Movies... For Free! The Lady Vanishes (1938)

Welcome to this week's "Movies... For Free!" column, where we showcase classic movies freely available in the public domain (with streaming video!). Read the article and watch the movie right here!


The Lady Vanishes, 1938.

Directed by Alfred Hitchcock.
Starring Margaret Lockwood, Michael Redgrave, Paul Lukas and Dame May Whitty.

Hitchcock's penultimate British movie before his transition to Hollywood, The Lady Vanishes is a loose adaptation of notable crime writer Ethel Lina White's 1936 novel The Wheel Spins, and is set aboard a train bound for England as it passes through a fictionalised facist European state. Margaret Lockwood stars as Iris, a young woman returning home to be married, who befriends an elderly lady, Miss Froy (Dame May Whitty), while sharing a carriage with a group of European travellers.

Iris falls unconscious as a result of an earlier accident, waking to find no sign of the old lady. The other passengers deny having seen Miss Froy and a doctor (Paul Lukas) diagnoses her with hallucinations, but Iris becomes convinced of a conspiracy and sets out to investigate with the help of musician Gilbert (Sir Michael Redgrave, reunited with Hitchcock after a brief, uncredited cameo in 1936's Secret Agent).

The Lady Vanishes was a huge hit upon release and became the most successful British film of the time. Hitchcock was presented with the New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Director, while the film was also named Best Picture by the New York Times. This success allowed Hitchcock to negotiate a lucrative seven-year contract with Hollywood producer David O. Selznick, a partnership that would begin with the Academy Award-winning Rebecca (1940).


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Seth MacFarlane Talks Family Guy Movie

Family Guy creator announces plans for a theatrical outing for the Griffin family...

Seth MacFarlane, the creator of hit animated comedy shows Family Guy, American Dad, and upcoming spinoff The Cleveland Show, has been talking to Wired Magazine about his interest in bringing Peter Griffin and company to the big screen.

MacFarlane, who was attending an event to celebrate the 100th episode of American Dad, told Wired: "We want to do it. Fox wants it. We know what we want to do with it. It's just a question of finding the time."

Pointing to the long gestation period of The Simpsons movie, MacFarlane confirmed that early development is indeed under way on Family Guy. "There's so much to do for a weekly animated series - twice as much as you have to do for a live-action show. So, we're finding time where we can. We're in the early stages right now."

MacFarlane had earlier discussed his plans for the movie on The Adam Carolla Podcast, and when asked if the proposed feature would include live-action he replied: "Possibly, possibly. Here and there. It will not be a 90-minute Family Guy episode."

With three shows in production it may be some time before audiences get a chance to see Family Guy hit the silver screen, but MacFarlane offers some hope to fans: "I can say with definitive assuredness that it will be out within the next five years."

X-Men DVD Contest and Marvel Poll Results

The results of our latest DVD giveaway and movie poll are in...

To celebrate the release of X-Men Origins: Wolverine (currently sitting atop the UK box office chart after a hefty opening weekend) we've been running a DVD giveaway with a box set of the original X-Men Trilogy up for grabs, as well as a poll for your favourite Marvel movie franchise. So without further ado, here are the results...

Favourite Marvel Movie Franchise - Poll Results

X-Men (29%)
Spider-Man (28%)
Iron Man (18%)
Blade (13%)
Fantastic Four (3%)
Punisher (3%)
Hulk (2%)
Daredevil / Elektra (1%)

It really went to the wire between X-Men and Spider-Man for that top spot, and you have to imagine the web-slinger would push for number one if the poll ran to coincide with the next installment of Sam Raimi's blockbuster series just two short years from now.

The biggest surprises for me were that a) Fantastic Four and Punisher came in above Hulk (ghost of Ang Lee, perhaps?), and b) that someone could actually prefer Daredevil or Elektra to all those other movies.

X-Men DVD Giveaway Winner

Congratulations to Michael Armbruster, who has a copy of X-Men Trilogy on the way.

Thanks again to everyone for their entries, and be sure to check back soon for our next DVD giveaway.

If you're just itching to get your hands on more of the X-Men, check out Lovefilm.com's deals including X-Men Trilogy SE on Blu-ray for £31.93!

Oh, and be sure to check out nextround's Definitive Collection of Awesomely Bad Wolverine Costumes.

British Cinema - City Rats (2009)

City Rats, 2009.

Directed by Steve M. Kelly.
Starring Danny Dyer, Tamer Hassan, Ray Panthaki and Susan Lynch.


SYNOPSIS:

A low-budget British drama focussing on eight interconnected characters who struggle to deal with their personal demons throughout the course of a single day.


Looking at the DVD cover for City Rats it would be easy to overlook this as little more than another entry in the long line of tired, low-budget British gangster movies, however I must admit to being pleasantly surprised by what the film has to offer. The feature debut of director Steve M. Kelly and screenwriter Simon Fantauzzo, City Rats is a dark and gritty tale with four storylines that run concurrently and explore a number of depressing themes including suicide, murder, prostitution, homosexuality, loneliness and loss.

Danny Dyer stars as Pete, a drunken ex-con who is pursued by Carol (Natasha Williams), a mother who believes that Pete may have information on the whereabouts of her missing son. Tamer Hassan (Dyer’s co-star in The Football Factory and The Business) and MyAnna Buring (Lesbian Vampire Killers) play two suicidal strangers who, after a chance meeting, decide to spend one final day together to try and tie up any loose ends in their lives, while artist Dean (Ray Panthaki) seeks inspiration from his neighbour Gina (Susan Lynch), a disabled prostitute who runs her business from the flat upstairs. Finally, Olly (Kenny Doughty) scours the seedy underbelly of Soho, hoping to provide a sexual experience for his deaf-mute autistic brother Chris (James Lance), while searching for answers to his own confused sexuality.

The main focus of the film seems to be on Pete and Carol, with Danny Dyer far removed from his usual Cockney wide-boy routine and excellent in his role as an alcoholic struggling to deal with the consequences of his past crimes. The storyline between Dean and Gina manages to inject some much needed humour into the bleakness, while strong performances from the cast ensure that the viewer is drawn into each strand of the storyline. However, it does appear that the filmmakers have perhaps tried to cram too much into one single film, and some aspects – such as the story between the two brothers – do seem a little underdeveloped at times.

Described as a ‘London-style Pulp Fiction’, City Rats rather unsurprisingly fails to live up to such lofty heights of Tarantino’s classic. However, promising first-time director Steve M. Kelly manages to make the most of his low budget and the film benefits greatly from impressive cinematography, with a slick and polished visual style that really brings the city itself to life. It will be interesting to see what Kelly could accomplish given a larger budget and - despite its flaws - City Rats is an ambitious effort that certainly provides a refreshing change from the typical British gangster movie of recent years.

Gary Collinson

More X-Men in Development...

Following the success of X-Men Origins: Wolverine at the weekend, Variety confirms further X-Men spinoffs are in the works...

With X-Men Origins: Wolverine topping the box office both in the U.S. and the U.K. this past weekend, Variety have announced that Hugh Jackman and production partner John Palermo are already gearing up for a follow-up chronicling Wolverine's time in Japan.

The sequel is said to be based upon the famous comic book arc that sees Wolverine battle a host of ninjas and study the way of the samurai, which was hinted at during (one of) the post-credit sequence of X-Men Origins. Seed Productions will develop the movie on behalf of studio Fox.

Meanwhile, in another story Variety have also confired that a Deadpool spinoff is in development, which would see Ryan Reynolds reprise his role as Wade Wilson. The Hollywood Reporter has thankfully suggested that the spinoff will return "to the roots of the character", with Lauren Shuler Donner and Marvel Studios acting as producers.

There should be plenty for X-Men fans to get excited about with Fox also having X-Men Origins: Magneto and X-Men: First Class on their slate, and no doubt we'll be hearing a lot more about these projects over the coming months. You'd have to expect the Wolverine sequel to be first out of the starting blocks, which would also see Hugh Jackman become the first actor to appear as the same superhero in five consecutive movies.

UK Box Office Top Ten - weekend commencing 01/05/09

UK box-office top ten for the weekend of Friday 1st - Sunday 3rd April 2009.

There was little surprise this weekend as X-Men Origins: Wolverine clawed its way to the top of the U.K. box office charts with an uncanny £6,658,979, while Miley Cyrus' big screen adaptation Hannah Montana: The Movie opened a distant second despite a healthy £2m haul.

It seems that audiences weren't too distracted by the much publicised internet leak and negative buzz surrounding the X-Men prequel, which also debuted at number one in the U.S. with over $85m in receipts, and should convince Fox that there is plenty of life left in the franchise.

Last week's number one State of Play slipped down into third place ahead of the Matthew McConaughey - Jennifer Garner rom-com Ghosts of Girlfriends Past, which was another new entry in fourth. Zac Efron comedy 17 Again crossed the £10m barrier after four weeks on release, while Dreamworks' animated smash Monsters vs Aliens remains the highest grosser in the top ten and should surpass £20m by next weekend.

I Love You, Man, In the Loop and The Uninvited all fell three places from last weekend but managed to hang on to their positions in the top ten, but we say goodbye to Observe and Report, Race to Witch Mountain and The Boat That Rocked.

Pos.	Film	Weekend Gross	Week	Total UK Gross
1	X-Men Origins: Wolverine	£6,658,979	1	£6,658,979
2	Hannah Montana: The Movie	£2,030,657	1	£2,030,657
3	State of Play	£981,519	2	£3,271,598
4	Ghosts of Girlfriends Past	£976,780	1	£976,780
5	17 Again	£534,816	4	£10,116,259
6	Monsters vs Aliens	£529,594	5	£19,579,014
7	Fast & Furious	£455,558	4	£12,901,723
8	I Love You, Man	£358,530	3	£3,231,097
9	In the Loop	£214,607	3	£1,485,521
10	The Uninvited	£172,973	2	£739,429

The big release this coming weekend is J.J. Abrams' reboot of Star Trek, which should dominate at the box-office despite the early success of Wolverine, and I suspect a big drop is in store for the Hugh Jackman superhero flick.

Movies... For Free! D.O.A. (1950)

Welcome to this week's "Movies... For Free!" column, where we showcase classic movies freely available in the public domain (with streaming video!). Read the article and watch the movie right here!


D.O.A., 1950.

Directed by Rudolph Maté.
Starring Edmond O'Brien, Pamela Britton and Luther Adler.

D.O.A. is a film noir mystery about a dying man searching for his own killer, and is rightly regarded as a classic example of the genre. The film's ingenious opening sees accountant Frank Bigelow (O'Brien) reporting his own murder to officers in a police station, the details of which are then examined in flashback form throughout the movie.

Vacationing in San Francisco much to the displeasure of his girlfriend Paula (Britton), O'Brien is enjoying a night on the town when his drink is swapped by a mysterious stranger. Feeling ill the next day, O'Brien visits a doctor who informs him that he has ingested a slow-acting but incurable toxin. With only days to live, O'Brien sets out to unravel the puzzle behind his murder and track down the killer before it is too late.

D.O.A. is the first directorial effort from Academy Award nominated cinematographer Rudolph Maté. Beginning his career as a camera operator in Europe, Maté developed his trade working for directors such as Carl Theodor Dreyer, before his transition to Hollywood as cinematographer on a number of notable films including Foreign Correspondent (1940), Sahara (1943), and Gilda (1946).

Maté’s skilled visual style led to five consecutive Academy Award nominations for Best Cinematography, and is certainly evident in his directorial debut. With a strong cast and complex, twisting narrative D.O.A. is a gripping and original thriller, and infinitely superior to the 1988 remake of the same name starring Dennis Quaid.



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