Film_Fatale
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Posts posted by Film_Fatale
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Well, to finish my series of rambles about the *Pink Panther* series, I guess I have to acknowledge the rather sad destiny that awaited the franchise after the death of the beloved Peter Sellers in 1980. Unfortunately, it seems Blake Edwards tried desperately to continue the series in any possible way, even if his star was dead.
Thus we had *Trail of the Pink Panther*, in which Edwards used old footage from the earlier movies that had been edited out and left in the cutting-room floor to give the illusion that his main actor was still alive. Unfortunately, the cutting-room scenes were relatively brief, and after a so-so start the movie plummets quickly when Inspector Clouseau disappears from the scene and a reporter (Joanna Plummley) is assigned to talk to the people who knew him - the other actors in the series were still alive, after all.
Sadly, this movie and its even weaker companion, *Curse of the Pink Panther*, which features no Sellers footage, were the last screen appearance of David Niven, who would pass away shortly after the movies' release.
He seemed quite old and frail at the time, and his voice reportedly had to be dubbed by somebody else.
Unfortunately, *Trail* and *Curse* represent a doubly sad couple of movies, sad because Peter Sellers was no longer alive no matter how much Edwards desperately wanted to make people forget him, and sad also because Niven probably deserved a better cinematic farewell.
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Well I know that in most theaters in Mexico it was considered perfectly normal for a long time to cut off the film in the middle for an "intermission" and to stop the projection just as soon as the credits started. Everybody seemed to think it was normal, too. That started to change a little bit when U.S. exhibitors started opening new theaters south of the border.
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> {quote:title=movieman1957 wrote:}{quote}
> And to think I was watching "Law and Order" with my bride while all this excitement was going on.
> Darn. I wish I had something to contribute but it has been so long since I've seen it.
>
> The most striking thing I remember is visually that it was almost in a terminal fog. I know that is representative of more than just the weather but I wonder if it had a technical application with "covering" up the limitations of a set.
>
> Thanks so much for the interesting read.
Yes, Chris, according to the documentary that is on the DVD, it was done at least in part to conceal the fact that they had a very small set. It seems they were on a fairly limited budget, at least by RKO standards.
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Mmm. I think I like Part Two even better than the first one. B-)
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> {quote:title=clore wrote:}{quote}
> >>Oh, that's a great anecdote, Charles! I would have loved to see the look on her face when she heard that.
>
>
> What I'd love to see is Katharine Hepburn doing an impression of Carradine saying that.
>
> That was pretty ballsy of him to say at that period of his career. But I'll just bet that Pappy loved it.
Oh yes, she was great at doing impressions!
And of course Pappy must have loved it. B-)
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Margaret O'Brien looks very cute in that poster.. but I wonder if she's drawn to scale.
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As many of you already know, *The Wonderful World Of The Brothers Grimm* is one of only two narrative movies ever filmed in the 3-panel Cinerama process (the other one of course being *How the West Was Won* ). TCM will be showing this epic adventure on Wednesday, January 21 at 5:15pm ET.
*The Wonderful World Of The Brothers Grimm* (1962)
Fanciful biography of the German fairy-tale collectors, with reenactments of three of their stories.
Cast: Claire Bloom , Barbara Eden , Laurence Harvey Dir: Henry Levin C-136 mins, TV-G
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_Don't forget to watch (or record) this Saturday, Jan. 17 @ 10am ET!_
*The Big Clock* (1948)
A corrupt publisher tries to frame a career-driven editor for murder.
Cast: Charles Laughton , Ray Milland , Maureen O'Sullivan Dir: John Farrow BW-95 mins, TV-PG
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> {quote:title=movieman1957 wrote:}{quote}
> The game is on Sunday Feb. 1. It should start around 6:30pm ET.
Thank you Chris, laffite. Please don't hate me for saying this, I usually just watch the Super Bowl for the commercials.
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Well I don't think most folks expect sequels of classic films to generally come close to the original, but the real question should be, how does it stand up on its own? I don't think just because it isn't very good necessarily makes it a horrible movie. Of course a lot of people will feel they just have to jump in the bandwagon and dismiss it like it's the worst movie ever made.
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Barbara Stanwyck
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I'm a "purist" when it comes to calling films "film noir." What I mean by this is that
I consider films noir to be films made in the 40s and 50s. So, in a purist sense, I'd
say The Informer is not a film noir. But, in terms of content and style, I'd say
The Informer is most definitely a film noir. I was actually reminded of a film noir
called Edge of Doom, while watching The Informer. It's a film noir that
I consider to be very underrated.
In other words, it is and it isn't. It's nice to have the cake and eat it, too.
Now that is absolutely brilliant. I wholeheartedly concur. The wanted poster does
reach out and grab him before he makes any kind of decision. Fate has tagged
him. So you are very right. The wanted poster also tags "Frankie" soon
thereafter. And I do agree with Gypo being weak-willed.
There's nothing in the movie that really demands one to believe there is any such thing as fate. Yes, it makes for a more interesting movie if he goes on with the betrayal. But just because of the poster isn't enough to say it's fate. One could also have created a fairly compelling movie with him deciding not to go through with it. But it wouldn't have been quite as compelling as a movie that explores what happens if he succumbs to temptation, imho.
Here is "fate" chasing after Gypo.
Gypo is selected.
Those are certainly possible interpretations. But one could just as easily say the poster just happened to be carried by the wind and got stuck in his leg. And Gypo could just as easily have interpreted that as a message to his conscience about what he shouldn't do. So one doesn't necessarily have to interpret this as having anything to do with fate.
As I wrote on another thread, I like films that make me feel and think, in that order. I
end up feeling more with tragedy than I do with happiness. It's easy to process happy
endings, it's more difficult to do so with tragedies. You have to take inventory with those. I like that feeling. That's not to say I don't like happy endings, because I do.
Well of course, there's always bittersweet endings, too!
The Informer really plays like a mafia (mob) film more than anything else. Men
are asked to do deeds for the "family." If you turn your back on the family, you're
gonna get whacked.
The only difference, of course, in that the mafia doesn't involve a political struggle for independence from colonial rule. B-)
I mostly agree with you. Gypo is definitely on the childish side because
he lets his emotions do his thinking for him most of the time. But I do
believe he calculated his informing. He knew what would happen once
he did that, but he still chose to do it and I think he did it for Katie.
The way it is presented in the movie suggests the "decision" is really more of a spur-of-the-moment thing, imho. And although he is definitely emotional, I'm not so sure that necessarily makes him a particularly childish person; surely he is very much aware of the possible consequences of the struggle with the British.
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> {quote:title=studio139 wrote:}{quote}
> I am not sure who posted the comment, but I agree that you
> can give little weight to information from a documentary, and
> Polanski has sought to avoid the consequences of this crime
> in the past, and often seeks public opinion to support his appeal.
> Personally I think dismissing the charges would not serve justice
> and would set a harmful precedence for this type of crime and
> show that celebrity carries unfair advantage with the law.
studio 139, have you actually seen the documentary? Just wondering...
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*HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO.....*
*Lloyd Bridges*
(Jan. 15, 1913 - March 10, 1998)
*Ignacio L?pez Tarso*
(Jan. 15, 1925)
*Margaret O'Brien*
(Jan. 15, 1937)
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I just watched the new documentary called *Mitzi Gaynor: Razzle Dazzle* and posted a few screencaps here:
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Lynn,
I was watching *Mitzi Gaynor: Razzle Dazzle!* and as soon as Las Vegas came up, I thought you'd enjoy watching this part!
This new DVD documentary is pretty much as you'd expect arguably something of a vanity project, but it does have some fascinating footage, most of it from Mitzi's TV specials, but also a little bit from her days in Las Vegas. (Very little mention is made of her movie career, with just a few brief clips from *South Pacific* thrown in.
Apparently she created quite an uproar, and people wanted more.
This was a number from her first TV special
The show included some comic routines, like this one with George Hamilton.
Some of it was kind of out there for TV at the time I guess.
This outfit apparently got her in trouble with the censors. When my mom watched this, even she thought it was "too provocative!"
Her shows were full of wild imagery, in all kinds of ways that might have been unusual at the time.
Hope you (and others) may have enjoyed those screencaps. This is a pretty fun DVD to watch if you're a Mitzi fan. I almost wish it could have been shown on TCM because it would have reached a wider audience. B-)
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> {quote:title=Minya wrote:}{quote}
> *Oh, when?...Feb 4, 2009 (after which the longest seven months in the history of calendar takes place, i.e., the end of one football season and the beginning of another).*
>
> This cracked me up (actually, so did your crying emoticon and the nyaahing gecko
) because for my Dad, the longest number of months is from when baseball season ends to when Spring training starts. He really starts to look a little tense right before and then suddenly he regains a sense of calm.That crying emoticon is really cute. I think I'm going to have to steal it from laffite.
Well, sometimes I'm just glad I'm not too much into sports. This is one of those times.
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So the movie itself isn't in PAL format?
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> {quote:title=WonderMoon wrote:}{quote}
> You seem obsessed about this.
Well for someone who registered last week, you sure seem to have rushed to conclusions. I started this thread a long time ago and had already forgotten about it until someone brought it back up. I'm not really paying much attention to the story as it develops, because it's not something that affects my enjoyment of movies very much.
> That makes me feel sad for all the truly innocent, non-celebrity people who don't have fan clubs.
Well, I'm sure a lot of other people feel the same way.
> If he wasn't a minor film director with some celebrity, no one would even be talking about him, filming documentaries on his behalf, or posting about him
>
> His celebrity is what gives juice to this
Well, he's an Academy Award-winning director but I don't know if he's much of a celebrity outside of film buff circles. Certainly not a celebrity the way O.J. is.
But if you think it's all about celebrity, then we can just agree to disagree.
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Kathy,
Definitions of what constitutes noir vary somewhat from one person to another. I am sure Frank is going to have an interesting opinion that might be more to your liking, but I'd just say that if it feels like noir to you, that probably should be good enough for you.
Generally the 40s and 50s are considered the classic period of noir, but there's certainly some movies from the 30s that could be considered noirish, like *You Only Live Once* for example.
Actually it is a very poignant aspect of the story. And the music sort of mingles with the atmosphere of the movie...sometimes it matches the mood...and sometimes it almost "contrasts" with it... Along w/ the "face" thing that I have mentioned in the past...I think Ford had a knack for knowing just the right song to place in certain scenes.
That's certainly a good point. I almost wish there was a YouTube video of that song somewhere. But I'm sure if there was, you'd have found it already.
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> {quote:title=WonderMoon wrote:}{quote}
> Polanski's victim showed up at a public event for an HBO special about this whole thing and was featured prominently, and she said she wanted him punished
>
> So Polanski's victim is not shy about the publicity. Something else is going on that the public will never find out about
What is your source? The AP article indicates otherwise:
Complicating matters further is an affidavit filed Monday by the rape victim, Samantha Geimer, now 45, who wants the case dismissed in order to stop renewed waves of publicity.
Geimer, now a wife and mother of three who has been public about the case since 1997, said she feels she is being victimized anew by prosecutors who recite the "lurid details" of her assault in their legal papers.
> I don't think celebrities should be given special rights
Neither do I. And I don't think anyone's suggesting he's got special rights.
> and other than the campy creepiness of The Tenant, Polanski is no great talent. He's hyped by the media, but that doesn't mean a thing. I think he has some pals in Hollywood trying to help him out, but I don't think the US misses Roman
Not everybody feels that way, but ultimately it is beside the point. He was not charged with being a mediocre director.
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Oh, that's a great anecdote, Charles! I would have loved to see the look on her face when she heard that.
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So when's the superbowl? B-)
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> {quote:title=coopsgirl wrote:}{quote}
> Here's a colorized pic I did from *Ball of Fire*.
Angie, you've really outdone yourself! I especially like the color you picked for the back wall, it looks really nice with those shadows. Very lovely! :x
) because for my Dad, the longest number of months is from when baseball season ends to when Spring training starts. He really starts to look a little tense right before and then suddenly he regains a sense of calm.
NUMBER SIX IS NOW, INDEED, A FREE MAN
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I watched him in *Dr. Syn: Scarecrow of Romney Marsh* almost as soon as this Disney movie came out on video, he was very talented and had a unique presence. I almost wish TCM could license *Dr. Syn* and pay homage to him.