faceinthecrowd

To joefilmone: As I noted on another thread, Gore Vidal said, "There's enough happiness in real life. I don't have to watch a movie to see it." Maybe he was joking, maybe not. But on the subject of this thread: "Lilya 4-Ever" is an uncompromising movie about a Russian girl who is abandoned by her mother and step-father and forced into a life of prostitution. I don't regret seeing this film -- I gave it five stars -- but I don't plan to watch it again.

*Alias Nick Beal* is a fascinating film, a mixture of noir and fantasy. (Note the name -- once we learn who the title character is, "Nick" is easy to understand, but also think about "Beal.") Milland is unusually sinister here, and Audrey Totter is perfect. I can never decide whether she's alluringly sleazy, or sleazily alluring. Either way, she's terrific.

I don't know whether Tex Beneke had a twin brother, but I always thought he had a remarkable resemblance to Fred MacMurray.

That sounds Scottish, not Canadian.

Rains may have been exaggerating about the "millions," but he was obviously speaking from the heart about the "dynamite."

In *Angel on My Shoulder,* Rains says, "Millions of women have adored me." Paul Muni (gruffly): "Dames is dynamite!" Rains: "Ah, but delightful dynamite!"

Another Gary Cooper film that always does it to me is *Return to Paradise.*

Paula Prentiss can whisper anything in my ear -- even if it's clean -- and I'll follow her anywhere.

Sounds like a good idea for a thread. I'd nominate Cooper; he looked convincing as Gehrig. Also, Robert Redford in *Downhill Racer,* the only unsympathetic role I can recall him playing.

In *The Shadow Boxer,* a doctor has a lighted cigarette in his mouth as he's examining a newborn baby. It's not supposed to be funny, either.

This is a good day to listen to some Stones -- it's Keith Richards' 70th birthday....an example of what clean living can do.

Thank you for the tip, TomJH. I tried it and it works perfectly. Now I can enjoy the movie.

We don't know whom to disbelieve any more.

I've just checked *Crime Without Passion* on YouTube. It certainly looks intriguing. The trouble is, I get almost no sound on YouTube (others have reported this difficulty also -- Vimeo is A.O.K.).

What???

An unconfirmed rumor today announced that Internet credibility has died after a long illness. Anonymous sources stated that the much-maligned mainstream media (MSM) remains the most reliable way to get news.

Well, it's almost next year. "The Postman Always Rings Twice," "Double Indemnity" and "Mildred Pierce" are all well worth reading. And there are some intriguing differences between the books and the movies.

If you think his last name was strange in the movie, in Cain's novel his name was Huff. And I might add that in the book Phyllis was even weirder than in the film.

Whoever Hollenius is based on, he's a fascinating monster. At one point he says, "They call me a great man. Well, that's the loneliest animal in the world."

The section of *Moulin Rouge* in which Toulouse-Lautrec falls in love with the streetwalker -- a love that can never be returned -- the only time in his life he was fortunate enough to experience the real thing. "It's better to have loved and lost..." True. In the original version of *Mutiny on the Bounty,* the chief tells Franchot Tone that he has no sons, and says, "Stay here. Be my son."

Excellent choices and pictures, TomJH. I'm glad you included *Deception* -- Hollenius was reportedly modeled on Jean Sibelius. Rains is 90% of the film. And let's not forget *The Unsuspected,* with Rains as "Your genial host, Victor Grandison."

As many times as I've seen both great pictures, it was only last night (or early this morning) that I caught that. I noticed that T-shirt when I was Googling to see if there was a real company by that name. It would be amusing to wear it and see if anyone got the joke. If so, you'd know it was another film buff. I read that "Ace in the Hole" got a poor reception when it was released; it seems that people didn't like the main characters (I wonder why?). But Billy Wilder said, "---- 'em. It's the best thing I ever did." And it may be Kirk Douglas's best performance. Watch his face when the priest is giving Leo the last rites, and Leo says, "Bless me, Father, for I have sinned."

No doubt this has been noted before, but I just finished watching the incomparable "Ace in the Hole" again, and I noticed that the insurance salesman says that he works for Pacific All Risk -- the same company that Walter Neff represented in "Double Indemnity." I assume this was Billy Wilder's little in joke.

In *Alias Nick Beal* (and in many of her other films) Audrey Totter was sleazily alluring -- no one else could do that as well as she did.

It *is* ironic. Parker was the only reason to watch AN AMERICAN DREAM, the ill-advised filming of Norman Mailer's intriguing novel. And her performance was one of the best things about THE OSCAR.