slaytonf
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Posts posted by slaytonf
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Yes, he was one of the more prominent pulp writers of the time, much admired of factory and construction workers who would pick up a copy of his latest release before hitting the bars. Let me see, I believe he was awarded the Nobel Prize for literature just two years before Mickey Spillane got his. . . .
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Here you go:
Constance
Marion -
It left me. . . .oh, well, you know.
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Well, I work during the day. However, I will add my voice to the chorus praising Jewel in the Crown. It's a terrific series, more for its acting and dialogue than its direction--not to say that's bad. I can't say if it's as good as the books, as I haven't read them, but that puts an idea in my head. I've been looking for something new to read. If anyone wants to see it, I'm sure it's available for purchase, or viewable online, somewhere.
As to turning literary works into movies, of course it's impossible to condense even something like A Tale of Two Cities into two hours or so (which I think is the longest any movie should run, with rare exceptions). But when I look at an adaptation, I'm not necessarily looking for a straight translation of the book, but for somehow its spirit to be captured and communicated. I think in this regard, the best example I can think of to illustrate my point is David Lean's Great Expectations.
Another good example, though not as good as Great Expectations, is Raymond Bernard's adaptation of Les Miserables. Even with lots of cuts, he still ended up with two two-hour-plus movies. Still, he comes close to what I read in Hugo. The pathetic attempts of Hollywood are so wretched I can't bear to watch them. And no one has ever been able to do justice to the barricade scene or the escape through the sewer.
I recorded the Barrymore Moby Dick, and, hey!, it's not so bad! Not a screen classic, but it has its moments. John Barrymore still has his magic, and Lloyd Bacon, one of the best directors of the studio system's stable, delivers an above average performance. All you have to do is forget about Herman Melville and his book, and just treat is as a land girl meets sea dog romance/adventure.
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I have to agree with you. I think the movie of Jaws is better than the book. I haven't read Planet of the Apes, so I can't say anything about that. I'm assuming you mean the Charlton Heston version.
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Referring to the IMDB description of the movie should go a long way to answering your questions. Thanks for alerting me to the fact is isn't Houston's Moby Dick. If I can't stay up to see it, I'll record it.
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I haven't read the book in a long time, but as I remember, Popeye was an impotent, sociopathic monster. In Memphis, where she goes with Popeye, she seeks out other men to satisfy her awakened sexual appetite Popeye can't. I'm reminded of a comic Mad magazine did long ago comparing a book and the movie made from it, spoofing the sanitation, or sterilization that happened with the Hollywood treatment. In one frame, the book would have gritty, disheveled characters, and gory violence. In the next, the film would take place in Ozzy and Harriet suburbia, with coiffed and manicured actors, with almost anti-violence.
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Sorry, Sepiatone, didn't mean to poach. Great minds think alike? I agree with you about Notre Dame de Paris. The image Hugo paints of Esmeralda wiggling and jerking from afar is one of my favorite in literature. It's always been difficult for me to get my mind around the fact the worldly, cynical autor of this book was the same one who produced the idealistic, reformist Les Miserables. But I do have to say two movies based on it, the Lon Chaney and Charles Laughton versions, are as good as the book.
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I have to admit, I meant to say Ben Lyon. But, you know, I could say the same thing about him.
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Venice Muir: People who live in glass houses shouldn't live in glass houses.
Constance Bennett
Lady With a Past
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Tonite's a great kick-off to Constance Bennett's month, starting with one of my absolute favorite of her films, Lady With a Past, in which she does a wonderful job portraying a mopey social misfit, treated by the people in her set like a wet rag, who transforms herself into a glittering star in the social firmament. David Manners, who I usually find difficult to bear, meshes well with her as her mentor. There is also The Easiest Way, where she suffers the just consequences of being a kept woman, but is she really to blame? and could Constance Bennett ever come to a bad end? Well, she did, once, I think. Then there is Son of the Gods, not so good as the others, but with added value of Richard Barthelmess and some terrific scenes, like the one where Miss Bennett whips him on the terrace of a hotel's restaurant in front of a shocked and paralyzed crowd. Good stuff.
The other movies I haven't seen, and am looking forward to. Are any of these premieres?
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With regard the the book to movie theme for this month, from the earliest times, the cinema has mined literature and popular fiction for subject matter. Sad to say, most of the results are disappointing. Sad, but not surprising, as most movies aren't much good. Some movies are just as good as the books they are based on. Not to say they are necessarily faithful renditions, but as artistic achievements, they equal them. Films like Lean's Great Expectations, and Leonard's Pride and Prejudice come to mind.
Most rare are films that are better than the books they are based on. It might seem there would be a lot of these, considering how many mediocre and bad books there are, and how much easier it would be to make a movie that was better out of it. But it seems bad books only inspire bad movies.
Two movies that occur to me that are better than the books they are based on are both by H. G. Wells. They are The Invisible Man (1933), and The Island of Dr. Moreau, movie title The Island of Lost Souls (1932). In both cases, for example, the storyline is streamlined and concentrated. In The Invisible Man, James Whale also introduces a significant element of humor, as in the scene he chases an hysterical woman down a snowy road while singing "Nuts in May." This operates in a variety of ways. It breaks the tension of an otherwise serious subject, and heightens our impression of his insanity. An example of how the Island of Lost Souls improves on the book is the development of the character of the Panther Woman, Lota. Her only presence in the book was her screams of pain as Dr. Moreau practiced his vivisection on her. On the screen she becomes one of the most exotically sensual female characters in film, and an important element in how the plot is advanced, and the themes of the movie developed.
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Even in the omitted scenes, Faulkner uses eliptical language.
Also, the ending was changed. The details of Temple's actions at the end of the film and her courtroom testimony are different in the book. I suppose it was changed both for dramatic purposes, and the need to simplify the action, as well as to better scrub Temple's character.
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I fear this thread is becoming infected with politics. Too bad. I hoped there could be one place free from the sound and fury. I'm sorry to say I contributed to it. I only hope this thread lasts until tomorrow evening when we will have Miss Bennett's films to discuss, instead of the endless round of vitriol and antagonism.
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I'm happy to see TCM is showing R. W. Fasbinder's Lola. Of the directors that the German New Wave cinema produced, Fasbinder has one of the most distinctive styles, primarily in his use of color. While not as refined as, say, Stanly Donen, he certainly demonstrated his awareness of its existence, unlike other directors, in whose films its presence seems merely to be a consequence of taking a picture with color film. The super-saturated, even garish quality of the color in his films reflects the similar quality of his themes, characters, and acerbic and acrid dissection of the hypocritical and corrupt aspects of German society and mores. It is all the more surprising in this light that he chooses one of the most common of mainstream movie themes, the yearning of the prostitute-with-a-heart-of-gold for respectability.
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I will be watching Constance Bennett's films instead of the election returns.
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It's great to see TCM showing Jacques Demy's Lola tonight on the Imports series. It's a slight Cinderella tale, with Anouk Aimée in the title role. She dances in a cabaret and raises a son while waiting for her true love to return. There are some side stories about a directionless man (an old friend of Lola, who is in love with her), an ingenuous teen girl, and her predatory mother, more there probably from a sense of obligation that there be something in the movie besides Lola. But really, that's all that's necessary, considering we have the exceptional and exquisite Miss Aimée playing her. There is also some nice direction by Mr. Demy, whose Umbrellas of Cherbourg has been aired (and ought to be re-aired), and some sweet and lilting music by Michel Legrand, a frequent collaborator of his.
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Don't forget the point source lightung.
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I have found out the source of the music. It is from Prokofiev's Romeo and Juliet ballet. It is from the scene where Romeo attends a ball hosted by the Capulets, where he meet Juliet. I am sure it has been used many times in films, but I cant' say which ones, except films made of his ballet itself.
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I just wanted to bump this up to see if anyone knew about the music in the link. It's a famous bit of music, but, maddeningly, I can't remember who wrote it, or the name of the composition. It sounds Russian, and from a ballet, or opera. Aaaargh!
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You are just doing that to be mean! If you were thinking of trading for any of my Pixie Sticks, forget it.
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And their shadows.
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It doesn't have to be good to be first. Peter Lorre stands out among the performers, even with his limited presence. Definitely an A-list player in B-movie territory.
For noir elements, add in the ambiguous morality of the main character, and the almost ubiquitous stair railings and venetian blinds, and their shadows. And the characters reflected in mirrors.
The noir look of the film certainly seems to have sprung into existence fully-formed. A key to its look may be found in Nicholas Musraca's cinematography, whose later credits everyone knows include Out of the Past, and many of Val Lewton's films.
The contributions of the director, Boris Ingster, are uncertain, but if I am not too influenced by Peter Lorre, it has the feeling of his being influenced by Fritz Lang.
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When you type in George Sanders' name, you will get this page:
http://www.tcm.com/search/?text=george+sanders&type=allDb
Under People Matches, click on the George Sanders button that says "read biography" next to it, and you will get:
http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/person/169430%7C59366/George-Sanders/
which shows under his name the movies that are scheduled, and options to have reminders e-mailed to you.
Favorite line from movie.
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