Gregory Peck, Lee Remick and Harvey Stephens in the 1976 Richard Donner movie ‘The Omen’

Returning yet again to the horror movie genre, we look into the movie The Omen (1976). Richard Donner directed a commercial success told at a quick, hard-hitting pace that builds suspense and dread in place of gore and guts in a thematic offering in a sandbox suggested for some with The Exorcist (1973).

(From left, Lee Remick as Katherine Thorn, Harvey Stephens as Damien Thorn and Gregory Peck as Robert Thorn in the Richard Donner movie The Omen).

The Omen opens with American diplomat Robert Thorn and his wife Katherine are living in Rome, Italy, where their biological son dies on June 6th at 6:00 AM. Robert is presented with an option to adopt a child that is offered to him in secret, which he chooses to present to Katherine as their biological child. The child, taking the name Damien Thorn, is portrayed at five years of age by Harvey Stephens. Gregory Peck portrayed Robert Thorn as Lee Remick portrayed Katherine Thorn.

(From left, Holly Palance as Nanny and Billie Whitelaw as Mrs. Baylock in the Richard Donner movie The Omen).

It is in that five-years that Robert Thorn is appointed ambassador to the United Kingdom, where Katherine and Damien join him. It is in the United Kingdom that the tension begins to escalate dramatically. First, Damien’s nanny, as portrayed by Holly Palance, hangs herself for all to see at the child’s fifth birthday party. A rotweiler appears at the Thorn household, as does and unannounced Mrs. Baylock to serve as the boy’s new nanny. Damien reacts violently to the notion of entering a church. Damien later terrifies and infuriates animals at a wildlife park. Billie Whitelaw portrays Mrs. Baylock.

(From left, Betty McDowall as American Secretary, Nicholas Campbell as embassy guard Marine Corporal and Patrick Troughton as Father Brennan in the Richard Donner movie The Omen).

A series of escalating incidents come in rapid succession, with the situations pointing to the inexplicable destiny that underpins the truth about Damien Thorn. Father Brennan, as portrayed by Patrick Troughton, warns Robert that there are questions. Brennan predicts a new pregnancy for Katherine, and that some sinister developments surrounding Damien will befall the situation. Life and death questions are answered decisively in the aftermath.

From left, Robert Rietty as Monk, David Warner as Keith Jennings and Martin Benson as Father Spiletto in the Richard Donner movie The Omen).

Photographer Keith Jennings, as portrayed by David Warner, takes an interest in the circumstances of tragedy surrounding the Thorn family. Housekeepers for the Thorns abruptly quit, with Mrs. Baylock taking over addition responsibilities while questions of faith surrounding Damien are raised. Keith and Robert return to Rome to investigate Damien’s origins. Father Spiletto, as portrayed by Martin Benson, points Jennings and Robert Thorn to a cemetery that reveals even darker secrets. Rottweilers appear on the scene.

(Leo McKern as Carl Bugenhagen in the Richard Donner movie The Omen).

The tension surrounding Damien’s truth escalates again. Katherine’s fate befalls her. Robert learns a further shocking reality suggested by Carl Bugenhagen, as portrayed by Leo McKern. The truth that Robert Thorn must face is unimaginable, yet what choice will he make? How much further can the truth force one man’s hands? How inevitable is the conflict’s force in this story?

(Director Richard Donner on set of the Richard Donner movie The Omen).

That the screenplay of David Seltzer is so tightly filmed and edited for presentation by director Richard Donner offers the viewer a story that elevates suspense so clearly. That the audience is so dramatically taken for a ride without a graphic depiction of the underlying realities offer something to the imagination that elevates the story; it is in this restraint that the story itself hit its marks, at least for me. It is through this lens, coupled with the power of the story itself, that I grant The Omen as directed by Richard Donner 4-stars on a scale of 1-to-5.

Matt – Saturday, October 30, 2021

Cary Grant, Eva Marie Saint and James Mason in the Alfred Hitchcock film ‘North by Northwest’

We’ve started the month of June at Matt Lynn Digital in dramatic style from the year 1959. Earlier this week, we shared our review of the Otto Preminger‘s Anatomy of a Murder, featuring James Stewart, Lee Remick and George C. Scott in starring roles. Today we turn our look at an Alfred Hitchock mystery of mistaken identity of an innocent man portrayed by Cary Grant pursued across the United States. Join us in this look into North by Northwest (1959).

(From left, Adam Williams as Valerian, Cary Grant as Roger Thornhill, Martin Landau as Leonard (standing) and Robert Ellenstein as Licht in the Alfred Hitchcock movie North by Northwest).

Intrigue takes us from the United Nations Headquarters in New York City to the Mount Rushmore National Memorial in Black Hills, South Dakota with North by Northwest. Before any of this intrigue, advertising executive Roger Thornhill, as portrayed by Carey Grant, is whisked away to the estate of Lester Townsend of Long Island, New York.

(Jessie Royce Landis as Clara Thornhill in the Alfred Hitchcock movie North by Northwest).

Spy Phillip Vandamm, as portrayed by James Mason, interrogates Thornhill, disbelieving everything Thornhill says. Using the coercion of Valerian, Licht and Leonard, Vandamm forces Roger Thornhill to consume a bottle of liquor and take a drive that Vandamm hopes will settle the matter. Adam Williams, Robert Ellenstein and Martin Landau portray Valerian, Licht and Leonard. Clara Thornhill, mother to Roger as portrayed by Jessie Royce Landis, aids her son in seeking to address the mystery she too disbelieves.

(From left, Cary Grant as Roger Thornhill and Philip Ober as Lester Townsend in the Alfred Hitchcock movie North by Northwest).

It is when Roger Thornhill gets to visit Lester Townsend, as portrayed by Philip Ober, that the mystery of the movie North by Northwest really captures multiple levels of depth. Intrigue including Eve Kendall, as portrayed by Eva Marie Saint, gains its feet with travel across country in pursuit of affection, truth, and the nature of what drives a conspiracy with foreign antagonists catches its feet.

(From left, Eva Marie Saint as Eve Kendall, James Mason as Phillip Vandamm and Martin Landau as Leonard in the Alfred Hitchcock movie North by Northwest).

There are echoes of the 1942 Alfred Hitchcock movie Saboteur in North by Northwest, with the interpersonal dynamics of the love interest taking a noticeably different and arguably more complex tone with North by Northwest. The relationship between Roger Thornhill and Eve Kendall are resonated better for me here than that of Barry Kane and Patricia (Pat) Martin in Saboteur. The service of this relationship in getting the story to outcome, too, was executed better here than in the film 17-years previous.

(From left, actor Cary Grant, actress Eva Marie Saint, director Alfred Hitchcock and actor James Mason of the Alfred Hitchcock movie North by Northwest).

My overall enjoyment of North by Northwest was not diminished by the use of a MacGuffin. Landing on a satisfying mystery with a romantic turn integral to the storyline really made the movie, especially given what felt like sudden yet legitimate feeling appropriate for the entertainment offered. I give North by Northwest as presented by Alfred Hitchcock 4.25-stars on a scale of 1-to-5.

Matt – Saturday, June 5, 2021

James Stewart, Lee Remick and Ben Gazzara and the Otto Preminger film ‘Anatomy of a Murder’

We’ve recently looked at the notion of wholesome, family friendly entertainment with different movies on Matt Lynn Digital with Jumanji (1995). We also have looked into the clean-cut reputation of the actor James Stewart. In reviewing the Otto Preminger directed movie Anatomy of a Murder (1959) as based on the 1958 Robert Traver (aka Michigan Supreme Court Justice John D. Voelker) named Anatomy of a Murder, we see a popular entertainment that turned the concepts of wholesome, family friendly and clean cut actor on their head.

(From left, James Stewart as Paul Biegler, Ben Gazzara as Lt. Frederick Manion, and Arthur O’Connell as Parnell McCarthy in the Otto Preminger movie Anatomy of a Murder).

Anatomy of a Murder stars James Stewart as struggling former district attorney Paul Biegler, whose amiable personality and focus on fishing belie the fact that Biegler’s law office is an underwater, poorly managed mess. In aiming to support bumbling friend Parnell McCarthy straighten a misguided, alcoholic life of his own, the case of an accused murder with Lt. Frederick Manion is presented. Arthur O’Connell portrays McCarthy as Ben Gazzara portrays Manion.

(Lee Remick as Laura Manion in the Otto Preminger movie Anatomy of a Murder).

Laura Manion, as portrayed by Lee Remick, seeks the support of Biegler when her husband, Lt. Frederick Manion, is arrested for the murder of innkeeper Bernard “Barney” Quill. Frederick Manion does not deny the murder, yet seeks a defense based on the proposed mitigation that his wife, Laura, had been raped by Quill. Establishing those facts, and arguing them in a court case that promises to get salacious, makes for a clear turn from family friendly and clean cut.

(From left, Eve Arden as Maida Rutledge and Kathryn Grant as Mary Pilant in the Otto Preminger movie Anatomy of a Murder).

Eve Arden portrays Biegler’s sardonic secretary Maida Rutledge, who aims to assist her boss loyally while pointing out points of weakness in Biegler’s approach along the way. The clear defense strategy becomes one of keeping things focused on a court case while aiming to tie a theory of temporary insanity to the underlying argument of rape.

(From left, George C. Scott as Claude Dancer, Joseph N. Welch as Judge Weaver and Alexander Campbell as Dr. Gregory Harcourt in the Otto Preminger movie Anatomy of a Murder).

When things get to court, prosecutor Claude Dancer, as portrayed by George C. Scott, aims to prevent this theory of the crime from ever being admitted. The skill of the prosecutorial experience and maneuvering proves formidable, as does the underlying investigation by Biegler and others to establish the facts. The question of the validity of the defense theory coupled with the sketchy quality of the witnesses of the crime make for compelling drama in what again was a salacious set of details that put Biegler, and James Stewart in his portrayal of Biegler, in a more mature perspective he hadn’t been in previously.

(From left, James Stewart as Paul Biegler and Duke Ellington as ‘Pie-Eye’ in the Otto Preminger movie Anatomy of a Murder).

The music of Duke Ellington, with an uncredited part in the film itself, serves the movie Anatomy of a Murder well. The story includes intriguing twists and turns with compelling conflict that proves interesting. The exploration of where lines of legitimacy are drawn in and out of the courtroom are viewed on both sides of moral questions in Otto Preminger‘s movie. The Wendell Mayes screenplay aids in my granting 4-stars on a scale of 1-to-5.

Matt – Wednesday, June 2, 2021