CaveGirl

Thanks, Cinemartian! "Ali: Fear Eats the Soul" is a good one. If you ever get a chance to see "Querelle" be sure to message me your feelings. It is quite interesting yet off the wall too. I'm sure many people hate it, but Brad Davis and Jeanne Moreau are always intriquing to watch.

Sepia, since you liked "Hawk" I have a collectible, signed by Burt that you would appreciate. Apparently a relative of mine, wrote a letter to the network when the show was cancelled protesting its demise. A few months later, she got a letter from Burt which was rather heartfelt detailing how networks don't have hearts but that he appreciated the efforts of fans to save the show. This letter was probably mass produced but it did have a real signature from Burt. I was given it since relatives know I'm a movie and tv fan and collector.

OMG! I love the scenes where they show close-ups of Kong's face. Also as a kid remember watching it with the neighborhood boys, who would clap every time Kong would eat someone, or take his foot/paw and rub out a native who was running for his life, into the ground. I guess we were all rather bloodthirsty. There was a certain humor to those scenes though that was evident, almost as if it was a comic Looney Tunes killing like Bugs Bunny would perpetrate. Thanks for the fine visual of Kong's dental work!

Plu!

Enjoyed reading your current take on "Hair", Tiki! My grandmother was friends with the mother and father-in-law of one of "Hair"s creators, called Jerome Ragni. She had worked in art departments with them during World War II. She remembered them coming to dinner once before the play was totally finished being developed for the stage, with them telling about how their then son-in-law was involved with this new play, but due to its counterculture nature and explicit topics and visuals they wondered if it would ever come to fruition on the stage. Thankfully it did and is still an interesting time capsule to view in the film.

Thanks, CigarJoe! Masterful review of differing factors from the book to the film versions. Many years ago after seeing most of the Hammett films I too took to reading the original books from which the films were adapted. It was instrumental in seeing that certain things were changed from the Hammett canon, and aided in understanding also some gaps in the film expositions. As for Moose Malloy, I like the Mike Mazurki portrayal, and think he brought a bit more dimension to the role than the later, Jack O'Halloran. Hollywood did seem to enjoy using former pugilists in parts such as this, like Jack and other contenders during the times of Mazurki would possibly be someone like Slapsy Maxie Rosenbloom, though he was a bit more comedic. Mazurki, though appearing in films to be daft, did have some sensitivity and innate intelligence which always showed though, and supposedly was little like his screen characters which were chosen based more on his appearance that inner qualities. I wonder if Max Baer, Senior could have been a good Moose Malloy?

Dang, how did I miss this monstrous good fun??? Loved your review as you hit on most important issues like who really can wear a turban well, separating all the siblings in the Young family, and the similarities between Wallace Ford and Lee Tracy, though I've always felt that Frank Albertson should also be a part of their triumvirate. This movie and the pics you show look right down my alley, so I'm getting out the Exacto blades and am in a state of depression that I missed this gem. Maybe I can find a copy in one of the many movie catalogues I've been receiving since they found out I was such a sucker and buy too many films. Loving seances, killers on the loose, old dark houses and all the accoutrements makes this one film I'm sad to have missed but at least your fab review has now brought it to my attention, so thanks, Lorna!

Yes, I think in films girth is often a very valuable commodity and being rotund can be useful in character development. Actors with a bit more adipose tissue can hold their own in scenes, much more than a body shaped like that of Don Knotts. There is one obvious starting point in coming to praise men [or women] of the XX-size in films, but I am going to forego the usual choice and say mine is...Thomas Gomez! Now in some films certain camera angles are used to intensify the largesse of the acting individual, but Gomez needs none of these shenanigans to make an impression on screen and to stand his ground and seem larger than life, with both voice and presence. I would probably watch any movie if I see his name in the early credits, since he is always viable, interesting and sometimes even a bit scary. But this attention to bringing a real personality to his parts, never is missing in his performances, at least to me. Though he's been in over 100 movies I think, and has some very important credits like in Polonsky's "Key Largo" my favorite of his parts is that of Leo Morse, as the brother of Joe Morse, as played by Garfield in "Force of Evil". He is menacing, and threatening but also shows the other side to his relationship with his brother, and perhaps this is one of his best showings due also to the fact that the movie itself is so well done. The ending still gets me, and the dialogue is sine qua non as to being literate and moving. So...I'll go with Thomas as my choice for Big Man on the Film Campus but who is your favorite larger than life choice, male or female for the Actor with Avoirdupois to Spare, who makes a giant impression on screen? P.S. James Mason from the film "Larger Than Life" will not be accepted as a choice sadly, since his oversized ego was caused by outside pharmaceutical compounds like cortisone.

Hmmm...Ann Sothern? Just a guess, or maybe Ann Sheridan, the Oomph Girl who has too much oomph for you possibly? This mystery is better than the Anonymous one. Don't worry about Bacall and making the lovers of Bogie and Baby disdain you. They are possibly just awed by Bacall's looks in early films and should listen to the dialogue exchanges and imagine they are coming from someone who looks like Judy Canova and they will see the light. I do like her later in her career though, as she matured.

Only one minute separated you two, Tom! Be proud...on Jeopardy you would have not won the money but here you have our utmost respect.

Oooh, great choices and I particularly love Percy, and Verree is fab too. Harry and Frank are super also but a bit more famous at least among film buffs. Thanks so much, Emily!

Perfect choice for my idea of unheralded actors. Someone who is almost a nonentity to the normal viewing audience but who brings verisimilitude to any film. Chester fits the bill superbly, and thanks, Tom!

I agree with you, Laffite about Bacall. But who is this "Ann" you've want to diss? I'm waiting...with bated breath.

Dargo, don't you think Sonny Tufts and Forrest Tucker should have played brothers in films? They look a lot alike, and seemed to get similar parts, but only Sonny went to Yale as I recall.

Of course we've all heard the Eagles singing "Hotel California" all pretty and such, with nice touches by Glenn Frey, but the first time I ever actually listened to the words was when as a joke, I bought the William Hung album, that had it on it. He's sour, he can't really sing, he mispronounces words and could even be tone deaf or just using a different tonal scale, but I gotta say, Hung's version of "Hotel California" is so eerie, creepy and frightening that...well, I just love it. I bet it's on Youtube for any who have missed the joy of owning the album. I also own William Hung's Christmas album, which also brings good cheer to the holidays, almost as much as hearing Hoss sing "Deck the Halls" on the Ponderosa Christmas album, which is a classic.

For fans, TCM will be showing "World on a Wire" from 1973, this upcoming Sunday [09/09/18] at very late night or if you prefer, early Monday [09/10/18] morning, since TCM ends days not at midnight. The plot is as follows: "A cybernetics engineer uncovers a conspiracy in a corporation specializing in virtual reality." I believe this was based on the novel, "Simulacron-3" which also served as the basis for a film from 1999, called "The Thirteenth Floor" which I've seen but don't remember much except that I really liked it when I first saw it. For Fassbinder fans, this might be a unique chance to catch it. I await the day that TCM decides to show his 15-hour long film, "Berlin Alexanderplatz". I know they've never shown "Querelle" and I know why, but am glad I own it on dvd, even though the giant posts in the wharf scenes that resemble other things unmentionable, still scare me a bit. Any personal thoughts about "World on a Wire" or other Fassbinder films you love or hate will be appreciated.

Dargo, first let me thank you for this lovely bit of film of Cornel galloping across the fields! After considerate exposure to the piece of film, and repeated viewings I have come to the conclusion that Cornel is mostly wearing flesh-colored undies. I think if you focus your eyes on a certain area, you will notice that unlike in reality, he has a flesh-colored frontal area which is unmarred by any projecting body parts, a bit like a Ken Doll. Now I do have experience in this field, since when I worked in advertising for a big department store, I got to proof all the men's underwear photos before they went to print in the big color mailer, and if there were any shadowy protrusions noted, I was to send the photos back to the air-brushing unit to remove such indicators of underthings, if you get my drift. Now it was hard work, but someone had to do it, and I feel no shame. I also noticed that if you watch carefully, that near the end where the guy shoots the spear or whatever at Cornel that as Wilde turns, you can see the edge of something black that he seems to be wearing, at a waist-high spot, which means he was probably not running in the altogether in most shots. Nevertheless, I do thank you for posting such a memorable adjunct to my nudist camp post, as it was enlightening and entertaining.

Troubled relationships?

Being a movie fan makes life so difficult, doesn't it, Looney? I sympathize with your "hoarding" since I used to save TV Guides for eons. Finally just went cold turkey and sold them all to some guy at the flea market. Some things I can't get rid of though, like my autographed photos of Richard Widmark and "In Cold Blood" movie poster, plus a signed poster from the Tapsters of "This is Spinal Tap". Glad to see you finally can see TCM and share with us your thoughts.

Congratulation, drednm!

Maybe the estate of Whit Bissell has some leftover Tribbles?

There are some wonderfully accurate choices here of "scenery chewing" actors, but they are all pikers compared to someone who is so not famous but chews up scenery, spits it out and then rolls his eyes and makes faces that one has to see to believe....Tod Slaughter! Now I know he is hardly famous, but I'd read about him for years in my film books and finally about ten years ago saw one of his films in some movie catalog I had. It was called "A Face at the Window" [1939] and supposedly was one of his most hammy performances over all his other most hammy performances so I bought it. I awaited the dvd anxiously and could barely wait to stick it in the player. The movie opens and this psychotic looking character is acting as if he is in some Victorian melodrama, which of course the real Tod Slaughter had been in his early acting days, and his behaviour is beyond belief. Another one of his most famous/infamous parts is in the 1930's film, "The Demon Barber of Fleet Street" which again has to be seen to be believed. I recommend any who enjoy over the top things to view some of his work on Youtube! Clever topic, Zea and I concur with all the previous choices of posters.

Can't wait to hear what you think of TLFT, speedracer. I'm a big fan of it and Scott as Jane Palmer gives new meaning to the term sociopath. The way she twists men like poor old Dan Duryea around her pinky is such fun to watch. I don't think Bacall could ever be as diabolical as Scott or as blood thirsty but be sure to tell us what you think after you watch your recording of it.

It also sounds like a Hershell Gordon Lewis movie, but they'd probably change the title to "Vice, Dice and Slice"! I look forward to a musical version of TBH, Lorna.

Great photo, Lorna! I would watch this movie for the umpteenth time, just to see Gloria stroll into Ford's crappy hotel room and survey it with distaste and say "Early nothing!"