LornaHansonForbes

in the case of KISS OF DEATH, I don't think it was THE CODE that dictated MATURE should live so much as THE STUDIO who didn't want to see one of their BIG STARS die at the end of a film. now, I do think it was THE CODE that dictated that the storyline about Mature's wife being forced into prostitution and killing herself via sticking her head in the oven hit the floor.

Doesn't he (Shkreli) have the most punchable face you've ever seen?

I share your love for FIVE GRAVES TO CAIRO and also bemoan the fact that it is one of Wilder's lesser known movies, but it totally belongs "up there" with SUNSET BLVD. and DOUBLE INDEMNITY. Just one Hell of a movie.

I know that KISS OF DEATH was remade in the fifties as a Western- THE FIEND THAT STALKED THE WEST. Does anyone know if the Hero in that one dies or makes it through? ps- has it occurred to anyone else that the title KISS OF DEATH is rendered not entirely accurate by Mature's survival at the end? Udo needs to work on his "Death Kissing" skills, as it is it's more of a "Kiss of life-threatening, but not critical, injury." pss- if anyone ever wants to do a documentary on the history of the Best Supporting Actress Oscar, there's no better title for it than KISS OF DEATH.

good story about Shkreli getting owned: http://gawker.com/heroic-uhhh-pharmaceutical-company-savagely-undercu-1738185665

Martin Shkreli is the guys name. an utter hole of a human, just do a Google or Bing search on his name and you will find lots of news stories about him. After the enormous pressure put on him when the news broke, he agreed to reduce the price of the pill, but HAS YET to specify by how much and has also yet to bring it down from the $800 price he named a couple of months ago. Really kind of makes you think about giving communism a try huh?

Thank you. I'm sure that will be appreciated by more than just a few people.

Yes, yes, and yes. And then you have stories about the perfectly charming pharmaceutical CEO who jacked up the price of his company's life saving AIDS medication from $8 a pill to $800 a pill. ( and they are the sole manufacturer of this medicine) This was in the news very recently, not able to post a link to the story but I'll try to do so tomorrow.

To some degree, although I am sure (please forgive me for using those wordage here) broke people with HIV are able to get treatment via Medicaid and their state-sponsored programs, but you're not gonna get the "Rolls Royce" of treatments people like Sheen can afford. Now that we have nationalized, subsidized healthcare and rules forbidding health insurance from dropping you for preexisting conditions, it's maybe a little better, but losing one's job, one's health insurance or one's income can have a devastating effect for people with HIV. If you don't take the medicines which supress it (to degrees where it cannot even be detected, although people who have undetectable HIV may still be able to transmit the disease, which is doubly scary) it will turn to full blown AIDS. SEE, ALREADY WE'RE LEARNING FROM THIS! PS- there have been leaps and bounds in treating the disease and some whisper a cure is close, but it's a VIRUS with all kinds of DIFFERENT STRAINS, so whether or not it can ever really be eradicated is a long shot.

LINK TO AN ARTICLE DETAILING THE LEGAL REPERCUSSIONS SHEEN COULD BE FACING: http://radaronline.com/celebrity-news/charlie-sheen-hiv-positive-possible-investigation/

I think the opening scene is from RED HEADED WOMAN (am I wrong?) other than that, I can spot: ANCHORS AWEIGH THE PIRATE GIRL CRAZY GILDA THE BARCLAYS OF BROADWAY (featured quite prominently) ANIMAL CRACKERS THE PIRATE (the scene with the three clowns) ON THE TOWN TALES OF HOFFMANN THE LITTLE PRINCESS FOR ME AND MY GAL SUMMER STOCK I can't remember what film Cagney in the sailor suit comes from, but DAMN homeboy could dance! anyone know where the B&W scene of Fred Astaire bouncing the ball off the roof and catching it in his hat is from? also anyone know where the technicolor scene of (is it Ray Bolger?) dancing atop the hedge row is from?

Not a problem. I've read a few posters in other threads complain they don't know how to embed vids on this site, it is SUPER EASY: 1. go to youtube and find the video. 2. select the address on the web of the video (in the address bar) and COPY IT. 3. PASTE it in the body of a message and boom you're done. it's very easy and I am decidedly "techtarded."

some of the poetry was downright inspired.

I know from experience that I can rock that look, so I'll start clearing the mantle for the Oscar now.

It's funny, my father grew up in the forties and fifties and to this day he still refers to Victor Mature as "Victor Manure", jealousy-based derision for male sex symbols by young men apparently being as potent then as it is today ( I understand, it's got to be a bummer when your date spends the whole movie looking at the screen instead of submitting to petting.) I think if Matures character had been killed at the end of KISS OF DEATH, it wouldve been quite well received by audiences- female fans would have been touched and male fans might have found a new sense of admiration for Mature in the heroic role. As it is, the studio dictated change and ending doesn't serve any of the principles or the film or the film itself

Yes- although I think the best performance Mature ever gave is in MY DARLING CLEMENTINE, whether he would want to admit it or not: that is some REAL acting. I also have to admit that I have not seen all of THE ROBE, but he impresses me in what I have seen of it, & I know of at least one critic who alleged Mature is far better than Burton in the same film.

I've read that Henry Hathaway kept the ending with Mature's character dying, but that Fox took the film away and did re-shoots (which, I think were the only part of the film not shot in NYC, but on the Fox Lot in Century City, CA.) It's a leetle hard to take that Mature's character could take that many slugs to the chest and live. What irks me the most about the ending though is that VOICEOVER. I've read opinions from screenwriters that voiceovers are lazy and you should never do them- I disagree and think they can be used most effectively (even in today's films)- but in the case of KISS OF DEATH, it's a really slipshod way to end the film. the studio also apparently deleted all the scenes of Mature's wife and her suicide via sticking her head in the oven- again without Hathaway's consent- and the result is a narrative with some holes in it.

POINT: Dobbsey. Yeah, my one regret about this post was labeling him a "megastar" in the title. In retrospect, maybe "extremely recognizable celebrity who had an unfathomably popular TV show until recently" would've been better, but the title was long enough and I was so shocked by the news. for the record though, he has been around FOREVER and has had a major presence in some major films (ie WALL STREET, PLATOON, YOUNG GUNS, HOT SHOTS, FERRIS BUELLER.) I think the fact that he is SUCH a recognizable presence is what gives the story such a punch.

...well, i beg to differ somewhat (although, YAH, that is a big story in itself.) HIV and AIDS have not been at the forefront in the national dialogue much in recent years, there is SO MUCH that people don't know about it and even more misconceptions. the nature of the disease has also changed so much- from something that used to be a death sentence, to something that is maintainable- although an expensive and stigmatized burden to live with. there is also that old trope that HIV is a "gay disease" which is impossible for straight people to catch. Sheen is a solid five on the Kinsey scale, so I think this news could be something of a game changer for that misconception. there is also a rich discussion to be had about the moral and legal and ethical quandries that this story if teeming with- and how we all have a responsibility to think of the health of our partners with the same gravity and consideration as our thoughts of our own well-being and health. there is also a cautionary tale to be learned here about excess, as well as a "full circle" somewhat from everything media-related that came with the death of Rock Hudson (when innumerable Hollywood stars who had had romantic scenes with Hudson were sent into a panic.) so, for any of you readers who who for some reason think the mere mention of a very serious disease is something "prurient" or "tawdry" or not worthy of discussion, may I suggest the charming thread someone posted last week fetishizing what few stars we have left over from the Golden Era?

here's a good article parsing the interview, the reader comments are even better though: http://gawker.com/charlie-sheen-says-he-paid-more-than-10-million-to-kee-1742972907

I'd like to see a better ending than the one the studio (allegedly) tacked on after the fact with that dumb voiceover. As it is, KISS OF DEATH is a very good movie, but with a more realistic (and yes, downbeat) ending it'd be a great one.

this is presently the most viewed and most shared news item on slate.com: (see how many of these films and stars you can name.)

He just made the announcement.

One of history's greatest mysteries I suppose. I was reading an "Old HOLLYWOOD" gossip item about it only the other day. The item also stated it was a one night stand, but that Joan then became obsessed with Marilyn and proceeded to STALK her for the next couple of years in the hopes for another night of wanton passion. Now, if the image of Joan Crawford ca. 1955 crouched in the bushes outside your door don't scare the snot right outcha, i don't know what will.

Enough outlets ( not just tabloids )are running with the story, and with the fact that Sheen is going to announce it tomorrow on the Today Show, that i put some stock in it.