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Post by kijii on Oct 16, 2018 1:31:54 GMT
Come Live with Me (1941) / Clarence Brown Seen on DVD
Part of my Clarence Brown movie quest. This is a totally clever and charming romantic comedy... the kind one might EXPECT with James Stewart!!!
The story sort of twists around the fact that Stewart's character (Bill Smith) is a struggling writer (with no money) and Hedy Lamarr's character (Johnny Jones, a Austrian refugee) has money but needs to marry in order to remain in America before her visa runs out (remember this is a 1941 movie). Johnny Jones (Hedy Lamarr) : You see, I have to have a husband, and you said you weren't married. So...? Bill Smith (James Stewart): Well, Miss Jones, a wife is just what I don't need. Johnny Jones : But you do need money. I thought we could trade. I'll have a husband, and you'll have money.
I don't think I have ever seen Lamarr in a cuter role than this one, and she and Stewart make a winning couple--even though it takes them a while to discover it. The fulcrum of the story revolves around the fact that Lamarr starts out as Ian Hunter's lover from an "open marriage." Hunter is a book publisher and his wife (Verree Teasdale) from that "open marriage" encourages him to publish Stewart's book (without Hunter or Stewart knowing why). But, "All's Well That Ends Well." The winning sentimentality of this movie reminds a bit of Sturges' screenplay from the movie, Remember the Night (1940) in that the couple has to go back to the country home to discover some simple truths. Come live with me and be my love, And we will all the pleasures prove That valleys, groves, hills, and fields, Woods or steepy mountain yields. And we will sit upon the rocks,
Seeing the shepherds feed their flocks, By shallow rivers to whose falls Melodious birds sing madrigals. And I will make thee beds of roses
And a thousand fragrant posies, A cap of flowers, and a kirtle Embroidered all with leaves of myrtle;
A gown made of the finest wool Which from our pretty lambs we pull; Fair lined slippers for the cold, With buckles of th purest gold;
A belt of straw and ivy buds, With coral clasps and amber studs: And if these pleasures may thee move, Come live with me and be my love.
The shepherds' swains shall dance and sing For thy delight each May morning: If these delights thy mind may move, Then live with me and be my love.
The Passionate Shepherd to His Love ----Christopher Marlowe----Full TCM synopsis with SPOILERS: Middle-aged New York publisher Barton Kendrick and his wife Diana have a "modern" marriage in which each allows the other romantic freedom. Diana secretly wishes the situation were different, but Bart revels in his relationship with the beautiful Johnny Jones. Johnny, a Viennese refugee who has been staying illegally in New York since her temporary visa expired, is in love with Bart but won't accept his marriage proposal because she is worried that Diana will be hurt. When immigration official Barney Grogan comes to Johnny's apartment to tell her to report for deportation, he informs her, off the record, that if she marries an American citizen she will not be deported, then gives her a week to find a husband. While Johnny is thinking things over in a diner, she encounters Bill Smith, an aspiring writer who is completely broke. She gets the idea to marry him and invites herself back to his apartment. When she proposes, he is reluctant, but eventually agrees and convinces her to draw up a contract whereby she will pay him $17.80 each week. Two months later, Bill has fallen in love with Johnny. Meanwhile, Bart knows that Johnny has been granted residency, but she won't tell him how. One night, when Bart proposes and says that his divorce can be arranged in six weeks, she confesses that she is married. She then goes to see Bill a day early, and he shows her his novel based on their marriage, Without Love . She is touched, but wants him to give her a divorce right away, and tells him that she loves someone else. Though heartbroken, he agrees to the divorce. After some revisions, Bill sends his unfinished novel to some publishers, one of whom is Bart. Diana, who reads all of Bart's submissions, calls Bart to tell him about the wonderful new writer she has discovered, and when he reads the unlikely plot, Bart finds it too familiar. He then invites Bill to his office, and as he staunchly defends the "older man" in Bill's story, Diana realizes that Bart is the real older man. She convinces Bart to give Bill a $500 advance, and Bill thinks that he now has a chance with Johnny. Diana then tells Bart that she will give him a divorce as soon as Bart is convinced that Johnny really loves him and not Bill. Bill goes to see Johnny to repay her and tells her that before he agrees to a divorce, they must take a trip together. After leaving New York, they stop at a roadside restaurant, where she secretly calls Bart, who promises to come for her right away. They then drive to a farm owned by Bill's kindly grandmother. Later that night, while staying in rooms divided by a three-quarter wall, neither Bill or Johnny can get to sleep. After Bill tells Johnny how fireflies show their love and recites a romantic poem, she falls in love and turns her flashlight on and off like a firefly. Just then Bart arrives, and Bill soon realizes that Bart is his romantic rival. The men argue, but after Bill goes to his room, Johnny sends away Bart, who finally realizes that he still loves Diana. When Johnny goes upstairs, she flashes the light again and they kiss over the wall that bears one of Grandma's Shakespeare-quoting samplers, "All's well that ends well."
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Post by teleadm on Oct 16, 2018 17:49:59 GMT
A Countess from Hong Kong 1967, directed by Charles Chaplin, staring Marlon Brando, Sophia Loren, Sydney Chaplin, Tippi Hedren, Patrick Cargill, Michael Medwin, Oliver Johnston, Margaret Rutherford and others Romantic comedy about a Russian countess, a refugee without a passport, who decides to hide in an American Ambassador's cabin when he returns from Hong Kong to America on a cruise ship. Sad to say, but I thought this was a very boring comedy that nearly never sparkles. It feels like a play with it's eternal door slamming that feels that it goes on forever, or at least too often in too long sequences. It's a sad end to Chaplin's career. The movie has a feeling that it should have been made in the 1930s. Brando and Loren seems to be odd choices for the lead, but I guess since this was a co-production with Universal, Chaplin was stuck with the stars they had under contract. Loren is very capable in comedies, but that side of her is best taken to advantage in Italian movies. Rutherford only appears in one sequence, laying in bed. The music, composed by Chaplin, I could recognize a theme, that became a hit song, at least in Europe with Petula Clark and Harry Secombe each, called "This is My Song".
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Post by kijii on Oct 16, 2018 19:59:37 GMT
RBG (2018) / Julie Cohen, Betsy West
Great biopic and documentary about our little powerhouse on the SCOTUS.
Looking forward to movie, On the Basis of Sex (2018) / Mimi Leder with Felicity Jones playing RBG.
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Post by ZolotoyRetriever on Oct 17, 2018 4:22:37 GMT
Just finished binge-watching all 4 of the Dean Martin "Matt Helm" movies ZolotoyRetriever-- Do you have a favorite Dean Martin movie? Yes: Some Came Running (1958), with Dean Martin and Frank Sinatra. I enjoyed that one very much.
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Post by OldAussie on Oct 17, 2018 4:52:57 GMT
ZolotoyRetriever-- Do you have a favorite Dean Martin movie? Yes: Some Came Running (1958), with Dean Martin and Frank Sinatra. I enjoyed that one very much. Some Came Running (1958) Great choice for best Dean Martin film. Think I saw all the Matt Helms back in the day. Harmless time-wasters which got by on Dean's charisma. Not sure how I'd feel about them these days.
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Post by ZolotoyRetriever on Oct 17, 2018 4:54:56 GMT
The Night Digger (1970). Directed by Alastair Reid, with Patricia Neal, Pamela Brown, Nicholas Clay. DVR'd from recent TCM telecast. First-time viewing.
Well-done, atmospheric psycho-horror drama film that builds slowly - and ends quietly and enigmatically. Somewhat Gothic in nature, as well as a bit minimalistic. The horror element of the film is more implied than graphically displayed, which was a welcome approach, at least as far as I'm concerned. IOW the director got the point across without descending into outright displays of violence and blood-letting, yet still left you, the viewer, more than a little disturbed and repulsed. At the same time, there are some clever little bits of humor woven into the script. It's worth noting that the screenwriter for this film was Roald Dahl - the man who penned such children's classics as James and the Giant Peach, Matilda, and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. But a children's story this movie is not. The acting by the 3 leads - Neal, Brown and Clay - was spot on. See it if you get a chance.
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Post by them1ghtyhumph on Oct 17, 2018 5:12:29 GMT
Enemy of the State
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Post by kijii on Oct 17, 2018 5:13:29 GMT
ZolotoyRetriever-- Do you have a favorite Dean Martin movie? Yes: Some Came Running (1958), with Dean Martin and Frank Sinatra. I enjoyed that one very much. I like that one too. He usually played a supporting role. He played the male lead in the the musical Bells Are Ringing (1960) and the Lillian Helman drama, Toys in the Attic (1963). He also sort of played himself in Billy Wilde's Kiss Me, Stupid (1964)
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Post by them1ghtyhumph on Oct 17, 2018 5:23:13 GMT
Yes: Some Came Running (1958), with Dean Martin and Frank Sinatra. I enjoyed that one very much. I like that one too. He usually played a supporting role. He played the male lead in I also like the musical Bells Are Ringing (1960) and the Lillian Helman drama, Toys in the Attic (1963). He also sort of played himself in Billy Wilde's Kiss Me, Stupid (1964) Aren't you forgetting the ridiculous Matt Helm movies?
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Post by OldAussie on Oct 17, 2018 7:22:48 GMT
2nd viewing - after seeing Bad Times at the El Royale I took another look at the movie which seems to have inspired the newer one. Both are pretty good, both could have been shorter, but what the heck.
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Post by teleadm on Oct 17, 2018 17:26:30 GMT
Reach for the Sky 1956, directed by Lewis Gilbert, based on a book by Paul Brickhill about Douglas Bader, staring Kenneth More, Muriel Pavlow, Lyndon Brook, Lee Patterson, Alexander Knox, Dorothy Alison, Sydney Tafler, Nigel Green and many others, many familiar faces I've seen in British movies in small roles. British biographical war drama about Douglas Bader (1910 - 1982) who lost both his legs in a freak aerial accident, and his way back on artificial legs, fighting all kinds of obstacles, became an ace fighter pilot and wing leader during World War II, and later even a prisoner of war. Along the way he also gets married. There is a certain British calmness over this movie, everyone is polite even if they are angry and frustrated. Kenneth More is a force of nature as Bader and gives the movie the right touch, both in lighter scenes and in the heavier scenes, and always a pipe ready to smoke in all situations. In later interviews More though that he was too old to play Bader, but it made him a star in Britain. In fact this movie became the most popular British movie in the UK in 1956. The mix of newly made footage and news reel footage works very well, maybe because it's in black and white. I liked this movie, it's an amazing story even if liberies offcourse has been taken (it even says so before the titles sequence). This movie won the BAFTA for best British movie of 1956. The real Douglas Bader.
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Post by Primemovermithrax Pejorative on Oct 17, 2018 19:38:57 GMT
SHADOW OF THE CAT 1961 John Gilling is an often overlooked director who did consistent interesting work for Hammer. This one has a murder at the start, we know who did the murder, the only question is how the cat who witnessed the crime is going to bring about justice. The real star is the cat who almost everyone is trying to kill. The performances are first rate, giving Hammer regular Andre Morrell a decent bad guy role for a change--he summons his brother's criminally-inclined family to help him kill the cat and says: "Let's lay our cards on the table, you hate my guts and I hate yours, now that I have said that I can pretend to treat you like something approaching human beings."
PIT AND THE PENDULUM 1961 - My favorite Vincent Price film for his performance (especially the hammy bits). He has a lot to do in behavior--playing two distinct personalities. This is also the most Poe-faithful in themes--from fears of inherited evil and madness, to vengeance and premature burial.
My favorite moment is when he goes over the deep end thanks to Barbara Steele's teasing, and they realize with horror he now thinks he is his father. "What should be happening, lsabella?"
The title sequence for it is one of the neatest and simplest ideas--and yet works so well. The mixing paint suggests to me an ocean of blood or even the inevitable tide of heredity. "This was my father's world, Mr. Barnard.....How can I spare myself? Was he not my father? Am I not the spawn of his......his depraved blood?"
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Post by teleadm on Oct 18, 2018 17:05:15 GMT
Them! 1954, directed by Gordon Douglas, based on a story by George Worthing Yates, staring James Whitmore, Edmund Gwenn, Joan Weldon, James Arness, Onslow Stevens, Sean McClory and others, including in small roles Fess Parker and Leonard Nimoy. Science-Fiction Horror, about the earliest atomic tests in New Mexico, that has caused common ants to mutate into giant man-eating monsters that threaten civilization. Mybe the best of these kind of movies that came in the 1950s, very well-directed, with well-known character actors acting well and taking their roles seriously. The special effect are credible and works very well. A simple little police investigation amounts into something much more horrific. The old cliché that women screams when they see something horrific, while men takes action, is totally intact, and that is part of it's charm too. The movie was nominated for a Best Special Effects Oscar.
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Post by kijii on Oct 18, 2018 20:01:23 GMT
I like that one too. He usually played a supporting role. He played the male lead in I also like the musical Bells Are Ringing (1960) and the Lillian Helman drama, Toys in the Attic (1963). He also sort of played himself in Billy Wilde's Kiss Me, Stupid (1964) Aren't you forgetting the ridiculous Matt Helm movies? I've never seen a Matt Helm movie. It seems as though everyone has to have a series (based on one character). I just saw today that Sylvester Stallone's 5th or 6th Rocky-derivative will soon be released soon: Crede II. And, Rambo 5 will be released after that. The Expendables 4 is also being rumored.
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Post by kijii on Oct 18, 2018 21:55:13 GMT
To Please a Lady (1950) / Clarence Brown Seen on DVD
I basically viewed this movie to fill some of my Clarence Brown movies, but there is another Barbara Stanwyck movie on the same disc, Jeopardy (1953).
Though this is not a truly great movie, it is interesting enough, especially the race car scenes from the Indianapolis 500 as it existed at the time of the filming. (The race cars had no passenger tops making them more dangerous than they are today). I am sure this movie also had some promotional for the Indianapolis 500. The "Lady" in this movie is Regina Forbes (Barbara Stanwyck) who is a newspaper columnist with a penchant for bringing down ruthless powerful men. Her target here is Mike Brannan (Clark Gable), a highly decorated former Marine devil-may-care race car driver who will do anything to win. Forbes whats to "break" him and does for a while. However, the soon become lovers; she becomes more forgiving and he more-by the-books to win. Adolphe Menjou (Gregg) plays his usual role as the promoter of the columnist who sort of becomes Stanywyck's alter ego. The story between Gable and Stanwyck is something like the traditional hate-love story.
Before love takes hold: Mike Brannan (Clark Gable): You figure on doing another column on me? Regina Forbes (Barbara Stanwyck) : You're only worth a couple of lines now. Mike Brannan : Well, don't write 'em! I've been risking my neck with this outfit. Regina Forbes : I hope they pay you well. Mike Brannan : A hundred bucks a show, and I've been saving every dime. I'm gonna drive with the big cars now, and what you wrote about me doesn't go with them. So I'm warning you. Lay off me in the future. Regina Forbes : [Amused] You're warning me? Mike Brannan : You better listen to what I'm saying, or I'll knock that smile off your face! Regina Forbes : [She laughs at him] Knock it off. [He slaps her] Regina Forbes : That's just about what I expect from you. Mike Brannan : The guys you run around with wouldn't do that, would they? Well, it's time somebody roughed you up a little! I can handle you, baby. You're just another dame to me! [He grabs her suddenly, kisses her, and leaves for his car. She looks after him with a subtle smile indicating she enjoyed it]
After love takes hold: Regina Forbes : [In awe of the Indianapolis track] Mike, I've never seen anything like this. It's terrific! Mike Brannan : So are you. Regina Forbes : It's like the 4th of July, and a heavyweight fight, and the World Series all rolled into one... Now I can see it takes a certain kind of guy... Mike Brannan : [after a brief pause] ... and that guy needs a certain kind of dame.
Full TCM synopsis with SPOILERS: Regina Forbes, a glib syndicated columnist known for her hard-hitting exposes and tantalizing high society gossip, is determined to write a profile on midget race car driver Mike Brannan. Mike, a former Marine, is despised by racecar driving fans because of his ruthless and dangerous tactics on the racetrack. After watching a televised broadcast of a midget race and a television interview with Mike, Regina goes to the race track to see Mike in person. She meets Mike just before his next race, but Mike shows little interest in Regina's story and the prospect of nationwide publicity. During the race, Mike displays the dirty tricks that made him famous, causing accidents and forcing other cars off the track at crucial moments. Mike wins the race but Joe Youghal, the driver of one of the cars he caused to crash, dies. Afterward, Regina asks Mike to explain the death of Youghal and another driver he forced off the track in an earlier race, but Mike dismisses both deaths as part of the profession and shows little remorse. Regina writes a scathing piece on the incident, and the following day, when her column appears in the newspapers, racetrack operators everywhere begin to worry that the bad publicity will mean the end of the races. To protect themselves, the owners ostracize Mike and bar him from future races. After being rejected at one speedway after another, Mike tries to race under an alias but is exposed by a local newspaper in the town of Bainsville. Mike becomes furious at Regina, whom he calls an "inky-fingered dame," for ruining his career, and is left with no alternative but to sell his race car and find a new line of work. Regina, meanwhile, has moved on to other stories, and is now publicizing the activities of Dwight Barrington, who is involved in a fraudulent pension insurance scheme. One day, Regina's manager, Gregg, tells her that Mike is now working as a "thrill driver" at a circus, performing crashes and other stunts. Her curiosity piqued, Regina attends one of the shows and learns that Mike is planning a comeback. After the show, Mike warns Regina to leave him alone, strikes her across the face and then plants a forceful kiss on her. Regina, however, maintains her unflappable composure throughout her encounter with Mike. She also begins to realize that she is in love with him. Just before his comeback race at the Greengrove racetrack, Mike "walks the track" to get a feel for it and finds Regina there waiting for him. As they stroll along the track, Regina breaks a heel, and Mike carries her to her car. Mike comes in second place in the race, but takes first prize in several subsequent races. At the end of the racing season, Mike telephones Regina and tells her that he wants to see her in New York. A romantic evening at a nightclub ends in a quarrel, however, when Regina brings up the topic of the drivers he ran off the track. Unimpressed by Mike's response to her questions, Regina decides to put an end to their romance. They part ways, and Mike prepares for his next big race. Regina watches part of the race on television but turns off her set before it ends, certain that Mike has won it. Immediately following the race, Mike goes to Regina's apartment and they rekindle their affair. The evening is spoiled, however, when Regina receives word that Barrington, who had been sentenced to twenty-five years in prison as a result of her story, has committed suicide. When Regina tells Mike that she feels responsible for Barrington's death, Mike tries to comfort her by telling her that she was only doing her job, just as he did when he drove aggressively on the racetrack. Regina disagrees with Mike's perspective, and they again part with bad feelings. A short time later, though, Regina tries to patch things up and shows up at Mike's big race at Indianapolis. During the race, Mike allows another car to pass him without incident, but the maneuver causes his car to spin out of control and flip. Mike is rushed to the hospital but his injuries are found to be minor. Regina, who is proud of his performance on the track, is now certain that he is the right man for her.
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Post by ZolotoyRetriever on Oct 19, 2018 3:05:28 GMT
Aren't you forgetting the ridiculous Matt Helm movies? I've never seen a Matt Helm movie. It seems as though everyone has to have a series (based on one character). I just saw today that Sylvester Stallone's 5th or 6th Rocky-derivative will soon be released soon: Crede II. And, Rambo 5 will be released after that. The Expendables 4 is also being rumored. kijii: if the Matt Helm films ever come on TCM again (which they occasionally do), I would recommend watching only the first one of the series, The Silencers (1966). It's probably the best of the batch, and gives you some idea what they're about. To watch any more than that one, well, you're only asking for a form of mild torture. lol
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Post by OldAussie on Oct 19, 2018 4:19:54 GMT
Might it be even better now than 50 years ago?
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Post by teleadm on Oct 19, 2018 18:04:23 GMT
Tales of Terror 1962, directed by Roger Corman, based on Edgar Allan Poe, staring Vincent Price, Peter Lorre, Basil Rathbone, Debra Paget and others. Horror movie based very loosely on Poe's "Morella", "The Black Cat" and "The Case of M. Valdemar". Episode or compendium movie in three parts, a very popular genre in France and Italy durung the 1950's and 1960s, telling differnt stories with a common thread, in this case based on Poe. "Morella" is about a young woman visiting her father in a very lonely house (by the cliffs near water offcourse), who's mother died at childbirth. This segment is straightout boring. "The Black Cat" (with Lorre) is played as a black comedy, about a drunkard with a young lovely wife, who by accident stumbles upon a wine testing contest. "The Case of M. Valdemar" (with Rathbone and Paget) is the only straight chiller, about a dying man using mesmerism so when he dies his mind lives on. This must be the weakest of the Poe-Corman-Price movies, with an obviously low budget. The Cat and Valdemar episodes has potentially great endings, but is destroyed by strange pre-psycodelic camera angles and distortions that make them enervating instead of frightening. Worth a look.
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Post by petrolino on Oct 19, 2018 18:55:00 GMT
'Captain Newman, M.D.' (1963) - Cloaked biopic of psychiatrist Ralph Greenson, M.D. whose work on "empathy" involved soldiers returning from war with post-traumatic stress disorder. David Miller directs a screenplay co-written by Richard L. Breen with playwrights Henry Ephron and Phoebe Ephron whose daughters Amy Ephron, Delia Ephron, Hallie Ephron and Nora Ephron all became professional writers, covering every field of pen and ink between them. The story sprung a belated television pilot in 1972 that wasn't picked up for syndication.
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Post by Primemovermithrax Pejorative on Oct 20, 2018 6:15:23 GMT
RETURN OF THE VAMPIRE (and right before that I watched MARK OF THE VAMPIRE which somehow I had never seen before). It had some really creepy atmosphere--a shame it turns out to be a fake. Luna is a very creepy vampiress and that scene where she swoops in on bat wings is very impressive. The fake bats were high quality too.
As for ROTV it was alright-I liked the talking werewolf!
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