Bronxgirl48
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Posts posted by Bronxgirl48
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This is the best Jeff Bridges performance I've ever seen.
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lol, I'd love to see that.
The five second BRAVEHEART is also hilarious.
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Yes, Blondell and Cagney were so vibrant and natural; they blew the "real" stars out of the water.
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Thanks for providing me that info.
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What a cast for THE BLUE VEIL. I haven't seen it.
My favorite Blondell performance is her Aunt Sissy in A TREE GROWS IN BROOKLYN. She was also fine in NIGHTMARE ALLEY.
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Ark -- I just finished watching it and agree straight down the line with absolutely everything you said, right down to how effective Cagney was in a SUPPORTING role. Ayres just about knocked me out -- what a charismatic performance; I couldn't take my eyes off him. You could see him THINKING. Genius "fluke' casting. For such a young age, Ayres displays remarkable maturity, poise, and intelligence as an actor.
Ayres was fresh from ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT, and DOORWAY TO HELL has the head of the military academy tell him that their aim is to build good citizens, not soldiers..
Is there a pacifist theme in the story? (THE PUBLIC ENEMY had Tom Powers tell his brother, "You killed and liked it. You didn't get any medals for holding hands with the Germans").
This certainly would be in line with Ayres's own anti-war sentiments.
I thought this was the best early gangster film I've ever seen, and THAT ENDING!!! It was almost Gatsby-like, very literate and sophisticated. Dorothy Mathews as the wife and Leon Janney as the kid brother, were good, very natural.
And did you notice that was none other than Dwight Frye delivering the "lesson" line!
The second half was a little slow, but redeemed by the closing scenes in the hotel room.
Beats LITTLE CAESAR and THE PUBLIC ENEMY by a mile.
Nobody should miss it!
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I've heard those stories over the years about her death. I'm not the cigarette police, but, that's a lotta smokin'.
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You've got me really wanting to see THE CROWD again soon.
I'm going to ask my mother about our neighbors. They had two male children, and we always used to visit them on Christmas.
Who knows what I'll discover, lol? (along with Arnold Stang, see the Trivia thread)
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I can make a great regular old New Yawk chicken soup, with parsely and carrots and fresh stock.
And of course thin egg noodles. Mighty tasty eatin'. I'll throw in the corn for you. (fresh shucked)
Aw, shucks. I used to enjoy kraut with my hot dogs; but now I prefer Chicago dressings.
How could I not remember you've seen THE SHOP AROUND THE CORNER many times -- we all bantered about it in other threads. I really think my brain cells are atrophying. It's this subtropical climate; the synapes go haywire from the humidity. (of course, now we're having a cold spell; it's about 30 degrees out and I'm freezing)
Mom isn't the type to talk about love. Instead, she'll wax enthusiastic over her latest diet.
The woman is 86 years old and has been dieting for 70 years. I tell her she looks just fine and it's o.k. for her to have, say, a piece of coconut cake now and then. Her response: "Coconut will kill you". I just respond, "Oooooo-kay".
"The man who shot Liberty Valance, he shot Liberty Valance, he was the bravest of them all....."
I might enlist Sterling Hayden to play his guitar at the wedding.
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Not only for myself, but thank you for bringing Murray's tragic story to all our attentions.
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Mary Boland.
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mickee, I can't thank you enough for posting this -- it's utterly fantastic!!
Guess what -- our family lived on 190th Street in the Bronx.
Our long time next door neighbors were --- The Murrays.
I wonder if they were related.
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Well, How-dee, FG! (That's my Minnie Pearl impression) And a very Happy New Year back at you.
I envisioned you over the holidays enjoying mouthwatering Pennsylvania Dutch food at your family's table. I gained twenty pounds just thinking about it. So no candy for me, lol. But I'll take a giant sub sandwich. (the kind that Ed Norton whips out in the "t.v." episode of The Honeymooners when he's watching Captain Video)
As for "l'amour, l'amour, toujours l'amour" (as whatsername says in THE WOMEN; pardon me, I'm having a damned "senior" moment) it could be overrated; why do people always equate it with the flu?? Is it all it's cracked up to be? How cynical am I getting? I better buck up -- I've got a wedding in six months. (you're all invited; I decided it's going to be a cowboy theme; Duane will wear spurs -- only not for the honeymoon)
I didn't remember Sara was in MAD LOVE. THE SHOP AROUND THE CORNER is one of my favorite movies. You haven't seen it? It's wonderful. Thanks in advance for the cap!
Mom loves anything crunchy to eat. You could send her chocolate covered grasshoppers.
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I believe Robert Cremer, in his Lugosi bio The Man Behind The Cape, included that photo.
I used to own a copy of that book. I vaguely recall it in there. He might have gotten it from FJA's still collection.
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I don't remember SMART MONEY that well.
I'd like to see the Murray link; where is it, please?
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I didn't know she was the voice in SW until RO mentioned it -- I didn't recognize it.
Didn't she play Madame LaFarge in some version of A Tale of Two Cities?
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I've always appreciated Sara Haden -- she played old maids with such grace and sensitivity. I particularly like her turns in THE BISHOP'S WIFE, THE SHOP AROUND THE CORNER, and in the Andy Hardys as Aunt Millie.
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For all of you who saw SCARED TO DEATH for the first time today, might you agree with me that Nat Pendleton here is THE DUMBEST COP IN THE HISTORY OF THE MOVIES?
He shoots a mannikin thinking it's a human being. He hopes and prays that someone will be a murder victim so that he can claim the glory of an arrest and be promoted.
He moons over the housemaid and promises her infinite wealth, despite the traditional low pay of a public servant. He makes insensitive remarks to "Indigo" the dwarf, calling him a monkey. He never knows what the hell is going on at any given moment and makes unfunny jokes throughout.
When his ladylove, whom he previously has declared his devotion, is apparently killed, he casually totes her stiff body around like the laundry. We are told he previously shot a mannikin thinking it was a human being, and was kicked off the force; now he is hoping and praying that someone -- anyone -- will be a murder victim so he can arrest the perp, claim the glory, and be not only back in the good graces of the men in blue, but actually given a promotion. (Yeah, right, like that's gonna happen)
If the totally annoying Mr. Nat doesn't drive you up the wall, the clumsy back-and-forth corpse-narration (actually always consisting of a single sentence) and it's headache-inducing repetitive "eerie" musical chord certainly will.
This is filmed in "natural color" but the spectrum keeps switching every five seconds -- George Zucco's office is royal blue in one scene, then a sort of acquamarine the next. Lily-Beth the maid's uniform also undergoes a similiar transformation from room to room. Even the disembodied mask gets mood-ring changes. In the rest of the house, the color (and the furniture) seems faded and drab, like Cabanne's plodding, lackluster direction. You just wait for it to be over.
This could have been a nifty and intriguing little mystery-horror in black and white, without the comedy relief and without this cast. The story, with floating masks, betrayal, hypnotism, and revenge, could have been made as a satisfactory Charlie Chan entry (and at least with Mantan Moreland, there'd be GOOD comedy relief) or even perhaps as a Peter Lorre vehicle.
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The behind-the-scenes amusement park plot wasn't as interesting as it could have been, but it's sparked by Cagney's presence in his first screen appearance. (already he's sitting on his mother's lap)
Joan Blondell was practically unrecognizable as a brunette. Quite an unflattering do; I may even say it looked like there was a dark-colored Pomeranian on her head.
I enjoyed how she stood up to tough-as-nails Lucille:"Shut up, you old bat!"
All in all, not very memorable, except for Jimmy and Joan.
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Why, thank-ee, Miss G. Ah, the beloved dusty trails of nostalgic Saturday morning consumerism...
"Only one dollar, kids! And the end from a box of Kaiser foil!"
All the boys in the Remco Cowboys and Indians game have thick New Yawk accents, lol.
And Buffalo Bee sounds an awful lot like Mae Betty Boop Questel. (I think she did a lot of voiceovers)
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Thanks, violets. I guess H.G. was always looking for a rainbow....
I liked Margaretta Scott as Ralph's "wife" (or companion?) Her character had a lot of punch.
Massey coming out of the plane with that giant helmet was very creepy to me. Yes, the women's hair looked very 1930's, much like the ananchronistic 1960's flips during the 1920's flashbacks in HUSH, HUSH, SWEET CHARLOTTE.
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Mary Poppins to the Dude: "A spoonful of sugar makes the medicine go down". The Dude: "Well, that's like, you know, your opinion, man."
I wouldn't say that all New Yorkers are more sophisticated than people from Ohio. I'll tell you one thing (having lived in Chicago for ten years), Midwesterners are a darned sight nicer.
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THE BIG LEBOWSKI
in Films and Filmmakers
Posted
NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN is playing near me.
I'll even pay the ten bucks to see it.
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