What classics did you see last week ? (26 Apr - 02 May 2020)
May 5, 2020 0:52:05 GMT
teleadm, wmcclain, and 2 more like this
Post by marianne48 on May 5, 2020 0:52:05 GMT
O'Shaughnessy's Boy (1935)--Tearjerking vehicle for Wallace Beery and Jackie Cooper, who were so successful as a team in other films that the studio kept pairing them, much to their discomfort--Cooper loathed working with Beery, mainly because Beery loathed working with children and was hostile and abusive towards them while working with them (he wasn't all that nice to adults, either). Some contrived drama, with some scary and disturbing scenes of circus elephants and tigers being tormented to put on a show. Beery provides some solid acting, and Cooper provides lots of teary scenes. Clarence Muse,
usually relegated to tiny roles as servants, gets a more expanded supporting role here as Beery's assistant. Okay drama for Jackie Cooper fans.
Shall We Dance? (1996)--A genuine "feel-good" comedy/drama about a bored Japanese accountant suffering through a mid-life crisis who, on a lark, signs up for ballroom dance lessons. Lots of funny scenes and lots of dancing adds up to an enjoyable viewing experience. Remade (unnecessarily) in English years later with Richard Gere and Jennifer Lopez; skip that one and see the original.
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1958)--Somewhat sanitized, but still entertaining Southern gothic drama about two sons reuniting at the home of their parents
to visit their ailing father, "Big Daddy" (Burl Ives). Paul Newman is the troubled son who has to deal with his problematic relationship with his wife (Elizabeth Taylor), his conflicts with his father, and his greedy, grasping brother and sister-in-law (Jack Carson and Madeleine Sherwood). There's lots of heated arguing, accusations, and MENDACITY! Great performances by everyone, and lots of melodrama. The issue of Newman's homosexuality was considered too risque for 1950s audiences, and it's replaced by a clumsily contrived story about his male friend and his wife which doesn't really work, and the ending is
too neatly wrapped up. But otherwise, the tension among the characters is well done, and everyone has a chance to chew the scenery. Burl Ives is excellent, and Madeleine Sherwood as the scheming, brown-nosing "Sister Woman" is perfectly venomous. Her brood of children, or as Taylor refers to them, the "no-neck monsters," are the creepiest group of kids ever seen in a movie outside of Village of the Damned. Highly recommended.
The Long, Hot Summer (1958)--Long, but not so hot. Another Southern gothic drama about a family with a domineering patriarch, it doesn't quite pull together as well as Cat..., but it has some interesting moments. Paul Newman insinuates himself into a powerful Southern family and intrigues everyone, especially Joanne Woodward, and there's a promise of some heated interplay between them. But strangely, despite the fact that they were already a couple in real life, they don't have all that much chemistry onscreen. Anthony Franciosa is the neglected son who can't seem to please his father, another "Big Daddy" type played by Orson Welles. Unlike Ives, who made his Big Daddy human as well as overbearing, Welles (about 20 years too young for the part) hams it up and turns the role into a caricature--an obese, bragging windbag who mumbles nonsense while lumbering around in fake hair and a thick mask of orange pancake makeup (now really, nobody looks or talks like this in real life, right?) Lee Remick and Angela Lansbury aren't given much to do in their roles, and there's an unbelievable dramatic turn between Franciosa and Welles which defies logic. Worth seeing for the actors, but not as compelling as the other Newman film.
usually relegated to tiny roles as servants, gets a more expanded supporting role here as Beery's assistant. Okay drama for Jackie Cooper fans.
Shall We Dance? (1996)--A genuine "feel-good" comedy/drama about a bored Japanese accountant suffering through a mid-life crisis who, on a lark, signs up for ballroom dance lessons. Lots of funny scenes and lots of dancing adds up to an enjoyable viewing experience. Remade (unnecessarily) in English years later with Richard Gere and Jennifer Lopez; skip that one and see the original.
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1958)--Somewhat sanitized, but still entertaining Southern gothic drama about two sons reuniting at the home of their parents
to visit their ailing father, "Big Daddy" (Burl Ives). Paul Newman is the troubled son who has to deal with his problematic relationship with his wife (Elizabeth Taylor), his conflicts with his father, and his greedy, grasping brother and sister-in-law (Jack Carson and Madeleine Sherwood). There's lots of heated arguing, accusations, and MENDACITY! Great performances by everyone, and lots of melodrama. The issue of Newman's homosexuality was considered too risque for 1950s audiences, and it's replaced by a clumsily contrived story about his male friend and his wife which doesn't really work, and the ending is
too neatly wrapped up. But otherwise, the tension among the characters is well done, and everyone has a chance to chew the scenery. Burl Ives is excellent, and Madeleine Sherwood as the scheming, brown-nosing "Sister Woman" is perfectly venomous. Her brood of children, or as Taylor refers to them, the "no-neck monsters," are the creepiest group of kids ever seen in a movie outside of Village of the Damned. Highly recommended.
The Long, Hot Summer (1958)--Long, but not so hot. Another Southern gothic drama about a family with a domineering patriarch, it doesn't quite pull together as well as Cat..., but it has some interesting moments. Paul Newman insinuates himself into a powerful Southern family and intrigues everyone, especially Joanne Woodward, and there's a promise of some heated interplay between them. But strangely, despite the fact that they were already a couple in real life, they don't have all that much chemistry onscreen. Anthony Franciosa is the neglected son who can't seem to please his father, another "Big Daddy" type played by Orson Welles. Unlike Ives, who made his Big Daddy human as well as overbearing, Welles (about 20 years too young for the part) hams it up and turns the role into a caricature--an obese, bragging windbag who mumbles nonsense while lumbering around in fake hair and a thick mask of orange pancake makeup (now really, nobody looks or talks like this in real life, right?) Lee Remick and Angela Lansbury aren't given much to do in their roles, and there's an unbelievable dramatic turn between Franciosa and Welles which defies logic. Worth seeing for the actors, but not as compelling as the other Newman film.