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Post by Feologild Oakes on Dec 17, 2018 1:28:21 GMT
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Post by petrolino on Dec 17, 2018 1:33:09 GMT
Great movie.
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Post by kijii on Dec 17, 2018 5:53:05 GMT
Holiday Affair (1949) / Don Hartman Seen on TCM tonight And will be aired again--Mon, Dec 24 2:15 PM TCM (230)
Just when you thought you had seen all sides of Robert Mitchum... This Christmas movie is "new" to me, but it is a delight!! It is about a widowed mother, Connie Ennis (Janet Leigh), her son, Timmy (Gordon Gebert) and two men who would like to marry Connie: Robert Mitchum (Steve Mason) and Wendell Corey (Carl Davis). It is a comedy, a love triangle, and at times, a mad cap comedy. Harry Morgan should get special mention as the Police Lieutenant, who tries to understand (and summarize) the whole mess when it is brought before him at the police station.
Steve Mason (Robert Mitchum): Carl isn't the real threat to me. Maybe I'm not to him. This isn't two fellows and a girl, you know. This is two fellows, a girl and her husband. I can't fight a shadow - I tried - competition's too tough. You were even going to play it safe and settle for someone you didn't love so you wouldn't be unfaithful to your husband. Connie Ennis (Janet Leigh) : Oh, you're always so wrong about me. I have a wonderful memory of a husband and a marriage. You're trying to take it away from me. Steve Mason : Nobody wants to do that. I know. I'm sure Carl doesn't. All anybody wants is for you to live in the present and not be afraid of the future. You know, maybe it could happen again if you quit pretending that something that's dead is still alive. Connie Ennis : Oh, alright, if it will make you any happier, you're a fortune teller. You're absolutely right about me all the time. I want everything just the way it is - Mrs. Status Quo. Just me and Timmy - no changes. Steve Mason : And I want a girl that'll drop everything and run to me, no matter what the score is. Full TCM Synopsis with SPOILERS: When attractive Connie Ennis buys an expensive electric train set during the Christmas rush at Crowley's, a New York department store, without asking a single question about it, clerk Steve Mason becomes suspicious. Steve's suspicions are justified as Connie works as a professional "comparison shopper" for one of Crowley's competitors. Exhausted after a day of "shopping," Connie, a war widow, goes home to her six-year-old son Timmy and brings the electric train with her. The impressionable Timmy sneaks a peek at the train and gleefully assumes it is his Christmas present until Connie, who is unaware that he has seen it, informs him otherwise. That night, Connie's longtime admirer, lawyer Carl Davis, proposes to her, but unsure of her feelings, she declines to give him an immediate answer. Connie then discusses Carl's proposal with Timmy, who resists the idea. The next day, when Connie tries to return the train at Crowley's, Steve threatens to report her to the store detective. After she explains that she is a war widow with a son to support, however, Steve refunds her money, a gesture that leads to his dismissal. Steve then asks Connie to lunch and, while eating with her in Central Park, impresses her with his plans to build sailboats with his friend in Balboa, California. Later, as they are loaded down with comparison shopping packages, Connie and Steve become separated in a crowd. Steve, however, shows up later at Connie's apartment and discovers Carl there. Although polite, Carl is clearly disturbed by Steve's presence and fights with Timmy, who is still upset about the train. After a frustrated Carl leaves, Steve angers Connie by suggesting that she stop trying to make Timmy into the image of his dead father. Steve then learns about the train from Timmy and advises him to always "aim higher than the mark." As he is leaving, Steve impulsively gives Connie a passionate kiss, prompting her to accept Carl's proposal that night. On Christmas morning, Timmy discovers the train set outside the apartment door and assumes that it is from his mother. When he reveals that he earlier told Steve about seeing the train, Connie deduces where it came from and goes to confront Steve. Connie finds the almost broke Steve in Central Park, and although she offers to reimburse him for the train, he refuses her money, saying that he wants to encourage Timmy's optimism. After Connie gives him the loud tie she had bought for Carl, Steve happily offers his old tie to a passing bum. Connie then reveals she is marrying Carl on New Year's Day, sparking another lecture from Steve about letting go of the past and facing the future without fear. Annoyed by Steve's words, Connie leaves the park in a huff and goes home to Timmy, Carl and her former in-laws. Soon after, Connie is summoned to the police station to vouch for Steve, who was arrested after the police found him with a pair of stolen salt and pepper shakers, which the park bum had given to him as a gift. With Carl and Timmy by her side, Connie explains about Steve and the bum to a bemused police lieutenant, who eventually releases Steve. Timmy then insists that Steve eat Christmas dinner with them. At Connie's, the two rivals maintain a polite facade until Steve finally announces that he is in love with Connie and wants to marry her. Connie coolly tells Steve to leave, and Steve, who is planning to move to California as soon as he has earned enough money for a train ticket, says a final goodbye. The next day, however, Timmy takes his train set back to Crowley's and tearfully asks Mr. Crowley for a refund so that Steve will not be penniless. After Timmy returns home and presents a worried Connie with his refund money, she and Carl drive to Steve's hotel. When Connie refuses to see Steve, Carl deduces that she is genuinely in love with him and graciously "divorces" her. Connie then delivers the money to Steve, but he refuses to propose again until she has proven to him that she is through grieving for her husband. Once again, Connie storms off in anger, but later, on a lonely New Year's Eve, she realizes her future is with Steve. As Steve celebrates the New Year on a west-bound train, he receives a telegram informing him that Connie and Timmy are joining him and rushes happily to embrace them between cars.
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Post by MCDemuth on Dec 17, 2018 6:08:25 GMT
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Post by vegalyra on Dec 17, 2018 19:04:03 GMT
Goldfinger
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Post by ZolotoyRetriever on Dec 18, 2018 18:29:35 GMT
Talk About a Stranger (1952). Directed by David Bradley, with Billy Gray, George Murphy, Nancy Davis, Kurt Kasznar, Lewis Stone. Nicely and creatively filmed in black & white by cinematographer John Alton. DVR’d from recent TCM telecast on the “Noir Alley” program. First-time viewing.
Interesting, somewhat off-beat film detailing the plight of a young boy who has his dog poisoned, and who then recklessly accuses an odd neighbor man (Kurt Kasznar) of having done the deed. But did he really poison the boy’s dog?
The film is a pretty good slice of small-town American life in the early-fifties, replete with shades of the “Red Scare” fear and paranoia then swirling about the country.
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Post by teleadm on Dec 18, 2018 19:46:27 GMT
Trading Places 1983, directed by John Landis, staring Eddie Murphy, Dan Aykroyd, Jamie Lee Curtis, Don Ameche, Ralph Bellamy, Denholm Elliott, Paul Gleason, Frank Oz, Bo Diddley, Alfred Drake and others. Comedy about a snobbish investor and a wily street con artist who find their positions reversed as part of a bet by two callous millionaires. Part of my own Christmas choices. Great old-fashioned comedy revised to "modern" times, mixed with some lesser unfunny bits that makes no sense to the rest of the plot, but as a whole a very entertaining movie that takes place around Christmas and New Year. Old-timers Ameche, Bellamy and Elliott styles mixes well with the at the time younger generation represented by Murphy, Ackroyd and Curtis. Familiar faces pops up here and there, including blues guitarist Didley and musical singer Drake.
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Post by kijii on Dec 19, 2018 0:04:52 GMT
A Scandal in Paris (1946) / Douglas Sirk Rented from Amazon Prime Will air on Wed, Jan 02 3:45 AM TCM (230)
This late 18th century French rags-to-riches movie is a long-winded tale about a bastard, Eugéne François Vidocq (George Sanders), who was born in jail. His mother had been no better than himself; she had given birth to several other bastards, all of whom may have had different fathers.
In any case, this story starts in a French jail with Vidocq and his cellmate, Emile Vernet (Akim Tamiroff), escaping from prison and becoming partners in crime, or a series of crimes, adventures, and misadventures: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eug%C3%A8ne_Fran%C3%A7ois_Vidocq.
By the end of the movie, Vidocq becomes the Paris chief of police after dislodging the existing chief of police, Prefect of Police Richet (Gene Lockhart). Prepared to rob the bank of Paris, he had given up the idea after falling in love, going straight, and returning all the jewels he and Vernet had stolen.
The details of the movie are so complicated that they are better explained in the long synopsis below. Full TCM Synopsis with SPOILERS: In 1805, twenty-nine-year-old Eugene-François Vidocq is serving time in jail after a life of petty crimes and romantic conquests. After Vidocq and his cellmate, Emile Vernet, escape from jail, they take refuge with Emile's family in Paris. Later, posing as soldiers in Napoleon's army, the men leave for Marseilles. There, in a waterfront café, Vidocq meets singer Loretta, but their romance ends when Vidocq steals a jeweled garter from her. A short time later, Loretta marries Chief of Police Richet, the man who gave her the garter. In a cemetery on the road back to Paris, Vidocq and Emile rescue a pet monkey belonging to the Marquise de Pierremont. After catching a glimpse of the marquise's jewels, Vidocq wrangles an invitation to her castle. The marquise's son Houdon, the Minister of Police, has two daughters--beautiful Therese, who becomes infatuated with Vidocq, and precocious Mimi. Learning from Houdon that Richet is on the trail of the "Casanova" bandit, Vidocq decides to steal the jewels immediately and hide them on the castle grounds. When Richet fails to capture the thief, Houdon fires him. Vidocq then pretends to discover the hidden jewels and is appointed to Richet's vacated position. Vidocq reveals to Emile his plans to use his new position to rob the Bank of Paris and, in preparation for the robbery, hires Emile's relatives as bank guards. One day, as he leaves the bank, Vidocq encounters Loretta, who recognizes him and pressures him into meeting her that night at a modiste's shop. Worried that Loretta will expose him, Vidocq orders Emile to carry out the robbery that night. Later that day, at the marquise's request, Therese and Mimi, accompanied by Emile and Vidocq, deposit her jewels in the bank. When they are alone, Therese tells Vidocq of her love for him and also reveals her knowledge that he stole her mother's jewels. She then begs him to remain in his job as an honest policeman. Because he returns Therese's love, Vidocq agrees to her request. After he tells Emile's family that he will not participate in the robbery, Vidocq leaves for his meeting with Loretta, followed by an enraged Emile. When Vidocq arrives at the modiste's, he discovers that Loretta has been killed by her jealous husband, who then committed suicide. Emile tries to kill Vidocq but is himself killed in the ensuing struggle. Vidocq confesses his crimes, and is pardoned when he agrees to make reparations. His name cleared, Vidocq marries Therese and begins a new life on the side of the law.
Loretta (Carole Landis) : Really, I... I should call the police. Eugéne François Vidocq (George Sanders) : Don't call them until I've bought you another hat. Loretta : Another?... another hat? Well, I admit I'm not so rich that I can afford to throw them in the gutter. Hats don't grow on trees, you know! Eugéne François Vidocq : I know that some of the latest fashions look as if they did.
Eugéne François Vidocq : Try to see further than the point of your knife. If I become chief of police, we'll have a chance to loot the city. Emile Vernet (Akim Tamiroff) : Loot a city? What does that mean? Eugéne François Vidocq : Conservatively... fifteen million. Emile Vernet : Fifteen...? Eugéne François Vidocq : ...million... in gold. Emile Vernet : Where is it? Eugéne François Vidocq : In the vault of the Bank of Paris. Emile Vernet : Bank of Paris? Hmmmnnnn... Such a job! No! Too big for the two of us! Eugéne François Vidocq : Yes, but we can enlist the support of your dear family. Emile Vernet : Yeah, family!... Yeah, but we'll have to give them a cut. Eugéne François Vidocq : A small percentage. Emile Vernet : Nah... no percentage! Just a cut!
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Post by teleadm on Dec 19, 2018 18:35:23 GMT
The Thin Man 1934, directed by W.S. Van Dyke, based on a novel by Dashiell Hammett, staring William Powell, Myrna Loy, Asta, Maureen O'Sullivan, Nat Pendleton, Minna Gombell, Porter Hall, Henry Wadsworth, William Henry, Harold Huber, Cesar Romero, Natalie Moorhead, Edward Brophy, Edward Ellis and others. Crime comedy about former detective Nick Charles (Powell) and his wealthy wife Nora (Loy), who involuntary becomes involved in a murder case around Christmas time. The murder, murderers and other shady persons are played for real, and that's why the counterbalance of the sophisticated comedy of Nick and Nora (and let's not forget Asta) and their eternal drinking, plays out so incredibly well when it's all put together. Powell and Loy are such naturals together, and I guess some scenes were ad-libbed, at least it feels like it, and if so works very well. The crime, murders and who-done-it part of the story, well I'm not sure I was able to follow all the twists and turns that lead to the sollution of who the murderer is, solved in a dinner scene with all living suspects gathered. High class entertainment that still entertains, and with Nick and Nora it can't go wrong. This movie was nominated for four Oscars, Best Picture, Best Actor in a Leading Role (William Powell), Best Director (W.S. Van Dyke) and Best Writing, Adaptation (Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett)
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Post by kijii on Dec 20, 2018 4:02:46 GMT
White Dog (1982) / Samuel Fuller Seen on DVD
This is a strange movie unlike anything I have seen before. It is about an white German Sherperd attack dog that was run over by Julie Sawyer (Kristy McNichol) and then brought to a vet for treatment. As the story develops, she learns that the dog is a White Dog (an attack dog trained to only attack black people). It's interesting that in spite of the very small cast of this movie, Fuller still included two "Oscared" performers, Paul Winfield and Burl Ives. The photography/camera work of this movie, alone, is worth the watching. (How it was all done is way beyond my understanding.) The movie was based on a story by Romain Gary, with a screenplay by Samuel Fuller and Curtis Hanson. Plot synposis with possible SPOILERS:In the Civil Rights era of the United States, actress Julie Sawyer accidentally runs over a stray White German Shepherd Dog. After the veterinarian treats him, Julie takes him home while trying to find his owners. A rapist breaks into her house and tries to attack her, but the dog protects her. She decides to adopt him, against the wishes of her boyfriend Roland Graele. Unbeknown to her, the dog was trained by a white racist to attack black people on sight. The dog sneaks out of the house, and kills a black truck driver. Later, Julie takes the dog to work with her, and he mauls a black actress on the set.
Realizing that her dog is vicious, Julie takes him to a trainer, Carruthers, who tells her to euthanize the dog. Another dog trainer named Keys, who is black, undertakes reprogramming the dog as a personal challenge. He dons protective gear and keeps the dog in a large enclosure, taking him out on a chain and exposing himself to the dog each day and making sure he is the only one to feed or care for the dog.
The dog escapes and kills an elderly black man in a church, after which Keys manages to recover him, and opts not to turn him over to authorities to continues the training, over Julie's protests. He warns her that the training has reached a tipping point, where the dog might be cured or go insane. He believes that curing the dog will discourage white racists from training dogs like this.
After a lengthy time, it seems the dog is cured, in that he is now friendly towards Keys. Julie confronts the dog's original owner, who has come to claim him, and who presumably trained him to attack black people. She angrily tells him the dog has been cured by a black person in front of his grandchildren who knew the dog to be a loving pet.
Just as Julie and Keys celebrate their victory, the dog, without warning, turns its attention to Carruthers and brutally attacks him. The dog had not previously shown any aggression towards him; no explanation for this is given, but the implication is that the dog's programming has somehow been reversed, though that was never Keys's intention, or that Carruthers has a similarity to the dog's original owner. To save his employer's life, Keys is forced to shoot and kill the dog, and the film ends with the image of the dog's body lying in the center of the training enclosure.
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Post by teleadm on Dec 20, 2018 19:19:08 GMT
The Man Who Came to Dinner 1942, directed by William Keighley, based on a play by George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart, staring Bette Davis, Ann Sheridan, Monty Woolley, Richard Travis, Jimmy Durante, Billy Burke, Reginald Gardiner, Elisabeth Fraser, Grant Mitchell, George Barbier, Mary Wickes, Russell Arms, Ruth Vivian and others. Comedy. When acerbic critic Sheridan Whiteside (Woolley) slips on the front steps of a provincial Ohio businessman's home and breaks his hip, he and his entourage take over the house indefinitely, a few days before Christmas. Hectic farce where they threw in "anything but the kitchen sink" and somehow it works, most of the time. Woolley is pefect as the larger than life Whiteside, mean, cruel but he also has a few soft spots. Davis succeeds in playing a character a bit against type, still sharp-tongued, but also vulnerable. Sheridan also plays against type, as a pea-brained theatre diva. Into it's mix is a journalist who's written a play, a tiresome old doctor who's written an autobigraphy, a scared nurse, a society wife who's world is crumbling, a son and daughter who try to rebel against their parents, a witty playwrite, an ax murderer, a film comic, a live Christmas radio show with a boys choir, penguins, an octopus and much much more. Though mostly set in one big room, it could have stagnated and looked like a filmed play, but so much is going on the whole time, it's hardly noticable. I enjoy this movie very much, and as a critic said, one has to watch it more than once to really get the grip of the "whole picture" and all it's layers and how they all interconect.
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Post by kijii on Dec 21, 2018 6:39:30 GMT
Lured (1947) / Douglas Sirk Rented from Amazon PrimeThis Crime, Film-Noir, Mystery movie encompasses all those categories, as well as taking on many other turns along the way. A London serial killer displays a consistent behavior pattern as he seeks out and then murders several young women: he advertises for young women in a London newspaper and then sends poem-with-clues to the London police in Scotland Yard. The team of Scotland Yard police detectives, led by Inspector Harley Temple (Charles Coburn), hire an attractive young taxi dancer, Sandra Carpenter (Lucille Ball), as "bait"--with police protection (George Zucco)--to try to lure in the killer and then capture him in the act. Inspector Harley Temple (Charles Coburn): Miss Carpenter there will be danger... great danger. Are you afraid? Sandra Carpenter (Lucille Ball): No, not yet!In responding to many personal newspaper advertisements, Carpenter comes up with several wrong men--Boris Karloff, Alan Mowbray /Joseph Calleia, and a boy bird watcher--who, though interesting, do not prove to be the serial killer. However, in the process of searching for a job in a major London nightclub, she finds and falls in love, with the nightclub's owner, Robert Fleming (George Sanders), with all the circumstantial evidence pointing directly towards him as being the serial killer.... Though the movie is not tightly structured, seeming to have many vignettes in search of a story, it has its moments. Full TCM Synopsis with SPOILERS: In London, Scotland Yard investigators receive the latest in a series of cryptic poems authored by an elusive killer and conclude that his seventh victim will be a dancer. Inspector Harley Temple of the Criminal Investigation Department orders a typewriter and fingerprint analysis of the poem, but the identity of the "Poet Killer," as he has been named, eludes investigators. While the police investigation continues, English dance hall hostess Lucy Barnard and American dancer Sandra Carpenter are offered auditions by producers Robert Fleming and Julian Wilde for their new stage show. Though Sandra accepts the offer, Lucy refuses and explains that she is quitting the dance hall circuit to travel with a handsome man she met through a personal advertisement. When Lucy disappears a short time later, Temple believes that she has fallen victim to the killer. After locating Sandra, the last known person to have seen Lucy, Temple hires her to act as a decoy to trap the killer. As part of her assignment, Sandra sets out to answer all the personal advertisements in the newspaper in which pretty women are sought. After an introduction to an assortment of strange men, including an eccentric artist who at first appears menancing but turns out to be harmless, Sandra answers an advertisement that leads to a job as a parlor maid for aristocrat Lyle Maxwell. Meanwhile, Fleming, an irrepressible playboy, orders his assistants to find Sandra, whom he has not met, but whose beautiful telephone voice has enchanted him. Robert meets Sandra by coincidence one evening when they both attend the same concert. The two fall instantly in love and become engaged, but soon after moving into Robert's home, Sandra finds evidence indicating that Robert knew Lucy. Temple, meanwhile, has discovered a passage in the latest poem he received from the killer that suggests that Robert is the culprit and that Sandra is his next intended victim. Robert is arrested, and although he is innocent, he refuses to defend himself at his trial because he feels that Sandra has betrayed him. Temple later suspects that Robert is being framed by someone else and, with Sandra's help, proves that Wilde, Robert's housemate, is the real killer. Wilde's guilt is revealed in time to save Robert from execution, and Robert resumes his romance with Sandra .
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Post by Doghouse6 on Dec 22, 2018 1:02:44 GMT
Night People (1954) When a young U.S. Army corporal stationed in West Berlin is kidnapped by Soviet agents and spirited behind the iron curtain, it's up to Army intelligence officer Col. Steve Van Dyke (Gregory Peck) to effect his release. With the Soviets officially denying all knowledge and Van Dyke forced to operate through back channels for information and negotiation, his task is complicated when the GI's wealthy and politically well-connected industrialist father Charles Leatherby (Broderick Crawford), impatient with the pace of diplomacy and espionage, breezes into town to apply his aggressive business sense to the situation and make things happen. With sleep elusive, I selected this from the FOX movie channel's on-demand menu of classics expecting very little, but was pleasantly surprised by the incisive script, finely-etched characters and, most particularly, the story's refreshing candor in depicting Cold War "dirty game" machinations in the flag-waving McCarthy era. The Nunnally Johnson screenplay from a Jed Harris story makes brutal examinations of the moral compromises and ethical ambiguities that come into play behind the scenes of delicate international incidents and, in an effective last-act coda, never make it into the officially-authorized accounts reported to the press. Van Dyke is a juicy role for Peck: a close cousin to Twelve O'Clock High's hardened General Savage, but one who has found pragmatic ways of dealing with the human costs of war, be they hot or cold ones, without breaking down or sacrificing his humanity. His confrontations with Crawford are electric, as Van Dyke rubs Leatherby's nose in the ugly realities of his job when the price of the son's release is revealed to be the lives of an aging and seemingly innocent German couple who escaped the Nazis at the close of the war, and the Soviets' desire to have them in custody isn't yet clear. Crawford's Leatherby is especially resonant today as the bellicose businessman learns that nothing is as simple as it appears when he inserts himself into a world beyond his experience, and in which he's out of his depth, practically and emotionally. The title refers literally to Van Dyke's droll and devoted seargent's (Buddy Ebsen) observation that the people with whom they must deal "do everything at night," and thematically to the shadowy operations that remain hidden from the "antiseptic" effects of the "sunlight" of exposure, as the old adage has it. Night People was screenwriter Johnson's directorial debut, and suffers from what I call CinemaScope Stasis, with entire scenes staged as uninterrupted long shots devoid of closeups or cross-cutting, and with dollying, tracking or panning by the camera employed only as needed to follow the action. But pacing and rhythm are well-maintained, and performances are both full-blooded and credible. Most notable, though, are the thoughtful way in which the human dilemmas arising from people-as-pawns international relations are presented and dissected, and the suspense derived from the uncertainty of their outcomes.
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Post by ZolotoyRetriever on Dec 22, 2018 1:58:28 GMT
Topaz (1969). Directed by Alfred Hitchcock, with John Forsythe, Frederick Stafford, Dany Robin, John Vernon, Karin Dor, Michel Piccoli, Philippe Noiret, Claude Jade, Michel Subor, Roscoe Lee Browne, Per-Axel Arosenius. DVR’d from TCM telecast a while ago.
This is a good film, and certainly an interesting one, especially if you have any interest in the historical events upon which it was based (namely, the “existential threat” event known as the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962). That being said, after all was said and done, I couldn’t help but harbor the feeling that the whole was less than the sum of the parts. It has a lot of good - and sometimes even great - scenes, carefully staged and polished like they’re so many exquisite and often exotic specimens in a stamp collector’s album. And you definitely can pick out some of Hitchcock’s subtle, and not-so-subtle, directorial touches - even some dry humor here and there, such as during Hitchcock’s own cameo appearance. But on the whole the film comes across as a bit too dry, measured and clinical, lacking the grittiness and world-on-the-edge-of-annihilation tension that might’ve befitted an espionage tale of this magnitude.
Yes, not a bad film, but not only has Hitchcock done better, but there are much better espionage-themed films out there than this one. Also, at this point in my life, I probably won’t watch this one again, so I now add it to my “retired films” list.
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Post by kijii on Dec 23, 2018 7:09:45 GMT
For the Boys (1991) / Mark Rydell Streamed from StarzThis is a captivating movie and Bette Midler (nominated for a Best Actress Oscar, here) is really the engine that makes it work so well. The movie traces the life and career of a comedian/singer, Dixie Leonard (Bette Midler), who is recruited to be part of a USO-type tour during WWII as the female partner to the famous Bob Hope- type comedian, Eddie Sparks (James Caan) (This is not his story since except for the relentless USO tours he did throughout his life.) The story is presented in a flashback after Sparks and Leonard are to be presented with a lifetime achievement award for their long years of work and dedication to entertaining the troops in war zones (from 1944-1969) around the world. Their work together starts during WWII and ends in Vietnam. Dixie has grown to hate Eddie Sparks over the years and is reluctant to join him in receiving the award 50 years after first meeting him. As she tells her story, we re-live those years together with their many ups and downs.... To begin with, Dixie Leonard was hard to control and often went a little "blue" with her comedy. She DID entertain the troops, but the way she did it often didn't go well with the sensors, columnists, critics, and Eddie Sparks, himself. Dixie (Bette Midler) : [Appearing on stage late] So sorry. [British accent] Dixie: A little trouble over the channel you know, old pip. Eddie (James Caan) : Really. Dixie : Righto. We were halfway to Belgium when we ran out of... gas, I believe you call it. Eddie : That's funny. You don't look like you'd ever run out of gas. Dixie : Are you trying to get into my flak suit, honey? Eddie : I'm just trying to debrief you. So a plane without any gas. What did you do? Dixie : Do? Eddie : Yeah. Do. You know to keep up morale and all that. Dixie : Well... well... my co-pilot... lovely young boy but terrified, half out of his wits. You know, nervous. Terrified. I said to him, "This one's going to take a long... hard... pull." So I did! For two hours! Eddie : Two hours alone with you? That boy deserves a purple heart. Dixie : Well, it was purple, alright, but I don't think it was his heart!
Then, there was the fact that their writer, Art Silver (George Segal), was fired and blacklisted during the"red scare" while they were entertaining in Korea. Dixie was too outspoken about this. Finally, she lost both her husband during WWII (making her a war widow) and her son, Danny (Christopher Rydell) in Vietnam (making her a Gold Star mother). The movie is both entertaining and moving. It has that Forrest Gump quality of tracing a lifetime of changes: WWII was fought for the noble reasons of defeating a known enemy and liberating Europe, with the USA media firmly behind the war (The Greatest Generation). Korea was a "police action" fought to contain the spread of Communism in a far off place. Vietnam was a "war" where the enemy often could not be found--or even known--but the idea of Communism drove the US to become the aggressor for an "idea." With each successive war, the appearance of the troops changes, as has the warfare, and the causes (or reasons) for the war (progressively becoming increasingly more nebulous). In this way, the movie was like retracing my country's own history during my lifetime: Therein lies the comparison of this movie with Forrest Gump. -- RECOMMENDED
Full Synopsis with SPOILERS: In the early 1990s, retired entertainer Dixie Leonard (Midler) has a commitment to attend a Hollywood ceremony being televised live to honor her and her longtime show-biz partner Eddie Sparks (Caan). When a young man from the TV show comes to pick her up, Dixie balks and explains what brought Eddie and her together, as well as what drove them apart. The majority of the film is an extended flashback.
Dixie's story begins during World War II when she receives an offer to entertain the troops overseas as part of Eddie's act. Dixie is an instant hit with the boys in uniform, but Eddie wants her gone, ostensibly because he finds her kind of humor too coarse, but in actuality because she stole the show by topping his jokes. Dixie doesn't care for him much, either, but fellow entertainers and her joke-writer uncle Art (Segal) persuade her to stay.
Eddie wins her over, particularly by reuniting Dixie with her soldier husband on stage. However, later in the war, Dixie's husband dies in battle.
Despite her distaste for Eddie, she continues working with him back in the U.S. to support herself and her son. Eddie is married with daughters, but treats Dixie's son as if he were his own.
As the Korean War breaks out, Eddie announces on stage that he and Dixie will be performing for the US troops there, without having told Dixie of his plans first. In revenge, Dixie announces that Eddie made a $100,000 donation to the Red Cross. Reluctantly, she travels to Korea with him. On their way to the camp, they encounter a unit of soldiers which has been ambushed. Dixie cares for a wounded soldier but cannot save him: he is pronounced dead on arrival at the field hospital. Dixie and Eddie appear to spend the night together. At the Christmas dinner, a fight ensues after Art announces to everybody that Eddie has fired him for being a communist sympathizer.
In the meantime, Danny (Rydell) has grown up to be a soldier like his father, and is deployed to Vietnam. Dixie eventually agrees to perform there for Christmas with Eddie. On their way to the camp, the performers are warned of the camp possibly being attacked, because of which they are to be flown out immediately after their performance. Before going on stage, Dixie and Eddie meet Danny, who reveals to them the barbarity which is spreading among his comrades. The show begins with the performance of a dancer, who starts getting harassed by the soldiers, and only Eddie's intervention prevents the situation from getting out of control. Dixie comes on stage and makes some cynical remarks about the soldiers, then sings “In My Life”. While she is still on stage, the camp is attacked in a mortar barrage. Dixie and Eddie manage to seek shelter, but Danny is killed right in front of them, which they both mourn.
Dixie has not forgiven Eddie for his part in all this, and they have another heated argument in the dressing room. Eddie goes out on stage alone. But, at the last minute, because he speaks of their joint loss in Vietnam, Dixie joins him on stage for one last song and dance, before appearing to accept their mutual love for one another.
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Post by kijii on Dec 24, 2018 6:21:57 GMT
Night People (1954) When a young U.S. Army corporal stationed in West Berlin is kidnapped by Soviet agents and spirited behind the iron curtain, it's up to Army intelligence officer Col. Steve Van Dyke (Gregory Peck) to effect his release. With the Soviets officially denying all knowledge and Van Dyke forced to operate through back channels for information and negotiation, his task is complicated when the GI's wealthy and politically well-connected industrialist father Charles Leatherby (Broderick Crawford), impatient with the pace of diplomacy and espionage, breezes into town to apply his aggressive business sense to the situation and make things happen. With sleep elusive, I selected this from the FOX movie channel's on-demand menu of classics expecting very little, but was pleasantly surprised by the incisive script, finely-etched characters and, most particularly, the story's refreshing candor in depicting Cold War "dirty game" machinations in the flag-waving McCarthy era. The Nunnally Johnson screenplay from a Jed Harris story makes brutal examinations of the moral compromises and ethical ambiguities that come into play behind the scenes of delicate international incidents and, in an effective last-act coda, never make it into the officially-authorized accounts reported to the press. Van Dyke is a juicy role for Peck: a close cousin to Twelve O'Clock High's hardened General Savage, but one who has found pragmatic ways of dealing with the human costs of war, be they hot or cold ones, without breaking down or sacrificing his humanity. His confrontations with Crawford are electric, as Van Dyke rubs Leatherby's nose in the ugly realities of his job when the price of the son's release is revealed to be the lives of an aging and seemingly innocent German couple who escaped the Nazis at the close of the war, and the Soviets' desire to have them in custody isn't yet clear. Crawford's Leatherby is especially resonant today as the bellicose businessman learns that nothing is as simple as it appears when he inserts himself into a world beyond his experience, and in which he's out of his depth, practically and emotionally. The title refers literally to Van Dyke's droll and devoted seargent's (Buddy Ebsen) observation that the people with whom they must deal "do everything at night," and thematically to the shadowy operations that remain hidden from the "antiseptic" effects of the "sunlight" of exposure, as the old adage has it. Night People was screenwriter Johnson's directorial debut, and suffers from what I call CinemaScope Stasis, with entire scenes staged as uninterrupted long shots devoid of closeups or cross-cutting, and with dollying, tracking or panning by the camera employed only as needed to follow the action. But pacing and rhythm are well-maintained, and performances are both full-blooded and credible. Most notable, though, are the thoughtful way in which the human dilemmas arising from people-as-pawns international relations are presented and dissected, and the suspense derived from the uncertainty of their outcomes. Doghouse6--- After reading your post from above, I saw this movie tonight. Wow!! What an interesting--though complicated--story this tells. It is one of those movies that I will have to see twice to understand more fully. But, I loved the way Peck handled Crawford. Congratulations on your great review (above). It captures the essence of the movie's story, perfectly. . ---I think I caught your drift if you were thinking what I was thinking about as I saw the movie. Full TCM Synopsis with SPOILERS: In post-war Berlin, American military authorities go on alert when a young corporal, Johnny Leatherby, is kidnapped, presumably by the Russians. Johnny's influential and wealthy father, manufacturer Charles Leatherby, goes to Berlin in an arrogant attempt to "stir things up" and ensure that the military "red tape" does not prevent the safe return of his son. In charge of the case is Col. Steve Van Dyke, who has already assigned his best informant, Frau "Hoffy" Hoffmeyer, to dig up details. Steve's devoted secretary, "Rick" Cates, despises Hoffy and does not trust her because of her addiction to absinthe, but Steve reminds her that Hoffy has a long history of fighting the Nazis. While Frederick S. Hobart of the State Department picks up Leatherby at the airport and attempts to explain the complicated politics behind the situation, Steve meets with Hoffy. Hoffy tells him that the Russians wish to trade Johnny for two German citizens living in West Berlin, although they have not yet specified who they want. Steve, who once had a love affair with Hoffy, urges her to be careful, while at the press club bar, Leatherby drinks with Freddy and two reporters and rails against the U.S. military's inability to deal strictly with the Russians. Later that night, Steve receives an urgent call from Hoffy, requesting that he meet her in his apartment. Leatherby, still drinking with the reporters, is introduced to Sergei "Petey" Petrochine, a Russian-born American who works as a liaison between American and Russian officials. Petey informs Leatherby that he has already contacted Col. Lodijensky, Steve's counterpart in Russian intelligence, and that the Russians are denying any knowledge of Johnny's kidnapping. Angered, Leatherby asks Petey to help him pay off Johnny's abductors, but Petey calmly replies that his money is irrelevant in a predicament like this. When Steve and Leatherby meet for the following morning, Steve lambasts the businessman for attempting to bribe one of his operatives and yells at him that he cannot make personal deals with foreign governments. Although Steve warns Leatherby that he should have stayed home, Leatherby refuses to back down and insists that Steve should hand over the two Germans, even if they are innocent of any crime. That night, Steve and Leatherby dine at a local restaurant, and after Leatherby admires the middle-aged female pianist, Steve points out her blind husband and reveals that they are the people whom the Russians want in exchange for Johnny. Although Leatherby is baffled, he still maintains that his only concern is for his son. When Steve's righthand man, Sgt. Eddie McColloch, informs the couple, the Schindlers, that they are wanted for questioning, they deduce that the Russians must be involved and take strychnine pills. Steve rushes them to the U.S. Army hospital, where Dr. R. A. Foster attends to them. Steve orders Rick to find Hoffy, who seems to have vanished, then learns from Petey that Lodijensky, with whom they were friends, has died of a brain hemorrhage. When Leatherby sees how distressed Steve is by Lodijensky's death, he realizes that he was mistaken to assume that all Russians are the same, and is further worried upon hearing that Herr Schindler may die. Matters become even more complicated when Frau Schindler reveals that her name is actually Rachel Cameron, and that she is a British citizen. Realizing that he could be jailed for arresting a British citizen, Steve questions her, and Rachel states that her husband, whose real name is Gen. Gerd von Kratzenow, participated in the plot to assassinate Hitler and was blinded by Himmler's men as a result. She and Gerd escaped from prison during an American bombing raid, and she is certain that the remaining Nazis are now working with the Russians. Leatherby is deeply moved by Rachel's cry that Steve should have let them die, and when Steve must return to headquarters to meet British Intelligence officer Stanways, he orders Leatherby to remain at the hospital. At headquarters, Stanways informs Steve that Lodijensky killed himself and his family after someone informed the Russians that Steve was planning to help them escape to the U.S. Stanways also gives him a photograph of a double agent named Stamm, who must have been the informer, and adds that Rachel spied for the Allies during World War II. Steve is horrified that the photo of "Stamm" is actually Hoffy, and realizes that she would have had access to the confidential information about Lodijensky in his briefcase when he was at her apartment. Steve is then called upstairs to G-2, the intelligence department, which has picked up Hoffy for questioning. Steve instructs Hoffy to have the Russians bring Johnny to the American hospital in an ambulance in an hour and a half, then arranges for her release. Afterward, he learns from Maj. Burns that the real Frau Hoffmeyer was killed by "Stamm," who then assumed her identity. Back at the hosptial, Steve procures a bottle of absinthe and some strychnine, then arranges for the border patrol to allow the Russian ambulance to pass through unmolested. Steve is surprised when Leatherby admits that he cannot send Rachel and her husband to certain death, and asks him to let Johnny take his chances with his abductors. Steve gently tells Leatherby that he never had the power to influence his actions, then laces the absinthe with the poison. When Hoffy arrives, Steve offers her a drink to celebrate the impending exchange, and although Hoffy is too nervous to drink hers, Steve drinks his so that she will not become suspicious. Unable to knock Hoffy out with the drink, Steve resorts to knocking her unconscious with a blow to the jaw, then ties her to a gurney and covers her up. Meanwhile, the ambulance has arrived and Leatherby is relieved that Johnny is safe. Steve and his cohorts then wheel Hoffy into the ambulance and intimidate the Russian drivers into believing that she is the woman they came for, and that the man is dead. After the ambulance leaves, Rachel is reunited with her recovering husand, and Foster pumps Steve's stomach. The next day, Steve meets Leatherby and Johnny at the press club, where they thank him for all his efforts, and he assures Johnny that his father has a great heart. After they leave, Steve smiles while listening to a radio report that the missing G.I. was returned through regular diplomatic channels, indicating the Russians' willingness to resume peaceful relations with the West.
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Post by Doghouse6 on Dec 24, 2018 21:34:21 GMT
Doghouse6--- After reading your post from above, I saw this movie tonight. Wow!! What an interesting--though complicated--story this tells. It is one of those movies that I will have to see twice to understand more fully. But, I loved the way Peck handled Crawford. Congratulations on your great review (above). It captures the essence of the movie's story, perfectly. . ---I think I caught your drift if you were thinking what I was thinking about as I saw the movie. I'm grateful, kijii , for the kind words, and pleased you found Night People of interest. Among my favorite things are coming across films that deliver more than I anticipated, and calling attention to them when they do.* I suppose I was expecting a rather standard, mid-'50s tale of romance set against a backdrop of international intrigue that might lull me off to dreamland, so the intelligence of the literate script was an unforeseen reward. As you now know, romantic entanglements were indeed an element of the story, but were so tightly interwoven that they were anything but gratuitous, even becoming pivotal to the story at a crucial point. Another nice surprise was the strength and substance of the three key female characters, providing more than simply distractions from, or complications to, the plot. That was especially welcome in the type of "man's world" story where women are commonly sidelined as merely decorative or helpless. And yes, your thinking about my "drift" was on-target; comparisons to our present moment in history seemed inescapable. *Another such film was 2007's Gone Baby Gone, which I avoided for about a year after its release: directorial debut by a middling actor; off-putting title; sordid subject matter. But I was bowled over when I finally saw it, and in addition to the kidnapping angle, it resembled Night People in its examination of an apparently unresolvable moral dilemma. Night People wrote its way out of that corner with its late-in-the-day revelations about you-know-who, but they didn't really have a compromising effect on the point of the story, which was summed up with such honesty after Leatherby has made his life-changing decision, only to be told by Van Dyke that, "The truth is, your wishes have nothing to do with the matter; they never have had. These are decisions that have to be made by a soldier."
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Post by ZolotoyRetriever on Dec 25, 2018 2:14:45 GMT
Finished a trio of enjoyable noir films I DVR'd from TCM's Noir Alley series, hosted by Eddie Muller:
Too Late for Tears (1949), in which a woman and her husband (Lizabeth Scott and Arthur Kennedy) unexpectedly come into possession of a small suitcase full of cash. Other people (both law as well as outlaw) get involved, and intrigue ensues.
Follow Me Quietly (1949), in which a police detective (William Lundigan), with the help of a tabloid reporter (Dorothy Patrick), track an elusive serial strangler who only strikes on rainy nights.
…and lastly, Beware, My Lovely (1952), in which a psychopathic misfit (Robert Ryan) takes a job as a handyman at the home of a lonely widow (Ida Lupino).
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Post by petrolino on Dec 25, 2018 17:19:09 GMT
'Magic Town' (1947) - A philosophical comedy about the science of polling and the nature of voting. Screenwriter Robert Riskin adapts a story by Joseph Krumgold for director William Wellman, Riskin having parted ways with regular collaborator Frank Capra at the start of the decade. James Stewart stars as former basketball ace Rip Smith and if you watch closely, the whole first half hour of the movie, he's photographed to look like a lanky giant. When Rip starts pursuing dogged civic agitator Mary Peterman (Jane Wyman), Wellman flips perspective with the camera, frequently framing Stewart to look the same size or smaller than Wyman, be it at a diner or inside a classroom. The story's inspired by the Middletown studies which were controversial sociological studies conducted by Robert Staughton Lynd and Helen Merrell Lynd in Muncie, Indiana.
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Post by mikef6 on Dec 25, 2018 17:26:15 GMT
Contains one of my favorite movie quotes that I frequently use about myself: "All the dirty lies you've heard about me...are true!"
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