scsu1975
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Posts posted by scsu1975
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#2 Carleton Carpenter
#4 John Boles
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(the restoration of this thread continues)
The Crawling Hand (1963)
Directed by Herbert L. Strock
(originally posted here: http://forums.tcm.com/index.php?/topic/23866-the-crawling-hand-1963/page-2)
Completely inept monstrosity, filmed on a dime.
An astronaut returning from the moon sends out a weird transmission, as he is apparently under the spell of some unknown power. Peter Breck and Kent Taylor, at "Space Operations," watch this tragedy unfold (as I did, for 88 minutes), before destroying the space capsule. Unbeknownst to them, part of the astronaut (guess which part) lands in California, where it is discovered by Rod Lauren and a former Miss Iceland. Had this body part been washed ashore in New Jersey, no one would have given this a second thought. Lauren, having the IQ of a college administrator, takes the hand home with him. After it chokes his landlady, it then tries to throttle Lauren, but instead, turns him into James Dean.
Allison Hayes makes a few brief appearances, which is too bad, because I would have gladly watched her for 88 minutes, despite her not being fifty-feet tall.
Rod Lauren as the "Rebel Without a Clue."
In the film's only sexual reference, Peter Breck shows Allison Hayes his flag and rocket.
Richard Arlen, looking competely lost without Buddy Rogers.
(Hey, Arlen has that same rocket. Maybe he misses Buck Rogers.)
Kent Taylor and Peter Breck introduce themselves to Sheriff Alan Hale, Jr.,
who wishes he were shipwrecked.
1930s B-movie actress Arline Judge stars in "A Little Hand for the Big Lady."
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(the restoration of this thread continues)
Bride of the Gorilla (1951)
Directed by Curt Siodmak
(originally posted here: http://forums.tcm.com/index.php?/topic/25264-bride-of-the-gorilla-1951/)
A whitetrash-fest, thankfully only 65 minutes long.
Raymond Burr stars as a plantation worker, whose boss (Paul Cavanagh) is married to luscious blonde Barbara Payton. So now you know what's going to happen to Cavanagh. The village crone sees the crime, and puts a curse on Burr. Local authority Lon Chaney, Jr. investigates while local doctor Tom Conway does his ventriloquism act yet again. Woody Strode has a bit as Chaney's assistant. In the thrilling climax, Chaney and Conway kill off two characters when they fire randomly into a tree because they hear a noise.
It's somewhat interesting to see Burr dirty and sweaty and oozing testosterone as he makes out with Payton. However, the acting is wooden, the sets cheap, and the plot almost non-existent. I encountered more suspense during my colonoscopy.
Tom Conway assures Paul Cavanagh that he'll be dead by the end of the first reel.
Perry Mason and D.A. "Ham" Burger celebrate sending an innocent man to the chair.
Raymond Hatton makes a surprise appearance as the village crone.
Tom Conway assures Barbara Payton that Paul Cavanagh will be dead by
the end of the first reel.
Barbara Payton and Raymond Burr film a scene for "World's Funniest Rifle Accidents."
"How many times did I tell you to water the damn plant?"
Payton's Playtex draws a bead on brawny Burr.
Burr auditions for "Ironside," while the chick auditions for anything.
This rare scene was added just for the San Francisco premiere.
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Jakes Cousteau is spinning in his grave.
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(the restoration of this thread continues)
Bela Lugosi Meets a Brooklyn Gorilla (1952)
Directed by William Beaudine
(originally posted here: http://forums.tcm.com/index.php?/topic/25332-bela-lugosi-meets-a-brooklyn-gorilla-1952/)
It has probably been around forty years since I've seen this thing; it has not improved with age. I am not even sure in what category this classic belongs. Perhaps "Atrocities?"
Duke Mitchell and Sammy Petrillo do their Martin & Lewis routine, playing two entertainers who are forced to bail out of a plane. Unfortunately, they survive, and parachute into a jungle inhabited by mostly white actors in native costumes. Mitchell wastes no time in putting the moves on the native chief's daughter, a hot babe played by Charlita (who, in her career, also played characters named Chiquita, Gita, Tonita, and Carmelita). Besides looking great, Charlita is the only one in the cast who exhibits any acting talent. Her onscreen sister, played by Muriel Landers, is best described as a meatball with arms.
Lugosi plays Dr. Zabor, who is doing experiments on evolution. He even quotes Darwin. Lugosi has eyes (and other organs) for Charlita, so he transforms Mitchell into a gorilla.
William "One Shot" Beaudine directs the proceedings. Screenwriter Tim Ryan uses bad lines left over from his Bowery Boys scripts: "He has a one-syllable brain." Mitchell croons "Deed I do," which, incredibly, has been recorded by the likes of Lena Horne, Peggy Lee, and Bing Crosby. I must confess the only other version I've heard was by Redd Foxx on an episode of "Sanford and Son." Petrillo is simply annoying as Jerry Lewis. You want him to be killed, preferably by cannibals. No wonder Lewis sued him. Ramona the Chimp is actually Cheeta - apparently Bonzo had a better agent. Ray "Crash" Corrigan dons a gorilla suit for the umpteenth time.
You can't turn away from this thing. It is so bloody awful and unfunny that you simply must see it through. When it's over, treat yourself to a banana.
This is either an argument for or against evolution. You be the judge.
This is the real reason why Cinemascope was invented.
Duke Mitchell comes out of the closet -
while Mickey Simpson goes back into one.
Alistair Sim sued Sammy Petrillo over this.
Al Kikume (center) and Bela Lugosi (right) get loaded, while Finlay Currie (left)
looks on.
My sentiments, exactly.
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Ben was confused. He meant to say that Tyrone Power and Anthony Quinn did the tango together in The Black Swan. Oh, those pirates ...
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This thread is in the process of having photos restored, beginning with the oldest reviews.
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Bunco Squad sounds like an interesting programmer. Producer Lewis Rachmil spent some time with spiritualists, palm readers, etc., before making the film. Dante, who was a famous magician at the time, appears as himself (a rare screen appearance ... I did see him in a Laurel and Hardy flick). Of course, how can we resist a flick with Ricardo Cortez as a sleazeball? This was his second-to-last film appearance.
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Leila Bennett has a small comic relief role as a dizzy maid in one of my favorite horror films MARK OF THE VAMPIRE...although, I have to admit I find her kind of annoying in it. I watched the DVD Commentary, and the two film historians agreed- actually speculating that many of the substantial edits which were made to the film (something like 20 minutes were trimmed) were scenes with her that were unnecessary comic relief.
One writer for Silver Screen visited the set during production. (At the time, the working title was The Vampires of Prague.) Lionel Barrymore was doing a scene with Lionel Atwill and Jean Hersholt. Barrymore was spouting his lines: "The vampire is a pestilence that grows. Each victim that it kills, becomes a vampire. A corpse by day, at night it leaves its coffin - to sustain its unnatural life on the blood of the living!" At this point, someone tapped the writer on the shoulder. It was Leila Bennett, who said "Cheerful little bit of fluff."
In her youth, she was very attractive:
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Not quite, but close...the first letter of the first name of #1 - #9 spells H-U-R-R-I-C-A-N-E and then #10 is Irma.
You'll forgive me if it's on the forefront of my thoughts this weekend.
When I saw "Harvey" I started thinking about hurricanes.
Good luck riding out Irma.
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I initially suspected they were all hurricanes, but could not find some with those first names. However, that's my guess as to the connection.
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#9 is Evelyn Venable
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#4 is Rachel Roberts.
#7 is Allen Jenkins.
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The Blot (1921) TCM
Missed this the last time it was on TCM but taped it this time. After the first fifteen minutes or so, I thought it was going to be pretty dull, but this film steadily engaged me. The plot mainly revolves around the plight of a family in which the father is an underpaid college professor. Claire Windsor, as the daughter, was a revelation. It was also interesting to see a young and not-bad-looking Louis Calhern as her rich suitor. The film’s charm lies in its characterizations, and the natural acting by the cast. Perhaps it was the talent of the players, or perhaps the directing of Lois Weber, or perhaps both. I felt like I was watching real people, not actors, and I really wanted to see how their lives developed. Really, this was just a sweet film and I would highly recommend it.
In an interesting promotion, the Parker Pen Company sponsored an essay contest tied to the film:
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Dick Powell does some narration in Murder, My Sweet.
Of course, for laughs, there is Steve Martin doing it in Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid.
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Anyone mention Cornel Wilde?
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(the restoration of this thread continues)
The Horror of Party Beach (1964)
Directed by Del Tenney
(originally posted here: http://forums.tcm.com/index.php?/topic/24975-horror-of-party-beach-1964/page-3)
Only a few things keep this film from being good; the acting, the direction, the script, the photography, the sound ...
This bomb was filmed in Stamford, CT, which is about 30 minutes from my house. That is the only reason I've ever watched this film.
An imbecile who never heard of the EPA dumps a barrel of radioactive waste offshore. It springs a leak. It creates monsters. They like human blood. (Ever notice these monsters never become vegetarians? I guess attacking kelp does not make for an exciting film.) The monsters are only slightly worse-looking than the mutations Irwin Allen trotted out every Sunday night on "Voyage To The Bottom Of The Sea." One of them rips apart the town bimbo, then they have a nice dinner by crashing a slumber party. We get to see a montage of mayhem, while in the background, we see authorities working to solve the problem.
There are plenty of early scenes on the beach, featuring unknown actors, unknown musicians, and unknown body parts shaking around. The film is ludicrously dubbed, which creates the impression this is a foreign film. The dialogue is horrible; "Do you like bathing beauties?" "I don't know, I never bathed one." Kneeslapper.
There is only one recognizable face in this cast: Wayne Tippitt (playing a drunk), who later starred for several years on the soap opera "Search For Tomorrow." The rest of the cast got jobs at the EPA.
Not Buddy Holly and the Crickets
The Roy Orbison Fan Club
This blonde thinks she is hitting on James Franciscus.
Tori Spelling asks for a fill-up, while father Aaron (far left) looks on.
Ross Perot goes on television to warn everyone about the monsters.
"You will hear a giant sucking sound."
Actual dialogue: "I just saw your father, and he's been burned badly but he'll be fine."
Ella Fitzgerald is forced to moonlight as a maid, due to the poor economy.
Here, she sings "A tisket, a tasket, clean out your own damn wastebasket."
Ella burns another roast.
The winner of the Coney Island Hot Dog Eating Contest
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"Where Are My Children?" (1916)--Starring Tyrone Power Sr.. Directed by Lois Weber.
Effective melodrama has attorney Richard Walton (Power) and his childless wife (Helen Riaume) living a seemingly happy life. Mrs. Walton treats her dogs as substitute kids , but her husband wants children. He prosecutes a doctor who had distributed literature on birth control. The doctor makes a strong case for birth control, but is convicted anyway.
Meanwhile, Mrs. Walton and her group of society friends have all been seeing a Dr. Malfit, who has performed abortions so their social life won't be disturbed by pregnancy. Mr. Walton has no clue of the abortionist's existence.
Film makes the excellent point that birth control should be discussed and agreed upon by both partners in a marriage, and that not doing so can have disastrous consequences.
The films' attitude toward abortion is clear; whether it was mandated by 1916 norms or censorship isn't clear. Probably a case of both. Intentionally or not, it makes a case for having clean, safe facilities to work in and knowledgeable doctors and nurses to perform the act.
Film was the 2000 restoration by The Library of Congress, with an very good piano score.
Film is very worth the watch. 3/4.
I watched this on youtube yesterday and enjoyed it very much. It was the LOC restoration, but with an orchestral score, and tinted scenes.
Power is outstanding in this. He could have easily overplayed it and gone into histrionics, but I was impressed by the acting he did with his eyes. And he was really shooting daggers at his wife when he discovers she had been seeing the abortionist. The final scene, showing the two as they aged into what is now an empty marriage, and what their children may have looked like, is quite haunting.
This film, along with a flick called The Little Girl Next Door (a film about white slavery) initially were prohibited in Chicago in 1916, but were eventually shown. Both cleaned up at the box office.
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As a college English teacher, I was taken aback by Priscilla Lane noticing that John Garfield's character mispronounced "abhorrent," and his excuse was that he had completed only 2 years of high school. I have college students who don't even know what that word means. At least Garfield knew how to use it in context! It makes one wonder whether the "less educated" audiences of yesteryear had better vocabularies than today's audiences.
I don't wonder about it. I'm sure the people back then did have better vocabularies, which were constantly improved by reading newspapers, conversing with each other face-to-face, and composing letters. How many people do that today?
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Wednesday, September 6, 11 a.m. ET:
Where Are My Children? (1916)Synopsis: A District Attorney discovers his wife is part of a secret abortion ring.
Dir: Lois Weber Cast: [Frederick] Tyrone Power , Helen Riaume , Marie Walcamp .A rare chance to see famed stage actor Tyrone Power, in a controversial film to boot. The film was banned in Pennsylvania, but in no other states. One member of the censor board in PA said "the picture is unspeakably vile. I would have permitted it to pass the board in this state only over my dead body. It is a mess of filth, and no revision, however drastic, could ever help it any. It is not fit for decent people to see."
Sounds like MUST-SEE.
In an unusual move, Boston Mayor James Curley met one of Pennsylvania's senators in Washington, D.C., and praised the film. A Boston newspaper then charged that Curley had a financial interest in the film. Curley then filed a libel suit against the paper for $100,000.
If you can't wait, there are a couple of good prints on youtube.
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Well yah, I mean, of course, that's a men's room standard. Right next to the prophylactic machines and cologne samples.
A few years after his death, those machines were probably distributing "Sheik you-know-whats" to cash in on Valentino.
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Unfortunately a film like 1924's Monsieur Beaucaire, with poses like this, didn't help his image much. These costumes were encouraged (even designed?) by his wife, Natasha Rambova, and many thought they hurt his image, and were hurting his career.
And this is how I used to imagine silent films, as a kid ... either as silly costumers, slapstick comedies, or melodramatic pieces of boredom. Glad I've had a chance to learn more about the art form, with the help of books and videos. There are a lot of worthwhile silents out there, handling such important topics as suicide, racism, and drug addiction.
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Although you can't really tell it from this shot apparently Valentino's face looked quite withered in his coffin from the torture that he went through with the pleuiritis, combined with peritonitis, which killed him.
Not long before his death he was attacked by an article in the press which labelled him a pink powder puff. Furious that his manhood had been assaulted Valentino showed him in the newsroom ready to challenge the article's author to a fight. The writer either wasn't there or ducked out a back door, I forget which.
Shortly afterward he was in the hospital battling for his life (though he was never told by the doctors he was dying at the end). Apparently he was in great pain at the time but he remained stoic. At one point he turned to a bedside visitor and said, "And now, am I a pink powder puff?"
The editorial attacking him was in the Chicago Tribune, written by an unnamed editor. The writer was describing a new ball room, in which the men's lounge contained a slot machine which delivered pink powder puffs and powder. The writer then used it as an excuse to go off on Valentino. He did not label Valentino a powder puff, but did say "Why didn't someone quietly drown ... Valentino years ago?" Valentino then demanded satisfaction and went to Chicago, asking for either a boxing or wrestling match with the editor, but nothing happened. Ironically, while in Chicago, Valentino announced that the leading lady for his next film would be Estelle Taylor, wife of boxing champion Jack Dempsey.
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This still of "Scattergood" appears in the novel Scattergood Baines, by Clarence Budington Kelland, published in 1921. I believe this is actor William H. Brown, who played Scattergood in at least two shorts in the 1920s.
RICH'S TOR JOHNSON (AND OTHER Z-MOVIE STARS) THREAD
in General Discussions
Posted
I have res-TOR-ed all my photos to this thread. Stay tuned for more Tor and other great Z-stars.