Det Jim McLeod
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Posts posted by Det Jim McLeod
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Blondie Plays Cupid (1940) Movies! TV Network 6/10
Blondie tries to help a young couple elope.
This is #7 in the series and it's still funny, though this one takes a while to get to the main plot. It begins with a very funny slapstick scene where Daisy is chased by a bunch on neighborhood dogs through the house. The movie takes place around 4th of July time, Blondie tries to prevent Dagwood from using fireworks. Baby Dumpling is getting noticeably bigger, but still has great comic timing. There are more laughs as Blondie and Dagwood take the family on a train trip, character actor Charles Lane plays a grouchy train conductor. A very boyish looking Glenn Ford has one of his earliest roles, as the young groom. The bride's shotgun toting father opposes the marriage. One of the funniest scenes is when Baby Dumpling takes a car on a joyride.
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Stranger To Stranger Paul Simon-June 2016
A pretty good new collection of songs from Simon. The first track is "The Werewolf" with some flamenco dancing sounds and lyrics about a she-wolf creature. My favorite song is "Wristband" a catchy, witty song about a musician who is not allowed into his own gig because he doesn't have the required wristband. The title song is about a couple imaging if they were strangers again, would they fall in love. There is a beautiful horn section on this. Simon is 75 years old now but his voice still sounds smooth and pure.
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Bless The Beasts & Children (1971) VHS tape 9/10
Six misfits boys at a summer camp try to save a buffalo herd from slaughter.
One of my favorite movies set in summer time. It was well directed by Stanley Kramer, probably the last great movie he made. The film is told in flashbacks. We first see the boys sneaking out on horseback to release the buffalo from a gated pen. In the flashbacks we get to see each individual kid's story. The only "name" among them was Billy Mumy (Will Robinson from Lost In Space). The story may seem very serious but there is quite a bit of humor in it, some of it hilarious, though the ending is tragic. I love the music in this as well. The Carpenters sing the gentle title song (it was nominated for an Oscar). Another song was "Down The Line" a nice early 70s singer/songwriter type tune, it would have fit in nicely in Midnight Cowboy since the singer reminded me of Harry Nilsson. Mumy also contributed a good song "It's A Beautiful Day". And one music piece would become the theme to the daytime soap The Young And The Restless.
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1 hour ago, TikiSoo said:
Scouting NY has several really great screen shots & their contemporary comparison shots. Looks like other sites have stolen/posted his pics. Look at his site for other great NYC filming locations & little known, hidden oddities.
It was interesting to see these. The book store in the movie was Gotham Book Mart, a great old store with an iconic sign "Wise Men Fish Here", it right smack in the middle of the Diamond District on 47th street. It was a great place to browse and I bought some good movie books here. Unfortunately it closed over a decade ago. It's sad to see so many old bookstores closing. With the the pandemic all have been closed, I hope the few that are left can survive this.
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I say Gone With The Wind. I would love to have a lunch table with Clark Gable, Vivien Leigh, Olivia DeHavilland, Leslie Howard, Hattie McDaniel and Butterfly McQueen, just to see how the conversation would go.
Next- Who would rather hoist a few pints with in a pub-
Richard Burton or Peter O'Toole?
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Jesse James Meets Frankenstein's Daughter (1966)
Next-Bela Lugosi Meets A Brooklyn Gorilla (1952) 2 directed by William Beaudine
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What's New Pussycat? (1965)
Next- your favorite summer vacation
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Rosemary's Baby (1968) DVD 10/10
A young wife is pregnant and suspicious of her new neighbors.
I have seen this countless times and it is still brilliant in every way. One of my top ten films of all time.
Mia Farrow is excellent in the lead, she is in every scene and we see everything from her point of view. You really feel for her every step of the way.
Roman Polanski's direction is great, the tension builds and builds and explodes with the still shocking ending. The writing is very faithful to the book, it is nearly a word for word, scene for scene recreation. One striking scene is the dream sequence where a drugged Rosemary finds herself on a yacht with actors portraying JFK and his wife Jackie, I did not realize that is who they were supposed to be until I read the novel.
The musical score by Christopher Komeda is one of the finest in film history. The haunting and eerie lullaby (sung by Mia Farrow) sets the mood. There more menacing music when Rosemary first starts having pains.
Ruth Gordon gives a funny, Oscar winning performance as the nosy neighbor Minnie. But stage veteran Sidney Blackmer is equally effective as her husband. He is quietly menacing even when he is being kindly, his booming voice at the end is chilling. Maurice Evans provides a great counter point as Hutch the only nice older person in the film. Elisha Cook Jr plays the apartment manager, he was made up to have missing fingers on his hand, though it is hard to see in the film.
As a native New Yorker, it is nice to see the city in it's 1960s era. Radio City Music Hall is featured in a Christmas scene where Rosemary is waiting to see Hutch. The Music Hall is still around though the Time and Life Bldg lobby has changed a lot. There is a great scene where Rosemary walks into oncoming traffic across Fifth Avenue. The Dakota apartments still look imposing to this day.
If you have never seen this film, when you do you will know the influence it has had on other films, horror or not. If you have seen it, see it again and again you will find something new each time.-
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Stan And Ollie (2018)
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11 hours ago, NipkowDisc said:
the dog has a bleep.
Jealous?
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The Strawberry Statement (1970)
Next-Norwood (1970) 2 with Kim Darby
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The Hot Rock (1972)
next-The Candidate (1972) Robert Redford double bill
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One of my favorite years.
My Choices-
Best Picture: Night Of The Hunter
Actor: Ernest Borgnine in Marty
Actress: Doris Day in Love Me Or Leave Me
Supp Actor: Sal Mineo in Rebel Without A Cause
Supp Actress: Esther Minciotti in Marty
Director: Charles Laughton for Night Of The Hunter
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Richard Burton in 1984. A good version of the George Orwell classic and Burton's last theatrical film. He passed away before it was released and he looks so old and weary in the film.
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Irene Ryan (Granny from The Beverly Hillbillies ) as a young woman
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The Kinks Are The Village Green Preservation Society Jan 1969
I just saw a PBS documentary on the making of this classic album so I pulled it out and gave it a listen for the first time in years. It definitely is one of the group's best records. Ray Davies' song writing was excellent as always and the band's playing is impeccable. The album was not a success in it's day but has gained acclaim in later years. The songs are nostalgic for simpler times but still have the Davies wit to them. It begins with the title song, as they sing about "preserving the old ways" and "God save little shops, china cups and virginity", hardly the stuff most rock bands were doing at this turbulent time. "Do You Remember Walter" is a witty song about an old school friend who probably now is "fat and married". "Picture Book" is a wonderful, catchy song about looking at old photographs, the last song "People Take Pictures Of Each Other" is a similar theme where the pictures are taken to "prove they really existed. "Village Green" is another nostalgic, wistful song about simple small town living. There are also two songs which tackle the supernatural. "Phenomenal Cat" is a fairy tale about a cat who lives just to eat, there is an impish voice on the chorus. "Wicked Annabella" is a spooky tale of a witch with enslaved little demons. The songs are very English but although I am American, I have English heritage and was always fascinated by the culture. Listening to the album makes you wish for simpler times as well, even if you are not English.
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7) Roddy McDowall played her son in White Cliffs Of Dover and called her Mother the rest of her life.
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Best- Planet Of The Apes (1968)
Worst- Airport 1975
Next- Yul Brynner
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The Fog Of War (2003)
Next-Gates Of Heaven (1978) 2 Errol Morris documentaries
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Blondie On A Budget (1940) Youtube 6/10
Blondie gets jealous when Dagwood is visited by an old girlfriend.
Especially when the the old girl friend is played by a young and gorgeous Rita Hayworth! This is #5 in the series and still has some good laughs though it follows the usual formula. Bumbling Dagwood is misunderstood by a suspicious Blondie. Baby Dumpling and Alvin have some more funny lines. One of the funniest scenes has Dagwood seeing every woman turn into Blondie. including a Chinese lady. Daisy has a drunk scene.
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18 minutes ago, txfilmfan said:
I've wondered since what Ruth Roman was thinking when she took the role. Did she think this was going to be her Baby Jane moment and revive her feature film career? She hadn't made a picture since 1965, and after The Baby, she was in another four B grade horror features.
The DVD has an audio interview with director Ted Post. He said that he knew Ruth Roman and sent her the script and she accepted it immediately. Like you said, perhaps she thought it would revive her career since these macabre films with classic Hollywood actresses had become so popular in the 1960s and 1970s.
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The Baby (1973) DVD 7/10
A social worker tries to intervene when she discovers a woman has been treating her mentally challenged adult son as an infant and won't allow him to be an adult.
I was in the mood for 1970s exploitation and this is about as bizarre, exploitative and intriguing as it gets. People not familiar with this type of film will be shocked and disgusted. I think it's very memorable, I had seen it on TV years ago and it has haunted me ever since. I got the DVD a few years ago when my favorite video store was closing, I have watched it whenever the mood hit me. The son is merely called Baby and he crawls on all fours, wears diapers and cries and gurgles but never learned to speak. The only major weakness is the cries are dubbed in, sounding still like a baby though the character is a grown man. Anjanette Comer (she was in the classic black comedy The Loved One) plays the social worker and she gives an excellent performance. Classic film veteran Ruth Roman plays Baby's nasty mom. Ted Post is the director, he had mostly done TV but his most notable film work was inferior sequels to hit movies like Beneath The Planet Of The Apes (1970) and the Dirty Harry followup Magnum Force. The Baby IMO is his best film, after all the weird and wild stuff at the beginning we get a knockout of a twist ending, cranking this one up an extra notch.
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Shattered Glass (2003) true story of a reporter who wrote totally fabricated stories
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11 hours ago, midnight08 said:
Jean Harlow. I remember watching a "Tonight Show" episode many years ago when Jimmy Stewart was a guest. He was telling Johnny Carson that of all the actresses he kissed in the movies the ultimate kiss was with Jean Harlow.
I read a story about Destry Rides Again (1939), after a kissing scene with Marlene Dietrich, Stewart got so aroused that the director wagged his finger at him and called an early lunch.
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If you could turn any book into a movie, who would you cast?
in General Discussions
Posted · Edited by Det Jim McLeod
Doll by Ed McBain, an 87th Precinct novel published in 1965. It concerns the murder of a drug addicted model. I think this would be filmed in 1970, since the lurid subject matter contains a lot of sex and violence.
The Players:
Det Steve Carella (James Garner) tough and determined cop investigating the murder.
An Unnamed Vixen (Lainie Kazan) a sadistic showgirl who tortures Carella as he is being held hostage
Det Bert Kling (Jon Voight) a surly young detective looking into Carella's disappearance
Fritz Schmidt (Bruce Dern) a creepy drug addict