shunammite
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Post by shunammite on Sept 15, 2017 15:32:53 GMT
And tell why. I can only think of 2 at this moment - will update if I think of another one - Ruggles of Red Gap and Night Must Fall.
Ruggles - It's HILARIOUS, it has a very moving recital of the Gettysburg Address by Charles Laughton, it beutifully illustrates the Smart Jeeves/Dumb Lord trope (is that the right word?). EVERY CHARACTER is fabulous - used to be on youtube - comes on TCM now and then, well worth purchasing. Special mention, Mary Boland and Zasu Pitts. I may have to watch it AGAIN this evening!
Night - it's Robert Montgomery AT HIS BEST - a wonderful mixture of Comic and Horrific - very like a good early Hitchcock - a very young Rosalind Russell who is WONDERFUL - and Dame May Whitty teaching old people how not to be whining bossy hypochondriacs OR ELSE. Equal mixture of comic and horror, to me.
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Post by Nalkarj on Sept 15, 2017 16:06:55 GMT
Hm, interesting query (and welcome to the boards, shunammite!). With that said, are Ruggles of Red Gap and Night Must Fall really not that well-known? I think (correct me if I'm wrong) that they're at least fairly known among film buffs. A few less-heralded favorites that, again, film buffs may well know but that one will probably not find on many "great movies" lists: Jewel Robbery (1932, dir. William Dieterle): the best Lubitsch movie that Lubitsch never made. Beautifully filmed (it's adapted from a play, but it doesn't feel like it: it's open and airy and light), with hilarious, delightful pre-Code performances from William Powell and the lovely Kay Francis. The plot is impossibly clever, far more complicated than it appears at first, and the tone is that kind of sheer sophistication that characterizes Lubitsch. Really a marvellous little film, and I discovered it by sheer accident (thanks, TCM!). Murder on a Honeymoon (1935, dir. Lloyd Corrigan): the best of the "Miss Withers" whodunit-adaptations, with great interplay between Edna May Oliver and James Gleason (of course). By far the best directed of the three with Oliver, and boasting an actually surprising fair-play mystery plot. Good supporting cast, too. The Man in the Iron Mask (1939, dir. James Whale): a rip-roaring swashbuckler from one of my favorite directors, who borrows just as much from Anthony Hope as he does from Alexandre Dumas. The whole thing is tons of fun [and with numerous Whalesian touches that specifically recall Bride of Frankenstein], and I wish Whale had gotten to direct other pictures in the genre; I would love to have seen what he would have done with The Three Musketeers. Oh, just three? Curses... It raises an interesting question, though: as I wrote before, what is "well-known," and what's not? I'm a huge Laurel and Hardy fan, but would--say-- Sons of the Desert count? Or even something less known, like Blockheads? Not too sure myself...
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Post by mikef6 on Sept 15, 2017 17:05:47 GMT
Juno And The Paycock / Alfred Hitchcock (1930). Probably only seen by Hitchcock completest (like me). Hitch, himself, adapted the famous play by Sean O’Casey for the screen and, while keeping most of the action confined to the living room of the Boyle apartment, manages to make it very cinematic – much like he did about 25 years later in “Dial M For Murder.” Stage actor Edward Chapman (who Hitchcock would use in two other movies) makes his film debut as Capt. Boyle (the “Paycock”), Sara Allgood is his wife Juno. The play is full of humor but at bottom is a shattering portrait of a family and society in great crisis. Hitchcock makes no effort at all to tack on a happy ending. The movie got great reviews and helped propel Hitchcock’s name toward the top of the list of great directors of the day.
“Woman Haters” (1934). 20-minute short. After a long, tumultuous relationship with singer/comedian Ted Healy, the “stooges” in his act (vaudeville and movies) finally broke away from Healy to establish their own brand. “Woman Haters” was the first production to use the logo of “The Three Stooges.” In some ways (mostly in the slapping and eye-poking), they are recognizable as the Stooges we have come to know and love. In other ways, they were just finding their feet. Mainly because it is not only dialog heavy, but all the spoken material is in rhyme. Also, Larry, amazingly, is the prominent stooge in the plot. And just as important as anything else is the female co-star, Marjorie White. An accomplished comic actor in her own right, she holds her own with Moe, Larry, and Curly even to poking their eyes and whacking their foreheads with the heal of her hand. I actually felt a moment of loss and grief when I found out that “Woman Haters” was her last screen appearance. She died in an automobile accident in 1935. More trivia: look for an unbilled (and not recognizable by me) Walter Brennen as the train conductor.
West Of Shanghai / John Farrow (1937). This Warner/First National feature was clearly intended to be the lesser half of a double movie program, but instead of the stuffy studio-bound opus I expected, director John Farrow (in one of his earliest assignments as a director) frequently moves his camera and even takes it out of doors, keeping things lively. As the curtain rises, we find Ricardo Cortez boarding a train for the Chinese countryside. He is on his way to bail out a failing oil field and secure a majority share of the company. On the train is another business man (Gordon Wood) and his daughter (Sheila Bromley). Wood intends on making a counter-offer to the one by Cortez. Cortez has another reason for going. His estranged wife is working as a medical missionary in the village where he is headed. The one fly in the ointment is that a new warlord – Fang! - has taken control of the area where the oil and mission are located. This drama, based on a play, has some fairly solid acting. The standout is the star who plays Fang, Boris Karloff. He is exceptional. Instead of a brutal killer, Karloff plays the warlord as a charming and pleasant killer. Indeed, he seems to be having a great time with the role, much more active and loose than we usually think of him. The fine Chinese-American actor Richard Loo plays Fang’s right-hand-man, Mr. Chang, who knows excellent English (he tells Cortez, “You don’t have to use pidgin with me; I speak your language better than you do”) and is always feeding Fang English slang phrases (“Bottoms up!”). Recommended especially to Boris Karloff fans. P.S. after posting this review on the old boards, I learned that the play the film was based on was set in Mexico and the Fang character was a Mexican bandit leader. The things we learn on these boards!
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Post by Richard Kimble on Sept 15, 2017 17:32:50 GMT
The best WWII movie you've never heard of: An American airman is dropped into occupied France to assassinate a resistance agent suspected of being a Nazi spy. But he learns that dropping bombs on anonymous specks below is a lot easier than killing a man one-on-one...Orders To Kill was directed by Anthony Asquith (the son of a former British prime minister), who specialized in filming hit plays by veddy British, veddy genteel playwrights like Terence Rattigan. OTK is definitely the odd man out in his filmography. There is a montage sequence here that is by far the most cinematic thing I've ever seen in an Asquith film. There is another scene that may have influenced Hitchcock's Torn Curtain. The film's tough atmosphere and detail must have originated with writer Donald Downes. Wikipedia: "The film was based on an original story by Downes. He was an important OSS officer involved in numerous operations during the war, according to histories of the era." The lead, a young Canadian actor named Paul Massie (who FWIW ended up teaching acting at the Univ of Central Florida), is OK. The acting honors go to an actress previously unknown to me named Irene Worth, as Massie's French contact. Apparently she was an American who worked mostly on the British stage -- here she is extraordinarily affecting as a resistance agent who is trying to fight against a vicious enemy while retaining her humanity. Orders To Kill went virtually unseen for decades, but is now available on DVD. Anyone interested in war films should definitely check it out.
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Post by koskiewicz on Sept 15, 2017 17:50:40 GMT
In no certain order:
International House
He Who Gets Slapped
The Night Nurse
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shunammite
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@shunammite
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Post by shunammite on Sept 15, 2017 19:40:13 GMT
Hm, interesting query (and welcome to the boards, shunammite !). With that said, are Ruggles of Red Gap and Night Must Fall really not that well-known? I think (correct me if I'm wrong) that they're at least fairly known among film buffs. Thanks Salz - I mainly associate with lowbrows lol - really I don't even know any classic film enthusiast in real life, though my husband tries to humor me now and then. And just as I hoped, you suggested some I haven't heard of that may be wonderful to me - I did see Man in the Iron Mask and enjoyed it. Will certainly look out for the other two. I need to learn how to do all the fancy pictures/clips etc. so my posts won't be boring. I saw a quote Schopenhouer I think - that a person who doesn't go to the theater is like getting dressed without looking in a mirror - I don't know about the mirror - and modern movies in general don't seem like good mirrors for me -now and then some do - but the great old movies - I see myself - and sometimes wipe off a smudge or two on my face/character as a result. Wendy to Peter Pan, why do you come for the stories, they are all about you, and he says I know, that's why I like them. I like movies that are "about me". And I'm large, I contain multitudes, at this point in life. But some stuff is just a flat out contradiction of what people really are. Or not artistic.
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shunammite
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@shunammite
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Post by shunammite on Sept 15, 2017 19:50:00 GMT
Juno And The Paycock / Alfred Hitchcock (1930). Probably only seen by Hitchcock completest (like me). Hitch, himself, adapted the famous play by Sean O’Casey for the screen and, while keeping most of the action confined to the living room of the Boyle apartment, manages to make it very cinematic – much like he did about 25 years later in “Dial M For Murder.” Stage actor Edward Chapman (who Hitchcock would use in two other movies) makes his film debut as Capt. Boyle (the “Paycock”), Sara Allgood is his wife Juno. The play is full of humor but at bottom is a shattering portrait of a family and society in great crisis. Hitchcock makes no effort at all to tack on a happy ending. The movie got great reviews and helped propel Hitchcock’s name toward the top of the list of great directors of the day. “Woman Haters” (1934). 20-minute short. After a long, tumultuous relationship with singer/comedian Ted Healy, the “stooges” in his act (vaudeville and movies) finally broke away from Healy to establish their own brand. “Woman Haters” was the first production to use the logo of “The Three Stooges.” In some ways (mostly in the slapping and eye-poking), they are recognizable as the Stooges we have come to know and love. In other ways, they were just finding their feet. Mainly because it is not only dialog heavy, but all the spoken material is in rhyme. Also, Larry, amazingly, is the prominent stooge in the plot. And just as important as anything else is the female co-star, Marjorie White. An accomplished comic actor in her own right, she holds her own with Moe, Larry, and Curly even to poking their eyes and whacking their foreheads with the heal of her hand. I actually felt a moment of loss and grief when I found out that “Woman Haters” was her last screen appearance. She died in an automobile accident in 1935. More trivia: look for an unbilled (and not recognizable by me) Walter Brennen as the train conductor. West Of Shanghai / John Farrow (1937). This Warner/First National feature was clearly intended to be the lesser half of a double movie program, but instead of the stuffy studio-bound opus I expected, director John Farrow (in one of his earliest assignments as a director) frequently moves his camera and even takes it out of doors, keeping things lively. As the curtain rises, we find Ricardo Cortez boarding a train for the Chinese countryside. He is on his way to bail out a failing oil field and secure a majority share of the company. On the train is another business man (Gordon Wood) and his daughter (Sheila Bromley). Wood intends on making a counter-offer to the one by Cortez. Cortez has another reason for going. His estranged wife is working as a medical missionary in the village where he is headed. The one fly in the ointment is that a new warlord – Fang! - has taken control of the area where the oil and mission are located. This drama, based on a play, has some fairly solid acting. The standout is the star who plays Fang, Boris Karloff. He is exceptional. Instead of a brutal killer, Karloff plays the warlord as a charming and pleasant killer. Indeed, he seems to be having a great time with the role, much more active and loose than we usually think of him. The fine Chinese-American actor Richard Loo plays Fang’s right-hand-man, Mr. Chang, who knows excellent English (he tells Cortez, “You don’t have to use pidgin with me; I speak your language better than you do”) and is always feeding Fang English slang phrases (“Bottoms up!”). Recommended especially to Boris Karloff fans. P.S. after posting this review on the old boards, I learned that the play the film was based on was set in Mexico and the Fang character was a Mexican bandit leader. The things we learn on these boards! I have Juno, seen it a couple of times, it was SO DEPRESSING - and my copy is poor - so I didn't fall in love with it even though it's good Hitch. Murder by Hitch also like that - not depressing, just lousy copy. Will look out for the other two - won't be able to answer everyone - can't even figure out how to reply without quoting, maybe something bad about the browser (duckduckgo).
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shunammite
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@shunammite
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Post by shunammite on Sept 15, 2017 19:54:21 GMT
The wonderful thing about Hitch - in his great films, like a balanced meal, equal amounts of tension, HUMOR, wisdom, TECHNIQUE - few filmmakers can touch him - another good thread idea - who is worthy to be compared to Hitch and why. I would be glad if there were some more modern directors in his league, but I don't know if there are. Worthy subject matter is core also - and the worthiest subject matter is male/female interaction, if it's not in the original story he'll put it there, as in 39 Steps. He is really the most ROMANTIC director I know of.
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Post by taylorfirst1 on Sept 15, 2017 20:43:42 GMT
The best WWII movie you've never heard of: An American airman is dropped into occupied France to assassinate a resistance agent suspected of being a Nazi spy. But he learns that dropping bombs on anonymous specks below is a lot easier than killing a man one-on-one...Orders To Kill went virtually unseen for decades, but is now available on DVD. Anyone interested in war films should definitely check it out. I've seen "Orders to Kill". It's an absolutely wonderful movie.
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Post by teleadm on Sept 15, 2017 21:21:05 GMT
"And tell why. I can only think of 2 at this moment - will update if I think of another one - Ruggles of Red Gap and Night Must Fall.
Ruggles - It's HILARIOUS, it has a very moving recital of the Gettysburg Address by Charles Laughton, it beutifully illustrates the Smart Jeeves/Dumb Lord trope (is that the right word?). EVERY CHARACTER is fabulous - used to be on youtube - comes on TCM now and then, well worth purchasing. Special mention, Mary Boland and Zasu Pitts. I may have to watch it AGAIN this evening!
Night - it's Robert Montgomery AT HIS BEST - a wonderful mixture of Comic and Horrific - very like a good early Hitchcock - a very young Rosalind Russell who is WONDERFUL - and Dame May Whitty teaching old people how not to be whining bossy hypochondriacs OR ELSE. Equal mixture of comic and horror, to me."
What the hell are you talking about, are you snobs above me? everything started mid Sentenced, for heavens sake don't ask the rest of the idiots what's happeneing....
Sorry if I missunderstood!
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Post by outrider127 on Sept 15, 2017 21:55:17 GMT
In no certain order: International House He Who Gets Slapped The Night Nurse Can't believe someone here actually mentioned He Who Gets Slapped(1924)--saw it decades ago,I usually avoid silent movies like the Bubonic Plague,but I actually did enjoy this movie
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Post by outrider127 on Sept 15, 2017 21:59:42 GMT
"And tell why. I can only think of 2 at this moment - will update if I think of another one - Ruggles of Red Gap and Night Must Fall. Ruggles - It's HILARIOUS, it has a very moving recital of the Gettysburg Address by Charles Laughton, it beutifully illustrates the Smart Jeeves/Dumb Lord trope (is that the right word?). EVERY CHARACTER is fabulous - used to be on youtube - comes on TCM now and then, well worth purchasing. Special mention, Mary Boland and Zasu Pitts. I may have to watch it AGAIN this evening! Night - it's Robert Montgomery AT HIS BEST - a wonderful mixture of Comic and Horrific - very like a good early Hitchcock - a very young Rosalind Russell who is WONDERFUL - and Dame May Whitty teaching old people how not to be whining bossy hypochondriacs OR ELSE. Equal mixture of comic and horror, to me." What the hell are you talking about, are you snobs above me? everything started mid Sentenced, for heavens sake don't ask the rest of the idiots what's happeneing.... Sorry if I missunderstood! Night Must Fall, as I remember,was my favorite Robert Montgomery movie
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Post by outrider127 on Sept 15, 2017 22:04:33 GMT
Strange Cargo(1940)with Clark Gable the first 'old' movie I ever saw
Son Of Fury(1942) with Tyrone Power,a far out adventure film that really works
Luck Of The Irish(1948) with Tyrone Power and Anne Baxter delightful escapist comedy
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Post by manfromplanetx on Sept 15, 2017 23:05:27 GMT
On Approval (!944) Delightfully charming British romantic comedy, timeless and universally appealing a standout cast/script, adapted and directed by Clive Brook along with Googie Withers, Beatrice Lillie and Roland Culver under 500 votes at IMDb. Meet Mr. Callaghan (1954) Disreputable Private Detective Slim Callaghan is hired to investigate a murder and a will change in London... Adapted from a Peter Cheyney crime novel this little known film is a great favourite of mine Starring Derrick De Marney, who gives a highly entertaining tongue-in-cheek performance as private eye Slim and he is supported by a great cast of extras. under 100 votes at IMDb. Living on Velvet (1935) The great director Frank Borzage gives us drama, comedy, romance. wonderful stars perfectly matched Francis, Brent, William, a little seen mid thirties gem, often re-watched here at our place. A main highlight is the 17 different fashionable Orry-Kelly gowns that beautiful Kay Francis wears throughout just 200 votes at IMDB
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Post by Doghouse6 on Sept 16, 2017 1:25:46 GMT
Ruggles is a charmer - and one with some real depth - from what I consider director Leo McCarey's richest and sharpest period (early-to-late-'30s, after which he began getting rather cloying for my tastes).
Three, huh? Well, lessee...
The Good Fairy (1935) Director William Wyler was more than capable of a light touch on the rare occasions he exercised it (Roman Holiday, How To Steal A Million), and this is a sparkling example. What makes this one special are the uniquely off-kilter and even absurdist sensibilities of screenwriter Preston Sturges (five years before his directorial debut), whose stamp is all over it. And what that unexpected combination achieves is equal parts elegant Lubtisch-ian comedy of manners and screwball, all filtered through Sturges's manic brand of illogical logic.
What's it about? Well, there's this naive young woman, see (Margaret Sullavan), who's grown up in an orphanage and, out in the real world for the first time, applies a philosophy of being a "good fairy" to those she meets, who in short order turn out to be millionaire Frank Morgan, struggling lawyer Herbert Marshall and hotel waiter Reginald Owen (who decides that this innocent, out alone in the big city, needs her own good fairy). Before it's all over, Sullavan has convinced Morgan that it's to his benefit to use his wealth in advancing the career of Marshall (for the purposes of which she pretends Marshall's her husband) and Owen has discovered his efforts to protect her are both futile and unnecessary. In support of such confusion are reliably colorful players like Eric Blore, Beulah Bondi, Alan Hale and Cesar Romero and, as I said years ago in my IMDB review, it's like a benign little tornado that sweeps the characters and the viewer up with it.
Vacation From Marriage (aka Perfect Strangers) (1945) - Under Alexander Korda's direction, Robert Donat and Deborah Kerr again demonstrate their remarkable versatility as a meek bookeeper and a mousy and sickly housewife who, separated by wartime service and freed from the rigid and stifling routine their marriage has become, are gradually transformed by both the separation and their individual experiences, to find themselves virtual strangers to one another at their end-of-war reunion. I've already picked up from your comments, shunammite, on how romance appeals to your film tastes, and I think I can guarantee this one will satisfy and reward. Oh, and I should make mention of the lively, endearing and indispensable contributions of Glynis Johns in a key supporting role.
Soldier In the Rain (1963) - Another unlikely combination: Steve McQueen and Jackie Gleason, portraying equally unlikely friends, country-boy Sgt. Eustis Clay, full of wildly ambitious moneymaking schemes for his anticipated return to civilian life, and erudite, sophisticated and smooth-as-silk Master Sgt. Maxwell Slaughter, career Army man who knows all the angles and can finagle anything. Episodic in nature, it's by turns goofy, sweet, tragic and always touching, and director Ralph Nelson (Requiem For A Heavyweight, Lilies Of the Field, Father Goose, Charly) manages all those moods successfully, aided by the talents of Tuesday Weld, Tom Poston, Tony Bill and Adam West.
Now, I don't really know how "not well known" any of these are, but they're all films for which I hold great affection yet rarely see or hear mentioned.
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Post by Doghouse6 on Sept 16, 2017 3:26:48 GMT
A strong second for Strange Cargo (1940), directed by Frank Borzage. My favorite Joan Crawford performance of all time - sans make-up and her usual "star" persona. Not a great film, but a very interesting one. Colorful and full of intrigue, it's fun even when the going gets grueling for she and Gable. All her "shop girl to wealth" roles notwithstanding, I like to think that this is one that comes closest to revealing the real Crawford: the tough-as-nails survivor from hardscrabble roots, with all subsequently-acquired affectation stripped away.
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Post by petrolino on Sept 16, 2017 4:19:45 GMT
'The Restless Breed' (1957 - Allan Dwan)
A highlight of Martin Scorsese's film teachings has been his championing of the great Allan Dwan. 'The Restless Breed' might serve as a signature western when it comes to Dwan's tight, economical filmmaking which applies a thoughtful, philosophical slant.
'Something Wild' (1961 - Jack Garfein)
This movie is so very far ahead of its time. A drama about loneliness, alienation, exploitation and the inevitable abuse that follows. It's long, absorbing and ultimately devastating.
'Emperor Of The North' (1973 - Robert Aldrich)
This movie about homelessness and petty criminal activity sounds depressing yet it's something everybody should be able to relate to on some level. It's a bumpy rollercoaster, brilliantly filmed by an audacious filmmaker.
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Post by Doghouse6 on Sept 16, 2017 4:56:33 GMT
West Of Shanghai / John Farrow (1937). This Warner/First National feature was clearly intended to be the lesser half of a double movie program, but instead of the stuffy studio-bound opus I expected, director John Farrow (in one of his earliest assignments as a director) frequently moves his camera and even takes it out of doors, keeping things lively. As the curtain rises, we find Ricardo Cortez boarding a train for the Chinese countryside. He is on his way to bail out a failing oil field and secure a majority share of the company. On the train is another business man (Gordon Wood) and his daughter (Sheila Bromley). Wood intends on making a counter-offer to the one by Cortez. Cortez has another reason for going. His estranged wife is working as a medical missionary in the village where he is headed. The one fly in the ointment is that a new warlord – Fang! - has taken control of the area where the oil and mission are located. This drama, based on a play, has some fairly solid acting. The standout is the star who plays Fang, Boris Karloff. He is exceptional. Instead of a brutal killer, Karloff plays the warlord as a charming and pleasant killer. Indeed, he seems to be having a great time with the role, much more active and loose than we usually think of him. The fine Chinese-American actor Richard Loo plays Fang’s right-hand-man, Mr. Chang, who knows excellent English (he tells Cortez, “You don’t have to use pidgin with me; I speak your language better than you do”) and is always feeding Fang English slang phrases (“Bottoms up!”). Recommended especially to Boris Karloff fans. P.S. after posting this review on the old boards, I learned that the play the film was based on was set in Mexico and the Fang character was a Mexican bandit leader. The things we learn on these boards! I'm so glad to read the appreciation of another for this tense, clever and wildly entertaining film. I can't add much to your descriptive remarks, except that I count it among the handful of my most favored Karloff performances. The "great time" you suggest he's having translates perfectly to the character. Fang clearly enjoys being Fang (as reflected in his oft-repeated answer to any query about how he accomplished one remarkable feat or another, delivered with an isn't-it-obvious inflection: "I am Fang!").In an era when what were then called Occidentals were routinely featured in prominent Asian roles (Warner Oland, Myrna Loy, Luise Rainer, Paul Muni, Peter Lorre, Katherine Hepburn, J. Carrol Naish, Alec Guinness among countless others) even as genuine Asians were just as routinely relegated to smaller ones, Karloff played, to my recollection, three (Fu Manchu and private investigator James Lee Wong being the other two), bringing something distinctly different to each. And the qualities of gentility, humor and even nobility that he brought to Wu Yen Fang - as unsettling counterpoint to his arrogance, ruthlessness and brutality - dovetail neatly with the twists, turns, maneuverings, betrayals and surprises the script adroitly delivers in this neglected gem.
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Post by Doghouse6 on Sept 16, 2017 5:30:12 GMT
Hm, interesting query (and welcome to the boards, shunammite !). With that said, are Ruggles of Red Gap and Night Must Fall really not that well-known? I think (correct me if I'm wrong) that they're at least fairly known among film buffs. A few less-heralded favorites that, again, film buffs may well know but that one will probably not find on many "great movies" lists: Jewel Robbery (1932, dir. William Dieterle): the best Lubitsch movie that Lubitsch never made. Beautifully filmed (it's adapted from a play, but it doesn't feel like it: it's open and airy and light), with hilarious, delightful pre-Code performances from William Powell and the lovely Kay Francis. The plot is impossibly clever, far more complicated than it appears at first, and the tone is that kind of sheer sophistication that characterizes Lubitsch. Really a marvellous little film, and I discovered it by sheer accident (thanks, TCM!). Murder on a Honeymoon (1935, dir. Lloyd Corrigan): the best of the "Miss Withers" whodunit-adaptations, with great interplay between Edna May Oliver and James Gleason (of course). By far the best directed of the three with Oliver, and boasting an actually surprising fair-play mystery plot. Good supporting cast, too. The Man in the Iron Mask (1939, dir. James Whale): a rip-roaring swashbuckler from one of my favorite directors, who borrows just as much from Anthony Hope as he does from Alexandre Dumas. The whole thing is tons of fun [and with numerous Whalesian touches that specifically recall Bride of Frankenstein], and I wish Whale had gotten to direct other pictures in the genre; I would love to have seen what he would have done with The Three Musketeers. Oh, just three? Curses... It raises an interesting question, though: as I wrote before, what is "well-known," and what's not? I'm a huge Laurel and Hardy fan, but would--say-- Sons of the Desert count? Or even something less known, like Blockheads? Not too sure myself... Those Hildegarde Withers whodunits are delights; I wish only that she and Gleason had teamed for more than just the three. I've seen only one of the other three ( Murder On A Bridle Path), but as much as I adore the wry and acerbic Helen Broderick, the change in tone took much of the peculiar charm out of the enterprise. I suppose I'll take a look at the two Gleason did with Zasu Pitts if I ever have the opportunity, but I don't hold out much optimism for them. I'd like to add also a note of admiration for underappreciated Louis Hayward in The Man In the Iron Mask (among so many others). I've never been able to quite fathom the reason(s) he never rose to more prestigious status. Cool and self-possessed while displaying a sort of easy charm with an edge, I thought he had it all over any number of other front-rank players of lesser charisma.
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Post by london777 on Sept 16, 2017 13:54:25 GMT
The best WWII movie you've never heard of: I was not aware of this film despite admiring other movies by Asquith, especially The Way to the Stars (1945), The Browning Version (1951), and The Winslow Boy (1948). Paul Massie starred, along with Dirk Bogarde, in another good Asquith film the following year, Libel (1959). He had a smaller role in another fine British movie by an under-appreciated director, Basil Dearden's Sapphire (1959). (I must confess that I have always confused Paul Massie with Daniel Massey of the famous acting family. Thanks to this thread I have finally got that cleared up!) My very cheap DVD player claims to be "region free". If so, I may invest in this movie. Thanks for drawing it to my attention.
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