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I've never really considered THE APARTMENT as that much of a comedy. This isn't a slam. It does have it's moments, but I'd put it as more of a "farce". But some that always get a laugh out of me... THE COCONUTS DUCK SOUP DINNER AT EIGHT TOPPER THE MAN WHO COULD WORK MIRACLES SONS OF THE DESERT IT HAPPENED ONE NIGHT MY MAN GODFREY LIFE WITH FATHER HIS GIRL FRIDAY THE LADYKILLERS THE BELLBOY THE PRODUCERS GOOD NEIGHBOR SAM THE ODD COUPLE PAPER MOON YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN Sepiatone

Wednesday, October 6/7 8 p.m. All About Eve (1950). Fasten your seatbelts. 2:30 a.m. Nightmare Alley (1947). With Tyrone Power. Guillermo del Toro is remaking this with Bradley Cooper.

It’s fall, technically, on the calendar, but here in LA it’s 98 degrees and the leaves don’t change til Christmas. So help me get my fall foliage fix by posting about cinematic autumn leaves! I’ll start with one of my Halloween staples — Hitchcock’s comedy TROUBLE WITH HARRY. I love everything about this movie, especially the trees! The movie’s New England setting makes me wish I could whisk away to Vermont right now. Now help me build the Fall Leaves Film Library (the FLFL) for the Fall Foliage Film Festival (FFFF)!

Hora de dormir Bonzo (1951) YouTube In Ronald Reagan’s only Spanish film, he plays a psychology professor who sets out to prove that people are a product of their environment rather than their heredity. He obviously never saw The Three Stooges episode with the same theme, which ended in tragedy as everybody threw pies at each other. To prove his theory, Reagan takes home a chimp named Bonzo, plays “papa” and then hires Diana Lynn to act as “mama.” Results are very predictable, but also very funny. Bonzo (real name Herschel Bonzofsky) steals the show with his antics. A good way to kill about 83 minutes.

plus I mean, he was DEADLY HANDSOME in his prime:

Yep. Sorry, my mistake. (we really DO need that "blush" emoticon here. At least, I do! ) Sepiatone

It's either shipboard on a Victory at Sea shoot or a severely inebriated camera man. Although it could be both. A different audience for sure, if they're shooting for younger they've missed. Changing the food bowl wont increase Fido's appetite for the same old kibble.

Huge Ninety-Eighth(!) Birthday Wishes and Warm, Safe, Healthy Greetings to one (Dame) Glynis Johns. Born October 5th. 1923; Pretoria South Africa. Very Very (Very) Identifiable Young Lady for me. Both, in Voice and Her Lovely Sophisticatingly Competent (imo) Looks. Took me +years later, after watching Mary Poppins (for the) first time to figure out the Name of this Lovely Speaking Artist.

What would Mario Cantone say about the French Revolution? "Oh, that Marie Antoinette! Those wigs were hideous! I was so rooting for that guillotine!"

Nice insights on The Glass Wall, speedy. I had to laugh at your observation concerning Tom's faked clarinet playing. Speaking of which, I would have liked a little wrap-up scene where a couple of things are resolved....such as, did Tom get that job with the jazz band? They make it look as though he's giving up his chance by rushing off to find Peter, but shirley Mr. Teagarden had heard enough to decide to hire him- that's implied, but I'd like to know for sure. I also have this silly fantasy in which Peter and Maggie get married, as do Tom and Nancy, and they all four become great friends and hang around together, Peter gets a construction job and takes night classes to become a lawyer ( maybe an immigration lawyer), and he and Maggie and Nancy have fun attending the nightclubs where Tom's playing exciting jazz ( except on the nights that Peter's studying to become a lawyer, of course.)😎

These make me laugh the most: Duck Soup (1933) Horse Feathers (1932) It's A Gift (1934) Sons Of The Desert (1933) Arsenic And Old Lace (1944) Lover Come Back (1961) Monty Python's The Meaning Of Life (1983) What About Bob? (1991) There's Something About Mary (1998) Little Miss Sunshine (2006)

In my book some of the flat-out funniest stuff that ever went from script to actors to screen come from Preston Sturges. Wilder may seem to have the dialog market cornered, but I think he can get a little over-indulgent (in some films perhaps) with the slang. That sounds like a beef, but it's not really, because Wilder comedies just breeze along without a hiccup. But when someone consistently makes me howl out loud with "Christmas in July" ("It's not the coffee, it's the bunk"), "The Lady Eve," "Miracle of Morgan's Creek," "Hail the Conquering Hero," "The Palm Beach Story," "The Great McGinty" and others, that guy has a truly rare gift. The way all the characters spar with each other -- no one outshines William Demarest here -- is jaw-droppingly inspired. Deserted island choice for me is the Preston Sturges film library! Hands down, no question about it.

The Hound of the Baskervilles (1929) Germany/Dir: Richard Oswald - Yet another adaptation of the Arthur Conan Doyle story, which had already been filmed several times by this point, although this was the last silent version. Renowned detective Sherlock Holmes (Carlyle Blackwell) and his friend Dr. Watson (George Seroff) are called on to investigate the appearances of a ghostly hound, said to be a harbinger of death toward members of the Baskerville family. Also featuring Alexander Murski, Livio Pavanelli, Betty Bird, Valy Arnheim, and Fritz Rasp. This version was thought lost for many years, but much of it was discovered and restored a few years ago. A few scenes remain missing, and have been recreated using stills. American actor Blackwell is decent as Holmes, although the part is hindered a bit by being silent. Blackwell retired shortly after making this, the next to last of his 199 film appearances. (7/10)

I've told young directors for years to avoid just this sort of dreck. I "get it" that breaking the rules can be seen as fun or "awesome," but it's mostly not. A friend of mine worked on Mindhunter, and if you watch that series, you'll see how precise and limited the camera movement is. The camera moves when it needs to and it doesn't move otherwise. That a channel that caters to classic film lovers is doing this is absurd. It's like watching some stupid sports set with 8 macho guys talking smack about football, while the camera roams the set. But to do it when there is only ONE presenter is just mind-numbing.

White Christmas Strike Up the Band A Hole in the Head

LORD OF THE RINGS — we have to deal with Sauron AND Saruman AND Smeagol/Gollum, plus all the minions and sidekicks.

Basil Rathbone, Claude Rains and Melville Cooper in The Adventures of Robin Hood 1938 Stephen McNally and Dan Duryea in Winchester 73 1950 Yul Brynner, Edward G Robinson and Vincent Price in The Ten Commandments 1956

Well-photographed probably comes in part from the scenes that were filmed at the Greystone Mansion. Maury Dexter also filmed another movie there, The Day Mars Invaded Earth, which is surprisingly good considering the sort of budget Dexter had for his movies.

It is a great movie 9/10. My favorite story about the making of this film is how Friedkin got that performance out of Gene Hackman. Hackman was a gentle, soft spoken liberal and had to transform into this loud, bigoted violent cop. He went on busts with real life police like Eddie Egan and Sonny Grosso. Egan was very much like the character of Popeye Doyle. After several weeks of seeing what the cops deal with, Friedkin saw the anger coming out in Hackman's performance and you have that brutal and stunning portrayal that you see on screen. After one scene where Doyle roughs up a suspect, Egan said "Hey this guy's worse than me!" , which drove Hackman crazy, stunned at what he had become.

I saw several episodes a few years back when one of the digital stations was carrying it. Very entertaining, but I think McGavin was more humorous. Of course they crowded it all into one 30 minute episode. Incidentally my favorite character on PM is Paul Drake, who usually had to forego meals and dates to do things that Perry wanted immediately. Also gave up fair amount of sleep. But he drove very nice cars. Hopper retired to Palm Springs after the series ended and died at 55. His hair was white and had turned white while in service as a Navy frogman (predecessor to today's SEALS) during WW II.

Alraune (1930) Germany/Dir: Richard Oswald - First sound version of the Hanns Heinz Ewers story, with Albert Bassermann as the respected scientist who creates an "artificial woman" using genetic information from a murderer and a prostitute to determine if immorality is hereditary. Brigitte Helm once again stars as the unfortunate title woman. Also with Harald Paulsen, Agnes Straub, and Martin Kosleck. The highlight for me was seeing revered German stage-and-screen actor Bassermann hamming it up in an over-the-top performance. (6/10)

Well, as COSTNER GOES, his over the top character in SILVERADO was the only time I could stomach much of him. And his OPEN RANGE was OK, but probably because most of the scenes he was in were with ROBERT DUVALL, And Duvall usually stole all those scenes. And any movie in which he would narrate annoyed me because he always came off as..... In high school, whenever a teacher wanted students to read something aloud, and would call on the worst reader in the class to stiffly bumble through a few chapters in a sleep inducing droning monotone. 😩 Sepiatone

Yes, I quite liked Tanya -- despite the fact that I did wonder in what universe you put some stranger in bed with your two little kids...but WE THE AUDIENCE know that Peter is an ok guy, so it's all right. 😏 So in the post- Glass Wall illegal immigrant world in which everyone is friends and hangs out together, Tanya's there too, along with her mother, who's always making goulash for them all, and the two little girls, who take up Hungarian folk dancing ( for which Tom provides the music.) Freddie reforms and becomes a law clerk at Peter's new law practice.

Batman Returns also has Christopher Walken at the true bad guy. Oceans Eleven (original) Raiders of the Lost Ark Presumed Innocent

Yeah, I hated the Dream Curse story because it went on FOREVER. And we'd be stuck watching these cheesy dream sequences weekly for EONS. (they'd always end the show) If Angelique wanted to put a curse on someone, why didn't she just do it in REAL TIME???

See, now here's a perfect example of harmless "off-topic" content. So, not to perpetuate this side-conversation about baseball, but I'll just say, if the Jays had been in a different division, instead of the same one as the Yankees and the Red Sox, they definitely would have made the Wild Card spot. Yes, the Blue Jays have a lot of spirit, and a lot of talent. They're well-beloved by their Toronto fans. It's just too bad that come spring, they'll have to build it up all over again. ( I hope Marcus Semien stays. )

Interesting topic and welcome!

ADAM looks like THE OLD SPICE MAN had a bad accident and went through the windshield. *thats not a complaint, mind you, just an observation.

Great question, Bunny! This was another case where I learned more Bond history researching the answer. Johanna Harwood worked on scripts for Dr. No, From Russia With Love and may have also worked on Goldfinger. She is credited with keeping the early movies close to Fleming's source novels. Early in her career she worked for Harry Saltzman who later bought the rights to the Bond books. Harwood wrote the first rough draft script for Dr. No. She felt it was important to stay faithful to the original books. Producer Wolf Mankowitz wrote a final draft which turned Dr. No into a monkey. (?!?) Such changes led United Artists to call Harwood back in to fix the script. Then Berkely Mather, an Indian army general , was brought in to make the dialogue sound "more masculine." The changes went too far, making the characters sound like "Chicago hitmen." Harwood was called in again and, with director Terence Young, fixed the dialogue to make it sound more properly British with just 8 days before filming. Roger Moore wrote: "Her involvement has often been overlooked and her pivotal role clouded by the vagaries of film history and the egos of those within,"

The Lady Gambles (1949)

David, Larry

HOMEWARD BOUND ends at Thanksgiving with some lovely autumn leaves

In addition to Paper Moon (as TikiSoo mentioned), his drolly understated comic performance in What's Up, Doc? is unexpectedly good. Yes, it's a deliberate allusion to Cary Grant in Bringing Up Baby, but it works surprisingly well on its own terms.

Stewart Granger. I find him completely unappealing, plus the films they put him in were usually swashbucklers and unless those star Errol Flynn, I'm usually just not interested.

Yates, Cassie

Ms. Johns originated the role of Desiree Armfeldt in A Little Night Music (1973), winning the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical. She introduced this song:

Seems like he still had fun - as long as mamá continued to foot the bill...

The Strange Case of Captain Ramper (1928) Germany/Dir: Max Reichmann - Famous daredevil pilot and explore Captain Ramper (Paul Wegener) attempts a dangerous flight over the arctic circle, only to disappear into the icy wilderness. Many years later, a group of sailors whose ship is trapped in the winter ice, encounter a savage ape-like beast-man, which they capture and bring back to civilization, where the creature becomes a public attraction. Also featuring Mary Johnson, Hugo Doblin, Georg Guertler, Camillo Kossuth, Hermann Vallentin, and Max Schreck. This movie is considered the first to feature an abominable snowman/yeti/bigfoot-type creature. The movie only runs about an hour, and there isn't a lot to it, although the set/locations are good, and there are some good editing effects. (6/10)

Oh, lighten up, you're reading way too much into what is simply a light-hearted little teen film.

Thelma Todd

Alraune: A Daughter of Destiny (1928) Germany/Dir: Henrik Galeen - Based on the book by Hanns Heinz Ewers, the story concerns a scientist (Paul Wegener) creating an "artificial woman" that he names Alraune (Brigitte Helm). Since she was created by man, she has no soul, and sets out into the world causing chaos. The story had already been adapted in 1919 by Michael Curtiz, and later versions were released in 1930 and 1952. Unfortunately, there's a good chunk of footage of this 1928 version that seems to be lost, and much of it centers on the creation of the Alraune character. Not only does this leave out what promised to be an interesting scene, but it also undermines the narrative in a way that it never quite recovers from. If the full version ever gets restored, I may rate this one more highly. (6/10)

Ben Mankiewicz trying to be funny. Now that is horror.

The Bear's Wedding (1925) USSR/Dir: Konstantin Eggert - One of the best bear-scares-a-pregnant-woman-so-her-baby-later-develops-a-penchant-for-dressing-up-as-a-bear-and-attacking-people movies made in Russia during the 1920's. (5/10)

Absolutely. It was Wilder's sly wink at the audience when the hearing aid was turned down in anticipation of what was coming. He'd already shown us The Saint Valentine's Day Massacre, so it was his way of saying here we go again. Very clever. I think it was also to show that the little blowhard tyrant had a weak spot.

I agree with this, in addition to Palance giving a great performance as the most sadistic Hyde, it is directed by Dan (Dark Shadows) Curtis. It is shot on videotape which gives it more of live stage performance feel to it. I own it on a VHS tape, introduced by TV host Elvira, who looks great but is not funny.

I think we need to accentuate the positive, eliminate the negative and don't mess with Mr. Inbetween!

Marilyn Monroe. I’ll go ahead and leave now.

The Arrival from the Darkness (1921) Czechoslovakia/Dir: Jan S. Kolar - Romantic fantasy about a history-obsessed nobleman (Theodor Pistek) who learns of a strange Black Tower from a book he receives. After traveling there, he discovers the body of an ancestor (Karel Lamac), who is soon revived, and who relates a tale of a love triangle many years ago, one with eerie parallels to the present. Also featuring Anny Ondra, Vladimir Majer, and Josef Svab-Malostransky. This was nice opportunity to see early filmmaking from a culture that I haven't seen much of from this era. The acting is about on par with other films of the time, while the settings are well achieved. (6/10)

2018 5. Return of the Hero (2018) Laurent Tirard, France Jean Dujardin is a Captain in the Hussars in 1812 France. He is only just been engaged to a young lady from a wealthy family when he is called away to the Napoleonic wars. I won’t give away anything else but will say that the film had me laughing out loud in several places which is somewhat of a rarity. Dujardin and Melanie Laurent are both excellent. Laurent is apparently well known in France for being a voice in The Simpsons. Like most comedies Return of the Hero falls off here and there but it is well worth a look. 9. Lady J (2018) Emmanuel Mouret, France I’ve only seen 9 FF’s from 2018 so this is no great shakes. Lady J is basically a poor man’s Dangerous Liaisons but handled in the most dull way. It picks up a little toward the end if you can make it that far. Average. and I’ve also seen … When Lambs Become Lions (2018) Jon Kasbe, United States This was billed as a documentary about Elephant poachers in Kenya. I just didn’t buy that. To me this had to be a docudrama as there was little to no interaction between the camera crew and the poachers as one might expect when the poachers were under threat of death if identified. However the topic is a sincere one and it is well shot but I would rather have seen a “real” undercover expose.