Jan 21st
Love Happy*
US 1949. Lester Cowan/Mary Pickford. 82m. bw

The trail of the missing Romanov diamonds leads to a struggling Broadway theatre company.
Lacklustre comedy, especially for these famous comics, falling back on their old theatrical routines rather more than usual, and with several musical interludes, only some of which are worth the time. Some bright and imaginative moments, including Marilyn's pre-stardom cameo with Groucho, who is noticeably relegated to the role of narrator - the film was originally intended as a vehicle for Harpo alone.

Written by: Frank Tashlin, Mac Benoff.
Producer: Lester Cowan.
Director: David Miller.
Starring: Harpo Marx, Chico Marx, Groucho Marx, Ilona Massey, Vera-Ellen, Marion Hutton, Paul Valentine, Melville Cooper, Raymond Burr, Eric Blore, Marilyn Monroe.
Photography: William Mellor.
Music: Alan Ronell.

INTERMISSION: Ipswich Film Theatre

As this blog space is usually reserved for film reviews and not essays on the buildings in which they are shown, this is something of a diversion, but one that needs to be heard. A great many of those films featured on this page have been shown at the Ipswich Film Theatre (a former member of the BFI) within the town's Corn Exchange. The IFT offers a diverse selection of thoughtful, artistic and sometimes provocative films that have the additional benefit of quality over commercialism.

Or used to, until the spring of 2007.

The newly elected Conservative council has decreed that the IFT is not making enough of a profit to warrant its previous status as an "arthouse" cinema, and that the venue should be more viable towards commercially-oriented fare. In truth, the rumblings of change had been threatening for a while, with admission prices steadily rising and the arrival in the late 1990s of a Virgin Multiplex (now Cineworld) which has also decided to show foreign films (that they are more at liberty to do, being a much larger company) to try and snatch away from the IFT's audience.

Goya's Ghosts, the last film I saw at the old IFT.

Step forward Hollywood Cinemas, a locally-based cinema chain who have - to their credit - revived the community spirit of cinemagoing in many rural parts of East Anglia, and who were the successful bidders to own the Ipswich Film Theatre.

It would be nice to report that their initiative has allowed the IFT to prosper and grow into bigger and better things, but the quality of films now on display is on the whole, pretty much the same as in the average multiplex. So instead of weekends watching The Seventh Seal, The Wind That Shakes the Barley, Downfall, 21 Grams, Vera Drake, Winged Migration, Spirited Away, The Pianist, Mrs Henderson Presents, Rabbit Proof Fence, and many others, we now have The Simpsons Movie, Ratatouille, The Golden Compass and Transformers. The blockbusters are all very well, but the "cultural" films are elbowed onto out-of-the-way dates in the middle of the week when it is that much harder to find an audience.

One of the last films on the old IFT programme was appropriately, a film on the life of Edith Piaf, singing "Non, Je Ne Regrette Rien." Equally appropriately, the first film I saw at the venue was also French, Louis Malle's superb childhood war memoir Au Revoir les Enfants. Watching such films opened my eyes to a form of cinema that demonstrates how the medium can inform and entertain.

Quality matters.

It is a general reflection on the state of cinema today that the dumbest of films from America can be seen at practically any cinema in the world, and yet films made with an intelligent viewpoint are given next to no chance to be seen at all. This suits the distributors and the production companies (who can shovel the film out onto DVD soon enough) just fine, but cheats cinema audiences.

Outside of London, such outlets need to be kept alive – Cinema City in Norwich still keeps the flag flying for intelligent, foreign-based films, but being a local in Colchester, this makes it almost as far for me to travel – if not further – than London.

Whether or not the Hollywood IFT can continue in this vein is open to doubt, especially with the Cineworld drumming up continued big business – including the acquisition of more foreign films than the IFT can manage. They are fighting a losing battle I fear, not only to retain their original integrity, but also in trying to compete with commercial cinema, for which a cosy venue like theirs is not really suited. Vive la difference!