dougdoepke

22 May 2012

A Muddle

A Coast Guard officer gets involved with a strange woman and her blindhusband.Small wonder Renoir went back to France after this Hollywood misfire. Idon't know what the backstory is but the movie's a mess, great directoror no. The problem pretty much begins and ends with a screenplay thatmakes next to no sense. Start with motivation-- is Peggy (Bennett) aloving wife who strays, a nympho, a masochist, or maybe even a womandeeply in love with Tod (Bickford). Unfortunately, there're reasons forany and all, thanks to the meandering script. Then again, maybe the options are not as mutually exclusive aschangeable human emotions go; maybe Peggy's just really mixed up.Still, it would take a far better script to effectively work out thatparticular pathology whatever it is. Here, options are simply dumpedtogether into an incoherent jumble. Unfortunately, Tod's character issimilarly mangled-- try figuring out, for example, how Tod and Scott(Ryan) really feel about each other. But there's no need to repeat thepoints other critics have enumerated. Then there's the staging. In particular, consider the following--half-blind(?) Tod tumbles from a 100-foot rocky cliff with only minorhead scratches; in a little boat, Tod and Scott stand stock still asthe seas rock beside them; these same two enemies survive after hoursof clinging to the roiling wreckage. To me, any of these stagingfiascos could be made more credible with better planning. Fortunately for the movie and us, there are arresting visuals to focuson— the opening nightmare is a stunner, along with the wrecked ship onthe beach. Renoir also creates an intense fantasy-like atmosphere withthe foggy beach and the ship's grotesque skeleton. Then too, Ryan andBickford make convincing hard-nosed adversaries. But these upsides areunfortunately not enough to salvage the overall result. Considering Renoir's previous successes, especially with the lyricallyimpressive The Southerner (1945), I'm guessing the studio had a deadhand in (mis)shaping the final cut. But, I guess it's also possiblethat the director-writer was trying to bring some Europeansophistication to a moody love story that just doesn't work. Butwhatever the ultimate reason, the movie remains a disappointing muddle.

Martin Teller

22 May 2012

The Woman on the Beach (1947)

The Woman on the Beach A coast guard lieutenant gets caught in the middle of a tempestuousmarriage. The film has a lot of psychological angles and is anchored bythree strong characters with fine performances by Ryan, Bennett andBickford. However, the story just never takes off and seems to floataround without a destination. The emotions bubbling under the surfacerarely materialize into compelling plot material and I was fightingboredom a lot of the time. I also found the cinematography uninspired(except for Ryan's surreal nightmare) and the score far too oppressive.6/10

Neil Doyle

22 May 2012

Empty melodrama with weak script and poor dialog...

It's amazing that Joan Bennett, Robert Ryan and Charles Bickford areable to hold interest in this muddled melodrama even though the scriptis far from believable, the situations are trite and the ending isunsatisfactory.The story plods along with occasional bursts of melodrama that seemforced and unreal because the script is so banal. Ryan is attracted toBennett, whose blind husband (Bickford) seems to welcome him as afriend. She gradually falls in love with Ryan while distancing herselfemotionally from Bickford with whom she has a love/hate/guiltrelationship over being responsible for him losing his sight.Jean Renoir's direction with the players is uneven because none of thecharacters are sharply defined. Nevertheless, Ryan and Bennett do thebest they can with characters not motivated properly and Bickfordacquits himself well as the bitter artist whose works keep him livingin the past.None of the elements make the story palatable or even believable. Whata waste of time and talent.

writers_reign

22 May 2012

Three Blind Mice

After sitting through this film in total bemusement I turned to theeight comments posted here in search of anything that may help me makesense of it. There seems to be a consensus that Renoir suffered a touchof the Orson Welles' inasmuch as a potential masterpiece was butcheredby the studio. There may be grounds for asserting the studio did infact cut the film extensively but I could detect no evidence whatsoeverthat this was a potential Magnificent Ambersons. I'm an admirer ofRenoir but I had to work awfully hard to detect his hand in even oneframe of this noir manque. By coincidence I saw it within 24 hours ofanother noir film set largely out of doors in daylight and made by aFrenchman albeit set in America but Jacques Tourneur's Build My GallowsHigh is light years ahead of this whilst compared to Renoir over thelong haul Tourneur is very much second-string. Like Gallows theprotagonist - respectively Robert Mitchum and Robert Ryan - begins hiscinematic life betrothed to a wholesome Doris Day substitute but issoon seduced by a femme fatale - Jane Greer and Joan Bennett - butthat's about as far as comparison will take us. Unlike Gallows Renoirnever permits the noir world to fully intrude and eclipse the healthyenvironment in which the protagonist is discovered so that we'reconstantly reminded of 'normal' life even as Ryan is drawn deeper anddeeper into the whirlpool surrounding Bennett and her blind painter - avery crude metaphor for impotence - husband Charles Bickford. All threeprincipals give it their best shot but the problem was they never knewwhich target - thriller, suspenser, drama, melodrama - they were aimingat.

20 May 2012

Not Renoirs best by a mile.

Woman on the Beach (Jean Renoir, 1947)Trite, predictable noir-esque romance, not at all the kind of thing one would expect from a top-notch director like Renoir. Simple plot: military man (Robert Ryan) is suffering from what we would now call Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. Gets scared. Wants to marry his girlfriend (Nan Leslie) immediately. But then meets seductive, sexy married chick (Joan Bennett) with blind ex-painter husband (Charles Bickford). Becomes obsessed with sexy chick (at which point girlfriend becomes almost a cameo in the film, rather than the main character she's set up to be; this is what I mean when I say you don't expect this level of filmmaking in a Renoir movie). Confrontation with husband. Repeat as necessary. You know the drill. I wonder if Renoir just needed the money? Some not-half-bad acting, but under no circumstances should you be expecting another Rules of the Game or Grand Illusion here. **

jakob_34

20 May 2012

Beautiful film noir.

This is an odd attempt by the great Jean Renoir to make a film noir. Thescript is not so good, but visually this film is dynamite, with wonderfulphotograpy by Leo Tover and Harry J Wild. Renoir did extensive retakes ofmany scenes, but was unable to get it right, unfortunately the film wasseverly cut by RKO for being too sensual and provocative. Whats left isgreat, a tormented husband, his unfaithful wife and her lover, who isntconvinced the husband is blind. The story is made dramtic by Renoir, andhiscareful direction makes the rather badly written characters interesting.Theacting by Robert Ryan and Joan Bennett is very exellent, and CharlesBickford is both brutal and sensitive as the husband. The film has dramaticmusic by Hanns Eisler and despite having laughable dialogue in some scenesitis definately worth watching. The work of a great cinematicartist.

esteban hernandez

19 May 2012

Bickford at his best

The leading actor-actress of the film were Joan Bennett and RobertRyan. However, Charles Bickford (Tod) had a tremendous performance as aformer painter, blind, with a sixth sense highly developed. Thedirector Jean Renoir tried to combine human feelings with thriller inthis film based on the novel "None so blind" of Mitchell Wilson. Fromthe very beginning it was not difficult to guess what Peggy (JoanBennett), Tod's wife, and the navy's lieutenant Scott wanted. Peggy wasambitious, she loved and hated Tod at the same time, while Scott waslooking for the real love of his life. The relationship of Peggy withScott looked opportunistic rather than due to sentimental attraction.Tod was bound to Peggy, but why? this is probably what the film wantedto demonstrate, once one breaks what is shared with your partner youwill be free as Tod finally became. The film looks to be incoherentinitially, e.g. Scott often had nightmares, and they never had any realconnection with the main plot of the film.

st-shot

19 May 2012

Renoir at low tide.

The distinguished French director Jean Renoir beaches himself onAmerican shores in less than graceful style with this flatly performedmelodramatic noir that involves post traumatic stress and infidelity.While Renoir manages to keep the suspense building with characterambiguity he does so at the expense of draining the emotional realismfrom them.Scott (Robert Ryan), a coastguard officer is haunted by nightmares of aship sinking he survived. In an attempt to move on he proposes to hisgirl friend who does not want to rush into things. Riding his horsealong the shore one day he encounters Peggy (Joan Bennett), who livesnear bye with her blind artist husband, Todd (Charles Bickford).Confused and vulnerable the pair enter into a passionate affair.With the character of Peggy as his linchpin Renoir presents us with anideal fatale; mysterious beautiful and dangerous. Her ambiguity is keyto the suspenseful nature of the film but Joan Bennett is too icilyremote and unconvincing in her passion for Scott or Todd turning herfeelings on and off like a faucet. Ryan and Bickford for the most partcircle each other like wounded animals challenging and looking for anopportunity to strike. Both are so bitter they make it hard to believethey have any love in them.Given it's brief running time (71 min.) and its choppy narrative Womanon the Beach may not be the film Renoir intended. All three waxexistential in brief moments of metaphorical intent but theconversation rapidly turns to rage and irrationality much of the timeas Renoir employs excessive zooms and a overheated music score to giveWoman a B movie style of haphazard excess. The tacked on compromise tosalvage this shipwreck makes it only sink deeper.

shepardjessica-1

17 May 2012

Interesting Melodrama That Never Quite Catches Fire

Jean Renoir was a fascinating director, but this one has holes in it,despite a classic "beach" mood. Robert Ryan, one of our most underratedactors, looks perfect but seems miscast in this one. Joan Bennett (I'venever quite gotten her appeal) seems lost, although she was perfect inthe two Fritz Lang films (Scarlett Street & Woman in the Window). Bestperformance = Charles Bickford as the blind painter-husband. I knowthere were problems with editing this at the time, but I kept hopingfor more.A 6 out of 10. Too much blasting music, but great cinematography. IreneRyan (Granny Clampett) has a supporting role, and I believe this is thefirst film I've seen her in. A great director, but I just couldn't grabonto this film.

blanche-2

16 May 2012

uneven Renoir noir

Joan Bennett is "The Woman on the Beach" in this off-center 1947 filmalso starring Robert Ryan and Charles Bickford. Directed by JeanRenoir, it apparently was badly edited by RKO; thus, it sometimes feltto this viewer as if large sections were omitted.Robert Ryan plays Scott, a Coast Guard officer with post-traumaticstress from the war. Psychologically, he's a little off balance. Isuppose saying "Robert Ryan" and "a little off balance" is saying thesame thing, given the roles he played, but there we are. He's set to bemarried to a lovely woman, Eve, (Nan Leslie), and in fact, urges her tomarry him even sooner than planned in an early scene. A few minuteslater, he's madly in love with Peggy (Bennett), whom he sees collectingdriftwood on the beach near an old wreck. Her husband Tod, it turnsout, is a great artist, now blind from a fight with his wife. The twoof them have a fairly sick relationship, with Tod apparently temptingPeggy with good-looking young guys to see if she'll cheat on him. Atone point during dinner with the couple, Scott passes a lighter acrossto Peggy and Tod head turns as the flame passes him. When Peggy walksScott out of the house she says, "No, Scott, you're wrong." So Scott,somewhere in a cut out section, became convinced that Tod can see,tells Peggy, and feels that Tod failed the test. But you have to fillthat in because it's not in the movie. It doesn't occur to him, Isuppose, that Tod felt the heat of the light. Finally, Scott takes Todfor a walk along the cliffs, determined to find out for once and forall if he can see or not.The film holds one's interest because of the direction, atmosphere, andperformances, but things seem to happen very quickly. Eve complains toScott that he didn't stop by the night before - which she considers asign that they are drifting apart - and he tells her that he shouldn'tbe married. In the film it seems like that happens within 24 hours fromthe time he wants to get married immediately. Fickle. One suspectsanother cut.This is a film about becoming free of obsession, and though some foundthe end ambiguous, it did seem clear to me that there was someresolution. The three leads are excellent - Bennett and Bickford play acouple with a strong history that has led to a love/hate "VirginiaWoolf" type of relationship along with infidelity on her part; Ryan,looking quite young here, is handsome, sincere and gullible as a manwho, while trying to break free of his demons, walks into a situationthat feeds on them rather than resolves them.With a more judicious cutting, "The Woman on the Beach" could have beena really fantastic film, with its psychological underpinnings being farahead of their time. As it is, it's still worth watching, though if I'dbeen Renoir, I would have been plenty angry at RKO for what was done tothis movie.

15 May 2012

Not Renoir at his best but definitely ahead of its time

The Woman On the Beach isn't top drawer Jean Renoir, but his near-noir psychodrama has much to recommend it despite the inevitable tinkering at the hands of RKO. There's some striking imagery and design (not least the shipwreck on the beach where the illicit lovers meet) and Robert Ryan gives a strong performance as the vulnerable lead despite having the odd line of inane on the nose dialogue like "Let's face it, I'm not well!" - but then, this IS a character haunted by nightmares of romantic liaisons at the bottom of the sea amid the skeletons of his drowned shipmates. And that's before he gets reluctantly drawn into Joan Bennett and her blind artist husband Charles Bickford's marital problems. Not that Ryan, falling for Bennett despite the fact that her vocal delivery often turns into a deadening drone, believes Bickford's blind, and it's not long before trying to prove it by taking him for a walk along the edge of a cliff... It's hard not to see this as a major influence on Roman Polanski's Bitter Moon, so perverse is the couple's relationship of mutual dependency and loathing, although at heart it's about the need to burn the ghosts of the past, whether it be driftwood from a sunken ship or something more personally damaging. The ending is either brilliant or disappointing, and you probably still won't know which after seeing the film.

TrevorAclea

14 May 2012

Not top drawer Renoir, but still ahead of its time

The Woman On the Beach isn't top drawer Jean Renoir, but his near-noirpsychodrama has much to recommend it despite the inevitable tinkeringat the hands of RKO. There's some striking imagery and design (notleast the shipwreck on the beach where the illicit lovers meet) andRobert Ryan gives a strong performance as the vulnerable lead despitehaving the odd line of inane on the nose dialogue like "Let's face it,I'm not well!" – but then, this is a character haunted by nightmares ofromantic liaisons at the bottom of the sea amid the skeletons of hisdrowned shipmates. And that's before he gets reluctantly drawn intoJoan Bennett and her blind artist husband Charles Bickford's maritalproblems. Not that Ryan, falling for Bennett despite the fact that hervocal delivery often turns into a deadening drone, believes Bickford'sblind, and it's not long before trying to prove it by taking him for awalk along the edge of a cliff… It's hard not to see this as a majorinfluence on Roman Polanski's Bitter Moon, so perverse is the couple'srelationship of mutual dependency and loathing, although at heart it'sabout the need to burn the ghosts of the past, whether it be driftwoodfrom a sunken ship or something more personally damaging. The ending iseither brilliant or disappointing, and you probably still won't knowwhich after seeing the film.

bmacv

12 May 2012

Even hacked down, Renoirs haunting noir falls just short of a masterpiece

Auteur of one of the supremely great works of world cinema, La Regle du jeu(Rules of the Game), Jean Renoir, like so many other European masters, foundless than a stellar career in Hollywood. Though several of his French filmswere remade as American noirs, he directed but one installment of the cyclehimself: The Woman on the Beach. And, though routinely butchered by thestudio before release, the movie soon establishes itself as something quiteout of the ordinary – in fact, something close to extraordinary.After recuperation from physical and psychological trauma during the war,Robert Ryan finds himself stationed at a sleepy Coast Guard outpost on theCalifornia coast. He's restless and diffident about his upcoming marriageto a local girl. One day on the fog-shrouded strand he encounters abeautiful woman (Joan Bennett) gathering driftwood. He walks her back toher beach shack where a two-edged friction starts to develop. Suddenly inwalks her husband (Charles Bickford), who was blinded by Bennett in adrunken accident years before; though no longer able to work, he's stillreckoned the greatest painter in the world. (Renoir's father, of course,was the impressionist painter Auguste Renoir.)Ostensibly glad to have a guest, Bickford insists on Ryan's promising areturn visit. But as the flickers of attraction he feels toward Bennettkindle into lust, Ryan begins to wonder if Bickford is really blind, or asblind as he claims; he also starts to chafe at being drawn into the murkyand perverse games the couple seems to enjoy playing. Determined to proveonce and for all that Bickford is sighted, he one day leads him nearer andnearer the edge of a bluff....Like Fritz Lang's Clash by Night (which also starred Ryan), The Woman on theBeach deserves its noir label more from disturbing mood and freightedambiguity than from its storyline (it's by no means a conventional suspensedrama). He inspires his principal cast to superlative performances,especially Bickford (in a role reminiscent of Nabokov's Laughter in theDark). Bennett, one of the early icons of the noir cycle, attracted theattention of two other illustrious European movie-makers, Lang and MaxOphuls. But Renoir may have directed her in the finest work of her careeras this self-described "tramp" embroiled in a marriage kept together by hateas much as love. And there's Ryan's signature blend of short-sightednessand roiling anger, which he has done elsewhere, but nobody save maybe Brandodid more convincingly.The unusual score, too – by the German Communist `serious' composer HannsEisler – betokens that this production's ambitions are very high indeed. IfThe Woman on the Beach falls just short of `masterpiece' status, blame mustfall on RKO for meddling with what Renoir delivered, fretful that situationsand innuendos that Europeans regularly took in their stride might be toonaughty for Americans – those Americans who had, after all, just fought andwon a war. Even hacked down to a measly 71 minutes, Renoir's vision keepsits haunting, incantatory power.

mmfowler

11 May 2012

interesting if muddled

I agree with the reviewer who found Charles Bickford's performance asthe blind painter as the most compelling and best done. But then, Tod,the artist, is the only one of the three main characters whomotivations and personality are clear. His much younger, beautifulwife, played by attractive brunette Joan Bennett, is held captive byhim in an emotionally and physically abusive way. At the same time, shefinds herself powerless to leave him, though she finds thepsychologically injured Navy vet Robert Ryan, who dreams of walkingunderwater toward a beautiful sea nymph who resembles her, veryattractive.Ryan's character is the biggest puzzle. We can perhaps understand theyoung wife's clinging to her aging, blind husband out of guilt. Afterall, it was she who apparently severed his optic nerve during a drunkenargument some time ago, though how she managed this without a scalpelis unclear. There are no marks on the painter's face, leaving one towonder if the cause of blindness is not psychological, or indeedmetaphorical. But Ryan's murderous stupidity when he twice comes closeto killing the blind painter are only pardonable under the assumptionthat Ryan is so stress inflicted from his war experiences that he isinnocent of even a murder attempt. I didn't buy it, and nor do I seehow the movie's conclusion begins to resolve Ryan's obvious mentalissues.

05 May 2012

Obsecure? Maybe. But it is more than worthwhile.

This review is from: The Woman on the Beach ( Una Mujer en la playa ) [ NON-USA FORMAT, PAL, Reg.2 Import - Spain ] (DVD) THE WOMAN ON THE BEACH is generally regarded as one of the great film master Jean Renoir's lesser works. Because it is somewhat obscrure in development of the story line and the characters. Renoir tried to say something worthwile but at first glance, it might be hard for the viewers to receive clear message from the film. However, significance of this film lies on that particular difficulty. The cinema was meant to be complex and puzzling. Due to its sophisticated complexity, THE WOMAN ON THE BEACH quite frequently makes us think and feel about our real self. Three main characters are all obsessed with fear one way or another, but in the same time, they are trying to get out from their obssession and struggle to seek truth of themselves. You may wonder how three main characters managed to accomplish this serious task within little running time as 71 minutes, but by the end, they managed to overcome their problems rather convincingly. Thanks to strong characterizations by three leads(Joan Bennett, Robert Ryan, and Charles Bickford) and sensible direction from Jean Renoir. I would rank THE WOMAN ON THE BEACH as the Renoir's hidden masterpiece. It is quite intelligent, powerful, experimental, and totally memorable.

ackstasis

04 May 2012

Go ahead and say it... Im no good

By 1947, Jean Renoir, at least indirectly, wasn't new to the Americanfilm noir style. Two years earlier, Fritz Lang had released the firstof his two Renoir remakes, 'Scarlet Street (1945),' which was basedupon 'La Chienne / The Bitch (1931)' {the second film, 'Human Desire(1954),' was inspired by 'La Bête humaine (1938)'}. 'Scarlet Street'notably starred Joan Bennett in a prominent role, which makes itinteresting that, despite allegedly disliking that film, Renoir himselfused her in his own Hollywood film noir, 'The Woman on the Beach(1947).' It's a visually-magnificent film, with photography from LeoTover and Harry Wild (the latter of whom shot 'Murder, My Sweet (1944)'and 'Macao (1952)') that perfectly captures the mystery and eerie calmof the beach-side setting, frequently swathed in gentle clouds of mistthat foreshadow the ambiguity and uncertainty of the story thatfollows. When we first glimpse Joan Bennett on the fog-swathed coast,collecting driftwood at the wreck of a grounded ship, she really doeslook ghostly and ethereal, a premonition that may or may not be real.Robert Ryan plays Scott, a coastguard who suffers from regular nightterrors concerning memories of a war-time naval tragedy, when his shipwas presumably torpedoed. His dream sequences are gripping andotherwordly, recalling the excellently surreal work achieved by Renoirin his silent short film, 'The Little Match Girl (1928).' During hisnightmares, Scott imagines an underwater romantic liaison, which,before he can get intimate, unexpectedly blows up in his face; this isan apt indication of the events that unfold later in the film. Scott isengaged to marry the pretty Eve (Nan Leslie), but his attention is soondistracted by Peggy (Joan Bennett), the titular "woman on the beach."Peggy is married to Tod (Charles Bickford), a famous blind artist whois still coming to terms with his relatively recent affliction. At just71 minutes in length, 'Woman on the Beach' feels far too short, theapparent victim of studio interference. Scott is obviously enamoured,and later obsessed, with femme fatale Peggy, in a manner than suggestsWalter Neff's fixation with Phyllis Dietrichson, but the motivationsbehind his actions are inadequately explored and explained.Perhaps as a result of the studio's trimming of scenes, manyplot-twists in the film seem somewhat contrived. Scott's extremedetermination in proving that Tod is faking blindness feels soincredibly illogical – why, indeed, would Tod even consider such a con?Many wonderful scenes are severely hampered by the story's lack ofexposition. In the film's most dramatic scene, amid the choppy watersof the Atlantic, Robert Ryan displays a frighteningly convincing ragethat borders on pure psychosis, a quality that Nicholas Ray exploitedfive years later in 'On Dangerous Ground (1952).' However, becauseScott's obsession and emotional transformation had previously beenexplored so sparsely, the sequence feels, above all else, out ofcontext. The performances are nevertheless solid across the board, withBickford probably the most impressive. Bennett's character istantalisingly ambiguous: throughout the film, she slowly revealsherself to be nothing but a greedy tramp, though Scott insists ontreating her as a tormented victim of abuse. The ending offers littlein the way of resolution, reaffirming the sentiment that perhaps thisfilm isn't all there.

Michael_Elliott

03 May 2012

Underrated Gem

Woman on the Beach, The (1947) *** (out of 4) This film features a very interesting story and there are a lot ofgreat moments but at the same time there's a lot of silly and over thetop moments and all of the blame has to go towards director Renoir.There's a very good love triangle going on here with a very well donemystery but for some reason Renoir lets the film slip into several overthe top moments, which get a few laughs, which certainly wasn't theintent. One problem are the performances by Bennett and Ryan. Both fittheir roles very nicely but each have scenes where their characters goso over the top that you've gotta wonder if Renoir was even watchingwhat they were doing. There's also a scene near the end where it seemslike Bennett was calling the shots on her own and doesn't know how toact in the scene, which turns out being rather confusing on hercharacters part. Bickford on the other hand delivers a very fierce andstrong performance as the blind man with a temper. He clearly stealsthe show and acts circles around the other two leads. The film runs71-minutes and goes by very fast and includes a couple very suspensefulscenes including one where the man wants to know if the husband isreally blind and makes him walk on the edge of a cliff. Overall, thefilm kept me entertained but it's a shame this didn't turn out to be amasterpiece because all the pieces are there but just don't gel as wellas they should.

Robert J. Maxwell

03 May 2012

Unpleasant story

I don't know if much would have been made of this had it not beendirected by Jean Renoir. It's a strange and confused film. The maincharacters are Bickford, a blind and embittered ex-artist; JoanBennett, his nymphomaniacal wife; and Ryan, a Coast Guard officertortured by post-traumatic stress syndrome. (He has nightmares,conscious flashbacks, and is irritable and a little paranoid.) It isn'ta noir film except by the broadest definition of the term. Too much ofit is shot outside in the daytime and -- here's a noir marker for you-- it has NO snub-nosed .38 caliber revolver! If it doesn't have THAT,it's no noir.The story doesn't make too much sense, but it's hard to blame Renoirfor this. Rather the writer, Frank David, and, as I understand, thestudio itself should take the responsibility. It's basically a romanticdrama involving Bickford, Bennett, and Ryan that doesn't hang togethertoo well. Why does Ryan suspect that Bickford can really see? Why inGod's name would a man to whom painting is everything pretend to beblind? And what is going on with Bennett's character. She seems to bein lust with Ryan and they make love, but it is later revealed thatshe's gotten in on with other young men. For that matter, there aretimes when she seems genuinely fond of her husband too. Bickford's andRyan's performances are good, as always. Both of the actors seeminvariably to come across as rock hard and unyielding, here andelsewhere.There is no mystery to Ryan's job. He's a full lieutenant in the CoastGuard. During World War II Coast Guardsmen manned Navy transports andsmall boats like landing craft in both the European and Pacifictheaters. Coast Guard cutters were assigned to convoy escort duty inthe Atlantic and several were torpedoed. This, evidently, was whathappened to Ryan's character. (Kids -- I don't want you to get losthere. The USA and its "allies" fought against the Germans and Japanesebetween 1941 and 1945. This was known as World War II. PS: We won.)During the war and for a short period afterward, some Coast Guardstations conducted beach patrols on foot or on horseback. One patrolcaught three Nazi spies who had just landed on a deserted Long Islandbeach from a submarine. It is a little-known fact that thatno-longer-empty stretch of Long Island coastline is now covered withcondominiums owned by plastic surgeons and plumbers and is worth onehalf billion dollars per square foot.The ending is a triumph of ambiguity. Bickford gaily destroys his ownpaintings, worth a fortune, to "free himself from the past." In fact heblows the entire beach house up. He tells Bennett that she should drivehim to New York so he can begin a new life, although he's already triedwriting instead of painting and it came out like this -- "The idea thatman is good is bunk. Pure bunk. Every man has a split personality." Atany rate, now that he is free of the past, so is she, whatever thatmeans. They walk off arm in arm to the right of the screen. Ryan,without a backward glance at them, strides off alone to the left. It'sas if the director had thrown up his hands, shrieked "Au DIABLE!", andtold the actors to do whatever they wanted.Most worthy of attention: Ryan's and Bickford's acting. Oh -- and thebreezy sunny isolated beach front atmosphere.

sol

02 May 2012

On the beach

***SPOILERS*** Shell shocked as well as water logged navy man Let.Scott Brunnet, Robert Ryan, has never gotten over his experience inWWII when his ship was hit by a German undersea mine and sank. Tryingto get his head together Scott in charge of a Coast Guard station onthe Atlantic coast takes daily rides along the beach on his horse andone day runs into Peggy, Joan Bennett, picking up woods from anabandoned ship wreck. During a friendly talk with her Peggy, as if shewere psychic, has the surprised Scott analyzed down to the tee abouthis past and the hang-ups he developed from his WWII experiences.Invited into Peggy's home Scott finds out, when he shows upunexpectedly, that her husband Tod, Charles Brickford, is a worldrenowned artist as well as being blind. Tod takes an immediate likingto Scott almost inviting him to stay overnight even though he has toreport back to his Coast Guard station within the hour. It's then thatthe film takes on an almost surreal look with Scott becoming soobsessed with Peggy that he virtually leaves his totally crazy abouthim girlfriend Eve,Nan Laslie, at the altar and falls crazily in lovewith Peggy, a married woman.The relationship between Peggy and Tod is by far the most interestingelement in the film with her feeling guilty for the condition that hefound himself in. We, and Scott, find out from Peggy that she go into adrunken fight with Tod and broke a bottle over his head resulting inhim ending up blind. It's the fact of Tod's blindness that Peggy stayedand put up with his abuse of her feeling guilty that she took away theone love that he had in the world; eyes to both see and paint with.The rest of the film has Scott and Tod play this weird game of chickenwith Scott trying to prove that Tod isn't really blind in order to freePeggy from his clutches and keep her all for himself. Scott's actionsare so outrageous that he almost has Tod killed twice in the film, byfalling off a cliff and drowning in an Alantic storm, the second timewith Scott almost getting killed along with.Tod soon realizes that it's his paintings that has him going somewhatinsane with his obsessive actions towards both them and Peggy andfinally decides to burn them in order to set himself and Peggy free.Being blind Tod in trying to set the painting on fire sets his andPeggy's house on fire as well leaving himself homeless and pennilesswith only the clothes, and his car, on his back. The film ends withPeggy realizing that Tod needs her more then ever leaves Scott standardon the beach, watching her and Tod's house burn to a crisps, and agreeto drive back with Tod to New York to start a new life. As for Scott wecan assume that he'll now go back to Eve whom he promised to marryearlier in the movie, that's if she'll be willing to take him back inthe first place.

dougdoepke

01 May 2012

A Muddle

A Coast Guard officer gets involved with a strange woman and her blindhusband.Small wonder Renoir went back to France after this Hollywood misfire. Idon't know what the backstory is but the movie's a mess, great directoror no. The problem pretty much begins and ends with a screenplay thatmakes next to no sense. Start with motivation-- is Peggy (Bennett) aloving wife who simply strays, or maybe she's just a nympho addicted tosex, or even a masochist who likes pain; or maybe even a woman deeplyin love with Tod (Bickford). Unfortunately, there're reasons for anyand all of these, thanks to the meandering script. Then again, considering how changeable human emotions can be, maybe theoptions are not as mutually exclusive as first appears; maybe Peggy isjust really mixed up. Still, it would take a far better script toeffectively work out that particular pathology whatever it is. Here,options are simply dumped together into an incoherent jumble.Unfortunately, Tod's character is similarly mangled-- try figuring out,for example, how Tod and Scott (Ryan) really feel about each other. Butthere's no need to repeat the points other critics have enumerated. Then there's the staging. In particular, consider the following-- ahalf-blind(?) Tod tumbles from a 100-foot rocky cliff with only minorhead scratches; in a rocking little boat, Tod and Scott stand stockstill as the seas rage beside them; at the same time, the two enemiessurvive after hours of clinging to the roiling wreckage. To me, all ofthese staging fiascos could be made more credible with better planning. Fortunately for the movie and us, there are arresting visuals to focuson— the opening nightmare is a stunner, along with the wrecked ship onthe beach. Renoir also creates an intense fantasy-like atmosphere withthe foggy beach and the ship's grotesque skeleton. Then too, Ryan andBickford make convincing hard-nosed adversaries. But these upsides areunfortunately not enough to salvage the overall result. Considering Renoir's previous successes, especially with the lyricallyimpressive The Southerner (1945), I'm guessing the studio had a deadhand in (mis)shaping the final cut. But, I guess it's also possiblethat the director-writer was trying to bring some Europeansophistication to a moody love story that just doesn't work. Butwhatever the ultimate reason, the movie remains a disappointing muddle.