And step on in to the krimi kafe, it's another Edgar Wallace wonderment from 1961; which proved to be quite a prolific year for the genre - Der grüne Bogenschütze (The Green Archer) no relation to the Hornet. Somebody is arrow 'appy here in this that updating of the early silent serial based on this noted Edgar Wallace mystery. Jurgen Roland who directed this also prolifically helmed the Norddeutscher Rundfunk German true crime series.
Welcome to another jidaigeki jamboree, jidaigeki, were historical genre films that gained the most notoriety and all five of the Japanese prize winning films were of this genre. Period dramas were produced fast and furious before the outbreak of World War Two, they would make up more than half of the overall film production in Japan. In the war's aftermath, American occupation forces would issue guidelines and provisions, that sadly impinged on their creative impetuses, the occupation forces were vehemently against the idea
of Japan producing films that centered on their collective ideologies of anti-democracy and their
feudal lineage. However the desire of Japanese directors to release their Jidai-geki films which were almost always based on the Edo (Tokugawa period) was powerful. The directors were still expected to adhere to the sanctions of the occupation, and would certainly appease the ruling, however screaming and kicking, by releasing films about contemporary life in Japan, and this genre was known as gendai-geki, these would comprise seventy-five percent of Japanese film production. Gendai-geki would inspire future sub-genres that specifically dealt with contemporaneous mores, and would raise questions about the family role as well as depicting the social class. I present to you now ; Yoru no tsuzumi (1958) directed by the masterful Tadashi Imai.
And now time to get your kicks in 1936 courtesy of Ruth Chatterton, she never really shut her rabbit and Simone Simon, a name so nice they almost said it twice. And don't you sleep on this dormitory - oh the shenanigans that ensue and ensue, I tell ya chief. Herbert does Marshall this lot and it was a sweet 'lil studio fulfillment for Fox.
Girls' Dormitory (1936)
2010's Beneath Hill 60. An impressive second feature-length entry from antipodean actor and director Jeremy Sims. Now getting the continuity right is nothing to sneeze at, and this one I could guarantee was one daunting affair. The Great War. Not to be confused with the lesser known The Very Good War, that commenced in 1921 and it only lasted for fourteen minutes, so fret not, The Great War was not harmed or undermined in any way. And for something that was created this side of the Mason-Dixon century, it is ever such redemption. Brendan Cowell stars.
