view
Private Property (Leslie Stevens, 1960)
Jul
20
lemonade
A blonde lady (Kate Manx) holds a wicker ray with a pitcher of lemonade and several glasses. Her anxious look contrast with the carefree promise of summer sky and cool drinks. DP: Ted D. McCord.
“I'm looking for the Hitchcock residence.”
– Duke
view
Plunder Road [The Violent Road] (Hubert Cornfield, 1957)
Jul
10
sandwiches
At a diner, a dark-haired waitress holds up a carafe with fresh coffee and a take-away cup. A man in the background appears to keep an eye on her. DP: Ernest Haller.
“Stop to eat every 8 hours. Just sandwiches.”
view
Whistle Down the Wind (Bryan Forbes, 1961)
Jul
9
white bread
A child grabs a thick slice of white bread while the cutlery on her plate indicates she's finished eating. DP: Arthur Ibbetson.
“It isn't Jesus. It's just a fella.”
– Charlie Bostock
view
Whistle Down the Wind (Bryan Forbes, 1961)
Jul
9
Barn Day
The man (Alan Bates) in the barn surrounded by little children. The older girl in the light coat, Kathy, is played by Hayley Mills, author Mary Hayley Bell's daughter. DP: Arthur Ibbetson.
In the barn of a remote Lancashire farmhouse, three children stumble upon a stranger. Confused, they conclude that the fellow must be the Second Coming of Christ. In the world of the adults, a man is wanted by the police.
“Good night, Gentle Jesus. Sleep well.”
– Charlie Bostock
view
Peppermint Frappé (Carlos Saura, 1967)
Jun
30
Drive Your Corvette To Work Day
Producer Elías Querejeta (far left) and others pushing Geraldine Chaplin character Elena's Chevrolet Corvette C1. Behind the wheel actor José Luis López Vázquez (Julián). DP: Luis Cuadrado.
A chance encounter with a blonde drummer during the Holy Week in the village of Calanda leaves a deep impression on Julián (José Luis López Vázquez). When years later he reunites with his childhood friend Pablo, he finds that Pablo is married to bubbly cosmopolitan Elena (Geraldine Chaplin), the spitting image of the elusive drummer. Infatuated he tries to court her, but Elena sees nothing in the drab radiologist. Julián then turns his attention to his shy assistant Ana (also Chaplin) and grooms her into becoming the two unattainable women.
“Things last as long as they last.”
– Pablo
Saura's Peppermint Frappé takes #Hitchcock's Vertigo (1958) – indeed the peppermint green of the drink is an homage – with a twist of #Buñuel and serves it over an anti-#Francoist tale of self-doubting machismo obsessing over The Other. Even Elena's car, American instead of a much more obvious European model, dismisses fascist Spain's perceived superiority. Indeed the Generalisimo drove a Cadillac.
view
Jeopardy (John Sturges, 1953)
Jun
25
National Camp Counts Day
– Aw, mom. You always talk about civilization.
– Don't knock it, son.
John Sturges' Jeopardy is a thrilling reverse home invasion based on Maurice Zimm's radioplay A Question of Time. Without falling into the trap of an illustrated radio broadcast, the haunting photography by Victor Milner, small, intense cast, short runtime and claustrophobic sets make for a very modern, economic thriller.
And Barbara Stanwyck the type of heroine we wouldn't see much of until decades later.
view
Le trou [The Hole / The Night Watch] (Jacques Becker, 1960)
Jun
25
care package
Butchering a care package – butter, sausage and other joys of life – for contraband. DP: Ghislain Cloquet.
view
Le trou [The Hole / The Night Watch] (Jacques Becker, 1960)
Jun
19
International Box Day
The prisoners keep themselves occupied with making cardboard folding boxes. The second man from the right is the novel's author and real-world (ex-) inmate José Giovanni aka Jean Keraudy as Roland Darbant. DP: Ghislain Cloquet.
Inmates preoccupy themselves with making cardboard boxes. While working together, talking, gaining trust, plans for an escape unfold.
“Hello. My friend Jacques Becker recreated a true story in all its detail. My story. It took place in 1947 at La Santé prison.”
– Jean Keraudy as himself
Le trou is based on a real prison escape and introduced by one of the men involved, Jean Keraudy.
view
Vertigo (Alfred Hitchcock, 1958)
May
27
Golden Gate Bridge
A pensive Novak in black in front of a sunlit Golden Gate Bridge. DP: Robert Burks.
A bridge to celebrate the 1937 Golden Gate Bridge opening.
“Here I was born, and there I died. It was only a moment for you; you took no notice.”