Wonderland Burlesque

Thursday, January 15, 2026

Wonderland Burlesque's Let's Go To The Movies: Face Time, Part I

Wonderland Burlesque's

Let's Go To The Movies:

Face Time

Part I

That look, that face...

It's all in the face. It can be read like a book. Or so these films would have us believe.

The silver screen has been home to so many beautiful (and not-so-beautiful) faces, lighting up the dark, showing us the way, sharing celluloid dreams. It seems only fitting that we take them at their word and look a these films one face at a time.

Yes, these faces may belong to a bygone era, but in the movies?

A face lives forever.

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Face To Face

(1922)

At the same time as John Weston commits suicide, burglar Bert Manners is panicked and shoots his own reflection in the mirror. When Manners is arrested for murder, a schoolgirl friend of the dead man becomes a detective to prove him innocent of the killing.

Marguerite Marsh

Distributed by the independent company Playgoers Pictures, this American silent mystery was directed by Harry Grossman and stars Marguerite Marsh, Edna Holman and Coit Albertson.

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Face To Face

(1952)

Two stories. In the first, a sea captain has to conceal a man's presence aboard ship from his crew. In the second, a Wild West lawman has to deal with a troublemaker bent on bloodshed before he can concentrate on matrimony.

This is an American anthology film adapted from the stories The Secret Sharer by Joseph Conrad and The Bride Comes to Yellow Sky by Stephen Crane.

The Bride Comes to Yellow Sky was adapted by James Agee, was directed by Bretaigne Windust, and stars Robert Preston, Marjorie Steele, and Minor Watson.

The Secret Sharer was adapted by Æneas MacKenzie, directed by John Brahm, and stars James Mason and Gene Lockhart.

Screenwriter Agee also appears in The Bride Comes to Yellow Sky as the town drunk.

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Face To Face

1963

AKA: Licem u lice, Twarza w twarz

At a routine workers' council meeting, a few brave workers stand against a corrupt manager. This movie was one of the first to speak out against the Yugoslavian socio-political system with some criticism.

This Yugoslavian political film was directed by Branko Bauer and stars Ilija Džuvalekovski, Husein Čokić, and Vladimir Popović.

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Face To Face

1967

AKA: Cara a Cara

The story of a civil servant who lives with his elderly mother. Falling in love with a corrupt politician's young and rich daughter, he abandons himself to his obsession, resulting in crazy and violent situations.

This Brazilian suspense drama was directed by Julio Bressane and stars Helena Ignez and Antero de Oliveira.

Julio Bressane

Film debut of Antero de Oliveira and Julio Bressane's directorial debut.

Helena Ignez

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Face To Face

(1967)

AKA: Faccia a faccia, Cara a cara Halleluja, and

der Teufel lässt Euch grüßen

History Professor Brad Fletcher heads west for his health, but falls in with Soloman Bennett's outlaw gang. Fascinated by their way of life, Fletcher finally takes over the gang, leading with a new 'efficient' ruthlessness.

This Italian/Spanish international co-production Spaghetti Western was co-written and directed by Sergio Sollima and stars Gian Maria Volonté, Tomas Milian, and William Berger.

This is the second of Sollima's three Westerns, following The Big Gundown and predating Run, Man, Run, a sequel to the former. Milian stars in a lead role in all three films. Upon release, the film was interpreted by many Italian film critics as a parable on the rise of fascism in Europe.

Gian Maria Volontè and Tomas Milian frequently clashed on-set due to their political beliefs - Volontè was an outspoken communist, while Milian had left his home country (Cuba) as Fidel Castro came into power. To build their onscreen chemistry, Sergio Sollima intentionally provoked the two actors into engaging in boxing matches against each other.

A major success at the European box office, Face to Face has received praise from critics and scholars of the Spaghetti Western genre for its story and acting, although some criticism has been leveled at the execution of Fletcher's character arc. Sollima considered it to be one of the best and most personal of the films he directed.

Sergio Sollima was inspired to write and direct a film that dealt with the exchange of moral values between two characters based on his experiences in fighting with the anti-fascist resistance during World War II. He witnessed acts of courage committed by young children with minimal life experience, and acts of cowardice committed by once-brave men. Sollima later expressed that this film was a personal favorite of the films he made.

The musical score is by Ennio Morricone.

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Face To Face

(1976)

AKA: Ansikte mot ansikte

With her husband Eric at a medical congress in Chicago and their fourteen year-old daughter at riding camp for the summer, psychiatrist Dr. Jenny Isaksson has emptied out their old house while their new house is being built. In the interim, she has moved in with her grandparents, into the house in which she grew up, having temporarily assumed the role of senior physician at a psychiatric hospital. She is having a casual, meaningless affair with a man named Martin, while she believes that Tomas Jacobi, who she meets at a party, is also interested in her sexually. The two become friends and frequent companions. During her stay, Jenny watches her grandmother lovingly take care of her ailing grandfather, recalling her childhood with her grandparents. She also spends more time with Tomas, all the while processing an event associated with one of her more severe cases; that of a young woman named Maria. Jenny, in a fragile mental state, begins to have a nervous breakdown. In a semi-lucid state while conscious, and in semi-consciousness when she dreams, Jenny struggles to process her fragile mental state, desperately trying to determine if she is better off alive or dead.

This Swedish psychological drama was written and directed by Ingmar Bergman and stars Liv Ullmann and Erland Josephson.

The film was originally conceived and shown as a four-part mini-series, with an additional 46 minutes of footage. It was cut down to 135 minutes for the theatrical release.

Film debut of Lena Olin.

Critic Vincent Canby was highly favorable and wrote, "Mr. Bergman is more mysterious, more haunting, more contradictory than ever, though the style of the film has never been more precise, clear, levelheaded." While Roger Ebert called it "confused and sometimes overwrought", awarding it three out of four stars. He also lauded Ullmann's performance as "one of the greatest performances in an Ingmar Bergman film".

Face to Face was nominated for Best Foreign Language Film by the U.S. National Board of Review. It received nominations at the Academy Awards for Best Actress (Ullmann) and Best Director (Bergman). Ullmann was nominated by BAFTA in the Best Actress category. She was also named Best Actress by the New York Film Critics Circle Awards, the National Board of Review and the Los Angeles Film Critics Association, with the film winning Best Foreign Language Film from the latter. It was also named by the Golden Globes as their Best Foreign Language Film of the year, with Ullmann being nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Drama.