|
|
Post by Matthew the Swordsman on May 17, 2018 5:55:45 GMT
Australia at School (1947), 19 minute documentary about the Australian education system. One of several films created to be shown in the UK to encourage British people to move to Australia.
I can't explain why, but this film made me feel very sad......I guess I'm weird.
|
|
|
|
Post by kijii on May 17, 2018 6:18:54 GMT
Stablemates (1938) / Sam Wood
I ordered this DVD at the same time I ordered Lord Jeff (1938) while continuing with my quest of exploring Sam Wood movies.
This was a very good movie, pairing Mickey Rooney with Wallace Beery about two guys interested in horses and horse racing while hanging around the horse track. Rooney plays an orphan in his first movie after Boys Town (1938) and Beery ends up playing a father figure, his first such movie since The Champ (1931) with Jackie Cooper. The combination works very well as the two attempt to train a horse to run in a local derby. When Rooney finds out that Berry is a washed up veterinarian, he encourages Berry to fix a horses leg. As the two travel with their horse, their relationship grows; the two sort of adopt each other and Rooney dreams of becoming a vet himself one day. Margaret Hamilton adds humor to the movie when Berry and Rooney end up staying at her farm one night, in a rainstorm, then plot to earn some money by fixing up her place the next day.
See this link for full synopsis with SPOILERS: www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/2282/Stablemates/full-synopsis.html
As with National Velvet (1944), and much later with The Black Stallion (1979), Lightning, the White Stallion (1986), and Lost Stallions: The Journey Home (2008), Rooney had an affinity for movies about horses and horse training.
 
 
|
|
|
|
Post by Matthew the Swordsman on May 17, 2018 6:33:46 GMT
Christmas Under the Sun (1947), 17-minute documentary about Christmas in Australia. I enjoyed watching it.
|
|
|
|
Post by Matthew the Swordsman on May 17, 2018 9:07:49 GMT
Just watched (for the first time)
National Capital (1945), an 18-minute documentary about the Australian capital of Canberra. Enjoyable little time capsule.
|
|
|
|
Post by Matthew the Swordsman on May 17, 2018 9:18:57 GMT
Just watched for the first time:
Brother, Have You Been Saved? (1944), which is not a film as such, but a news story from a cinema newsreel about female lifesavers. Dated fun, I enjoyed it very much.
|
|
|
|
Post by Matthew the Swordsman on May 17, 2018 9:30:10 GMT
Just watched for the first time:
These Stars are Mine (1943), slightly unusual title for a slightly unusual 6-minute film. I think the woman in this film has great hair.
|
|
|
|
Post by Matthew the Swordsman on May 17, 2018 9:42:57 GMT
Just watched:
Vintage newsreel footage from 1941 of a canoe race intended to raise money to buy a spitfire aircraft. Missing the sound unfortunately.
Yes, I watch a lot of random stuff......
|
|
|
|
Post by Matthew the Swordsman on May 17, 2018 10:51:15 GMT
Just re-watched Passport to Progress (1957), yet another old obscure short film. These things are addictive to me....
This one is about immigration to Australia. Pretty cheerful little film. The short was given a theatrical release. For example, at a Sydney cinema it accompanied the film Stowaway Girl (1957, aka Manuela), along with additional shorts The Case of the Smiling Widow (1957) and Fodder and Son (1957), the latter being a Woody Woodpecker cartoon.
|
|
|
|
Post by Matthew the Swordsman on May 17, 2018 11:16:00 GMT
Just re-watched:
Training Champions (1957), pleasantly lightweight documentary about swimmers in training.
As I believe I mentioned last time I watched this, this short was shown theatrically. For example, at a Sydney cinema it accompanied the by all accounts boring feature film Stopover Tokyo (1957), along with additional shorts Case of the River Morgue (1956), Gaston's Baby (listed on IMDb as 1958, but this is incorrect as it was shown in cinemas in 1957), and a Movietone newsreel.
|
|
|
|
Post by Matthew the Swordsman on May 17, 2018 11:42:25 GMT
Just re-watched:
Reaching for the Stars (1958), a 10-minute documentary about research being done in Australia by astronomers.
Was shown theatrically:
For example, in a Sydney cinema it accompanied the feature film The Silken Affair (1956) (which has only 7 ratings on IMDb, despite starring David Niven), along with additional shorts Cradle of Great Men (195?. Not on IMDb), Valley of the Yarra (1956) and Dopey Dick, the Pink Whale (1957), the latter being a Woody Woodpecker cartoon (which has 45 ratings, making it much more popular than the feature film it accompanied!).
At a cinema in Canberra, it accompanied a double feature of the Jerry Lewis feature film The Sad Sack (1957) and sci-fi movie The Space Children (1958), along with a newsreel.
|
|
|
|
Post by Matthew the Swordsman on May 17, 2018 12:06:09 GMT
On a very different note, just re-watched:
Timber Town (1972). Interesting and very lightweight 12-minute documentary about logging. Very different to the earlier films I watched today.....
I can find no record of a theatrical release.....
|
|
|
|
Post by Matthew the Swordsman on May 17, 2018 12:26:37 GMT
Just re-watched:
Shades of Puffing Billy (1967), with Puffing Billy being a historic steam train which is located not too far from where I live. The main train station is something like a 15-minute drive from my house. So if you ever wanted to know the kind of area I live in.....
An enjoyable 10-minute short.
|
|
|
|
Post by Matthew the Swordsman on May 17, 2018 14:08:55 GMT
Just watched for the first time:
Aborigines of the Sea Coast (1950), a 19-minute documentary. The narration is dated at times, but it's nicely filmed.
|
|
|
|
Post by teleadm on May 17, 2018 18:00:34 GMT
Watched a few Mickey Mouse shorts, since I brought up the subject, from a box where they are un-cut and not all of them suitable for family viewing. Society Dog Show 1939 with Pluto The Pointer 1939 with Pluto Tugboat Mickey 1940 with Goofy and Donald Mr. Mouse Takes a Trip 1940 with Pluto and Peg-Leg Pete The Little Whirlwind 1941 with Minnie The Nifty Nineties 1941 with Minnie and cameos by Goofy, Donald, Daisy, Howie, Dowie and Louie Mickey's Birthday Party 1942 with Minnie and the gang Jack and the Beanstalk segment from Fun and Fancy Free 1947 with Goofy and Donald This was a wonderful nostalgic trip, I haven't seen some of these short since maybe 40 to 50 years ago. I remember having The Pointer on a ViewMaster too as a kid.    |
|
|
|
Post by kijii on May 17, 2018 18:11:01 GMT
I remember having The Pointer on a ViewMaster too as a kid. ---------------------------------------- The Viewmaster---Ah yes, that it the thing that you hold up to your eyes and click with your finger to get a new picture? |
|
|
|
Post by teleadm on May 17, 2018 18:18:27 GMT
I remember having The Pointer on a ViewMaster too as a kid. ---------------------------------------- The Viewmaster---Ah yes, that it the thing that you hold up to your eyes and click with your finger to get a new picture?Yes! This is a model from the 1960s:  This actually looks like the model I used to have |
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
@Deleted
Posts: 0
Likes:
|
Post by Deleted on May 18, 2018 1:59:05 GMT
Way out East 1920. As far as I know, although I haven't seen them this was Griffith's last great movie. I tell ya the performance by the main lead in this is excellent, really is. And it holds up.
|
|
|
|
Post by kijii on May 18, 2018 6:08:30 GMT
House by the River (1950) / Fritz Lang
  
For TCM Full Synposis with SPOILERS: www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/78514/House-by-the-River/full-synopsis.html
------------------------------------------------------------------------
They Were Expendable (1945) / John Ford
This is a good World War II movie that presents some of the sad American defeats in the Pacific immediately after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. When the PT boat was first introduced as a small easily maneuverable craft capable of delivering torpedos above water, it was not well received by the Navy. As a result of the early Japanese victories in the Philippians, the early PT boats stationed there were basically used to transport troops out of the area with the loss of many men in several defeats. Only a few men were able to get to Australia before Americans could later return and retake these areas. Robert Montgomery, who played Lt. John Brickley in the movie, actually served on a PT Boat during the war. In this John Ford movie, John Wayne had to play second fiddle, as 'Rusty Ryan' (which was still a good role since he got to have Donna Reed as a girlfriend).
See: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_D._Bulkeley
For TCM Full Synposis with SPOILERS: www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/2070/They-Were-Expendable/full-synopsis.html
Lt. John Brickley : Oh, Snuffy... how about getting some torpedoes from you?
Submarine commander : For those cracker boxes of yours? No telling when we'll see a mother ship again.
Lt. John Brickley : How long have you been on patrol?
Submarine commander : Since the day the war started.
Lt. John Brickley: What did you get?
Submarine commander : Two small freighters. We had hard luck.
Lt. John Brickley : Well, while you've been cruising around the Pacific, those 'cracker boxes' have sunk two converted cruisers, an auxiliary aircraft carrier, a 10,000-ton tanker, a large freighter, a flock of barges and numerous sons of Nippon!
Lt. 'Rusty' Ryan : And also in our brief career, we've carried more messages than Western Union!
Submarine commander : Well, look, I'd love to help you out, fellas. But you know, I got orders...
Lt. John Brickley : Snuffy... who played the leading lady in "Tess of the D'Urbervilles" in 1932 at the Academy?
Lt. 'Rusty' Ryan : And does your crew know about it?
Submarine commander : [after a long pause] How many do you want?
Lt. John Brickley : You've got sixteen?
Lt. 'Rusty' Ryan : We'll take eight.
Lt. John Brickley : And we'll try and put 'em where they belong.
Submarine commander : Thanks. [walks away slowly]
|
|
|
|
Post by ZolotoyRetriever on May 18, 2018 8:44:22 GMT
The Coward (1965), directed by Satyajit Ray, with Soumitra Chatterjee, Madhabi Mukherjee, Haradhan Bannerjee. DVR'd off of TCM some months ago. First-time viewing.
Simple but compelling tale about a young man, Amitabha Roy (Soumitra Chatterjee), a Calcutta-based screenwriter, who is driving around in the country to collect material for a film. His vehicle breaks down in a small town. A tea planter, Bimal Gupta (Haradhan Bandopadhyay), offers him hospitality for the night. Amitabha is forced to accept the offer as he has no alternative, so off they go to the tea planter's nice home.
At Gupta's house, he is introduced to the planter's attractive young wife Karuna (Madhabi Mukherjee). Amitabha is shocked to find out she is the girl he once loved as a struggling student, and had let down due to his inability to offer her a solid marriage proposal. Unaware of their past relationship, Gupta entertains Amitabha at his home. Throughout the film, he remains entirely clueless about his guest's and his wife's past history with each other. Some comic, as well as sad and tense moments, ensue. Flashbacks help round out the story.
Pretty good film bundled into a short package (run-time is only about 74 minutes). I especially enjoyed the tea planter character, Bimal Gupta, who was a plump, jovial, dense drunkard who nevertheless had some good lines and left me chuckling more than once. Bengali as well as English language was randomly woven into the dialogue, which made for some unexpected listening surprises. The ending was a bit jarring and unexpected, too, and left an impression. See it if you get the chance.
|
|
|
|
Post by louise on May 18, 2018 15:22:30 GMT
rocket Post (2004). LOosely based on a true story about a German scientist who tried to create a rocket that could carry letters from a small Scottish island. it is a weird story that could have made a funny comedy, but unfortunately the film maker decided to make it a drama instead, with, inevitably, a romance between the German and a local girl. A pity, they could have got a lot of laughs out of this. THe ending in particular is completely different from what actually happened, yet the blurb on the dvd box unblushingly declares it a 'true story'.
|
|
