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ElCid

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Posts posted by ElCid

  1. 6 minutes ago, laffite said:

    The way our friend keeps "an eye" on his captives is a bit on the creepy too. Wonderful little plot detail. He probably really practiced that. Keep still while dozing and for God's sake, no snoring.

    I wasn't particularly enthused by the movie while watching but it has rallied in retrospect, not sure how that happens. I don't have TCM and caught it on the Criterion Channel. I would be interested to hear Muller's spiel on this since it has been touted already. I've been on the outside for a long time and have never seen nor heard a single intro/outro of Muller's. I haven't lived, right?

    Muller's Spiel:  The story is based on the crime spree of Billy Cook who actually committed the Hitch-Hiker killings.  Lupino interviewed him in prison for the movie as well as the two actual kidnap victims.  Cook actually had the eye deformity that Lupino added to the movie.  He was executed at San Quentin.

    Muller also had lot of interesting information re: Lupino's career and so forth.  One thing he noted is that there is no credited female in the movie which was unusual for the times. 

    • Like 1
    • Thanks 1
  2. 18 hours ago, Bethluvsfilms said:

    I have to give the ROAD HOUSE version with Ida Lupino a look. The only ROAD HOUSE film I've ever seen was the one with Patrick Swayze.

    I'm guessing the Swayze film is NOT a remake of the earlier movie.

    Totally different movies.  Road House is noir/mystery.  Jeffy (Widmark) owns Jeffy's Roadhouse and hires Lupino as a singer.  She does sing in the movie.  One of the exterior shots of Jeffy's is used in another movie, but I don't remember which one.

    • Thanks 1
  3. The Hitch-Hiker was everything Eddie promised.  As usual, his intros and outros give new reasons to appreciate the movies on Noir Alley. I have Road House (1948) with Ida Lupino on DVD and will need to watch it again.  It is a good movie, but I don't like the way Richard Widmark played his role.  But this is about The Hitch-Hiker.

    Liked that Eddie pointed out how well Frank Lovejoy performed in it.  As for William Talman, definitely not Ham Burger.

    I noticed that in the opening sequences a pack of Chesterfield cigarettes fell out of the car after Talman shot the couple.  Chesterfields seem to show up a lot in movies from that period.  There was also a pack in the glove compartment of O'Brien's car.

    • Like 1
    • Thanks 1
  4. 33 minutes ago, LawrenceA said:

    You pretty much described how most chases are done: sections of road are shut down, at high cost, and cars are brought in to be crashed/banged up. Most chase scenes that last for more than a couple minutes take weeks if not months to shoot, with the 2nd Unit/stunt team shooting as much as they can while the main unit shoots the non-action scenes elsewhere. Chases are often done piecemeal, with mere seconds of footage shot at a time, before being seamlessly edited to make one finished whole.

    In some instances, chase scenes are shot on backlot sets, or closed and unfinished sections of highways that were not open to the public. I know in one of those Matrix sequels a lengthy chase scene was shot on a fake section of highway constructed just for the film's use. 

    And of course now a lot is done via CGI.

    I noticed in old Highway Patrol and Adam 12 TV shows that they frequently used apparently unopened sections of new highways.

    I forget the number, but apparently the movie Ronin had many cars totaled during it chase scenes - and they are very good ones.

    Think I read that during the chase scene for Bullitt, they had to use several Mustangs as they didn't endure well, but the Dodge Charger was the same one or just one of a few to make it all the way through.

  5. 17 hours ago, Bethluvsfilms said:

    I also love MR. BLANDINGS BUILDS HIS DREAM HOUSE, and the scene with Myrna Loy that you mentioned. 

    I also really appreciate Melvyn Douglas as the Blandings' friend and advisor, his biting comments during the proceedings were so hilarious.

    I think this was the first movie where I really appreciated Melvyn Douglas, though I had seen him before in other movies.

    The paint scene is one that my wife and I use whenever discussing paint colors for rooms and so forth.  Another favorite we use is the cherry [pie] from Body Heat when discussing what to select on a variety of topics.

    • Like 1
  6. I took 100 books to Books-A-Million and they bought 15 for $9.00.  I took the other 85 to Goodwill since I passed by them.  According to the guy at Goodwill, they try to sell books there and after a while ship them to a "central" location where they try to sell them on e-bay or some internet site.

    My local BAM has a fairly large number of Used Books and DVD's for sale.  They also send some "buy backs" to a central location.  They buy books regardless of where you purchased them.  For large numbers you need an appointment.  Also buy DVD's.

  7. 11 hours ago, speedracer5 said:

    Re: Reputation points.  I wonder what the threshold is to determine if your reputation is good versus bad.

    I have 7562 "reputation points" which compared to someone who had only a thousand, I'd assume that that was good.  However, if someone had over 50,000 points, suddenly I'm nothing. 

    Maybe it's meant to be a comparison of likes to posts.  If I have 8600 something posts, and of the 8600, I've managed to get 7562 likes, that'd be a good ratio of likes to posts.  Whereas, if you had like 10,000 posts and only 100 likes, it means that a lot of your posts go nowhere.  Maybe that's what it means?

    Good points.  It just says reputation, neither good nor bad.  Maybe it bad reputation? (joke).

    It is another one of those things that confuses me as to why it even exists, particularly on this forum.  If I have a low reputation rating compared to someone else, does it mean I am less "liked" or less of a person?

  8. 19 minutes ago, Dr. Somnambula said:

    So how do I look up my profile to see my big goose egg?

    Click on your screen name in upper right corner.  Then click on profile.  There is green bar a little ways from top with different information.  Days Won is last one.

    Tried to copy mine, but it showed vertically instead of horizontally.

  9. 13 minutes ago, misswonderly3 said:

    I realize what I'm about to say has nothing to do with the topic...but...how come everyone now says "humans" instead of "people"?  I've noticed this. It's silly. (sorry, Cid.)

    Actually I was thinking the human race vs. animals and everything else.

  10. 4 hours ago, LawrenceA said:

    I think I read that with Gemini Man, the "young Will Smith" was mostly another actor with Smith's face CGI'd on the body. 

    They used that CGI de-aging on Robert Downey Jr. in another of those Marvel movies, but I don't recall which one, and Kurt Russell in one, as well.

     

    Lawrence:noticed your new image of Robert Mitchum.  Just finished watching Cape Fear and was thinking about The Big Steal.  Mitchum could look mean, sinister and evil, but then also look nice, befuddled, bemused and so forth.  And totally believable in both types of roles.

    • Like 2
  11. Not sure Digital Botoxing is an accepted term, but it was used in a review of The Irishman in The Week magazine.  It refers to flashbacks and how young the actors look in them.  I have been suspecting that something other than old fashioned make-up and lighting was occurring in some shows I have seen.

    In The Irishman, Robert DeNiro, Joe Pesci, Al Pachino and Harvey Kitel are made to look much younger.

  12. I have a whopping one day won!  I want to think all the little people who made this HUGE victory possible.

    Actually I think it is kind of silly for TCM to even have such a thing as won days.  Why do humans have to make a contest out of everything?

    • Thanks 1
    • Haha 1
  13. I just noticed that each person's profile has an item for Days Won.  Apparently the computer totes up the number of likes a person gets each day and the one with the most likes is the Winner.  Or maybe it is the number of likes for a comment each day the person made.

    • Like 2
  14. 5 hours ago, Ainessandil said:

    This may already have been requested, but the thread is too long to read through them all...please add the Noir Alley seasons to your offerings in the TCM Shop! Eddie Muller is the best host TCM has had since our beloved and much missed Robert Osborne. I don't often shell out for DVDs/Blue Rays, but I would for the Noir Alley movies with Eddie Muller's before and after commentaries!

    Perhaps they could do them as sets of 4-6 movies per set?  Sure beat the fake "Forbidden Hollywood."

  15. 15 minutes ago, Dr. Somnambula said:

    I'd rather do business with Amazon, but here is a Wal-Mart search (including S-Video):

    https://www.walmart.com/tp/hdmi-to-rca-converter

    I could not get a good search with NewEgg or Monoprice, which surprised me.

    Thanks.  I have tried Wal-Mart, but it requires that you order online (don't do that) and not really from them, but a third party somewhere.  Same as Amazon.  I will look at your reference though.  Also, might try eBay.

    Some available on eBay, mostly the same units from different sources.  

  16. Actually, my cable boxes all have the composite (RCA) outputs.  That is what I use now for the DVD Recorder/Cable box connection.

    I don't do business with Amazon.  Have tried to find the brand advertised on Amazon at other sites, but cannot.  Nor can I find an HD IN/S-Video/RCA OUT splitter anywhere.  Radio Shack and Best Buy both have the HDMI IN/Two HDMI OUT Splitter.

    Thanks for your advice though.

     

     

  17. Thanks.  

    4 hours ago, MovieCollectorOH said:

    One more try for me here, for right now, and then I will need to get some things done.

    P.S. after some quick edits to this latest diagram, I am quoting this line from your first post:
    "There is an S video in on Toshiba unit, but no out on the Charter box."

     

    http://moviecollectoroh.com/pics_to_hotlink_on_TCM/thecid-HDMI-to-SVideo-setup-2.jpg

     

    Link to HDMI Splitter:
    https://www.amazon.com/ViewHD-Powered-Splitter-1080P-VHD-1X2MN3D/dp/B004F9LVXC/ref=cm_rdp_product

    link to HDMI-to-SVideo box (hat-tip to John):
    https://www.amazon.com/S-Video-Audio-Converter-Adapter-Blue-Ray/dp/B07QV6G532/ref=sr_1_4?keywords=hdmi+to+s-video+adapter&qid=1572467793&sr=8-4

     

    Thanks again. This may be worth a shot just to see what I get.  Still don't understand why the volume drops by about 50-75% when it goes from cable box to the Toshiba unit, but I can adjust for that.

    I'm going to copy your information and search out the components.

    I really do appreciate all the advice and research you all have done.

  18. 2 minutes ago, jamesjazzguitar said:

    Hard for me to pick which Payne noir I like more Kansas City Confidential or 99 River Street,  since both are fine, well made films.  

    What I like about KCC is the supporting bad-guys;  Jack Elam, Lee Van Cleef,  and Neville Brand are all in fine form with each demonstrating their specific bad-boy persona.    Oh,  how fun bad-boys like this can be! 

    The leads,  Payne,  Coleen Gray and Preston Foster keep things moving and I find this to be a well balanced noir; I.e. not too dark \ not too romantic.    

    The Mask of Dimitrios is an OK film;  any film with Greenstreet and Lorre is worth watching but the most interesting character is Dimitrios,  well played by Zachary Scott.

     

     

    I think the supporting cast is what really makes KCC.  I also like Coleen Gray and this was the first movie where I came to appreciate her.

    The Mexico resort setting for part of KCC is a nice touch as well.

    • Like 1
  19. 4 minutes ago, MovieCollectorOH said:

    No Component connections on your new TV?  Really??  Ok, that is different.  I wasn't expecting that.

    So there would need to be an HDMI splitter, as shown in my bottom diagram.  That or swap the HDMI cables as needed, like John said in his last post.

    Prefer to live with what I have compared to switching cables.  Don't record that much anymore thankfully.

    As for the splitter you showed, the Toshiba unit has only 3 RCA inputs - 2 audio and 1 video.  Everything else is output.

    As for the lack of component connections, that surprised me as well since it is less than a year old.  But it is an "inexpensive" set that is the only one that will fit the space in my entertainment center.  Incidentally, it is impossible to even give away a large entertainment center these days.

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