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Post by Nalkarj on Mar 31, 2019 4:36:48 GMT
As we speak (or, more accurately, I type), I’m watching a little-known ’30s whodunit called The Night Club Lady (’32), with Adolphe Menjou as NY Police Commissioner Thatcher Colt. I’ve seen the sequel, The Circus Queen Murder, which wasn’t very good, and I’ve wanted to see this one for a long time. So far it’s been much better. The direction by Irving Cummings is flashy (in a good way) and lightning-fast, like Curtiz’s for The Kennel Murder Case, and the script (by Capra scribe Robert Riskin) is delightfully witty. An interesting plot, too: Mayo Methot’s nightclub owner is being warned that she’ll die at midnight, yet despite an armed police guard around her, she still dies about the appointed hour. I’m 35 min., 52 sec., into it, and my money is on the suspicious doctor as the killer. But he seems a bit too obvious. Skeets Gallagher and Nat Pendleton are also in it—great to see them, as always. And Ruthelma Stevens is great as Menjou’s policewoman sidekick. Will chime in again when I finish it. One weird thing is that some scenes look like washed-out two-color Technicolor.
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Post by kijii on Mar 31, 2019 5:09:41 GMT
The Quiet American (1958) / Joseph L. Mankiewicz Recorded from TCM
This is my third viewing of this B&W version of the movie that was filmed, in part, in Saigon and Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. The American (Audie Murphy): I'm from a country that's been in existence for less than two hundred years, in a very old world. That same fifty years ago, we were barely taken seriously as a nation, much less a great force for wisdom and decision. But suddenly now, a watch tick of history later, the world waits angrily for us to provide the answers it hasn't been able to find in fifty centuries.
Thomas Fowler (Michael Redgrave) : Do you got a cigarette? The American (Audie Murphy) : Keep the pack. I've got some more. Thomas Fowler : [Angrily] I asked for one cigarette, not economic aid. I don't want to be impressed by how many packs you've got! [He slaps the pack away] Full TCM Synopsis with SPOILERS: In 1952 Saigon, Vietnam during Chinese New Year celebrations, the body of a young American is found on a river bank. Anxious when the American misses a scheduled meeting, British reporter Thomas Fowler leaves his apartment to look for him, but is summoned to police headquarters by French Inspector Vigot, who is investigating the murder. Vigot inquires about Fowler's meeting and asks if he can verify that Fowler's former girl friend, the beautiful Phuong, and the American are engaged. Fowler is unwilling to discuss Phuong, but admits knowing that the American is a member of Friends of Free Asia, an organization that distributes aid in the form of medicine and food. When Fowler asks if the American is dead, Vigot asks Fowler to identify the body. After confirming that the dead man is the American, Fowler remains in the morgue and recalls one of his first meetings with the American a few months earlier: Over drinks with Phuong, Fowler's local informant Dominguez and the American Fowler cynically dismisses the seriousness of the war being fought in the north between French colonial forces and the Communists, and the American's observation that the Vietnamese should rule themselves. Dominguez, who has just returned from the north, advises Fowler to visit the region. The American invites Fowler and Phuong to the Rendez-Vous restaurant, where the American is distressed by the hired female escorts, choosing instead to dance with Phoung. Fowler is joined by Phuong's sister, Miss Hei, who inquires about the American's financial background. A week later Fowler travels to the north and is surprised when he meets the American, who has been picked up by the military for roaming in the region. The American admits that he braved Communist lines to confess to Fowler that he has fallen in love with Phuong. Fowler scoffs at the American's determination to marry Phuong, but admits that he could never marry her himself because he is already married and his wife's religion forbids divorce. After the American departs, Fowler receives a telegram informing him that he has been promoted to a London post as head foreign editor. Fowler spends the next two weeks covering the war in the north, but remains anxious about Phuong and the American. Upon returning to Saigon, Fowler learns from Dominguez that the American has been receiving shipments of plastics, in addition to the medical supplies for his mission. Fowler also discovers that the American has been with Phuong constantly, but always in the company of Miss Hei. Later, the American, accompanied by his Boxer dog Duke, visits Fowler and Phuong to inform Fowler of his sincerity regarding Phuong. Put off by the American's guilelessness, Fowler challenges him about the plastic shipments, but the American insists that he is helping make children's toys for Chinese New Year. The American asks Fowler for assistance in speaking with Phuong, as he speaks no French or Vietnamese and she does not understand English, and Fowler grudgingly translates the American's proposal of marriage to Phuong. After the American departs, Fowler writes a letter to his wife pleading for a divorce. Several days later, in the countryside, Fowler and other journalists watch the religious ceremony of the Cao-Dai sect and interview the sect's military commandant. The American is present and asks Fowler for a ride back to the city before nightfall when the Communist bombings begin. When Fowler's car runs out of gas at dusk, the two men are forced to seek sanctuary in a guardhouse with two Vietnamese sentries. There, Fowler and the American discuss politics, but the Englishman dismisses the American's hopes for another option for Vietnam other than deteriorating French colonialism or Communism. Near dawn, when the guardhouse is threatened by an approaching Communist army tank, Fowler and the American flee. After Fowler injures his ankle, the American hides with him in a rice paddy, then goes for help. A few days later, as Fowler is leaving the hospital for treatment of his broken ankle, he receives a response from his wife refusing his divorce request. When Phuong asks about the letter, Fowler tells her that his wife has agreed to the divorce and later repeats the lie to the American. Afterward, Dominguez visits Fowler to recommend that he speak with a Chinese acquaintance who has vital information. Fowler agrees and is taken to Mr. Heng, who admits to being a Communist, but nevertheless asserts his confidence that Fowler is neutral and a fair reporter. Heng then shows Fowler an American-labeled, empty can of plastic and cracked plastic moldings. The following day, the American confronts Fowler in a restaurant, revealing that Phuong took the letter from Fowler's wife to her sister for translation and discovered his deception. That afternoon, Heng meets Fowler in town to show him several bicycles carrying plastic tire pumps that match the moldings distributed by the American. Unsettled, Fowler returns to his apartment and, finding no sign of Phuong, realizes she has left him for the American. Soon after, several bicycles explode in the city square, seriously injuring many people. Fowler comes upon the American dispensing medical aid and, believing the American has provided the explosive-bearing plastic pumps to forces supporting an independent Vietnam, berates him. When Fowler rages about the American's naïve political actions to Heng, Heng offers to get rid of him and suggests that Fowler set up a late dinner date with the American that night. That afternoon at Fowler's request, the American and his dog visit and Fowler accuses him of political meddling. The American denies the accusation, explaining a prominent Vietnamese he met at Princeton University spurred his interest in Vietnam. The American reveals that he has been recalled to America and is taking Phuong with him, then agrees to meet Fowler for a late dinner. In the present, Fowler leaves the morgue to tell Phuong that the American is dead. The next day Vigot takes Fowler to the American's apartment and reveals that he knows that Fowler lied about last seeing the American in the square after the bomb blasts. He explains that Duke was found dead near the American's body and that cement on his paws matched fresh cement poured at Fowler's building on the afternoon of the murder. When Fowler attempts to explain the American's misguided activities, Vigot states that Fowler's jealousy of the American has been manipulated by the Communists to help get rid of the American. Fowler is stunned when Vigot reveals that Heng is the chief of a Communist assassination committee and Dominguez is a long-time Communist stooge. Vigot then gives the reporter a telegram from Fowler's wife that was found on Dominguez. In the telegram, Fowler's wife agrees to the divorce, prompting Fowler to go in search of Phuong. To his dismay, he finds her working as an escort girl at the Rendez-Vous, and despite his declarations that he has turned down his new posting and will marry her, Phuong rejects him.
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Post by Nalkarj on Mar 31, 2019 5:09:50 GMT
Wow. Well, I didn’t guess the murderer. Several plot points (and identity of killer) close to The Phantom of Crestwood, curiously enough. Not sure if there are any positive clues to this person’s identity, though.
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Post by Lebowskidoo 🦞 on Mar 31, 2019 16:31:47 GMT
Down By Law (1986) Jim Jarmusch wrote and directed this in black and white. It really gets rolling along once Roberto Benigni comes along. This man is just hilarious to me, especially when he can't speak any english and is put in jail with Zack and Jack and gets them confused, while bumming a cigarette and having the hiccups!
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Post by Prime etc. on Mar 31, 2019 18:31:23 GMT
WOMEN IN CHAINS 1972--as a tv movie it cannot go into the exploitation territory that is usually the case with such things--there is a brief conversation about doing favors for a prison official which is about as explicit as it gets. The tortures of prison life are things like being forced to clean talcum powder off a wall with a tooth brush. However, thanks to the veteran cast it keeps you glued despite the predictable and bland aspects. Lois Nettleton is a face I vaguely recognize but I can't think of her from any specific role--looks like she did a ton of tv and a few movies. Very effective as the do-gooder parole officer who goes undercover in a women's prison to get evidence against sadistic (what else?) prison guard Ida Lupino (we are told she turned down administrative jobs because she prefers working on the floor).
THE MAN FROM HONG KONG 1975 --wall to wall kung fu action film. Jimmy Wang Yu lacks the intensity and grace of Bruce Lee in fight scenes but he does some crazy stunt work like hanging outside of buildings--although George Lazenby has the most surprising action scene where his back is set on fire and he struggles to fight while trying to remove his blazing coat. I would never do it myself but that was quite a neat opening sequence with the handglider flying into Hong Kong.
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Post by louise on Apr 1, 2019 13:15:34 GMT
The Flirting Widow (1930). Odd but quite amusing comedy about a girl called Celia who pretends to have a fiancée so her younger sister can get married (their father won't let the younger sister marry before the older sister). Celia invents a fiancée who is a soldier, a Colonel Smith, fighting overseas, and once her sister is married she kills him off, placing an advertisement of his death in the paper. Meanwhile though a real Colonel Smith (Basil Rathbone) has received the love letter she wrote him (her sister posted it without Celia's knowledge), and becoming interested, decides to visit Celia. When he arrives and finds Colonel smith is supposed to be dead, he pretends to be Colonel Smith's friend. Naturally this is a great shock to Celia,and it all gets very complicated. Basil Rathbone is excellent in this not typical light comedy role.
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Post by Lebowskidoo 🦞 on Apr 1, 2019 14:45:21 GMT
Metropolis (1927) Fritz Lang's silent masterpiece with Giorgio Moroder's soundtrack, a real feast for the senses.
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Post by kijii on Apr 2, 2019 6:48:07 GMT
The File on Thelma Jordon (1950) / Robert Siodmak Rented from Amazon Prime
I actually sought out this movie after playing the recent Barbara Stanwyck Garth Game.
It is an interesting to have a film-noir in which the Assistant District Attorney, Cleve Marshall (Wendell Corey), has to prosecute his own mistress, Thelma Jordon (Barbara Stanwyck), in a murder trial. However, I would have preferred more trial scenes to uncover the mystery rather than the way this movie was structured. Also, the way in which Corey and Stanwyck meet seems too clumsy and contrived. So, the story idea seems interesting, but the movie fails to deliver the knock out I might have wished for in a situation like this. Of course, nothing comes close to Stanwyck's performance in Billy Wilder's Double Indemnity, so she will always be the ultimate femme fatale for that movie in my book.
Thelma Jordon (Barbara Stanwyck) : I'm no good for any man for any longer than a kiss!
Full TCM Synopsis with SPOILERS: Assistant district attorney Cleve Marshall goes on a drunken binge and misses celebrating his anniversary with his wife Pamela. Left alone in chief investigator Miles Scott's office, Cleve drunkenly pursues Thelma Jordon, an alluring and confident woman, who is reporting an attempted burglary at her elderly aunt Vera's house. Thelma agrees to join Cleve for a drink after he offers to fix a parking ticket for her. He stays with her until late that night, when she throws him out of her car for proclaiming his love. The next day, Cleve proffers an apology and meets Thelma for dinner, as Pamela and their children have taken up their usual summer residency at the beach. Cleve is drawn to Thelma, who confesses she is lonely, and agrees to see her again. Unknown to Cleve, Thelma is also seeing a shadowy character named Tony Laredo, but once she has started dating Cleve regularly, she lies that she is in a loveless marriage with Tony. One night, Vera is shot and killed while investigating a noise in her house, and Thelma is delayed in picking up Cleve for a weekend holiday. Cleve, who uses a pseudonym, calls the house shortly after Vera is shot, and Vera's butler listens on the extension as Thelma urges Cleve to come immediately. After Cleve arrives, Thelma admits that she tried to cover up the murder, because she once wrote to Tony about Vera's expensive emerald necklace and fears he may have killed her. Cleve insists that Thelma restore her fingerprints to the room, and ducks out just as the butler enters. Cleve retreats to the beach house with Pamela, who forces him to admit that he is having an affair. Cleve is called to help investigate Vera's murder, and suspicion soon falls on Thelma, who begs Cleve to prosecute the case in order to protect her. Apparently unaware of Thelma and Cleve's indiscretion, Miles is unable to identify Thelma's mysterious caller, who has been dubbed "Mr. X," and who was seen by the butler leaving the crime scene. Based on Thelma's fingerprints, the recovered jewels, and a newly rewritten will which favors Thelma, a grand jury indicts her for Vera's murder. Cleve anonymously hires lawyer Kingsley Willis to defend Thelma, and cleverly arranges for the disqualification of the district attorney, so that he will be made prosecuting attorney. During the trial, Cleve purposely antagonizes the jury in order to lose the case. Although the trial exposes Thelma's sordid past--the gambling, blackmail and illicit relationship with Tony--it fails to sway Cleve's love. Willis makes a convincing case for Thelma's innocence, and "Mr. X" is never identified as Cleve. After the trial, Thelma immediately packs to leave with Tony, who planned the robbery and now intends to live off Thelma's inheritance. Cleve pays Thelma a final visit, during which Tony forces her to admit that they set Cleve up, and that she murdered Vera. Tony knocks Cleve out and leaves with Thelma, but when Thelma attacks Tony with a hot cigarette lighter, their car crashes through a barrier over a cliff. As Thelma lies dying in the hospital, she admits the full truth to Miles, but still refuses to identify "Mr. X." Thelma dies, and Miles realizes that Cleve is "Mr. X." Having already given his resignation to the district attorney, Cleve bids Miles farewell, asking him to tell Pamela that he will see her later.
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Post by Lebowskidoo 🦞 on Apr 2, 2019 15:43:38 GMT
The April Fools (1969) Had to watch this yesterday. And of course, anything with Jack Lemmon is worthwhile seeing.
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Post by kijii on Apr 3, 2019 6:44:24 GMT
Ladies of Leisure (1930) / Frank Capra The TCM Collector's Choice - Frank Capra: The Early CollectionI plan to explore some of Capra's early movies, and this was my first of the set. It may have been Barbara Stanwyck's first "talkie"; I am not sure of that. In any case, Stanwyck shines in this early Capra movie. I love the way she can act, here, more though her actions and expressions than her words. Based on a play by David Belasco and adopted by Milton Herbert Gropper, this movie relates an unlikely love story between a scion of a wealthy railroad magnate, Jerry Strong (Ralph Graves) and a thinly disguised prostitute or call girl (lady of leisure), Kay Arnold (Barbara Stanwyck). Jerry is an aspiring painter who--thrown together with Kay after they both leave a party early--decides that she is a perfect model for a painting he is working on called "Hope." Working as a model for the painting, Kay is paid $2/hour just for posing and just looking upward. Jerry seems to see her only a model for his painting, but while posing, one can see that she is falling in love with him. (This could be a variation of the Pygmalion story told in a different fashion, because Jerry gradually does fall in love with Kay, but only after a few twists.) I wasn't too impressed with Ralph Graves' acting though. it seemed wooden whether he was happy or sad or disappointed; his acting just seemed too controlled. While working with Kay, Jerry attempts to remove her "physical masks" by removing her makeup: Jerry Strong (Ralph Graves): It's like a man I knew once. He was suspicious. Bitter, hard, cruel. All those things were written in his face, like a map of his life. He died. I saw him laid out. His face was a new face. It was fine, noble. There was peace in it. He was himself again. Do you see what I mean? Kay Arnold (Barbara Stanwyck): No. All I get out of it is, you got to die to find yourself. Not me. Not for two dollars an hour.
While watching this movie, I was also impressed with Marie Prevost (who died in 1937), Kay's comical, slightly overweight roommate, Dot. Kay Arnold (Barbara Stanwyck): I read somewhere in a book that you can't have your cake and eat it too. Dot Lamar (Marie Prevost): Aw, baloney! Sure you can have your cake and eat it. Kay Arnold : Yeah? How? Dot Lamar : Have two cakes!
Dot Lamar : [ordering at a restaurant] Oh, uh, and a cup of coffee. Waiter : Large or small? Dot Lamar : Do I look like a small cup of coffee?Full TCM Synopsis with SPOILERS: Jeff Strong, the artistic son of a railroad magnate, walks out of his own party when he begins to feel alienated from the revelers. While driving along the waterfront, Jerry sees the bedraggled figure of a woman rowing a boat and stops to offer her a ride back to town. The woman, Kay Arnold, a call girl, tells Jerry that she has also escaped from a party and promptly falls asleep on his shoulder. As she sleeps, Jerry envisions her as the embodiment of his painting "Hope," and offers her a job as his model. The next day at his studio, Jerry begins to argue with Kay about her artificial and hardened appearance when his fiancée, Claire Collins, and his friend, Bill Standish, arrive. Bill finds Kay attractive just the way she is, and invites her to accompany him to Havana, but Kay has fallen in love with Jerry and begins to mold herself to please him. Soon frustrated by Jerry's constant criticisms, she lashes out at him, but later that evening she finally strikes the pose that he wants, and he paints into the night. When Kay collapses from exhaustion, Jerry insists that she sleep on his sofa, but the two spend a wakeful night of longing for each other. The next morning, Kay and Jerry are on the verge of declaring their love for each other when Mr. Strong appears and orders his son to stop seeing Kay. When Jerry refuses to follow his father's orders, Mr. Strong threatens to disown him. Disregarding his father's threat, Jerry decides to marry Kay and move to Arizona, but before they can leave, Mrs. Strong visits Kay and begs her to give Jerry up. Mrs. Strong's emotional plea touches Kay, and she agrees to forsake Jerry, then makes plans to go to Havana with Bill. As Kay leaves with Bill, her roommate, Dot Lamar, runs to tell Jerry that his mother has driven Kay away. Because the elevator man will not let her go up to Jerry's apartment unannounced, and cannot announce her because Jerry is on the phone, Dot must run up the twenty flights of stairs to his penthouse. By the time the overweight Dot arrives at Jerry's penthouse, Kay's ship has sailed, and Kay has decided to end her life by plunging into the icy water. After she jumps, however, she is rescued by a tugboat and awakens to find Jerry at her bedside.
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Post by teleadm on Apr 3, 2019 17:27:51 GMT
The Concorde... Airport '79 1979, directed by David Lowell Rich, starring Alain Delon, Susan Blakely, Robert Wagner, Sylvia Kristel, George Kennedy, Eddie Albert, Bibi Andersson, Charro, John Davidson, Andrea Marcovicci, Martha Raye, Cicely Tyson, Jimmy Walker, David Warner, Mercedes McCambridge and others. Disaster drama. A newly required supersonic Concorde airplane on it's maiden journey from Washington to Moscow, via Paris, have all kinds of disasters, or is someone shooting rockets and missiles at them? and why? A year after this movie came the parody Airplane! 1980 and effectively killed off this series of Airport movies that started in 1970, and this Concorde movie was one movie too many. The whole plot of Concorde is so incredibly preposterous, I couldn't help thinking that it was meant as a parody, but someone thought they should make it into a serious disaster movie instead. Why Alain Delon did this movie is anyone's guess. Charro, a personality I know very little about, thankfully only apperas in one short scene. David Warner plays a nice character for once. It's really bad! and only for those who just have to see all four movies.
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Post by kijii on Apr 4, 2019 5:00:13 GMT
American Madness (1932) / Frank Capra Rented from Amazon PrimeThis is an action-filled drama about a bank and banker, Thomas A. Dickson (Walter Huston), as told during the early days of the Great Depression. Dickson has the integrity of Jefferson Smith [ Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939)] and the faith in the common man as Longfellow Deeds [ Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (1936)]. There is even a run on the bank similar to that in It's a Wonderful Life (1946) with Dickson playing a similar role as that of George Bailey. Dickson is caught up in a possible personal scandal and the problems of one of his favorite employees, Matt Brown (Pat O'Brien). Matt is accused of a crime but can't give Dickson an alibi for his whereabouts on the night that the bank is robbed and a bank guard is killed in the process.This is a good early Capra movie. It may seem a little dated, but it still has the emerging "Capra touch."
Full TCM Synopsis with SPOILERS: Union National Bank president Thomas Dickson is chastised by the bank's board of directors, who are upset about Dickson's generous lending practices. The directors also disapprove of Dickson's assertion that the way to end the Depression is to get more money into circulation, thereby enabling businesses to keep going. While the directors' meeting is going on, head cashier Cyril Cluett is threatened by gangster Dude Finlay for not paying his gambling debts. Finlay orders Cluett to help his gang rob the bank that night by making sure the safe is open. Cluett reluctantly agrees, and Finlay tells him to establish an alibi. After Finlay leaves, Dickson's wife Phyllis arrives, and when Dickson's secretary Helen tells her Dickson is busy, Phyllis goes to see Cluett. Because Phyllis is lonely and constantly ignored by her busy husband, Cluett asks her out to dinner that night. She turns him down, but goes with him anyway when Dickson forgets their anniversary and makes plans to be out of town. Head teller Matt Brown, who had seen Cluett's advances toward Phyllis, goes to Cluett's apartment that night to discuss the matter with him, and finds Phyllis, who agrees to leave with Matt. A few moments later, the bank is robbed and the guard killed by Finlay's gang. The next morning the robbery is discovered, and Matt, who is responsible for locking the safe, is arrested. In order to spare Phyllis' reputation, even though it will hurt his fiancée Helen, Matt lies to the police, telling them he was at home when the robbery occurred. His alibi is disproven, and while things grow worse for him, exaggerated reports of the robbery spread until a run on the bank begins. Dickson tries to calm the mob, but as they overwhelm him, the tellers inform him that they will soon run out of money. Dickson appeals to the directors, but they agree to help only if he resigns and gives them an option on his bank stock. He refuses, and while he is calling his friends for help, the police find out about Finlay's visit to Cluett, after which they quickly discover the identity of the robbers and release Matt. Dickson finds out that Phyllis was with Cluett, and, crushed by her apparent betrayal as well as his friends' refusals to aid him, he agrees to the directors' deal. Matt and Helen ask the bank clients into whom Dickson has put so much faith to return the favor and help Dickson by making deposits. As they begin to stream in, their deposits, in addition to Phyllis' pleas, prevent Dickson from committing suicide, and he emerges from his office to take control of the bank. The directors are inspired by the depositors' confidence and invest their own fortunes, which averts disaster. Everything soon returns to normal, and Dickson orders Matt and Helen to get married while he and Phyllis take a second honeymoon.
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Post by Prime etc. on Apr 4, 2019 5:17:40 GMT
A year after this movie came the parody Airplane! 1980 and effectively killed off this series of Airport movies that started in 1970, and this Concorde movie was one movie too many. The whole plot of Concorde is so incredibly preposterous, I couldn't help thinking that it was meant as a parody, but someone thought they should make it into a serious disaster movie instead. Why Alain Delon did this movie is anyone's guess. Charro, a personality I know very little about, thankfully only apperas in one short scene. David Warner plays a nice character for once. It's really bad! and only for those who just have to see all four movies. Ha yeah it does feel like it was meant as a joke. Warner is also a nice character in the 1990s The Lost World direct to video movie(s). I thought he made a good friendly rival for John Rhys-Davies.
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Post by teleadm on Apr 4, 2019 18:23:21 GMT
The Cincinnati Kid 1965, directed by Norman Jewison, based on a novel by Richard Jessup, starring Steve McQueen, Edward G. Robinson, Ann-Margret, Tuesday Weld, Karl Malden, Joan Blondell, Rip Torn, Jack Weston, Cab Calloway, Jeff Corey and others. Drama, New Orleans in the 1930s, "An up-and-coming poker player (McQueen) tries to prove himself in a high-stakes match against a long-time master of the game (Robinson)". How something as uninteresting as poker can be turned into an interesting and well played movie is amazing, and it really hangs on the actors, and they are what makes this a good and entertaining movie. Robinson is great as the old master, once again playing against some new hot shot, it's winning the games that keeps him going, money is only a bonus according to his character. Blondell is the sharp-tongued comic relief, great with dealing cards, who goes on and on talking about people they might remember who have died. McQueen told the screenwriters that he's better walkin' than talkin', so this role was tailor made for him, and hi fits it well. Ann-Margret is the femme fatale (nearly) of this piece, while Weld is the sweet girl from the country, and both roles are meaningfull to the story. Malden, Torn, Weston, Calloway and Corey all have meaningfull roles in the story. Real location shots from New Orleans also helps. This is a good entertaining movie that I like. There is a cockfighting scene that looked a bit too real for my taste. Lalo Schifrin's music score sound too funky to suit a movie that is supposed to take place in the 1930s. Ray Charles sings the end titles song.
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Post by teleadm on Apr 5, 2019 17:46:46 GMT
Goodbye, Mr. Chips 1939, directed by Sam Wood, based on a novel by James Hilton, starring Robert Donat, Greer Garson, Paul Henried (billed as Paul Von Hernried), Terry Kilburn, John Mills, Judith Furse, Lyn Harding, Milton Rosmer and many others. Drama where nn aged teacher and former headmaster of a boarding school recalls his career and his personal life over the decades. This is a nice movie, everyone is very English and polite, exept the schoolboys who do a few prank from time to time. Mr Chips actually didn't become a headmaster until after his retirement, when he was called back because during what we call now WWI, teachers kept on dying and there where holes to fill in eductation and leading. The sets are so very obvious painted background sets, but as this is told mostlty in flashback most of the time by an old man, it doesn't matter, since it's how he remembers it. The first time I watched this movie I didn't agree at all with Donat's old man make-up, but it's actually not that bad, though I don't understand the over-bushy moustache. I wish Donat had made more movies. Garson plays the big surprise in Chips life, the eternal bachelor fell in love, and the love was answered in Vienna. Recomended to anyone who like good old movies, with drama, comedy and some sentimentality, and yes eyes can get wet a few times. A very well told tale. Robert Donat won an Oscar, surprising since it was the year of Gone with the Wind, it was also nominated for Best Picture, Actress in a Leading Role (Garson), Director, Screenplay, Editing and Sound Recording.
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Post by kijii on Apr 5, 2019 17:57:16 GMT
^^I totally agree with you that The Cincinnati Kid (1965) is a great movie!! Since I am in sort of a Norman Jewison phase, I should give this movie another look.
The movie has some similarities to The Hustler (1964) in that they are both about gambling in high-steaks contests, but time, place, story, and stars all make the two movies totally different.
I think I once heard that Steve McQueen thought that he should have gotten as much attention as Paul Newman (in general). Is there any truth to this story? In any case, they were totally different actors playing their own great characters.
They finally did get to work together in The Towering Inferno (1974) with almost equal top billing. I think they worked well together in that movie. Quote from IMDb bio
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Post by teleadm on Apr 5, 2019 19:13:26 GMT
^^I totally agree with you that The Cincinnati Kid (1965) is a great movie!! Since I am in sort of a Norman Jewison phase, I should give this movie another look. The movie has some similarities to The Hustler (1964) in that they are both about gambling in high-steaks contests, but time, place, story, and stars all make the two movies totally different. I think I once heard that Steve McQueen thought that he should have gotten as much attention as Paul Newman (in general). Is there any truth to this story? In any case, they were totally different actors playing their own great characters. They finally did get to work together in The Towering Inferno (1974) with almost equal top billing. I think they worked well together in that movie. Quote from IMDb bio McQueen actually had a small role in Newman's Somebody Up There Likes Me 1956, ironically in a short pool hall sequence, pre The Hustler.
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Post by kijii on Apr 6, 2019 1:52:39 GMT
The Anderson Tapes (1971) / Sidney Lumet Rented from Amazon Prime
By the time huge star-studded movie was made, the complicated caper movie was fairly common. It did involve a lot of people, on both sides of the caper. But in the end, it was just another caper movie with some audio & video technology thrown in for interest. Here, we see Christopher Walken in his first leading role in a feature film and Margaret Hamilton in her last appearance. The leader of the caper is ex-cob 'Duke' Anderson (Sean Connery); his girlfriend is Ingrid Everly (which I hear as ever lay when she says her name in the movie); and the mob connection seems to be played by Alan King.
Anderson (Sean Connery) : What's advertising but a legalized con game? And what the hell's marriage? Extortion, prostitution, soliciting with a government stamp on it. And what the hell's your stock market? A fixed horse race. Some business guy steals a bank, he's a big success story. Face in all the magazines. Some other guy steals the magazine and he's busted.
The Kid (Christopher Walken): Is it right to steal from insurance companies? Anderson (Sean Connery) : Look, when you rob a guy who's got insurance, you're doing him a favor. You're giving him a little excitement in his life, a story to tell. He becomes a more interesting person because you robbed him. You boost the insurance company because the publicity gets people to buy insurance. You do the fuzz a favor because, well, you prove they're necessary and deserving of a big pay boost. The Kid : You believe that? Anderson : Its bullshit. It's just dog eat dog, but I want the first bite.
Full TCM Synopsis with SPOILERS: Released from prison after serving a ten-year sentence for robbery, unregenerate safecracker Robert "Duke" Anderson immediately seeks out his former mistress, Ingrid Everleigh, who resides in a luxury apartment house in New York's fashionable Upper East Side. Despite the building's television security system, Anderson develops a master plan to rob all the wealthy occupants on the same day, Labor Day. Unknown to Anderson and Ingrid, monitoring agency "Peace of Mind," hired by Ingrid's jealous benefactor Werner, has bribed doorman O'Leary to allow it to install monitoring equipment in the building's basement so that it can bug Ingrid's apartment. Later on the phone, Ingrid breaks up with Werner and tells Anderson that, although he can stay with her, she does not wish to know about the heist. Anderson then attempts to secure financing through his old connections to Mafioso Pat Angelo, but does not realize that Angelo is also being monitored by the Treasury Department because of his mob connections. Later, Anderson visits his old friend, antique dealer Tommy Haskins, who is also being secretly monitored by the FBI for fencing stolen goods, to ask him to assess and mark the targeted apartments' antiques. When Anderson goes to the apartment of Spencer, a black ex-convict, to hire him as a getaway driver, he is filmed by the building's surveillance cameras, which have been monitoring Spencer to see if he is associating with Black Panthers living in the building. As scheduled, days later, Tommy enters Ingrid's building claiming to O'Leary that the management has hired him to redecorate the halls. At the same time, electronics expert The Kid, who served prison time with Anderson, poses as an electrical repairman to gain access to the alarm system. Meanwhile, Spencer arrives with a mink stole to be delivered to Ingrid. O'Leary, suspicious of Spencer because he is black, escorts him to 2B, where Ingrid goes into the bedroom to try on the coat. Anderson, who is hiding in the bedroom, asks her to detain O'Leary for another eight minutes, leaving enough time for Tommy to finish gaining access to each apartment through his ingratiating manner. Later, Angelo arranges to meet with Anderson in his limousine during a funeral procession, but an IRS agent, dressed as toll booth taker, plants a device under the car, thus recording their conversation as Anderson explains to Angelo that the heist is worth several million dollars. Angelo, now trying to appear to be a respectable businessman, is torn between his allegiance to his old friend and his current life. Claiming that he needs the approval of elderly mob boss Papa Angelo, Angelo drives to Papa's mansion, leaving Anderson in the car. Angelo then debates out loud with himself about whether to support Anderson, as Papa, who is suffering from dementia, is unable to comprehend the situation. Meanwhile, the IRS has planted a pen with a concealed microphone on Papa's nurse, thus recording his description of Anderson's heist. Angelo finally agrees to give Anderson $17,000, on the condition that he take along hit man Socks Parelli and kill him during the heist. When the whole group meets later, Spencer threatens to leave because he fears the bigoted Socks, who has already threatened them, cannot be controlled. While Jimmy, whom Spencer has hired as another getaway driver, detains Socks outside, Anderson explains to Tommy, Spencer and The Kid that he must kill Socks as part of Angelo's deal. Though disturbed by the violence now involved, the three agree to go ahead. Soon after, Anderson returns to 2B to find Werner playing a recording of Anderson and Ingrid in bed. Werner insists that he have exclusive rights to Ingrid, and although Anderson offers to cancel the heist if she stays with him, Ingrid accepts Werner's arrangement for fear of losing her financial security. Werner tells Anderson that he will not interfere with the robbery, as a crushed Anderson leaves the apartment. On Labor Day, Anderson and the others steal a large moving truck and load a panel van and other equipment into it. They then pick up Tommy, Socks and William "Pop" Myer, another fellow ex-convict, whom Anderson hired out of pity for the old man, who has had trouble adjusting to civilian life after spending over thirty-five years behind bars. Arriving at the building, the thieves tie up O'Leary and put him in the basement, then station Pop, now wearing the doorman's uniform, at the front desk. Anderson and others, wearing masks, rob Dr. Rubicoff in his office, and then they rob Mrs. Hathaway, an elderly but spirited woman who is more excited about the adventure of the heist than her valuables or the well-being of her companion Miss Kaler. Soon after, Socks beats Rubicoff mercilessly, until Anderson stops him and then warns the victims that Socks will hurt them unless they do as he asks. Soon after in the Bingham apartment, Anderson discovers young Jerry Bingham, a paraplegic, behind a locked door. Assuming the child cannot move, Anderson leaves him alone, but Jerry alerts the police on his ham radio. Soon after, one of the tenants arrives with his boyfriend, prompting Anderson and The Kid to lead them at gunpoint to an apartment where the others are being held. Meanwhile, around the corner from the building, dozens of police, led by Captain Delaney, are waiting to apprehend the robbers. Wanting to flush out Anderson and the others, Delaney sends Sgt. Everson and several men to gain access from the roof. Meanwhile, when Anderson, now at the Longene apartment, the last on his list, threatens to hurt Logene's wife if he does not open his safe, the smug man refuses and then suggests to his horrified wife that she "be brave" in order to save their valuables. Desperate, Anderson calls in Socks, who easily convinces Logene that he will kill him. As they finish the job, Anderson hears Everson and his men's footsteps on the roof and races to lock the stairwell doors to prevent them from entering. Rushing to the apartment in which the victims are being held, Anderson looks outside, and seeing no pedestrians or cars on street, realizes that the police have stopped traffic and surrounded the building. Losing his nerve, Tommy decides to wait there and turn himself in. When Socks suggests they use the hostages as human shields, Anderson kills him. Alerted by the gunfire, Everson busts through the doors and, in the ensuing gunfight, wounds Anderson. The Kid, Jimmy and Spencer attempt to flee in the moving van, but the police kill them. Meanwhile, Anderson hides in the chimney in Ingrid's apartment, while Pop, tired of being in the outside world, turns himself over to Delaney in hopes of returning to prison. Hearing groans on the recording equipment in the basement, the police find Anderson in 2B and rush the badly wounded man into an ambulance. After the newspapers name Anderson in the attempted robbery, all the various agencies who monitored the people involved in the heist immediately have the tapes erased to avoid being prosecuted for obtaining evidence illegally.
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Post by ZolotoyRetriever on Apr 6, 2019 3:16:28 GMT
Millionaires in Prison (1940). Directed by Ray McCarey, with Lee Tracy, Raymond Walburn, Walter Conway, Thurston Hall, Chester Clute, Truman Bradley, Thomas E. Jackson, Shemp Howard. DVR'd from recent TCM telecast. 2nd-time viewing for me.
Fairly compelling, amusing, at times farcical story of 5 guys - all very well-off financially speaking - who get sent to prison. Two of the men are unwitting saps who got in legal trouble thanks to their crooked corporate lawyers and probably don't really belong in prison; two of the other men are greedy stock schemers who definitely do deserve to be in prison (and they even resume their phony stock peddling racket once they get behind prison walls); and the fifth guy, a young "society" doctor, who is being sent to prison for a drunk-driving accident he caused that left another man seriously injured. Once this interesting quintet of wrongdoers ends up in prison, the fun really begins, as the script is pretty much tongue in cheek comedy from here on out. There is a slightly serious bent to one of the sub-plots: the aforementioned doctor is allowed to work in the prison hospital, where he helps the prison doctor work on a cure for some sort of deadly fever. In fact, this serious sub-plot yielded what - for me, anyway - was a very worthy memorable quote: "It isn't that you die... Everybody dies - and only once. It's what you die for. Sometimes that can make you live forever."
Anyway, a very enjoyable "fluff" prison film. As mentioned, this is my second viewing, and I enjoyed it as much the second time as I did the first go. Lee Tracy is memorable as a sort of "fixer" inmate who handles everybody's business - he's in tight with the warden, but is no snitch or rat. Shemp Howard, as "the Professor," has a good supporting role, too. Worth a look if you've never seen it.
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Post by Prime etc. on Apr 6, 2019 7:38:59 GMT
100 RIFLES (1969) Interesting Hollywood attempt at spaghetti using familiar Spanish locations however despite the characters fitting the profile of the kinds that pop up in genuine spaghetti westerns (mexican bandit, US policeman, rebel soldier-woman, German advisor, railroad tycoon, Mexican general), they are somewhat bland noodles. Case in point--Burt Reynolds' bandit half-breed. I have seen similar characters pop up in Euro westerns--portrayed by Tomas Milian for example, but he is given very little to do that affects the plot. He's just a laughing good ol boy who has the role of general dropped on his shoulders at the end. Jim Brown takes the American bounty hunter role which shows up frequently in a spaghetti western (from THE BIG GUNDOWN onward) but other than him being black and the interracial romance, he does little to affect the plot either. At the end he is just an observer as the Indians kill their enemy. In fact, the one difference between this and the standard Euro version is that I don't think the Indian tribes of Mexico often played a part--the depictions were usually between the Mexican peasant and the aristocracy/government. Eric Braedan's character is an oddity as well since he appears sympathetic at first, then a little sinister, then just rides off. Fernando "you look marvelous" Lamas would have been great in a real spaghetti western though. And despite a good Jerry Goldsmith score it just does not provide the kind of depth or irony that one gets from a decent spaghetti western.
THE BEAST OF YUCCA FLATS-- a poetic tragedy of a defecting Soviet scientist who is destroyed by American rural fascism. I kind of liked it. Ah the bunny....
THE TERRORISTS 1974 - Forgotten Sean Connery film. I am uncertain why he blows the cover of Ian McShane though. I thought of the knock knock, dishes Sean Connery joke while watching it. BTW--you know what I hate in a movie? When someone orders something from a cafeteria and doesn't eat any of it. Connery does it in this--and similar happens in Charles Bronson's 10 TO MIDNIGHT.
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