MCannady1
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Posts posted by MCannady1
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i JUST READ THE WONDERFUL ODD MAN OUT by F. L. Green again! After I had seen the
film a year or so ago, I was very impressed with James Mason and all of the
other British actors in the cast, I did not know I was going to like it
so much, but I have watched it several times.
James Mason was a superb actor in every film, so I shouldn't have been surprised.
His characters really reach out to the viewer,
It is a film (and book) with understated romance, murder, pathos and more.
I highly recommend this great story to everyone. It is certainly very unique!
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Michael Hordern
A Christmas Carol '51
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SNOWED UNDER -- sounded like a dull-ish romannce but was much wittier than expected--a.k.a. funny the way HIS GIRL FRIDAY is funny. Lots of clever stuff. Glenda Farrell stole much of this film, if not all of it. Will definitely want to watch this one again.
S clever film with Glenda and George as well as Genevieve Tobin. George Brent had to finish his play,
was snowed under and also juggling an X-wife and one to be.......I like the one-liners too,
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oPickup on South Street is hands down one of my very favourite noirs. But before I go on...
SPOILERAMA, So if you haven't seen the film, do not read further.
Everything about this film (except one thing, which I'll say when I'm done) is perfect. A beautifully noir mileu; we've got that opening scene in the crowded subway car, Skip's crazy ramshackle boat house home by the NYC docks (where he hides things in the water), and the entire seedy side of New York City in the early 1950s.
Right from that opening scene you're hooked: you can almost feel how hot and jam-packed that subway car is. And what's this guy doing, sneaking his hand into that woman's purse? Doesn't she know?
At first you almost think it might be some weird and creepy subway groper guy, but no, Skip's just doing his thing as a master pickpocket.
The film just takes it from there, and never lets up. It's not so much that it's full of action scenes - not that many, really. It's these characters, all these fascinating low-life people with these things going on in their lives.
You've got Skip McCoy (Widmark), as the dockside thief who goes his own way and makes his own rules. Actually, I don't think of him as a "bad guy" at all, not even a "good" bad guy. I see him as a smart street person who lives by his trade, which in his mind is a perfectly good one (pickpocketing.) In a way, he's like Rick from Casablanca; completely independent, seemingly amoral, and sticks his neck out for no one. But when it comes down to doing the right thing, he knows which side he's on and acts accordingly.
Then you've got the Muffin, a part that seems made for Jean Peters. Peters takes the character of the border-line hooker girl with the heart of gold and makes her a three-dimensional person. And yeah,speedy, "Candy" seems a good name for her.
The third absolutely outstanding role in this is Thelma Ritter's, as the tie-purveying police informer. You gotta love Ritter in this, both her note-perfect performance and the character she plays. Moe is so likable, so funny and engaging as this lady who's had a hard life (you don't need any details to sense that) and just wants to be buried in a respectable graveyard when her end comes.
There are at least two memorable, touching scenes connected with Moe's character. The first is the last time we see her, when she's sadly playing her recording of "Mamselle" and telling the thug who's come to kill her that she'll never help a Commie. The way she quietly accepts her death has to be one of the most moving scenes in noir, or any film genre for that matter.
The second scene I'm thinking of is about Moe, but she's not in it. By this time she's dead, and Skip, good friend that he is, is trying to retrieve her body from the rowboat taking her to the pauper's graveyard so he can give her the "respectable" burial Moe wanted. He doesn't have to do this, there's nothing in it for him. But he insists, because he knew it was the last way he could help her.
Both Moe and Skip display a kind of nobility in these scenes. I love the way director Fuller shows that, that these supposedly "hard" street people are as fine-spirited as anybody, probably more so.
I'll just say two more things about Pickup on South Street. The first is, I agree with speedracer that the film has "one of the most romantic scenes in noir". Oh yeah. As speedy mentioned, the scene in the film where Skip's caressing Candy's face is remarkably erotic - both sexy and romantic. I know Widmark was happily married to the same woman all his life, but there had to be some genuine chemistry between him and Peters for those scenes between them to work like they do. Steam coming off the screen.
The other comment I wanted to make about this great noir is, I don't like the happy ending. I know, we like both Skip and Candy, and in a way it's nice to see them go off happily together. But I think this already exceptional film would be even more powerful if Skip had been killed in his fight with the Commie spy at the end. I'm not one of those people who think noirs always have to have an unhappy ending, but in the case of Pickup on South Street, I just think it would have been more fitting.
(Although, a very astute poster here, lavenderblue, commented when I said this once before, that we'd had one heart-breaking death of an important and sympathetic character already -Moe - so why give us another one?)
Anyway, I'd still put Pickup on South Street on my list of top ten best /favourite film noirs. And I certainly think it's the best film Sam Fuller ever made.
Another quick thing about Thelma - Anyone ever see her as a nurse going overseas in The Porud and the
Profane with Deborah Kerr and Willam Holden? She cared most of all for her friends; Deborah's character
who gets involved with married Holden. Will say no more. She is outstanding there too!
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HIGH SOCIETY (1956):
I recorded this back in December during the Star of the Month look at Frank Sinatra, and have been saving it on the PVR and waiting for a great time to revisit it.
I have been trying (?) to delete some movies from my PVR recordings as well as saving colour films for when we have long daylight hours.
I have been meaning to re-watch this ever since Sinatra Jr. died and finally did earlier today.
.
This is one of the few films where I can say that despite enjoying the original I prefer the remake no question at all.
Sinatra, Grace Kelly, Bing Crosby (who Sinatra insisted always get top billing over him), Celeste Holm, John Lund, Louis Calhern, etc.
I love Cole Porter music.
Favourite lines not sung: over the telephone
Mike Conner:
This is the voice of doom.
This to tell you that your days are numbered.
Mrs. Lord: (hangs up)
....one of the servants has been in the sherry.....
I like this one too and want to mention another great Frank Sinatra film that is so clever called
HIGHER AND HIGHER. A great film where Frank's singing is especially impressive. I won't say much
as a lot of people may not have seen it. It is a neat 40's film with a clever story interwoven with
this fun tale. Frank's singing is really irresistible here! When I first saw it and he sang
A Lovely Way to Spend an Evening ....wow!
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I love this film too! Jean Peters and all the cast were great. Yes, Thelma Ritter was always impressive.Pickup on South Street is hands down one of my very favourite noirs. But before I go on...
SPOILERAMA, So if you haven't seen the film, do not read further.
Everything about this film (except one thing, which I'll say when I'm done) is perfect. A beautifully noir mileu; we've got that opening scene in the crowded subway car, Skip's crazy ramshackle boat house home by the NYC docks (where he hides things in the water), and the entire seedy side of New York City in the early 1950s.
Right from that opening scene you're hooked: you can almost feel how hot and jam-packed that subway car is. And what's this guy doing, sneaking his hand into that woman's purse? Doesn't she know?
At first you almost think it might be some weird and creepy subway groper guy, but no, Skip's just doing his thing as a master pickpocket.
The film just takes it from there, and never lets up. It's not so much that it's full of action scenes - not that many, really. It's these characters, all these fascinating low-life people with these things going on in their lives.
You've got Skip McCoy (Widmark), as the dockside thief who goes his own way and makes his own rules. Actually, I don't think of him as a "bad guy" at all, not even a "good" bad guy. I see him as a smart street person who lives by his trade, which in his mind is a perfectly good one (pickpocketing.) In a way, he's like Rick from Casablanca; completely independent, seemingly amoral, and sticks his neck out for no one. But when it comes down to doing the right thing, he knows which side he's on and acts accordingly.
Then you've got the Muffin, a part that seems made for Jean Peters. Peters takes the character of the border-line hooker girl with the heart of gold and makes her a three-dimensional person. And yeah,speedy, "Candy" seems a good name for her.
The third absolutely outstanding role in this is Thelma Ritter's, as the tie-purveying police informer. You gotta love Ritter in this, both her note-perfect performance and the character she plays. Moe is so likable, so funny and engaging as this lady who's had a hard life (you don't need any details to sense that) and just wants to be buried in a respectable graveyard when her end comes.
There are at least two memorable, touching scenes connected with Moe's character. The first is the last time we see her, when she's sadly playing her recording of "Mamselle" and telling the thug who's come to kill her that she'll never help a Commie. The way she quietly accepts her death has to be one of the most moving scenes in noir, or any film genre for that matter.
The second scene I'm thinking of is about Moe, but she's not in it. By this time she's dead, and Skip, good friend that he is, is trying to retrieve her body from the rowboat taking her to the pauper's graveyard so he can give her the "respectable" burial Moe wanted. He doesn't have to do this, there's nothing in it for him. But he insists, because he knew it was the last way he could help her.
Both Moe and Skip display a kind of nobility in these scenes. I love the way director Fuller shows that, that these supposedly "hard" street people are as fine-spirited as anybody, probably more so.
I'll just say two more things about Pickup on South Street. The first is, I agree with speedracer that the film has "one of the most romantic scenes in noir". Oh yeah. As speedy mentioned, the scene in the film where Skip's caressing Candy's face is remarkably erotic - both sexy and romantic. I know Widmark was happily married to the same woman all his life, but there had to be some genuine chemistry between him and Peters for those scenes between them to work like they do. Steam coming off the screen.
The other comment I wanted to make about this great noir is, I don't like the happy ending. I know, we like both Skip and Candy, and in a way it's nice to see them go off happily together. But I think this already exceptional film would be even more powerful if Skip had been killed in his fight with the Commie spy at the end. I'm not one of those people who think noirs always have to have an unhappy ending, but in the case of Pickup on South Street, I just think it would have been more fitting.
(Although, a very astute poster here, lavenderblue, commented when I said this once before, that we'd had one heart-breaking death of an important and sympathetic character already -Moe - so why give us another one?)
Anyway, I'd still put Pickup on South Street on my list of top ten best /favourite film noirs. And I certainly think it's the best film Sam Fuller ever made.
In one film she matched lonely hearts together while she suffered in silence about her own life.
I loved her in this film too. She could be heartbreaking in a film too as one knows instinctively she
did not get a guy and yet cares about others.
MCannady1:
Glad to hear you enjoyed Dial M For Murder too.
Have you seen The American friend? I haven't and Cigarjoe's write-up makes it sound very interesting.
No, I hadn't seen that one either. Thanks! I love the 40's and 50's Hitchcock films too.
I hope we can find The American Friend. IT does sound very intriguing.
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I love Dial M for Murder too! It is the first Hitchcock film I remembering seeing (on TV). I was aboutThe American Friend (Der amerikanische Freund) (1977) Euro Noir
Director: Wim Wenders (Hammett (1982), Paris, Texas (1984)), story by Patricia Highsmith (novel), screenplay by Wim Wenders. Beautiful cinematography by Robby Müller (Paris, Texas (1984), To Live and Die in L.A. (1985), Barfly (1987). Music by Jürgen Knieper.
The film stars Dennis Hopper (Blue Velvet (1986), Black Widow (1987), Red Rock West (1993), True Romance 1993), Bruno Ganz (Wings of Desire (1987)), Lisa Kreuzer, Gérard Blain, Nicholas Ray (director of Classic Noirs They Live by Night (1948), In A Lonely Place (1950)), Samuel Fuller (director of Classic Noirs, Pickup on South Street (1953), House Of Bamboo (1955), The Crimson Kimono (1959), and Lou Castel A Bullet For The General (1966).
Tom Ripley sells paintings at auctions from a supposedly dead artist he also has a ringer planted in the auction to drive up. the price. A criminal business associate wants Tom to make good on a debt by whacking another rival. Tom suggests his associate ask a local picture framer that man has a fatal blood disease. He has a wife and kid that he can leave a nice sum if he does the job.
Great cinematography, more review in Film Noir/Gangster board, 9/10
9 or 10. Pretty scary! Just great cast! I love the FIlm Noir aspect of this film as well. I have seen
it 2 or 3 times.
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SO THIS I LOVE:
Colour musical biopic about opera singer Grace Moore I had not seen before starring Kathryn Grayson as Grace Moore.
This was brand new to me and a lot more interesting to me than the movie I started to watch earlier called The Picasso Summer.
It was full of great music, great singing, and wonderful cinematography.
I would certainly watch this again.
Source:
recorded from TCM
I like this biopic film about Grace Moore also. Kathryn Grayson was great in the title role.
By coincidence, I just saw a great film of the 30's with Grace Moore and Leo Carrillo called
Love Me Forever. IT is a very touching film. I hope TCM will air it so I can get a better copy!
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SO THIS I LOVE:
Colour musical biopic about opera singer Grace Moore I had not seen before starring Kathryn Grayson as Grace Moore.
This was brand new to me and a lot more interesting to me than the movie I started to watch earlier called The Picasso Summer.
It was full of great music, great singing, and wonderful cinematography.
I like this biopic of Grace Moore too. Kathryn Grayson was really great in the role. By coincidence, I
just saw a neat movie with Grace Moore and Leo Carrillo called Love Me Forever. It was a really great
film of the 30's. I wish I could find a better copy.
I would certainly watch this again.
Source:
recorded from TCM
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WILD BOYS OF THE ROAD: 1933
I love this movie, corn & all. I showed it for TikiKid last year as she is a huge Frankie Darro fan. I love his little acrobatic move in the closing. Nowadays, people find this movie unrealistic, but I do think there were many kids "on their own" at an early age due to the Depression.
I just watched my TCM recording of THE GAZEBO (1959) starring Debbie Reynolds & Glen Ford. It took me a few scenes to realize it was a black comedy about blackmail, not a musical.
I generally don't care for Ford, but he was a RIOT in this comedic role. He played the charactor just perfectly elevating what could have been a silly plot. Reynolds was un-charactoristically "straight" and showed real skill as a dramatic actress. The supporting cast was great too- Mabel Albertson was as usual great and funny Carl Reiner was another "straight" man to Ford's nervous wreck.
I love Reynolds in anything she's in and it was so great to come across this untypical, unexpected gem.
I like Wild Boys of the Road '33 also. You have a point that many teens were on their own in the
Depression years. I too am a Debbie Reynolds fan and also enjoyed The Gazebo. We are used to her
musicals, so it was natural to assume that it was one, but yes the story was about blackmail.
I agree that it is always neat to see Mabel Albertson. She was wonderful in Home Before Dark with
Jean Simmons and Efrem Zimbalist jr. I finally obtained a good print of it which was uncut.
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Yes, well I have recorded it and several others I have not seen today and will watch it at another time.
Re; Malton:
The late Roger Ebert knew that film lovers paid attention to him even when disagreed with him. Sometimes they would KNOW that they would love a film because he hated it and hate it because he loved it.
So he was still a trusted film reviewer.
As for L.M, well, when he worked for ET I could not trust anything he said, because his job was to sell movies of the hottest stars regardless of their quality.
I like the late Roger Ebert's reviews too. As for LM, some of the films were not even in his book that
I considered good. You have a point that he has a commercial viewpoint.
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"The Night Is Young" (1935)--Maltin rated this a "BOMB". He needs to take the cotton out of his ears and watch the movie before rating it. Film has a good score by Oscar Hammerstein and Sigmund Romberg. Movie is 87 minutes long--60 minutes has vocal/instrumental music--Una Merkel and Rosalind Russell take care of another 15 minutes (Russell could already make a two word line into an insult, LOL)--the other twelve minutes are disappointing, but watchable. Film Knows it is silly, and makes fun of itself.
Lead Evelyn Laye was very apparently supposed to be a threat to Jeanette MacDonald. She had little apparent acting talent, and was not allowed to sing much in the film. Ramon Novarro is painless to watch, and pleasant to listen to.
Altogether, an enjoyable movie that Knows it has a lousy script and a good score. 5.6/10 stars.
I like this one too. I was quite impressed with Evelyn Laye in it. Also, I am a big fan of Ramon Novarro.
IT may not have been as impressive as some with the admittedly lousy script, but was still enjoyable in
spots.
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THE RICH ARE ALWAYS WITH US (1932);
First time watched recorded on TCM. Many thanks to Bogie56 for alerting everyone that this movie was airing.
This movie is a pre-code drama starring Ruth Chatterton, George Brent, various character actors and an early performance of Bette Davis.
Various love triangles and an inability to let go of people you have loved is the theme.
If you really love someone and not just sexually attracted to them do you have their happiness in mind even if it means they love someone else and that you can't be with them?
I love this film too! The chemistry between Ruth and George Brent is amazing, I read that they did
actually marry. And yes, if you love someone you can't always work it out. I know just what you mean.
I give it nearly a 10!
I won't give away how it ends, but it is certainly pre-code in its frank discussion of sex and morals.
I love this movie.
I love this film too! THe chemistry is great between Ruth and George Brent. Yes, it is not always
possible to work things out. I know just what you mean. An early Bette Davis performance too.
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THE RICH ARE ALWAYS WITH US (1932);
First time watched recorded on TCM. Many thanks to Bogie56 for alerting everyone that this movie was airing.
This movie is a pre-code drama starring Ruth Chatterton, George Brent, various character actors and an early performance of Bette Davis.
Various love triangles and an inability to let go of people you have loved is the theme.
If you really love someone and not just sexually attracted to them do you have their happiness in mind even if it means they love someone else and that you can't be with them?
I love this film too! The chemistry between Ruth and George Brent is amazing, I read that they did
actually marry. And yes, if you love someone you can't always work it out. I know just what you mean.
I give it nearly a 10!
I won't give away how it ends, but it is certainly pre-code in its frank discussion of sex and morals.
I love this movie.
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To my knowledge, TCM has never aired THE SILVER CORD. I first saw it on AMC around 1990 and only recently got to revisit it courtesy of a bootleg. Laura Hope Crews beat Angela Lansbury to planting a liplock on her son by almost 30 years. She breaks up his engagement after which he announces that "Maybe I'm not the marrying kind." She suggests a trip abroad so that he can study to be an interior decorator.
Mrs. W. precipitated a terrible tragedy in so doing. Poor Eva's character, What was she to do? This woman
caused ultimate destruction of a human being and the eventual birth of his child. He was always forgiven for
everything and his brother (played so well by Brandon D.) was in the shadows. The good he does (or attempts
to is generally tossed aside).
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To my knowledge, TCM has never aired THE SILVER CORD. I first saw it on AMC around 1990 and only recently got to revisit it courtesy of a bootleg. Laura Hope Crews beat Angela Lansbury to planting a liplock on her son by almost 30 years. She breaks up his engagement after which he announces that "Maybe I'm not the marrying kind." She suggests a trip abroad so that he can study to be an interior decorator.
YEs, the Max Steiner music was really impressive here. I am not sure if my post worked out a few minutes
ago, as it merged with the text of a previous one, so I just wanted to say that THe Silver Cord is a great
film. I taped it on AMC around 20 years ago.
AS for an overbearing mother (and mother-in-law) Laura Hope Crews beat Angela Lansbury in All Fall Down. She really controlled Barry Barry Willard, but this
lady was reading nursery rhymes to her son and has him get into bed like he did before he was married! OF
course the nursery was kept in the same fashion as it had looked over 25 years ago. Of course the hurtful
woman tries to turn her son off on his wife.
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has tcm ever shown these two rko films? or are the tied up in legal matters?,
I kwow that at least a sub-titled print of both of these films was on you tube about two years ago so they do exist but I do not recall them ever being on tcm in the 15 years that I have had the channel?
did they air in back in the 1990's? the fountain would be of interest to many film fans because some of max steiner's music was reused in gone with the wind.
I must be overtired tonight. I meant to add that I also taped The Fountain from AMC. IT was another
really great 30's film with Ann Harding and Paul Lukas. I hope we will see it on TCM one day.
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Nitpick: the 1933 movie is The Silver Cord, if anybody is doing a computer search of schedules. (My schedules only go back to July, 2007.)
I was going to say that yes, it did air, but then I realized the movie I was thinking of was The Silver Horde, which is a completely different Joel McCrea movie. (That one has aired four times since July, 2007.)
Sorry I can't help you.
[/quote
I can see where the error would happen with the title. I like THe Silver Horde, but The Silver Cord is
really marvelous. I have it from AMC about 20 years ago when they were still showing wonderful classics.
Joel MCrea, Frances Dee and Irene Dunne were spellbinding in this tale about an overbearing mother-in-law
played by Laura Hope Crews. I hope that TCM will show this great film.
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Yes, it is quite a departure for James from his "Goodbye Cruel World" he sang in the early 60's and someThe Guns of Navarone
You know, I was thinking about James Darrin. I think a lot about this movie.
This movie was such a departure for him. Yes, he sings in it, but that is in a wedding scene where everyone is singing. It's not like Gidget.
He was a pop singer, very handsome and here he is in a war fantasy adventure (really, had the Nazis had guns that large the European part of WWII would have been much longer and the Germans may have won), He is a brutal killer.
others. I remember the Gidget movies too.
James could handle the serious roles with violence as well. I remember being really surprised too.
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THE DIVORCE OF LADY X:
This is a first time view of this version of the story. I've seen the original black and white version.
This stars Lawrence Olivier, Merle Oberon, and Ralph Richardson.
This movie was as delightful as the original.
It was great to watch Olivier and Oberon in a comedy together. I love Wuthering Heights. But this was a joy.
I loved this one too. It really is witty and quite clever!
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"The Ghost Goes West" (1935)--Rene Clair film that has delightful scenes, but every time the film threatens to take off and fly, someone/thing brings it back down to earth with a thud. Still, the good outweighs the bad: Robert Donat, in a dual role is excellent, and Elsa Lanchester makes every line of her part Count. Some bullseye jokes and fine performances make this a fun watch. 7.0/10 stars.
Warning for cat owners--TGGW is partially scored with bagpipes.
Oh, no! WE got two of them. Will these little four-footed friends be seriously displeased?
Can always lower the volume!
Seriously, it is a delightful film.
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A Boy Named Charlie Brown (1969). I found this movie On Demand last night. I didn't realize that there were feature length "Peanuts" movies and apparently there were four of them. This was the first one. It was actually really good! Sometimes the Peanuts cartoons can be a little corny, but I really liked this one. It was actually a little sad, even for Charlie Brown. Poor guy, why can't he ever win anything? In this particular film, Charlie Brown feels like a loser because he can't get his kite to fly, he can't play baseball and can't seem to do anything right. Of course, people like Lucy, Violet and Patty (not to be confused with Peppermint Patty) have to make sure he knows how much of a loser he is, even going as far as to sing a song called "Failure Face" to him. There is another scene of Charlie Brown visiting Lucy for psychiatric help and she reiterates how much of a loser he is. She even shows him a slide show she made to pinpoint every moment that Charlie is a failure.
In an attempt to overcome his inferiority complex and to prove to the other kids that he's not a loser, Charlie Brown decides to enter the school spelling bee. He ends up doing really well wins the school bee (Yay for Charlie Brown!). He is sent to a bigger spelling bee (I'm assuming he's either in a state spelling bee or perhaps a city wide spelling bee?), via the bus and even stays in a hotel. He runs himself ragged trying to study. Linus had given Charlie Brown his blanket as a good luck charm for the bee and then has a nervous breakdown being without the blanket. Snoopy and Linus ride the bus to find Charlie Brown and retrieve Linus' blanket.
There are of course some funny Snoopy scenes: Snoopy plays "The Star Spangled Banner" on a record player to start of the baseball game and later he has a funny ice skating/ice hockey scene. Snoopy also plays the jaw harp to help Charlie Brown write a song to learn all the basic spelling rules ('i' before 'e' except after 'c').
This film had all the delightful trademarks of a 1960s film: montages, bright colors, Simon & Garfunkle-esque maudlin sounding music. It was really fun. One thing that made me laugh was that one of Charlie Brown's words in the spelling bee was "fussbudget." Lol.
It also brought up all kinds of questions that I suppose I should ignore, because it's a cartoon and it's Peanuts:
-Why is Charlie Brown, an 8 year old, riding a bus alone to the city and staying in a hotel room alone?
-Why is Linus riding the bus (kind of alone) accompanied by a dog to the city to find Charlie Brown?
-Why aren't any of the Spelling Bee participants' parents in the audience? The audience is entirely children.
-How does Snoopy have such a long extension cord to reach all the way from his doghouse to the baseball field to play his record player?
-Snoopy's doghouse has electricity?
-How does Snoopy's back not hurt sleeping on the top of his doghouse?
9/10.
I loved Charlie Brown as a teem when they started and just watched another feature Snoopy Come Home with my little grandson,
who is eight. We both liked it. I used to take things for granted in these films, but it is an odd thing like you were saying. but it is odd that poor Snoopy lies on his back on the doghouse?
Why do we never see the parents or the teachers? The teachers can be heard with.... "Blah Bla Bla, Ble Blah" or something as
they lecture the children.
One of my pals says that the show and the feature films are totally from the perspective of the children,
so we only see, hear, and feel with them. This is a unique element here, as well as issues of an
inferiority complex and other issues children encounter in their lives.
My mom was a grade school teacher for a long time and had another take on the show. She thought it was too
old for grammar school children (issues about inferiority complex or falling in love, etc.) and too young for
teens and adults. Though Mom was an outstanding teacher who worked hard with the children, I think she
missed a key element. Here Charles Schulz was giving freedom of expression to the inner feelings of
children which is quite important. It illustrates how children often feel but cannot always express.
Like you pointed out, there are delightful 60's bright colors in these films and episodes. It is funny
about Linus riding the bus alone to find Charlie Brown, but certainly funnier with the extension cord
--that is endless from Snoopy's doghouse to the baseball field! IT seems the children are given an
unusual freedom when playing and making decisions.
Even our beloved Snoopy is given a certain freedom of expression when he decides to "run away" after a
dispute with Charlie Brown in Snoopy Come Home. When he returns we can see the love between them.
Unbenownst to Charlie, Snoopy was given a chance to go back to his previous owner, Lila. She is in
hospital and has written a letter which he has read! She wants Snoopy back, but has decided to have
him return to Charlie Brown. Though Snoopy cares for her, he knows that Charlie and his friends want
him back - very badly! Though Snoopy cannot communicate verbally, his feelings are clearly expessed
with Charlie and his friends, as well as wee little Woodstock.
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Lawrence, perhaps you might recall Cher relay a story years ago on some late night talk show(can't remember which one...could've been on Carson's Tonight Show) where she talked about going to a Los Angeles movie theater knowing beforehand that a trailer for SILKWOOD was going to be shown before the featured film.
This was her first part in any dramatic prestige movie, and she said she was excited to see the trailer and the audience's reaction to it. She said she seated herself in the back row of the theater.
When her name was shown across the screen as being one the principles in the film and along with a short clip of one of her scenes, she said the audience started laughing and as though saying "what the hell is this pop music singer doing in this movie?"
She said she then felt about 2 inches tall and then slinked out of the theater. However, as she exited she also swore to herself that one day soon she'd show all those out there who had discounted her that she was a better actress than they ever thought she was or could be.
(...and just a few years later of course came MOONSTRUCK)
That is so true! I am a Cher fan and she more than proved her worth in Silkwood. They pictured her still
in I Got You Babe. WEll, she got us in that film as well as in Moonstruck.
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Just to be fair to the Beeb/ITV, the PBS Masterpiece series folks are typically the ones making alterations for their stateside presentations of UK originated programs. I believe that these are typically for run-time constraints (despite PBS being ad-free), rather than for editorial reasons (though US TV's general insistence on pixelating posteriors still continues to amuse me, when the Brit audience seems to be unfazed by any appearances of briefly bared behinds).
Just to be fair to the Beeb/ITV, the PBS Masterpiece series folks are typically the ones making alterations for their stateside presentations of UK originated programs. I believe that these are typically for run-time constraints (despite PBS being ad-free), rather than for editorial reasons (though US TV's general insistence on pixelating posteriors still continues to amuse me, when the Brit audience seems to be unfazed by any appearances of briefly bared behinds).
I can understand running time constraints, though they originally aired these all complete. I recall
the requests for money to keep the programs on the air.
Too bad the U.S. of which I am a resident, sometimes inflicts objectionable stuff into content. Not
for me. I like the power of suggestion in murder mysteries and genuine complex elements.
Most of the stories are good, like the Inspector Wexfords we once enjoyed. Talk about complex! A great series with many underlying elemets
elements besides murder. The Inspector Morse series was superb too as well as Poirot and Adam Dagliesh. Many
of Wexford or Morse episodes had unusual elements that were woven into the plot. I do think that part of the appeal
appeal was the portrayal of the police inspectors as real people with their own personal problems.
So I still like BBC productions.
STill annoyed over the cuts to one of my favorite films!
Darn! I wish I had not taped over Great Expectations '34. In retrospect, whether VHS or DVD or whatever,
I had a rare thing. I love period pieces and felt the loss doubly. Hopefully one day I will find someone
who has the film in its entirety.
Also, the great Dalgliesh specials! I wish I had the complete A Taste for Death and Shroud for a
Nightingale. That'll teach me to RECORD and SAVE!
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Book & Novel Recommendations Please
in Information, Please!
Posted
Another great suspenseful book is called THE BLANK WALL by Elizabeth Sanxay
Holding. THe film, THE RECKLESS MOMENT '47, was based on the book.
Another author worth reading is Cornell Woolrich. His novels of suspense
and murder are very intriguing.
Many great films were made from his novels. The Black Path of Fear and I
Married a Dead Man are especially suspenseful.
The Leopard Man and No Man of Her Own '50 with Barbara Stanwyck were two
films from the novels. Viewers will spot others as well. Rear Window was
a masterpiece which spawned the intriguing film with James Stewart
and Raymond Burr.