film lover 293

LornaHansonForbes--The film is disappointing because it's near non-stop talk for almost the first half of the film (It's one hour and seven minutes long). The monster is--amusing looking, but there's just too much talk. The fact that I saw a lousy copy was part of the reason for a low rating. If the print was good, it would be a 2/4.

"Two Rode Together" (1961)--Starring James Stewart, Richard Widmark, Shirley Jones, and Linda Cristal. Directed by John Ford. One of Fords' last westerns, this is another view of "The Searchers"--except this time, everything goes wrong. Mayor Guthrie McCabe (Stewart) is persuaded to leave his town by Lieutenant Jim Gary (Widmark) for an unknown reason. When they reach the fort, McCabe finds out the Army wants him to meet with Comanche chief Quanah Parker to swap merchandise for thirty some captives--and there's a time limit. Film goes from there. This is Stewart's film. He effortlessly runs the gamut from cynical comedy to anger to pleading--he's excellent. Widmark does well in a supporting role, and lets fly with some one liners of his own. Jones does as well as possible in her underwritten role. Cristal does very well in her part--if I say anymore, I'll give away the plot. There are moments of hope, but overall, this is a deeply cynical film. Very worth the watch. 3.4/4.

"Varan The Unbelievable" (1962)--Starring a combination flying squirrel/dinosaur/ knockoff of The Creature from the Black Lagoon/Horror of Party Beach. Disappointing Japanese monster movie. After the establishing shots of a city in panic, film spends the next, nearly unendurable 24 minutes in showing how that happened, mainly by nonstop yapping. When the monster Finally makes his appearance, its' appearance changes from shot to shot. It terrorizes the island it's on, stomping on toy villages, knocking over a toy truck with the letters "ka" (Tonka Toys?) on it. Then threatening a major city. Will it be stopped? Film Desperately needs a restoration. Saw on archive.org. 1.8/4.

"Kings of the Sun" (1963)--Starring George Chakiris, Yul Brynner, and Shirley Anne Field. Directed by J. Lee Thompson. Interesting drama about the Mayans and their forced removal from Chichen Itza, and what they encounter when they leave the Yucatan Peninsula. Brynner gives the films' best performance. Chakiris plays the role of "boy who learns to be a King" and is ok. Field is good in her silent moments, but hearing her British accented Mayan is disconcerting. Joseph MacDonald did the colorful cinematography. Elmer Bernstein contributed one of his best scores. Mary Babcock was responsible for the hairstyles that look an unfortunate mix of the 1960's melded with the 1100's. Elliott Arnold and James R. Webb's screenplay has tendency to get flowery and wordy at the worst times. Director Thompson must be credited with keeping the film Moving and not letting it get bogged down in excess verbiage. Film is a fun watch about a neglected period in history. 3.2/4.

MilesArcher--Correct. "Kings of the Sun also has a good score by Elmer Bernstein, and is an entertaining watch. Shirley Anne Field is odd as a British accented Mayan. Your thread, Miles.

Four Marion Davies silents--I've seen three of them online, so I know they're available: "Janice Meredith" (1925)-- Set during the American Revolution, film got rave reviews from contemporary critics--I saw the film on YouTube some time ago. "The Fair Co-ed" (1927)--Saw a lousy copy on YouTube--would Love to see a Good copy on TCM. "Her Cardboard Lover" (1928)--Saw on a site I've forgotten--copy was OK, but would like to see TCM show it. "Zander The Great" (1925)--Have not seen, but would like to see TCM show it. Hope to see these, or other Davies silents, in 2017. Thanks in advance, TCM.

Thurs. Nov. 4th/5th--One Old Faithful comedy, one "so bad it's good" film; all times E.S.T.: 4:15 p.m. "Born Yesterday" (1950)--Judy Holliday makes the film worth the watch. 1:30 a.m. "The Silver Chalice" (1954)--Paul Newman took out an ad in a Hollywood paper apologizing for the film and his performance in the 1960's; this is the one where Jack Palance tries to fly.

Thanks, MarshaKatz. This actor made a film about an ancient civilization as a followup to his Oscar winning role in a musical blockbuster. The film also starred an actor who had been catapulted to film stardom by one of his first roles, also in a musical, which won him an Oscar. Please name the two actors, their two musicals, and their film about an ancient civilization.

"Koyaanisqatsi" (1982), and "The Sea Around Us" (1953) are the two I'm looking forward to; I also would like to see films by Frederick Wiseman. I'd also like to see Godfrey Reggio's semi-sequel to "Koyaanisqatsi", "Powaqqatsi" (1988).

The Uninvited Next--ETH DSUCEPENUST

Vanessa Redgrave?

Van Pelt the Valorous

Like the A--Z format; Notable films I've missed: Feb. 10th--"The Great Waltz" (1938)--Standard love triangle, but beautiful cinematography won an Oscar, and the scene where Strauss composes "Tales of the Vienna Woods" is unintentionally funny (it was excerpted in "That's Entertainment!" (1974)). Feb. 11th--"The Green Goddess" (1930)--Early talkie sounds like it might be a fun watch. Feb. 16th--"Madame X"--(1929)--Maltin says remakes are better--the Lana Turner (1966) remake is Better???. This must be truly Awful--in which case, it's a must-see for me, LOL. Feb. 18th--"The New Land" (1973)--Sequel to "The Emigrants" (1972), by Swedish director Jan Troell, starring Max von Sydow and Liv Ullmann--this deals with their life in 1860's Minnesota. Worth staying up for/recording. Was nominated for Best Foreign Film. Feb. 20th--"Poltergeist" (1982)--I saw this when it was first released, and haven't seen it since--am ready to rewatch what I remember as an excellent film. Feb. 22nd--"Rhapsody in Blue" (1945) & "Rich, Young, and Pretty"--two musicals I've missed; "The Road to Morocco" (1940)--love that series of films: and "The Ruling Class" (1972)--English royalty + Jack the Ripper + religion=sounds like a Strange film; "Sadie Thompson"--Gloria Swanson's take on "Rain". Feb. 28th--"Trader Horn" (1931)--Early MGM classic filmed in Africa. March 4th--"White Shadows in the South Seas" (1928)--First MGM talkie has gorgeous cinematography, melodramatic plot. Documentary pioneer Robert Flaherty (1922's "Nanook of the North", etc) did some work on the film. "Z" (1969)--political thriller I've missed somehow.

David Niven in "Old Dracula" (1975). Michael Pataki in "Zoltan...Hound of Dracula", aka "Dracula's Dog" (1978). Willem Dafoe as Count Orlok/Max Schrek in "Shadow of the Vampire" (2001), which is about the filming of "Nosferatu" (1922). He was nominated for Best Supporting Actor for his performance.

Son of Frankenstein?

3)--"Curse of the Demon"?

"Black Sabbath" (1964)--Uneven anthology film hosted and starring Boris Karloff, directed by Mario Bava. The first film story is about the ghost of a woman coming back and stealing things back from her former maid. The second tale is about a woman terrorized by a telephone caller. This one's a twist on "Diabolique" (1955) and is the best part of the film. The third episode is about a family that thinks their father (Karloff) has become a vrdolak (vampire). This episode is weakest because the hero is excessively stupid; the animals in the film, as well as the viewer can tell what's going to happen, but the light never dawns in the protagonists' brain. Film is worth seeing for the first two stories, Karloff's performance, and Bava's cinematography. 2.6/4.

Monday, Oct. 31st--Halloween--All times E.S.T. 6:00 a.m.--"Mark of the Vampire" (1935)--Director Tod Browning's sound remake of the 1927 silent "London After Midnight". 6:00 p.m.--"The Haunting" (1963)--Maybe The best ghost story ever filmed; definitely one of the best. 8:00 p.m.--"The Devil's Bride" (1968)--A very good Hammer film with Christopher Lee as star. 9:45 p.m.--"The Mummy" (1959)--Stylish Hammer remake of the Karloff classic.

I saw six movies and one short for the first time last week. "Rasputin, The Mad Monk" (1966)--Hammer melodrama starring Christopher Lee and Barbara Shelley. Film takes a turn toward horror in its' last thirty minutes. Lee plays Rasputin as an amoral man who will use whoever he needs to, however he needs to, so he can become rich. Film wisely never answers the question of whether Rasputin could really heal people. The viewer is left to decide that for themselves. A fun watch. "Taste the Blood of Dracula" (1970)--Count Dracula's back, this time in Victorian London, and nobody is what they seem. The ones who bray loudest about morality are the biggest fools. Christopher Lee turns in another polished performance as the Count, and Veronica Carlson is a creditable damsel in distress. Recommended. "Kiss of the Vampire" (1963)-- Hammer horror entry that has Clifford Evans' character subbing for Van Helsing; Noel Willmans' stands in for the Count. The struggle between good and evil is the main focus of the film. Special Effects are fair. An ok watch. "The Skull" (1965)--An Amicus horror film starring Peter Cushing, Christopher Lee, and Jill Bennett. Film is about the title object, which belonged to the Marquis De Sade, which is bought by an occult researcher (Cushing). Turns out the Skull is possessed. Cushing, Lee, and Bennett's acting ability make the film work, as special effects are only ok. "Ghost Cat of Ouma Crossing" (1954)--Japanese horror film is subtitled, but takes too long to set the situation up, people talk and talk and Talk about what they're going to do to someone before they do it, and the victim(s) just stand around and cry, instead of defending themselves, or Leaving. The fragile flower of a heroine is seriously annoying. That being said, the last thirty minutes of the film are fun as the viewer sees the villains get their just desserts. It was hard to find information about the film; TCM says nothing about this film or director, and IMDB had exactly One review of it. Found on archivedotorg. "Blood and Black Lace" (1964)-- A Mario Bava film set in a fashion salon where all the models are being murdered over an incriminating diary one of the models has/had. All the characters are skunks, which helps, but I got sick of seeing people killed in this forerunner of the 'Slasher" film. Film had knockout photography and a wild color scheme, like most of Bava's 1960's color films. "The Tell-Tale Heart" (1941)--MGM short of the Edgar Allan Poe short story, directed by Jules Dassin. Joseph Schildkraut and Roman Bohnen are very good. Makes me wish Dassin had done more horror films. Saw on YT. Favorite--Taste the Blood of Dracula (1970). Least Favorite--None. All are worth one viewing, at least.

This director's films always have an good musical score. Two of his horror films have been nominated for Best Score. Name the director, his films nominated for Best Score, and one of the Oscar nominated composers.

"Blood and Roses" (1961), directed by Roger Vadim, based on "Carmilla" by Sheridan Le Fanu, starring Mel Ferrer, Annette Vadim, and Elsa Martinelli?

Lawrence--Yes, correct on all counts! "The Strange Door" (1951) is an ok film, definitely better than "The Black Castle" (1952). I saw both films as a double feature on television back in the day. No crocodiles in Strange Door, though. Your thread, Lawrence.

Lawrence--You've named one of the two stars in your last post. I didn't know I'd picked such an obscure film. More than one of his short stories was made into a horror film.

shutoo--You're correct. Your thread.

A good guess, but not that one, starlit.