JackFavell

I did!

Dan Fogelberg: Illinois

HA! That's a classic understatement.

You don't need to be changed into anything.... you're already a prince. I bet you capitalized your nickname or something. It's so finicky, the least little mistake in typing and you can't find what you are looking for.

I'll say, Sheriff Layne... from a snake to a newt ain't bad.

I'll turn you into a newt!

You mean so they could burn me at the stake?? Yeah that's about right. They dont like outsiders here. I've been here for almost an entire generation, and yet I'm still a newcomer to these old fogeys.

Since I was a very little girl! But that all could change in the next few minutes.

Thanks! I'm the good witch. Edited by: JackFavell on Sep 27, 2011 2:02 PM

Me? Oh I don't do too much dressing up. I don't need to.... Alice is going to be a vampire - she has the cutest little hat to wear - it's a little tiny one with brownish orangish sparkles and feathers. I just found an outfit on ebay that will go perfectly, I think. Black with brownish orangish sparkles on the top and long drapey sleeves. Now we just need teeth and blood.

> *Naaaah. But I have to tell you, I don't have such hot things to say about *"ROPE OF SAND."* But thatll be in another thread.* That's OK! It is pretty traditional action type movie, maybe too much of a copycat of the old Rick and Ilsa story. I liked it anyway. It was a lot of fun! > *Ooooh Hitch. He stretched my nerves to the breaking point. Here we watch a young boy do what young boys do...dawdle. Hitchcock takes us on the meandering journey of a young boy and makes it a thing of death and destruction and sadness.* That's beautifully, sadly put. It was all I could do not to write any spoilers about that scene. I swear, I never thought Hitch would go through with it. The first time I saw it, It shook me. Especially with that little doggie.....and THEN, later when Sykvia sees Stevie running toward her..... Sheesh. Hitch, you _bleep_ ing _bleep_ _bleep_ audience torturer! > *I can't even hear Lund's voice in my mind s eye ear(?) But I'll give Loder that...he had a good voice. Remember him as Bette Davis' suitor in *"Now, Voyager"*? < ( Yawn! ) >* Oh yeah. zzzzzzzzz. I like him better here. > *Beautifully expressed Jackaaa*A*aaay. Sylvia does hold the camera; Hitch kept cutting back to her as Oskar was giving his weak excuses. Her silent recriminations spoke volumes. I've got to give Sylvia another chance in a lot of other movies. Mea culpa. I wonder why Hitchcock chose her.* She's not blonde, but was really so good, she had that dead quality you get when you've received a shock, and yet you could see the ire rising in her with every word he spoke. And she kept tamping it down. I LOVED it when she was holding the knife and her hand started to shake.... and then he looked at her, then the knife, then she looked at the knife.... then ... wow! See, Hitch uses the camera like we use our minds in real life. He was very astute - knowing that people's minds work so slowly, and our thoughts appear on our faces. We all have our "tells". > *I'm going to sound stupid just saying *"WoW!"* aren't I.* Feel free to say wow anytime I'm in the conversation. > *She and her brother were so comfortable together. I liked their gentleness and chemistry. You see now...I just had her reasons very vague in my head. But you've painted such a chillingly real and bleak picture of her choice, that now my heart is bleeding for Sylvia in this. Thanks, pal! Ooooh I could smack that homolkan in the back of his head!* I ADORED Desmond Tester (ugh! that name!) - he is such a kid, but so polite and good natured... not like Virginia Weidler in The Women, but so real - you want to reach into the movie and tousle that hair. And Hitch throws that humor in that makes us itch with anitcipation - the hair oil! ack! > *Im with you there Jackaaa*A*aaay. And every time he pulled that "string" and played the consummation card, I think she dutifully complied. I don't think there was any joy in it, on her part. And on his part...I don't think he thought about her at all. A selfish little man: *"I don't like cabbage or that nightgown you are wearing!"* Wait...did I hear an "Eeeeek!" out of Sylvia?* Yes, that's it exactly. You pictured it just as I did. > *Blecccch. Dutiful and deferential. What a bargain.* She paid too much. And here's the grocer trying to give her food. That's a real contrast. > *I agree that Sylvia carries the bigger emotion of the picture. But Oskey was no slouch, was he. He was sort of likeable...well, that's not quite right. He wasn't unlikeable. Remember when he was at the aquarium with that nefarious gentleman? Oskar emphatically said he didn't want to get involved in anything that meant loss of life. But then again, he wasn't about to get paid, either.* I felt for him there, but the truth is, he respected the men who were holding the purse strings more than his own family. A man's world is so hard sometimes. Pressure at work. A lot of men seem to be like this. Their bosses have them by the _bleeps_ . It was obvious (to me anyway) that he was scared of them - the tone of their second message to him was really rough - so this made me feel sorry for him a little more than I would have. > *I love how you're working it out as you write. It really is all those things, isn't it. He's not doing it for a cause. I think it's financial. He thought he was getting paid. That's why he told Sylvia to give the patrons back their money. He's just a schlub...in middle management.* Totally! It's a parable of the workplace! He thought he would be freer after he had the money, but he's even worse off now - trapped in a job he can't leave. Forever upping the ante was going to get himself killed. And they don't really care, they don't even know him. He doesn't know them. What he should have done was ratted them out. But he was ashamed of what he did, so he kept going. > *Seeeeeeee, that's why my baby is a genius. *That's why he will win the poll over at...* I mean, err...ahem, Hitchcock had a genius idea when he decided what makes a villain. And he worked that through many a film. (Remember HE came up with the idea for Uranium as the MacGuffin in *"Notorious").** Hey! It ain't over till it's over. But you're probably right. See? Hitch didn't even need my vote! > *Again, loving what you wrote. The one time Verloc lost his cool, was when Stevie took a little too long to get ready to go out. It took me aback to hear him shout. He was so innocuous the entire movie. It's a shame when life gets away from us that we dont know how we got there. Attention must be paid.* I know, it made me jump too, to hear him go off like that. That probably helped give the game away later on. He did feel worry and guilt, which made him jumpy. Again, I felt bad for him, but this is where it starts to turn against him. He should never have sent Stevie, and if he did he should have told him to be a half hour earlier than 1:45. But of course, hindsight is 20/20. > *What was interesting to me is how Loder kept trying to save Sylvia's a--, well...save Sylvia. He had the crowd eating out of his hand about getting the ticket refund and she tells him to mind his own business. He keeps interrupting her confession to his boss as well. Gee, I think hes going to have a tizzy of a time with her.* Ha! She might be a little more amenable now that she's single again. Ah Hitch. You have to let the girl down easy....into some big galoot's arms. > *Yes, Jackie...I hear you. Hitchcock has us identify with the "bad guy" who's not really sooo bad until the end. Naaah, he was bad all along. And by the by...*I* never lied to my parents. I just never told them the whole truth.* > > *And it wasnt a Tootsie Roll...it was a green pencil sharpener.* Mine was definitely a Tootsie roll, and it was a small one too! I still had to go and face humiliation - put it back. > *Well-said. Verloc wants without working for it. Easy money. That rarely pans out. I am not a crook!* Funny how these classic movies of ours all tell the same stories - be a good wife, don't steal, be happy with what you've got. Hey, just like *Rich and Strange!* > *Whew!! How selfish was he...how devoid of human thought is he? Chilling. When he suggested that perhaps they may have a child...I could see it was the last straw for Sylvia. He was never going to touch her again. And what a horrible thing to suggest...that they go on as though nothing has happened, when in reality, their world has changed forever.* That's so well put, M'Ava. You couldn't show two people further apart at this moment. > *Here! Here!! And sooo very true. I agree with you completely. Following orders. "The Little Evil." I shall remember that.* Yeah, I hope I remember it too, when it counts. We could all be in Verloc's shoes at some point. You have to stand up, even if you've made a mistake and know when to back up, think, then hold out your hand and say STOP. > *Hitchcock Is A Many-Layered Thing. And he's got those secondary characters that you mentioned below. I'd like to hear more about them...* You know, with Stevie/Desmond... if he weren't such a nice normal kid, one we like a lot, we would not find this movie even half as good as it is. The acting of that role is key. The other guy I just was crazy about was the Pet Shop owner - oh, my gosh, he reminded me of a fat Alastair Sims. He had that air of the loon about him, with his crazy hair, and the weird family at home. These are the roles that are my meat and potatoes, movie wise... and Hitch was literally breathtaking, the way he wrapped that part of the plot up so tidily, sending him in to find Verloc at the end.... WOW! Neat.

> {quote:title=butterscotchgreer wrote:}{quote} > *Well, okay maybe I lied a bit. Heehe! Not that different. Greer is more feisty in this one and Ryan may be a little lik his rugged self with a side of pure mysterious seetness that he doesn't like to show...hhmmm okay maybe I was hallucinating. Heehee!* Awww. he sounds like his sweet self. I like him like that. Or as a psycho. > I sound like Frank. No No No! > > *OOHH NOOOO!! Greer isn't a serial killer! She is sweet and a true lady! Don't join his side! Stay on my side, Wendy! Heehee!* Whew! I don't know what happened to me. I think it's too close to Halloween!

I agree with Maven, Sue Sue! Great post!

Ahhh! So that's how it's done. heh heh! I am so glad you have had a very happy day today. You deserve it! :x

I think that came out wrong - I mean, the words flew out without me really knowing what I was doing. What I mean to say is, I am not usually inspired to write that much unless someone gives me a lot of food for thought. You done good, real good! ANd I barely broke the surface - I wanted to talk about the amazing performance of Desmond Tester (is that his real name?) and the guy from the pet shop. Brilliant, just brilliant.

Thanks! I just got caught up in something I didn't really comprehend and went with it. :D

Allo, luv! Different personalities for both Greer and Robbie? He's sweet and noble, and she's a serial killer? I sound like Frank. No No No!

I watched the 1941 *Back Street* - you are so right about Frankie! Oh my gosh, he is just WONDERFUL!!! Margaret Sullivan reminded me of Ida Lupino, and Boyer was ...ahhhh...magnifique. I really enjoyed it, but Boyer's last scene really freaked me out! He gave a VERY realistic performance. I tried to stay awake for the second Back Street but fell asleep about one minute in. I wish I had recorded it now. This clip actually looks really good! I was going to laugh at first, but every one is so good I got enthralled. As for Maurice, oh, he's a-d-o-r-a-b-l-e! I dare you not to smile watching him! Edited by: JackFavell on Sep 26, 2011 8:19 PM

I LOVE this post, M'Ava! I was worried that you wouldn't like *Sabotage*, it's a pretty slender thread holding the story up. Hitchcock is at his simplest here. But I think he finds a lot of his later themes and tricks here in this one, as you pointed out. (I love that scene with the newsreel cans, that long long walk Stevie takes.... what a set piece! It's worth sitting through the movie just for that. And then there is John Loder, who I agree, is pretty tame, but I like him much better than John Lund. He's quite pleasant, if not exciting, and he has fairly rugged features and a pleasing voice (something I hate in Lund). Sylvia does have the saddest eyes, and my respect for her as an actress is growing, thanks to the Ramblers. I think this is one of my favorite roles for her. She's a heck of an actress, I suddenly realized, watching her think. Hitch leaves the camera on her face, those eyes, for a long time in each scene she is in, letting us see her emotions come spilling out unexpectedly like big tears. I like the way she brushes them aside as if they don't matter. This is one very lonely, battle-scarred human being. Sylvia is the poster girl for the Depression, between this film and *Dead End*. A good kid who is on the verge of womanhood, but also on the verge of falling through the cracks, turning old before her time. She is really rescued from a sleepwalking death. She's been blind, thinking that the most unassuming man was her salvation. Her eyes are opened in the worst way, but she will live from now on. You can't protect yourself or others by throwing yourself away. I don't think we'll ever know why she married Verloc, but my guess is that he was a nice, rather boring man who offered her a safe haven when she needed it most for her brother. I suspect she never would have married him if it hadn't been for Stevie. She thought she knew him, that he would protect her and especially Stevie, and so she passed up her chance for happiness and settled for security so her brother could have a good settled life. Are the Verlocs romantic? It doesn't really seem like it, but is Verloc that nice that he would not attach any strings to their marriage??? Somehow, I don't think so. I think that they do have an intimate relationship, Sylvia looks a bit ashamed when questioned about her marriage by the greengrocer. I also think her shock would not be so great on finding out about Verloc's "other" life, if she hadn't been a "good" wife. A wife knows everything - odd and silly things - about her husband. So Mrs. Verloc would feel betrayed if she accepted this bargain with him, thinking he was one thing and he turned out to be another. It is so much more of a betrayal of their situation that he is this monster who shows no remorse for his actions, even when it affects someone he knows. And she gave herself to him! Which brings me to Oskar Homolka. I was wrong when I said he was the whole picture.... Sylvia is the whole picture. But I find Oskar to be very compelling here, far more so than Loder who is simply likable. Actually, so is Homolka, somewhat. At least partly. He is a little man, in all ways but his size. A little man who has finally got something. What wooed him to take this step? The money? maybe. Is he a fanatic? sort of...well, no, not really. Love? It's never really clear. I think he was more likely just a foolish man who thought he believed in something he didn't fully comprehend - like many people did at this time - those who got caught up in Socialism (in this country too), Fascism, and Nazism. He got caught, and hadn't the strength to get out, to make the right decisions. Sometimes, we do stupid things, things we regret. Hitch does it again - makes his movie timely and almost prescient by taking a situation and putting a face on it. And the face is so plain, so ridiculously plain. I identify with Verloc. Not so much at the end, when suddenly, we are confronted with the true blank evil of him, but early on. His progression to that point is easy to see, all those little incremental steps till he is doing something so heinous, and he doesn't know how he got there. It's nice that we see what a regular guy John Loder, the romantic detective is at the end. But he's too good to be true. Nope, Verloc takes the place of the hero in this picture - we are placed in his shoes - not Loder's. This is why I really like this movie. Hitch does a 180 - we are not swept up in a sweet romance here. We are fascinated by Verloc, the regular guy. Anyone who has ever stolen a tootsie roll, or told a lie to his parents can identlfy with Verloc. He reminds me of Nixon. I said before that he is a little man.... and little men want to be more than they are. They are not the John Loder's of the world, they are the audience members who go to the movies - those people complaining about getting their money back during the blackout. Verloc 's weakness is that he wants... I sympathized with him at first. He seemed to be deluded but basically good. We have no idea how little a man Verloc is until that shocking moment when he kneels down and tells Sylvia she need to get over her shock, that things would be far worse for her if HE, Verloc had died... these are true statements, but also the justifications of a sociopathic child, one who knows he has been caught with his hand in the candy jar. When we finally see Verloc's inability to feel for anyone but himself, we realize that we have been seeing into the heart of darkness - it's not the big evil that is the worst, but the little evil. I am quite sure that those who idolized Hitler felt the same way when they found he had taken the coward's way out, leaving them to pay for his grandiose mistakes and hatred. They caught the fever of the small. The petty, nasty, small-minded evil of small men, bureaucrats.... that is what we have to watch out for. *"I have seen the enemy, and he is us."* Hitch filmed the opposite story, the story of people coming together, of the small good in them. How it adds up to something big. He called it *Saboteur*. Interesting.

h1. HAPPY BIRTHDAY, RO!

I'm telling you, he made Major Strasser seem like a mere boulevardier. Ha! That is the truth! One time I swear Burt wriggled away by doing a handstand up and out of Henreid's grasp!

Sorry I keep jumping in on conversations, but I was going to make a comparison between Jack Holt and Richard Dix earlier.... we are on the same track! They both seem similar - rugged transition stars with good voices, who made the most of the early thirties audiences need for strong leading men. Both starred in lots of silents before, but they really seem to have come into their own at the dawn of sound. We look back and say, "huh?" when watching them, they seem so odd to us today. Looking at them we wonder how men so large and overly manly could have been seen as romantic leads. I think they were the larger than life precursors of the more gritty, human Spencer Tracy/Clark Gable/Jimmy Cagney types needed for Depression era audiences.

Oh, where to begin? _Bronxie_ - I just loved *Kiss the Blood Off My Hands* (yes _Ro,_ that's the icky title!) . I was able to get into it right away, as soon as Burt climbed through that window, I was hooked. I loved how the film started, with an expressionistic vision of the barroom brawl, then mystery, and a chase. I do understand those reservations you had, this London is sort of an American version of the real thing, but I loved it anyway. For me, it just seemed very different, romance with noir and redemption and really sensitive performances from Burt and Joan. I liked Burt - I don't know if I could have accepted his inherent niceness and loneliness if it had been anyone else. He was able to convey an innocence, and an animal reaction that could have been very unbelieveable with anyone else playing the role. He's all reaction..... because of what happened to him. He could not respond in a thoughtful way when he's in a threatening situation, and I think Burt's great body language is what makes this work for me. I don't think it's a knock to relate it to *Odd Man Out*. It's certainly not as great as that movie, but it is a good movie on it's own. It swept me up. I was hopeful, like Miss G was, that somehow, they would get out of their scrape and some kindly judge would listen to them. MissG, you and I are totally on the same wavelength with KTBOMH, and with *Rope of Sand*. I bought both of them, lock stock and barrel. Your review of what Dieterle brings to ROS visually was perfect! I liked all the high contrast Moroccan decor and sand and Paul Henreid's house.....beautiful but sterile, it isn't as lush and warm as in Casablanca, there is something colder, sparer, and noirish about the setting here. Something fifties. Henreid's acting was so good (and everyone else's too) - I loved the stricken, shattered look on his face when losing his possessions, and yet how cold and brutal he was with humans. He was all about possession, he must own - have the best girl, beat the best man, and heaven help you if he finds you are a forgery. I was almost, almost tempted to say that Burt was even more rugged than Bogie..... but I can't do it. However, watching his movies in order like this, he really gives a great performance here, I can see him learning his craft by leaps and bounds. He's very strong by the time he makes this picture. I enjoyed the film so much, it was far more fun than I ever thought it could be from just a description. Raines and Lorre were a hoot! I liked it because there was absollutely no pretentiousness about it - it was made to be enjoyed, like all good Curtiz movies... ;D Edited by: JackFavell on Sep 25, 2011 7:43 PM

Was it *Whirlpool*? I saw the end of that one and he was just wonderful, in fact the whole movie was really top notch... but since I came in on it late in the story, I thought she was having an affair with Jack, instead he turned out to be her father. It was excellent, I have to go back and watch the beginning now to see how he got to that dramatic ending.