Swithin
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Posts posted by Swithin
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Thanks, Movie Professor, that's very interesting. It would have been during the wee hours that I saw the uncut version. But I can't stay up that late these days, and now, as Mae says in *Klondike Annie*, "Fah Wong, turn down the bedsheets. I'm headed for the arms of Morpheus!"
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*Klondike Annie* is one of my favorite Mae West films. I think I remember seeing the murder scene on local NYC TV many years ago, but I could be wrong. I can't think why they wouldn't want Mae to be seen killing Harold Huber in self defence -- they had no problem showing the scene in *She Done Him Wrong* where Mae kills Rafaela Ottiano ("Russian Rita") in self defense.
The mixed-race situation between Mae (the San Francisco Doll) and Huber (Chan Lo) is a howl. One of her best lines: "Why won't you let me mix with men of my own race?"
But the opening song is one of the highlights of cinema: Mae singing "I'm an Occidental Woman in an Oriental Mood for Love" to a group of leering (as it happens) Chinese men. Dig one of the lines of the song: "And I feel the thrill of China when I see the yellow Buddha moon above." (Sorry, but that's the line, it WAS NOT a pre-code movie!)
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I'd like to see *The Egyptian* on TCM and DVD. Wonderful cast, sweeping story, great production values, and a score so complex that they needed TWO great composers: Bernard Herrmann and Alfred Newman.
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An enjoyable sister/sister relationship: Dorothy Maguire and Joan Blondell in *A Tree Grows in Brooklyn*. And a realistic brother/sister relationship, in the same film: Peggy Ann Garner and Ted Donaldson.
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I'm still waiting for *The Mystery of Edwin Drood* (1935).
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My favorite performance by Olivia de Havilland is her exquisite portrayal of Angela Giuseppe (aka Mlle. Georges) in *Anthony Adverse*.
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*Our Mutual Friend* was made into a fine mini-series by the BBC in 1998. I believe it was filmed earlier as well, but I've only seen the 1998 version. It's four parts, very well done, excellently acted, very romantic, and totally creepy in parts.
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All of E.M. Forster's novels have been made into films except one -- my favorite -- *The Longest Journey*. I would love to see that filmed.
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I knew the playwright/screenwriter Bob Anderson. He told me that they had hoped to win some Oscars for *The Nun's Story*, which he wrote, but that was the *Ben Hur* year.
But if you want to see some interesting nun's stories, try *The Devils* with Vanessa Redgrave; and *The Nun and the Devil* (Le monache di Sant'Arcangelo), with Anne Heywood.
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The *Virginia Woolf* couple that Albee wanted for the film and that never was: Bette Davis and James Mason.
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And when will TCM show *Murder He Says,* one of the funniest films of all time?
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How about *The Godfather*? Weren't they in the oil business? Oh, that's right, it was olive oil. Never mind!
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Yes they are great in *Buck Privates* but my favorite film appearance of the Andrews Sisters is in *Hold that Ghost*. "Your a sweetheart in a million -- ha ha ha ha Aurora. With your manners so Brazilian, ha ha ha ha Aurora."
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Two of my favorite brother/sister characters in film are Horace and Rebecca Femm (Ernest Thesiger and Eva Moore) in *The Old Dark House*; and Squire Western and Miss Western (Hugh Griffith and Edith Evans) in *Tom Jones*. Who are your favorites?
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I didn't know Strick died until I read an earlier post in this thread. Btw, I just discovered that there was a DVD release of *Ulysses* in late 2009, Pretty expensive, mixed reviews on Amazon. But it's a noble attempt with some lovely passages. Decades after he starred in *Ulysses*, I worked with Milo O'Shea. I told him I remember him for *Ulysses* and *Barbarella*.
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But do have a look at the Strick film. It has much beauty in it.
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"Dump her in Red Hook!"
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I'm very fond of the films I've seen based on Joyce's writings. *The Dead* is one of my top ten; Strick's *Ulysses*, while it can't capture the full novel, is a moving, beautiful film with fine performances by Milo O'Shea, Barbara Jefford, and the rest of the cast. I saw it as a teenager, when it came out, and still have vivid memories of it. It's a haunting film.
I also saw Mary Ellen Bute's jolly take on *Finnegan's Wake*, which I enjoyed. The least memorable, though a decent film, is *Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man*.
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I wish they would release the greatest silent of them all, Abel Gance's *Napoleon*. The Coppola version, which I saw around 1980 in Radio City Music Hall, with a full orchestra, was on VHS, but various rights issues have confused the situation. How wonderful it would be if a mammoth DVD collection was issued with the Coppola version, the British version (music by Carl Davis), and additional footage were made available!
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I recently saw Bunuel's *Simon of the Desert* for the first time. It was one of his films made in Mexico, very interesting, with his characteristic surreal touches. But that's another story, as is John Huston's disappointing *Under the Volcano*, also shot in Mexico.
Back to the *Robot* and its ilk. Most countries have a stream of low budget horror films which have distinctive qualities and, in their own way, are quite wonderful. I would love to see a series on that sort of Mexican horror. I'm longing to see *The Brainiac* and *The Black Pit of Dr. M.* on TCM. Not to mention *The Wrestling Women vs. the Aztec Mummy,* *The Curse of Nostradamus*, and all those Abel Salazar films!
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It has one of my favorite credits: "Aztec choreography by Stella Inda." But *The Wrestling Women Vs. the Aztec Mummy* has the really crazy rock theme song over the credits.
My favorite Mexican horror film is *The Black Pit of Dr. M.* which has to be seen with the awful English dubbing. It has one of the great lines, spoken after a performance of Csardas by Monti on the violin: "Yes, it's me -- I came back in Elmer's body!" Check out the trailer on YouTube. Another crazy Mexican horror film: *The Brainiac.* Which wins the "best tongue" award!
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One of the films -- I don't remember whether it's the Robot v. the Aztec Mummy, or the Wrestling Women v. the Aztec Mummy -- has a great theme song, over the opening credits. The only problem would be if TCM showed a version with subtitles. To enjoy these Mexican horror films to the fullest, they need to be seen with the awful English dubbing! (Where, oh where, is the dubbed version of The Black Pit of Dr. M.?)
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Thanks so much for this heads up! *The Dead* is one of my favorite films, it's an exquisite film with a terrific cast, including some of the greatest Irish actors of the day. In some ways, I find it more like a John Ford film than a Huston film, but I felt that about *Wise Blood*, another late great Huston film. I was going to buy the DVD of *The Dead* when it came out last year, but I heard that scenes were missing. There is also a film about the making of the film which is very interesting.
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I think *Witchfinder General* is one of the most tragic films ever made. I originally saw it at MOMA in NYC. At the end, just about everyone is corrupted, including the hero and even the audience. "You took him from me" is one of the most haunting penultimate lines, spoken by hero Ian Ogilvy, because he is prevented from finishing his brutal hacking job on villain Vincent Price. Price is no campy villain in the film, he's pure evil, and the audience felt cheated, too -- we wanted the hacking to go on.
Is there an unfilmed book you'd like to see as a movie?
in General Discussions
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The BBC produced two fine multi-episode versions of *Bleak House*. I think the better one is the 1985 version with Diana Rigg and Denholm Elliott, but the later version, with Gillian Anderson, was good as well. Both were broadcast in the U.S.