What Did You Watch in June 2024?

My movie and TV watching in June 2024 stretches from 1932 to 2024 including film noir, a Western, comedies, documentaries, and more covering works from the U.S., England, France, and Argentina. I also include a film celebrating the work of Donald Sutherland, whom we sadly lost last month. I hope to hear what you discovered in June, but here’s what I encountered:

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First-time Watches

WZZQ: The Movie (2024) Ann Ford - PBS

Here’s one from last month that I neglected to mention, a film that resonates with me on a personal level, WZZQ: The Movie. This documentary about a Mississippi radio station may not appeal to everyone, but I hope you’ll check it out. I’ll have much more to say about this in a separate post, but you can probably find the film on the PBS website.

The Wire: Season One (2002) Max

I’ve always been interested in watching The Wire, and after more than 20 years, I’ve finally gotten on board. I typically resist engaging with anything (books, movies, music) being lauded on a large scale, but I must say, The Wire’s first season did not disappoint. The show’s writers drop the viewer into a world that’s already well-established: the Baltimore drug scene in full operation from the point of view of the dealers, users, police, and people who are collateral damage. The writing and acting are stellar. I’ll get to Season Two soon, but I need a bit of a breather right now.

I… For Icarus (I… comme Icare, 1979) Henri Verneuil - Kino Lorber Blu-ray and on Kanopy

This French paranoid/political thriller investigates the assassination of fictional French President Marc Jarry, but it’s clearly based on the JFK assassination. The movie is compelling, well-paced (even at a 2+ hour running time), and suspenseful. State attorney Henri Volney (Yves Montand) disputes the investigation’s final report, thus reinvestigating the assassination himself. It’s fun to see an assassination that we as Americans know so well (or do we?), and while the film never slows down, the proceedings are treated somewhat with a fantasy element: things happen too neatly, the sets are a little too pristine as if we’re watching an experiment. (In effect, we are.) My favorite scene occurs during a scientific exercise meant to measure a person’s memory. Conspiracy theory fans and anyone looking for a good thriller will want to check out I… For Icarus.

You and Me (1938) Fritz Lang - TCM DVD

George Raft and Sylvia Sidney star as ex-cons working in a metropolitan department store whose rules stipulate that while on probation, workers can never marry. Of course, these two do. Not only that, they’re tempted to return to a life of crime. Mostly a comedic venture, and while I’m not a George Raft fan, this one is enjoyable.

Truth Serum (2022) Vika Evdokimenko

Discussed briefly here, where you can also view the film.

Old Henry (2021) Potsy Ponciroli - Shout Factory Blu-ray

If Old Henry is a Western you’ve never heard of, I urge you to check it out. There’s nothing flashy here, just good storytelling with outstanding performances from everyone, especially Tim Blake Nelson as Henry McCarty, a widower who lives on a farm in the Oklahoma Territory in 1906 with his teenage son Wyatt (Gavin Lewis). When Henry finds a wandering horse with blood on its saddle, he wants nothing to do with it, but curiosity gets the better of him. Henry discovers a wounded man named Curry (Scott Haze) and decides to let him heal inside the house. Curry claims to be a lawman, the only survivor of a posse chasing a gang of criminals, but Henry is skeptical. What happens next is a series of events that plays out slowly, but becomes incredibly tense. Maybe you’ll have an idea of how it ends, and maybe you won’t, but it’s a great ride. The film also stars country singer Trace Adkins and Stephen Dorff.

If I Should Die Before I Wake (Si muero antes de despertar, 1952) Carlos Hugo Christensen - Flicker Alley Blu-ray

Originally intended as the third segment in Never Open That Door (discussed below), If I Should Die Before I Wake was produced as a stand-alone film about a rambunctious schoolboy (Néstor Zavarce) who learns that a criminal has been luring young girls to his hideout by offering them candy. A combination of Grimm’s fairy tales and a Cornell Woolrich suspense story, If I Should Die is filled with noirish nail-biting suspense. Note that this film doesn’t get the full restoration found in Never Open That Door, but is a supplement on that release.

Little Odessa (1994) James Gray - Criterion Channel

Edward Furlong (the kid from Terminator 2) stars as Reuben, a boy living in the largely Russian community of Brighton Beach in Brooklyn with his abusive father Arkady (Maximilian Schell) and terminally ill mother Irina (Vanessa Redgrave). Arkady and Irina seem far too old to have a son as young as Reuben, but we soon discover Reuben has an older brother named Joshua (Tim Roth) who’s been banished from the family for working as a hitman for the Russian Mafia. When Joshua returns to his home turf to carry out a hit, he tries to do so quietly, but soon everyone knows he’s in town. The relationship between Reuben and his big brother is the highlight, but the story never touches the audience on a deep level since most of the picture rarely delves beyond the surface.

One Way Passage (1932) Tay Garnett - Warner Archive DVD

One Way Passage probably tries to do too many things in a 68-minute movie, but it’s so charming it gets away with it. On a trans-Pacific ocean voyage, Kay Francis plays a terminally ill woman who meets an endearing murderer (William Powell) facing execution, but neither knows the truth about the other. Had two other actors been cast in the lead roles, the film might have been too maudlin, but these two are perfect. Add a police sergeant (Warren Hymer) who’s not as smart as he thinks, a fake countess (Aline MacMahon) trying to fleece any man onboard who has money, and a low-level con man named Skippy (Frank McHugh) who excels at stealing drinks, and you’ve got a cast of characters who keep things moving. And the ending was unexpectedly satisfying.

Rewatches

George Stevens: A Filmmaker’s Journey (1985) George Stevens Jr. - Criterion Channel (2x)

I rewatched this having previously viewed it in 1988, this time as research for a project I’m working on. Coming from Stevens’s son, the project could’ve been very subjective but is handled with minimum sentimentality. The highlight is watching so many people still alive in 1985 for on-camera interviews including Fred Astaire, Katharine Hepburn, Douglas Fairbanks Jr., Joseph L. Mankiewicz, and more.

Obsession (aka The Hidden Room, 1949) Edward Dmytryk - Criterion Channel (2x)

More research, this time for an upcoming article in The Dark Pages. Currently on the Criterion Channel (and soon to be released on Blu-ray from Indicator), this is a terrific noirish thriller you should seek out. Keep an eye on the dog.

Never Open That Door (1952) Carlos Hugo Christensen - Flicker Alley Blu-ray (2x)

Previously reviewed here

The Strawberry Blonde (1941) Raoul Walsh - Warner Archive DVD (2x)

I originally watched this on cable TV as a teenager, initially disappointed that this was a non-gangster James Cagney film, but the film was so charming, I didn’t care. Decades later I still love the story of a struggling young dentist Biff Grimes (Cagney) at the turn of the 20th century. Biff longs to court (if not wed) the strawberry blonde society girl Virginia (Rita Hayworth), but can’t help but notice that the less-glamorous Amy (Olivia de Havilland) intrigues him in a different way. I just love this movie.

The Hidden (1987) Jack Sholder - Warner Archive Blu-ray (2x)

Jack Sholder made several horror and science fiction movies, sometimes both at the same time. The Hidden, a story about normally quiet people suddenly committing violent crimes despite sustaining massive gunshot wounds, is fun the first time around, but during this rewatch I found it somewhat tiresome. The most enjoyable element of the film is seeing Kyle MacLachlan playing an FBI special agent just a few years before playing another FBI agent in Twin Peaks (1990-1991, 2017).

Eye of the Needle (1981) Richard Marquand - Twilight Time Blu-ray, also on Prime Video (3x)

Saddened by this month’s death of Donald Sutherland, I was tempted to watch one of his lighter films but decided to revisit this terrific spy thriller based on the Ken Follett novel of the same name. Sutherland, here playing a Nazi spy in the UK during WWII, is charming and menacing. Although often remembered for his comedic work, Sutherland had quite a range.

Airplane! (1980) Jim Abrahams, David Zucker, Jerry Zucker - Paramount Blu-ray, also Paramount+ (6x?)

The only PG movie I was never allowed to show at the library, which was probably the right call.

Act of Violence (1949) Fred Zinnemann - Warner Archive DVD, but hoping to pick up the Blu-ray soon (3x)

I’m currently working on an essay about this tremendous film noir starring Van Heflin, Robert Ryan, Janet Leigh, Mary Astor, and Phyllis Thaxter. I’ll keep you posted.

Okay, now let me know what you watched in June 2024: movies, TV, whatever. The comments are open.