TomJH
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Posts posted by TomJH
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I had heard that the Zodiac Killer may have been influenced by a killer called Dr. Zodiac, an other worldly egomaniacal master of disguise who terrorized Frisco, in Charlie Chan at Treasure island.
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Spartacus (1960)
Based on an historical uprising by slaves against Imperial Rome in 73 B.C., Spartacus is a film about freedom and men ready to die for that freedom against an autocratic government. The film has a superior cast, many of them delivering superb performances, a grand, detailed sweeping battle scene, and one of the most intelligent screenplays of any screen epic which makes this film stand apart from the others.
Kirk Douglas was both star and producer of this massive 12 million dollar production which had more than its share of troubles in coming to the screen. Douglas had conflicts with director Stanley Kubrick, co stars Laurence Olivier and Charles Laughton detested one another, Laughton was a general pain to work with, threatening producer Douglas with a law suit at one point, and Peter Ustinov was re-writing his scenes shared with Laughton causing screenwriter Dalton Trumbo to quit the production. Douglas placated Trumbo by telling the Hollywood Ten blacklisted screen writer that he would give him screen credit, a courageous act on his part which broke the Hollywood blacklist.
But all the troubles were worth it. Spartacus would be the biggest box office hit of 1960, winning Ustinov a best supporting actor Oscar. Kirk Douglas in, arguably, the best physical condition of his career, delivered a muscular yet, at times, sensitive performance in the title role of the film for which he is probably best remembered today.
Most film epics, often with the Bible for their origins, have happy or, at least, inspirational endings. Spartacus, based on history (though it plays loose with the facts on many occasions) has the courage to have a powerful downbeat ending. Trumbo’s screenplay does offer one positive note at the end, though.
Anthony Mann was the production’s original director and his graphic, well staged introduction to the film set in a giant rock quarry remains in the production. Mann was soon replaced, however, by producer Douglas with little known Stanley Kubrick (who hadn’t had any work since working with Douglas three years before in Paths of Glory). Kubrick would do a fine job on a production that he later disowned because he didn’t feel it had enough of his personal imprint on it. It seems a little ungrateful on his part as it would be the success of Spartacus that would propel this director to more Hollywood projects.
The British male cast members, all playing Romans, are flawless in their roles. These are the three actors, by the way, that were Douglas’ desired first picks for the parts. Laurence Olivier gives a complex portrayal as Crassus, the ambitious, ruthless Roman general with future aspirations towards dictatorship. A controversial “snails and oysters” scene later re-edited back into the film, provides evidence of Crassus’ bisexuality, as well.
Charles Laughton is in glorious full oratory mode as Gracchus, a wily Roman senator and political opponent of Crassus, while Peter Ustinov, playing Batiatus, an opportunistic and cowardly slave trader, gives a subtle, sly, immensely enjoyable performance that more than a few critics and fans have called the highlight performance in the film.
Not to be over looked, though, is lovely Jean Simmons as Varinia, a slave girl, sharing a number of sensitive scenes in the film with Douglas. Impressive small roles are filled by Woody Strode as Draba, a proud black slave that Spartacus must fight in one of the best remembered scenes in the film, and Charles McGraw as Marcellus, a former slave who won his freedom and now acts as trainer in a gladiator training school, ruling it with a firm and, at times, sadistic hand.
Only Tony Curtis as Antoninus, a “singer of songs,” seems somewhat out of place in this production, though Curtis does share the “snails and oysters” scene with Olivier, and his final scene in the film will be quite moving. Curtis’ casting in the film was due to pressure he had placed on Douglas to do so, which Kirk later admitted he did due to their friendship.
The gladiator training school scenes are among the very best in the film. We see the physical trials and athleticism demanded of the slaves recruited to this school and are introduced to a few key characters in the film. Among them is Varinia, the slave girl played by Simmons, who, among other things, along with some other female slaves, must sexually service the gladiators.
Adding immeasurably to the production is the sweeping musical score of Alex North. It captures the eeriness of the machine-like efficiency of battlefield maneuvers by Roman legions, as well as the soulful sensitivity of a lovely love theme. A particularly impressive moment is under the film’s opening titles in which Saul Bass’ memorable title design of a Roman statue’s face cracking and falling apart (symbolic of the fall of Rome) is accompanied by the discordant sounds of North’s score.
There is a scene in the gladiator school sequence in which Spartacus is seated on a bench along with the other gladiators in a break from the training as Varinia, whom he had briefly met and in whom he had taken a silent interest, is coming down the line with a water jug pouring its content into cups held by the gladiator slaves.
The night before Spartacus had been denied Varina’s company, as she was taken to the cell of another gladiator to “service” him. Spartacus had heard that gladiator laugh loudly when she was placed in his cell. Now she walks down the line approaching him as she serves water. No talking is allowed by the slaves or the penalty could be a lash across the face.
But as Varinia pours a drink into Spartacus’ cup he leans forwards and whispers to her, “Did he hurt you?” She looks at him in surprise at the question, quietly answering “No” before continuing down the line, glancing back at him.
It’s a touching small moment of sensitivity as two lonely souls make a connection with one another in a harsh, oppressive environment in which they, as slaves, are forced to live. It’s also a scene which illustrates why this epic stands above most others of its kind because, along with its spectacle and impressive recreation of the Roman era, Spartacus is also a film with characters with whom we can connect.
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3 minutes ago, misswonderly3 said:
Again, I don't want to get into a big discussion at this time about "The Big Sleep" (I'd rather talk about "Ride the Pink Horse"), but I have to take issue with you're claiming you omitted Agnes on the grounds that you were only including "the most glamourous" ladies in the film. Agnes, say what you will about her, is pretty "glamourous"; and shirley more so than that taxi driver you included, cute though she may be.
It's all in the eye, MissW, it's all in the eye.
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Meet the 92-year-old New York woman who once starred with Bogart
https://nypost.com/2016/02/17/meet-the-92-year-old-actress-recluse-who-once-starred-with-bogart/
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14 minutes ago, misswonderly3 said:
I realize I'm responding to a post made 2 months ago --sorry, guess I'm catching up a bit here.
Anyway, I know we were talking about "The Big Sleep" way back in January, and I don't want to get us all started on it again. Still, I couldn't help but notice, Tom, that although you say you post these pics "in honour of the ladies in "The Big Sleep" ", you omit one of the most important ones, the one and only Agnes. Seems like quite an oversight. How come?
"I never get any breaks, not even on this thread."
Well, I guess I was thinking of the most glamourous female participants in The Big Sleep when I posted this, MissW.
But before you call me (or, at least, think me) a superficial pig, I made another post on this thread around the same time that was exclusively devoted to the unbilled Sonia Darrin who played Agnes (and very well indeed) in a couple of scenes in the film. But, in retrospect, you're right. I should have included her in this post, as well. The lady deserves it, especially as she is the only cast member of the film who is capable of reading this thread today. She's 95.
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He has only two scenes in the film and literally just one word of dialogue but Juano Hernandez's character's son (played the the actor's own son, Juan) in THE BREAKING POINT leaves a lasting impression of vulnerability for a heart breaking film finale.
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10 minutes ago, spence said:
All always say that WALT DISNEY is interred closest to TRACY, bt FLYNN is even close-(same wall) & for some reason for yrs Ida Lupino hid the fact she's laid to rest right nxt to FLYNN, now it's easy to see
I bet Lupino wasn't revealing a lot of stuff after she was laid to rest.
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This thread was created almost seven years ago but for fans of the three Warner Brothers tough guy stars there is still a lot of information and interesting comment made about them here.
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Make that three in a row for Errol Flynn.
Before his self destructiveness got the best of him he had the guts to live his life to its fullest. He was an actor, a writer, a sailor, a real life adventurer who saw much of the world.
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55 minutes ago, laffite said:
I've just watch two movies in succession that have a remarkably similar scene. There is a particularity involved which constitutes a veritable coincidence. It involves that famous house that was used over and over again (by Warner Brothers, I think), the one with the winding staircase. In each of these movies, a male actor has been stuck down on this staircase,ending up sprawled in the same place, about three steps from the bottom. In one movie, the man is dead; in the other, he is not dead. Dare I leave it that, for the time being, and ask if anyone would like to hazard a guess what these two movie are? Both have had recent viewings on TCM. I'm going to post on each of these shortly. One of them I liked beyond words and featured perhaps the greatest (i.e. most enjoyable) performance I have ever seen on screen. The other, probably the more famous of the two, is not a favorite. Here is a hint. One has Claude Raines, the other Kirk Douglas. Any ideas?
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Woody Strode as Draba in SPARTACUS.
He has only a handful of scenes in the film, with a couple of lines of dialogue, but Strode makes a huge impression as a slave who refuses to kill Spartacus when he gets the drop on him in hand to hand combat in the ring, throwing his strident in protest, instead, at his Roman "masters" looking for a blood entertainment, paying for his act of defiance with his life. Woody was not only a magnificent looking physical specimen when this film was made but he brings a quiet dignity to his role, as well.
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I had the same problem trying to find an old thread and missed the existence of the topic search field which has been deleted with the latest software update.
This may be a long shot but if, by chance, you know the name of the poster who created the thread you can click on that poster's name (assuming you find it on the boards) and when you are taken to that poster's profile then click on "See Their Activity" and a list of their entries on the boards will appear. It can still be a long search going through that list (especially if the poster posts a lot) but it may prove to be faster than scrolling through the pages of a forum, especially if you're not certain of the forum in which the thread had appeared.
You can also do the same thing by clicking on the name of any poster you recall participating in the thread you want.
It's a shame that TCM did away with the "topic search" with the latest software showing the "improved" does not always go with "new."
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7 minutes ago, Dargo said:
LOL
Yep, definitely not the Blanche who relied on the kindness of strangers alright, Tom.
(...btw, after Bogie suggested Blanche in this thread yesterday, I also thought of Edna May's performance in this same film...but didn't think of the funny way you'd include her here)
I haven't seen A Tale of Two Cities in a few years but, if I remember correctly, they speeded up the motion for some reason when Blanche and Edna took that roll on the floor together, making the scene all the more memorable.
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1 hour ago, laffite said:
You may or may not be aware that Harlow passed away during filming and those profile shots were stand ins.
It feels like ghoulish sport trying to spot Mary Dees, Harlow's stand-in, in Saratoga. Sometimes it's easier such as when those binocular are never taken away from her face in the scene below. A voice double had to do Jean in the Dees scenes.
Mary without the binoculars
Jean's death resulted in this minor racetrack comedy being one of the biggest box office hits of 1937. One of my favourite scenes is when Hattie McDaniel participates in a song, The Horse With The Dreamy Eyes, aboard a train, getting to show off her personality as much as a strong singing voice.
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8 hours ago, Bogie56 said:
Blanche Yurka as Madame Terese Defarge in A Tale of Two Cities (1935).
And, of course, never to be forgotten is the unexpected eroticism of the scene in which Blanche rolls on the floor with Edna May Oliver.
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1 minute ago, Dargo said:
Yeah, and from what I hear, the actor also owed many of his fellow golfer an apology while out on the links with them too.(...where do you think that term came from anyway?!...they don't call it a "Custer", ya know)
What, did golfers on the links see Mulligan golf balls coming at them the way Custer saw arrows coming at him?
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3 hours ago, NipkowDisc said:
I always thought it was custer.
2 hours ago, Dargo said:Yeah, so did I.
(...but with a capital "C"!)
1 hour ago, Bethluvsfilms said:LOL you are right....my apologies to the late General Custer.
Beth, it's Mulligan who owes
CustardCuster an apology. 😉-
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1 hour ago, Det Jim McLeod said:
Along the Great Divide (1951)
Kirk Douglas disliked making this film (even though he enjoyed westerns as a genre), In particular he hated working with Raoul Walsh whom he called a "brutal man." Kirk would later write, "Walsh loved violence, I was disgusted one day to see him get excited almost to the point of **** while watching a dangerous stunt in which a stunt man almost got killed. I could see his sexual glee, watching the stunt man almost kicked in the head as he ran though a stable of kicking horses." The intensity of Douglas' dislike of this director is surprising, especially considering the legion of actors who enjoyed working with Walsh, some of them becoming friends in the process.
Take Kirk's leading lady, Virginia Mayo, for example. She would work with the director four times, become good friends with his wife and years later attend a college campus interview that Walsh attended discussing his career.
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Dom LeLuise in Adventure of Sherlock Holmes` Smarter Brother. Gene Wilder`s confused period comedy is a huge disappointment, considering the talent involved, but DeLuise`s broad portrayal of a hammy Italian actor is a joy, with his face fight scene with Leo McKern in which he bites McKern`s nose a highlight.
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Gene Tierney and Dana Andrews were co-starred on four occasions in their careers (there was actually a fifth film, as well, but I don't think they shared any scenes in that one). They aren't remembered for any of those films except one but that doesn't matter. Fans recall them with affection for Laura. There's something haunting about the idea of a man falling in love with a woman through her portrait hanging on a wall. Through Dana Andrews' stoic portrayal Otto Preminger helped the actor send out hints that this hard nosed detective was also capable of feelings of private longing. Gene Tierney's elegance and warm patrician beauty, at a peak when the production was made, adds to the appeal of a film about murder among the chic and sophisticated of upper class society.
The exquisite art direction and photography bring a luminous glow to the proceedings. And, adding in no small way to the romantic appeal of this noirish tale, are the memorable strains of David Raksin's haunting musical score playing in the background throughout. The result, director Preminger's finest moment in the movies and a murder mystery to be remembered for its touch of class.
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9 minutes ago, laffite said:
I don't doubt that ... I just thought he looked uncomfortable, somewhat not with it ... as if actor drawn out of retirement or something and having lost earlier good form. I'm not saying that was the case with him, but as if ... . I saw the frailty and imperfection in the actor, not the character. But as i recall, I picked up the movie (this most recent showing) on route and therefore my judgement might be skewed for not having watched from the beginning. I might then have been clued into character more and not therefore blamed the actor. He did seem a bit lost amid all the fracas, as you point out. The movie overall is entertaining and has its satirical bent but all the screaming rants are too much, for me anyway.
There's a sadness about Holden's performance that I find affecting. He's older and he's vulnerable but he's not happy with the television world his character lives in (as well as his own insecure philandering with a younger woman with whom he has nothing in common) but, as I said, he also represents decency in the film. Holden did not age well, as we know, and was only five years from the end when he made Network but, for me, this performance was one of his last hurrahs as an actor. Maybe Holden does appear a bit lost because of his sadness but that doesn't mean he isn't effectively cast. Holden is a human being full of frailties in this film and that, for many, will make him the one person in this film with whom the audience can connect.
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21 minutes ago, Dargo said:
Well, I'll at least give ya Mulligan's portrayal of The Boy General is 180 degrees from the one your boy Errol turned in a few decades earlier anyway, Tom.
(...still say I enjoyed it within the context of the film, and as I always also have Mr. Flynn's within the context of his film)
I can see the point that some are making about Mulligan's performance being appropriate to the film. I saw Little Big Man at the theatre when it first came out. I enjoyed so much of the film, from Hoffman's performance to Dunaway's and, of course, the quiet dignity and gentle humour brought to the film by Chief Dan George. But even in that darkened theatre when Mulligan started his over the top mugging as Custer I was curling my lips in disdain.
It's interesting that you mentioned the Flynn film since They Died With Their Boots On was the first film length film any studio produced about Custer, though his character had appeared in a few earlier westerns. It is, of course, a highly fictionalized romantic portrait which only superficially touches on history. By the time that Little Big Man was released 30 years later revisionist history was in and people felt free to attack former idols and portray Custer as a buffoon (who, let's face it, militarily blundered at the Little Big Horn).
No one will regard either film as history. Perhaps a more accurate portrayal of Custer, warts and all, will come out in the future.
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6 minutes ago, laffite said:
Howard Beale could at least holler with the best of them. That whole movie was a hollerfest. I saw it as a acting competition to find who could overdo it the most without coming across as blithering blowhard. And of all Beale wins. His rants were really quite good and convincing. Others did not fare so well, they seemed forced and out of range of the actor who seemed to be reaching for something that wasn't quite there. Peter Finch was really quite good in that film. Others not so much but probably ok. Except for Mr Holden, who looked lost throughout the whole thing. IMO.
I found Dunaway to be a caricature but Holden represented a sense of decency amidst the insanity. Finch may have had a showier role with the bigger scenes but Holden, with its aging frailties and imperfections, was still the character with whom the audience can identify. For my money, Holden's contribution to Network was crucial.
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1 hour ago, Dargo said:
Yeah, I suppose I can kind'a see this, Tom.
And I know many of the more, let us say "traditionalist" out there especially didn't care too much for Mulligan's rendition of Custer in this movie either, and felt it almost "sacrilegious" in a way, but I always enjoyed it, anyway.
(...but then again, you know what an iconoclast I can be sometimes, don't ya)
I see that you have some Richard Mulligan supporters here, Dargo, so, as they say, over-the-top ham is all in the eye of the beholder. Little Big Man doesn't claim to be history, of course, but it's portrait of Custer as a raving lunatic at the Little Big Horn is such an extreme slap to history that I found it irritatingly insulting. For my money it was pretty unfunny, too, at least in that portion. But, as I said before, I have enjoyed Mulligan in other efforts but here I had a problem (probably with the script as much as his performance, to be fair).
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I Just Watched...
in General Discussions
Posted
What if those letters from the macho General included lines like, "And I just loved wearing those frilly little dresses of yours, Eleanor. I could really relax in them."