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Conflict 1945 Movie: How To Know If Your Own Husband Will Betray Your Trust?

Wednesday, December 28, 2016
(*Warning for possible spoilers for Conflict, a black-and-white suspense film noir made by Warner Brothers)

Conflict (1945) (#ad) is a murder mystery that doesn’t seek to answer the question of who committed the crime because we already know the culprit and we even see him do the evil deed. Rather, the film seeks to answer the question of what happens now after the crime has been committed and on whether or not the criminal can get away with what he did.

Kathryn Mason travels alone

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One of the scenes in the Conflict movie involves Kathryn Mason (played by Rose Hobart), the wife of the main character, driving through mountain roads all by herself since her husband couldn’t accompany her on this trip due to the occurrence of some unforeseen events.

Meeting a stranger

The ride to her destination seems all right at first. However, when she gets to a certain spot, she discovers a car blocking her way.

She notices a man, who appears to be the driver of said car, standing nearby. She calls out to him, asking him to move the car, but the man doesn’t respond so she just decided to turn around and find another way to get to where she wanted to go.

Unexpected surprise in Conflict

As the man moves to approach her, Kathryn looks and feels scared and apprehensive, so much so that even the audience fear for her safety and worry about what will happen to her.

But then the man comes into view and both viewers and Kathryn breath a huge sigh of relief as the supposed stranger is revealed to be Richard Mason (played by Humphrey Bogart), Kathryn’s husband.

No reason to be afraid

Kathryn looks highly relieved at seeing that it’s just her husband who’s now standing in front of her and not some stranger who might do her harm or hurt her or even kill her or something. She isn’t scared anymore and her relief is palpable and understandable because this is her own husband that’s right in front of her, so what reason would she have to be afraid?

Reason to be scared of your own husband?

Who would have thought that Kathryn would have been so much safer if the man before her had been a total stranger because Richard had evil intentions towards her? Who would have expected that you’d have something to fear from the people that you know and the people that you trust?

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Kathryn had no idea what her husband was planning to do to her and Richard was someone that she knew and trusted, so it was only understandable that she relaxed and was unafraid when she saw him.

But, as soon as it became apparent that Richard was planning something sinister, Kathryn’s entire demeanor changes and she is suddenly afraid and apprehensive and worried about what might happen to her.

What do you think she felt when she realized that she was in danger from someone that she actually knew and thought that she could trust?


*Notes:
- Image with added text was modified by Freya Yuki based on the image by Rusembell (CC:BY) from deviantArt
- Image of car is meant to symbolize how Kathryn also drove in a car before she was killed
- Second pic is from Amazon.com; link shown above
- YouTube video features the trailer for the Conflict 1945 movie

The Scarlet Flower Movie Review: Why You Should Watch This Soviet Animated Film?

Thursday, December 22, 2016
The Scarlet Flower (#ad) (Аленький цветочек, Alenkiy Tsvetochek in Russian) is a 1952 Soviet animated film. It is based on a book of the same name by Sergey Aksakov. Said book is an adaptation of the Beauty and the Beast fairy tale.

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The movie itself, while similar to the aforementioned fairytale, does have quite a number of differences.

And that helped to make this film even more enjoyable and interesting because what’s the point of watching something if it will be just a complete rehash of what you already know, unless you really want to anyway, right?

Because of its basis in the Beauty and the Beast story, The Scarlet Flower is rather predictable, but not that much especially when you compare it to the Disney version of the Beauty and the Beast.

Besides, much of the predictability stems from the main plot, which those who know about Beauty and the Beast should already know by heart. The differences come into play with how the main characters are brought together and with how the other characters act.

The art of the film is pretty good. It’s not anime or any of the usual kinds that I’ve seen, but I like the art just fine. I thought the Beast wasn’t all that scary though, certainly not when compared to Disney’s version of the Beast.

In fact, this Beast just looks kind of laughable and quite ugly. But, then again, this is an older movie, so it’s understandable that they still don’t have all the technology and special effects that we expect films of today to have.

I also like how the flower in the film wasn’t specified to be a red rose, as that seemed way too common, and how it was referred to simply as 'the scarlet flower.'

So, technically, it could be any red-colored flower or it could be a magical one that doesn’t exist in the world, which is more fitting since it is a flower with magical properties.

Those who like fairy tales and are especially fond of the Beauty and the Beast story and are interested in seeing different variations of it would surely find this film interesting and even entertaining.

But it’s not without its flaws as it’s certainly not perfect. There are some plot holes and some things that don’t make sense, but a lot of that stems from its basis on the source material.

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For instance, having Nastenka, the 'Beauty,' in this film, overhear her father talking about going to see the Beast was a necessary plot contrivance since, in the fairy tale, Beauty has to end up going to where the Beast was.

The ending of The Scarlet Flower is to be expected, of course, but I like it just fine. I didn’t mind at all that there was no kiss between Nastenka and the Beast when he turned back into a handsome guy again.

It surprised me at first, but, considering the story and what we saw, this seemed much preferable and believable than having them kiss. So, what about you? Have you watched this movie? What do you think about it?


*Notes:
- Image with added text was modified by Freya Yuki (CC:BY-SA) based on the image by hayashinomura (CC:BY-SA) from deviantArt
- Red-colored flower in the image is meant to represent the scarlet flower while the figure is meant to symbolize Nastenka
- YouTube video features a scene from the aforementioned film
- First pic is from Amazon.com; link shown above

Reason Why You’ll Never Guess The Plot Of Conflict 1945 Movie

Friday, December 16, 2016
(*Warning for possible spoilers for Conflict, a black-and-white suspense film noir made by Warner Brothers)

Conflict (1945) (#ad) is about an engineer, named Richard Mason (played by Humphrey Bogart), who kills his own wife, Kathryn Mason (played by Rose Hobart). But who would have thought that that would be the plot of this movie or that it would actually be a murder mystery? Could you have guessed the genre of this film based on its title or its first few scenes?

The genre of Conflict

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I didn’t know this was going to be a murder mystery when I first saw this movie.

It wasn’t because I didn’t get to watch this film from the beginning since I don’t think I missed much at all; probably just the first few or the opening scenes since I got to see the part where the Masons were talking and getting ready to go to their 5th wedding anniversary dinner party.

What does the movie title tell you?

However, even knowing the title really doesn’t tell you much at all. Would you think that the word or title 'Conflict' could pertain or refer to a murder mystery or imply that a murder was going to happen? Maybe, perhaps, but, then again, it could pertain to many other things as well since stories should have conflict.

Conflict’s storyline possibilities are endless

Knowing nothing about the Conflict movie, I had no idea what was going to happen as I continued to watch it. It seemed as if the film had endless possibilities and that many different scenarios could take place.

When Kathryn was accusing her husband of falling in love with her own sister, Evelyn Turner (played by Alexis Smith), and Richard wasn’t denying it, I thought that maybe Richard was going to start an affair with Evelyn or that Kathryn would do more to keep the 2 apart like how she suggested that her little sister should go back home to their mother.

I even had to wonder if perhaps Evelyn would also fall for Richard or if she would actually end up rejecting him.

Even when Richard got his leg broken due to a car accident, I had no idea that murder was about to occur.

The film didn’t really give an indication of that happening though maybe Doctor Mark Hamilton’s (played by Sydney Greenstreet), a good friend of the Masons’, psychological words might count as a hint since he said something about how thoughts can get stuck in your head.

When Richard pretended that he still couldn’t walk and when he made sure that he remained home while his wife went alone to the springs resort, I thought that he did that so that he could go visit Kathryn’s sister and maybe court her or have an affair with her or something.

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I didn’t know that he was actually going to go and kill his own wife. Who would have thought, right? After all, he even told her to be careful while driving through the mountain roads.

So, it came as a shock and surprise when we soon see Richard murdering Kathryn. Now, I wondered if that meant that Richard was now free to get together with Evelyn and if that was what was going to happen.

After all, it seemed like he had committed the perfect crime. There’s no evidence against him and he has the perfect alibi or so it seems.

But Conflict continues to surprise its audience, seemingly at every turn, because, just when you think you’ve got it all figured out, scenes happen that prove otherwise and show that you got it all wrong.


*Notes:
- Image with added text was modified by Freya Yuki based on the image by Rusembell (CC:BY) from deviantArt
- Image is meant to symbolize how Richard murdered his own wife, Kathryn
- First pic is from Amazon.com; link shown above
- YouTube video features the trailer for the Conflict 1945 movie

Similarities between The Scarlet Flower 1952 Soviet animated movie and the Cupid and Psyche myth

Saturday, December 10, 2016
(Warning: possible spoilers for the 1952 Soviet animated film The Scarlet Flower (Аленький цветочек, Alenkiy Tsvetochek in Russian) and the Greek or Roman myth about Cupid and Psyche)

It’s not really that the two stories in question are very similar to each other because they’re not. In fact, The Scarlet Flower (#ad) is actually based on a book with the same name and that book is based on the Beauty and the Beast fairy tale. But, when I was watching this film, there were some parts that just made me think of or reminded me of the story of Cupid (Eros in Greek Mythology) and Psyche because it seemed similar somehow.


How Nastenka (Beauty) and Psyche are similar to each other?

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For instance, when Nastenka, the female main character and the 'Beauty' in The Scarlet Flower movie, returned home to her family after having to stay with the Beast on his island for a quite a while, her 2 older sisters tried to persuade her not to go back to the Beast.

They told her to just stay with them and that there was no need for her to go back there.

That part reminded me of how Psyche was persuaded by her 2 older sisters (look, both even have the same number of sisters and they’re both the youngest) to try and find out Cupid’s identity and how he really looked like.

The 2 women also have their differences

The difference was that Nastenka didn’t let herself be persuaded by her sisters. She still had every intention of returning to the island where the Beast was (of course, that didn’t mean her sisters wouldn’t try and stop her somehow, but that’s not a part of this post). But Psyche was eventually convinced by her sisters to do as they wanted and that caused much trouble for her.


Cupid and the Beast are also similar to each other

Another similarity between the two stories was how Cupid refused to show himself to Psyche. He would talk to her, but she couldn’t see him.

In the same way, the Beast also refused to show himself to Nastenka on account of how hideous he looked, but he still spoke to her.


Both the heroines of The Scarlet Flower and Cupid and Psyche search for the one they love

Another thing that made me to think of the Cupid and Psyche story was when Nastenka was finally able to return to the island where the Beast was after her sisters attempted to stop her.

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It seemed like she was too late in getting back because the beautiful and bright island was now shrouded in darkness and everything just looked gloomy and sad.

I thought that she would have a hard time looking for the Beast similar to how Pscyhe had to face several difficult trials before finally being reunited with Cupid.

That was what it seemed like, but I knew that couldn’t happen since The Scarlet Flower wasn’t that long a movie and we were already near the ending so, naturally, Nastenka soon found the Beast.

Of course, just like how Cupid and Psyche eventually got their happy ending, Nastenka and the Beast also got theirs. What do you think about these 2 stories?


*Notes:
- Image with added text was modified by Freya Yuki (CC:BY-SA) based on the image by hayashinomura (CC:BY-SA) from deviantArt
- Couple in the image is meant to represent Cupid and Psyche and Nastenka or Beauty and the Beast while the red flower in said image is meant to symbolize the scarlet flower
- YouTube video features a scene from the aforementioned film
- Second pic is from Amazon.com; link shown above

Conflict 1945 Movie: How To Solve The Perfect Crime?

Sunday, December 4, 2016
(*Warning for possible spoilers for Conflict, a black-and-white suspense film noir made by Warner Brothers)

Conflict (1945) (#ad) introduces us to Richard Mason (played by Humphrey Bogart), an engineer, who is married to Kathryn Mason (played by Rose Hobart). However, he’s actually in love with his wife’s younger sister, Evelyn Turner (played by Alexis Smith). So he plots to get rid of Kathryn so he can be free to be with Evelyn instead.

Is it possible to commit the perfect crime?

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Since this is a murder mystery, Richard’s way of getting his wife out of the way is, of course, by killing her.

The question now is if the engineer was able to commit the perfect crime and if he could actually get away with what he did.

If not, then how can he be caught or apprehended if there are seemingly no clues or evidence that would point to him being the culprit?

Foreshadowing and Chekhov’s Gun

One of the really good things about this movie is how it employs the proper use of foreshadowing (a clue that can indicate or predict what might possibly happen, but doesn’t make the show any less suspenseful or surprising for you) and what is known as a Chekhov’s Gun (don’t include useless or pointless things in the plot; if a detail, no matter how seemingly insignificant is mentioned or shown, it must have a purpose that is relevant to what will happen in the story).

Pay attention to all the details

The Conflict movie really makes you pay attention to all the little details because they can serve as very important clues to help you figure things out. For example, who would have thought that something as seemingly insignificant as a flower would have any bearing on the plot of this film or that it actually had any use aside from simply being a flower?

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Importance of a flower in Conflict

Near the beginning of the movie, Richard and Kathryn attend a party to celebrate their 5th wedding anniversary. Doctor Mark Hamilton (played by Sydney Greenstreet), a very good friend of theirs, gives Kathryn a flower, a rose, as a gift.

This flower is quickly forgotten and even the audience wouldn’t think much of it since it’s just a rose and how could it be important or even relevant to the plot? At first glance, it seemed that the only purpose of this flower was so that Doctor Hamilton could give Kathryn a gift.

But, later on, we see the appearance of yet another rose. Kathryn is on the way to a mountain resort, but she visits the doctor first before heading to her destination. Doctor Hamilton gives her a rose before she leaves. At this point, viewers wouldn’t think much of this gesture at all since we previously saw how the doctor gave Kathryn a flower in an earlier scene.

So it’s not strange or odd to see the doctor doing the same thing again. In fact, this act seems perfectly natural and, in the face of the events that soon follow, is quickly forgotten and deemed too unimportant to even be something that one should dwell on.

Who would have thought that this rose was actually very significant and would play an important role in getting Richard Mason apprehended as the criminal who killed his wife?

Richard said that his wife was wearing the rose flower the last time he saw her, but he shouldn’t have seen or even known about this because Kathryn only got that rose from Doctor Hamilton after she left Richard in their house and went off to see the doctor before heading for the mountain resort.


*Notes:
- Image with added text was modified by Freya Yuki (CC:BY-SA) based on the image by hayashinomura (CC:BY-SA) from deviantArt
- Rose in the image is meant to symbolize the rose flower that became an important clue in the movie
- Second pic is from Amazon.com; link shown above
- YouTube video features the Conflict trailer