movieman1957

Why a duck?

Re: The Cocoanuts. It was well formed because they had been on Broadway for some time with it. They were shooting "Cocoanuts" during the day and doing "Animal Crackers" on stage at night. They were busy boys. I still think if you lose the music you have a much better film, Berlin or not.

I'm still waiting for them to remove the comma in the number in the address box when the posts on a thread go over 1000. I can work around it though.

You're right. If you're looking that far out it won't do you any good. I wonder if it's a technical limitation as to how many it will hold.

I typed in John Wayne. Scroll down the page to find the actor listing. Click on that link and up comes his name with two movies listed right under the name. That is in the Data Base in the upper right corner of the site.

*I found a copy of Shenandoah at the library yesterday and hope to watch it this weekend.. maybe we can blab more in depth.. (here or in Westerns) if you and others are up to it. Either way.. looking foward to seeing it again.* Count me in. In addition to "The Fighting Kentuckian" I'd just throw in "Allegheny Uprising" as they kind of have a simialr feel to me.

I haven't seen it but so much of what he did and also those 70's spaghetti westerns were all so bad. One thing you could say is it didn't take you 3+hours to get through it. Having sat through "Heaven's Gate" they threw all the money they could at it and it didn't work. I wasn't becuase they were being cheap. That was the fate of so many of those other 70s westerns.

Sir Francis: You've been watching quite a bit of Duke. You and Miss G have covered most of the best Duke films but I'll throw in a few you haven't. You've already talked about "The Shootist" and Wendy, I think, mentioned "The Cowboys" so hear are a couple of the better ones that remain (in my opinion.) 1. The Sands of Iwo Jima. First rate Wayne performance. Academy Award nomintation. 2. The Sons of Katie Elder. Wayne and Dean Martin again. Pretty good action. 3. Back To Bataan - pretty good WWII entry but may have "propganda" effect on you. (same for "The FIghting Seabees.) 4. The Comancheros. 5. The Flying Tigers. There are still a few more that rank in the entertaining but not great list. Just so you can say you've seen it you really ought to watch "The Conqueror." Great effort, legendary results. A footnote on that film is that it was shot (unknowingly) on a nuclear test site and eventually many of the cast and crew developed cancer and some died directly from it.

*G'day, Movieman -- I've seen 14 of them.* *That's impressive!* Not so much. I've been at it a lot longer than you. *Re: The Bishop's Wife. I also enjoyed the supporting players, most notably, Monty Woolley, Elsa Lanchester, and Sara Haden.* It doesn't come across that much but to me I think Wooley is as much the heart of the film as anybody. I love the way he comes around. He's not completely sold but he doesn't fight what's driving him - Dudley and then ultimately more. I love the way he acts with Julia (Young.) Far be it for anyone to know that he has a soft spot. It would ruin his reputation (though it's hard to imagine that would be the worst thing for him.) *Re: Destination Tokyo. I liked Grant and the crew. That's where the value of the film lies. The propaganda stuff was really bad and rather idiotic.* And wasn't that the problem with so many WWII films? Sorry about "Without Reservations." What is up next from the Marxes?

SPOILERS The thing I do like about "Shenandoah" is Stewart's dedication to his quest. He is unrelenting. Near the end when they are on their way home and you know what happens there you'd think it was one thing too many and he is a broken man. What man could stand so much. He goes on because he has to. I think the meal prayers are a riot. He's promised his wife but his heart's not in it. He more argues with God but tragedies brings him closer. I think it is one of McLaglen's better directorial successes. He stages a pretty good fight scene. (Well, maybe the second unit director did.) Stewart drives it. In lesser hands you don't have the film you do.

Good evening Sir Francis: I've seen 14 of them. (And this explains where you've been.) Some thoughts and In no order - *The Cocoanuts* - Take out those awful songs and you have a pretty funny picture. A bit creaky but you get Harpo in a red wig. (It's red because I read about it.) *The Bishop's Wife* - a favorite for Christmas. Niven and Grant are fine together and Young is wonderful. *Springfield Rifle* - okay but routine. *Shenandoah *- a good film with a really good performance by Stewart. The only drawback is the rest of the cast isn't as good. I love the counseling scenes about marriage. *WIthout Reservations* - I like Wayne here. It's not great but he and Colbert make a nice couple. It's fun. Two other Grant films are good. I like *Destination Tokyo*. A different role for Grant. *Father Goose* is similar in that it gives Grant a chance to be a little unruly. *Sylvia Scarlet* is weird. In Harm's Way. A good and unusual cast. Good drama.

Well, it is not my absolute favorite but it's a fine movie. And it's right in the time where Wayne was doing some of his best work. What about it makes it one of your favorites? (If you answer go ahead and do it in the thread in the westerns forum.) Edited by: movieman1957 on Jul 19, 2012 11:11 PM

I saw a screening last night and thought the same thing in parts of the movie. It was more noticeable to me on some closeups. It wasn't a constant annoyance for me but the times it was there it was hard to miss. There were about 80-100 people in my theater which was a pleasant surprise. It seems that it was a successful evening overall for the audience. Oh, one good thing. It pretty well started on time.

Good evening all: I watched "Detour" and while doing a search I found too many entries going back to 2001 to sort through all of them so I thought I'd see if anyone had seen it. I know it has a reputation as being one of the more respected low end films but I wasn't that crazy about it. Bad luck, stupid decisions and improbable situtations all combined with a rather detestable leading lady didn't do much for me. Any thoughts?

I watched Joel McCrea in "The Tall Stranger." A western from 1957. It's better than I thought it would be. That's good. The print was awful. Badly faded and shown in pan and scan it was pretty annoying as you'd see noses and fronts of hats, etc. McCrea plays a man who is ambushed by what turns out to be cattle rustlers, among other things, and is rescued by a wagon train and nursed back to health. The train is being lead by a man who stops them on land owned by McCrea's half brother. He knows he won't let them stay so he tries to play Henry Kissinger between family and rescuers. All the while there is a third party trying to play the sides against each other. Negotiations, subterfuge and some general nastiness goes on as things unfold. McCrea is joined by Virginia Mayo, Michael Ansara and a host of regulars like Whit Bissell, Ray Teal, Michael Pate and others. Some good action as well as some decent underlying stories help it along. If you can find it watch it in the Cinemascope format.

ELO from my library. One fairly famous, one not so much, both good. One Summer Dream 10538 Overture

Another man that I first knew from television. I didn't think much of "McHale's Navy." Joe Flynn was a weenie. But I knew Borgnine as an affable man who spent his life putting up with Tim Conway. It didn't seem like a big deal. Then I found movies and among the gold strikes was Borgnine. From "Bad Day At Black Rock" and "From Here To Eternity" to "Marty" and everything that followed he was so much more than McHale. Like Fred MacMurray was so much more than "My Three Sons" Borgnine was a lot of things. Both were revelations and that was part of the joy of learning about movies. "Jubal" is kind of a single work of all the different types of characters he would play. He transforms after certain events and it is disturbing. It makes for a strong performance of a man who is not as sure of himself as he thinks he is. He sure was fun to watch in an interview as well. But the films remain.

*So are these the best of what I haven't seen?* "Duel At Diablo" is noteworthy for its subject matter. Those two are among the better films you haven't seen. The others may vary but they are some less often seen films. (I see "The Gunfighter" was already on your list. Sorry.) Edited by: movieman1957 on Jul 8, 2012 4:19 PM

As near as I can figure I'm around 300 westerns. I did take it up through Wayne's "The Shootist." I didn't count made for TV or colonial settings. Count those and more recent westerns and I'm up around 330. More Glenn Ford? "The Fastest Gun Alive" and "The Man From The Alamo." "Duel At Diablo" with James Garner and Sidney Poitier." "The Gunfighter" with Gregory Peck. "Run For Cover" with James Cagney "Broken Lance" with Spencer Tracy. "Man Without A Star" with Kirk Douglas. "Ramrod" and "Four Faces West" with Joel McCrea.

Good evening Sir Francis: So many Ford films at the bottom of your list. It depends on who you like. Audie Murphy had a couple of good ones. Not great, but pretty good. "No Name on The Bullet" and "Hell Bent For Leather." Plenty of Randolph Scott and Joel McCrea movies to be had. "The Violent Men" is another good one from Ford. "Escape From Ft. Bravo" has one of the more harrowing climaxes I've seen. "Gunfight At The OK Corral." Now I need to see how many I've seen. More suggestions as I go but you've hit the biggest ones.

*PS: Mr. Movieman.. ONLY Mayo?? You sound like the QT. ha, Poor guy.. He is a chicken salad purist trapped in a "chicken salad experiemental" world.* It's good to know I have something in common with him. One time I got a chicken salad sandwich at Panero and when I looked at it I thought "Who puts grapes in and almonds in chicken salad? I have been left behind." I like things normal. I'm dull. The Bride can confirm that.

Avocado on chicken salad? Oh my! I hope not. (Favorite chicken salad is Wawa.) Next thing you know they'll be packing peaches in pear juice. Oh wait, they already do that. (Knuckleheads.) I'll keep good old mayonnaise.

The closed captioning shows "I'm your huckleberry." (That's always what I've thought.)

For some of us, me in particular, a Sunday night of horror films as you describe would be as unenjoyable as the night you put up with on RO's picks. I didn't see the night but maybe they were picked for the rare chance to show them rather than their quality. You haven't been on in awhile have you?

That's true. The funny thing about the two of them is that even though Ollie didn't always treat Stan they way he should Ollie was always getting "hurt" for his trouble.