film lover 293
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Posts posted by film lover 293
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A Remembrance of Cinematographer Haskell Wexler, & Sinatra: All times E.S.T.:
5:45 p.m.--"Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf" (1966)--Wexler won the Best Cinematography Oscar for filming this.
8:00 p.m.--"Sinatra (1969).
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TopBilled--Am very glad you thought "Fallen Angel" so improved. Am delighted I may actually have found Preminger's original cut of the film. I thought the 121 minute version was markedly better.. After seeing Faye, am convinced the lady had acting ability that went unused--except when she sang.
P.S.--LawrenceA--I've managed to miss both films. Two more on a Long list to see.
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jamesjazzguitar--The Actor will be Ben Cooper. He played a character named Turkey in "Johnny Guitar" (1954). The wine(s) for the meal will be "Viewers Choice"--meaning, whatever's available.
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MovieCollectorOH--I have another for you to add (unless I somehow missed it, LOL): "The Werewolf of Washington" (1973). Dean Stockwell stars. Werewolves, Transylvania, Bulgaria, & Watergate are all mixed in the plot. Is currently on YT.
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"Cluny Brown" (1946)--Jennifer Jones plays a girl with a passion for plumbing, which is unacceptable in 1938 London society. Ernst Lubitsch directed, & gets away with double & triple entendres because of Jones' quality of total innocence; this is the flip side of the role she played in "Duel In The Sun", and Jones and co-stars Charles Boyer, Peter Lawford, and Helen Walker are terrific. (Walker is the only actress I've seen who can scream while reading a book and looking bored, LOL). Lubitschs' final completed film (1948's "That Lady in Ermine" was completed by Otto Preminger). Multiple copies are on YT. Close to perfect film. 9/10 stars.
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TopBilled--about "Fallen Angel" (1945); there are at least two prints of the longer version on YT. I'm Guessing here; but version I'm speaking of has an extended scene of police brutality, and Faye & Andrews sharing a bed. Has no introductory titles. No subtitles either. Because of these scenes, had no hope of getting Code approval. Possibly a version for Great Britain? Wouldn't a directors' cut have the opening titles? A messed up copy someone found somewhere & put on YT? I don't know; I do know this version fixes several plot holes.
Oh--1945 find: Bugs Bunny cartoon "Slick Hare". Is set at The Mocrumbo, & dinner's only $600 per plate. Elmer Fudd is a waiter, Bogie orders fried rabbit--check the cartoon out on Vimeo. Search "Bugs Bunny Slick Hare".
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1945:
1.) "Dead of Night"--Wonderful horror anthology film--episodes with Googie Withers, Michael Redgrave, and child actress Sally Ann Howes still pack a punch.
2.) "State Fair"--Only film with a Rodgers and Hammerstein score especially composed for film.
3.) "Saratoga Trunk"--Ingrid Bergman and Gary Cooper make a wonderful comic team. Unexpected delight. Bergman goes brunette & winds every man in sight around her little finger; Cooper fires off an occasional zinger. Only drawback is Flora Robson's Dreadful makeup job.
4.) "Hangover Square"--Marvelous noir with Laird Cregar & Linda Darnell.
5.) " The Clock"--Judy Garland and Robert Walker
6.) "Spellbound"--Hitchcock + Dali+ Bergman= memorable film.
7.) "Fallen Angel"--The two hour and one minute version on YT fixes a Lot of plot holes--This version is the one I'm ranking, not the 98 minute version. Alice Faye is underrated.
8.) "The Body Snatcher"--A fine Val Lewton/ Boris Karloff horror film.
9.) "Blithe Spirit"--Margaret Rutherford is one of my two picks for Best Actress this year--Joan would tie--and would have another (solo) win in the future.
10.) "A Royal Scandal"--Overlooked farce that Otto Preminger keeps going at a gallop: Tallulah Bankhead, and especially Vincent Price are expert.
10.) "Mildred Pierce"--Strictly on the value of the performances of Joan Crawford, Eve Arden, and Ann Blyth. Script is good, but not great.
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1944:
1.) "Meet Me In St. Louis"
2.) "The Miracle of Morgans' Creek.
3.) "Gaslight"
4.) "Double Indemnity"
5.) "Lifeboat"
6.) "The Suspect"
7.) "The Woman in the Window"
8.) "Laura"
9.) "To Have and Have Not"
10.) Bluebeard (don't see the copy on YT--find a better one, if possible)
My 1944 find--"Hell Bent for Election--a reminder to register to vote!" Cartoon produced by Chuck Jones, who took time off from his wartime Private Snafu cartoons to produce this Pro-Roosevelt cartoon. Is almost antique in its' view of mudslinging. Cartoon is on YT, if anyone wishes to view it.
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"Bluebeard" (1944)--One of John Carradines' rare lead roles, and he turns in an excellent performance. Director Edgar Ulmer made this shortly before "Detour" (1946). Saw film on YT; picture quality varied from OK to Lamentable. Ulmer's vision and camerawork make this worth a watch, despite a Dreadful music score that emotes for the actors and tells the audience how to react. Score was by someone named "Erdody". Film was a PRC cheapie. In spite of the flaws, 6/10 stars: if I could find a good restored copy, I would give it 7 and a half stars.
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NipkowDisc--Remember, please, that not everyone has seen ALL the movies that are to be shown! I'd like to decide for myself if "The Valley of the Gwangi" is any good, along with the 50's sci-fi movies that are slotted for tomorrow.
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TikiSoo--About George Zucco. You may have seen him in "Marie Antoinette" (1938, 22nd billed), "After The Thin Man" (1936, 12th billed), "The Black Swan" (1942, 7th billed), "Sudan" (1945, 5th billed), "The Pirate" (1948, 6th billed). As The Viceroy, he sneered at Walter Slezak the entire time he was on-screen in "The Pirate" (1948). Zucco made 86 films in 20 years. He died in 1960.
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"A Royal Scandal" (1945)--Farce was panned by 1945 critics, but is very funny. Tallulah Bankhead as Catherine The Great, Charles Coburn, Vincent Price, and Anne Baxter all play with polished timing. The one person who gums everything up is co-star William Eythe, as the soldier Catherine takes an interest in. When Eythe is off-screen, film moves smoothly; when he's on screen, farce loses momentum and almost comes to a halt. Otto Preminger directed, and did a better job than he's given credit for; he keeps things moving at a gallop, and dialogue goes back and forth so fast the viewer has to listen for all the zingers in the dialogue; some of the best lines are throwaways at the end of a scene. A pleasant surprise. 7/10 stars.
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"Maniac" (1934)--Someone said they never start out meaning to make a bad film. But what else could the people behind this atrocity have had in mind (besides making money)? Film in its restored version is only fifty minutes long (mercifully). From what I've read about the film, it's supposed to be terribly funny. It's not. It's total incompetence. This film makes "The Brain That Wouldn't Die" (1963) look like "Citizen Kane" (1941). Restoration I saw was from The Video Cellar, on YT. Now I know a director to avoid--Dwain Esper. For that knowledge, film gets 1/10 stars.
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R.I.P., Mr. Wexler You really captured the mood of a place on film, regardless of where it was set (1966's "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? and 1968's "In The Heat of The Night" are the immediate examples that spring to mind). You will be missed.
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Well, my favorite director is Hitchcock--and I'd seen this particular film over 20 times Before I found TCM--but his film I've seen most is;
"North By Northwest"--over 30 viewings. Others seen over 20 times are;
"The Birds"
"Notorious"
"Rebecca"
"To Catch A Thief"
"Psycho"
"Family Plot" (this is Hitchcock's last film, and a mellow, amusing film to leave as his final work, as compared to 1972's "Frenzy", where the viewer senses anger barely tamped down; technically proficient, but not enjoyable viewing, IMHO).
"Rear Window" (I saw the 1999 limited theatrical re-release of RW--if you missed it in March 2015, see it on the big screen if you get a chance!)
"The Man Who Knew Too Much" (1956 version)
Film noirs:
"Gilda"
"To Have and Have Not"
"The Big Sleep"
"Kiss Me Deadly"
MGM Musicals--list limited to those I've seen over 20 times:
"The Wizard of Oz-- (Seen over 35 times)
'Meet Me In St. Louis
Yolanda and the Thief
The Harvey Girls
Good News
Easter Parade
On The Town
In The Good Old Summertime
Annie Get Your Gun
Royal Wedding (TCM showings moved this one over 20--all voluntary)
Singin' in The Rain--(Over 40 viewings--all voluntary)
The Bandwagon--(TCM "Summer of Darkness" showings moved this to 21)
It's Always Fair Weather
Kismet--(I see it every time TCM shows it; love the score, & cast does it justice)
Funny Face--(The Freed Unit moved to Paramount--might as well be an MGM film, IMHO)
Silk Stockings--(I disagree with most/all posters, & think this is one of Cole Porter's best scores, & the cast is exceptionally good)
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OK: First for 1942:
1.) "Casablanca"--wins in a walk. Everything works, down to the music.
2.) "The Magnificent Ambersons"--Orson Welles film is still magnificent, even chopped up by its releasing studio (RKO). The camerawork alone gets it in the Top Ten.
3.) "For Me And My Gal"--Judy Garland & Gene Kelly in his first film; heavy on the flag waving, also heavy on the music.
4.) "Woman of the Year"--Romantic comedy is dated, yet chemistry crackles between Katharine Hepburn and Tracy--makes films' faults less apparent (to me).
5.) "Across The Pacific"--Schizophrenic film can't decide whether it's a spy drama, romantic comedy, or film noir; in addition, is Not PC--but this reteaming of Bogart, Astor, & Greenstreet is Much more enjoyable than a film like "Mrs. Miniver" (which I can't sit through--it's like chugging a bottle of cough syrup, IMO). ATP shouldn't work, but does.
6.) "The Black Swan"--Arguably the Best Technicolored swashbuckler of Tyrone Powers' career. Has an unbeatable supporting cast; Maureen O'Hara, George Sanders, Laird Cregar, etc. Grand fun. Leon Shamroys' cinematography won an Oscar.
7.) "You Were Never Lovelier"--Astaire and Hayworth and a Jerome Kern score. Marvelous.
8.) "I Married A Witch"--Fredric March is stiff, and Veronica Lake steals the film from him. Underrated comedy.
9.) "Cat People"--Scary film from Jacques Tourneur about a hereditary curse.
10.) "Now, Voyager"--Bette Davis soap opera, exceedingly well done.
Now, 1943:
1.) "Shadow of a Doubt"--Top notch Hitchcock thriller with Joseph Cotten & Teresa Wright.
2.) "Five Graves to Cairo"--Overlooked Billy Wilder WW II film--marvelous, bitingly funny, thriller.
3.) "Sahara"--Very good wartime yarn, with Bogart outsmarting all.
4.) "For Whom The Bell Tolls"--Terrific performances by Ingrid Bergman, Gary Cooper, and Katrina Paxinou (she won a Best Supporting Actress Oscar) make the film.
5.) "The Ox-Bow Incident--Undeniably effective but preachy film.
6.) "Phantom of the Opera"--Emphasis is on music until last half hour.
7.) "The Leopard Man"--Underrated Jacques Tourneur thriller.
8.) "Heaven Can Wait"--Ernst Lubitsch fun--Ameche and Tierney are a good couple.
9.) "Stormy Weather"--The Nicholas Bros. in a dance number that must be seen to be believed--& Lena Horne and Cab Calloway.
10.) "Girl Crazy"--Mickey and Judy directed by Busby Berkeley/Norman Taurog, and a Gershwin score.
Funniest film of 1943 (and maybe of the 1940's)--"The Gang's All Here". I almost laughed myself into an asthma attack watching it; "The Lady in the Tutti-Frutti Hat" has to be seen to be believed.
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slaytonf--Yes, but Ginger was the comic of the two. She was a natural choice for "A Fine Romance" and "Pick Yourself Up". Astaire was the romantic, so he got most of the ballads; Rogers got the comic songs. JMO.
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"The Lost World"--(1925)--Have just watched a TCM quality restored version of the film;you can see the far off details of almost every scene. One of the best quality restorations I've seen (for what that's worth). Restoration was made using Eight different prints. The color switches fairly often, but film is Clear, which is a bonus for the special effects, which the film doesn't skimp on. An unexpected gem. 9/10 stars.
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The restoration and showing of "Woman on the Run" (1950) & "Too Late for Tears" (1949), along with 1930's "New Moon" & "Sweet Kitty Bellairs" are specific highlights. Otherwise, I'd go with the "Summer of Darkness" & the showing of Roadshow Musicals as my highlights.
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1941--My take:
1.) "The Little Foxes"--A favorite of mine, despite Bette's Kabuki make-up.
2.) "The Sea Wolf"--Sea-going noir based on a Jack London tale; Edward G, Robinson, Ida Lupino, & John Garfield are Excellent.
3.) "High Sierra"--Bogart & Lupino.
4.) "A Woman's Face"--A noir made by MGM with Joan Crawford.
5.) "Sullivan's Travels"--Not as good as "The Lady Eve", but Veronica Lake & Joel McCrea make a fine comedic team.
6.) "H.M. Pulham, Esq."--Little known romantic film that stars Hedy Lamarr in her best performance.
7.) "You'll Never Get Rich"--Astaire & Rita Hayworth dance to a Cole Porter score. Enchanting film when they dance.
8.) "Blood and Sand"--Tyrone Power and Hayworth, directed by Rouben Mamoulian--film is a swirl of emotions, with the color red being dominant. Won 1941's Oscar for Best Cinematography.
9.)"The Man Who Came to Dinner"--Monty Wooley in a classic comic performance, backed up admirably by Mary Wickes, Billie Burke ,et al. Bette Davis keeps the romantic subplot in the background & lets the others shine.
10.) "The Maltese Falcon"--Bogart & Astor are a perfect team.
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I saw eight films and one television special this week.
"That's Entertainment Part III" (1994)--was a fun watch, with dancing highlighted, along with songs that were cut from their intended movies. My favorites were "Pass That Peace Pipe" from "Good News" (1947) (June Allyson is Not in this number) and "March of the Doagies", a number cut from "The Harvey Girls" (1946) because the film was too long.
"Nancy Goes To Rio" (1950)--Jane Powells' coming-of-age film, notable for three things. Carmen Miranda co-stars and has two numbers. The first is amusing. The second, "Caroon Pa Pa" is where the director strolled out and took a break. It's four minutes of cinematic insanity. Helen Rose, MGMs' designer, must have watched 1943's "The Gang's All Here" & decided to outdo it; everyone else was inspired by her, because there is Nothing else like it in the film. Song is a classic of craziness that's worth sitting through the rest of the film to see, IMHO. Just before this, Powell sings an emotional version of "Embraceable You", & after dressing Modestly the first part of the film, starts dressing in evening gowns that show she has bosoms--in particular, a hot pink evening gown that emphasizes them. NGTR was Ann Sotherns' last MGM film; she looks lovely and sounds lovelier.
"Call of the Flesh" (1930)--A prime example of "floperetta". Ramon Novarro is fine as dashing young hero--until he tries to sing opera. Dorothy Jordan is hopeless as his co-star; Novarro is OK in the brief excerpt of "Libiamo" he sings with his father. But in the climactic opera scenes; OMG, he is Awful. I Wished for Nelson Eddy to appear and save the opera! Unbelievably, this Mess made a profit & earned respectful reviews for Novarros' singing.
"King of Jazz" (1930)--The last of the studio revues (1930s'Paramount on Parade, etc.), KoJ was the most costly & arguably the best. Influential 1920s' bandleader & composer Paul Whiteman "hosted" the film. Centerpiece was Gershwins' "Rhapsody In Blue." KOJ was filmed in Technicolor and was Bing Crosbys' film debut. Because a glut of idiocies like "Call of the Flesh" were in release, the film lost over $500,000 in 1930's dollars.
"Number Seventeen" (1932)--Early Hitchcock, with no real script and the cast improvising as they go. Not dreadful, not the nadir of his work. Still, only for Hitchcock film buffs, IMHO.
"Frank and Bing" (1957)--Christmas television special they did that's marvelous, non-stop singing and verbal back-and-forth.
"Just Imagine" (1930)--A man dies in 1930 and is brought back to life in 1980. This musical gets some things right (helipads, computers that serve as visual and spoken phones), and some hilariously Wrong (their imaginings about Mars). Film takes a detour into Camp the last 35 minutes or so. Stick out the cornball humor of El Brendel. Films' score is OK. Film lost a bundle at the box-office.
"The Flying Serpent" (1945)--Enjoyably stupid film about Quetzalcoatl, The Flying Serpent that, according to the films version of Aztec myth, guards Montezumas' lost treasure and has to kill whoever retrieves one of its' shed feathers. Film has too many idiocies to list, but has a surprisingly effective monster for a Poverty Row studio (PRC);too bad actors don't live up to the monsters standards (The teenaged lead actress, who screams on cue, and George Zucco, sneering bird keeper, are excepted). Film is an enjoyable time killer.
"Janice Meredith" (1925)--One of Marion Davies' best films, a print is on YouTube. Picture quality is so-so at best, but I thought the film was Lost. Credit goes to TomJH for finding a link to it. Film got raves when released, but has fallen into obscurity. W.C. Fields is in one scene.
The two best films--"Janice Meredith" (1925) & "King of Jazz" (1930).
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PrinceSaliano--I was asking a question I got from MovieCollectorOH's post of Dec. 20th, 2:16 p.m. E.S.T. I'm sorry if I derailed your thread, but looking at his MGM list mentioned in that post made me wonder Why So Many of Marion Davies MGM owned films have never been shown. It can't be quality of the film (I mean critical raves (unanimous excellent reviews) or bombs (the opposite). So either the physical film itself was allowed to deteriorate to an unrestorable condition, was Lost due to simple incompetence, or TCM isn't showing them, for some unfathomable (to me) reason. Sorry I derailed your thread.
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"The Flying Serpent" (1945)--Enjoyably (incredibly, if you know Aztec mythology) stupid LOW Budget fantasy/murder mystery about about Quetzalcoatl, the title creature that according to this film guards Montezumas' ancient Aztec treasure & kills anyone who gets one of its' shed feathers. George Zucco stars as bird keeper. Idiocies include: the same shot of a car being driven by the same place used at least five times: newspapers promoting illiteracy (catch all the misspelled words in the newspaper shots), just for starters. What saves the film is a surprisingly good monster from a Poverty Row studio (movie's from PRC). Film is just under one hour, & goes by surprisingly fast. 5.5/10 stars.
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Swithin--Couldn't find any film with an English title that fitted your description, Could the film you saw have been " The Nuns of Sant' ArchAngelo (1972) or "Monache di Sant' Archangelo?
As for Disclose TV--they appear to deal in psychic phenomena, UFOs, etc.
I Just Watched...
in General Discussions
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jamesjazzguitar--Jones only made 27 films; and only two of those were comedies (Cluny Brown & Beat the Devil). She got raves from the critics for both films; it's a shame she didn't do more comedies.