Midnight Oil:Movies and More

Compulsion (1959)  is an interesting twist on the infamous thrill killing "Crime of the Century" committed by Leopold and Loebin the 1920s. Historically, the case had influence in America in ending the death penalty for murder. Dean Stockwell and Bradford Dillman play the rich young  degenerates who engage in the most shocking of crimes. Orson Welles plays Clarence Darrow, the defense lawyer who is responsible for helping them to avoid the hangman's noose.   The award winning performances  lead  one through a thorough workout for the moral faculties on issues of captial punishment.

Catch the video trailer from TVO for Compulsion

“The Lady from Shanghai” (1947) stars Rita Hayworth as Elsa Bannister and Orson Welles as Micahel O’Hara. Welles does it all as principle actor, writer and director of the movie. It is an interesting film from more than one angle (à la crazy fun house mirrors of the climax scene). Hayworth and Welles were in the final phases of their off-screen relationship at the time of filming, Welles reported that he did the film simply as a way of  financing other projects in jeopardy, and the complicated plot of the original Sherwood King novel is just, well, hard to follow. But then, Michael O’Hara’s Irish brogue is rather hard to follow and even harder to swallow at times.

Rita Hayworth’s character is the rather too obvious femme fatale who spices up the exotic scenery and even indulges us with a musical number and a spectacular cliff diving scene for the benefit of box office sales. It’s film noir with more than the usual twist at the end with a visually discombobulating fun house scene that is all “Orson”. It can be fun, if you just relax and get into the genre and the period of Hollywood film making.

>>More to see: Looking for more out of life?

>>Real Life Story: Katie and Nathan realized that they were driving each other into someone else’s arms. See the real life turnaround in their marriage. 

Orson Welles as Michael O’Hara gives us his rendition of the poetic Irish soul in this famous “shark scene on video clip. See below a re-cut, remixed video trailer for “The Lady From Shanghai” (1947)