film lover 293

Two of the odder credits I've seen: From "Bluebeard" (1944)--"Music by Erdody" (I Googled the name, and E. was a composer at PRC in the 1940's). From "The Swarm" (1978), paraphrased:--"The African Killer Bee bears no relation to the industrious American Honey Bee, which provides us with honey....."

TCM--Please put "The Wicker Man" (1973) Back on the schedule and Please show it. Thank you.

"Vanity Fair" (aka "Indecent") (1932)--updating of Vanity Fair to 1907(?), going to 1932. Film is 67 minutes long, and Myrna Loy is the Only reason to bother watching. Loy shows untapped acting range, somehow managing to convey novel's depth in 67 minutes. All other characters, male and female, are fools or worse, making moralistic ending ridiculous. Restoration I saw from TheVideoCellar was very scratchy. 5.5/10 stars.

"Fancy Pants" (1950)--Remake of "Ruggles of Red Gap" (1935) is amusing in its' worst scenes, and outright hilarious in its' best scenes. Stars are Bob Hope and Lucille Ball. Film gets off to a slow start, but improves dramatically when action shifts to New Mexico. Hopes' takes on mirages and Indian attacks are classic, as is Lucys' trying to get Hope on a horse. Film peaks not quite halfway through, and again near and at the end. Songs are serviceable, no more. Far from perfect, but a fun, unpredictable watch (Everyone seems to be ad-libbing in the last ten minutes). 7.4/10 stars. Saw on YouTube in 10 parts. FYI--Part 3 had something wrong with musical synchronization; voices were fine. Problems disappeared after the first minute of Part 4.

LornaHansonForbes--No, Laughton and Lanchester made at least six movies together: "The Private Life of Henry the Eighth" (1933) "Rembrandt" (1936) "The Beachcomber" (1939) "Tales of Manhattan" (1942)--episodic film, I don't know if they shared any scenes together. "Forever and a Day" (1943)--don't know if they shared any scenes together. "Witness For the Prosecution" (1957)

"The Little Foxes" (1941)--Teresa Wright, Dan Duryea, Patricia Collinge.

"Becky Sharp" (1935)--Miriam Hopkins and the first use of three-strip Technicolor are the whole show here. The Code could change plots and dialogue; they Couldn't sanitize Hopkins' snapping eyes, vocal inflections that made an innocent line into a double entendre, or the sense that she had been and would be a ***** in order to survive. Censors also missed a few first class ****** lines, which Hopkins delivers flawlessly. Hopkins' is extremely funny when she flirts with all available men while filleting every other woman in the same room with her. She races through the bad scenes where The Code tries (and fails) to destroy the movie while managing to be amusing even in these scenes. She turns a self-sacrificing, namby-pamby line into the exact opposite by just a vocal inflection or a look. Director Rouben Mamoulian experimented with color and was spectacularly successful. TCM please show this little known gem! Saw on YouTube. There is a black and white version that runs one hour, seven minutes; the color version (which I saw) runs one hour, twenty four minutes. Saw a restoration from/by The Video Cellar. Despite The Codes' interference, 9/10 stars.

GregoryPeckfan--Could not find "Splendor" (1935) on YouTube, so I watched another film. I'm going to amend my nominations for "Best Actress", then post in "I Just Watched"

"The Cat and the Canary" (1939)--A Bob Hope/ Paulette Goddard remake of the 1927 silent film. Film observes All the cliches, while kidding them. Some good jokes and good lines are scattered through the film. May be the first film that has Hope joking about golf: Angry would-be inheritor: "Say, what's your game?" Hope, as wisecracking would be inheritor: "About ninety to one hundred." Viewers can probably predict the lines and speak them before the characters do (I did). Even for those who speak the characters' lines before they do, an enjoyable watch. 6.0/10 stars.

"Fiend Without A Face" (1958)--Horror/anti-nuke film set in Manitoba. Townspeople are disturbed by a nuclear facility set up for tests when the tests decrease the amount of milk their cows give. After multiple people die right after these tests, the townsfolk finally get upset and do a 50's variation of the mob scene with villagers who are armed with torches and pitchforks. Film Finally gets moving in the last half hour. Certain scene staging is reminiscent of "Night of the Living Dead" (1968). Interesting 50's curiosity. Available on YT. 5.8/10 stars.

Don't forget Bugs Bunny's "Hyde and Hare" (1955).

I can think of three Worsts", am not sure which 'Worst" you wanted. So here goes: Worst sound synchronization with a dubbed voice--The song "Without You" in "My Fair Lady" (1964)--Marni Nixon sounds wonderful, but her words and Audrey Hepburn's lip movements don't come Close to matching--Nixon will be on one line, Hepburn will be taking a breath or her mouth will be closed--even non lip-readers like ME can tell--horribly done! Most noticeable dubbing--Angela Lansbury for Ingrid Thulin in "The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse" (1963)--Technically, the dubbing is fine--But it is Noticeably Angela Lansburys' voice coming out of Ingrid Thulin's mouth (on her First line), & it was an WT*** moment!! Worst overall--"Godzilla (1955)--Words don't match mouth movements (or even people) in ANY language!!

Stephan55--kimchi also has scotch-bonnet peppers in it also, doesn't it? I can just imagine a jar of kimchi being opened during "The Sound of Mucus", can't you? Would clear up all those sinuses at once, LOL.

"Charlie Chan at the Opera" (1936)--Boris Karloff sings!! And is the star of this entry in the series, supposedly one of the best. Warner Oland in the title role is OK, but a few proverbs go a Long way, IMHO. Oscar Levant composed the opera "Carnival" for this entry in the series. The music and Karloff are the best things in this short film. Keye Luke, as Olands' son, and William Demarest, as an offensively Stupid cop, bring the proceedings to a halt whenever they open their mouths. Because of the music and Karloff, 6/10 stars.

LawrenceA--"Blonde Cobra" (1963) contains (I THINK) some quotations from Baudelaire; doesn't make it any less painful to watch. The throwaway lines about Maria Montez at the 23-24 minute mark are a Blessing; so is the duet between Harriet Hilliard (?) and Edward Everett Horton (?) to "Let's Call The Whole Thing Off" that follows. Pretentiousness doesn't excuse a film as bad as this, IMHO. Your rating is right, IMHO.

SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS!!!!!!!!!!! This is based on 7-8 year old memories--I apologize for any inaccuracy. GregoryPeckfan--"Blow-Up" (1966) starts out as a portrait of Swinging London; London in the mid-60's as society in general was changing, David Hemmings plays a photographer who 20(?) minutes into the film, takes a picture of Vanessa Redgrave and a man in a park. She demands the picture be returned. He refuses. He checks the film out in his lab and discovers he seemingly photographed a murder (This part is the best part of the film, IMHO). The film then goes into an exploration of fantasy and reality; it lost my attention completely. I Know I didn't get all the meanings and nuances I was supposed to get. I Did feel cheated of a good mystery; the idea of accidentally catching a murder on film was a wonderful idea for a mystery, IMHO. I will be watching Thursday to see the ideas I missed on my first viewing. Hope this helps (and is accurate).

Mickey Rooney as Carmen Miranda; judge for yourselves.

GregoryPeckfan--three movies for you to check out, if you can find the first: "Voices" (1972? 1973?) Supernatural thriller starring Hemmings--Saw this on TCM in 2008--is similar to Nicolas Roeg's "Don't Look Now" (1974). I don't remember this one getting a U.S. release; at least I'd never heard of it. "Juggernaut" (1974)--Director Richard Lester's take on the disaster film. "Murder By Decree" (1979)--This is a film about Jack the Ripper and Sherlock Holmes.

speedracer5--Re Virginia O'Briens singing: Her little facial ticks and winks made perfectly ordinary lines into double entendres and got them past The Censors; a perfect example is "Salome", from "DuBarry Was A Lady" (1943), which TCM is airing March 30th--the number is also on YouTube. JMO.

1935--Best Actor: Single Winners are marked with two asterisks:ties with four asterisks: Boris Karloff in "Bride of Frankenstein"**** Charles Laughton in "Ruggles of Red Gap" Clark Gable in "Mutiny On The Bounty" Robert Donat in "The Ghost Goes West**** Edward G. Robinson in "The Whole Town's Talking" ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Best Actress: Bette Davis in "Dangerous" Mary Boland in "Ruggles of Red Gap" Katharine Hepburn in "Alice Adams"**** Miriam Hopkins in "Becky Sharp"**** Jeanette MacDonald in "Naughty Marietta" ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Best Supporting Actor: Ernest Thesiger in "The Bride of Frankenstein" W.C. Fields in "David Copperfield" Franchot Tone in "Mutiny On The Bounty" Basil Rathbone in "A Tale of Two Cities" Basil Rathbone in "Captain Blood"** ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Best Supporting Actress: Edna Mae Oliver in "A Tale of Two Cities"**** Elsa Lanchester in "The Bride of Frankenstein"**** Elsa Lanchester in "The Ghost Goes West" Olivia DeHavilland in "A Midsummer Night's Dream" Margaret Dumont in "A Night at the Opera" ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Winners in Other Categories will be listed later in the week.

My choice: Robert Donat as Richard Hannay in "The 39 Steps".

A List and comments: "The French Line" (1954)--If that film is Never shown again on TCM, it will be too soon--Maybe THE Stupidest musical I've ever sat through. "Reunion in France" (1942)--Joan Crawford & John Wayne versus Nazis--nuff said. "Ice Follies of 1939" (1939)--Joan in an ice-skating musical--I read in one of Crawfords' biographies that she said she skated on her ankles. In her big dance number, she wears a skirt that looks like a leftover from "Marie Antoinette" (1938); she may have done so. "The Return of Dr. X" (1939)--Poor Humphrey Bogart. "Pennies From Heaven" (1981)--Technically brilliant, with unpleasant characters and a Depressing story lost over $15 million for MGM. Saw it once, no need or wish to see again. "Quo Vadis" (1912, Italian)--Read the 1895 book First, so you know All the characters and plot, Then see the film. The burning of Rome is an impressive sequence. "Blame It On Rio" (1984)--Eye candy galore, but not ONE laugh in this disastrously unfunny comedy--if it Ever shows up on TCM's schedule, avoid it. One of the two Worst comedies I ever paid to see (shudder)! "Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot! (1992)--Another horror--a would-be comedy starring Sylvester Stallone--I thought film would be High Camp--is just unfunny--Awful.

I saw eleven movies last week. "Quo Vadis" (1912, Italian) is an artifact; as I did not read the 1895 book or see the 1951 sound version in the last ten years, I was quickly hopelessly lost as to who was who and doing what to whom and why. English titles didn't help--they assume you knew the plot of the book. For 1912, the special effects burning of Rome was spectacular. Rating not used, as film is over 100 years old. "A Foreign Affair" (1948)--is a bitter, rueful, Billy Wilder film set in Post WW II Berlin. Marlene Dietrich and Jean Arthur are marvelous. A sense of overwhelming sadness mutes the laughs. 7/10 stars. "The Oblong Box" (1969)--Vincent Price in yet another Edgar Allan Poe story. Christopher Lee and Alastair Williamson provide much needed assistance, as the rest of the cast turn in performances varying from adequate to awful. The teaming of Price and Lee make this one worth seeing. 6.5/10 stars. "Torch Song" (1953)--Joan Crawford turned down "From Here To Eternity" (1953) for this stinker. Classic Camp--the song "Two-Faced Woman" (and its' aftermath) must be seen to be believed. Marjorie Rambeau as Crawfords'characters' mother stole the film and snagged an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress in the process. The film is funnier than Carol Burnett's parody of it, "Torchy Song" which is on YouTube. Taken at face value, 4/10 stars; as a Camp Classic, 9/10 stars. "Humoresque" (1946)--Crawford at her Warner Bros. era peak, or close to it. Her restrained performance as a rich alcoholic who funds her loves' career as a violinist and a fantastic soundtrack by Isaac Stern and Oscar Levant redeem the soapier than soapy events of the screenplay. 8/10 stars. "The House on 92nd Street" (1945)--Henry Hathaway directed this FBI versus Nazi agents procedural. Its' documentary style was a major influence on subsequent film noirs. Movie is fascinating in its' look at 1940's technology and CSI work. Well worth watching. 7.2/10 stars. "Allegheny Uprising" (1939)--John Wayne, Claire Trevor, and George Sanders in 1759 Virginia lift this out of the rut director William A. Seiter has the film set in and make an entertaining film; Sanders' sneering and Trevors' energy are most welcome. Trevor and Wayne set off sparks when on screen together. 6.8/10 stars. "Countess Dracula" (1971)--A spin on the Elizabeth Bathory legend. Ingrid Pitt is good as the Countess; the other actors are adequate. Film is beautifully photographed. One of Hammers' better efforts. 7/10 stars. "M" (1951)--Joseph Losey remake of the Fritz Lang classic. Film is very good. 8/10 stars. "The French Line" (1954)--RKO's slogan said it All; "Jane Russell in 3-D--it'll knock BOTH your eyes out!!" Cutting to the chase, there were two main reasons to see the film; Jane Russell's bosoms. The 3-D effects designed for them were extras. It was easy to tell when an amply endowed woman was getting ready for the camera; they took a Deep breath (yes, it was visible, considering all the low-cut gowns Russell and costars wore) and the camera moved in for a Good look, or they charged the camera. Film is total dreck, otherwise. MAY be worth a watch if you have 3-D television. Without 3-D, 2.5/10 stars. "The Ghost Goes West" (1935)--Rene Clair comedy that never quite gets off the ground, but has excellent acting by Robert Donat in a dual role, and a welcome cameo by Elsa Lanchester, who makes every line count. An enjoyable watch. 7.3/10 stars.

Favorite Supporting Actors/Actresses: Leopoldine Konstantin in "Notorious" Jessie Royce Landis in "To Catch A Thief" & "North By Northwest" Ethel Barrymore in "The Paradine Case" Claude Rains in "Notorious" Judith Anderson in "Rebecca" Bruce Dern in "Family Plot"

speedracer5--Yes, "It Happened One Night" (1934) is a PreCode; The Code went into effect in July 1934; IHON was released in February 1934, according to TCM's page on IHON.