CineMaven

For those Margaret Lindsay fans out there..."THE FLORENTINE DAGGER" will be aired on TCM on Wednesday at 11:45AM. Enjoy!!

http://www.noiroftheweek.com/2010/07/bedelia-1946.html

Hi Dewey. Best of luck with your upcoming film festival. Love your line-up. I expect you to have a full house. Take good care.

Fair enough Ollie.

Brock...not as handsomely rugged as Woody.

Helllllllllloooooooo. Did someone call for a denizen??? ?Before you withdraw back into the shadows of the murky urban night I wanted to talk a little bit about ?Gun Crazy?.? Well you --talked-- wrote and I --listened-- read. What a wonderful write-up, Molo!!! ?The more I warmed to Annie's emotional vacancies, her lack of true empathy, and her ?crazy? compulsion to keep moving forward into bigger and better schemes, the more Bart seemed to wither away.? Nice, man. Nice. I loved the juxtaposition of you warming up to what an empty person she is. She?s like a succubus. Poor Bart. Some men just don?t know when they?re in over their heads. Fellas, you can learn a real lesson from these poor big lugs in film noir. "I thought this rather typical of the noir dilemma. Most men are fall guys to a reckless dame, but there was something even more in Annie Laurie. She was more driven, not crazy like Vera in ?Detour? but colder, the vicious nature kept more under control, leaping out occasionally like Kathie Moffat in ?Out of the Past.? " Frances Farmer...porcelain features??? Wonderful observations throughout your essay, MadHat. Really nicely expressed. Aside to ChiO: I still cannot get over your line about: "...And the Doom is thicker than the fog." I quoted you at my party last night. My friends got it. Grimesy: You mentioned Peggy and that killer beret. I wonder if this is where Faye Dunaway got the idea to wear a beret in "Bonnie and Clyde." Molo, I haven?t seen this movie in years...and I wasn?t in the mood to go traipsing in to Noir the other night. Big freakin? mistake THAT was! Thank you and others for making me miserably REGRET not stopping editing my own project, pick up the remote control and turn to Joseph H. Lewis? night. What the heck was I thinking. Apparently...I was not. Edited by: CineMaven on Jul 18, 2010 11:01 PM b'cuz I wanted to add one more aside while I have your attention. 2:00AM on Wednesday early early morning (July 21st) if you can...please watch our favorites: Missy and the Oomph Girl in "MY REPUTATION" (with Barbara Stanwyck) and "THE UNFAITHFUL" (with Ann Sheridan). Just a heads up, folks! Thanx.

Do you want to have a treat? If you go to the iTunes Store on your Mac and type in Creative Screenwriting in the Search box, you will see: "North by Northwest Q&A Live From the Turner Classic Movie Film Festival" Jeff Goldsmith. Click on there and listen to the podcast. You'll feel like you're there in the audience for TCM's recent film festival where "North by Northwest" was screened. Eva Marie Saint and Martin Landau are wonderful raconteurs...and Robert Osborne is a rock star. Sounds like a good time was had by all at that event. Check it out if you have the time.

> "The wonderful thing about giving Thread Originators full edit-control over THEIR originated threads is that the trolls quickly learn to stop wasting their time trying to distract and disrupt those..." I think that is an excellent idea Ollie, John. Then we can all be our OWN Alfred Hitchcock. Do you have a fav'rite Alfred Hitchcock film?

Itsby...bitsy???

Ha...fat chance! It'd more likely be huge-y, woogie, not teeny weeny. (Polka dots don't look good on me and I was told white is my color).

Hi there Tiki. I'm in agreement with you in the way music is used in films today. I remember going to see Spike Lee's "JUNGLE FEVER." If I'm not mistaken...Stevie Wonder did the music. And Spike used soooo much music, too much music that I could barely hear the dialogue...the plot. I always wondered (seriously) if not being able to see and decipher the mood of the visual is what impaired the relationship between the music and visual of this movie. I recently recorded and watched "NORA PRENTISS" and there was a piece of music at the end of the film...the last thirty seconds when Ann Sheridan walks away from the courthouse that is so moody and melancholy it brings tears to my eyes. I've heard rousing rousing theme songs from movies like "DUEL AT DIABLO" or (one of my favorites) 'THE LONG SHIPS" that make me want adventure. You want wistful...look at what the music adds to the classic "TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD" (I'm humming from "JOHNNY BELINDA" now) or look at the last image of Walter Huston saying goodbye to Tim Holt in "THE TREASURE OF THE SIERRA MADRE" and the way the music works with the way Huston looks at Holt and then pulls his horse away...and countless more. I have a lot of movie soundtrack albums and it does seem like a dying art. "...Composers of the quality like Morriccone, Delerue, Hermmann, North, Steiner, Rota, Mancini, Tiomkin, Waxman and countless others are completely absent from today's films." < JefCostello > Well brother...ain't THAT the truth! And you've just named some of the masters too. I have friends who are musicians, some teach music in school. With the state of the --Bored of Dread-- Board of Ed., it seems more about disciplining the kids instead of being able to teach them the difference between a major or a minor chord. (I love the minor chords and that sad sound). I'm no music aficionado...but in the web series project I'm working on called "Meg Ramsey" I am using all original music...from some very creative original musicians. Hollywood wants that quick buck and that market and that package. They may be making money, but they are losing so much in the bargain. If music be the food of love...

"...For the most part, 'Gun Crazy' is shot in a realistic, semi-documentary style, in bright daylight. Then, seemingly out of the blue (was anyone expecting that terrain after seeing where the rest of the movie takes place?), we have this surreal finale in a foggy marsh. And the Doom is thicker than the fog. Yeah, it's a pretty good movie. I like it." - < ChiO > ChiO...you have chilled my blood with your writing...and I mean that in a good way. I loved it. Well done man. I also loved your line about: "a battle for my loyalty." Nice. Well have a big heart, and let 'em all in. "Have you seen 'Gun Crazy', Lively Gal? - < FrankGrimes > Hi there Grimesy. I have indeed seen "Gun Crazy" but it's been such a long long while, and I didn't take advantage of TCM's recent screening. I've been riding the range a little bit with Anthony Mann's westerns. But I did recently catch "The Great Flamarion" "Strange Impersonation" during the retrospective of Mann's work. Peggy Cummins ain't got nuthin' over Mary Beth Hughes...but I do like the fact that Cummins was really in control and the protagonist in her Fate. Great discussion folks and good to be here on asphalt. I've been a tad saddle sore --riding-- writing over in the West. It's not my total comfort zone, but they've been very welcoming over yonder! :-)

You boys do love the bad girl, don't you. Aaaah, that warms my heart. Like moths to a flame. Lovin' the read on "Gun Crazy." Pray, please continue...or I'll shoot!

Tyrone Power. < Sigh! > He is...isn't he...Gorgeous!

> "First Mann.. and now Hitchcock.. you are one lucky gal. I hope to read all about it." I do feel lucky being here, but I know LA is the capital of all things cinema. Checked my car trunk, basement and thumbs. All clear.

Clark Gable. "Gone With the Wind." Rhea. Carole Lombard.

Yes, I shall attend some of the Hi-Def scrreenings of Alfred Hitchcock's films at the Symphony Space. I'm sure it will blow my mind. Now...whose in favor of burning dandelion fields down to the ground?

"Unfortunately, the outlaw in question will not be taken easily. He is smiling, a man you want to like. He is not just a slippery fellow, he is a dangerous, thoughtful and persuasive one. He is a man who, like a germ, infects the three other men with mistrust - not of him, but of each other, and ultimately of their own abilities. He 'spurs' them, happily poking and digging into each man's psyche until he hits a nerve, in order to read his enemies better. He will manage to end two men's lives before making his final getaway. He will also spur one man to greater and greater feats of heroism, while driving him almost mad with hatred." WoW!!! After reading this Jackaaaaaaaaaay, I clearly see that others here are pitiable pathetic pretenders to the throne. But this character you describe of Robert Ryan's seems to be the real deal. I had a chance to get the full monty of "The Naked Spur" two weeks ago at the Film Forum's Anthony Mann retrospective, but I blew it. Reading the posts here will be the next best thing to seeing Mann's film. As we all know from Movies 101...without a good villain, there can't be a very good hero. And Robert Ryan is just the guy who can do it.

Miss Goddess...here is an FYI for you from a fellow fan: http://symphonyspace.org/series/151 Great idea Ollie.

Thanxx for the compliment Bronxie. I have too many genuine posters to live up to, so I try to do my best with my essays. Thank you. Appreciatively, CineMaven. Now back to Hitchcock. What a storyteller. Edited by: CineMaven on Jul 15, 2010 10:07 PM...becuz his films are like a textbook of filmmaking.

Hitchcock...a great storyteller. Edited by: CineMaven on Jul 15, 2010 10:06 PM...b'cuz he is.

Yes. Why just one post since 2007?

Yes. Why just one post since 2007. Hmmmmmmmmmmm.

WoW!! Let me be among the many to send you my congratulations on your 9,000 posts. Many gems included in them thar posts of yours. C O N G R A T S! Owwwwww! I got a brainfreeze from one of them durned ice pops! Ouch! Keep those posts coming.

Jackaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay, congratulations of having 9,000 posts. Many many gems in them thar posts. Congrats. Owwwwwww...brain freeze from the ice pops. Whew!! Keep 'em coming, J.F.