film lover 293

lydecker, I also am told you cannot receive any new messages when I try to send my vote by PM.

"Fiesta" (1947)--Starring Esther Williams, Ricardo Montalban (in his debut), and Cyd Charisse. Preposterous film has twins Mario (Montalban) and Maria (Williams) as a budding composer and bullfighter, respectively. Best sequences are two dances with Charisse and Montalban; they total eight minutes. Williams has a very short routine in the water, about 2 minutes. There's a retitled version of Aaron Copland's "El Salon Mexico" that takes another five minutes. That leaves one hour and twenty seven minutes of movie to sit through. "Fiesta" did snag an Oscar nomination for Best Score. It's a real effort to stay awake through the non-dancing/singing parts. "Fiesta"s on-location filming in Mexico was troubled, almost jinxed. Four of the stuntmen were gored by bulls; two crew members died of cholera after eating contaminated street food. If you've seen every Cyd Charisse musical except "Fiesta" (1947), and "The Kissing Bandit" (1948), give "Fiesta" a look. 1.8/4--For the musical numbers.

wrong guess

JamesStewartFan95--Yes, I watched; had literally seen the nighttime lineup before, but saw "British Intelligence" (1940) and "The Walking Dead" (1936) for the first time. Whether seeing for the first time or the twentieth, a fun day of films. Best day of SUTS so far.

INESCORT, FRIEDA

LEMORA, THE LADY DRACULA

"Du Barry Was A Lady" (1943)--Starring Red Skelton, Lucille Ball, and Gene Kelly, directed by Roy Del Ruth. Full disclosure; I Don't like Red Skelton's comedy (his singing is listenable). With that said: MGM bought a seventeen song musical comedy, threw out thirteen songs ("It Ain't Etiquette", "Well, Did You Evah", and "But In The Morning, No" can still be heard as background music) and had five studio composers take care of the rest of the score ("Salome" is their best contribution). The plot--Film takes place in a nightclub. Louis (Skelton) is in love with May (Lucille Ball). After he accidentally drinks a Mickey, he dreams he's back in 1743 France, where he is Louis XV, and May is Madame DuBarry. To me, Skelton is unbearable when he plays stupid; here, he takes forever to get the idea he's back in France, and tramples jokes into the ground. I don't know if that's his fault or the fault of director Del Ruth. Ball is good as May/Madame DuBarry. She saves the second half of the film with her comedy skills where she makes a fool out of Louis XV. She is dubbed for most of her songs, but her real voice can be heard in the song "Friendship". Gene Kelly is good as Alec/The Black Arrow. He has the best song ("Do I Love You") and an excellent dance number on the nightclub stage. Virginia O'Brien makes "Salome" a memorable song. Look for Marilyn Maxwell in a bit , and Lana Turner in an uncredited bit. Film is enjoyable musical nonsense, but it could have been much better. 2.5/4 Edit--Saw a Beautiful print on archivedotorg.

THE SCARLET EMPRESS

"The Walking Dead" (1936)--Good movie, but the soundtrack is going out. Last time I tried watching TWD, a hissing noise ruined the film; this time there is a buzzing noise. Wish Comcast would show a Better copy.

THE FATAL HOUR OF THE GUNSMAN'S WALK ON THE WILD SIDE.

"Dick Tracy Meets Gruesome" (1947): this film Had to have been intended as a joke. One especially Dim character: " I'd swear if I didn't know better, we were doing business with Boris Karloff !!" Plot has something to do with nerve gas, so naturally one character tells another "Don't lose your nerve!" A sign in a shop: "Y. Stuffum, Taxidermist".

Hint: Lamarr's "Casablanca".

ZOOT SUIT

Friday, Aug. 26th; Boris Karloff day. Three that aren't being repeated in Oct; all times E.S.T.: 7:45 a.m. "The Lost Patrol" (1934)--Marvelous film about a British troop lost in the desert, their enemies slowly killing them off. Very good Max Steiner score. 10:15 a.m. "The Mask of Fu Manchu" (1932)--Expensive looking, fast moving film about a group looking for Fu Manchu's tomb and treasure. Karloff and Myrna Loy are standouts. 2:15 p.m. "The Walking Dead" (1936)--Fast moving film barely over an hour long--Karloff is wrongly killed, brought back to life, and K. seeks Revenge.

LawrenceA--Would you please post a picture of Willem Dafoe as Nosferatu in "Shadow of the Vampire" (2000)? It's an Excellent Dracula movie, and as far as I know, Dafoe was the only actor to get an Oscar nomination for playing Dracula. Thanks.

"The Duchess of Idaho" (1950)--Starring Van Johnson and Esther Williams. This was the fourth film with Johnson and Williams, and the theme of comedically mismatched couples was wearing thin. Film is connect-the-dots fare, with Williams only doing two swimming numbers. Johnson's comedic talents come in handy, and Lena Horne and Eleanor Powell are pluses (even though each only has one song). Connie Haines does well with her songs. TDoI is a painless time killer; but the non-musical moments without Van Johnson may put you to sleep. 2.3/4

UNDERCURRENT

"Mr. Bug Goes to Town" (1941)--The version I saw was titled "Bugville", from a 1989 Legend DVD release (I Think--it has a sloppily prepared title card and matches the Wikipedia description, and the promo video TCM has is of the beginning of MBGtT is an exact match, excepting the title card). OK Fleischer/Paramount animated feature (Fleischer made the animated 1939 "Gulliver's Travels) about bugs endangered by man has a listenable score by Frank Loesser, very good opening and closing sequences, and a good nightclub scene (watch for the Jitterbug). Film has too many lulls between the interesting scenes, and in general is cloyingly sweet. Film is a disappointment. This is the one that was released two days before Pearl Harbor. Thanks at least partially to bad timing, film was a financial disaster. Film is hard to find, so is worth a watch. Just have a pot of coffee close by. 2.3/4. Edit: Found on Archivedotorg.

HIGHER AND HIGHER

DAMN YANKEES

SCARY MOVIE 5

TOPAZ

IN A LONELY PLACE

GASLIGHT

"Heavenly Music" from "Summer Stock" (1950). Next: A duet between lovers.