CineMaven
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Posts posted by CineMaven
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Hi Ollie - I didn't understand your last paragraph, but you're definitely welcome about my typing up the schedule in your first paragraph. That's the way it should look. You get all the information in one fell swoop. I always think there are ulterior motives when a company changes something that works very well in the first place.
What's that saying (again); "If it ain't broke, don't fix it.
What's the ulterior motive.
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You're so right Ollie. :-(
I used to cut up the schedule and paste it onto the VHS box to know what was on the tape. Now that you have to < Click! > (Yuck!) < Click! > (Bleeech!) < Click! > (ACK!!!) this new dadblasted schedule...
TCM, c'mon...give your loyal followers a break!!
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TCM Programmers need a medal. I love when they block it out like that.
Keep doin' wha'cha doin' TCM. (Oh not with this Message Bored) - yuck - but with your programming!
:x
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Hello SansFin. That's okay about my web - series. It's a project that I'm enjoying working on and if you ever have it figured out about which came first, the chicken or the egg...the bedroom office, I mean office bedroom...I think you will get a nice chuckle or two out of our crazy antics. Thanxx for even considering watching it.
Now what was the last movie you saw on TCM that you enjoyed?
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Oops! I got that backwards. Sorry.
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"I'm not quite sure how he got cast in those "Mexican" bandito/revolutionary (there's a difference?) roles."
Of course there is. Bandits ride and shoot; revolutionaries sing and dance.
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Warner worked with Ingrid Bergman in "ADAM HAD FOUR SONS." She plays a governess to his sons and stays with the family as the boys grow to men. Richard Denning plays one of the sons as a man and he's having a dalliance with his brother's wife played by Susan Hayward. Whew! She surely was a Vixen with a capital Witch in this movie. She and Ingrid had a couple of heated arguments.
I had the tv on in the background while working and he played a Mexican revolutionary at 6:00am this morning. A Mexican revolutionary? Aye yi yi. It looked pretty rough with the sound off. A lot of singing and dancing and singing and dancing and riding and shooting and poor accents (which I heard when I did unmute the film). But these were Hollywood Mexicans. The only saving grace in the film for me was Margo.
Yeah, she sang and danced. But she really is Mexican.
I'll take the Baxter as the amnesiatic Dr. Ordway.
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I'm curious how Warner Baxter could go from "42nd Street" to Ingrid Bergman...to these "Crime Doctor" movies. But I love "B" flicks.
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If there are any fans of that perennial favorite of the 1930's with the husky voice, check out "CRIME DOCTOR" this morning at 10:30AM.
10:30 AM Crime Doctor (1943) A blow on the head forces a renowned psychologist to re-
member he was once a criminal. Cast: Warner Baxter, Margaret Lindsay, John Litel. Dir: Michael Gordon. BW-66 mins, TV-G, CC, Letterbox Format
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Here's the format...to harken back to the good ol' easy-to-read, one-stop shopping days on the Message Board:
All Times Eastern
29 Tuesday
10:30 AM Crime Doctor (1943)
A blow on the head forces a renowned psychologist to remember he was once a criminal. Cast: Warner Baxter, Margaret Lindsay, John Litel. Dir: Michael Gordon. BW-66 mins, TV-G, CC, Letterbox Format
11:45 AM The Crime Doctor's Strangest Case (1943)
A criminal psychologist searches for clues in an elderly crime victim's dreams. Cast: Warner Baxter, Lynn Merrick, Gloria Dickson. Dir: Eugene Forde. BW-68 mins, TV-G, CC, Letterbox Format
1:00 PM The Crime Doctor's Courage (1945)
A criminal psychiatrist investigates the murder of a two-time widower. Cast:Warner Baxter, Hillary Brooke, Jerome Cowan. Dir: George Sherman. BW-70 mins, TV-G, CC, Letterbox Format ?
2:15 PM The Crime Doctor's Warning (1945)
A criminal psychologist treats an artist whose blackouts coincide with a series of murders.
Cast: Warner Baxter, John Litel, Dusty Anderson. Dir: William Castle. BW-70 mins, CC, Letterbox Format
3:30 PM Crime Doctor's Manhunt (1946)
A criminal psychologist investigates the murder of a veteran with amnesia. Cast: Warner Baxter, Ellen Drew, William Frawley. Dir: William Castle. BW-61 mins, CC, Letterbox Format
4:45 PM The Crime Doctor's Gamble (1947)
While visiting France, a criminal psychologist tries to clear a disturbed young man of his father's murder. Cast:? Warner Baxter, Micheline Cheirel, Steven Geray. Dir: William Castle.BW-66 mins, CC, Letterbox Format
6:00 PM The Crime Doctor's Diary (1949)
A criminal psychologist tries to clear his patient of arson charges. Cast:Warner Baxter, Stephen Dunne, Lois Maxwell. Dir: Seymour Friedman. BW-61 mins, CC, Letterbox Format
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Hi there Ollie - I'm thinking we'll be needed to do our own thread by thread schedule-analysis so we can post complete, readable, accessible info on all of TCM's threads, days in advance. I still can't figure out why they eliminated so much easily-displayed/read info and wanted to smother that data under more and more mouse-clickable, pop-ups and pages. That's tons more data-traffic on their poor ol' servers.
Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men...
Is there a doctor in the house? See: Noir-Gangster Forum, A Walk ON the Noir Side.
Maybe TCM's paying their web-contractors by the page-transmitted now, not realizing that they get charged more for many additional pop-up pages than the old schedule's all-info-on-one-page style.
Paying these folks piecemeal. Geez. What a discouraging waste of our time. I say if it ain't broke...don't fix it. I wish they'd change the schedule back the way it was.
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SPOILERS
Howdy Madame Cutter - CineT., I know Veda was a bit stuck up and obnoxious but at the end of Part 2 last night, we all but saw Mildred smothering Veda with her grief over the loss of Ray. I wonder if Veda was left with the impression (likely mistaken) that Mildred loved Ray more than Veda?
Ooh yeah, I saw that. That was h-e-a-v-y. I found Ray more lovable...loving. For the first time in my "MILDRED PIERCE" experience, I began to think Veda as demonic.
Might help explain why Veda hates Mildred so as the story goes forward.
She was pretty hoity toity before the Hug. I got the impression Mildred was trying to (metaphorically) protect her daughter from harm.
A month from now, we'll be having drinks and talking in person!
Looking forward to it. :-)
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Will do, Ma'am.
I will say this...it goes along at a slower pace. I can really feel Mildred's desperation at getting something going after she throws Bert outta the house. (I am believing the beautiful and glamorous Kate Winslet as this Depression-era housewife. She does look very plain and ordinary in a very real way).
And as for Veda...
Hmmm...let's just say she's not of this Earth. She actually makes the "bad seed" look well-behaved.
Something is seriously wrong with her. She has very little human emotion and the contempt she has for Mildred is astonishing...we know not where it comes from. But it's there.
In spades.
P.S. I see the lag time has been shortened for when one can edit one's previous post. Drat!
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What a great review, MM. I really enjoyed your thoughts and your characterization of 'Smithy.' I, too, was struck by the scene of the doctors talking over Leonora's empty desk. Dr. Hoffman seemed very very wise.
And so do you.
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"Get out before I kill you!"
I'm about to do the impossible.
Scale Mount Everest? Piece of cake.
Win the Lottery? Ha! With my eyes closed.
Kiss Robert Osborne? Oh, I have a plan when I get to LA next month.
No, I'm about to do the impossible in a few minutes. I'm about to forget Joan Crawford ever seared my brain with her perfor-
mance in "MILDRED PIERCE." I'm about to watch Kate Winslet try her hand at the Mother who could not say "NO" to her daughter Veda. I'm sure Kate and director Todd Haynes will bring something completely different to the table.
Well I'm game. Here goes...make me forget.
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The opening and closing credits of Ann-Margret in "BYE BYE BIRDIE."
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"I CALL MYSELF PHOEBE..."
CAUGHT has been floating disturbingly through my brain for quite some time, since I first saw it years ago as a very young girl back in the Bronx...Catching it on TCM, after many decades brings it all creeply back to me.
Funny how movies do that...how strong our memories are for things. I have never seen this film before, and I'm glad I did b'cuz it introduced me to an actress I thought I knew.
There's nothing Byronically romantic about Ryan as a fallen angel; he's all lean, terse, neurotic, black turtle-necked modernism, always on the brink of exploding, half in love with death and morbidly fascinated by his own obsessions. With his stony, impassive Kabuki-mask face, black-coal glinty gimlet eyes, smirky, twisted mouth. he's an alienated monster in a world he doesn't understand.
My God Bronxie! Your adjectives are sheer poetry and quite accurately describes Robert Ryan's screen persona in many of his roles; intractable, unyielding, relentless. Breathtakingly written. Robert Ryan in "THE SET UP" is the reason I can (kind of) forgive him all the mean guys he's por- trayed. I rather have him on my side than agin me, that's for sure. And his change of heart in "ON DANGEROUS GROUND" is eye-opening espe- cially from where his character started. ("Why do you punks make me do this!!!!" THWACK!!!)
But I do feel some pity, hoisted by his own petard through the tantrumy insistence on marrying a shallow Dorothy Dale "charm" school alumni who immediately made me despise her when she changed her name from lovely Laura to pretentious Leonora. Who the heck is called Leonora except some 19th century heroine?
HA!!! You still make me laugh when you make me take my medicine. But I didn't think Leonora bad at all. She just had foolish girly notions. (Now see: "How To Marry A Millionaire" or "Where The Boys Are" for some man-hunting gold diggers. Or come to NYC on a Friday nite).
I like Barbara Bel Geddes. she's an intelligent, thoughtful actress, but I couldn't connect in any empathetic way with this immature, social-climbing simp...
We've seen gold diggers before in movies and we know how they act. I didn't get the sense of her wanting money for money's sake. (See 'Kitty' in "Scarlet Street" and what she does for love).
The money's not enough, she needs his love too? Yeah, I know, Smith courted her as "Prince Charming" and then, after getting what he "wanted", proceeded to treat her as just another possession. And, instead of flying off to the French Riviera as frustrated-wife "compensa- tion", she decides to assert her independence by returning to the work force?
Ha! Posting in "Cosmo" Helen Gurley Brown? I say let the poor girl work. She needed income. I'm not quite sure why she didn't go back to modeling unless she didn?t want the world to know she was a "failure" as a wife. (After all, she WAS in all the papers, though how you could even read a paper with it spinning around and around is a technique I never mastered). To have her even choose to work sounds kind of radical (Rosie the Riveter notwithstan-
ding). The Riviera jaunt sounds good though, Bronxie. And probably having affairs with some young very handsome and 'accomodating' gigolos sounds even better.
But of course if she were soaking in the sun on the Cote d'Azur, she wouldn't have met idealistic, good, non-greedy Dr. Quinada, played by a somewhat miscast James Mason, who gives her a respectable, (non-Republican) cloth coat to symbolize the shift in Leonora's world view through these two men in her life, away from what the status mink represents.
Not a big loss. I think of Thelma Ritter checking the coats in "ALL ABOUT EVE." Again, I love your astute observations delivered in a funny withering way; you're killing me. But if Leonora's really a gold-digging vixen, she'll get pregnant almost immediately (to hold the man) and then she?ll vex Dr. Q into getting a practice ?Uptown? where the elite, meet. She?ll be be in furs and diapers in no time. But seriously, I didn't get the impression from her that she was out for just the money. I didn't see Morris in Leonora.
Quinada doesn't believe in hiding moles with beauty marks. Real subtlety there, lol...
Guess the doc was trying to tell her to keep it real...and not what she "thinks" is the proper way.
There's a lot of "camp" I find in those headlines. When Smith keeps deriding Leonora with brittle put-downs, you'd think the hapless girl was some sort of hardened,, experienced hussy. Leonora slapping Franzi is also rather over-the-top as well.
I loved the dizzying headlines montage and its shorthand way of moving the story forward. Her slapping Franzi was shocking to me...and just moments before when she was begging him to stop was torturous and tense to me.
That ending, eh. Dr. Hoffman sounded positively cheerful about the baby's fate.
Yeah, it was. It did kind of have an off note, but I was just happy she escaped Smithy. Imagine the guilt Hollywood convention would have made her endure if Smith died on the floor. That would have appealed to my noirish heart...but Leonora's no Morris.
And Leonora's no Regina Giddens either.
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Dr. Hoffman was the obstetrician to Dr. Quinada's pediatrician in that little doctor's office. He was always running out or rushing in. Plus he gave Leonora the good bad news. ...And he chewed gum, but he wasn't wearing mink or chinchilla. He had a great quiet way of conversation.
How are the boys enjoying their weekend retreat?
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Hi there TikiSoo. You've picked a genre after my own heart, NOIR. And what a great gift for Mr. Tiki.
GANGSTER:
I think you've got Cagney covered. Many films I would have picked are already listed. I do enjoy Cagney in "WHlTE HEAT" and Cagney and Raft in "EACH DAWN I DIE."
FILM NOIR:
Again, the previous posts have many of my own favorite choices, "OUT OF THE PAST" being my all-time favorite noir, with a great hero, and a lethal lady your husband might fall
in love with (Jane Greer) if he's not careful. But might I offer "THE STRANGE LOVE OF MARTHA IVERS" "CROSSFIRE" "KISS OF DEATH" and "WHERE THE SIDEWALK ENDS" for your consideration?
When you get a chance Tiki, please look at this YouTube video. It is absolutely the best and most well-done video done on film noir, bar none:
Let us know what you decide. Oh, and tell us what your husband thinks of your gift.
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"As I have done previously with my top ten list from 1960 forward, here then is my
top ten FAVORITES list from 1930 to 1959...The bold-face film is my favorite film for
a given year. Enjoy!" - <<< (( FXREYMAN )) >>>
Hi there Foxy Rey. I read your list, and I did enjoy it. And l also saw many many of my favorite films all throughout your list. Gee, I wouldn't begin to be able to compile a list like that. And when I read your list, I don't remember thinking "Well Rey left out this and that film." Nope, I couldn't really say that. You covered a lot of ground and have a well-rounded list. There are some films on your list I like, some I love, some are must-sees, some are easy watches, and others are Very Important Films with a Message. But what I'll list below are my favorite films for each year, culled from YOUR list. (Go on...call me a copycat!) I'll torture myself by picking my favorite film from each decade as well.
( 1930 ) "All Quiet on the Western Front"
( 1931 ) "Frankenstein"
( 1932 ) "The Mummy"
( 1933 ) "Queen Christina"
( 1934 ) "The Black Cat"
( 1935 ) "Captain Blood"
( 1936 ) "Libeled Lady"
( 1937 ) "The Awful Truth"
( 1938 ) "Angels With Dirty Faces"
( 1939 ) "The Women"/"GWTW"
My favorite film of the 1930's is...."THE AWFUL TRUTH."
(This comedy is simply sublime for me. The chemistry between Cary Grant and Irene Dunne is a text book of how to do this type of sophisticated comedy. They're simply perfect. There were gems of moment all throughout the film. Loved Aunt Patsy giving Ralph Bellamy Irene's "Dear John" letter and saying: "Here's your diploma." Her timing is priceless!)
( 1940 ) "The Letter"
( 1941 ) "The Maltese Falcon"
( 1942 ) "Now Voyager"
( 1943 ) "Shadow of a Doubt"
( 1944 ) "Double Indemnity"
( 1945 ) "Mildred Pierce"
( 1946 ) "The Strange Love of Martha Ivers"
( 1947 ) "Out of the Past"
( 1948 ) "State of the Union"
( 1949 ) "White Heat"
My favorite film of the 1940's is...."MILDRED PIERCE."
(This was truly torturous to pick b'cuz any of the films I listed I could take on a desert isle and watch these movies. And I love "The Letter" so very much. But "Mildred..." is so much fun. There are lighter moments. The plot can wash over me without my paying migraine-inducing attention. Joan Crawford gives the performance of her career in this film. I love watching all the characters' machinations. Veda-the Spoiled Vixen, Wally-the Business man, Eve Arden-The Best Friend A Gal Can Ever Have and Monty-the...the...the... I can't wait to see what see what HBO does with the five-part mini-series of "Mildred Pierce" this Sunday. Now...to commit hari-kari for not picking "Out of the Past" or "Now, Voyager").
( 1950 ) "All About Eve"
( 1951 ) "Strangers On A Train"
( 1952 ) "The Bad and the Beautiful"
( 1953 ) "The Big Heat"
( 1954 ) "Johnny Guitar"
( 1955 ) "Marty"
( 1956 ) "Earth vs. The Flying Saucers"
( 1957 ) "Paths of Glory"
( 1958 ) "Vertigo"
( 1959 ) "Anatomy of a Murder"
My favorite film of the 1950's is...."ALL ABOUT EVE."
(Dear Lord my head is about to explode. This is waaaay harder than I thought. The romanticism of "VERTIGO" kills me. "PATHS OF GLORY" is devastating. "Anatomy of a Murder" is such a tight, smart courtroom drama. And the kitschy fun of "STRANGERS ON A TRAIN" and "THE BAD AND THE BEAUTIFUL" can't be beat. But "ALL ABOUT EVE" is perfect. Bette Davis is an absolute force of Nature in this film' she IS the eye of the tornado and she is surrounded by perfect casting all 'round. Anne Baxter offered the best in tremulous synchophantic treachery, Celeste Holm...merely Perfect, matching Davis toe-to-toe. George Sanders...I have no words for his scene when he exposes Eve for the lying thieving calculating...All of it. ALL OF IT. I could watch this over and over again. Oh yes, the cherry on top of it all: Miss Thelma Ritter, of course).
But if I wind up stranded on a desert isle, you better believe I'm sneaking all the films on my list past the TSA and bringing them with me.
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Despicable? Well...he was really not a good guy. I didn't care for the way he put her down...and then wanted her to stay there and just take it.
Unfortunately, powerful people are often this way. They may not be as over-the-top as Smithy, there, but just try them a little too far and you can lose a finger. Power corrupts, absolute power corrupts absolutely, someone wisely said. But does anyone ever learn? History tells us, "no".
This does not speak well of the rich. By the by, Greer would love you calling him "Smithy." ( :-) )
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...And though she chose to be with him in the first place, did that give him carte blanche to be demeaning to her??
In his world, yes. That's the price of admission. There are no rules of civility in a world where you don't have to pay any immediate consequences for your actions. Poor people can go after each other when they do wrong, you can't touch the Smithy's. You either take it and find a way to live with it, or get out.
YIKES!! No home training, ey? I got smacked for not saying "No thank you" one Thanksgiving long ago. I believe you. I'll take your word.
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A big, angry, tantrum-ing child.
I?m glad you smiled. I treaded lightly ?cuz Robbie?s your baby.
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Leonora specifically outlined to her sister her dream, how she'd become a model and meet a millionaire and live happily ever after. and if I'm not mistaken, she told her sister that Chinchilla was better than mink, not as "common" or something like that. Now I could have it backward---it could have been the sister that said that about Chinchilla, I'd have to replay that section. Leonora was full of ideas, silly, vain, girlish ideas that many of us grow up with. Problem is, many women attain those things and it can make the rest of us pea-green.
You?re so right here, Miss G. I found Bel Geddes did play Leonora rather girlie, girlish. She can be kind of "youngish." Maybe that?s what I was picking up when I wrote comfortably sexy earlier. And sis liked chinchilla. ?Mink is so everyday,? she says to Leonora.
Uhmmmm...color me pea green, sometimes. But if that?s the price of admission Scarlett (belittlement, demeaning...) I?ll wear my nice thick wool pea coat, pick up my marble and go home thankyouverymuch.
I think her sister just wanted her to have a practical plan of getting that dream to become real, not just sit around talking about it.
Yup, I?m with you thar, as well.
P.S. I'd advise poeple to copy their work before hitting the "Post Message" button. I've noticed this place "times out" when you take more than a couple of minutes to write a post or PM and you might lose everything...it did this a while back and I thought they had the bug fixed. Fortunately my browser lets me go back and retains what I wrote but I'd be mad if I didn't take precautions.
Good advice. Now here is what I do. I formulate my thoughts and type up my posts in a Word document. I format my bold and my underlined and my italicized words there (, ,). Once I get the post the way I want, I cut and paste it into this wankered Message Board. If I'm giving a short and sweet answer, I can just type in the Message Board space. I fear, I am long-winded though. (My apologies folks). What I AM noticing with this new re-design debacle is that the apostrophes and quotation marks I type elsewhere don?t translate here. So it looks like I don?t know the proper format and punctuation...when I really really do.
And I?ll go through this for interesting film discussion.
Unfortunately, powerful people are often this way. They may not be as over-the-top as Smithy, there, but just try them a little too far and you can lose a finger. Power corrupts, absolute power corrupts absolutely, someone wisely said. But does anyone ever learn? History tells us, "no".
If "PATHS OF GLORY" didn't stop War dead in its tracks, nothing ever will.
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CAUGHT and SPOILED and CAUGHT and SPOILED AGAIN!!!
When I saw Leonora in bed with her nightgown slightly disheveled, I knew they exercised their conjugal duties, but I never leaped to "having a baby." Yikes!
Well, that little revelation comes via Leonora buttoning up her top at the doctor's office. That's the shorthand for that. I just wasn't prepared for it.
The shorthand that I mean was how they didn't give us an inkling that she thought she was pregnant, to prompt her to go into the other doctor's office. (I'm not very bright for a Maven, sometimes).
I was thinking the other way, actually. I was thinking how Dr. Quin, Medicine Man (I loved that) and Leonora could end up marrying each other without the divisiveness of a child fathered by Ohlrig. It would be just them, not them and the child of another. Dr. Quin seemed jubilant about it all, as he looked to pep up Leonora about it, too.
Oh I see. Well, that is the ending that they're going to have. Not so much "Hey you lost your baby. YIPPEEE!" But "Hey, you are free from that mad-man 'cuz he was never gonna let'cha go Leo!!!" No baby...no Ohlrig. Just Dr. Quin and Leonora with perhaps a baby in their future. Ha! You don't think she'll be able to work after she's married to the doc, d'ya?? That's not part of the social contract. (Oh, thanx for getting my tv reference with Dr. Quinn).
It felt like an abortion film. I have never seen such a film like it. Usually such films have the pregnant woman getting killed. That's the "abortion."
Abortion film? Whew! Well THAT's a pretty heavy statement, but I grant you, it was pretty unusual. One film does come to mind: "WRITTEN ON THE WIND." (I told you there'd be spoilage). While sensible dad Robert Keith goes tumbling down a flight of stairs head first, luscious Dorothy Malone mamboes in her room, and dutiful Lauren Bacall has a miscarriage of Robert Stack's baby. Now, no baby by her alcoholic husband can come between Rock Hudson and Bacall. And Rock and Lauren can ride off into the Texas oil-welled sunset.
Because she was basically cheating on him. She was in love with another man... while married AND pregnant with their child. We never see Ohlrig cheating on her. All he's doing is having an elicit affair with his money and himself. That's who he is. It's not as if he changed after marriage. If he did, then she'd have a valid gripe. But he is who he is, before and after.
"I'm marrying a vampire!" Then after the marriage... "How dare you be a vampire!"
HA! If Ohlrig would only cheat...
And if he is having an illicit affair, he was rich enough and handsome enough to have an affair with himself. Ohlrig was a good catch...for Ohlrig. Yes, he is who he is. If only he was truthful. The man didn't even want to accept who he is from his doctor. Hence he could not give Leonora his Whole Truth. Remember this psychiatric exchange:
Ohlrig: I took her home and we said goodnight. That happened three or four more times and then I dropped her.
The Doctor: Why?
Ohlrig: They come a dime a dozen.
The Doctor: I thought, from what you said before, she was sweeter than most of the girls?
Ohlrig: Psychiatrists and elephants. They never forget. Oh I think this is all pointless anyway.
The Doctor: But why did you come here?
Ohlrig: 'Cuz I don't like getting upset so easily and you're supposed to be able to calm me.
The Doctor: I can if you work with me and not against me. Let's go back to the girl.
Ohlrig: Well for your information she's after precisely what everyone's after...my money.
The Doctor: Well maybe the girl feels you just want to play around with her.
Ohlrig: She's right if she does. You don't think I want to marry her do you?
The Doctor: I certainly hope not.
They talk of his past business dealings that precipitates his heart attacks.
Ohlrig: Whenever I can't get what I want, I have an attack, is that your theory?
The Doctor: Yes. There's nothing organically wrong with your heart. So why the attacks? Well, lets consider whether it's just a way of saying 'I'm not all powerful. I'm weak. Take pity. Give me what I want.'
Ohlrig: I have these attacks because I have a bad heart. But that's too simple for you. You have to find some insane Freudian reason...what are some of your other little gems? I must destroy everyone I can't own? I'm afraid all anyone wants is my money. I'll never marry because I'd only be married for my money...Well you're wrong doctor. Dead wrong. I am going to get married. I'm not afraid of anyone. What's more, do you want to know something? I'm going to marry that girl.
He puts in a call to his manservant, Franzi, to "get a hold of uh, Leonora what's her name? Yes Eames."
Ohlrig to the Doctor: Sorry to cut off a major source of your income, Doctor, but you won't see me again. And I do as I please.
The Doctor: Yes. That's why you made your call. I said I didn't think you'd marry and so you've made arrangements to prove I'm wrong. You don't really want to marry this girl. You've only done this because youre angry at me. And to prove that no one has authority over you. A marriage like this will only ruin the girl and you.
Ohlrig: That's your opinion.
So it's a two-fold thing: KNOW your truth...and TELL your truth. I seriously doubt Ohlrig initially showed Leonora his vampire fangs until after the ring was on her finger and the ink dried on the iron-clad, binding, Draconian, marriage certificate.
When Ohlrig came to get her the first time, she wanted him back. She wanted him; not that she was missing the money:
Ohlrig: Truth is, I'm a little jealous of him.
Leonora: You don't have any reason to be...as much as I wish you did.
Ohlrig: Why?
Leonora: I'm glad to see you. And I wish I weren't.
More lovey-dovey small talk. Then:
Ohlrig: I can't see you in this dirty little room.
Leonora: It's not dirty Smith.
Ohlrig: It's shabby. It's awful. It's ragged. Let's get out of here Leonora...You really don't like living here.
Leonora: No one's poor by choice. It really isn't such a bad room.
Ohlrig: Not if you...haven't seen better.
I don't know what Leonora could infer from his actions b'cuz we were not really shown his actions during the courtship. We did see how he came a-courting to get her to come back to him. But we soon found out his ulterior motive for that move. So with that I infer that he knows how to lie and act lovingly. I don't mind the always ever-popular 'blaming the victim' if the victim has all the truthful information. I don't subscribe wholly to caveat emptor.
On my second viewing I paid more attention to the newspaper montage of the whirlwind courtship. Ohlrig's face is covered by his hat. The contrast between the carhop pix and model pix, her mom saying she always knew her daughter would be a success. (Ha! Marrying rich...nothing of her own merit and accomplishment. And personally, I was shocked to see a Black woman standing next to Leonora's mother in that photo). The last shot of the paper of the palatial space with the screaming headline: CAN LEONORA BE HAPPY HERE? WE COULD.
Oh, yeah? I've only seen Eva in North by Northwest and she came across as a porcelain doll to me. She seems "high class." Barbara seems like a regular girl. That's how I typically feel about Anne Baxter and Shelley Winters.
I hear ya about the porcelain doll. I was thinking about the acting...quiet, not showy or actress-y. Shelley and Annie always felt actress-y to me. I like 'em.
If I had to choose between the two, I found "CAUGHT's" plot a little more streamlined and accessible than "The Reckless Moment." (The housewife, spectacle-wearing, boxy-looking Joan put me off just a teeny tad). But I did enjoy the movie and James Mason's performance in it.
Well, when you put it that way, I agree with you.
I don?t mean to be mean with my shallow-ness. I s?pose it was good to show that the "houswife" type could have men attracted to her. She need not be The Vamp.
Do men sleep with women they don?t love?
Are you kidding?! Most of the time! But I view women as being smarter when it comes to sex. Women are the ones who ultimately end up paying the price if something goes wrong... which happens a lot more than ever. Women usually raise the children while men leave the scene. I'm always surprised to hear of a woman just sleeping around. Men will always be dumb when it comes to sex. It's up to women to be smart... for their own good.
Men use love to get sex. Women use sex to get love. In this day and age of beaucoup contraception, girls still think they can hook a man by getting pregnant. If not for purposefully wanting a child why is she getting caught? You're so very right in your statement here Frank. Women must be smart...for their own good. I lived it up during the 70's & 80's, with high, wide and handsome without once "getting caught."
I really enjoyed this film. Why haven't I heard of it before. Tsk! Tsk! Shame on me!
Edited by: CineMaven on Mar 24, 2011 1:56 PM - I've got to make sense, even if my mind is bludgeoned by the news of Elizabeth Taylor.
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Evening Miss G. - The minute she woke up in that rumpled bed I knew a baby was on the way, and would be on its way out, too.
Whew!! You're good, Miss G. I didn't see that coming at all.
This is one of the reasons that it really is in some ways a familiar "woman's story" picture, like so many---with a better director and script.
She certainly was a damsel in distress. But if you say the words "woman's story" won't guys high tail it to the hills and run away...run away?
Everyone (Osborne, the guest host) kept saying how "bad" Ryan's Smith Ohrig was, but I guess it is a testament to Ryan's personality that I just found him unlikeable, not totally despicable.
Despicable? Well...he was really not a good guy. I didn't care for the way he put her down...and then wanted her to stay there and just take it.
After all, he pretty much left her alone when she left him, only coming once for her, and it was her decision to be with him in the first place.
You're right, he did leave her alone. (I kept expecting him to show up like crazy Louis Jourdan in "JULIE."). I was glad she walked out on him. And though she chose to be with him in the first place, did that give him carte blanche to be demeaning to her??
I didn't like his character, but he wasn't a "villain" to me. I kept expecting him to kill her or someone, but he was more of a child.
A big, angry, tantrum-ing child.
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Why Grimesy, me boy. Thank you. - I just finished watching "Caught." It's quite interesting. I don't think I've seen a film like it, really. Do you know of any other classic film that views the loss of an unborn child as a positive? Amazing.
I have to admit, I have not quite seen a plot device like this. It felt wild, and very contemporary. It would have been worse if we had seen the child. But it was so true...Ohlrig would have never let her go if their child had been born.
The film seems like an inspiration for A Place in the Sun, too. It just happens to be the reverse and with the woman being the central character.
Hmmmm...tell us more. You always seem to have a different angle in your movie viewing. Interesting.
As horrible a husband and person as he was, he was in the right more than Leanora (Barbara Bel Geddes). But it's hard for me to feel sorry for him.
He was in the right MORE?? Do you think that it's right that if...no wait. Let me not jump the gun. Why do you say that?
She was good. I like Barbara. I place her in the Shelley Winters and Anne Baxter class.
...And I'd put her in the class with an Eva Marie Saint, though not as classically attractive. I've really come away saying, "hey wait a minute...come back here, Babs. I want to talk to you about your movies."
I like that one a little better, too. Primarily because of Joanie. But I'd say Caught is very unique and terribly risque.
If I had to choose between the two, I found "CAUGHT's" plot a little more streamlined and accessible than "The Reckless Moment." (The housewife, spectacle-wearing, boxy-looking Joan put me off just a teeny tad). But I did enjoy the movie and James Mason's performance in it.
I was surprised, actually. I missed the shorthand. What Leanora did is something that is still very common today: women sleeping with guys they don't love. Crazy.
Grimesy, do men sleep with women they don't love?
The ?shorthand? in movies amazes, stupefies and makes me laugh at times. I?ll be watching a movie and then all of a sudden, I see the plot take a leap over the Grand Canyon, and all of a sudden someone is pregnant or a couple falls in love and all he?s done is say ?Good Morning? to the leading lady. When I saw Leonora in bed with her nightgown slightly disheveled, I knew they exercised their conjugal duties, but I never leaped to "having a baby." Yikes!
In A Place in the Sun, it's a man who is "caught." In A Place in the Sun, the man settles for the "run-of-the-mill" girl because he doesn't think too highly of himself. He likes her attention and he's afraid to be alone since he's a mama's boy. In a way, it's a common "female" situation. Then he meets a beautiful, rich girl who he finds far more alluring. She ends up liking him. Meanwhile, the "run-of-the-mill" girl tells him she's pregnant. Now he's "caught." What to do? That's pretty much "Caught."
Aaaaahhh...I see what you're saying. But I'd say no man is ever as "caught" out there getting that phone call, as a woman is being told "the rabbit died."
I thought he was cruel, but he wasn't on screen long enough for me to hate him. I was surprised to see him get pushed to the background.
I found him hateful. His psychological torture of Leonora was far reaching even if he wasn?t onscreen as much. A little bit of Robbie the Menace goes a long way. Not that there's anything wrong with that. As for him being pushed to the background...Robert Ryan rarely got the girl. He was a very gorgeous hunk o' Ralph Bellamy/Melvyn Douglas.
Thank you much for the Hitchcock link. I'll check it out.
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A very nice tribute Jack. Very nice. Sad news.