CaveGirl
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Posts posted by CaveGirl
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16 hours ago, sewhite2000 said:
Jakeem was kind enough to send me a PM rather than calling me out publicly, but now I feel obliged to give full disclosure: I forgot Sigourney Weaver was not the only "girl"in Alien, but Veronica Cartwright was also part of the Nostromo crew, all of whom get slaughtered except for Sigourney.
I'm not super-knowledgeable on Cartwright's career, but every movie I've ever seen her in, dating all the way back to The Birds when she was like eleven, she played a screaming hysteric. I hope sometimes she gets a SUTS day where we can just sit back and watch her scream for 24 hours.
I think Veronica is always screaming because as cute as her younger sister, Angela was, Veronica was the true talent in the family. She was in those Twilight Zone episodes with the robot grandmother, from the "I Sing the Body Electric" Ray Bradbury story and of course, "The Birds" and so many other things but yet cute little Angela got the long term role as Danny Thomas's daughter, on "Make Room for Daddy" and it probably made poor Veronica want to scream. Just like Billy Chapin from "The Night of the Hunter" was always jealous of little sister, Lauren for getting the plum role as Kitten on "Father Knows Best". Well, just my take and thanks for the info on "Alien"!
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19 hours ago, jakeem said:
Grimaldi's daughter in the 1981 animated sci-fi film "Heavy Metal" outlasts Loc-Nar, a glowing interstellar orb that calls itself "the sum of all evils." I won't spoil it for those who haven't seen the movie, but the frightened young girl goes on to discover her true calling.
Lordie be, I've seen that movie eons ago and remember nothing from it. But I shall take your word and I look forward to seeing it again and thinking about if it fits the genre. Thanks so much, Jakeem!
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On 5/23/2018 at 9:09 AM, Det Jim McLeod said:
Very few Golden Age movies had "high body counts" so it's rare you see a bunch of murder victims and one survivor.
I think "And Then There Were None" (1945) might quality, a bunch of people guilty of something get knocked off, but nice girl June Duprez survives. That's different from the ending of the book, however.
Love that Agatha Christie movie but as you say, not true to book. Wasn't the one called "Ten Little Indians" with Hugh O'Brian and Shirley Eaton true to the original book? Still can't believe that Fabian was in an Agatha Christie inspired film!
Thanks for your thoughts on Golden Age body counts and such, Detective Jim.
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On 5/23/2018 at 7:26 AM, Marysara1 said:
What about Flareup .It's about a stripper (1969) Raquel Welch played the stripper.
I've not seen this film, Marysara but I'm very intriqued now from your tip to see it. By the way, was this before or after James Stacy's motorcycle accident I wonder?
Thanks for your information on this movie which could put it into this genre! -
On 5/23/2018 at 4:20 AM, sewhite2000 said:
Sigourney Weaver was the only "girl" in Alien, as well as the final survivor, but that was a year after Halloween. Hmmm ...
Oh, I thought of one. The girl who's the only survivor in The Texas Chainsaw Massacre.
Right on about Sigourney fitting the bill, SEW.
"The Texas Chainsaw Massacre" is the only film which gave me a nosebleed! It is actually quite interesting that there is really no serious bloodletting in it but just the suggestion. That one guy they picked up in the van, named Edmond or something still gives me the creeps!
Correction: Edwin Neal was his name and being creepy was his game. -
On 5/15/2018 at 6:25 PM, Dargo said:
True, quite often.
However, in the case of High Noon, one of its attributes and a reason it is so highly regarded is because it steers clear of being didactic.
(...hence my use of the word "subtly" in an earlier post of mine to you)
I've always thought Dargo's posts are way too didactic and need to be expurgated.
I really don't come here to learn anything which should be obvious.-
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On 5/22/2018 at 8:34 PM, kingrat said:
I'll nominate Jason Robards, Jr. as Brutus in Julius Caesar. Robards doesn't have the first clue about how to act in Shakespeare, and he appears to be hungover and reading his lines off cue cards. This was the first time I had ever seen Robards, and it took a while for me to realize that he was adequate or better when appropriately cast.
Then there's Ryan O'Neal in Barry Lyndon, hopelessly out of his depth except for a couple of scenes. It's the only movie I've ever seen where the supporting actors get more close-ups than the star, because they can act and he can't.
And speaking of Ali McGraw: no one who saw Candice Bergen in The Sand Pebbles, a very pretty girl who could not act her way out of a paper bag, would ever have believed that she would become a polished comic actress on Murphy Brown. At the time, Pauline Kael quipped that if Candice Bergen and Ali McGraw had an acting contest, Ali McGraw would win. Ouch! Bergen must have put in a great deal of hard work, so good for her.
Whoa, Nellie! I love anyone going out on a limb and criticizing someone like Jason Robards, Jr. since he is usually a fine actor. I've really not remembered this performance so look forward to finding it to view, since I love to see bad acting. As you say, in well cast roles, Robards is usually exceptional but of course being "hungover" could be a hindrance.
Now as you say, I was rather surprised when Kubrick chose the star of Peyton Place for this historic style role. The film was beautiful with all those innovative candle-lit scenes and O'Neal looked ravishing but yeah, his acting was maybe not up to par. Kind of like having an American actor play Robin Hood with a Brooklyn accent. So agreed on that one.
Oh, yes now you are getting in gear, with the Candice Bergen critique as she really stunk too in those days. Looked great like MacGraw but couldn't act to save her head from being offed. Never believable and seemed stiff as a board and better acting came from her father, Edgar's dummies like Charlie McCarthy and by the way speaking of talent, what kind of ventriloguist is famous from doing his routines on the radio? Don't write in and tell me he did appear in movies and vaudeville with the same dummies, as I know that, people of TCM! But I digress, so I agree wholeheartedly that Bergen's real talent lay in comedy and she really did improve tremendously in that field and is good in her humorous acting mode.
Couldn't thank you more for such a dead on assessment, Kingrat!-
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On 5/22/2018 at 7:50 PM, TopBilled said:
Ali MacGraw appeared on the highest rated season of Dynasty as a special guest star.
She was brought in to interact with John Forsythe's character.
I thought her acting was fine.
I'll be honest, TB and say I missed that. So are you saying Ali was improving or just up to the regular quality of the acting in "Dynasty"?
I wonder if I can find a bit of it on Youtube to check out? You know I value your opinion but then we also know you are a lot nicer and kinder than I...though still very discriminating in general. Thanks for your input, TB! -
On 5/22/2018 at 7:37 PM, Fedya said:
I'm always reminded of the Word of Mouth piece he did, talking about Goodbye, Mr. Chips and how he can't sing. Cut to a scene of him "singing" Where. Did. My. Child. Hood. Go? and some horrid tinkling piano background music.
I've never seen anything else from the movie, but I can't forget that scene.
Love that interview with O'Toole and just saw it again the other day. His self effacing manner is instructive and proves the really talented people do not have giant egos as if they are proficient in everything. His singing really is horrid and memorably excruciating to watch, Fedya. Thanks for your, as always, elucidating thoughts!
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On 5/22/2018 at 11:42 PM, Vautrin said:
Of course it wasn't a big screen flat TV, but perfectly acceptable for the time. In defense of dear
old mom, from certain angles and not watching too closely, I can see a slight resemblance. I never
thought that Falk looked like Garfield, but next time I see him on screen I'll check it out.
Yeah, I guess at a certain angle, Bronson could look a bit like Garfield. In fact, if one watches old kinescopes even a young Elvis on the Ed Sullivan show could look like Garfield, with all those wavy lines undulating and getting thinner and fatter as he sings.
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On 5/21/2018 at 10:01 AM, spence said:
To CaveGirl, why not?
Ah, gee...do I have to answer that, Spence?
Let's see...I think his visage is too big for a postage stamp maybe. -
1 hour ago, NipkowDisc said:
that's the most repulsive nun I ever saw...
and I'm not talking about the gun.
Apparently you did not attend my grade school where Sister Justine ruled the roost and looked a lot like Karloff, Nip!
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Technically that would be, Wally Cox, Marvin Kaplan or Arnold Stang.
Who is your favorite nebbish or dweeb in films, and I mean those terms in the most appreciative and kindly way.
Please give your reasons in essay form and feel free to nominate any other "dweebs" that you think are ignored in polls.
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That scene in "Send Me No Flowers" where he can hardly get out of that tiny sportscar makes me laugh just thinking about it. He was also a real he-man in "Cheyenne" which was one of my dad's favorite Western shows. So sorry to hear he has died. Thanks for the update.
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There are some movies that operate below the surface with an inside joke mentality, that many in the audience just don't get. I would say the Brits are really good at making such films, as they have that sly humor that will create April Fool's Day broadcasts like when the BBC had a presentation about spaghetti trees, and their production of cooked noodles hanging on trees.
I feel so sorry for those who just don't get the joke and actually believe such tongue in cheek films are not parodies but are being presented as straightforward films.Now some great tongue in cheek films might be called "Mockumentaries" as they spoof real films like Dylan's "Don't Look Back" or other rock documentaries like "This is Spinal Tap" about one of my favorite British bands. Though I was too young to enjoy the works of this band during their heyday when they produced songs like "Stonehenge" I still revere seeing this film pay tribute to their great comeback in the early 1980's. Sure some like John, Paul and George, or Mick or even Jimmy and Eric, but for me the best British Invasion group has to be the one with David St. Hubbins, Nigel Tufnel and Derek Smalls. If only I had been there to see them when they got stuck in their pods at their peak or even when they played below the Puppet Show at that military base, which was akin to one of the worst episodes of VHI's show "Behind the Music", I could die a happy camper. Well, I guess all I'm saying is, that some dummies can't tell the difference between a real documentary or movie like TIST and a spoof or takeoff of a film genre or type, and they have my sympathy.
Name your favorite tongue in cheek film and extra points if it was not made in the UK!
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Or the Girl Who Cried Wolf?
Or the Girl Who Worked for Harvey Weinstein?
Not sure...can I get back to you on this? -
I love this topic and want it to show up on the first page so more people answer.
Unfortunately my addled brain cannot think of any footage that I can describe properly to add to the thread currently. That's why I want others to post here so I can revel in their descriptions.
Guess my brain is lax today...
Great topic, Slayton!-
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26 minutes ago, TopBilled said:
Oh I don't like hearing/reading that about her. She's one of my favorite actresses from the 1930s and 1940s.
In a way I don't care if people were hard to get along with. I'm hard to get along with sometimes. It's the quality of the work I care about more than anything else.
It is only interesting to me also, in the idea of a person being in such a dichotomy to their onscreen image. I actually care mostly for the work, not the person's personal status, unless of course they've tortured and killed little puppies or spit in salad bars, which would turn me off to their films.
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We've all seen in it horror films. In slasher and exploitation films, particularly with teenage participants, the Final Girl is the one female who is empowered above all the others to best the male oppressor.
One might say this hierarchy begins with Laurie Strode in "Halloween" but I'm curious of among the scholarly film fans here if anyone can come up with earlier examples in films. For my part, I might propose Kim Hunter in "The Seventh Victim" as a possible prototype of this concept, in some ways.
I really look forward to any examples from earlier films from the Golden Age of Hollywood, or is the Final Girl idea truly a latter day concept invented by Carpenter and carried on by other horror film directors totally? Name the best portrayals of a Final Girl on film and any earlier examples predating "Halloween". -
On 5/20/2018 at 5:20 PM, Swithin said:
Patricia Morison, perhaps most famous as the original Lilli Vanessi in Kiss Me Kate, has died aged 103. The remarkably versatile actress, who was born in New York City in 1915, appeared in many films, including the Sherlock Holmes film Dressed to Kill, in which she played the villain. Later in life, she devoted herself to painting.
Here she is singing one of Broadway's great love songs: "So in Love" from Kiss Me Kate.
She was pretty good as Spider Woman in the Holmes film, and will be missed.
Addendum: A very smart friend of mine here has mentioned to me that though Patricia resembled the Spider Woman looks of Gale in the Sherlock film, she was not really playing Spider Woman. Sorry for the confusion. Whoever Patricia played in that film with Basil, she was superlative as a female villain to be regaled. Thanks, Swithin!-
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On 5/20/2018 at 1:08 AM, slaytonf said:
Doctors have a prominent position in movies. That's not surprising, considering the role they play in society. And they naturally manifest in all manner of ways, from selfless idealist to self-serving sell-out. One way Hollywood characterizes doctors, as importantly if not as frequently as others, is as the alcoholic/atheist/alienate. I can't account for why this is so. You might think that the atheism comes from their science background. But I don't know of scientists in other fields being portrayed like that. Neither do they show up as alcoholics--mad maybe, aims of global domination maybe, but not alcoholic. These types (always men), their sardonic world view and detached cynicism oddly contrasting with the intrinsic humanitarianism of medicine, act as the foil for the hero or events in the movie in order to confound their atheism and validate religion and the agency of faith. A good example to see this dialectic play out is in Angel and the Badman (1947), but there are no shortage of examples.
My favorite film doctor is of course, Doctor Praetorius from "The Bride of Frankenstein".
I don't think he was an alcoholic, since his hands would be too shaky to work with those people he miniaturized, but he might have been an atheist, since he seemed more into cigars as a vice and didn't mind playing god. -
23 hours ago, TopBilled said:
Tuesday May 22, 2018
Sylvia Sidney on TCM
STREET SCENE with Beulah Bondi
FURY with Spencer Tracy
ONE THIRD OF A NATION with Leif Erickson
THE WAGONS MUST ROLL AT NIGHT with Humphrey Bogart
Ya know, TB I love her in movies but have heard she was one of the nastiest women in films and was mostly hated. I always think of that when I see her playing all those sweet roles with that angelic face and wonder if it is true. If you end up like Dorian Gray starting to look like the way you've actually lived, then maybe it is true because she was a rather nasty looking older woman and certainly not sweet looking like Spring Byington.
But I still thank you so much for showcasing her movies and I appreciate all the daily work you do here for everyone, to keep us apprised of what good films are being shown weekly! -
On 5/20/2018 at 9:58 AM, Sepiatone said:
I'm surprised there wasn't any preceding, and yet still no complaints by some in here (who seem to like to) that often complain about TCM being "political" ( and only seem to make that complaint when some movie seems to have, in their view, a "liberal" viewpoint, otherwise they keep quiet) today with their presentation of 1938's YOU CAN'T TAKE IT WITH YOU, the film treatment of the HART/KAUFMAN play and directed by FRANK CAPRA.
Why, although this movie became a BELOVED American classic, it's STILL jam packed with a lot of what some might say is a lot of pro socialist, "liberal" (and possibly pro Christian/pro constitutional) palaver about "everybody deserves to live", and "All are worthy of living a dignified existence" and the almighty dollar NOT being all that important to a worthwhile life.
Why, I'm SHOCKED that anyone that considers themselves to be "good" Americans would sit still for this movie EVER being shown, or even them sitting down to watch and enjoy it!
Sepiatone
I met Frank Capra once at a seminar. He was being lauded as an American institution but I think all true film fans know that he was not so nice to Harry Langdon and tried to take credit for his success in films. I wanted to confront Capra about this, but was way too young to do so as we shook hands. I applaud you, Sepia for putting the eye on some questionable socialistic tendencies in his works. Of course we could attribute some of the things to be looked at askance in the film, due to the involvement of that Kaufman influence, and just ask Mary Astor about her affair with him if you want some real dirt. Their love letters almost started a fire in court, when read back in the day.
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One of my favorite girls with guns movies is Robert Altman's mysterious "3 Women" with Shelley Duvall, Sissy Spacek and Janice Rule.
The scenes with Pinky Rose out at the ranch and its shooting range, are just about as bizarre as the artwork at the bottom of the swimming pool at the apartment complex.
Only a person of your calibre could have come up with such a great topic, TB!-
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The Final Girl Concept
in General Discussions
Posted
Oooh, good one, Dargo! Remember that creepy eyeball always looking through the keyhole at Dorothy.
Yes, the fact too that she was supposedly mute and helpless does fit into the Final Girl concept of seeming weak yet overcoming the outwardly powerful male protagonist.
Thanks!