nightwalker

Yes, my hand is up for this one, too. I remember one critic's response: "And to h*** it can go!", but I always thought it was an enjoyable little thriller, even if it did have a ridiculous premise. Your memory of its basic plot is correct, but the film was released in 1957.

To the best of my knowledge, CALTIKI is available only in a Region 2 disk, which means that if you can find a copy, it probably won't play on your DVD player (if you live in the U.S.). I understand that the commentary track is excellent, but it's in Italian, so unless you speak that language, it won't help you. I taped a nice copy of it years ago off The Movie Channel (of all places!).

Bronxie & Miss G: DESERT SANDS is on in July, on the 15th at 10:30 AM. You've been warned!

Thanks for that link! I have one or two of those radio shows on tape, but always glad for more. I also have a few episodes of the TV series starring Michael Rennie from the early 60s. In it, Lime is a "Saint"-like character whose activities as an art dealer provide a cover for his adventures as an international troubleshooter/crime solver. They're not bad.

> {quote:title=FredCDobbs wrote:}{quote} > >I think there might also be a metaphysical aspect to all this ascending and descending as well. > > I agree. How "low" can a man go than the way Harry went, in both his profession and his escape and death? I agree, but see my previous post as well.

> {quote:title=CineSage_jr wrote:}{quote} > Well, Holly uncovers Harry's ethical and spiritual descent into selling worthless penicillin to those who desperately need it so, yes, death in the Vienna sewers is a deliberate and apt metaphor. Agreed. I also think, for one instance, that a more concrete metaphysical correspondence might exist (if such a thing is possible!) between the "fall" of the rather devilish Lime from the heavens (the ferris wheel) to the depths of hell (the sewers) and the story of Lucifer in the Bible.

> {quote:title=Bronxgirl48 wrote:}{quote} > > And Mia Farrow, with her revoltingly little girly Peter Pan collar dress, gaunt "figure" and ROSEMARY'S BABY short hair, is about the last thing I'd want to wake up to if I was a guy. > Talk about creepy. > > What was Frank Sinatra thinking?? > > After having Ava, he goes for that?? Regarding Frank's relationship with Mia, Ava is alleged to have remarked "I always knew Frank would end up in bed with a boy."

> {quote:title=FredCDobbs wrote:}{quote} > All through the movie, people are going up and down, as well as side to side and front to back, such as the scenes you mentioned, also Holly running up the spiral stairs to the room the parrot is in. Lime going up the spiral stairs at the end in the sewer. The Ferris wheel going up and then down. Holly and Lime going down into the sewer, down the debris of the buildings, Lime seeing the caf? at the end from above and going down to it, then going down deeper as the scrambles down the rubble behind the caf?, then still deeper as he descends into the sewer, and at the very end, he tries to climb out, but he can never climb out of the sewer again. > I think there might also be a metaphysical aspect to all this ascending and descending as well.

> {quote:title=FredCDobbs wrote:}{quote} > > If you are a young whippersnapper, see this: > > http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caril_Ann_Fugate > > And of course there were the Charlie Manson girls, who had mostly come from calm middle-class backgrounds, with no previous history of violence of any kind until they met up with Charlie. I think if Lime had wanted Anna to help him with his scheme in some way, she would have done it and she would have tried to overlook his little faults. Yes, I agree that this is a distinct possibility (and see also my previous post for another possibility). And thanks for thinking I might be a whippersnapper! Actually, my whippersnapping days are long gone, but I appreciate the thought. I recall the Fugate "incident" and the Manson family girls quite well.

> {quote:title=JackFavell wrote:}{quote} > Welcome, Cinesage and Nightwalker. > > I have always wondered about Anna- why she could overlook Lime's crimes. I think she simply can't help herself- like Holly can't help falling in love with Anna. Once in love with Harry, she simply can't stop it. > > Also, I'm not sure she was "untroubled" by his crime. I noticed a warming toward Holly after she learns about Harry's involvement. But by betraying Harry, Holly does himself in with Anna. She never looks back and willfully chooses Harry- and very purposefully ignores his "faults". I think if Holly had stuck around, but not gotten involved with picking up Harry, he might have had a chance with Anna. Even Harry thought so, in his cruel way. He says as much to Holly. > All of which brings us to the whole "bad boy/good girl" phenomenon, which perhaps reached its zenith (or nadir) in the public awareness in the 90s with the soccer moms and Bill Clinton. Perhaps mixed in there, along with the "thrill" of the challenge of reforming these bad boys, or perhaps becoming "the one" for whom they would change their ways, is the arousal of the maternal instinct as well. Not being female, I don't pretend to have the answer to this. I merely point out its existence. I do agree that Holly probably did have a chance with Anna until his "betrayal" of Lime.

Yes, agree about CALTIKI. It's a good one. Apparently this is due to the fact that it was directed, at least in part, by the great Mario Bava.

I thought Cotten was fine also. It's interesting to compare the character of Holly with that of "The American" in Graham Greene's novel The Quiet American. Although that book's somewhat "un"-American atmosphere was toned down for the 1958 version with Audie Murphy, I think both characters' relative naivete speaks volumes about the perception of Americans outside our borders at the time both works originated. I have to wonder, though, concerning Alida Valli's character, Anna, who seems quite upset by Holly's perceived betrayal of Lime to the police, but remains untroubled by Lime's betrayal of many by his participation in the medical black market. There's a logical inconsistency there somewhere. I enjoy your "backstory" comments as well, Fred.

Another one? Guess I'll have to go back there for a drink later & check it out.

"Just as if nothing had ever happened."

I wonder if the Beavers are doing any better this year?

I guess, unless some of the budget sheets or other info from the film turn up, we'll never know for sure. My guess is that if some scenes were filmed there, it's some of the establishing shots at the beginning of the movie showing "Boone City" as the three vets return home.

> {quote:title=sandykaypax wrote:}{quote} > What major city DOESN"T have some run-down areas AND some well-kept areas? I'm bitter. Don't let it get you down, Sandy. Parts of THE DEER HUNTER were filmed in Ohio and even in Cleveland. I didn't think those areas looked bad at all.

> {quote:title=scsu1975 wrote:}{quote} > Wasn't The Best Years of Our Lives partially filmed in Cincinnati? IMDB lists several filming locations for the movie, but they're all in California.

Hey, Kyle. I know that A CHRISTMAS STORY is set in Indiana, but I've forgotten the name of the town.

You might be thinking of SHOCK from 1946. In the film, a young girl standing on the balcony of her apartment witnesses Vincent Price commit a murder through the window of a nearby apartment. When her husband, thinking she's mentally disturbed, takes her to a psychiatrist, the doctor in question turns out to be Price. Worth a look even it isn't the movie you're looking for.

Sorry, visualfeast, but Quatermass isn't really a location, it's a person's name. How about QUEBEC, 1951, starring John Barrymore, Jr.?

The documentary airs twice tomorrow (4-22-08) on IFC.

Great-looking site, scsu!

They decided to incorporate the ten issues of Monster World, a companion magazine published by James Warren and edited by Uncle Forry in about 1964-1965, in order to make it to #100 that much faster.

I still remember the filmbook they did of LONDON AFTER MIDNIGHT illustrated with stills from the movie. And the classic ones they did of KING KONG, FRANKENSTEIN, etc. were tops!