"Come to the Stable" and Tennis Nuns

by Nick Taylor

Today is the 75th anniversary of Come to the Stable, which has to rank among the most inoffensive, featherweight films to earn seven nominations from Thee Academy Awards. The story of two nuns, Sister Margaret (Loretta Young) and Sister Scholastica (Celeste Holm), who travel all the way from France to a wintry New England township so they can build a hospital. “Why do they go all the way to New England” you might ask, but who cares!

Specific details about why things happen are not the draw of Come to the Stable. A musician/landlord named Bob does not want the nuns to build their new hospital on a hill he owns for some reason, which doesn’t stop them from securing a plot of land and importing two dozen of their Sisters from France. At one point the nuns sneak into a gangster’s suite and successfully convince him to sell the aforementioned plot of land after they trade stories about serving in World War II. In short, every obstacle to Sister Margaret and Sister Scholastica getting what they want proves powerless in the face of their somewhat savvy, utterly guileless embodiments of faith. However, there is one enemy the women cannot pray away, one barrier they must overcome with strength, vigor, and attention. That barrier’s name, you might ask? She’s called tennis . . . .

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Ranking Alan Menken's Oscar Nominations

by Cláudio Alves

Alan Menken accepts the Best Original Song Oscar for BEAUTY AND THE BEAST.
Earlier this week, Alan Menken celebrated his 75th birthday. As a stage composer turned motion picture maestro, he's authored a number of original musicals, enchanting generations across the decades. Indeed, many could probably credit Disney's favorite composer with the soundtrack of their childhood – I know I can. For his efforts, Menken amassed 19 Oscar nominations and eight victories, many of which he shared with the writers who put words to his music. To celebrate the man's legacy, I shall give him the same treatment bestowed on John Williams a few months ago and rank all his nods, both in the score and song categories…

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Happy 100, Eva Marie Saint!

by Cláudio Alves

ON THE WATERFRONT (1954) Elia Kazan

Happy belated birthday, USA! Happy belated birthday, Caesar Salad!! And happy belated birthday, Eva Marie Saint!!!

This past Fourth of July, the Edie to Brando's Terry Malloy celebrated her one-hundredth turn 'round the sun. As a centenary, Saint is the oldest living and earliest surviving Academy Award winner, keeping our connection to Old Hollywood alive at a time when even the 1970s renegades seem to be leaving us. Reflecting on her long career, one can trace the parallel, often juxtaposed, evolution of the American film industry. And yet, Eva Marie Saint rose to stardom on a wave of innovation, revolutionary acting styles and approaches, her presence like a promise of new things to come…

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"The Queen of Spades" @75: Faustian Bargains with a Gothic Twist

by Cláudio Alves

Some would sell their soul for riches beyond compare, fame and the immortality that comes with it, or perchance beauty, wisdom, and other such treasures. The Faust of Teutonic legend yearned for all the knowledge in the world and pleasure to go with it. When Goethe re-imagined him as a dissatisfied scholar, Faust sought to trick Mephistopheles by asking for transcendence. Compared to these bargains, the protagonist of The Queen of Spades seems modest in his ambitions. For Captain Herman Suvorin of the Russian army, the immortal soul is an appropriate price to pay for the secret of winning at cards.

Starring Anton Walbrook and envisioned by director Thorold Dickinson, Suvorin's story becomes the basis for an oft-forgotten gem of Gothic Horror that's also one of Martin Scorsese's favorite movies…

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Over & Overs: "Murder on the Orient Express" (1974)

by Cláudio Alves

To celebrate the Sidney Lumet centennial, I reflected on the director's filmography and tried to surmise which of his films had the biggest impact on me. In retrospect, I wish that exercise led to one of his many masterpieces. Yet, to choose something like Dog Day Afternoon or Network would be dishonest. As much as I adore those pictures, they're not works I tend to revisit that often. Certainly not to the point where music cues, editing choices, singular line deliveries, and shot compositions are so ingrained in my mind that re-watching them is a jolt of muscle memory. You could call my relationship with the film what some folk feel for their favorite comfort foods.

When the mood is blue and the soul needs a pick-me-up, Lumet's 1974 adaptation of Murder on the Orient Express is a reliable treat, just frivolous and hearty enough to appease the spirit with whodunnit shenanigans. Or it could be a warm blanket of a movie, the soothing embrace of an old friend. Is it great cinema? Not really, but I wouldn't trade it for the world…

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