scsu1975
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Posts posted by scsu1975
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"North West Mounted Police" (1940)--Starring Gary Cooper, Madeleine Carroll, Paulette Goddard, and Preston Foster. Directed by Cecil B. DeMille.
Isn't this the film where somebody mentions getting up early for reveille and Cooper thinks they are talking about ravioli?
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I never miss a Mara Corday film!!!
What this film needs is more of Mara and less of Morrow.
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Kind of sad to read the linked article describing him as a "veteran character actor." That's the kind of description I would expect for William Demarest.
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Black Like Me is one hell of a movie. Just get past the bad makeup job on James Whitmore, and this film really scores on several fronts. I’ve never read the book, although I remember classmates carrying it around in school.
While Whitmore experiences the expected discrimination during his attempts to get jobs, the film places a strong emphasis on sexual themes. In particular, while he is hitchhiking, Whitmore is picked up by three white men in succession. The first one asks him if he’s ever done it with a white woman. The second one (Grandpa Walton, in a really creepy part) asks if Whitmore’s (supposed) black wife has ever done it with a white guy. The third guy has a rifle in his car, but is friendly and content to talk about his own family. Whitmore, expecting the worst, is clearly caught off guard by the man’s decency.
Later, Whitmore meets a white guy who is writing a dissertation on southern relations. He invites Whitmore back to his hotel room for some drinks. Clearly a bit drunk, the guy then tries to probe Whitmore’s sex habits, and even brings up the “scientific fact” of the difference in black vs white anatomies, if you get my drift. He offers to compare himself with Whitmore, which sends Whitmore into a rage. After Whitmore nearly strangles him, the guy moans “I’m no q u e e r.”
Near the end, Whitmore explains who he really is to a black activist who had been arrested for disturbing the peace (Al Freeman, Jr., who nearly steals the movie). Freeman is clearly disgusted and blasts Whitmore for essentially being all talk and no action. “Do you know what it would have meant for one white man to support us at that time?”
Other powerful scenes include Whitmore talking things over with a priest, and, especially, his visit to some friends because he needs to “get back into the white world.”
Hearing the “n-word” throughout was not a surprise, but hearing words like “o r g a s m" was. I don’t know if a major studio would have had the nerve go to near this film. Print ads at the time suggested this film was not recommended for kids, and it’s easy to see why.
The film showcases several future character-actors-to-be, including Roscoe Lee Browne, Raymond St. Jacques, Clifton James, David Huddleston, Sorrell Booke, and Matt Clark
Some interesting backdrop on the film:
UPI Hollywood reporter Vernon Scott published a piece when the film came out, and it appeared in several newspapers (I used The Rockland (New York) County Journal-News, March 12, 1964). He claimed that Whitmore told him that when they were filming in the south, the New York film crew told the locals that they were from Hollywood (they weren’t) and that the movie was to be titled No Man Walks Alone. Supposedly this was done to avoid publicity. Whitmore was recognizable to the locals, since he was featured in the tv show ”The Law and Mr. Jones.” According to Whitmore, “when people asked me why my skin was dark I told them I was playing an FBI man in disguise in the picture.”
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Face of Fire was quite good.
I remember reading the short story upon which it is based, "The Monster," either in high school or college. Never knew there was a film version. Interestingly, in the original story, Whitmore's character is black.
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It's too bad Geoffrey Holder isn't one of the actors. With that product placement in the background, he could have told us about the "UnCola."
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August 11th--"Dreamboat" (1952)--Ginger Rogers and Clifton Webb sound like a good comedy team.
It's a fun movie, saw it on AMC back in the day. Webb plays a college professor who was formerly a leading man in films (a fact he is trying to keep hidden). In one very funny scene, he is involved in a fight while one of his movies is being shown in the background (in which he is also in a fight). He keeps glancing at his screen image and imitating the same fight moves he sees on screen.
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Price was a ham, but I would still watch him in anything. I think House on Haunted Hill is among his hammiest performances, but also my favorite.
I was lucky enough to see him on stage in 1978 or 1979 when he was touring as Oscar Wilde in a one-act play. Sitting just two rows from the stage, I was taken aback by how tall he was. At the conclusion of the show, while everyone was standing and applauding, he grinned devilishly, and pushed his hands, palms up, into the air, asking for more.
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5:00 AM Reptilicus ( 1961)A prehistoric reptile with deadly venom attacks Denmark.
Dir: Sidney Pink Cast: Carl Ottosen , Ann Smyrner , Mimi Heinrich .
C- 81 mins, CC,
When Marcellus said to Horatio "something is rotten in the state of Denmark," he was clearly referring to this film.
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Friday, May 5
6:30 a.m. The Beast of Hollow Mountain (1956). Nice segue from dinosaur films to films in Mexico.
This is a fun one, and one of my favorites as a kid. It is rarely shown. I believe The Valley of Gwangi (1969) was influenced by this film.
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I'm talking about GIANNI RUSSO, the actor who played CARLO RIZZI, Connie's abusive husband. Far as I know he's still alive and kicking. But not Talia.
Are you suggesting Talia Shire is dead? Because she sure looks alive (but not kicking) in that photo.
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Another variation on the story is 1915's Miss Jekyll and Madame Hyde, starring Helen Gardner. It is a lost film. You can read the synopsis here (I submitted it to IMDb some time ago):
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0817204/synopsis?ref_=tt_stry_pl
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Miriam Hopkins is rightfully celebrated for her sensual performance as Ivy in the March version, but Billie Whitelaw, pictured below with Jack, is also outstanding in the same role in the Palance version.
None of these female characters appear in Stevenson's novel. I believe they started showing up in the 1931 version, and subsequent versions just included them. By the way, Stevenson describes Hyde as "pale and dwarfish ... displeasing smile ... spoke with a husky, whispering and somewhat broken voice." Doesn't sound like any of the characterizations I've seen.
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I thought it was an interesting story, but the ending was flat and awkward. I liked the one before that better. The whodunit with Karen Morley. I forget the title.
See next post after yours or the post below this.
Oh heck, it's The Phantom of Crestwood.
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Catching up on my Cortez flicks:
The Phantom of Crestwood, which I saw many moons ago on AMC, is an entertaining murder mystery, with Cortez at his best as a shady character who solves the crime. Karen Morley looks veerrry sexy in this. There is some welcome humor, and some spooky scenes. Great fun.
Twansgwession is just another soaper with Kay Fwancis falling for Wicardo, while hubby (Paul Cavanagh) is not around. It’s a bit unusual seeing Cavanagh with dark hair, since I’m used to seeing him much older, and in crap like Bride of the Gorilla and The Man Who Turned to Stone. As usual, Cortez is shot, but, for a change, Fwancis doesn’t do it. Rolfe Sedan, who achieved 15 minutes of fame a short time ago on these boards, plays a French beautician. Nance O’Neil, a leading lady of the silents, plays Cavanagh’s snotty sister. The film is mostly a stinker, as the actors practice somnambulism. The last 20 minutes are somewhat interesting.
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As much as I like the 1931 version, I think the ape-like makeup is ridiculous. No one in their right mind would even go near something like that. I seem to recall from the novel that Hyde is repulsive, but not a Cro-Magnon. The Tracy version is okay, and the makeup more realistic.
I do recall seeing the Palace version when it first appeared on tv, and thought it was pretty good, so I'm with Tom on that one. I've seen the Barrymore version, but I will have to revisit it since it was a long time ago.
Perhaps the definitive version is yet to be made.
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ANATOMY OF A MURDER (1959)
Starring Jimmy Stewart, Ben Gazzara, Lee Remick, Kathryn Grant, & George C. Scott.
Hulu just recently put this movie on their site/app, which I was excited to see, as this film has been on my watch list for a while now. I was not shocked by the subject matter of this movie, but more shocked by the fact that it was released in 1959. It is to my understanding that the film was banned in certain states (Chicago comes immediately to mind as one of the examples).
The film was not banned in Chicago, although Mayor Daley and Police Commissioner O'Connor initially stopped it, claiming some scenes were obscene (words like "rape" and "contraceptive" were deemed obscene.) However, a Federal Judge, Julius Miner, went to a private showing and declared the film was not obscene. He ruled that the Mayor and Commissioner's actions were unconstitutional and the film was allowed to be shown.
One reporter for the Chicago Tribune wrote "Will they try to ban the dictionary next? Why not grow up, abolish the censor board, and save money at the same time?"
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Of course, there was Cliff Robertson as the wartime JFK in PT 109. I enjoyed his performance and the film, but I don't think either received much critical acclaim.
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Seems like Devane had a career playing JFK, but turns out it was just that one TV-movie.
Just shows how you can't look at him without seeing Jack.
Early in his career, I couldn't look at Devane without thinking of Jack either .. Jack Nicholson, that is.
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As for ratings, I assume the various cable companies have some method of determining how many "boxes" are tuned to each channel and each program.
Only Vladimir Putin has that capability.
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The Beatles were obnoxious?
That is exactly where we decided to turn off the movie! Of course, the old guy in the scene was obnoxious as well.
We both still like the Beatles very much. But for whatever reason, the film wasn't working for us.
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Unpack that for me would you? I even went to Google to try and figure it out. I'm dying to know.
A "gross" is a dozen dozen (or 144) units of something. So 288 would be ...
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My fiancee and I decided to watch this tonight, on Demand. We had both seen it (separately) many years ago, and thus had almost no recollection of any scenes.
After about 15 minutes, I started thinking to myself "hey, these guys are kind of obnoxious" but I didn't say anything. Suddenly my fiancee got this uncomfortable look on her face, and said, "I don't remember these guys being so obnoxious. I don't like this at all."
We shut it off and went for a walk.
I Just Watched...
in General Discussions
Posted
Thanks.
Stories abound about this production.
Supposedly Paulette Goddard started hawking a "midnight blue lipstick" developed by her and Wally Westmore, after she had seen herself in the film.
Lynne Overman, who forgot his studio pass one day, managed to gain entry to the Paramount lot after convincing a new security guard that he was C. B. DeMille. He also said he could no longer work with Madeleine Carroll because "every time I have to do a scene with her, I get to looking in her eyes, and, well, I just can't remember my lines."
Columnist Sheilah Graham lamented that Robert Preston died in the movie, noting he had also died in Moon over Burma, Beau Geste, and Union Pacific. "This gives him a death score of four out of every five pictures. He's a nice boy. I'd like to see him live more often."