TomJH
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Posts
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Posts posted by TomJH
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1 minute ago, Dargo said:
Yeah, good point.
Yep, Hawkins always does kind'a fit the mold as bein' one of those Brits who lamented American troops being stationed in his country during the war, huh.
(...yep, can't ya just hear him sayin', "There's three things wrong with those Yanks...they're overpaid, oversexed and over here!" ?)
Yeh but what about my explanation for the look the girls gave Hawkins? Keep in mind they are a fair distance from where Holden fell so seeing if he's alive or not would be a challenge for them. You don't think they might think that the mortar shell might have done in a wounded man? Thus they give Hawkins looks of horror. He might also be thinking that he may have killed Holden, thus his "I had to do it."
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1 hour ago, Dargo said:
Ya know OFL, I was just thinkin' further here about this whole thing, and there MIGHT be another reason Hawkins mortared his own men and then said what he said...
(...he wanted all those women for himself)
LOL
I doubt it. He's British.
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Here's a possible explanation for you. Hawkins fires one mortar shell which kills Guinness but also lands close to Holden's body. Is it possible that Hawkins got that look from the girls because, even though Holden is lying still in the water after being hit by Japanese gunfire, they think he might still be alive and it was the mortar fire by Hawkins that finished him off? Thus Hawkins said "I had to do it" because, while he was hoping to get the detonator with the mortar shell, the possibility that he also killed Holden (along with Guinness) could be a by product of that action.
Take another look at that scene. How do we know 100% that the Japanese gunfire killed Holden? Yes, he's still in the water but a man can be still and still be alive.
DAMN THAT JACK HAWKINS! I'D GIVE HIM A DIRTY LOOK TOO!
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1 hour ago, Dargo said:
Bravo!!!
Ya know Tom, as I watched this clip it suddenly came to me who would make a great W.C. Fields in a biopic of him if they ever decide to make another one after that only so-so attempt at one which starred Rod Steiger back in '76.
Comedian Jim Gaffigan.
(...am I right or what)
It's PERFECT casting, Dargo! Mainly because I never heard of Jim Gaffigan and most people today would probably say the same thing about W. C. Fields. The comedian's rediscovery by campus kids and film buffs back in the '60s is a long time ago.
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3 hours ago, speedracer5 said:
I call shenanigans on the seashells! I have never found large, completely intact, shells on the beach.
46 minutes ago, Dargo said:Maybe that's 'cause Sally always got there before ya, speedy?
You knew she's had a thriving business selling those down at the seashore for years now, didn't ya?!
(...where do ya think she gets her inventory?!)
Ah, yes, my little chickadees, seashells. I remember them well, particularly when that well kept grave Cleopatra Pepperday sang to me about gathering them at the seashore. That gathering begins at the 6min 14 sec mark of this video clip. It might be best to have a few shots of whisky, rum, tequilla, whatever's in the house, ahead of time to really appreciate the full majesty of her singing.
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10 hours ago, cigarjoe said:
The Macamober Affair (1947) a Film Soleil Noir one of those sun baked, desert or tropical based Noirs. 7/10
This one leaves it up in the air at the end as to the outcome. Joan Bennett and her husband Robert Preston are on safari with guide Gregory Peck in Nairobi. They are in a sort of estranged relationship. Hints of some type of infidelity are implied. Preston hopes the trip will revitalize their marriage. Instead of regaining his manhood he displays his weenie-ness when he throws away his rifle and runs when the lion he wounded charges out of the brush. Back at the camp, Preston takes out his humiliation on the native crew. Its bad form, very bad form. All that is witnessed by Bennett who is turned on to Peck.
Eventually Preston shows hes got a pair and is able to shoot an antelope, he also is ready to give Bennett he walking papers. Bennett realizes shes gonna loose her sugar daddy. Preston next shoots a couple of buffalo. One is only wounded and the same scenario with the lion plays out. They have to go in to dispatch it. When the buffalo rears up and charges both Preston and Peck shoot at it along with Bennett but instead of hitting the buffalo she shoots Preston in the back of the head. Was it an accident or deliberate.? Peck fills out a report that it was an accident, but questions Bennett who admits that in her heart she wanted to kill him. The film ends with her walking to the coroners inquiry.
7 hours ago, Mr. Gorman said:I love THE MACAMOBER AFFAIR . . . whatever it is. Preston Foster would be surprised to know he's in it!
I've seen THE MACOMBER AFFAIR twice. Most enjoyable. I like the fact the ending was 'up in the air'.
The filmmakers softened Hemingway's ending by making the Joan Bennett character more sympathetic than she was in the short story.
Yes, Preston Foster didn't look much like himself in that film, did he?
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4 hours ago, Dargo said:
Oh yeah! Didn't that one co-star Shari Lewis, Paul Winchell and Senor Wences?
(...remember it well, Tom)
It gets really weird, doesn't it, when Lamb Chop talks like Jerry Mahoney?
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Has anyone ever seen THE REVENGE OF KIM?
It's the film in which, whenever Hildegarde Neff speaks, Kim Novak's voice comes out.
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51 minutes ago, CinemaInternational said:
Yes, entirely different responses to the same material. I found it very involving and heartbreaking. Plus, it kind of feels like one of the last codas to classic Hollywood. I can see where it was truly personal material for Billy Wilder. In some ways it is a direct followup to Sunset Boulevard, but with a slight change in perspective. In 1950, Wilder was closer to the viewpoint of Joe Gillis and it saw the madness in Norma Desmond; this one was 28 years later, and William Holden's back again too, but now he and Wilder have been largely cast aside (even despite Holden's Oscar-nominated part in Network), so now they know how someone like Norma must feel. That drives up the empathy factor.
Indeed, completely different perspectives. Sunset Boulevard is a compelling, dark master work in which the audience can identify with the disillusionment and cynicism of its flawed protagonist, Joe Gillis. He is a man of failed potential who, by the end of the film, finally does the decent thing though it will, ironically, prove to be his undoing making him, in the process, a tragic figure. The film also speaks to the coldness of the business town of Hollywood as it casts aside former icons.
On the other hand I felt no identification with any of the characters in Fedora (nor did I find them particularly interesting) and was further disappointed that William Holden who, along with Wilder, brings this film a connection to Sunset Boulevard, is relegated to the status of mere observer.
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20 minutes ago, CinemaInternational said:
That she did, and I thought that film was wonderful. Criminally neglected to boot.
Amazing how people can see the same film and come away with different impressions. I found Fedora disappointing, especially considering the talent involved. It's a challenge for me to get into a film when I don't care about any of the characters.
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1 hour ago, Dargo said:
"Yeah, and I shuppose I could've helped out the little guy in thish regard, but that was a time I shtuck my neck out for nobody."
You write Bogie lishp well, Dargo.
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Claude Rains gets away with being involved with Peter Lorre's murder in CASABLANCA.
Okay, Rains probably didn't kill him himself, but he certainly holds a moral responsibility for his sudden disappearance. But we never see whatever happened to poor Ugarte (Lorre) and Rains plays Louis Renault with so much charm that we don't resent it when, at the end of the film, he walks away as Rick's new best buddy. Besides Lorre's a murderer himself so to a lot of people it all comes out in the wash.
Still, Rains, even if he didn't pull any trigger himself, gets away with it. Not only that but many of us love him at the end of the film, too, if only because he joined the good guys!
"Ugarte? Oh, yes, poor fellow. He died while trying to escape, I hear."
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Kim Novak has a touch of film immortality thanks to Vertigo. The film's memorable climax in which, at first frightened of Scotty after he has dragged her up the stairs, she then relents after he expresses the love he had had for her and moves in for a final embrace is one of the indelible moments of the movies, at least, for me. Novak brings a touching vulnerability to the scene as an ironic fate in the form of a phantom-like figure moves in upon her.
A Vertigo in a career more than compensates for a Lylah Claire.
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2 hours ago, Fedya said:
The Wings of Eagles (1957).
John Wayne plays John Wayne. Well, technically, he's playing Frank "Spig" Wead, who in the interwar period tried to get the Navy to adopt the aircraft carrier, before an accident left him partially paralyzed and forced him to change jobs, becoming a Hollywood screenwriter (the movie was produced by MGM, and includes footage of Wallace Beery and Clark Gable in Hell Divers, conveniently also an MGM movie). Then World War II comes and Spig has a chance to redeem himself.
The movie has John Wayne being John Wayne, which is a problem, but worse, it sees him directed again by John Ford. Spig Wead seems like a really interesting character, but not one whose story should have been brought to the screen by John Wayne and John Ford, who think the most important things to do are show drunken antics and have barroom brawls with the Army.
5/10.
"Gonna move that toe!"
With dialogue like that, this is a film that shouldn't be missed by anyone with a passion for feet.
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4 hours ago, Swithin said:
Eva Moore's performance in The Old Dark House is one of the all-time memorable performances! Ms. Moore had a rich career on the late Victorian/early Edwardian stage, before making films. Her daughter was Jill Esmond, the first wife of Laurence Olivier.
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Scotland Yard Investigator (1945)
Fun, unpretentious "B" from Republic, a light hearted crime thriller featuring C. Aubrey Smith (top billed!) as the head of the National Art Museum in London with the responsibility of housing countless art treasures during the war. Now at the end of the war, he is relieved that representatives from the Louvre will be arriving to pick up the Mona Lisa, not aware of the fact they are actually thieves, hired by a fanatical German art collector.
One of the gratifying things about an engaging little production of this kind, with its relatively brief screen time (68 minutes) and aimably fast pace, is the sight of so many character actors in lead roles, all delivering solidly enjoyable turns. C. Aubrey Smith is actually, despite his senior years, quite frisky and even a bit lovable in his role, even if his character is a bit naive and easy to fool. Smith brings integrity to the part and, of course, British stability and even gets to play a family man here.
Speaking of which, no one who ever saw Eva Moore's unforgettable turn as eccentric God fearing Rebecca Femm in The Old Dark House would recognize her in this film as Smith's cheerful, elegant wife. I rubbed my eyes in disbelief after seeing the film to read that that lovely high society lady in a wheelchair had been played by the same actress.
Erich Von Stroheim (in a curly haired wig!) has fun in the role of Hoffmeyer, the art collector who will stop at nothing, including murder, to steal art treasures for his private collection. Hoffmeyer carries a sword stick, a hollow cane housing that weapon and he's not afraid to use it on anyone who gets in his way. And, one of the additional real delights of this film is the sight of familiar British character actor Forrester Harvey. Harvey has one of the bigger roles of his career in this film as a sly art thief with a disarming comical manner. Harvey is immensely entertaining, his performance actually matching those of Smith and von Stroheim.
The film's title is a bit of a mystery inasmuch as the Scotland Yard investigator in the film is actually a rather minor (as well as colourless) character.
2.5 out of 4
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Kim was still a knockout when this film was made but whenever that demonic voice came out of her I kept thinking they could have used her in The Exorcist.
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I only watched the first three films in the series, seeing the first one at the show when it originally came out. That was enough for me.
I don't really have any favourite scenes in them though I did have a sense of relief when the words "The End" appeared.
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Wonder Bar, a 1934 pre Code musical comedy, has a murder which remains covered up at the end. Al Jolson likes the murderer and doesn't like the person killed so covers up the crime for a "happy" ending.
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52 minutes ago, kingrat said:
Sorry I missed both of those, Dargo, but Kay Francis was probably miffed that Florence Nightingale didn't get to wear the glamorous gowns Kay usually sported.
WHAT!?! I was looking forward to seeing Florence Nightingale slink into a hospital ward wearing an Orry-Kelly.
"Hello, everybody, I'm here to take your temperature. Which way do you prefer it?"
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8 hours ago, kingrat said:
George Brent seems much better than usual opposite Myrna Loy in Stamboul and opposite Barbara Stanwyck in The Gay Sisters and My Reputation.
And to that list i would add The Rains Came.
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17 minutes ago, Bogie56 said:
Tuesday, May 19
6 a.m. The Mad Genius (1931). With John Barrymore.
Barrymore has great dramatic flair in this one and Michael Curtiz's expressionist influenced visuals makes you wish that director had also been behind the camera when the Great Profile had previously played Svengali. There are drug transactions performed in pre Code shadows and a brief appearance early in the film by Boris Karloff. There's also the "excitement" of Donald Cook . . . but that's another story.
The ending is genuinely bizarre.
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Lightning Strikes Twice (1934)
Dumb but amiable comedy mystery starts promisingly with lightning, gun shots and a scream all heard in the first minute of the film. Soon two investigating cops, playing it more like Keystone Kops, both somehow wind up falling into the sewer system by a house where the gun shots were fired. They will spend most of the film there while, inside the house the next morning, we are introduced to Ben Lyon sleeping off a hangover in his bed. In that bed with him is pal Skeets Gallagher. We're not supposed to read anything into this sleeping arrangement as Ben is engaged to beautiful Thelma Todd and who is their right mind, unless drunk, would rather spend their bedtime with Skeets than Thelma?
The mystery elements of the story are soon replaced by broad comedy with a wide eyed guy who fired the shots hiding in various closets in the house (no one ever seems to spot him) while a couple of vaudeville performers, played by Walter Catlett and fan dancer Pert Kelton, are sleeping in another bedroom, trying to figure out how they can scam home owner Lyon whose car crashed into their's the night before. Meanwhile rich aunt Laura Hope Crews shows up at the home and somehow gets the impression that Kelton is Ben's fiancee, an impression which, for some inexplicable reason, he doesn't correct though it does lead to the usual mistaken identity comedy situations.
This RKO comedy moves at a brisk pace and runs barely more than an hour. Lyon is hopeless in this kind of farce and Thelma Todd, an often delightful comedienne, is sadly wasted in it. In a comedy that is, unfortunately, more frantic than funny, Catlett and Kelton remain the film's two bright spots. It's not surprising that five years later Crews would be cast as Aunt Pitty Pat in Gone With The Wind as she almost seems to be playing the same daffy role in this film.
Oh, yes, the film does brighten a bit towards the end when Fred Kelsey, who made a career of playing dumb detectives, turns up in the household to play, guess what, a dumb detective. You may not recognize the name but film buffs of '30s and '40s films sure will recognize the face. Chick Chandler also keeps popping up as an eager crime beat reporter who keeps yelling, "What a story! What a story!"
Fred Kelsey
This is the kind of little film that you'd like to give a higher rating because of the likability of the cast but the general lameness of the script prevents you from doing so. Nevertheless, should Lightning Strikes Twice turn up on TCM (which it has in the past though I have no idea how long ago) you could do worse than tune in to this time waster.
2 out of 4
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CNN White House Reporter Pamela Brown Is Phyllis George’s Daughter
https://heavy.com/news/2020/05/phyllis-george-daughter-pamela-brown-cnn/
Bridge on the River Kwai -- Scene That Makes No Sense?
in General Discussions
Posted
Yeh but the girls aren't hearing any words, are they? Their reaction doesn't make sense if they think Holden's dead. But if they think he might be alive it does make sense.