Crazed Fruit – Strange name, great film. This
1956 offering from director Ko Nakahira takes its name from a slang term for
the post-WWII generation of spoiled Japanese youth. Fruit tells the story of 2
brothers and the girl that one, then the other falls in love with. The problem
is, she isn’t what she seems to be. The film presents a group of young men who
live in a world of wealth, women, drinking and irresponsibility. It’s not by
accident that there doesn’t seem to be an adult close to them. The love between
the sober, younger Haruji and the beautiful Eri seems to be storybook stuff, but
unbeknownst to him, she is also involved with his worldly older brother. The
films conclusion is simply one of the greatest I’ve ever seen, and I guarantee
it will stay with you long after you see it. Highly recommended.
The
Purchase Price – Pre-code William Wellman tidbit from 1932 stars Barbara Stanwyck as a woman on
the run who becomes a mail-order bride for an uptight farmer. There isn’t much
to recommend here – The films' tension is supposed to be developed by whether
the farmer (George Brent) finally succumbs to Stanwycks charms. The problem is
there is no reason why she should love him – He has all the charm of a bowl of
cold porridge. This disc is part of the series of pre-code “naughty” films, but
this one is a bit on the tame side. The only bit that is kind of clever is a
scene that Stanwyck does on a train with 3 other mail order brides. The
conversation is funny in that silly double entrendre way, and the fact that one
of the women is eating a banana is surely not a co-incidence. Not really
recommended, however.
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