Sukhov

Here's a really nice graffiti of Vlasta Chramostova (Kopfrkingl's wife in the Cremator) in Prague, Czechia.

1950 Hudson Pacemaker in Variety Lights

Just added this to IMDB. Variety Lights (1950) - second from the left is a 17 yr old Sophia Loren. Her first screen appearance as an extra. She dances in two acts, a sailor themed one and a Spanish themed act.

It's a cheesy Italian B movie but the ending to Sergio Citti's Bawdy Tales ("Send HIM to Paradise!") got a real chuckle out of me.

"It's merely a ceremonial glass" - The Cremator, Kopfrkingl drinks heavily but puts on a false image of abstinance. He says this whenever queationed as why he is drinking at all.

I think I said it before but Cannibal Holocaust would be a perfect feature for this program.

I'm just hoping for a Phrenology series after this one. Maybe a study on which actors have the criminal head shape.

Wow, you finally got around to Nekromantik! That poor lead pipe.

I love this one. It is a parody of 10cc- Rubber Bullets.

Pier Paolo Pasolini's film the Decameron features him in the role of the famous painter Giotto. He takes inspiration from the stories of the Decameron and from bystanders on the street who he works into his painting. Yeah. this is definitely more of a "2 AM Timeslot" film to put it mildly. Giotto's story isn't too bad but most of the others are a bit X rated.

No, I have never inquired or cared really. However, you did remind me of a movie going experience from my childhood. When I went to see Shaymalan's movie the Village, I freaked out because I knew the Amish weren't alive anymore and it got me worried about my own death. It wasn't even anything to do with the movie itself. I just freaked out because all the Mennonite and original Amish people from the 1800s were dead I had to leave the theater. My mom was wrong to even take me to that anyway since I think it was R rated.

L’homme machine (1885) - Reminds me of one of those stick figure, flip-books I made as a kid.

Bawdy Tales (1973) Sergio Citti, Italy - 6/10- lackluster knock off of Pasolini's Decameron. Ninetto Davoli and Franco Citti are two murderers who tell each other ribald stories to pass the time before their executions by hanging. The stories are mostly Sergio and Pasolini's (who wrote the film) own invention though I did notice the one story of the husband hiding in the confession booth to hear his wife's carnal betrayals was clearly based on the Decameron, Day 7 Tale 5. The editing and pacing are a bit mediocre and tales just follow into one another sometimes without explanation. It is certainly nowhere near as fun as the Trilogy of Life but it is worth one watch at least.

Did we not do our favorites of 2020 yet? I saw the one Taiwanese film and that was Zzzzzz. Forget which others I saw but none stand out. As far as Goke I remember seeing that on Imports (I think?) and my god that was atrocious.

Night Mail was on before during the retrospective on documentary films throughout the years. I forget the exact name of the block but it was certainly on.

Fools in the Mountains (1957) Edith Carlmar, Norway- 7/10 - Funny Norwegian comedy akin to the scenario in L&H's Our Relations (1936) with a famous actor and a geeky professor who look exactly alike checking into the same hotel and getting involved in various shenanigans. Also the hotel company's daughter hides as a bellhop in order to learn experience in the hotel business (she does nothing to hide her breasts and everyone treats her as a boy though which I found odd. She clearly looked like a girl the whole time). Leif Jester is funny as the Mr. Bean type hotel man who is constantly fed up with all the weird characters around him. I thought this little known Norwegian film was very enjoyable.

Tanks of El Alamein (1957) G.uido Malatesta, Italy (dubbed) - 3/10- At the battle of El Alamein during WWII, Italian soldiers go toe to toe with the British. Their brilliant plan is to hide in foxholes and then run up onto the tanks in the middle of battle while the tanks are driving around and firing and then to plant bombs on them. Yeah, I don't think that actually happened. The dubbing in this is also atrocious. Oddly enough, the British characters are dubbed even more poorly than the Italian ones. Also this is one of those war films where the soldiers just spray their machine guns blindly at the enemy without even aiming. Of note is that nowhere is Fascism mentioned in this or any political stance really. It is just a dumb B movie about Italians during WWII but I don't think other former Axis countries like Germany could have made similar movies so soon after the war, even if they were just as dumb or cheap.

Why was Leonard Maltin ever given precedence anyway? His reviews aren't even that helpful or interesting.

Any of these guys. What an unfunny show.

Don Knotts- I've always thought he was a giant dork.

Thanks, Larry. I bet that is it. I remember she was very adamant that it was called "Don't go in the Basement" or "Don't Look in the Basement" and was a Twilight Zone episode.

Kliou the Tiger (1937) Henri de la Falaise, Vietnam - 7.5/ 10- This silent film is the first film of Vietnam (then Indochina) and also is considered the last American film of the silent era, both according to IMDB. It was made by Constance Bennett's husband Henri de la Falaise. The cast is entirely composed of native "Moi" Vietnamese speaking in their language with French officers speaking to each other at the introduction and end, setting up the story. Bhat is a goofy boy in love with Dhi though her father does not think much of him. After her father is grievously wounded by Kliou the tiger Bhat travels through the jungle and kills him, winning the girl and the respect of the town. The French officers then look over the skin of the tiger. I am a sucker for these travelogue films so I rated it highly. The film has some very beautiful shots of the Vietnamese jungle too. It also depicts the native customs such as preparing the Urari poison for their arrows. Overall, a very good film and a rare look into the Indochinese country of that time. There seems to be some debate about the release of the film which my DVD says is 1937. I consider this my new favorite of 1937. Warning: this film does contain some native animal violence (they kill and eat some animals and kill the tiger obviously) and also topless nudity as was common in Asia at that time.