misswonderly3
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Posts posted by misswonderly3
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That's my favorite short tale from a Somerset Maugham anthology movie. Nigel Patrick steals the show in that one and Maugham had a wonderful way of seeing into a person's inner being and character that not many writers possess for sure.
There are quite a few good movies made from Maugham's literary works. Aside from several "anthology" films based on some of his wonderful short stories, there is, of course, The Razor's Edge, not to mention several versions of Of Human Bondage.
W. Somerset Maugham was a great writer, a master of character and story-telling. It's too bad he's so out-of-fashion now.
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I get a kick out of China Seas, too, one of the best of the Gable-Harlow pairings. Quite frankly, I'm a sucker for any film with a "mysterious" Far East setting (even though this one largely is aboard a boat).
Gable is solid here, and Harlow is a hoot in a film stealing performance. She's alternately raucous and vulnerable. But the film also has a wonderful supporting cast, such as you referenced in your review, sewhite. I'm not really a Wally Beery fan, but this is one of his more interesting portrayals because his character is so duplicitous.
Standing out for me is the scene in which Gable is tortured via the "Malay Boot," if memory serves me correctly about its name, being applied to one of his feet. It's a vice that is cranked as it slowly crushes it. Beery, still pretending to be a "good" guy, plays up to Gable in this scene, pretending that he sympathizes with him, though, in reality, he is behind the gang of pirates that have seized Gable's boat.
After Gable passes out from the pain, but without revealing the information sought, watch the change come over Beery's face. A moment before - fake sympathy. But now that Gable is unconscious we see a growl cross his features as he kicks Gable in the side.
At least, that's what my ten year old or so memory of the film tells me what happened. It's been a while since I saw this fun film.
Wow, Tom, you remember it in great detail considering you were only ten. And imagine a ten year old boy having the attention span to watch an old '30s movie like "China Seas" !
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Regarding Felix Unger: TV or movie - The movie version has that great line about cornflakes that is not in the TV show, so I would pick the TV show Felix to pitchfork.
As for numbers after names, popular characters are often screen names and I imagine that there are any amount of 1, 2, 3 ...after characters in terms of long time members of this forum. And Mary Astor had a long and popular career.
I love Edith Head appearing as herself in so many things.
Why wouldn't she appear as "herself" ? She was a costume designer, not an actress.
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Miss Wonderly, which Felix annoys you more, the Jack Lemmon movie one or the Tony Randall tv one?
PS Have you always been MissWonderly with the "3" or were you watching "The Three Faces of Eve" recently? I did not recall that number being part of your appellation before. Excuse me if I'm blind.
1. I was thinking of Jack Lemmon. But, the character he was playing, not Mr. Lemmon himself, whom I like. I have only the vaguest memory of ever seeing the "Odd Couple" tv show - I think maybe once, at a tender age, before the memory part of my brain was fully developed (ok, that last part I made up.) But I'm not familiar enough with the television show to comment about Ungar's character in that (although I imagine it was pretty similar to the movie one.) "That said", the little I've seen of Tony Randall, I like him. Completely irrelevantly, I believe he was an ardent opera fan.
Why do I always have to give a long answer when a short one would suffice? I'll try and do better with the next question.
2. The only reason I am now "misswonderly3" is due to a sign-in issue here, in which for some reason I couldn't get into this site with just "misswonderly". I think, in one of the failed attempts to create a new screen name and password, I went through a "misswonderly too" phase. In fact, I know I did. Yes, for a while I was "misswonderly too", I remember now. Anyway, the "misswonderly3" thing has something to do with getting back onto this website as a member. I remember one of the moderators here, Lynn, was very helpful with this.
ps: Briefly, I was "EdithsHead". I quite enjoyed being Edith and her head, it was fun. But some long-term members here didn't seem to realize that it was misswonderly in a new incarnation. I didn't want to lose the rep I had here as misswonderly (grand as it was -no, kidding ! ), I mean, I didn't want to not be recognized as a long -term member here, so I just went back to "misswonderly", regardless of the number following that appellation.
Wow, my second answer was just as wordy as my first. I must work on curtailing my verbosity and tendency to be prolix.
Here's the pic of Edith Head I used. I liked the idea of a dour Edith, just her scowling head, flying around all over the place on the boards here.
"I've always understood decapitation is a crime."
edit: Ok, not just her head, more like a "bust" (although I don't believe she had much in that department.) I could not find the original photo I used, which was what you see here, but just from the neck up.
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What a funny thread title, Tom !
I'm sure there are many, but off-hand, Julie Harris' character in Member of the Wedding (the ultimate self-absorbed adolescent angsty whiner), and Felix Ungar in The Odd Couple, especially when he's trying to clear his sinuses.
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Oh my goodness ! Who'd have thought sweet Judy Garland could be so...catty ! I assume she and Ginger didn't get along, for her to do that. (and Ginger was still pretty as ever - the audience certainly never sees any "peach fuzz".)
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They are hilarious, speedy ! I went straight to your link and read every one of them. And there must be a lot more, besides those.
It was especially funny when the article had a nasty comment by one star about another, and then the other star commenting on the first one immediately afterwards. Oh, that makes no sense. Here, I'll demonstrate:
William Holden on Humphrey Bogart: “I hated the bastard.”
Humphrey Bogart on William Holden: “A dumb prick.”
How disillusioning ! (but funny.)
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I may have missed mention of the two I'm about to cite, but I've been reading this thread pretty carefully and I don't think either film has been discussed yet here.
To wit: The Others (in Spanish, "Los Otros"), 2001, directed by Alejandro Amenabar, starring Nicole Kidman. A very weird and eerie ghost story, which keeps you guessing and wondering every moment; truly chilling and strange.
The Sixth Sense: This is the one I'm really surprised has not been mentioned yet. I know a lot of people have decided they hate the director, M. Night Shyamalan, apparently because of subsequent films he's made. But whatever you think of his later work (and I think he's been unfairly denigrated), shirley you have to admire The Sixth Sense. It came out in 1999 and starred Bruce Willis in a bit of a role change for him.
I don't want to say anything further about either of these movies, due to not wanting to give anything away, but I think they're both excellent contenders for the hall of fame of scary, supernatural, and unnerving movies. Both make you think and pay attention every step of the way, both give you chills, and both are genuine ghost stories.
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......Director Martin Scorsese placed The Innocents on his list of the 11 scariest horror films of all time.[8]
Well then, I'm in good company. Marty and I are like that.
(Sorry, Lorna, you posted all that interesting info about the film and I deleted it all out except for that one sentence. But I did read your entire post with great interest.)
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Well if we're talking about a man's wallet and not merely just his wallet, I'd say it does matter. Just ask Ava Gardner about Mickey Rooney, she said in her autobiography that he was "loaded" and I'm not talking about money
Apparently Frank Sinatra's was too. Again, according to Ava Gardner.
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How can any of you people ingore these awesome tracks? C'mon, no one has anything to say about Dick Dale, Steelers Wheel, or the two great movies that they are in? Lets see who has good taste out there.
Not ignoring awesome tracks from equally awesome Quentin Tarantino films. Love both those movies, and their soundtracks.
Here be a couple more:
I looked up the musician for "Little Green Bag" ; it's by someone called George Baker. All this time I thought the singer was black, turns out George Baker is not only white, he's Dutch ! Who knew? (well, not me, anyway...)
And one of the best songs from one of the best soundtracks of that decade:
deliciously good song. One of the sexiest songs ever.
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Cavegirl (1985) - 3/10 - Lowbrow low budget comedy from Crown International. A nerdy high school student with a passion for history and archaeology goes on a class field trip to a mine complex. While deep in a cave, he is transported back hundreds of thousands of years to the time of the cave men, where he meets a beautiful blonde cave girl. She brings him to her tribe, and most of the jokes revolve around either the nerds attempts to grope the cavegirl, or her tribe mates playing with the stuff in the student's knapsack (deodorant, shaving cream, a tape player, etc.). Daniel Roebuck stars as the nerdy student, with Cynthia Thompson as the Cavegirl. Pretty dreadful. Photographed, written, produced and directed by David Oliver.
First time watched. Source: DVD.
Have you consulted with our resident Cave Girl here about this? There may be rights issues involved.
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THE BREAKFAST CLUB AT TIFFANY'S
Young people will be young people, whether they're high school kids who haven't done their homework or wild young things having an ongoing party with the whole of New York City at their feet.
The mayor of New York City and the high school principal join forces and decide to discipline them all and teach them a lesson. Enough crazy high jinks, playing with stray cats and smoking grass in the school hallways !
They arrange for all the wild young people to spend an entire day in the back room at Tiffany's. They are allowed one plain bagel and one cup of coffee each; then they must write an essay on why they will never be Truman Capote. The cat is allowed in to encourage them and to remind them that life is about more than parties and smoking dope.
A splendid time is had by all.
"I didn't know they had lockers at Tiffanys."
"Dummy ! Where do you think they keep all
the jewels at night? "
"Cat, I think I'll re-name you Hughes.
More milk?"
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I just realized, I've made about 7 posts on this thread in a row (haven't counted, but it seems like a lot.) And now, to add insult to injury, I'm adding another, just to make the observance that I've posted a lot on this thread in a row. It's rather unseemly. My excuse is I've been away for a couple of days and am making up for lost time.
Hey ! Maybe I'll start posting excessively every time I take a break from these boards. Feast or famine.
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Miss-- I forgot to ask you. Have you already been to one of Brian Wilson's Pet Sounds concerts?
No. Sorry, I guess I didn't make myself clear...I was expressing surprise (and interest) that Brian Wilson was actually doing a "Pet Sounds" tour. I'd not heard about it at all. Wonder if he's coming to Toronto?
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Miss--
You have me at a disadvantage. I'm not familiar with any of these "young" actors. Except I've seen Paul Giamatti on Downton Abbey playing Shirley MacLaine's son and he was fabulous.
I had never seen Elizabeth Banks before; it sounds like a broken record but she was superb too.
I was happy that the producers of this movie we're able to get the best actors of the day who were not just good but really at the top of their game right now. And Brian Wilson's life deserved the best.
I've heard a lot of good things about John Cusack in the past but I personally don't really know anything about his acting. I just know that he's considered to be a great actor.
He was a big name and I was thrilled that they cast him in the part. Unfortunately not knowing any of his other work, I would know what to compare it to. He just seemed very uncomfortable and disjointed in Love & Mercy.
Perhaps it had something to do with the structure of the film. Or perhaps it had something to do with the fact that Paul Dano nailed his part so unbelievably, fantastically well that people just didn't want him to leave the screen. And I was one of those people.LOL
Me too; I love Paul Dano.
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Did it have the scene where Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi, posing as cops, forced Brian from his bed and made him go surfing?
I think it was SNL that produced that scene.
It was. And it was an interesting bit of film. For some reason I thought Bill Murray was involved too. Maybe not.
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The Clouded Yellow (1950) Director: Ralph Thomas, starred Jean Simmons, Trevor Howard, Sonia Dresdel, Barry Jones, and Kenneth More. A good British Noir that features a chase over the moors to Lancaster and it's waterfront. 7/10
I've seen Clouded Yellow. Years ago, it was aired on Elwy Yost's "Saturday Night at the Movies". A really good, unusual little British noir (as you say.) I wish TCM could show more British noir movies. There are quite a few of them, actually.
Interesting factette that gives away nothing about the film: "clouded yellow" refers to a type of butterfly.
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Tiki - - you do have some wonderful memories. I've seen the Beach Boys more than once but I've never seen them with Brian.
This summer I'm hoping to catch the Pet Sounds tour. He's just finished Australia and he's in Japan right now. He has a long ways to go before he comes back to the United States, but it's got to be exciting.
I have some Brian Wilson composer documentaries. This Don Was documentary that must be something different. Do you recommend that I buy it?
Wow ! What "Pet Sounds" tour? I didn't know Brian Wilson was doing a "Do It Again" tour, so to speak, of "Pet Sounds". I'd love to see that.
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Bogie-- I really appreciate your comments on John Cusack in relationship to him playing Brian Wilson. I must be one of Brian Wilson's biggest fans and I loved the movie.
However,I would be on an all-time high with Paul Dano's scenes, then when they would switch to Cusack, I found myself getting angry, confused and guilty about not liking him. I knew something was not right, but I didn't know what it was.
I'm not familiar with him as an actor , but it makes me feel better to hear other people say that they thought he loused it up too.
I thought both Paul Dano and Paul Giamatti deserved Oscar nominations for those roles.
Giamatti played Brian Wilson's evil, mind-controlling psychologist Dr. Landy. Brian said Giamatti's portrayal of Dr. Landy was so authentic that it frightened him in the movie theater.
All I can say about the whole thing is that Paul Dano did a wonderful job with his part of portraying Brian's life and that he has a very brilliant future ahead of him.
I must be the only person here who likes John Cusack, and who liked him in the role of the older Brian Wilson. It makes me feel worse to hear other people say that they thought he loused it up.
I will say, I have to agree with the praise for Paul Giamatti. But then I love this actor in every thing I see him in.
Nobody's mentioned Elizabeth Banks' performance in Love and Mercy. I really liked her and thought she did a great job as Brian's new friend and eventual wife, as someone who gradually realized the extent to which Brian was controlled at that time.
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HONESTLY, I feel sorry for even posting that trailer! i cannot think of a more egregious misrepresentation of a film than that.
i would have asked for someone's head over this were I one Kerr or the director's team.
Lorna, I'm still laughing. It's ridiculous ! What were they thinking?
I especially like that swirly substance that looks like two-flavoured cheesecake batter - I can't even guess what that's supposed to be !
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I just CAN'T. I just don't. I'm sorry.
No.
Do. Not. Like.
ps- another reason would be the fact that Julie Harris was a brilliant actress, but she succeeds in THE HAUNTING in the same way she does in MEMBER OF THE WEDDING in PLAYING A REALLY IRRITATING character to unfettered perfection.
ps- you know the Ghosts of Hill House just instantly regret recruiting Eleanor into their ranks. You know they were aiming to get Russ Tamblyn instead, but she hijacked the car and now they're sentenced to an eternity to dealing with her whiny, kooky, irritating crap. In the end, I feel for the ghosts.
Well, I can't argue with that. Julie Harris IS annoying. And as you say, not just in The Haunting but in so many other movies she's in.
Good actress though she is, bless her, but she always looks as though she's about to cry.
So yeah, poor ghosts. They don't know what they're in for with Julie hanging out with them for all eternity.
ps: By the way, even as you feel about The Haunting, I feel about Black Narcissus :
"I just CAN'T. I just don't. I'm sorry.
No.
Do. Not. Like."
And as far as I can tell, there's plenty of angst, kookiness, and irritating crap in that movie too.
ps:2 : Back to The Haunting: You have to at least give credit to the screenwriter for openly depicting a lesbian character in 1963. I mean, back then, they pretended they didn't exist (oh, ok, except for The Children's Hour.)
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THE HAUNTING is one of those films that I refer to as a "Magic Eye Picture."
Everyone looks at this thing and sees a dolphin dancing on a sunset (ie somethign glorious); but hard as I squint and cross my eyes, I just can't.
It bores me, nothing happens, and I don't like it.
(Also: I read the book and all three of the above apply to it as well.)
phhhhffffffffffffthbbbbt.....
Oh, Lorna, Lorna, Lorna. .....Nothing happens? Really? What about that child sighing and crying in the middle of the night, their sobs seeming to come from everywhere and nowhere? What about that horrible terrifying pounding, again and again, shaking the walls and Julie Harris' sanity? If nothing else, what about the Claire Bloom character, who clearly is attracted to Julie Harris' ? That was pretty unusual for a studio made film from 1963, wasn't it? huh?
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How about "In The Company of Men" from 1997 with Aaron Eckhart.
I remember this film getting a lot of flack when it came out, since it presented such a hateful situation. But when I finally saw it, I did think the storyline packed a wallop, no matter how cruel the tale was.
Here's the IMDB plot synopsis:
Two business executives--one an avowed misogynist, the other recently emotionally wounded by his love interest--set out to exact revenge on the female gender by seeking out the most innocent, uncorrupted girl they can find and ruining her life.
Great example, Cave Girl. Neil Labute seems to specialize in stories about a particular kind of cruelty - emotional humiliation. Another film he made that examines a situation as hateful as the one of In the Company of Men is The Shape of Things, in which
SPOILER ! !
a graduate psychology student bases her masters' thesis on deliberately, calculatedly making a fellow student fall in love with her so she can manipulate him and ultimately break his heart - oh, and humiliate him.
I hope nobody who plans to see this film read that, since you don't find this out til the end of the film; kind of affects how you react to it, whether you're completely amazed or not.
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I Just Watched...
in General Discussions
Posted
Thanks, Fedya. In my defence (not that you were attacking, just informing), my post about Maugham wasn't intended as a definitive list of all the works by this author that have been made into film.