Vautrin

1) You shoulda sapped both guys in the jewelry store and then the alarm wouldn't have been set off. 2) Ever hear of a bullet proof vest, anyone? 3) When Widmark is seen in profile, as in the early scene with Vic in the cell and in a few other scenes, he reminds me of Redgrave's dummy in Dead of Night.

I don't doubt that, but Falcon pictures weren't a star making proposition as far as I know. That was her picture just before The Big Sleep. There were a few good roles after that, but she never became a star, which is okay, just kind of sad. -Nod if you're over 18. -Months or years?

I hadn't thought about it before, but aside from her role in The Big Sleep she doesn't seem to stick in my mind very much, though she was good in The Burglar. Maybe her career was mismanaged or maybe it was just bad luck. I don't know enough about her to say. Whatever the reason, it is sad she didn't have more of an impact in movies. There'll always be Carmen. I'm surprised Bogie didn't take the thumb out of her mouth to check for baby teeth.

Absolutely, though afterwards it had to be a bring down to know why she did it. She certainly did mature in the space of eleven years. Lost that jail bait look. Thumb? Nope not going there.

Dan also should have replaced the painting that covered the safe, though time was getting tight, though Sister Sarah didn't seem very alert to her surroundings, maybe because she was on an astral plane after turning off the TV. And how disappointed he must have been when he learned, by eaves- dropping, that Martha Vickers didn't seduce him because he was a hunk but because it was part of the plan to get the necklace. Ouch, that must have hurt.

Judas Priest.

This pic was a notch or so above the usual heist film, though the preparations for the heist didn't take as long as it does in some of the other films with similar plots. And the criminals in this caper were pretty stoopid. Take a sap and knock the old dame out so the burglery won't be discovered right away. Ski masks, ever hear of them dumb dumb? And park farther away from the scene of the crime, loser. And don't dis Capell's acting. He was the only guy who kept his eye on the prize while the other two nitwits were busy playing with themselves. Imagine Dan's surprise when Jayne told him she had had the hots for him for a long time. Well, if she was so obsessed with him, why not stroll into his bedroom one night and let her wares be on display. I'm sure he would have reacted favorably. But noooo. These clowns got everything they deserved. Personally, I would have gone to Wildwood instead of Atlantic City. It looked okay here, but by the early 1970s, what a dump. Last and least, don't be too disappointed with Sister Sarah because she chugalugged from a beer bottle. Some of the greatest seers of the 20th century did the same.

I saw Mr. Soft Touch a few months ago on YT. It starts out okay but gets gooier as it goes along. Sort of a second-rate version of The Lemon Drop Kid, though I guess The Lemon Drop Kid is a better version of Mr. Soft Touch, since Mr. Soft Touch came first.

I seem to remember reading that in certain circumstances the Sally Army would hire bell ringers. Wonder if they were paid a straight salary or a percentage of the take.

I know the merchants of Hendersonville will use any excuse to gin up some downtown parade so folks will purchase their overpriced junk, and I'm sure it's the same all over. As an adult, they never seemed very Christmasy to me. I'm a big Beatles fan and have most of their American records on vinyl and most of their British records on CDs. Guilty as charged, but to each their own. I've seen IAWL so many times that I now watch it if I feel like it and skip it otherwise. Yes it is super sappy, but there are those few scenes where Jimmy looks like he's about to go pyscho. I like most of the other Christmas movies, but once a year is fine. Coincidence. I'm listening to Christmas carols and Lennon's song was just on followed by Eartha Kitt's version of Santa Baby.

I think in the annals of teenage misdemeanors what you did wasn't too bad, though if I was the older sister I'd be angry too. I've never thought to check on the value of my 45. It really wasn't a hit in the U.S. so it may be a bit more rare than other, more popular Lennon singles. I'll have to check it out. The record itself is in good condition, though the black Apple sleeve is a bit worn. The song is credited Ono-Lennon. I have a Dali ashtray that was made for an Air India contest from the early 1970s. My father gave it away to someone who admired it, though it's not conventionally "pretty." I threw a fit and got it back. I had forgotten about it, but surfing through the net, today is the 40th anniversary of Lennon's assassination. Wish I hadn't seen that.

I still have my copy of Lennon's Christmas song, complete with green vinyl. The proper title of the song is HAPPY XMAS (War Is Over). I give half a thumbs down to Christmas parades. I know they're meant mostly for kids and their parents, which is fine, but Santa riding in a fire truck with local "celebrities" following in vintage cars to just lame, especially if it's not that cold out.

Beer with pie? Get outta here, man. I noticed that we see Ruth or her twin sister earlier in the movie when Steve hits town and sees her walking down the street and lets his peepers follow her. That's when she is a brunette. I've seen this one two or three times before and always enjoy it, especially the familiar two kids, though older kids, on the run theme. Usually the two kids start out in love, but in this case they're like the bickersons at the beginning and then, in that good old Hollywood tradition, discover that they really love one another, like a modern romcom. And like two hippies, they leave the dirty old city to get back to the country. I didn't mind the happy ending. These two deserved it.

Well, judging from that short excerpt, The Sea Creature plays like Chekhov compared to She Demon, which would be a perfect candidate for MST 3000. I forgot to mention that the visual quality of the upload on You Tube is awful, but that seems to go with the all-around awfulness of the film itself.

I could only get those two brief paragraphs, but I'm sure the Wiki article has some good info and sources for further reading. I seem to recall that PM Harold Wilson sued The Move for libel/slander for some reason and he won the suit. I don't think they ever tried to hide the fact that they were partly influenced by the Sgt. Pepper-era Beatles. I did buy the first ELO album with the later Move line-up of Roy Wood, Jeff Lynne, and Bev Bevan as the only members. I know Bevan stayed with ELO for a fairly long time. The guy on the bottom right looks like Neil Young, though it isn't of course. The Move produced some very fine and sometimes weird pop songs for sure.

Yep. The Move was one of those English groups I read about when I was a teenager, but their music wasn't heard very much in the U.S. It was only much later that I bought some Move CDs. This is a minor point, but the album covers I have are pretty ugly, not that has anything to do with the music inside.

I really couldn't recall if they did. I seem to remember there were hints of a little harmless semi-nakedness. I did kind of hope they would get together, but alas it was not to be. It is on the depressing side, certainly not one of those Hallmark goofests. And very well done. The winter weatherscape is charming on one side, but all that cold is a bit depressing on the other.

She Devil (1957) Mari Blanchard, Jack Kelly, Albert Dekker. Low-budget, Grade XYZ 1950s sci-fi flick. Our good buddy Albert Dekker, the preeminent practitioner of the leather and rubber school of acting, is back. He plays a doctor/mentor to young doc hot shot Jack Kelly. Kelly has come up with a almost miraculous serum made from fruit flies (!). After experimenting on a number of animals he's ready to try it out on a human animal. Mari Blanchard is a patient who is dying of TB. Kelly shoots her up and she recovers from her TB almost instantaneously and can also recover from wounds and later on is able to change her hair color. Feeling on top of the world, Mari takes her hubris and bullet bra into the outside world. Her first act is to shoplift an expensive dress. Hmmmm. Could the old fruit fly cocktail be giving her delusions of grandeur. But Kelly is too busy falling for Mari. Unfortunately for Jack, she becomes interested in a rich sugar daddy and gets him to divorce his wife and marry her. Cut to the country cabin a month later and Mari is already bored with money bags. And frankly he is a pencil-mustachioed bore. To get rid of the guy Mari forces the car they are riding in down a hill, knowing that the fruit fly special will protect her from serious injury. Not so for her hubby, who dies in the crash. All this time Al and Jack, who still has the hots for this she devil, realize she has been up to no good. They decide to do a reverse fruit fly serum operation, hoping Mari will return to being a fairly normal person. Sadly things don't work out and Mari dies. Using fruit fly serum to create a she devil is one of those things that should be left to the Higher Power and not to mortal man, though these two boffins never come out and say so. Pretty typical low grade sci fi fare with only a few moments of unintended comedy to ease this gunk down your eyeballs. And it only runs 77 minutes, which is about 27 minutes 2 long. Alert~Not to be confused with The She Creature or She Demons, though those likely suck too. (How did I forget this--Blossom Rock, who is best known for playing Grandmama on the old Addams Family TV show has a supporting role as Dekker's wise-cracking housekeeper. I didn't recognize her so much by her looks as by her distinctive voice).

And fortunately right next to the...

I was listening to a CD earlier while on this site, so I didn't hear it right away. It's somewhat reminiscent of those parody country songs the Rolling Stones used to do, but better. The lyrics are certainly apropos for a less than merry Christmas with humor added in. I like maraschino cherries, but I don't know if that's the kind they use with chocolate. Another complaint are those boxes of candy that don't have a "map," so you have to look and try to guess which ones you don't want to eat. Wow, dig those groovy threads, man.

Also those overly decorated houses that look like an exhibit from some 19th century world's fair celebrating electricity. I saw Silent Night, Lonely Night on YT a few years back. Well done Christmas is a drag for some people film. It also cries out ADULTERY, though I can't remember if Lloyd and Shirley got it on at the end or stopped just short. At the end they did go their separate ways as I recall. This might be a good movie for those folks who get depressed around the holiday season. Hey, you think you've got it bad, just watch this.

I haven't eaten chocolate covered cherries since I was a kid and didn't like them then. I doubt I would like them now. But some cherry flavored medicines are pretty tasty, though not all. I also don't like hard candy at any time of the year.

I have no use for candy canes. Yuck.

You never can tell what people will do if they think no one's watching.

Considering all that's been going on over the last few decades I'm surprised they'd let a Catholic prelate get this close to a child.