JackFavell
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Posts posted by JackFavell
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I agree too. And besides, what's wrong with art? He crafted that movie so beautifully, I mean it is just so gorgeous, and it is extremely powerful. So why begrudge him his artsy-ness? Because it doesn't fit the image you have in your mind of Macho Ford? THAT'S what makes him interesting.
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+One Lewton film that gets even less love around here is Isle of the Dead. Does no one
like it besides me? I find it one of the truly scariest.+
This one I have never seen.... In fact, it completely escapes my memory... I will try to check it out if it's on dvd.
+It's pleasant to see someone who likes this movie because it always seems to get knocked
around by Ford enthusiasts. I bet FrankGrimes is another who will like it, it's bleaker than
most films noir.+
I can't figure out why writers always seem to knock this one- to me, it is one of the truly great movies of all time. I think maybe the politics get in the way? Or maybe they can't get past the historical stuff- I think the Maguffin (Irish independence) gets in their way. I mean the story doesn't necessarily have to take place in Ireland. It is universal and I think anyone who has ever lied about something can identify with Gypo. The critics need to realize that it is a purely character driven movie, not an agenda driven movie. Again, Ford works best when he deals with individual characters and their emotions and actions, whether they are right or wrong. I think that Gypo's ambiguous nature and his humanity would be very appealing to FrankGrimes, and it is certainly a very grey/gray movie, in every way....
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Great Halloween stuff, everyone! I am going to have to steal some ideas for next year.....
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Well Jackie, how ?bout Elvis Presley, Frankie Avalon, Bobby Rydell, Paul Anka?? Ohhhhhhhhh...
No comment.
They are after my time anyway....I'll just say that growing up in Oklahoma, I have seen and heard quite enough of Mr. Presley for a lifetime. You'd think he was the king or something. Cabman Gray- See? My little ploy has worked. Everyone else is guessing and I have narrowed it down a little. I STILL have 4 guesses! I may have to rethink my idea that you are concentrating on later Ford films. Is it "Sex Hygiene" from 1942?
I got to watch The Body Snatcher yesterday- Thanks for mentioning it, because it was really great! Henry Daniell is wonderful- I mean they are all wonderful in this one- the caliber of acting is very high here. It was a very tight script, with nothing overdone or trite. Great costumes and sets, and I like the historical context.
Miss g- I may have to give Bedlam another try- you were so right about the Anna Lee character. I never thought about her as an unapologetically strong woman....
Ro- *The Informer* is way up there for me. Definitely, in the top 4 Fordies. I love the atmospheric fog and lighting, and Vic is so very, very great in the role of Gypo. I like that Ford is so ruthless, showing every detail of Gypo's psyche. And yet he remains non-judgemental. And plus it has great supporting players. There is hardly anything I can say that is bad about the movie. I simply love it. I really thought I had missed my opportunity to guess on that one.
The Ox-Bow Incident has grown on me over time. When I first saw it, I kind of wondered what all the fuss was about- it is such a muted movie. But that same quiet quality really drew me in more and more. You were spot on to notice a similarity to 12 AM. Ox Bow is a movie that only gets better with repeated viewings, since knowing the outcome makes the whole thing even more wrenching. Plus I love seeing Anthony Quinn at that time.
OK. Cabman- here's a real guess- *The Long Voyage Home?*
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Frankie- Bedlam is the only other Lewton film I have seen all the way through, and I am iffy about it too. It's a little too ... mean-spirited for me.
Hmmmm. So you think I won't get it. Don't be so smug! I'm not going to waste my guesses. I'll wait until you slip and say something that's a dead giveaway....
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Snorky, May I copy the Leslie Howard/Animal Kingdom posters on to the Leslie Howard thread? I think some of the folks over there might appreciate them.
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I'll definitely think very highly of FG if it turns out to be Grapes of Wrath.
me, too!
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Oh, man. I was so sure it was Donovan's Reef, now I have to go back to my first thought. You posted a pic from The Wings of Eagles somewhere along the way, but then something made me say that wasn't it.....
How many more guesses do I have?
I missed the beginning of Dead of Night. I was convinced I'd seen it years ago, but now I'm not so sure. The ending with Michael Redgrave is SOOO creepy. I didn't remember the end of the story at all. He really was super in this film. As snobby as his autobiography makes him sound (he really looked down on movie-making), he seems to have put everything into this role....I am going to have to reevaluate my opinion of him.
I loved the Basil Radford/Naunton Wayne story- they are like old friends you see only at the holidays, and whenever they turn up, one is bound to be cheered up by them. I wish I'd seen the rest of the movie....I'm with you, Bronxie- if I'm going to be scared out of my wits, I want it to be in a country manor or on an estate with a grand fire roaring in the fireplace....
I am really enjoying the Halloween movies this year- I watched I Walked with a Zombie (yay! I finally got to see it all the way through) and it is my third favorite Val Lewton movie now, after Cat People and Curse of the Cat People. I loved the atmosphere, and the island feel, plus, the underlying slavery issue made it more interesting than most voodoo creepfests. I also really liked Mr. Sardonicus- wow! Oscar Homolka was SUPER scary. I loved the whole thing, and I am pretty picky about my horror films....
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Bonxie- it's good to hear your voice again!
@#$%^ I missed the beginning of Dead of Night....
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I have to read that book! I have my eye on a little ebay book right now- John Ford Interviews, or Conversations with JF. I looked at it on Amazon, and the first page had me hooked- Ford from 1920 talking about *Straight Shooting*!
I am so psyched that TCM is showing Pygmalion. It is an absolute must see for me, anytime, anywhere. I was printing screen caps yesterday from it and I just sort of fell into watching it all the way through again! Now how do you get the February schedule so far in advance?
I had no idea that so many family and friends were involved in *The Quiet Man*. I knew that they all traveled over there together, but did not know that they all had something to do with the picture. I thought I had read that Andrew McLaglen did some doubling for his father in the fight scenes, because by this time Victor was not well.....
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Checks and balances- exactly! This has been a problem for a while - with some finagling between the judicial and executive branches, and journalists torn between integrity and making money for their networks- we have precious few checks and balances in the last few years.
I like Ford because, no matter what his subject matter, he comes down squarely on the side of the people. He may make a military movie, even take great pride in showing off how great it is, but he can't quite quite bring himself to trust the military high command. In fact, many of his movies are veiled indictments of the powers that be, even in his beloved military. He may make a movie about mines, but he is solidly for the miners, not the mine owners. I don't think he was necessarily pro-union, but at that time, the unions were just getting started and they were a rally of little people, rather than the big organizations of today. His movies are personal, from a little guy viewpoint, and all about unique events in those particular lives.
Even when he makes a movie like *Doc Bull*, when "the people" are actively organized against the main character, he really makes it about the status quo- those "people" don't speak for everyone in the town, and when they are a closed-minded mob, he has to come down on the other side.
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I didn't get a chance to write after reading the Rambles version of this, but I just wanted to say I love the way you wrote this, FF.
*Grapes of Wrath* had such a profound effect on me as a child of 12 or so, when I first saw it. I really was blown away by it. I agree that it has an agenda, but I think it simply speaks to tolerance and brotherly love, more than government intervention. I have to admit my politics are a little left leaning anyway, but I don't have any fear of the government stepping in to help clean up a problem that was festering like a wound. If government isn't set up to help people, then what is it for? I think that the movie presents two sides of the coin- government, or "the Man" kicking these poor people out of their homes, and then government trying to do right by those same people. I still love the movie for it's presentation of justice and family. And its plea for tolerance and kindness in the midst of hopelessness....
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I did catch *Cornered*! It was lots of fun, and I especially liked the beginning, Powell out of his head with grief, searching through the fire-burned rubble for a clue....
I haven't seen Johnny O'Clock yet.
I also haven't seen The Detective. I am almost embarraassed to say that I just love Frank Sinatra in Young at Heart. He sings a bit, but I don't see it as a musical. He really gets me in this movie, as silly as it is, he just acts the heck out of it. Doris isn't bad herself.
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(on
VHS!)
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I hate that! I hate plunking down big bucks for something because they know that only you want it, and you will eventually succumb and pay through the nose for it. I finally did that with Last Holiday and Major Barbara, forking over at least $40.00 a piece, maybe more. It's like Carole Lombard says in My Man Godfrey (and I'm paraphrasing) "There's no use struggling over a thing when it's got you. When it's got you, it's just got you." or maybe more like Mischa Auer- "Money, money, money. The Frankenstein monster that destroys men's souls."
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Great idea for a thread, MissG!
I have to agree with you, Scotchie. Judy in *The Clock* is outstanding. It is actually one of my favorite "Judy" movies, even without music. I love the way she starts out as a standoffish New Yorker, but is subtly changed and brought out by Robert Walker.
*Murder, My Sweet* with Dick Powell was on last night, and he was just amazing - dry-witted, unshaven, and really perfect for the part. I would say that he and Fred MacMurray (though not a singer, he played the saxophone) in *Double Indemnity* are at the top of my list for this category. It is almost shocking the way that each was able to play against type.
I guess this is pretty obvious, but my favorite other switcheroo would be Jimmy Cagney in *Yankee Doodle Dandy*. It's just great.
I mentioned on another thread how much I love Rudy Vallee- though he wasn't particularly serious in his roles, his career just kept going even after he left singing. I enjoy watching his haughtiness get taken down a peg in many comedies.
I am sure I have left out someone really grand, but right now, I can't think of anymore. I am going to have to ponder on it.
Message was edited by: JackFavell
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Oh my gosh! It must be fate that you posted that website! I love British movies and classic theatre. There must be a hundred items on that site that I want.... Thanks so much!
I probably won't be spending too much money there until I get desperate- 26.99/movie is too rich for my blood. I am so cheap! I may have to get some of them though....sigh.
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Don't you wish you could ask your grandma about him? It must be frustrating.
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I still have to see *Rising of the Moon*. How on earth did you see it? I can't find it anywhere.
I just love little Jack, how he can't keep his mouth shut, but then he always hides behind someone before he can get picked up and thrown across the room! I really have to see more of him.
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I was racking my brain trying to think of other singers who made the leap successfully into more serious film work, and I suddenly realized that Bing Crosby did only one drama in the fifties- The Country Girl. He was quite good, I thought, but he never did any other dramas that I know of. Maybe he thought he would win an Academy Award, and was disappointed when Grace robbed him!
I don't know how serious his film work was, but Rudy Vallee had a really amazing career in movies- he's one of my favorites for his fussy demeanor and hysterically serious approach to comedy.
If we include women, I can think of a few- Irene Dunne, Doris Day, and Priscilla Lane come to mind.
I am also going to bring up a question or two left hanging in the air from a while ago-
Frank Grimes- you said you liked Maureen O'Hara best in *The Quiet Man*, but is there anything you didn't like about the movie? Will you watch it again? As I see the movie more and more, I find that my attention is drawn to the character actors and their scenes the most. I adore Barry Fitzgerald, and Mildred Natwick could not be more perfect. Jack MacGowran is by far my favorite at the moment, though. His little asides have me rolling on the floor whenever I watch the movie. He is so quick and blends into the crowd so well, that I literally never noticed him until recently.
Mr.Grimes, you mentioned that there was a John Ford movie you actually enjoyed - back when you were posting those lovely caps from *The Quiet Man* (more please). This question has been bugging me ever since I read it, but I HAVE THE ANSWER! You told me that you like this movie better than *Rio Grande* and *My Darling Clementine* (I don't know how you could like anything better than MDC, it's one of my favorites). Taking into account your penchant for the ladies (and Miss Gardner in particular), and good fun, I am going to say that it is *Donovan's Reef*. Ta da! I just know it.....
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Thye keep checking my ears and saying they are fine, Ro. I am going to call my regular doctor, though, and make an appointment. They say these antibiotics will last another five days in my system, but since they aren't quite doing the trick, I want to have my blood sugar tested as well, and some other stuff, just to make sure. Thanks.
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Thanks for the clarification! I have always liked both Lew Ayres and Ginger.
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No, you should not "shut up"! You are a pretty smart cookie... I won't take what you say wrong- Don't worry! I think that sounds right that he had a problem with drinking....maybe I'll go do a little research online...
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Wow! I had no idea. That is pretty sad. Thanks for the info.
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Welcome, GRF! I'm glad to see so many new members in your age range.
Can you please tell me why Rogers and Ayres divorced?
They are after my time anyway....I'll just say that growing up in Oklahoma, I have seen and heard quite enough of Mr. Presley for a lifetime. You'd think he was the king or something.
Movie Rambles
in Films and Filmmakers
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Just a bit.