Shockproof (Douglas Sirk, 1949)

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GringoTex
Joined: Wed Nov 03, 2004 5:57 am

#1 Post by GringoTex » Wed Oct 10, 2007 6:38 am

This is a great little film. Indicative of the Hollywood factory that Sirk and Fuller never actually met for it.

Fuller's original script had it ending with Wilde having a gun battle with his fellow officers. His instructions were to turn it into a war movie in the last reel. Unfortunately, the studio censored it.

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Via_Chicago
Joined: Fri Aug 11, 2006 12:03 pm

#2 Post by Via_Chicago » Wed Oct 10, 2007 11:05 am

I honestly wasn't a very big fan of this picture. That's not to say that it's without its merits, in fact there are some extremely strong scenes. However, I felt that it actually failed to combine the visions of its two main artists (unlike a film like Les Enfants Terribles which I think works quite wonderfully). There is a constant dichotomy between the domestic melodrama and the more pulp-like qualities of Fuller's work. Yet these two divergent sources never really feel drawn together. It's an interesting movie, but not a great one.

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Matt
Joined: Tue Nov 02, 2004 12:58 pm

#3 Post by Matt » Wed Oct 10, 2007 1:05 pm

I'd like to see this again. I originally saw it as the second half of a double bill with Pickup on South Street early on in my film education. I skipped the Fuller because I didn't know who he was and saw this, expecting typical operatic Sirk. Boy, was I disappointed. Now that I know who the hell Fuller is (and appreciate him), I bet I'd see this film very differently.

This is why I'm often a menace to young film fans who think they've seen it all and know it all. It reminds me of my own stupidity.

David Ehrenstein
Joined: Tue Oct 11, 2005 8:30 pm
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#4 Post by David Ehrenstein » Wed Oct 10, 2007 11:28 pm

"Patricia Knight as the Hamiltonian babe is a revelation "
I trust you're referring to the series of paintings Richard Hamilton made based on a still of Knight in Shockproof.

She was one of those really interesting post-war actresses who, sadly, had a brief career. There's an episode of I Love Lucy in which she's featured as an actress rehearsing a part in an apartment flat next to Lucy's. Overhearing her rehearse dialogue, Lucy assumes she's a spy, "and that's where the fun REALLY starts."

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