Jul 15, 2022
Our Warner Bros. 1940 episode this time is a Bette Davis double feature in which Bette plays the Other Woman in two melodramas based on real-life sex-and-murder scandals, but the Wronged Woman in only one. We discuss the combination of sexual repression and critique of colonialism in William Wyler's The Letter and Anatole Litvak's study of societal constraints and thwarted romance with the very different setting of the last years of the Orléans monarchy in mid-19th century Paris, All This, and Heaven Too. Then, in a quick and dirty Fear and Moviegoing in Toronto segment, we evaluate David Cronenberg's mind-fuck gaming movie, eXistenZ, from 1999 (with spoilers, so skip it if you want your mind to be a virgin for the experience).
Time Codes:
0h 01m 00s: THE LETTER [dir. William Wyler]
0h 41m 01s: ALL THIS, AND HEAVEN TOO [dir. Anatole Litvak]
1h 10m 09s: Fear & Moviegoing in Toronto – eXistenZ (1999) by David Cronenberg
Studio Film Capsules provided by The Warner Brothers Story by Clive Hirschhorn
Additional studio information from: The Hollywood Story by Joel W. Finler
+++
* Marvel at our meticulously ridiculous Complete Viewing Schedule for the 2020s
* Intro Song: “Sunday” by Jean Goldkette Orchestra with the Keller Sisters (courtesy of The Internet Archive)
* Read Elise’s latest film piece on Preston Sturges, Unfaithfully Yours, and the Narrative role of comedic scapegoating.
* Check out Dave’s new Robert Benchley blog – an attempt to annotate and reflect upon as many of the master humorist’s 2000+ pieces as he can locate – Benchley Data: A Wayward Annotation Project!
Follow us on Twitter at @therebuggy
Write to us at therebuggy@gmail.com
We now have a Discord server - just drop us a line if you'd like to join!