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Post by kijii on Jul 4, 2018 21:58:55 GMT
Tribute to a Bad Man (1956) / Robert Wise Streamed from FilmStruck
A strange confluence of events brought me back to watch this movie again today: 1) We had just played the GG on James Cagney yesterday; 2) FilmStruck is now featuring 22 movies starring Cagney, so I used the opportunity to re-watch this movie; 3) I am in a Robert Wise watching phase, and this seems to be the only Western directed by Wise; and 4) I remembered living near and visiting the filming location (Montrose, Colorado) at the time the movie was shot. This is a good movie and a mature western. It relates the story of a young man from Philadelphia, Steve Miller (Don Dubbins), happening upon a site in the "Rodock Valley" and taking sides to help a man in distress, Jeremy Rodock (James Cagney). Rodock then takes Steve to his cabin where he lives with a young Greek woman, Jocasta Constantine "Jo" (Irene Papas), whom he had met, in at bar in Cheyenne. Jeremy Rodock makes his living by raising and selling mustangs captured in the Valley. He is known as a hard man who would hang a man who stole (or mistreated) his horses. Since there is no law within 200 miles of his ranch, he serves as judge and jury for anyone messing with his horses. Jeremy Rodock (James Cagney): [Explaining to Jocasta why he must go search out and hang the horse thieves, in spite of Jo's wishes to the contrary] Jo... you come as close to bein'... well, as close to bein' everything to me as anything livin'. But I still can't do what you want me to do. We're livin' in the middle of nowhere. Two hundred miles from any kind of law and order. Except for what I built myself. Ever since I started - and this you don't know - I've been badgered, skunked, bitten out and bushwhacked by thieves from everywhere. And now, one of my men's been killed. I find my horses, I find the killer. If I find the killer, I hang him. I gotta' keep my own reckoning, Jo. It's the way I built my life and half the transportation of the West. Goodbye, Jo.
When Rodock gets in a "hanging mood," this ranch hands and friends don't want to be anywhere near him. This is true for Jo too, and she warns Steve of this: Jocasta Constantine (Irene Papas): [Offering to loan Steve ten dollars] I'd lend you more, if you would use the money to go back home. Steve Miller (Don Dubbins): Go home? Why? Jocasta Constantine : Steve, we've only talked a few times since you came here. But I know this about you. You are gentle. You haven't been used, and made hard. This is not your kind of life. Look at the men in the bunkhouse: Baldy, and Fat Jones, and Abe. Never a chance for a family, or a home. In ten years, you're gonna' be like them - a "nobody" on a horse. That's what a wrangler is: a "nobody" on a horse. With bad teeth, broken bones, double hernia, and lice!
As Steve proves to be a good wrangler, Rodock talks of even making him the head wrangler one day. But, when Rodock shows his hard side, after his horses are captured and their hooves are trimmed to the quick, Steve cannot figure him out as he shows his revenge on those that would steal or mistreat horses so much. This is good story and perhaps the best one on the subject of horse wrangling. Cowboys raise cattle Wranglers raise horses (Wrangling is not the same as Rustling)
Here is the full TCM synopsis of the movie with Spoilers: While looking for work in the Wyoming Territory in the late 1800s, young Steve Miller finds hard-bitten horse rancher Jeremy Rodock wounded after an attack by cattle rustlers Barjak and Hearn. Rodock accepts Steve's offer to help him back to his ranch and offers him a job as a ranchhand. After Steve makes camp and "cores" the bullet out of Rodock's wound, a horse carrying the body of Rodock's ranchhand Whitey approaches and Rodock vows to catch the rustlers who killed Whitey. The next day, upon reaching the ranch house, Steve meets Rodock's sweetheart, the generous and feisty Jocasta Constantine, daughter of a Greek scholar who fled war-torn Greece. Later, head wrangler McNulty warns Steve that Rodock has grown evil from "hanging sickness," Rodock's propensity to mete out punishment by hanging. When McNulty later tries to kiss Jocasta, she insists that she loves only Rodock, who took her in when she was a troubled, frontier, dance-hall prostitute in Cheyenne. That night after Rodock gives her a pair of sparkling earrings, Jocasta promises to stay by his side, but Rodock believes she will "stray" when someone better comes along. The next morning, after McNulty announces that the east range horses have been stolen, Rodock gathers his men to hunt down the thieves. When Jocasta protests that the hangings have corrupted him, Rodock suggests that she should leave if she cannot accept his methods. After following the thieves' tracks for days, Rodock rides to L. A. Peterson's ranch to ask his old horse trading partner if he has stolen the herd, but Peterson, who claims Rodock cheated him out of his share of the horse business, orders him off the land. Days later, after Jocasta rebuffs McNulty's advances, Rodock spies the two leaving the barn within minutes of each other. Suspecting foul play, a jealous Rodock fires McNulty and, after a fistfight ensues, orders him off the land. Rodock then asks Jocasta if she knew McNulty in Cheyenne, but she reminds him that he likes her because "she wasn't born yesterday." Later, when the illiterate Steve asks her to write a letter to his mother, Jocasta tries to convince him to leave the ranch before the hangings begin to haunt him. When she then pines openly for a peaceful life in town, Steve reaches out to comfort her but realizes she is Rodock's girl. Months later, Rodock discovers that Peterson, Hearn and Barjak are stealing his horses. Along with Steve and several other ranchhands, Rodock kills Peterson and captures and hangs Hearn, but Barjak escapes. Returning Peterson's body to his home, Rodock offers Mrs. Peterson and Peterson's son Lars money to maintain their ranch, but the insolent Lars promises to avenge his father's death. Meanwhile, McNulty and Barjak devise a plan to steal Rodock's herd and later enlist Lars in their scheme. At the ranch that night, Steve insists that because Rodock could not be sure who killed Whitey, he should not act as the judge and jury. In reply, Rodock reminds him that in unfenced, frontier territory one must make one's own law. Jocasta protests Rodock's vigilantism as well and leaves to comfort Steve, who professes his love for her and begs her to leave with him. After Jocasta returns to the house, a drunken Rodock jealously argues with her. Days later, Steve proposes to Jocasta, who confesses that she blames her own lack of fortitude for turning to prostitution after immigrating to America and again declares her love for Rodock. Suddenly, Rodock barges in and accuses Jocasta of having affairs with McNulty and Steve. That night, as Rodock and the ranchhands celebrate a large sale to the Fargo stagecoaches, Jocasta remains in her room preparing to leave the ranch. Days later, when Steve discovers that another herd has been stolen, he, Rodock and ranchhand Abe saddle up to track the thieves. Before Steve departs, Jocasta promises to leave the ranch with him upon his return. Successfully tracking the rustlers to a nearby valley, where they have hidden the stolen herd, Rodock, Abe and Steve hold the men at gunpoint. Rodock then learns that McNulty has filed the mares' hoofs to bloody stumps to keep them and their foals from wandering, thus allowing McNulty to leave them unattended while he returns to town and establishes an alibi. Once the foals have grown, he plans to flee with a herd of unbranded horses. Incensed by McNulty's cruelty, Rodock forces all three men to take off their boots and march through the rocky cactus terrain toward the Fort Whitney jail. After days of walking, the men's torn and bloodied feet horrify Steve, who begs Rodock to stop his cruelty. When Barjak finally passes out from the pain and McNulty falls to the ground begging deliriously for mercy, Rodock orders Steve to put them back on their horses. After the proud Lars accuses Rodock of living in a life grounded in greed and cruelty, Rodock, awakened by Lars' honesty, sets the other men free and takes Lars home, where Mrs. Peterson tells Rodock that she holds no grudge against him. When Rodock offers to give them some horses to start again, Lars bitterly refuses any help and tells him that Rodock has taught him to be compassionless. Filled with pity for the boy and for himself, Rodock returns to his ranch, where Steve tells him that he is leaving with Jocasta, who laments that Rodock knows nothing of human feelings. Crippled by her words, Rodock returns to the house and pounds out his sadness on the piano. After the couple leave, Rodock finds Jocasta's earrings and rides out to return them to her. Meanwhile, Steve tells Jocasta about Rodock's change of heart in dealing with the thieves and his promise to give up hunting and killing men. Just then, Rodock finds the couple and hands Jocasta the earrings as a gesture of goodwill. After Jocasta begins to cry, Steve realizes she still belongs to Rodock. Trading his favorite horse for the wagon, Rodock then proposes to Jocasta on the trail back home while Steve rides off, carrying only a memory of the couple that helped him become a man.
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Post by BATouttaheck on Jul 4, 2018 22:10:33 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Jul 4, 2018 22:22:05 GMT
SpaceCamp (1986) it was an ok movie.
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Post by Doghouse6 on Jul 4, 2018 23:09:02 GMT
Tribute to a Bad Man (1956) / Robert Wise Streamed from FilmStruck
A strange confluence of events brought me back to watch this movie again today "A strange confluence of events" is a phrase that can be applied to the production of the film itself. Originally set to star Spencer Tracy and Robert Francis, it led to Tracy's severance from MGM when he balked at traveling to the Colorado location. Days before production was to begin, Francis was killed in a place crash, and Dubbins was personally selected by Cagney (replacing Tracy) to replace Francis, who is now probably best remembered for his role in The Caine Mutiny...in which Dubbins, in his second feature film, played Seaman 1st Class Urban, whose untucked shirttail inspires Queeg's order that all shirts will be worn tucked in and his assignment of that responsibility to Ensign Keith (Francis). 'Round and 'round it goes... Tribute To A Bad Man, incidentally, had been the original title of The Bad and the Beautiful. ...and 'round and 'round...
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Post by Catman on Jul 4, 2018 23:11:07 GMT
Not as bad as expected, but the print really sucked.
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Post by kijii on Jul 4, 2018 23:20:03 GMT
Tribute to a Bad Man (1956) / Robert Wise Streamed from FilmStruck
A strange confluence of events brought me back to watch this movie again today "A strange confluence of events" is a phrase that can be applied to the production of the film itself. Originally set to star Spencer Tracy and Robert Francis, it led to Tracy's severance from MGM when he balked at traveling to the Colorado location. Days before production was to begin, Francis was killed in a place crash, and Dubbins was personally selected by Cagney (replacing Tracy) to replace Francis, who is now probably best remembered for his role in The Caine Mutiny...in which Dubbins, in his second feature film, played Seaman 1st Class Urban, whose untucked shirttail inspires Queeg's order that all shirts will be worn tucked in and his assignment of that responsibility to Ensign Keith (Francis). 'Round and 'round it goes... Tribute To A Bad Man, incidentally, had been the original title of The Bad and the Beautiful. ...and 'round and 'round... Doghouse6-- I'm glad you mentioned that. I remember my mom hearing, and hoping, the Spencer Tracy would be making the movie and later being disappointed that he wasn't.
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Post by BATouttaheck on Jul 4, 2018 23:20:14 GMT
forgive the correction re; Caine Doghouse6 , BUT … it's Horrible Lugatch's (Claude Akins) shirttail that is untucked (due to prickly heat) and Urban (Dubbins )is the guy who won't tell Queeg that they are circling because he got yelled at earlier for interrupting. The un-tucked shirttail The chewing out re: shirttail photos taken off the Bat-Tv and blurry but IMDb finally accepted them ..
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Post by BATouttaheck on Jul 4, 2018 23:29:37 GMT
More Round and Round : Doghouse6 Dubbins and Akins BOTH make their FIRST feature film appearances in From Here to Eternity … Dubbins was Pvt. Friday Clark - the Bugler whose Bugle Pruitt used to play taps and Akins was one of the Sergeants tormenting Pruitt (which name he used in Movin' On ) getting dizzy ?
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Post by Doghouse6 on Jul 5, 2018 0:51:40 GMT
More Round and Round : Doghouse6 Dubbins and Akins BOTH make their FIRST feature film appearances in From Here to Eternity … Dubbins was Pvt. Friday Clark - the Bugler whose Bugle Pruitt used to play taps and Akins was one of the Sergeants tormenting Pruitt (which name he used in Movin' On ) getting dizzy ? And if you'll forgive both a consolidation of replies and a slight correction to the correction: it's Urban who first appears in the wardroom with his shirt untucked, from which Queeg's observation phrased as a question arises: "Anyone notice anything peculiar about Seaman 1st Class Urban? A shirttail hanging outside trousers is the regulation uniform, I believe, for busboys; not, however, for a sailor in the United States Navy. These are the things we are going to start noticing again."
That's what leads to the later joint reprimand of Lugatch, Keith and even Keefer. And it's Todd Karns* as the helmsman Stillwell who's afraid to interrupt Queeg again to tell him about the danger from steaming over the towline. *Best remembered by most as Harry Bailey in It's A Wonderful Life.
And there's more dizziness ahead: Don "Friday Clark" Dubbins was also the personal choice of Jack "Joe Friday" Webb for the role of Pvt. Owens in 1957's The D.I.
And it's still only Wednesday! I quite enjoyed Movin' On (and Akins as Sonny Pruitt). That genre, whatever it's called, was one that TV producers got a lot mileage out of: The Millionaire, Route 66, The Fugitive, Run For Your Life, Then Came Bronson and gosh-all how many others. We had some Law & Order episodes on the DVR that we watched last night, and two of them featured Akins's Movin' On costar, Frank Converse (as unsympathetic but affluent sleazebags).
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Post by BATouttaheck on Jul 5, 2018 3:23:03 GMT
Doghouse6 ah yes, I remember now about Harry Bailey and Urban and all from the last time that Caine was mentioned and someone said that Meatball was the un-tuckee. Thanks to the correction to the correction and for the additions. Those somewhere else every week series mentioned were all in at least the "pretty good" category. I watched them all
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Post by kijii on Jul 5, 2018 15:37:54 GMT
Executive Suite (1954) / Robert Wise I still love this great board room drama--even after 4 other viewings over the years. The cast, within the board, are all Oscar nominees, with the exception of Paul Douglas. Nina Foch received an Oscar nomination, here, as the executive secretary.
The movie reunites William Holden with Barbara Stanwyck--years after Golden Boy (1939) So, what is the purpose of the Company's Board---increased dividends for the shareholders--quality for the customers---making a better product for the company's sales force--pride in the company name--greed of one VP who would give his vote to another power-grabbing VP?
McDonald Walling (William Holden): The force behind a great company has to be more than the pride of one man; it has to be the pride of thousands. You can't make men work for money alone - you starve their souls when you try it, and you can starve a company to death the same way.
McDonald Walling : [picking up a small, flimsy table] And that's when we started doing things like this: the KF line. Walt, are your boys proud when they go out and sell this stuff? When they know the finish is going to crack, the veneer split off and the legs come loose? Loren Phineas Shaw (Fredric March): Wait a minute, wait a minute. That's priced merchandise - it serves a definite purpose in the profit structure of this company. We're not cheating anyone. McDonald Walling : Ourselves! Loren Phineas Shaw : At that price, the customer knows exactly what he is going to get. McDonald Walling : This! [flips the table over, and easily tears off one of its legs] This is what Tredway has come to mean! [violently throws the leg against the wall]
McDonald Walling : And what do you suppose the people think of us when they buy it? How do you suppose the men in the factories feel when they make it? What must they think of a management that is willing to stoop to selling this kind of junk in order to add a dime a year to the dividend? Loren Phineas Shaw : After all, that's only part of our business. Eventually we can cut down on the line... McDonald Walling : We'll drop that line! And we'll never again ask a man to do anything that will poison his pride in himself or his work.
Here is the full TCM synopsis of the movie with Spoilers: Outside the Manhattan high-rise that houses Tredway Corporation, a manufacturer of fine wood furniture, company president Avery Bullard suddenly collapses and dies of a stroke. From the executive suite, George Nyle Caswell and Julius Steigel are discussing the vacant executive vice-president position when they see a body being removed by an ambulance. Caswell, who realizes it is Bullard, promptly calls his broker and, anticipating a decline in the company's stock value once word of Bullard's death gets out, puts in a short sale order for 3,700 shares. Bullard's wallet, which he dropped when he was stricken, is stolen by a man on the street, and Bullard is tagged a "John Doe" at the morgue. Meanwhile, a telegram Bullard sent moments before his death, calling for an executive committee meeting that evening, reaches his secretary, Erica Martin. All of the executives are notified of the last-minute meeting, including McDonald Walling, who oversees the company's manufacturing plant and is preparing to test a new molding process. As the day goes on, Caswell nervously scours the late editions in vain for some mention of Bullard's death. At six o'clock, Erica and the executives gather in the board room and wait for Bullard to arrive. Executive Frederick Y. Alderson is called away to speak with Julia O. Tredway, the corporation's major stockholder and Bullard's former lover. Julia says she received a call from Caswell requesting that she privately sell 3,700 shares of stock to an anonymous buyer. When Bullard fails to appear, the meeting is called off. Meanwhile, Caswell is at the Stork Club with his mistress, waiting for Julia's call, when he sees an item in the evening paper about a corpse identified only by the initials "A. B.," and immediately places a call to the police. McDonald returns to the plant and learns that the test of the new process did not go well in his absence. On the way home, he complains to his wife Mary that financial analyst Loren Phineas Shaw focuses on the bottom line at the expense of the company's creativity, and becomes angry when Mary gently reproaches him for his blind loyalty to Bullard. When the Wallings get home, they learn of Bullard's death, and McDonald returns to the office. A stunned Alderson assumes control of the company, but bristles at the easy authority Shaw displays under the circumstances. Shaw tracks down Josiah Walter Dudley, who was supposed to be on a business trip to Chicago, at the apartment of Dudley's secretary, Eva Bardeman. After breaking the news of Bullard's death, Shaw tells Dudley that a board meeting will be held the following evening to elect a new president. Late that night, the Wallings discuss the upcoming election, and McDonald predicts that the majority of the board members will favor Jesse Q. Grimm, adding that Alderson had suggested that he make a bid for the presidency. Mary encourages her husband to leave the company and set off on his own, but McDonald refuses to turn his back on the organization. The following day, Shaw questions Erica about Bullard's relationship with Julia, whose father had run the company before committing suicide. Erica discreetly acknowledges only that Bullard brought the company back from ruin and befriended Julia when she had a breakdown. Meanwhile, McDonald receives word from the plant that the new process finally works but cannot be implemented because of a directive from Shaw. At the office, Caswell calls on Shaw and asks that 4,000 shares of the company's unissued common stock be sold to him at the previous day's closing price. Shaw surprises his colleague by revealing that he knows all about his shady stock deal. Caswell confesses that he lacks sufficient liquid assets to cover the short sale, and offers Shaw his vote in exchange for the stock. Later, Alderson drops by McDonald's son's Little League game with the news that Grimm plans to retire, and McDonald reluctantly agrees to support Dudley in the election. After reconsidering the situation, however, McDonald decides that he will run for president, but Mary is not pleased with the idea. After McDonald leaves, Alderson phones and asks Mary to call the office with the message that he has been delayed while picking up Grimm and would like the vote to be postponed until they arrive. Still disturbed over her conversation with McDonald, however, Mary does not make the call. At the office, McDonald approaches Julia to seek her support, but she bitterly tells him she is empowering Shaw to liquidate her sizeable stock holdings. McDonald angrily accuses her of selling Bullard out, and the distraught Julia breaks down. Moments before the meeting is to begin, Julia tears up the proxy she had given Shaw and takes her place at the conference table. Dudley nominates Shaw for president, but the first ballot is inconclusive because one board member abstains. Mary comes to the office and apologetically delivers the message to her husband, and Alderson and Grimm soon arrive. McDonald speaks passionately about the company, condemning Shaw's short-sighted emphasis on quick profits as "a lack of faith in the future." After McDonald outlines his vision for restoring the company to its former high standards, the board unanimously elects him president. As the meeting ends, Julia encounters Mary in the waiting room and asks her to thank McDonald for saving her life.
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Post by teleadm on Jul 5, 2018 18:05:35 GMT
Since it was Fouth of July I thought I should see something American, and what could be more American than Cowboys. Thinking back to my own childhood in the 1960s, even we little kids in Sweden runned around playing cowboys, Bonanza had a lot to do with it, shooting villains with our little toy pistols or pickadoller as we called them, shouting handsap and shaddap (it sounded like that in our little ears). Cowboy 1958, directed by Delmer Daves, based on a memoir book by Frank Harris, starring Glenn Ford, Jack Lemmon, Anna Kashfi, Brian Donlevy, Dick York, Víctor Manuel Mendoza, Richard Jaeckel, King Donovan, Strother Martin (unbilled), and others and many cows. Western, "An idealistic tenderfoot Chicago hotel clerk (Lemmon) is taken on a cattle-drive to Mexico by famous trail boss Tom Reece Ford) but discovers that cowboy life isn't what he expected". I liked this movie and how it played out it's storyline, straight and to the point, and not much dillydally. Ford plays out his no-nonsense persona, charming when he needs to be and tough when he needs to be and he does it well. Lemmon is also good as the naive and opportunistic tenderfoot who follows his blind heart and a girl he has fallen in love with, only to get snubbed. Kashfi as the girl that Lemmon fell in love with has a rather thankless role of just looking pretty, and she is very pretty. Donlevy has a small but interesting role as a fastest gun and later sheriff who has growned tired of all the shooting and killing and young drunk punks who must test his fastest gun abilities all the time, I couldn't help but thinking that his role here was a sort of a continuation of his many bad men roles, if his characters had survived and had become older and wiser. The only things What I didn't like was the games they played for fun in the Mexican scenes, burying live hens that is to be picked up by the throat from horsebacks, and a bullring scene where it looks like a bull actually hurts a horse badly with his horns, but that might only be an observation with my modern eyes, but I don't think it should be edited out. I liked that the actual cowpunching was kept to only a necessary minimum. Delmer Daves did a handfull of interesting westerns in the 1950s before he started directing best-seller brick-thick books schmaltz. Cowboy was Oscar nominated for Best Film Editing. The stockyard scenes were filmed in El Paso, Texas, and other scenery in Arizona, New Mexico and Oklahoma.
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Post by kijii on Jul 5, 2018 23:55:51 GMT
Since it was Fouth of July I thought I should see something American, and what could be more American than Cowboys. Thinking back to my own childhood in the 1960s, even we little kids in Sweden runned around playing cowboys, Bonanza had a lot to do with it, shooting villains with our little toy pistols or pickadoller as we called them, shouting handsap and shaddap (it sounded like that in our little ears). Cowboy 1958, directed by Delmer Daves, based on a memoir book by Frank Harris, starring Glenn Ford, Jack Lemmon, Anna Kashfi, Brian Donlevy, Dick York, Víctor Manuel Mendoza, Richard Jaeckel, King Donovan, Strother Martin (unbilled), and others and many cows. Western, "An idealistic tenderfoot Chicago hotel clerk (Lemmon) is taken on a cattle-drive to Mexico by famous trail boss Tom Reece Ford) but discovers that cowboy life isn't what he expected". I liked this movie and how it played out it's storyline, straight and to the point, and not much dillydally. Ford plays out his no-nonsense persona, charming when he needs to be and tough when he needs to be and he does it well. Lemmon is also good as the naive and opportunistic tenderfoot who follows his blind heart and a girl he has fallen in love with, only to get snubbed. Kashfi as the girl that Lemmon fell in love with has a rather thankless role of just looking pretty, and she is very pretty. Donlevy has a small but interesting role as a fastest gun and later sheriff who has growned tired of all the shooting and killing and young drunk punks who must test his fastest gun abilities all the time, I couldn't help but thinking that his role here was a sort of a continuation of his many bad men roles, if his characters had survived and had become older and wiser. The only things What I didn't like was the games they played for fun in the Mexican scenes, burying live hens that is to be picked up by the throat from horsebacks, and a bullring scene where it looks like a bull actually hurts a horse badly with his horns, but that might only be an observation with my modern eyes, but I don't think it should be edited out. I liked that the actual cowpunching was kept to only a necessary minimum. Delmer Daves did a handfull of interesting westerns in the 1950s before he started directing best-seller brick-thick books schmaltz. Cowboy was Oscar nominated for Best Film Editing. The stockyard scenes were filmed in El Paso, Texas, and other scenery in Arizona, New Mexico and Oklahoma. Speaking of Delmer Daves, you gave me an idea for another thread--I think Glenn Ford was in 3 consecutive movies directed by Daves.
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Post by petrolino on Jul 6, 2018 1:43:41 GMT
Revenge drama 'Blue Ruin' (2013), with soundtrack music from Tearist.
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Post by kijii on Jul 6, 2018 5:25:27 GMT
The Andromeda Strain (1971) / Robert Wise I hate this movie genre, so there is nothing more to say................
Senator from Vermont (Eric Christmas): This cloud-seeding business, Stone... you absolutely sure it worked? You better be. Dr. Jeremy Stone : All reports continue to indicate that the experiment was successful, Senator. Senator from Vermont : Then we can feel confident your so-called "biological crisis" is over? Dr. Jeremy Stone : As far as Andromeda is concerned, yes. We have the organism at Wildfire, and we continue to study it. We know now beyond a doubt that other forms of life exist in the universe. Senator from Vermont : Thanks to Scoop? Dr. Jeremy Stone : Yes. [pause] Dr. Jeremy Stone : However, with this new knowledge, there is no guarantee that another so-called "biological crisis" won't occur again. Senator from Vermont : Hmm. What do we do about that? Dr. Jeremy Stone : Precisely, Senator. What do we do?
Here is the full TCM synopsis of the movie with Spoilers:After a space satellite launched by the United States as part of a top-secret biological research project code-named SCOOP crashes near the small town of Piedmont, New Mexico, two military recovery technicians arrive. When the men report their discovery of two dead bodies to Vandenburg Air Force Base mission control, they are ordered to return immediately, but the controllers then lose contact with the men. A reconnaissance photography flight over Piedmont reveals dead bodies scattered throughout the small town, prompting duty officer Maj. Arthur Manchek to declare a state of emergency and summon a special scientific investigative team that includes pathologist Dr. Charles Dutton, microbiologist Dr. Ruth Leavitt and surgeon and blood chemistry expert Dr. Mark Hall, led by Nobel Prize-winning biologist Dr. Jeremy Stone. Stone is privately briefed on SCOOP, created by the army's Biological Research Division to collect organisms existing in outer space that could be used as potential biological weapons. The morning after the satellite crash, Stone and Hall, wearing protective gear, are flown by helicopter to Piedmont. Examining several bodies, they conclude that some victims died quickly while others appeared to have had mental breakdowns before dying. As the pair proceeds through the town, Hall notices a car accident victim whose injuries did not bleed. The men track the satellite to the town doctor's office, where Stone is indignant to find the capsule has been opened. Hall then inspects the dead physician and when he cuts the man's arm, powdered blood pours out, revealing clotting throughout the entire system. Recognizing that whatever infected the citizens of Piedmont is not from Earth, the men prepare to depart with the satellite when they are startled by a sound. At a nearby house they find a live baby crying lustily. Urged on by their protective suits' dwindling oxygen supply, Stone summons the helicopter, which air-lifts the baby aboard. Hall is then nearly attacked by an old man brandishing a cleaver but when the man collapses on the ground writhing in pain, he is also taken aboard the helicopter. Stone contacts Manchek to request that Piedmont be "neutralized" by a thermonuclear blast to prevent the spread of the mysterious infection. While Stone, Hall and, separately, the baby, old man and satellite are transferred to a secret location, Manchek requests authorization to destroy Piedmont. Science advisor Dr. Robertson immediately agrees, but political advisor Grimes insists on a more cautious approach. A little later, Manchek receives a call from the President telling him to delay the destruction of Piedmont for twenty-four to forty-eight hours. Stone and Hall then meet Dutton and Leavitt in a remote desert area near Flatrock, Nevada where a nondescript government agricultural station masks the entrance to Wildfire, a five-level, underground biological crisis laboratory designed in part by Stone two years earlier. Stone is puzzled to learn from the communications center that there has been no message from the White House regarding Piedmont, but with the others, begins a sixteen-hour decontamination procedure that takes them through each level of Wildfire until they meet on the lowest, safest level to study the two survivors and the satellite. Using a special key, Stone arms the laboratory's nuclear device, which would destroy the facility should contamination threaten to break out of Wildfire. Stone then presents Hall with a similar key, explaining that as a single male, Hall is the "odd man" selected to carry the only key that can stop the nuclear detonation, which is on a five-minute delay after being triggered. After the long decontamination procedure is completed, Stone and the team go over their objective: to confirm there is an entity, uncover its structure, then contain and control it. While Hall visits the two survivors, Stone and Dutton examine the satellite using robotic hands, which allows them to work from the safe confines of their sealed lab. When live test rats and a monkey exposed to the satellite die shortly thereafter, Stone and Dutton conclude that the organism is transmitted by air. Joined by medical technician Karen Anson, Hall uses a protective body sleeve that shields him from direct contact with his patients and examines the baby and old man. Meanwhile, Leavitt joins Stone to conduct high-magnification scans on the outside and inside of the capsule. Blood tests from the old man, who has revived momentarily to identify himself as Jackson, indicate that he is anemic and has a high level of acidosis. Jackson admits he drinks the alcoholic fuel sterno to quell the pain from a bleeding ulcer, which further confounds Hall. Dutton's autopsy and test results on the lab animals demonstrate that the organism is inhaled, clotting blood in the lungs before spreading outward into the rest of the body. Later, Stone and Leavitt's scans reveal a tiny indention made by a grain of sand that is covered with green patches. Under high magnification, Stone and Leavitt are startled to see the green patches move and grow. Back at Vandenburg mission control, Manchek learns that an Air Force training mission jet crashed near the Utah and New Mexico state lines and the pilot's last frantic transmission declared that all the rubber in the craft was dissolving. Frustrated at not having heard from Stone about the delay to destroy Piedmont, Manchek and several experts visit the crash site and conclude that an organism that consumes synthetic rubber destroyed several parts of the plane. Back at Wildfire, after running more tests, Stone, Dutton and Leavitt are astonished to find that the green substance resembles plastic, and although it contains no amino acids, proteins or enzymes, it still grows. Working well into the third day, Leavitt begins monitoring cultures of the organism to search for growth patterns. Unknown to the others, Leavitt suffers from epilepsy, and when a computer message flashes in red indicating growth, the blinking sends the scientist into an epileptic trance. When Leavitt revives nearly half an hour later, the testing cycle has ended and she realizes that she has missed several results. Meeting at the start of the fourth day, Hall reveals Jackson has identified the baby as Manuel Rios and said the infant cried continually. Stone then messages central control to inform them an organism has been isolated and an automatic response sends back the assigned name for the life form as "Andromeda Strain." Standing by the teletype machine, Hall glances at older messages and excitedly shows Stone the original message from Manchek regarding the postponement of the destruction directive. Unaware that a sliver of paper had prevented the message alarm bell from ringing for Manchek's priority messages, Stone angrily contacts the White House to demand action be taken at Piedmont. Grimes defends the President's caution and Robertson asks what the team thinks of the jet crash. Energized by the information from the crash, Stone sends the others back to work and within hours they determine that the organism's structure is crystalline. Leavitt reports that Andromeda grows well in oxygen, but grows best in pure carbon dioxide and hydrogen. With a shock, the scientists suddenly realize that these results mean that a thermonuclear explosion would allow Andromeda to multiply at a fantastic rate, destroying the entire planet. Stone frantically contacts the White House to insist the destruction of Piedmont be called off. Relieved, the scientists return to their study and are mystified when Andromeda's dividing and mutations continue to occur, overloading the computer. As Hall and Karen continue to wonder what protected Manuel and Jackson against Andromeda, a yellow alert sounds, indicating that contamination has broken out in a localized area. Hall meets Leavitt in the hallway and as they rush to the main lab, the flashing lights set off a major epileptic seizure in Leavitt. Hall immediately recognizes the symptoms, but technicians and nurses, fearful that Leavitt has been infected by Andromeda, flee in fright. Eventually, Karen provides Hall with an injection for Leavitt. Hall then meets Stone in the main lab to discover that Dutton's pathology lab is contaminated. Terrified, Dutton sits panting heavily, monitored by Stone and Hall. Hall recognizes abruptly that labored breathing changes blood chemistry, which would occur in a crying baby and the agitated, drug-addled Jackson. Baffled when Jackson and Manuel's blood tests do not show exact opposite readings as they should, Hall orders Stone to cut the oxygen to Dutton's lab and tells the pathologist to keep breathing hard. Certain that Andromeda must experience a period of no growth, Hall begins running the growth results, reminding Stone that Leavitt may have had an epileptic blackout while monitoring the readings. The scientists then notice a test rat in Dutton's lab has gotten loose but shows no effect of Andromeda and conclude that the organism has mutated to a non-lethal form. At that moment, alarms sound and the computer warns that Andromeda has infected the ventilator shaft, where it is destroying the plastic. Moments later, Wildfire's protective nuclear device is triggered. Horrified, Stone and Hall race to the hallway, but automatic emergency procedures seal access to the safety station and the elevator to the next level. Stone urges Hall to take the ladder in the central core up to the next level before it is contaminated. Knowing that gas and lasers protect the core, Stone rushes to the computer room monitor to help guide Hall up the ladder. In the core, Hall evades several laser shots but is stunned by a grazing shot to his cheek and hand. Dulled by the pain, Hall reaches level four too late, as it has already been contaminated and its safety station sealed. With Stone's encouragement, Hall finally reaches the safety station on level three with nine seconds before detonation. Hall revives the following day and Stone, Dutton and the recovered Leavitt explain that the now-benign Andromeda has continued to grow into a super colony, but is being infused with silver iodine which will force it into the ocean where the heavy alkaline will destroy it. Two months later in Washington, D.C. at a closed hearing of the Senate Committee on Space Sciences, Stone details the events surrounding the discovery of the Andromeda Strain but asks what will happen when the next biological crisis occurs.
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Post by jeffersoncody on Jul 6, 2018 6:00:50 GMT
DISOBEDIENCE (Rating: 9 OUT OF 10). Chilean director Sebastián Lelio (A FANTASTIC WOMAN, GLORIA) makes a truly masterful English language debut with this beautiful, subtle, heartbreaking drama set in an orthodox Jewish community in London. Rachel Weisz is as brilliant as ever, while Rachel McAdams and an extraordinary Alessandro Nivola deliver career best performances.This is one of those rare films which will haunt you for days. An unforgettable viewing experience and highly recommended.
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Post by kijii on Jul 6, 2018 16:52:50 GMT
Run Silent Run Deep (1958) / Robert Wise While I know little about submarine warfare, I would be willing to bet that this is the best movie ever made on the subject. It held my attention from beginning to end, always keeping me guessing as to what would happen next and why. To begin with there is quite a bit of tension between the sub's commander, Cmdr. 'Rich' Richardson (Clark Gable) and its first executive officer, Lt. Jim Bledsoe (Burt Lancaster). Both Bledsoe and his crew believed that HE was to take command of the submarine, Nerka after Richardson's previous sub had been destroyed in the Bungo Straits (which was something like a "killing field" for the Japanese).
Lt. Jim Bledsoe (Burt Lancaster): If you should fail, and somehow come out of this alive, there won't be a desk small enough for you this time. Commander Richardson (Clark Gable): That's strange, Jim. I never even thought of failing.
After taking command of the Nerka, Richardson first drilled and re-drilled the crew to make rapid dives. Then, his actions against the Japanese seemed perplexing, choosing which ship to sink and refusing to engage other ships. Added to that was his sudden change in a command destination, taking the Nerka into the Bungo Straits where Richardson's previous sub had been "killed." Neither the Bledsoe nor the crew understood Richardson's ultimate goal. There was even a suggestion of mutiny among the crew, but when Bledsoe is presented with this idea, he nixed it.
The movie is filled with cat-and-mouse games between Japanese ships and subs (with heavy Japanese air fire to boot) and the Nerka, and within their killing ground. After Richardson is injured, Bledsoe takes over the command of the Nerka and starts returning the to Pearl, still carrying several unused torpedoes. However, this changes, when the crew hears Tokyo Rose announce the names of the crew members lost after the Nerka had faked its own destruction.
But, the best is yet to come....including how the movie and novel, by Commander Edward L. Beach, got its name. FULL TCM SYNOPSIS with Spoilers: In 1942, in the Bungo Straits near the coast of Japan, a U.S. Naval submarine captained by Commander "P. J." Richardson is sunk by the Japanese destroyer Akikaze . Richardson, who is among the survivors, spends the next year stationed at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. Learning from his yeoman, Mueller, that the fourth submarine sent into the Bungo Straits has been destroyed by the Akikaze , Richardson resolves to request a return to sea duty. Soon after, the submarine Nerka arrives at Pearl Harbor. Because the Nerka 's captain has been injured, the ship's executive officer, Lt. James Bledsoe, expects to assume command. After Bledsoe receives orders to remain "exec" to Richardson, who has been assigned to captain the Nerka , Bledsoe confronts Richardson at his home, but Richardson flatly refuses Bledsoe's demand to be relieved. After the Nerka returns to sea with its new captain, the crew is soon dismayed to learn they have been assigned to patrol Area 7, which contains the Bungo Straits. Richardson's demanding, precision drills heighten the crew's anxiety until Bledsoe informs them that their orders forbid them to enter the straits. After a week of intensive drilling, the crew responds excitedly when a Japanese submarine is sighted, but are perplexed when Richardson refuses to engage the enemy ship. During a rapid dive drill, sailor Russo is accidentally trapped on the deck while emptying garbage and barely survives. When Richardson questions Bledsoe about the laxness of the crew, the exec informs him that the men have lost their respect for him because of his refusal to attack the enemy. Richardson doubles the drills and, a few days later, when the Nerka sights a tanker and a destroyer, orders the submarine into combat. Under Richardson's guidance, the Nerka destroys the tanker from the surface, then purposely lures the destroyer toward the submarine, which then executes a precision shallow dive that allows the crew to shoot torpedoes directly into the enemy ship's bow. The crew are greatly cheered by their successful attack, but later confounded when Richardson purposely evades a Japanese convoy the next day. Suspicious when Richardson orders a change of course, Bledsoe discovers the commander is taking the Nerka into the Bungo Straits. When challenged, Richardson reminds Bledsoe that a captain has discretion to change orders if it becomes advantageous to do so. Richardson insists that the Nerka crew has proven their ability to master the tricky, dangerous "down-the-throat" bow shot that will be necessary to sink the Akikaze . Bledsoe angrily accuses Richardson of senselessly risking the lives of the crew and threatens to bring charges against him if he fails. Shortly after the crew has been informed of the change in orders, Lt. j.g. Gerald Cartwright and several officers propose to Bledsoe that he relieve Richardson. Although the officers cite naval regulations, Bledsoe instantly quashes the plan, telling them it is their duty to follow their captain where ever he leads them. After days of scouting, the Nerka sights the Akikaze escorting a supply convoy. The submarine lures the destroyer by sinking two freighter ships, but as the Akikaze closes in on the Nerka , enemy bomber planes attack, forcing Richardson to order an early dive. After the Nerka torpedoes just miss the Akikaze , a wild torpedo circles back toward the Nerka , forcing evasive maneuvers. The Akikaze then drops depth charges on the Nerka , causing damage in the forward torpedo room. Richardson investigates and is knocked unconscious when a series of depth charges explode simultaneously outside the submarine's hull. Upon reviving, Richardson orders the jettisoning of debris, including the bodies of the crew killed in the attack in hopes that the Akikaze will believe the submarine destroyed. The ruse works, but Richardson, Bledsoe and the men are puzzled by an indecipherable Morse code message heard just after the Akikaze ceases its attack. When Medic Hendrix states that Richardson has suffered a severe concussion that needs immediate care, the commander orders him not to reveal the information. Richardson summons Bledsoe, who is stunned when the commander directs him to resume their search for the Akikaze after two days of mandatory repairs. Bledsoe refuses, assumes command and orders the ship to return to Pearl Harbor. The crew is relieved to be returning to port, but are disturbed by Bledsoe's agitation. Two days later, in the officer's mess hall, Bledsoe and the others are startled when a broadcast by Tokyo Rose laments the loss of the Nerka and names several lost officers and men, calling Mueller "Kraut," a nickname recently applied to him by Cartwright, who wrote it on a scrap piece of paper. Bledsoe abruptly questions several members of the crew then visits the ailing Richardson, who deduces that Bledsoe intends to return to the straits. Bledsoe reveals that he has concluded that the Japanese have been able to locate the submarines because they have been retrieving the submarines' garbage sacks. Bledsoe points out that because the Japanese believe the Nerka destroyed, the submarine now has a legitimate attack advantage. Bledsoe then orders the Nerka back to the Bungo Straits in time to intercept the next supply convoy. As the submarine engages the freighter to draw in the Akikaze , Richardson slips in and out of consciousness, fretting over the Morse code signal. The Nerka crew successfully blow up the Akikaze using Richardson's shallow dive maneuver, but are confused when they detect a torpedo coming at them. Richardson then revives and orders the ship to crash dive, informing Bledsoe that the Morse code has emanated from a Japanese submarine working in tandem with the Akikaze . The Nerka evades the torpedo, then attempts to silently wait out the Japanese submarine while both are deep undersea. Knowing that waiting is a weak gamble, Richardson tells Bledsoe that with the Akikaze destroyed, the convoy's only defense is the submarine, so Bledsoe orders the Nerka to surface and attack the convoy, thus forcing the enemy submarine to the surface. The ploy works and Bledsoe turns over the helm to Richardson for the successful attack on the submarine. After the attack, Richardson collapses and later dies. Bledsoe then leads the burial at sea service for the Nerka 's commander.
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Post by teleadm on Jul 6, 2018 17:28:36 GMT
Time for a classic. The Sea Hawk 1940, directed by Michael Curtiz, not based on the Sabatini novel, only using the name, marvelous score by Erich Wolfgang Korngold, starring Errol Flynn, Brenda Marshall, Claude Rains, Donald Crisp, Flora Robson, Henry Daniell, Una O'Connor, Alan Hale, Gilbert Roland, William Lundigan and many others Action adventure and a little pinch of history "Geoffrey Thorpe (Flynn), a buccaneer, is hired by Queen Elizabeth I (Robson) to nag the Spanish Armada. The Armada is waiting for the attack on England and Thorpe surprises them with attacks on their galleons where he shows his skills on the sword" and that is only the beginning. I remember seeing this movie many many years ago and back then thought that there was too much plot and too little action, but seeing it now I think the balance between plot and action works very well, or is just as it should be. The only thing missing is Olivia de Havilland and Basil Rathbone, while Henry Daniell is OK, Marshall feels not right as the leading lady, she hasn't got the same depth as de Havilland, but on the other hand Flora Hobson is a spirited Queen Elizabeth (why call her the first? they didn't know back then that there would be a second). Interesting use of sepia colour in the Panama jungle scenes. Some has read into the story that it was an allegory to WW2, and Elizabeths final speach might sound like that, and just exchange the Spanish with the Germans at the time, and maybe it's so, It still doesn't take away having a good time with a dashing Errol Flynn and company. Flynn and Hale was nearly the Laurel and Hardy of action movies, meaning they interworked so well together. This movie was nominated for Four Oscars, Best Art Direction, Black-and-White (strange since they more or less used the sets already built for The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex 1939), Best Art Direction, Black-and-White, Best Effects, Special Effects and Best Music, Score, it's a shame since Korngolds score is just fantastic.
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Post by kijii on Jul 8, 2018 0:31:34 GMT
The Sand Pebbles (1966) / Robert Wise Rented for streaming from Amazon Prime
Nominated for 8 Oscars including Best Picture (Robert Wise), Best Actor in a Leading Role (Steve McQueen), and Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Mako), this was my first full viewing of this 3-hour movie. I think that this was made to include an intermission and I can see the point where the intermission should have been placed. Frenchy Burgoyne (Richard Attenborough): [exchanging marriage vows; slowly and with feeling] We're mixing our lives together, Maily, and we'll never be able to unmix them again, and we'll never want to. I take you for what you are, and all that you are, and mix you with all of me, and I don't hold back nothing. When you're cold, and hungry, and afraid, so am I. I'm going to stay with you all that I can, take the best care of you that I can, and love you 'til I die. Maily (Emmanuelle Arsa: I will always love you and honor you and serve you, and stay as near to you as I can, and do everything for you, and live for you. I won't have *any* life except our life together. I will just love you, Frenchy, all of me, loving you forever.
Captain Collins (Richard Crenna) : Do you know what this is? Desertion in the face of the enemy. Jake Holman (Steve McQueen) : I don't got no more enemies. Shove off, Captain.
Here is the full TCM synopsis of the movie with Spoilers:In 1926, as strong feelings of nationalism are sweeping through China and the followers of Chiang Kai-shek, as well as the war lords and communists, are demanding that all foreigners leave Chinese soil, the U. S. gunboat San Pablo is patroling the Yangtze River. The newest member of the crew, who call themselves "sand pebbles," is Jake Holman, a machinist with 8 years previous Navy duty. Although Jake's independent nature is regarded with suspicion by most of the men, he wins the friendship of Frenchy, a sailor in love with an English-educated Chinese girl, Maily, who has been sold into enforced prostitution. When Chiang Kai-shek moves against the feudal war lords, the United States decides to treat the upheaval as a civil war, and the San Pablo is ordered to confine its function to protection of American civilians in the area. Included among them are Mr. Jameson, a missionary, and Shirley Eckert, a schoolteacher whom Jake met earlier. In an attempt to draw the San Pablo 's fire, the Chinese capture Jake's coolie assistant, Po-han, and torture him by slashing his chest with a knife. Unable to bear his friend's agonized screams, Jake grabs a gun and puts a bullet into Po-han's head. Later, Frenchy buys Maily's freedom and takes her as his common-law wife because they cannot legally marry. While the San Pablo is forced to remain in a state of siege, Frenchy swims ashore each night to visit his pregnant wife. But the icy waters precipitate pneumonia and he dies in Maily's room. When Jake visits the bereaved woman, the Chinese beat him and put Maily to death. They then brand Jake as the murderer and demand that the San Pablo hand him over for trial. The crew agrees that Jake should be tried, and when Captain Collins refuses the demand and orders the crew to fire on the Chinese the men nearly mutiny. The captain takes advantage of the rising tide and moves his ship into deep water. When word arrives that full-scale fighting has led to the landing of U. S. Marines in Shanghai, Captain Collins decides to give his humiliated ship and disgraced crew a chance for glory by heading for Jameson's mission and a rescue attempt. After a bloody fight, the San Pablo breaks through a Chinese blockade and reaches the mission. But Jameson and Shirley declare themselves stateless and rebuke the captain for interfering in China's affairs. Jake wants to desert, but neutrality is no longer possible. Nationalist troops, incensed by the San Pablo 's defiance of the blockade, storm the mission and kill both Jameson and Collins. Pushed into making a last stand, Jake orders the other crew members to take Shirley to safety while he covers their getaway. But he is killed by a Chinese bullet. As he dies, he cries "I was home. ... What the hell happened?"
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Post by Lebowskidoo 🦞 on Jul 8, 2018 13:56:25 GMT
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