Det Jim McLeod
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Posts posted by Det Jim McLeod
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Seinfeld
your favorite character from the Peanuts comic strip
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Laurel and Hardy's last totally silent film, they had done a few silent/talkie versions of a few of their prior ones.
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11 hours ago, speedracer5 said:
I also loved “The Brady Bunch Movie,” “A Very Brady Sequel” and “Xanadu.”
I tried watching The Brady Bunch Movie but I couldn't get through it, it seemed too smug. I'd rather watch the old reruns and make my own jokes.
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49 minutes ago, misswonderly3 said:
(By the way, anyone else thinks he has a bit of a look-alike in Cornel Wilde ?)
I always thought both Mature and Wilde were much more talented than people gave them credit for.
Wilde was very good and likable as the patient husband of klutzy June Allyson in Woman's World (1954). He did an excellent job as the honest cop with a soft spot for the ladies in The Big Combo (1955). His biggest artistic triumphs were in the 1960s where he became a great director as well. He did an outstanding job with the brutal and bloody adventure film The Naked Prey (1966) and the surprisingly tough war drama Beach Red (1967). He also gave two of his best performances in these as well.
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The Lonely Guy (1984) HBO On Demand 6/10
A comedy about a greeting card writer (Steve Martin) who is dumped by his girl friend and experiences loneliness for the first time.
A hit and miss comedy which nonetheless has many laugh out loud moments. Steve Martin is a bit more subdued than in other films he made at the time. Charles Grodin nearly steals the film as a sad sack new pal who is resigned to a life of loneliness. There are some funny celebrity cameos as well. It is mercifully short at 90 minutes so it does not wear out it's welcome.
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On 3/13/2020 at 11:10 AM, LornaHansonForbes said:
THIS WEEK'S ENTRY, I BELIEVE, IS A FOX FILM THAT HAS IT FANS, I WAKE UP SCREAMING FROM THE STEVE FISHER NOVEL.
I like this one, 7/10, just watched it again.
The best thing in it is Laird Cregar as the creepy cop obsessed with waitress Carole Landis. He was always a welcome addition to the cast of a few films. One year after this film he played the nervous Nellie saboteur in This Gun For Hire. Despite his huge girth, his character is terrified of diminutive hitman Alan Ladd, literally half his size.
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Shadow Of A Doubt-Alfred Hitchcock
next-favorite song from On The Town
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The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe (2005)
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10) He was cast against type as Nazi doctor Joseph Mengele in The Boys From Brazil
Next- Lana Turner
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On 3/13/2020 at 8:56 AM, cigarjoe said:
I've watched Kiss of Death (1947) many times and finally got around to writing a review here are some paragraphs from it.
Great review Joe.
I had previously talked about this film on an earlier post. It is is my favorite gangster/noir film. Do you place it high on your list as well?
Also on Victor Mature, I think when he has a good script and director he can be excellent. I think he has been unfairly maligned, do you agree?
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The oldest film I gave a BOMB rating:
Dance With Me Henry (1956) Abbott and Costello's last film. They are old and tired and there are no laughs in this. Costello plays an amusement park owner who wants to adopt some orphans. Abbott is his gambler pal in trouble with gangsters. The movie strives for sentiment but is just cloying and embarrassing. No wonder they broke up right after this.
Most recent:
Monster In Law (2005) Jane Fonda wants to break up her son Michael Vartan's engagement to Jennifer Lopez. Unfunny so called comedy where Fonda overacts terribly (she waited 15 years for this?), Lopez doesn't even try and has zero chemistry with Vartan. On top of that we have the usual annoying rom-com stereotypes-the sassy black assistant and the swishy gay guy friend.
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This is a documentary about five film obsessed fans in New York City.
I had seen this when first released, I just got the DVD. The subjects of the film are:
1) Jack-he is in his 30s, living off of an inheritance, he sees about 3 films a day every day, only in theaters, he will not watch films on TV or video. He is very verbose and fancies himself an intellectual. He skips family outings (also weddings and funerals) to go to screenings. He seems full of himself at times and a bit pretentious, also judgmental when speaking of the other cinephiles.
2) Eric- he is in his 50s, getting disability payments, he is the only one who likes watching films on video. He prefers 1930s comedies and musicals.He says he cares more for Audrey Hepburn than some of his relatives, he was devastated by her death. He has an unkempt appearance but is soft spoken and unassuming.
3) Bill- he is in his 30s, former grad student, currently collecting unemployment benefits. He prefers European films from New Wave to the present. He is looking for female companionship, hopefully a beautiful French girl. He is the only one who admits to seeing a psychiatrist and takes anti anxiety meds. He seems desperate at times but harmless.
4) Roberta-in her 60s, the only woman in the bunch, lives on disability payments, refuses to have a TV or VCR. She likes 1930s dramas and adventure films, she has a tearful reaction to A Farewell To Arms with Gary Cooper and Helen Hayes. She is a compulsive collector of movie related brochures and flyers. She can be cranky and argumentative at times. She passed away in 2009.
5) Harvey- in his 40s, another one getting disability payments, he watches any kind of film, including low budget trash, he is obsessed with the running times of movies and knows them by heart. He is a jovial character, often has fits of the giggles.
Some of the group have gotten into trouble due to their obsessions. Jack admits to having been arrested a few times. In the most interesting scene, we hear a ticket taker's confrontation with Roberta. Tia, the girl taking tickets, is the only one outside the group to be interviewed. She says she was working at the Museum Of Modern Art, Roberta did not want to give up her ticket. Apparently she has kept every intact ticket and did not want it ripped. Out of patience, Tia rips it and gives Roberta the stub. Roberta then angrily attacks the girl, trying to choke her, though Tia says Roberta obviously does not know what she is doing. Roberta then is banned from MOMA. Tia then recalls Roberta showing up in disguise another time with wig and makeup trying to get in. Tia recognizes her and a sobbing Roberta is escorted out. Tia rather condescendingly says Roberta was probably trying to relive something she saw in a movie.
A personal note here. I am a life long New Yorker and film fan, though not obsessed like the subjects of this doc. I have personally seen two of the people from the film, though I did not speak to them.
I saw Roberta on a ticket line once, I stood back and watched to see what would happen. She appeared to be in a mellow mood and the ticket taker did not rip off her stub.
I saw Harvey once sitting a few rows ahead of me in a theater. He was carrying on a conversation with some people sitting behind him. The conversation was about, you guessed it, movie running times.
Has anyone seen this one?
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Trapeze (1956)
Next- favorite Marx Brothers movie
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"You are cordially invited to attend The Premature Burial.
Next
"One good turn deserves_________"
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One of my favorite plays of all time and I think the movie version is one of the best of the 1970s. Crowley was great with wisecracks and brutal honesty. I never saw anything else he did, I doubt if he could ever top this one. I saw the Broadway revival in 2018 and it still holds up. Jim Parsons was excellent as the angry drunk Michael and Zachary Quinto was a good match as the waspish Harold.
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I once did a DVD triple feature one night with:
Zodiac (2007) David Fincher's brilliant version of the baffling true life case. It focuses on the way the murders affect 3 different men- Robert Graysmith (Jake Gyllenhaal) the cartoonist who becomes obsessed with finding the identity of the killer, Dave Toschi (Mark Ruffalo) the cop on the case who has ideas but no proof, Paul Avery (Robert Downey Jr) the alcoholic reporter who is nearly driven mad when he receives threats from the killer. There is a great scene when the chief suspect (John Carroll Lynch) mentions to 3 detectives that The Most Dangerous Game is his favorite story.
The Most Dangerous Game (1932) Leslie Banks is the mad Count Zaroff who hunts humans. Many believe the real Zodiac was inspired by this and used a name beginning with "Z" because of this.
Dirty Harry (1971) Clint Eastwood is the cop with a .44 Magnum who shoots first and asks no questions later. He is after a mad sniper who calls himself Scorpio. He kills randomly and taunts police with letters, just like the real Zodiac.
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Dustin Hoffman- a warmup for his Rain Man character
Next-Sleuth (1972)-Michael Caine
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One Hour Photo-I like his serious roles better than the comedies
Next-favorite hit song of the 1970s
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Ride The High Country (1962)
favorite Laurence Olivier film
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Stranger On The Third Floor (1940) VHS tape 8/10
A reporter (John McGuire) is accused of murder but insists that an evil faced stranger (Peter Lorre) is the real killer. The reporter's girl friend (Margaret Tallichet) tries to prove his innocence.
I re watched this again and still like it a lot. It is considered by many to be the first "noir" film ever. It is short (64 minutes) and very engrossing, the voice overs by McGuire give it a radio play feel but the dream sequence is a great cinematic scene. Lorre is still very menacing as the psycho killer though he only has a few minutes of screen time. Here is an interesting bit of trivia:
Several years ago I saw this film in NYC revival house Tallichet's daughter (and her father was director William Wyler) was present at the screening. She said in the scene where Tallichet is confronted by Lorre, he had been eating raw onions to make him even more repulsive to her. If you watch the scene you can see him breathing in her face and she recoils in disgust. She thinks he did that because she was very inexperienced and would help her perform the scene better.
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On 3/7/2020 at 8:17 AM, TheCid said:
Noir Alley is back with Ride the Pink Horse. Don't recall having seen it, but the description sounds interesting.
Welcome back from exile Noir Alley!
I have seen it a few times, I think it's excellent.
In Muller's opening remarks he seems a bit dismissive of Wanda Hendrix as the Mexican girl Pila. She was my favorite thing about the movie, she seemed to be an almost mystical character. There is a scene when she is sitting outside the cantina waiting for Montgomery and her eyes appear to be glowing. I thought she did a good job with the accent as well.
Muller's closing remarks are more complimentary to her character, though he wish he would have praised Hendrix's performance a bit more, I think she was excellent.
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15 hours ago, cigarjoe said:
Yea, I can only think of Brian Donlevy in The Big Combo.
There was Yul Brynner as The Deaf Man in Fuzz, an Ed McBain 87th Precinct book.
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3) The story is told in real time
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14 hours ago, Rudy's Girl said:
The Janet Leigh character was the only one that Columbo did not arrest at the end, so she could be considered the one who got away with it. her character was dying and her friend (played by John Payne) gives a false confession.
What Are You Listening To?
in Your Favorites
Posted
With nothing to do and nowhere to go these days in NYC, I decided to listen to every Bob Dylan album in chronological order.
1) Bob Dylan-the debut album in 1962. It's OK, not very impressed. He growls through some old blues song like "Fixin To Die" and "In My Time Of Dyin". He yodels some country/folk tunes like "Freight Train Blues". My favorite song is the original "Talkin' New York" which tells of his first experiences as a musician in the city.
2) The Freewheelin Bob Dylan-his sophomore album is a vast improvement on the first and one of his best ever. Several songs like the beautiful anthem "Blowin In The Wind" and country flavored "Don't Think Twice, It's All Alright". "A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall" is the first time we get to hear the surreal imagery that be more prevalent in the next few years. There is also the venomous protest song "Masters Of War". There are some lighter moments with some very funny talking songs like "Talkin' World World III Blues" and "I Shall Be Free". The latter one has President Kennedy asking Bob how he can make the country grow. Bob tells him "Brigette Bardot, Anita Ekberg, Sophia Loren... country will grow"
3) The Times They Are A-Changin-Dylan's most serious work yet. The title song is one of his best, a powerful look at the changing times with great lyrics like "The line it is drawn, the curse it is cast, the slow one now will later be fast." "With God On Our Side" is a bitter look at war and American history. There some standout protest songs about recent events- "The Ballad Of Hollis Brown" is about a farmer who is starving from poverty that killed himself and his family with a shotgun, there is pounding guitar riff through out it. "A Pawn In Their Game" is about the murder of Medgar Evers which blame is put on Southern politicians. "The Lonesome Death Of Hattie Carroll" is a heartbreaking and infuriating story of a rich man who killed a maid and got a 6 month sentence.