The Doorway to Hell (1930) Review: The Good, The Bad & How to Watch American Film, Crime, Drama Academy Awards, 1931- Nominee: Best Writing, Original Story The early 1930s in Hollywood were marked by a frantic, electric energy as the industry found its voice—literally. In the middle of this transition, a gritty little gem called The Doorway to Hell slipped into theaters, offering a blueprint for the gangster epics that would soon dominate the silver screen. While it often sits in the shadow of the titans that followed, this film captures a specific, raw moment in cinematic history that feels surprisingly modern even today. More on Wikipedia or Mubi The Brutal Elegance of The Doorway to Hell At its heart, the story follows a young gang leader who attempts to trade the chaos of the underworld for a quiet, respectable life. It is a classic American tragedy wrapped in the smoke of a speakeasy. The narrative leans heavily into the irony of a man trying to es...
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Lili (1953) American Film, Drama, Musical
Winner: Entertainment Film (International Prize)
Lili is a 1953 American film released by MGM. It stars Leslie Caron
as a touchingly naïve French girl whose emotional relationship with a
carnival puppeteer is conducted through the medium of four puppets. The
film won the Academy Award for Best Original Score, and was also entered in the 1953 Cannes Film Festival. It was later adapted for the stage under the title Carnival! (1961).
Lili's screenplay, written by Helen Deutsch, was based on a short story and treatment titled "The Seven Souls of Clement O'Reilly" written by Paul Gallico,
which in turn was based upon "The Man Who Hated People," a short story
by Gallico that appeared in the October 28, 1950 issue of The Saturday Evening Post. After the film's success, Gallico expanded his story into a 1954 novella entitled Love of Seven Dolls.
Of all the popular overblown, oversexed "coming of age" movies (mostly
about male coming of age - starting with "The Summer of '42"), none has
the honesty and truth of "Lili". Why? Because coming of age has less to
do with sex (as most men think) than it has to do with an awareness of
evil. The most telling line in the film is spoken by Paul's partner, who
chides Paul for slapping Lili and says, "She is realizing that there is
cruelty in the world, and she is learning to protect herself from it."
Like Eve in the Garden of Eden, Lili's loss of innocence comes with her
knowledge of evil, not her loss of virginity.
And unlike other
coming of age movies that have the young actors tossing around "cute"
sexual comments that don't ring true for a callow young person (because
they were obviously scripted by a jaded 50-year-old male), "Lili" rings
true with every note (as Paul says, "She's like a little bell that gives
off a pure sound every time you strike it."). Her naivety is far more
true to form -- when she is warned by one of the puppets that the
lecherous puppet Renaldo "is a wolf", the innocent Lili replies, "I
thought he was a fox." This is exactly the way a kid would really
respond -- not "getting" the sexual reference and thinking that the
comment was about the species of the animal. More on Wikipedia or Mubi
Cannes Film Festival, 1953- Winner: Entertainment Film (International Prize), Special Mention Academy Awards, 1954- Winner: Best Music, Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture, 5 nominations including: Best Actress in a Leading Role National Board of Review, 1954- Winner: Top Ten Film BAFTA Awards, 1954- Winner: Best Foreign Actress, Nominee: Best Film from any Source Golden Globes, 1954- Winner: Best Screenplay Box Office Hit Top 1,000 Movies Ever Made
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