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Toronto Star (29/Apr/1990) - Golden black and whites

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Golden black and whites

Technique of enhancing drama with shadow and light has been lost to progress

I love movies. I collect them on video, read their scripts and watch them whenever possible, sometimes four in a row.

It all started for me in 1939 when I was first permitted to go to Saturday matinees alone. I did not know it then, but I certainly picked a vintage year to become a moviegoer. Hollywood has never been more productive or creative. Saturday afternoon was eagerly awaited all week because that meant 3 1/2 hours of magic in the form of two features, a short, cartoon and the news.

Ten years later it was the spectacular location scenes in The Man On The Eiffel Tower that convinced me of the absolute necessity of visiting Europe, and I am certain that interest in how movies got made helped steer me toward a career in television production.

I love movies, all movies — new, old, good, even bad. I actually enjoyed the film reputed to be the worst film ever produced, The Attack Of The Killer Tomatoes.

I was recently surprised, therefore, while browsing at my local video supermarket to overhear a young couple discussing a feature they were considering renting. She favored it, recognizing the star, Yves Montand. He rejected it because it was not in color. He had rejected the Wages Of Fear, one of the greatest suspense thrillers of all time because he thought the lack of color would detract from his enjoyment.

This is really sad because many of these older, black and white films are a goldmine of entertainment, and the use of black and white, read light and shadow, actually enhance the dramatic elements of the film. This talent, well known to scores of directors, cinematographers and performers, is all but dead, done in by progress. Color films simply require far too much light on the set to permit much dramatic effect or subtle mood through the use of lighting.

What a pity that young couple will probably never see the Wages Of Fear. They also will probably never see some of my favorite films, which entertain and move me every time I watch them. They include The Lady Vanishes (1938), My Darling Clementine (1946), The Third Man (1949) and Hobson's Choice (1954). For me, color could never improve them. Here are just a few of the reasons that I so enjoy these black and white pieces of gold.

The Lady Vanishes stars Margaret Lockwood, Michael Redgrave, Dame May Whitty, Paul Lucas and Cecil Parker. The script, based upon a novel by Ethel Lina White, relates how, returning to England by train from Switzerland, an elderly governess inexplicably disappears. Director Alfred Hitchcock has great fun, leading us from one blind alley to another as the train is searched for the missing woman. Hitchcock uses a particularly clever lighting effect to provide her name, and his use of light and darkness as the train hurtles through tunnels at night creates great suspense.

In my book one of the 10 best westerns ever made remains My Darling Clementine. Fine acting and a compelling script set this retelling of the gunfight at the OK Corral apart from many later attempts. Stars include Henry Fonda, Victor Mature, in one of his finest roles, Linda Darnell and Walter Brennan. Director John Ford uses high contrast lighting to capture the stark beauty of the American Southwest, and his continual use of silhouette lighting on his stars helps to sustain a mood of ominous foreboding throughout the film.

Australian born Robert Krasker is a cinematographer whose films are unique for their lighting and visual effects — Odd Man Out, Brief Encounter and The Third Man.

Who can forget the visually stunning chase scene through the sewers of Vienna in search of Harry Lime? This post-war, black market thriller is also unique for the distinctive musical score performed on the zither by Anton Karas. The stars, under the direction of Carol Reed, include Joseph Cotton, Trevor Howard, Orson Welles and Valli. Watch how Orson Welles uses his facial lighting to maximum effect.

Charles Laughton is at his belching, blustering, best in Hobson's Choice. He plays a tyranical Lancashire bootmaker whose equally strong-willed daughter turns the tables on him. There are also strong performances by John Mills and Brenda de Banzie. Director David Lean captures the gritty reality of Victorian working conditions as a background for this first-rate British comedy. There is a very symbolic moment when John Mills, the poor clod, emerges from his black hole into the light.

I recently had the opportunity to screen The Maltese Falcon in both black and white and colorized one after the other. It convinced me that films in color are not necessarily better, just different, and certainly not to be rejected solely because they are not in color.

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