HIGH AND LOW (1963)

"Success isn't worth losing your humanity."

Just as a wealthy businessman, Toshiro Mifune, is on the verge of spending every single yen he has on a stock deal that will give him control of the corporation that he works for, he receives a phone call that will change his life forever: his only son has been kidnapped!  The kidnapper wants a massive ransom that will financially break Mifune, but he agrees.  The kidnapper promises to call back with instructions and right as Mifune is discussing things with his frantic wife...his son walks in.  Wat da fuq?  Ends up the kidnapper accidentally kidnapped Mifune's chauffeur's son instead of Mifune's kid.  Now Mifune must decide if he should risk certain financial destruction for an employee's child.  He must also ask himself "If I don't, will my wife ever have sex with me again?"

I love police procedurals, especially when the investigation is headed up by Tatsuya Nakadai!  He's one of my absolute favorite actors and seeing him and Mifune together is always exciting.  Takashi Shimura also shows up as a cop, but for whatever reason his role is very small.  I was really disappointed by that.  Anyway, HIGH AND LOW is a very well made film with an exciting story, awesome camera work (the train scene was bad ass) and top-notch acting by an impressive cast full of familiar faces.

A few minor complaints would be: the runtime (143 minutes) is a little too long and the cops...not only did they do a terrible job at tailing the kidnapper on foot (how he never spotted them is beyond me), but they were 100% responsible for that one woman's death!  Then again, maybe that was done on purpose to show that the police only care about protecting wealthy people, even at the expense of letting a penniless drug addict die.

Definitely worth a watch for fans of Japanese cinema and good movies in general.

I SAW WHAT YOU DID (1965)

Three young girls (who are as naive as they are stupid) spend an evening prank calling random people. One of their calls triggers a psychotic guy (John Ireland) into murdering his wife and then later on, when they call back saying "I know what you did and I know who you are." he flips out again and murders his nosy neighbor (Joan Crawford)!  Now the only thing he needs to do is silence the person on the phone.

Logic and reality are thrown far, far out the window, but it doesn't matter because I SAW WHAT YOU DID is so campy that I don't see how anybody could watch it and not laugh themselves silly. On the one hand, it tries to pass itself off as a thriller, while at the same time the music would be more suited for a Scooby-Doo cartoon and the teenage girls are just so carefree it's hilarious. Especially towards the end. Holy shit, I don't think I've seen anybody so carefree about nearly getting murdered since THE YOUNG GRADUATES!

John Ireland does a great job as the unhinged killer, Joan Crawford is Joan Crawford and the two actresses playing the teenage girls...well, they're not very good, but their goofy acting actually adds to the charm of the movie. If you're looking for a real horror movie then you'll be disappointed, but if you're just looking for something funny to giggle at then I SAW WHAT YOU DID should fit the bill.

It was kinda interesting to see how this film turned the tables on the infamous PSYCHO shower scene (with the killer being in the shower and the victim being outside) and how the feel and look (especially towards the end) of the movie actually foreshadowed many of the Slasher films that would follow in the coming decades.

Remake - I Saw What You Did (1988)

HIGH WALL (1947)

Things aren't looking so good for brain-damaged WWII vet Robert Taylor when he's found in a car wreck with his wife's dead body in the passenger seat.  And things look even worse when the cops discover that she was strangled to death before the wreck!  Taylor looks guilty as hell, but since he's unable to stand trial due to his chronic headaches that cause him to black out (he has no memory of the night in question), they simply toss him in a mental institution.  While there, he meets some doctors that are able to dust the cobwebs loose and...well, you just gotta see for yourself.

It's always sad to see an otherwise above average film crippled with a below average title, but that's the case with HIGH WALL.  What the hell does "high wall" even mean?  I guess it's referring to the wall around the mental institution, but the only time you ever see the wall is in the opening titles!  At no point in the film does anybody actually interact with the wall itself.  Who knows, maybe it's referencing the wall around Taylor's lost memories.  I have no clue, but whatever it's talking about, it's still a dull name for a movie.

Dull title aside, HIGH WALL was a good watch.  I really enjoy seeing Robert Taylor stretching out his acting chops and the story held my attention.  Interesting photography, good pace, nice lighting, solid supporting cast and it's always a pleasure to see Herbert Marshall in action.  He's just so smooth!

Recommended for fans of classic 40's noir.