misswonderly3
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Posts posted by misswonderly3
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I just saw a retrospective on TCM this morning about Robert Ryan. I'd never seen it before...it was most enjoyable to watch. I have the highest opinion of Mr. Ryan - what a great face ! So expressive, one of those actors who can say something without saying anything - and it was narrated by Ernest Borgnine, who'd worked with Ryan on several films.
My comment is: this one was not called "Word of Mouth", it was called " A TCM Original Retrospective". I think. But this series of tributes to stars, and "Word of Mouth" seem very similar to me. Both appear to be originally produced for TCM. Anyone know the difference?
Edited by: misswonderly on Oct 19, 2010 11:19 AM
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Just to agree with and reiterate what LFM said, I think maybe she's not associated with noir as closely as some of those other actresses because she never (as far as I know) played a femme fatale. She was in quite a few, as others have listed here, but she seemed to always play a "good" girl, a gentle and devoted mate to whatever male character she was playing opposite to.
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I love *The Straight Story*, although before I saw it I thought it was about someone struggling with their sexual orientation.
David Lynch is a perfect example of someone who makes films that do not put story first (despite the word "story" being used in the above title.) With Lynch, you have to just "go with it" and watch his movies for the images (something which, as I said before, is of paramount importance to film - no specific reference to Paramount, however...) and for the mood, and the strange dreamlike quality so many of them have.
I also think Lynch is one of those "love him or hate him" directors. I can see some of his films, especially *Blue Velvet* and *Mulholland Drive*, being "conversion'" films , either way: you used to love *Blue Velvet*, but now you see it as the rubbish it is, or you used to think *Blue Velvet* was rubbish, but now you see it as the masterwork it is. Same with M.D.
Edited by: misswonderly on Oct 19, 2010 11:00 AM
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I've heard that Ben Mankiewicz has a third cousin who has a sister-in-law who has an uncle who has a niece who has a first cousin once removed who was Canadian. Well, probably.
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I love that jangly, angsty, "we listened to the Velvet Underground", sound that so many bands from the 80s had. Including the Jesus and Mary chain. "Just Like Honey" was sweet to hear.
Hallowe'en's a coming, and that means time to start thinking about scary things, like Werewolves.
Warren Zevon:
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Too late ! I've moved on, and the Kinks will have to wait in the wings until next time (next time I'm in the mood to post a Kinks song, that is.) Yes, "Sunny Afternoon" is one of their best.
But anyway...I've moved on to Iggy Pop. This is a fantastic song; despite the possibly ironic lyrics, it actually does make me feel more alive whenever hear it. Although the video intersperses images of a dancing bare chested Iggy with clips from *Trainspotting*, I'm sure most people know that Iggy's album Lust for LIfe came out long before that interesting film . *Trainspotting,* 1996 . Lust for Life, 1977.
Kirk Douglas - ain't got nothin' to do with it.
I just wish this had been uploaded onto youtube MUCH LOUDER:
Edited by: misswonderly on Oct 18, 2010 6:51 PM
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That sounds fabulous. I wish tcm would show that again. An evening with some of noirs' noirest ladies !
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You know, I've never seen *The Iron Curtain*. However, if Dana Andrews is in it, that's good enough for me. Of course, it's a bonus that it's set (and according to IMDb) actually filmed in Ottawa, the nation's capital (the nation of Canada, that is).
markbeckuaf, I'm sorry this thread has wandered so far away from *Letter for Evie*. To make a stab at bringing it back to that, I looked up Marsha Hunt in hopes that it may have turned out that she was Canadian. Apparently she was not. However, in a feeble attempt to make some kind of connection to this Canadian/Communist business, I did see that she was called before HUAC and ultimately black-listed. Still, I suppose that has little to do with either Canadian movie talent nor *Evie*. I tried.
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Hmph - a likely story. I wouldn't be surprised if some members of that organization were uyou-know-whats. Replace the word "Federation" with "Union", and there you go.
Anyway, never mind the Kinks (or the ****). So you agree that Bob Marley's Redemption Song
is heartbreaking (in a good way ) ?
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By the way, I never had to revise my opinion of *The Big Sleep* because I liked it from the first time I saw it, I can't even remember when that was.
Butler: "Are you trying to tell me my duties, sir?"
Marlowe: "No, just having fun trying to figure out what they are."
Just one example (could have used many) of the great dialogue in this film.
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finance wrote:
"... less a conversion than a change in tastes that most people undergo when they become adults..."
Exactly. I really should have simply named this thread something like "Have you ever changed your mind about a film when you got older?", because I think more than half the time that's what the revised opinion originates from - more years, more life experience, more cinema knowledge. I was being a little overdramatic when I said "Halleljah!" I just kind of liked the idea of someone becoming a complete convert to some film they'd previously hated. But usually the adjustment from disliking a film to liking it -or vice versa- is much less exciting than that. "Oh, say, why did I ever dislike that? It's pretty darned good, after all..."
As for *Marty*, I've always liked it, but then, the first time I saw it I was an adult,let's just say over 25. I can see if someone saw that film for the first time as a kid or adolescent, they wouldn't "get" it, because it has themes that a very young person wouldn't have had the life experience to relate to.
Edited by: misswonderly on Oct 18, 2010 1:32 PM
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How'd you like Richard Basehart in it? I really enjoy his performance. And that Audrey Totter! I love it when she's telling Basehart how he's no fun anymore, how they used to have a few laughs, but now
"You're all laughed out ! " Ah, she's so hilariously mean .
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Great idea, SoCalGal ! There'd be many, more than enough to take up a day . Especially if you included directors as well as actors. I suggest they do it on July 1, Canada Day (yes, just a few days before The American national celebration .)
(Of course, they'd have to check the programming thoroughly for Communist contamination.)
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gwtwbooklover, I'm surprised you never saw *The Wizard of Oz* as a little kid. I sort of thought everybody had, whatever their current age. Or maybe I misinterpreted what you said about it.
*Miracle of Morgan's Creek* - although I just stated in another thread that I like Betty Hutton, I've always had difficulty with this Preston Sturges comedy. Try as I might, it just doesn't make me laugh. Maybe I'm too busy trying to figure out just when exactly Betty got cozy with Eddie Bracken (or whoever fathered those quintuplets) . Despite the fact that I usually like Sturges' movies, I'm thinking it might be a long time before I have a "Hallelujah !" moment with this one.
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Archie, I realize now that possibly one of my ulterior motives for starting this thread was to maybe get some ideas from people about movies or actors or even eras that I had hitherto had little interest in exploring. (hey, I worked the word "hitherto" into a post- something I'd hitherto always wanted to do ! )
Fact is, I know hardly anything about either Norma Shearer or Kay Francis. Now, after reading what you have to say about these two ladies, I'm thinking of checking them both out . I had hitherto little familiarity or even interest in 1930s films (although of course I've seen my share), but now I think I may pursue films with either of these stars in them next time TCM airs one. Who knows, I may even become a convert to Madame Shearer (or Madame Francis.) Hallelujah !
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Actually, it's a well-kept secret that many of these so-called "Canadians" were in fact Communist spies, masquerading as former Canadians-turned -American actors to smuggle secrets to the Soviet Union. They were recruited by "the Party" to use whatever thespian talents they may have possessed to infiltrate the Hollywood system and destroy it from the inside. This was the real source for the HUAC investigations.
Haven't you ever heard that song, "Blame Canada" ?
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My favourite Bob Marley song. This one can just about bring tears to my eyes. A live version of "Redemption Song":
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dan, I thought that was practically the funniest line in the movie. For me to try and analyze why exactly I found it so amusing would be pointless -It's just one of those lines, and especially in the context of that film, that's -well, hilarious.
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I know this can get tiresome, but I can't resist: Did you folks know that Hume Cronyn was Canadian?
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MyFavouriteFilm wrote:
"...I think all scripts have to rely on story. Story elements are more essential to the art of cinema than stylistic elements..."
Well, in that case, why not just stick with novels and short stories, literature, and not bother making movies at all? At the risk of saying a cliche, film is above all a visual art. It is not necessarily primarily about story, it is about what you see on the screen. There are many great films that have practically no story at all , or at best the story is secondary to characters, mood, and the images the film presents to the viewer. If the visual aspect of film was not one of its essential features, it would not be the unique art form ( and entertainment form) that it is.
Visuals and style are extremely important to film.
Edited by: misswonderly on Oct 16, 2010 7:55 PM
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Love those old blues guys. Rhythm and blues guys.
For some reason, even though this song has the word "summer" in the title, I think of it more as an autumn song. Maybe because it's more about summer 's being over than beginning.Like the singer's romance. This song has fantastic arrangements, especially the snappy horns and the zig-zaggy sounding strings. Frank Sinatra, "Summer Breeze":
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Kinokima, you're not alone. Nobody understands the plot of *The Big Sleep*, not even the screenwriter (s). But, as you said, it ultimately doesn't matter. This is one film that can fly on style and dialogue alone. I've said this before: to me, *The Big Sleep* is as much a comedy as a crime drama or a noir or anything else. I certainly laugh more at it than I do at some official comedies.
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No, johnbabe should post on this thread since it's about exactly the same thing and it was posted a full day earlier.
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This thread is a real fun idea, but I could swear there's already one on this very topic, people were having fun posting on it all through the summer.
Oh well,who knows where that other thread is, and it's certainly worth doing again.
Why was the thread on Paramount/Universal locked?
in Hot Topics
Posted
I don't really know why I'm posting this thread, because I'm not specifically interested in the other thread in question, the one that was locked.
What I am interested in is, I think when Admin locks a thread, they should say why: it's a duplicate, or it's turned acrimonious and impolite, or some other reason. There's something unfair about them simply locking a thread and not giving the reason.