CINEMA CYCLE
(Cardio Workout And Reviewing Movies At The Same Time)
DATE VIEWED: 04/08/2015
FORMAT: DVD
TIME RIDDEN / FILM LENGTH: 1 hour 30 minutes
DISTANCE RIDDEN WHILE VIEWING: 22.6
TOTAL CINEMA MILES LOGGED: 1468.1 miles
SYNOPSIS: A young woman on the Cornish Coast in the 1800s comes to live with her Aunt whose husband runs a gang of scavengers
CONCEPT IN RELATION TO THE VIEWER: Absolute power corrupts absolutely. Charles Laughton can fill up any room with his presence. The first appearance of Maureen O’Hara on film (and John Wayne is no where in sight)
PROS AND CONS: An obscure film that came up on the Cinema Cycle random viewing generator. This film is part of a 50 film DVD collection that is supposed to have a horror theme. Well, this one doesn't. This film is more of a mystery / adventure theme. This work is part of the canon of films that Alfred Hitchcock directed when he was still working in England, before his move to Hollywood.
The first 30 minutes of the work is all over the place with character development and scene setting, so much so that I could not really figure out its arc. Then the pace picks up pretty quickly and you have to follow along to keep up.
The overpowering presence in this film is Charles Laughton, who plays the villain. To say that he was larger than life (on several fronts) would be an understatement. There is no way that anyone was going to upstage this thespian.
While tame now, in retrospect, Maureen O’Hara wearing a nightgown, in a driving rain storm on the English coast must have been pretty risque for 1930s England.
Clicking on the title will take you to the Internet Movie Database (IMDB) entry for this film.
This film was viewed while exercising on my recumbent cycle. A summary of my time spent working out on my journey through movie-land can be found on Strava.com.
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