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Post by Matthew the Swordsman on May 21, 2017 15:28:06 GMT
Please tell us what classics you saw last week. Modern films are welcome, as well
(I got permission to post the thread this week, and to post it early).
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Post by Matthew the Swordsman on May 21, 2017 15:35:22 GMT
My week of film viewing included documentaries, silent comedies, and propaganda. My TV viewing included comedies and old pop music shows. It was an unusual week of viewing to say the least, but I generally enjoyed it.
Film:
The Kid Stakes (1927, Australia, 76 minutes) - 7.5/10. Amusing silent comedy, with a cast consisting mainly of children. It seems inspired by the U.S. "Our Gang" comedies, which is not a bad thing. Viewed via a Blu-ray release.
They Stand Ready (1955, UK, 18 minutes) - 7/10. Propaganda film about the "National Service". Historically interesting, but as a film it's nothing to write home about. It does however have some random bits of humour added in, which is a plus. Viewed via the DVD release "The COI Collection Volume Three - They Stand Ready".
The Open Road (1926, edited 2007, UK, 62 minutes) - 7.5/10. A look at rural Britain in the 1920s, filmed in colour! Originally released in the 1920s as a series of travelogue shorts, it was turned into a feature in 2007.
Twenty-four Square Miles (1946, UK, 41 minutes) - 7.5/10. On one level, this is a boring instructional film about poor living conditions in rural Britain. On a different level, this film contains a lot of fascinating footage of a long-vanished era.
Half a Man (1925, USA, 25 minutes) - 6/10. Mildly amusing unfunny comedy.
When the Pie Was Opened (1941, UK, 8 minutes) - 7.5/10. Weird/artsy WW2 propaganda film about making a vegetable pie. Very enjoyable. Viewed via the DVD "Ration Books and Rabbit Pies: Films from the Home Front".
King Coal (1948, UK, 3 minutes) - 8/10. This has to be the most obscure thing ever filmed in Technicolor. It was created for the "National Coal Board", and was shown to miners as part of their entertainment. It is a brief cartoon. It also features the happiest smokestack ever to appear in a motion picture. Wonderfully weird! Viewed via the DVD "Portrait of a Miner: National Coal Board Collection: Volume One".
Elmer Elephant (1936, USA, 9 minutes) - 8/10. Cute cartoon in glorious Technicolor. I really need to check out more of these 1930s Walt Disney shorts.
Eagles of the Fleet (1950, UK, 10 minute) - Hard to rate. 8/10 since it is very well-filmed and edited, but this piece of military propaganda made me feel somewhat uncomfortable. It's just a bit too cheerful. I wonder how this short was distributed (theatrically? non-theatrically? I do know it was shown on BBC TV in 1951 but it wasn't produced for TV). Viewed via the DVD release "The COI Collection Volume Three - They Stand Ready".
Moslems in Britain: Cardiff (1961, UK 19 minutes) - Also hard to rate, but for different reasons. 7.5/10, I guess. This was produced by Britain's Central Office of Information in order to encourage Arabs to move to Britain. It is in Arabic, and the copy I viewed has English subtitles. The problem with this film is that it overlooks the difficulties immigrants faced when moving to the UK. It is interesting to watch though. There is a host who talks to various Arabs living in the Welsh city of Cardiff, and asks them about their lives there. Viewed via the DVD release "Portrait of a People: The COI Collection Volume Five".
Tea Making Tips (1941, UK, 10 minutes) - 7/10. Wartime instructional film about making tea. Fascinating to watch.Viewed via the DVD "Ration Books and Rabbit Pies: Films from the Home Front".
The Butcher Boy (1917, USA, 28 minutes) - 7.5/10. Funny comedy with Fatty Arbuckle and Buster Keaton. Very amusing. Unfortunately the Kino DVD release has terrible musical accompaniment.
Double Cross (1958, Australia, 2 minutes) - 8/10. Highly amusing theatrically-released road safety PSA, which spoofs American crime dramas, complete with cigarette-smoking man wearing a trench coat. Cool. I had to make the IMDb page for this myself.
Escape the City (1956, Australia, 10 minutes) - 8/10. Light-hearted documentary in glorious Eastmancolor, showing Australia's national parks. Although this may seem like a "classroom film" at first glance, it actually isn't, in fact it saw a theatrical release, where it typically accompanied American feature films at the cinema. The film it accompanied varied depending on the cinema showing it. Among the films it accompanied included "Away All Boats" (1956), "Lady and the Tramp" (1954) and "Not as a Stranger" (1955). So, although this short is very obscure today, it was once widely seen. Nevertheless I had to make an IMDb page for it.
Crofters (1944, UK, 22 minutes) - 7.5/10. Farming methods in rural Scotland. I wonder how this film was distributed and how many people saw it. It is nicely filmed, though the copy I viewed is in less-than-great condition. It's remarkable how hard the lives could be back then.
Mining Review 1st Year No. 1 (1947, UK, 9 minutes) - 7.5/10. Another thing for which I had to make the IMDb page, which I hope I didn't screw up. The "Mining Review" series of shorts were seen in hundreds of cinemas at the peak of the series, and they were produced from 1947 to 1983. In this edition, there is a segment on the Meco-Moore machine, a staged discussion in a bar about the five day work week, and a performance of "The Miner's Song". Viewed via the DVD "Portrait of a Miner: National Coal Board Collection: Volume One".
Terminus (1961, UK, 33 minutes) - 8/10. A fly-on-the-wall documentary without narration, showing a busy train station. Very nicely done. This won a BAFTA award for "Best Short Film". Viewed via the DVD set "British Transport Films Collection One: A Future on Rail"
Modelling for the Future (1961, UK, 5 minutes) - 7.5/10. It's hard to rate a fairly dry educational film like this. This one uses model trains to show a proposed Channel Tunnel. Such a tunnel did eventually open in the 1990s. Viewed via the DVD set "British Transport Films Collection One: A Future on Rail"
Germ Destruction Day in Launceston (1956, Australia, 14 minutes) - I mean honestly, how can one rate this crap? This is a classroom film about how flies spread disease, and how the city of Launceston in Tasmania decided to use things like DDT to get rid of them. Of course, this was made during a time when the infamous DDT was still seen as a "good" thing. It's badly dated with some sloppy production values (the name of the city is incorrectly spelled in the opening titles!!). But it has historical value both as a document of attitudes of the period, and for some scenes of streets in the area. This is yet another thing I had to make the IMDb page for. It is a production of the "Tasmanian Education Department", with this being the worst thing I've seen by them. Viewed via YouTube, but I don't recommend you watch it.
The Bass Highway Part 1 (1953, Australia, 9 minutes) - 7.5/10. Yes, this is a classroom film, but this one is better than most. This one was filmed in Tasmania. It shows several farms, and there is a brief look at some historic buildings. The whole film is rather relaxing actually. It's filmed in colour, crappy colour admittedly, but still colour. I admit the only reason I choose to watch this was so I could make an IMDb page for it. But I enjoyed it a lot more than I was expecting to. They produced 5 shorts in this series. Not a great film by any means, but as far as classroom films go, this one is pretty good. This was produced by/for the "Tasmanian Education Department", and is the sixth thing I've seen by them, as well as the sixth thing by them for which I had to make an IMDb page. There still more things by them which need IMDb pages. This short is on YouTube, but incorrectly listed as being from 1950 (it's actually from 1953, as per the copyright notice):
The Bass Highway Part 2 (1953, Australia, 9 minutes) - 7.5/10. This edition of the classroom film series is also relaxing to watch. Again incorrectly listed on YouTube as being from 1950, though the copyright notice at the end says 1953. Once again, a title for which I had to make the IMDb page.
The Bass Highway Part 3 (1953, Australia, 9 minutes) - 7.5/10. When it's late at night, you can't get to sleep, and have nothing better to do, few things are as good as watching something like this. Once again this was produced by the "Tasmanian Education Department", and shows scenes of various towns along the Bass Highway. This short includes scenes of recreation, and scenes of industry. Probably boring to most people, but I found it relaxing and interesting. Once again, I had to make the IMDb page for this.
The Bass Highway Part 4 (1953, Australia, 10 minutes) - 7.5/10. Another relaxing edition in this classroom film series. There are scenes of local tourist attractions, scenes of local business, and a look into dairy farming. Once again, I had to make the IMDb page for this.
The Bass Highway Part 5 (1953, Australia, 8 minutes) - 7/10. Unfortunately, this edition is marred by scenes of beautiful forest being bulldozed. Also, the surviving film print is in less-than-perfect condition, with a number of splices appearing. I'm rather amazed that Tasmania made its own educational films, and also amazed that many of them are on YouTube. I believe there are additional ones which haven't been uploaded yet.
Yorkshire Sands (1955, UK, 14 minutes) - 7.5/10. This was produced by "British Transport Films", although the connection to transport is not obvious (I'll explain the connection later). Their films however covered a range of topics, and were widely seen in British cinemas during the 1950s. This particular one is a travelogue, showing activities at a coast in Yorkshire. From a cinema standpoint, this isn't much of a film, and at times feels more like a home movie than a real film (the low-quality colour film used doesn't help). Yet from a historical standpoint, it has a lot of value as a document of recreation in the mid-1950s. As for the connection to transport, it's actually rather simple: the idea was that viewers of the films would be inspired to travel to the locations, and would probably do so using a train or bus. Hence why these films were produced. This paricular one is on the DVD set "British Transport Films Collection Two: Railways for Ever".
The Travolators (1961, UK, 9 minutes) - 7/10. A travolator, it seems, is just another word for escalator. Here the tunnel needed for one is shown being built at a train station, and the grand opening of the escalator complete with London's Lord Mayor and press photographers is also shown (geez, a grand opening for an escalator? really?). This film is on the DVD set "British Transport Films Collection Two: Railways for Ever".
Television:
"The Larkins" - Episode titled "Gun-In-Law" (broadcast 26 September 1958, UK, 25 minutes) - 7.5/10. This was a sitcom which was popular in Britain during the late-1950s/early 1960s. Strictly entertainment with no message, and that's what I like about it.
"That's My Boy" - Episode titled "The Reluctant Page" (telecast 17 November 1963, UK, 25 minutes) - 7.5/10. Sitcom about a boy (played by a dwarf - don't ask) who is always getting into trouble. Though this is a UK series, it feels rather American in nature. The series had very limited distribution, being shown only in the Midlands and northern England. Remarkably, it appears on DVD.
"Brian Henderson's Bandstand" - Episode telecast 27 October 1962 (Australia, 49 minutes) - 8/10. A very enjoyable episode of this pop/rock music series. Performers include Johnny Devlin, Jenny, Lana Cantrell, and Lucky Starr. Additionally, Adam Faith and John Leyton are interviewed. There's also a clip of Patsy Ann Noble from a previous episode. Additional segments include: a goofy pop-art montage, teenagers dancing to records, a safe driving PSA, a commercial for a record player, and some people dancing to the "Limbo Rock". Fun! Surprisingly this series is on DVD, one of the very few 1960s Australian series for which that is the case. This episode is another thing I had to make the IMDb page for.
"Kingswood Country" - Episode titled "The Thirty Year Itch" (telecast 29 January 1980, Australia, 23 minutes) - 7.5/10. Politically incorrect fun.
"Brian Henderson's Bandstand" - Episode telecast 6 February 1963 (Australia, 45 minutes) - 7.5/10. A pop music series. Entertaining episode with guest performers Lucky Starr, The Delltones, Pam Liversidge, Chubby Checker, Peter Brandon, and Patrice Grant. Strange picture quality, it's a video-taped show but survives as a kinescope (although on the other hand, it's a very sharp kinescope. For some reason, kinescopes from 1960s Britain and Australia are much sharper than American ones from the same period) . This episode includes the usual pop songs but also includes some songs from musicals such as "The Music Man". One notable goof: while the song "Bye Bye Blackbird" is sung, a poster appears in the background for the film Don Juan (1926), which is wrongly referred to as being the first talkie!!
"Father, Dear Father in Australia" - Episode titled "Once More with Feeling" (telecast 2 April 1978, Australia, 23 minutes) - 7.5/10. In those days, the casts of British series would go to Australia to tape a series there. Why, I don't know.
"Brian Henderson's Bandstand" - Episode telecast 13 February 1963 (Australia, 48 minutes) - 8/10. An entertaining presentation of pop music. Performers include Johnny Devlin, Robyn Alvarez, Kelly Green, The Denvermen, Ron Polson, and an impossibly young Bee Gees.
"The Ken Murray Show" - Excerpt from 1952 episode (don't know exact date, USA, 8 minutes) - 7.5/10. I watched an excerpt from this program, featuring a comedy sketch with Buster Keaton, the famous "can of molasses" sketch. Funny.
"Two of a Kind" - Episode telecast 30 June 1962 (UK, 25 minutes) - 7.5/10. Sketch comedy series starring Eric Morecambe and Ernie Wise. A mixed bag, but generally enjoyable.
"Brian Henderson's Bandstand" - Incomplete episode telecast 24 April 1963 (Australia, 38 minutes) - 7.5/10. This episode only seems to exist in incomplete form (this is confirmed by the host referring to segments which don't appear in the surviving footage). Also, it was produced on video-tape but survives only as a kinescope. The surviving footage is entertaining though, and the kinescope is fairly sharp. IMDb neglected to credit the host and most of the guests on this episode, so I added credits for them. IMDb also failed the credit the director and producer, so I added credits for him. Amazingly, the director-producer, Warwick Freeman, directed a single feature film, a 1971 effort called "Demonstrator", which has less than 5 ratings on IMDb. How he went from directing a pop music show to directing a political drama, I don't know.
"Brian Henderson's Bandstand" - Episode telecast 7 September 1963 (Australia, 44 minutes) - 8/10. I don't know if this episode is incomplete or just a short episode (there is a rather abrubt fade-out at one point). It is an entertaining presentation of popular music, with performers The Bee Gees, Noeleen Batley, Warren Williams, the De Kroo Brothers, Robyn Alvarez, Pete Seeger (yes, really), and Steve Stevenson. There's also a dance number by the Shirley Regan Dancers, and a segment with host Brian Henderson and the Bee Gees reading "wind-up doll" gags ("The comedian Ben Casey doll: Wind it up and it leaves you in stitches", another one: "The Chubby Checker doll: can't be round up, the key is twisted").
Internet:
Inmarsat-5 Flight 4 Launch Webcast (webcast 16 May 2017, USA, 43 minutes) - 7/10. The launch of a Falcon 9 rocket. Interesting to watch, but I don't like the host at all.
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Post by wmcclain on May 21, 2017 20:44:55 GMT
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Post by Matthew the Swordsman on May 21, 2017 20:54:40 GMT
I can't explain why, but the line on the poster "Mitchum in Action!" amuses me for some unknown reason. I looked up the film and it sounds pretty interesting. |
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Post by Deleted on May 21, 2017 22:13:43 GMT
The Women (1939) Norma Shearer, Joan Crawford, Rosalind Russell, Mary Boland, Joan Fontaine, Paulette Goddard, Virginia Grey, Hedda Hopper.
The first thing that you will notice about this film is the rapid back and forth of the dialog, the script is not really witty but has some choice moments of hilarity. Rosalind Russell stands out in one of her best comedic performances and when we finally get introduced to the wisecracking home-wrecker Joan Crawford, she steals every scene and keeps everyone around her on their toes. Crawford has the choice role and is constantly on the prowl in a fantastic display of why she was a top-star, her ability to hold your attention with the force of her personality and talent is impressive. This film also features a cast entirely made up of women and Norma Shearer is really playing the straight-woman to the other crazy characters that constantly come in and out and cause all types of hijacks and mayhem. Other than one or two slow 'sappy' moments, the film mostly sizzles with banter and there are some very frank discussions about divorce and adultery for circa 1939. The script could of been a little sharper to match the barrage of talents involved but probably just follows the original play- 8.
George Cukor directs an all-female cast in this catty tale about battling and bonding between friends and enemies that was edgy for its time -- and is considered the ultimate women's movie of the 1930s. Norma Shearer, Joan Crawford, Rosalind Russell and other Hollywood leading ladies are among the array of husband-snatchers, snitches and lovelorn ladies who argue and gossip about each other at astonishing breakneck speed.
One Touch of Venus (1948) Robert Walker, Ava Gardner, Dick Haymes, Eve Arden.
Robert Walker was a great talent and truly unique and this is a pretty good light-musical comedy to showcase his high-strung style along with Ava Gardner's famous beauty. If we could only marry Eve Arden's gams and personality and acting to Ava Gardner's screen presence then I would have my perfect Anatolian Venus. Since- in my opinion- there is a lack of decent comedies in the late 40's, it makes this little film essential viewing and will rate it at 8 for that reason alone.
Silver screen icon Ava Gardner stars in this charming romantic comedy as a statue of the Roman goddess of love, Anatolian Venus, who is magically brought to life by a harmless kiss from a lonely, young window dresser named Eddie Hatch (Robert Walker). Nothing but trouble ensues! Elia Kazan produces and William A. Seiter directs this enchanting tale based on Kurt Weill and Ogden Nash's popular stage musical from 1945.
The Band Wagon (1953) Fred Astaire, Cyd Charisse, Oscar Levant
There is much to appreciate here, Fred Astaire and Cyd Charisse look great dancing together and she matches the smooth flow of his style at it's best, The Mickey Spillane 'Girl Hunt' sketch at the very end of the film is pretty cool and Cyd Charisse strutting around in that hot red dress as the femme fatale is certainly dangerous and exciting. On the downside- the plot is B-O-R-I-N-G and the dialogue is not funny except the brief scene where the crazy director is trying to sell his avant-garde version of "Faust" and other than the clever 'more beer' song, "That's Entertainment" and "Dancing in the Dark." just seem to be standard show-tunes, don't remember much about the other choreography so it leads me to just split the difference and rate- 7/8
Washed-up movie star Tony Hunter (Fred Astaire) tries to revive his career on Broadway in this classic musical comedy. Hunter and his talented cohorts encounter all kinds of problems as they try to bring "Faust" to the stage. Musical numbers include "That's Entertainment" and "Dancing in the Dark." Cyd Charisse, Oscar Levant, Nanette Fabray and Jack Buchanan also star.
The Accountant (2016) Ben Affleck, Anna Kendrick, J.K. Simmons
What I like about this movie is that it is fairly clever and could of quickly descended straight into a monotony of action scenes but instead the director and writer decided to treat the audience to a circular plot that the viewer had to follow along and unravel to a fairly satisfying conclusion. The premise of using an autistic leading character was handled by Ben Affleck superbly, he managed to make it believable by portraying 'the accountant' as functioning at a high enough level that we could suspend disbelief and just go with it. This film has 'Bourne Identity' written all over it and for the most part it is a success. Anna Kendrick's 'quirky' character is the only thing worth noting about the supporting cast which has that standard feel of plug and play. Still it is good enough to easily rate this film an 8 for a night's worth of decent entertainment with a well-written script, a well-developed character, some well-directed action scenes and fairly intelligently handled overall.
Offering two very different skills to his clients, a financial forensics expert and trained assassin goes to work for a tech mogul who's determined to eliminate those responsible for secretly manipulating the company's financial records.
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Post by OldAussie on May 21, 2017 22:33:56 GMT
1st views -
Night of Something Strange (2016) My son has been disowned for bringing this home. 0/10
The Campaign (2012) Sometimes amusing political satire. 4/10
Hell or High Water (2016) Satisfying crime drama. 7.5/10
Sunshine Cleaning (2008) Quirky family comedy/drama. 7.5/10
The Mist (2007) Silly horror flick. 4/10
Other People's Money (1991) Part rom/com part Wall Street type drama. 6/10
Revisits -
The Third Man (1949) 10/10, say no more.
Seraphim Falls (2006) Basic revenge western. 6/10
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Post by mikef6 on May 22, 2017 0:43:15 GMT
Mystery Of Marie Roget / Philip Rosen (1942). This low-budget murder play is from a low-budget studio (Universal), with a low budget director. In fact, this is just the kind of thing that people started to get for free via television in just a few years, putting studios specializing in cheaply made mysteries and westerns out of business fast. It is taken from a short story by Edgar Allen Poe but changed considerably; first, for reasons I can’t imagine, they dropped the definite article from the story’s title. Next, Poe’s reclusive armchair detective C. Auguste Dupin becomes Paul Dupin (Patric Knowles), the medical examiner of the Paris police. Knowles was at first considered leading man material. He was tall, dark, handsome, British and usually sported a pencil-thin mustache (his upper lip is shaved clean in “Marie Roget”). He had a long career playing second and third leads but was just too generic to break into top billed roles in major movies. He was good at dodgy characters, viz., a cowardly jerk in “Five Came Back” (1939) and a suave but devious criminal in “The Big Steal” (1949). Dupin makes deductions the rest of us can’t follow and we wait to be surprised when it all ends. However, there are very few surprises in store. When the killer is finally revealed after a rooftop chase, the revelation lands with a thud. It turns out to be who you thought it was all along. On the plus side, we get to see two of my favorite supporting actors, John Litel (Carson Drew in the Nancy Drew films) and Lloyd Corrigan, a staple on TV throughout the 1950s. Also there is the delightful Maria Ouspenskaya as an imperious rich old lady who doesn’t hesitate to tell the Prefect of Police to sit down and shut up. “Marie Roget” is suitable for a nostalgic trip down memory lane to a time when this kind of film could be seen anywhere and you might even get two or even three of them on the same ticket.
Xia Nü (A Touch Of Zen) / King Hu (1971). This influential wuxia from Taiwan, filmed over the course of three years and initially released in two parts, runs for three hours – unusual for this type of adventure film. In 2015, experts in Taiwan gave it a 4K restoration. Last July (2016), Criterion Collection released the restoration in DVD and Blu-Ray to North America. It was my privilege to see this new disc. The story opens in a small village during the Ming Dynasty period (14th to 15th centuries). Shen Chai Ku (transliterated as Gu in the subtitles) is an unambitious young man living in near impoverishment with his mother in the General’s Headquarters of an abandoned fort. She nags him endlessly to a) get married and b) take the civil service exam. He, however, is content to read on his own any topic that interests him and work as a scribe and sketch portrait artist in a small shop downtown. Things start to get interesting when some new people come to town and behave in a very suspicious manner. One of the people is Miss Yang who moves into another section of the old fort. Although Miss Yang shows no interest, Ku’s mother immediately latches onto the idea that she would be a perfect wife for her son. However, as the story unfolds, we learn that Miss Yang and a few allies are on the run from some powerful but corrupt government officials. From the deceptively quiet opening through a middle section of action, adventure, and sword-fighting violence, to the ambiguous quasi-religious ending, the 180 minutes go by in a flash.
Mifune: The Last Samurai / Steven Okazaki (2015). This documentary takes us quickly (and at times superficially) through the life of the legendary Japanese actor, Toshiro Mifune, stopping to highlight some of his best films. It was written by the director (a one-time Oscar winner with three other nominations for Documentary Short Features) and Mifune and Kurosawa biographer Stuart Galbraith IV. Many of Mifune’s co-stars and others involved in his films talk about working with him and what kind of person and actor he was. His eldest son worked along side of him for many years and shares personal insights. There is a valuable few minutes at the start which trace the history of the Samurai movie in Japanese culture with some rare restored footage from the silent era. The famous break between Mifune and Kurosawa after 16 movies in 18 years is still unexplained. Even people closely connected with the two men at the time – even Kurosawa’s eldest son - cannot tell why they went their separate ways. There was no obvious argument or blow-up between them. Even though both men made noises to others about wanting to work together again, it never happened. After Kurosawa hired Shintarô Katsu (of Zatôichi fame) to star in the double role in “Kagemusha” and then fired him on the first day of filming, Kurosawa immediately ordered his staff to find out if Tatsuya Nakadai was available; apparently he never even thought of Mifune. (Nakadai was great in the role.) I think Martin Scorsese said it best during his interview for this documentary: “We want them to stay together. We want the collaboration to continue, to create, you know? But people grow and they grow differently, sometimes. Sometimes people, especially in a collaboration, use each other up at a certain point. Nothing more they can give each other than, I guess, their respect and love and that’s it.”
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Post by mikef6 on May 22, 2017 0:57:01 GMT
You saw a good mix of films this week. If you don’t mind, since you didn’t write reviews, I will share a couple of mine that I wrote for the old boards for “The Undying Monster” and “Where Danger Lives.” If you disagree with either of my opinions, let’s talk about it. The Undying Monster / John Brahm (1942). An interesting unofficial version of “The Hound Of The Baskervilles.” A) an ancient family curse; b) the Moors; c) a detective who reaches conclusions with a glance; d) a mysterious wild beast; e) a rhyme about the curse that provides a clue. This is a low-budget production but the cast has a good time with it. Brahm is perhaps known for directing “The Lodger” (1944). Where Danger Lives / John Farrow (1950). Dr. Jeff (Robert Mitchum) is very popular at the hospital where he works. He is compassionate, good with kids, and engaged to nurse Julie (Maureen O'Sullivan). Doesn’t sound like Robert Mitchum, you say? Well, hang on for a few minutes. Shortly after saving a mysterious woman (Faith Domergue) from a suicide attempt, he tracks her down for a follow-up. Before he knows it, he has fallen in love with her and has to go on the run from the cops after he suffers a concussion. There, that’s more like it. Mitchum once again gives a fine performance without seeming to work for it. Has anyone ever caught him overacting? He has a particularly good scene where, as a doctor, he diagnoses his own concussion and professionally explains to Domergue exactly how his condition with degenerate over the next couple of days. Faith Domergue, in her first lead role, does well; she can get a scary crazy look in her eyes. Claude Rains shows up for a cameo of about 10 minutes, but, as you might expect, comes close to walking off with the movie. O’Sullivan is criminally underused. If there is a major fault to this dark, doom-laden noir, it is the happy ending that suddenly appears in the last couple of minutes, seemingly tacked on. BTW, does anybody know for sure how to pronounce Faith’s last name? I have heard DOM-er-rue, doh-MERG, and the IMDb adds dah-MURE. She is portrayed in Scorsese’s “The Aviator” but I have only seen it in a theater where I didn’t catch what was said. |
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Post by wmcclain on May 22, 2017 1:05:14 GMT
BTW, does anybody know for sure how to pronounce Faith’s last name? I have heard DOM-er-rue, doh-MERG, and the IMDb adds dah-MURE. She is portrayed in Scorsese’s “The Aviator” but I have only seen it in a theater where I didn’t catch what was said. I just listened to a commentary track and I think they used your third version. I have reviews of all of these but haven't posted them yet. Soon. I was going to start a thread for John Brahm later this week. I don't know much about him but everything I have seen has been a cut above the genre average. THE LOCKET is very good.  |
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Post by Matthew the Swordsman on May 22, 2017 1:39:26 GMT
“Marie Roget” is suitable for a nostalgic trip down memory lane to a time when this kind of film could be seen anywhere and you might even get two or even three of them on the same ticket. Re several films on the same ticket, that reminds me, I've always wanted to recreate the selection of films which appeared together at the movie theatre. Today I watched a 10-minute Australian film on YouTube called Training Champions (1957), which is a documentary. I did some research on the film, and according to the 6 December 1957 edition of the horrible newspaper Sydney Morning Herald, when it was shown at the Plaza cinemas in Sydney, it accompanied a 1957 American film called Stopover Tokyo (a cold war drama that is said to be quite weak), and the bill also featured a very obscure British crime drama short called Case of the River Morgue (1956) which was part of the "Scotland Yard" series of shorts. Since both of those films are on DVD (and Training Champions is on YouTube), it would be possible, if someone wanted, to recreate the presentation of films as done in Sydney 1957. Along the same lines I'd like to recreate a 1950s night of TV. This would be harder, because so many shows are lost (particularly the newscasts and other non-fiction programming). It might be possible to use the series shown if not the exact episodes. |
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Post by manfromplanetx on May 22, 2017 1:59:29 GMT
Jokyô , A Woman's Testament (1960) Japan, Directed by Kon Ichikawa, Yasuzô Masumura & Kôzaburô Yoshimura
Three stories about contemporary Japanese women are brought together in this wonderfully entertaining anthology. Ground breaking early New Wave era film portrays progressive themes & sexual frankness. Irreverent attitudes & scheming from the three protagonists maintains their personal independence . Brought together from three top directors and three talented & beautiful actresses, supported with great casts and crew . Highly Recommended
Onna no naka ni iru tannin , The Stranger Within a Woman (1966) Japan, Directed by Mikio Naruse
Two friends Tashiro & Sugimoto meet in a bar and are interrupted with a phone call revealing the flirtatious wife of Sugimoto has been involved in an accident ?....
Masterly filmed neo-noir from Naruse, One of his last three films which all have a similar style, A compelling dark psychological drama, the character motivations and intrigue have multi layers.. Outstanding cast, glorious black & white cinematography Highly Recommended
Noose for a Lady (1953) Uk, Directed by Wolf Rilla
The clock is ticking, only a few days before a woman is to be hanged for the murder of her husband, a murder she says that she did not commit. Her step daughter and cousin set about in earnest to discover who the real killer is.
British B film, an entertaining and clever little whodunit A great cast twists and turns the tale, everyone seems to be guilty of something and all have hidden motives for disposing of the much disliked victim. Dennis Price stars as the cousin, lovely Melissa Stribling is one of the suspects . Highly Recommended
Moonrise (1948) USA, Directed by Frank Borzage
Danny was despised and bullied by his schoolmates because his father killed another man and was condemned to the death. As a young man Danny is still confronted by his unhappy past. Prejudices from some elements within his small town home erupt into violence....
A dark drama plays out, directed with great skill by Borzage who sensitively portrays the genuine moral and emotional complexities while never sensationalizing them.
Danny is played with great depth by Dane Clark who shines as the disturbed young man, his range of expressive emotion highlights a remarkable performance. Love and friendship are close at hand, will they be enough to shine a light & dispel his dark past ?
Aozora musume , The Blue Sky Maiden (1957) Japan, Directed by Yasuzô Masumura
A beautifully crafted wonderfully entertaining film
A gentle & engaging melodrama of exceptional quality.
An absolutely enchanting performance from the main star Ayako Wakao
Reviewed here a few weeks back, but had missed the final 20 min due to indentation on disc from postal damage, now replaced ... Highly Recommended
Monolog , Monologue (1973) Russia, Directed by Ilya Averbakh
Professor Sretenski is a scientist and director of a research centre in Russia. He has been separated from his wife for many years and now lives a lonely life. His grown daughter, who has lived with her mother suddenly appears & presents herself at his home, his life is forever transformed...
A rich & deeply emotional human story is beautifully crafted and superbly portrayed, the outstanding cast combine with sensitive and thoughtful direction to unveil a touching and engaging drama.
Yet another brilliant example of filmmaking excellence that one discovers when exploring the wonderful diversity of classic Russian film.
Highly Recommended
Sedmoy sputnik , The Seventh Companion (1967) Russia, Directed by Grigori Aronov & Aleksey German
The film is setting is St. Petersburg, Russia directly after the Russian revolution of 1917.
Yevegeny Adamov is an elderly former general in the Czar's Army who is now a history professor at a military academy. He has been arrested after the revolution along with many others and is accused of treason. Adamov is relieved when he is found innocent, but he has no place to go, his property has been seized and his intellectual friends refuse to help him in fear of reprisals....
An excellent historical film, a penetrating drama which follows the plight of Adamov, He has no option but to move forward with the new era . Stoic and philosophical he accepts the old rule was flawed, he sides with the new but resists their unlawful transgressions, The country is gripped in civil war but Adamov does not sway from his personal convictions, the volatile times encircle and challenge his compassionate nature...Highly Recommended
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Post by OldAussie on May 22, 2017 2:59:16 GMT
Mr. Dacron -
That brings back memories. Some of the movies I saw at the Plaza when I briefly lived in Sydney include The French Connection, The Poseidon Adventure and Tora Tora Tora (if my memory hasn't failed me).
A wonderful theatre which I think was gone by the end of the 70s with the rise of the "multi-plex".
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Post by Nalkarj on May 22, 2017 15:49:16 GMT
Mystery Of Marie Roget / Philip Rosen (1942). This low-budget murder play is from a low-budget studio (Monogram), with a low budget director. In fact, this is just the kind of thing that people started to get for free via television in just a few years, putting studios specializing in cheaply made mysteries and westerns out of business fast. It is taken from a short story by Edgar Allen Poe but changed considerably; first, for reasons I can’t imagine, they dropped the definite article from the story’s title. Next, Poe’s reclusive armchair detective C. Auguste Dupin becomes Paul Dupin (Patric Knowles), the medical examiner of the Paris police. Knowles was at first considered leading man material. He was tall, dark, handsome, British and usually sported a pencil-thin mustache (his upper lip is shaved clean in “Marie Roget”). He had a long career playing second and third leads but was just too generic to break into top billed roles in major movies. He was good at dodgy characters, viz., a cowardly jerk in “Five Came Back” (1939) and a suave but devious criminal in “The Big Steal” (1949). Dupin makes deductions the rest of us can’t follow and we wait to be surprised when it all ends. However, there are very few surprises in store. When the killer is finally revealed after a rooftop chase, the revelation lands with a thud. It turns out to be who you thought it was all along. On the plus side, we get to see two of my favorite supporting actors, John Litel (Carson Drew in the Nancy Drew films) and Lloyd Corrigan, a staple on TV throughout the 1950s. Also there is the delightful Maria Ouspenskaya as an imperious rich old lady who doesn’t hesitate to tell the Prefect of Police to sit down and shut up. “Marie Roget” is suitable for a nostalgic trip down memory lane to a time when this kind of film could be seen anywhere and you might even get two or even three of them on the same ticket. Glad you enjoyed it, Mike! (I watch a lot of these '30s and '40s b-movie mysteries and horrors, for my sins, so I'm predisposed to like them.) While I thought it was just fine--I certainly wasn't expecting any kind of puzzle plot, so the obviousness of the murderer's identity didn't particularly bother me--I did find it awfully confusing. Oh, and wasn't it Universal, not Monogram, that produced it? I thought it was a sequel to Robert Florey's very odd, "horror-ified" version of Murders in the Rue Morgue, which was definitely Universal. |
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Post by wmcclain on May 22, 2017 16:08:19 GMT
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Post by mikef6 on May 22, 2017 16:47:36 GMT
Mystery Of Marie Roget / Philip Rosen (1942). This low-budget murder play is from a low-budget studio (Monogram), with a low budget director. In fact, this is just the kind of thing that people started to get for free via television in just a few years, putting studios specializing in cheaply made mysteries and westerns out of business fast. It is taken from a short story by Edgar Allen Poe but changed considerably; first, for reasons I can’t imagine, they dropped the definite article from the story’s title. Next, Poe’s reclusive armchair detective C. Auguste Dupin becomes Paul Dupin (Patric Knowles), the medical examiner of the Paris police. Knowles was at first considered leading man material. He was tall, dark, handsome, British and usually sported a pencil-thin mustache (his upper lip is shaved clean in “Marie Roget”). He had a long career playing second and third leads but was just too generic to break into top billed roles in major movies. He was good at dodgy characters, viz., a cowardly jerk in “Five Came Back” (1939) and a suave but devious criminal in “The Big Steal” (1949). Dupin makes deductions the rest of us can’t follow and we wait to be surprised when it all ends. However, there are very few surprises in store. When the killer is finally revealed after a rooftop chase, the revelation lands with a thud. It turns out to be who you thought it was all along. On the plus side, we get to see two of my favorite supporting actors, John Litel (Carson Drew in the Nancy Drew films) and Lloyd Corrigan, a staple on TV throughout the 1950s. Also there is the delightful Maria Ouspenskaya as an imperious rich old lady who doesn’t hesitate to tell the Prefect of Police to sit down and shut up. “Marie Roget” is suitable for a nostalgic trip down memory lane to a time when this kind of film could be seen anywhere and you might even get two or even three of them on the same ticket. Glad you enjoyed it, Mike! (I watch a lot of these '30s and '40s b-movie mysteries and horrors, for my sins, so I'm predisposed to like them.) While I thought it was just fine--I certainly wasn't expecting any kind of puzzle plot, so the obviousness of the murderer's identity didn't particularly bother me--I did find it awfully confusing. Oh, and wasn't it Universal, not Monogram, that produced it? I thought it was a sequel to Robert Florey's very odd, "horror-ified" version of Murders in the Rue Morgue, which was definitely Universal. Yes, it was Universal. I think I saw or read something recently about Monogram and it must have been in my head. Both Universal and Monogram, at the time, were known for their B-genre films, Universal, esp. in the horror genre at this same time period. The mysterious figure in the mask and cloak from "Marie Roget" fit right in with this theme. |
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Post by Nalkarj on May 23, 2017 3:03:28 GMT
I saw...uh, basically whatever came on TCM that looked interesting to me! *I did show a friend Dial M for Murder--his first time seeing it--and he enjoyed it, albeit not as much as he enjoyed Rear Window and North by Northwest. Quick, interesting point at which I was amused--he muttered, "Oh, of course!" when Insp. Hubbard reveals that it was Swann's latchkey that Tony Wendice took from Swann's pocket. Something that goes to demonstrate one example of my (and Scott Ratner's) contention that Dial M, despite being an "inverted" mystery, has more in common with the puzzle plot than most actual whodunits.* As for first-time viewings, I saw the silly Wife vs. Secretary ('36), the cliched-as-they-come but very good and very well-acted Manhattan Melodrama ('34), the wildly ridiculous and forgettable but fun The Devil's Mask (with an utterly inexplicable title, as there's nothing about a "devil's mask" in anything but the very first scene!) ('46), the incredibly lousy Rebecca-knockoff The Unknown ('46), and Billy Wilder's excellent A Foreign Affair. It's this last I'd like to highlight. I believe it was Sarris who wrote that he could never forgive Wilder for brutalizing the always-charming Jean Arthur in this picture. Be that as it may--and I am a Jean Arthur fan--Miss Arthur gives an excellent performance here, one that's (for most of the movie) far removed her great Capra roles. Too, "brutalization" is too harsh a word, as Wilderian cynicism always gives way, with one or two exceptions (most notably Sunset Boulevard and, more than anything, Ace in the Hole), to Wilderian sentiment (pointedly distinguished from saccharine sentimentality, which is of course foreign to Wilder). A Foreign Affair is not a Wilder masterpiece--not even as effective as his other Berlin-set film, One, Two, Three--but it was consistently funny, witty, clever, worldly--and unbelievably modern, as most of Wilder's pictures are. Great fun. Oh, and can anyone explain Wilder's nearly inexplicable choice to have Marlene Dietrich sing three times in this movie? She's a decent actress, especially in the right role, but I think she's a terrible singer. I was astounded to see that it was these three scenes Wilder repeated for the Dietrich-singing scenes in Witness for the Prosecution, the worst scene in that picture. Was Wilder infatuated with Dietrich or something? |
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Post by wmcclain on May 24, 2017 2:52:36 GMT
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Post by wmcclain on May 24, 2017 2:55:18 GMT
You saw a good mix of films this week. If you don’t mind, since you didn’t write reviews, I will share a couple of mine that I wrote for the old boards for “The Undying Monster” and “Where Danger Lives.” If you disagree with either of my opinions, let’s talk about it. The Undying Monster / John Brahm (1942). An interesting unofficial version of “The Hound Of The Baskervilles.” A) an ancient family curse; b) the Moors; c) a detective who reaches conclusions with a glance; d) a mysterious wild beast; e) a rhyme about the curse that provides a clue. This is a low-budget production but the cast has a good time with it. Brahm is perhaps known for directing “The Lodger” (1944).  I've also started a John Brahm thread: imdb2.freeforums.net/threads/recent/29529 |
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