slaytonf

And proud of it!

That's because of the TCM Faux Film Festival.

So, what? He gets a computer virus?

I Am Legend, Richard Matheson's book in its various incarnations: The Last Man on Earth (1964), Vincent Price, Franca Bettoia, Emma Danielli. The Omega Man (1971), Charlton Heston, Rosalind Cash. I Am Legend (2007), Will Smith, Alice Braga.

The riches never cease.

What tree?

Checkmate (1935), Felix Aylmer, Evelyn Foster. Checkmate (1973), Diana Wilson, An Tsan Hu. Checkmate (2008), Sanjay Narvekar, Ankush Chaudhari. Checkmate (2010), Zachary Wood Barnes, Robin Bjerke. Checkmate (2012), Adrián Mas, Frank Perozo. Checkmate (2015), Danny Golver, Vinnie Jones.

Wooden- - - -I get it!

Where's my chainsaw?

Yes it was their car that you see them playing in the first scene of the movie. The car that was featured in the credit sequence winning all those Grand Prixs.

This is from TV, but it is the classic faint. Sid Caesar and Carl Reiner:

My mommie told me if you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all. Nyah.

The last one looks like William Holden circa Network (1976).

Kaleidoscope (1966), Warren Beatty, Susannah York. Kaleidoscope (2008), Andrey Kuzichyov, Mariya Bekker. Kaleidoscope (2016), Matt Adams, David Chattam. Kaleidoscope (2016), Anne Read, Sineid Matthews.

I Love Trouble (1948), Franchot Tone, Janet Blair. I Love Trouble (1994), Nick Nolte, Julia Roberts.

Raw Deal (1948), with Dennis O'Keefe, Claire Trevor, and Marsha Hunt. Raw Deal (1986), with Arnold Schwarzenegger, Kathryn Harrold, and Sam Wanamaker.

I knew someone else would. But. . .but, he's supposed to be creepy.

You will notice that when Potts starts telling of Baron Bomburst and his quest for the famous auto there is a shot of a ship just offshore. There descend the traditional wavy lines across the screen and it transforms into the Baron's ship belching foreboding black smoke with him and his minions aboard. That is when the fantasy begins and all the magical transformations of Chitty happen. It continues until the triumph over the Baron by the child-commandos and the return of the Potts and Miss Scrumptious to JOE (jolly old England) and the return to reality. That is, until the very end when there is a delightful fantastical coda.

Age of Consent (1932), Dorothy Wilson, Eric Linden Age of Consent (1969), James Mason, Helen Mirren Age of Consent (2014), Kilker Alcaraz, Marc Angelo Age of Consent (2014), James Cantor

Love Affair (1939), Irene Dunne, Charles Boyer. Love Affair (1932), Dorothy Mackaill, Humphrey Bogart. There are other Love Affairs, but I can't confirm the plot, or they are titles applied to foreign movies.

How's that, EJ?

Is it a great movie? Well, I dunno. The Brits cherish it. All I know is whenever I chance across it, even only intending it as a temporary bridge to something else, I end up watching to the end. The songs and dance numbers are entertaining. And the rousing title theme is terrific. And there is one truly fine song toward the end ("Doll on a Music Box") that I can't understand why hasn't become a standard. You can't knock the principals, especially Sally Ann Howes, whose voice is a ray of sunlight in a despairing world. There is capable support from a list of familiar faces, who each get a moment or two to grab center stage: Lionel Jeffries, James Robertson Justice, Robert Helpmann, Anna Quayle, and Gert Frobe. The last playing with wonderful bombast the role of Baron Bomburst. They exaggerate their performances just the right amount to create a whimsical tone that keeps the movie from being crushed by its scale. And it is one of the handful of movies featuring adorable children you do not feel an overpowering urge to reach out and strangle. Credit director Ken Hughes and cinematographer Christopher Challis for the visual charm and wit. The pace is energetic and never drags even in the quieter interludes, and there are real thrilling shots, like when Chitty is first rolled out into the sunlight, and the aerial shots of the Great Western Railway train and Chitty. Rowland Emett designed the car, and Caractacus Potts' fantastical machines which are a delight and hilarious to see (mal)function. Great or not, I get hooked.

1909 Humber 8 hp in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (1968): It's a replica, according to IMCDB, but it's still nice. So's Sally Ann Howes.

A title theme for a movie that evokes "Street Scene" is for The Big Combo (1955), an underrecognized film noir cops and robbers pic starring Cornel Wilde, Richard Conte, Jean Wallace, Lee Van Cleef, Earl Holliman, and Helen Walker. I say evokes rather than rips-off because the tune and the movie score is by David Raksin, a highly esteemed movie composer. Whatever, it's a killer tune. Dig that sax: Another great role for Richard Conte.

Avid movie fans who caught this movie (and a good catch it was) tonight may have experienced a dejá-vu sensation at the opening bars of the title music. And it would be understandable, as this is perhaps the most re-used theme in all of movie sound tracks. Composed by Alfred Newman for his first full movie score for Street Scene (1931), it takes its title from it. Its Gershwiny jazzy lilt conveys sophistication, and jaded worldliness. It evokes the milieu of the big city, the walks of life rubbing elbows, crossing paths, leading to joy or tragedy in the jumbled kaleidoscope of life. A list of the movies it was used in would be familiar with TCMmers: I Wake Up Screaming (1941) The Dark Corner (1946) Kiss of Death (1947) Gentleman's Agreement (1947) Where the Sidewalk Ends (1950) How to Marry a Millionaire (1953)