking shots and a cinematic dynamism largely unequaled by his Hollywood peers. Perceptive viewers can probably recognise a Preminger film within the first fifteen minutes, if not sooner."

- from The Fan at DVD Times

Especially recommended:

Laura
Angel Face
Advise and Consent
Daisy Kenyon
Anatomy of a Murder

[pigmode]

More recommendations:
River of No Return - Mitchum, Monroe
The Man With The Golden Arm - Sinatra, Kim Novak
Tell Me That You Love Me, Junie Moon - Liza Minnelli, Ken Howard

Bonjour tristesse - Niven, Jean Seberg, Deborah Kerr

[CSM126]

What, Skidoo isn't recommendation-worthy?

[pigmode]

Never heard of it.

[CSM126]

pigmode, on May 18 2009, 12:10 PM, said:

Never heard of it.

That's kinda the joke here.

[clydefro]

Eh, mockery of Skidoo aside, Preminger seems to get little attention around here. I'd imagine that's because he doesn't have any films released by Criterion and only one of his movies (Laura) is definitively in the usual canon. He's popular enough to be known without fully explored, mostly ruling his films out as "discoveries," yet still lacking in appreciation as one of the top-shelf directors of his era. Part of the maddening experience when viewing Preminger's films is that they often glimpse greatness without attaining it. There are flaws that prevent much of his output from being entirely heralded. Availability is another issue, as so much is on DVD in the US but not the UK or vice versa or only in France or not at all or even virtually impossible to see as intended like Porgy & Bess. The interesting failures (like Skidoo) don't really help Preminger's legacy either.

Preminger's five Fox Film Noir titles are (along with Nightmare Alley) my favorites in that line and the Warner Bros. release of Angel Face fits beside those nicely.

[masterofoneinchpunch]

clydefro, on May 18 2009, 08:18 PM, said:

Eh, mockery of Skidoo aside, Preminger seems to get little attention around here. I'd imagine that's because he doesn't have any films released by Criterion and only one of his movies (Laura) is definitively in the usual canon. ...

I would probably add Anatomy of a Murder to the usual canon since it is on IMDB 250, 1000 Movies You Must See Before You Di, TSPDT 1000, NYT 1000 and several other lists.

So far since I have only seen Laura and Anatomy of a Murder (which I PMd you some thoughts on the old site) my thoughts on his directoral ability is quite high. I do own The Man With the Golden Arm and have access to Carmen Jones so one of those two will be my next watch of his work. I will make sure I buy Skidoo soon.

Though this is his directoral thread I though his acting as Col. von Scherbach in Stalag 17 was excellent. That and, of course, Mr. Freeze.

[CSM126]

masterofoneinchpunch, on May 19 2009, 11:20 AM, said:

I will make sure I buy Skidoo soon.

From where? The Preminger family is doing a pretty good job of suppressing that film.

[masterofoneinchpunch]

CSM126, on May 19 2009, 03:08 PM, said:

From where? The Preminger family is doing a pretty good job of suppressing that film.

I was being facetious because of all the negative reaction on that movie.

Interesting that in order to see it you would have to do a bootleg like this place (29 dollars yikes) I thought there might have been a VHS (non-bootleg), but cannot find one right now eek.

[clydefro]

Skidoo has aired on TCM a couple of times over the past year or so, in pan and scan. It's an embarrassing film and probably not the best way to discuss or explore Preminger's career.

[CSM126]

clydefro, on May 19 2009, 06:58 PM, said:

Skidoo has aired on TCM a couple of times over the past year or so, in pan and scan.

Good God, wasn't that movie shot at 2.35? Even something as bad as Skidoo shouldn't be hacked like that! Especially not on TCM, who usually seem to know better.

[clydefro]

^ TCM aired what was given to them. It's quite possible no widescreen television print exists and showing such a hard to see film in 4:3 was preferable than not having it at all.

At the risk of actually stirring up some discussion on Preminger, I'm continually fighting a one-person crusade at DVD Times, having so far reviewed The Fan, and also Daisy Kenyon, the BFI's Margin of Error/A Royal Scandal release, and, most recently, Rosebud. I love that someone at the BFI is so enamored with Preminger and wish that Fox would release some of its holdings in R1. The post-Bunny Lake films are all unreleased in R1 also. Saint Joan and The Moon Is Blue are only available in France and, as I mentioned, Porgy & Bess is mired in some major quicksand.

Even those less familiar with Preminger can take solace in knowing that his discovery of Jean Seberg ultimately influenced both Godard's Breathless and Fuller's White Dog.

[pigmode]

^ I'd love to have a copy of Saint Joan for my burgeoning Joan of Arc collection.

[masterofoneinchpunch]

I finally saw Carmen Jones last night. Clyde have you or anyone else seen this? Any opinions on how this fits in the oeuvre of Otto?

Preminger's direction is quite good in this. He handles the musical genre quite well.

One thing that is noticeable is that most (or all) of the voices are dubbed for the singing (LeVern Hutcherson for Belafonte and Marilyn Horne for Dorothy Dandridge). I was impressed with Dorothy's performance (she did get an AA award nomination). Looking into her career her first film was A Day at the Races . She apparently had a difficult life and died way too early. She would also star in Otto's Porgy and Bess (worth watching?).

I have access to many Carmen films (as well as stage performances) so I might make an effort to watch and compare and contrast. My knowledge is not that great of this Bizet opera but I do hope to improve (it is a favorite of my Mother whom I will have to ask if she performed in this).

[clydefro]

Carmen Jones sits on the shelf unwatched (it, Exodus, The Cardinal and In Harm's Way are on the only Preminger films on DVD I've not seen) but I've read a lot on the film and about Dandridge. She did have some major issues. It's interesting how many of Preminger's female stars and discoveries were incredibly damaged ladies. Dandridge, Marilyn Monroe, Linda Darnell, Jean Seberg, and Maggie McNamara all died very young and under tragic circumstances. Gene Tierney had her share of personal problems as well but did manage to overcome them. I don't think Otto necessarily did anything that led them down such a troubled path, but it's not impossible to think of him being drawn to these women for something fragile or unstable he sensed in them (perhaps unconsciously).

Porgy and Bess is almost surely worth watching but it's been unavailable since its initial release. There are problems with the rights and that sort of thing, involving the Gershwin and Goldwyn estates. If that ever gets untangled I'd love to see it. Some bootlegs apparently exist that are taken from old television broadcasts (usually in pan and scan and the film was shot very wide).

[Izo]

Here's a director I really want to learn more about. I've only seen The Man With the Golden Arm, which is far from perfect but truly excellent - and Frank Sinatra deserved his Oscar nomination. I've actually had Laura sitting on my shelf for too long, so I'll likely watch that soon.

Has anyone read Chris Fujiwara's book on Preminger? His Tourneur book is the finest I've read on film.

[masterofoneinchpunch]

Izo, on May 18 2010, 06:49 PM, said:

Here's a director I really want to learn more about. I've only seen The Man With the Golden Arm, which is far from perfect but truly excellent - and Frank Sinatra deserved his Oscar nomination. I've actually had Laura sitting on my shelf for too long, so I'll likely watch that soon.

Has anyone read Chris Fujiwara's book on Preminger? His Tourneur book is the finest I've read on film.

I think those are a few books I need to get. Izo, I think you will like Laura (it is also far from perfect, but truly excellent ). It was the first Otto film I had seen and have seen it a few times, but partially because it is the Otto film that does get the most attention. I own but have not seen The Man With the Golden Arm and The Cardinal.

[Izo]

I've returned to The Man With the Golden Arm several times just to watch Sinatra's awesome performance.

Also, the film has one of the most iconic scores ever composed, by Elmer Bernstein.

[clydefro]

Preminger DVD update: The Moon Is Blue (review) and Saint Joan (review possibly coming at some point) are now available via the Warner Archive. Olive Films has licensed several Paramount properties for release including Preminger's Such Good Friends, Skidoo, and Hurry Sundown. No dates for those yet.

In response to anyone wondering about diving into Preminger I can again recommend the obvious Laura, still probably his best film, the other available Fox noirs and semi-noirs Where the Sidewalk Ends, Fallen Angel, Whirlpool and Daisy Kenyon. I think you can almost immediately spot the differences between a Preminger effort and those of his contemporaries both in his elegance of formal style and the way he could elevate even the simplest of plots into something heartbreaking and affecting. Later Preminger is highlighted most notably by Anatomy of a Murder, the political drama Advise and Consent, and Bunny Lake Is Missing, all of which are freely available on DVD. Lots of people go nuts over Bonjour Tristesse but it's not a favorite of mine.

I have (and have mostly read) both of the fairly recent books on Preminger. Foster Hirsch's is more of a biography with analysis tossed in. I frequently found myself agreeing with his assessments and enjoying the narrative of Otto's remarkable life. Fujiwara's is definitely of a more strictly critical nature and I have to admit that it didn't please me as much. Not only does he tend to emphasize aspects that don't really move the needle for me to any real extent, he also withholds some of the biographical details that Hirsch tends to revel in by comparison. As I said once before on one of these forums, the Hirsch book is perfect for those who like entertaining bits of life sketches while the Fujiwara alternative offers a deeper reading of formal concerns and the like of the actual films.

[clydefro]

A quick Preminger report concerning Danger - Love at Work - it's an enjoyable screwball comedy with Jack Haley (Oz's Tin Man) as a lawyer sent to get the signatures of a very eccentric family in South Carolina. Ann Sothern plays the daffy daughter of the clan who takes a liking to Haley and Edward Everett Horton is totally against type as the tough fiance of Sothern. This was one of Preminger's earliest jobs at Fox (1937) and even if it's difficult to reconcile that he was really behind the camera, the film certainly isn't an embarrassment. Maybe more for fans of that style or genre than necessarily Preminger admirers. Even so, the R2 BFI disc is cheap as chips at Amazon UK and has a great transfer.