What are your opinions on the films of Richard Quine?
Jul 22, 2021 1:19:47 GMT
Hurdy Gurdy Man likes this
Post by Doghouse6 on Jul 22, 2021 1:19:47 GMT
I'm more or less in agreement with your assessment of the titles you listed, except to say I liked Pushover a bit better than you did and Bell, Book and Candle a bit less. True, Pushover is no Double Indemnity, but it carried an air of grim desperation that I thought suited it well as MacMurray's scheme begins to unravel. For my taste, Bell, Book and Candle is lacking in the sort of energetic sparkle such a story requires.
Of the other Quine films I've seen, The Notorious Landlady is rather disorganized and unsure of where it's going, and I'm still not clear on what it's supposed to be about. The Solid Gold Cadillac has some charm, and it's nice to see Judy Holliday onscreen with Paul Douglas, who was her costar in the Broadway production of Born Yesterday.
But there's one Quine film that's sort of a guilty pleasure, and I've always enjoyed it: Sex and the Single Girl. It's completely absurd and played that way, with generous winks to the audience reminding them not to take such silliness anywhere near seriously. A throwback to screwball comedies of 25 years before with impersonations and mistaken identities, it's performed with an over-the-top and almost cartoonish sense that's not unlike the tone of some of the comedies of Richard Lester or Mel Brooks.
Of the other Quine films I've seen, The Notorious Landlady is rather disorganized and unsure of where it's going, and I'm still not clear on what it's supposed to be about. The Solid Gold Cadillac has some charm, and it's nice to see Judy Holliday onscreen with Paul Douglas, who was her costar in the Broadway production of Born Yesterday.
But there's one Quine film that's sort of a guilty pleasure, and I've always enjoyed it: Sex and the Single Girl. It's completely absurd and played that way, with generous winks to the audience reminding them not to take such silliness anywhere near seriously. A throwback to screwball comedies of 25 years before with impersonations and mistaken identities, it's performed with an over-the-top and almost cartoonish sense that's not unlike the tone of some of the comedies of Richard Lester or Mel Brooks.