Movie Rambles

[MissGoddess]

> {quote:title=JackFavell wrote:}{quote}>

> I missed the last half of Stamboul Quest as well, which was really shaping up into a fun movie. Oh, well.

>

 

 

It is worth seeing, Jackie! It was the first movie where I got to see a "peppy" George

Brent.

 

I am the worst when it comes to checking the schedule ahead of time. The worst. But

I am trying, as always, to mend my ways.

[Film_Fatale]

*And I noticed Jules Dassin was the director*

 

Nice to know you're a fellow Dassin fan, he's a pretty underrated director, imho.

[Film_Fatale]

I am the worst when it comes to checking the schedule ahead of time. The worst. But

I am trying, as always, to mend my ways.

 

You can hardly be worse than me, April. I really almost completely forget when something good is coming soon...

[MissGoddess]

> {quote:title=rohanaka wrote:}{quote}>

> Hi April. If ever I get in good with old St Nick I will try to con him into giving me TWO DVD's...one for me and one for you. :-) (PS..don't expect anythng this year....)

>

 

Oooh, that's mighty kind of you, "Katie".

 

 

> push 3 Bad Men closer to the top of your list

>

> I think I wrote that one on my request list at the library...but can't recall. I know I requested the Informer and The Long Voyage Home and a couple of others...I haven't gotten any of those in yet, so will have to wait to see. If 3 Bad Men wasn't in that batch, I will request it the next time. I really would like to see it.

 

It will come around sooner or later, I'm sure. I look forward to your "review".

[Film_Fatale]

I love tragedies, especially romantic tragedies; they don't depress me. My depression

fear with The Best Years of Our Lives has to do with my not liking the aftereffects

of war and how it can wreck a man inside and out. The sight of men who have been forever scarred by war really depresses me. But I value and trust the words of all that have opined

on the film... except you.

 

I do hope you'll have a chance to watch it and share your thought with the rest of us. And hopefully you will not find it too depressing, mon cherie.

[Film_Fatale]

Oooh, that's mighty kind of you, "Katie".

 

I don't think she will like it too much if we all started calling her "Katie"

[MissGoddess]

> {quote:title=FrankGrimes wrote:}{quote}>

> I love tragedies, especially romantic tragedies; they don't depress me. My depression

> fear with The Best Years of Our Lives has to do with my not liking the aftereffects

> of war and how it can wreck a man inside and out. The sight of men who have been forever scarred by war really depresses me. But I value and trust the words of all that have opined

> on the film... except you.

 

 

More valueless opining: If that is your fear I think you can put it to rest. The real "horrors"

the men go through seem to be in the reactions of the "normal" people they come back to.

Dana Andrews has one recurring side-effect that gives him some bother, but it brings him

closer to Theresa Wright and in Harold Russell's case, it's a lesson in perceptions, which

should interest you particularly, given your recent discussion with Kathy. Everyone around

Harold is "well meaning" but often make mistakes nonetheless.

[Film_Fatale]

More valueless opining: If that is your fear I think you can put it to rest. The real "horrors"

the men go through seem to be in the reactions of the "normal" people they come back to.

Dana Andrews has one recurring side-effect that gives him some bother, but it brings him

closer to Theresa Wright and in Harold Russell's case, it's a lesson in perceptions, which

should interest you particularly, given your recent discussion with Kathy. Everyone around

Harold is "well meaning" but often make mistakes nonetheless.

 

Why, April, it is not really valueless - the complete opposite, in fact.

 

And I think you're absolutely right about people being "well meaning" but making mistakes because it's hard to relate to the veterans coming back home, especially after such a huge, unprecedented war as WW2 was.

[rohanaka]

I hope you always feel free to ramble on

 

Thanks (to you and everybody) for your encouragement. I usually always have SOMETHING to say about almost anything...I just tend to ramble on and on...You must have named this thread after me...and you didn't even know it. :-)

 

I will see what sort of ramblin' I can do after the "Strangers" flick tonight. I was so disappointed because after I saw The Lady Vanishes, I got The Thirtynine Steps at the Library....and the copy was so bad you couldn't understand the sound...I finally gave up after about the first ten minutes. So will have to keep that one on my list a while longer. So now am happy to get to catch another Hitch tonight.

[Film_Fatale]

And in an unrelated movie ramble, I find that Timothy Dalton really does bring a bit more, shall we say, juice to the part of 007 than Roger Moore did. It's almost too bad that Moore didn't retire a bit earlier so that Dalton could have carried the part for a few more years and given it a bit more energy than Moore had by his mid-50's.

[Film_Fatale]

Thanks (to you and everybody) for your encouragement. I usually always have SOMETHING to say about almost anything...I just tend to ramble on and on...You must have named this thread after me...and you didn't even know it. :-)

 

I can be a pretty good rambler, too, sometimes.

 

I will see what sort of ramblin' I can do after the "Strangers" flick tonight. I was so disappointed because after I saw The Lady Vanishes, I got The Thirtynine Steps at the Library....and the copy was so bad you couldn't understand the sound...I finally gave up after about the first ten minutes. So will have to keep that one on my list a while longer. So now am happy to get to catch another Hitch tonight.

 

If you've never seen *Strangers on a Train* before, you're probably in for a treat. I think you'll enjoy it a great deal. Sorry to hear about *The 39 Steps* and may the next copy you get be in perfect condition.

[rohanaka]

I don't think she will like it too much if we all started calling her "Katie

 

I once had an uncle (for real...not an adopted one) who always used to say. "call me what you like...just don't call me late to supper." Sounds ok to me!! :-)

[Film_Fatale]

I once had an uncle (for real...not an adopted one) who always used to say. "call me what you like...just don't call me late to supper." Sounds ok to me!! :-)

 

Well, surely, nobody here will ever call you late for supper. I'm sure if you ask nicely people here would even be happy to call you a taxi.

[FrankGrimes]

More valueless opining:

 

 

If that is your fear I think you can put it to rest. The real "horrors" the men go through seem to be in the reactions of the "normal" people they come back to. Dana Andrews has one recurring side-effect that gives him some bother, but it brings him closer to Theresa Wright and in Harold Russell's case, it's a lesson in perceptions, which should interest you particularly, given your recent discussion with Kathy. Everyone around Harold is "well meaning" but often make mistakes nonetheless.

 

Now that sounds fascinating to me. Very nicely said!

[Film_Fatale]

*Now that sounds fascinating to me.*

 

Just watch the movie and get back to us, hun.

[fxreyman]

You know Frank, you might want to consider a triple feature of movies about Vets returning home.

 

Along with The Best Years of Our Lives, you could also sit down and watch the following two films, also very, very good:

 

The Men 1950

Directed by Fred Zinnemann and written by the great Carl Foreman, starring Marlon Brando, Teresa Wright (again) and the great underrated Everett Sloan.

 

Then you could also watch:

 

Bright Victory 1951

Directed by Mark Robson and written by Robert Buckner, starring the great Arthur Kennedy, Peggy Dow, Julie Adams, and James Edwards.

 

All three of these would make a great Veterans returning home night on TCM.

 

So Frank, just go and get these films, sit down in your favorite Lazy Boy and watch away!!!

[Film_Fatale]

*All three of these would make a great Veterans returning home night on TCM.*

 

I agree completely. *Bright Victory* in particular is far more memorable than I ever expected it to be, particularly when it explores the prejudices of Arthur Kennedy's character.

[FrankGrimes]

Good eve, FXReyMan -- I enjoyed reading your reasons for hailing The Best Years of Our Lives as one of the best films ever made.

 

Cathy O'Donnell is an actress that I really like and I'm definitely interested in seeing how she does in such a heavy film.

 

Overall, I'd have to say that this film is the type of film that gives people hope. Hope for the future, and more importantly hope that all men are fair and just and that we CAN get along together, once we put our petty differences aside.

 

That is both an excellent and a strong comment. I appreciate and value its sentiment.

 

You know Frank, you might want to consider a triple feature of movies about Vets returning home. Along with The Best Years of Our Lives, you could also sit down and watch the following two films, also very, very good:

 

The Men 1950

Directed by Fred Zinnemann and written by the great Carl Foreman, starring Marlon Brando, Teresa Wright (again) and the great underrated Everett Sloan.

 

I never heard of this one but the IMDb write-up I read really makes me want to see it. I really enjoy watching the challenges of a couple and the challenges in this one look to be remarkable. And this one features the Zinnemann and Foreman combination BEFORE High Noon. Fascinating. I'm also an Everett Sloane fan, too.

 

Bright Victory 1951

Directed by Mark Robson and written by Robert Buckner, starring the great Arthur Kennedy, Peggy Dow, Julie Adams, and James Edwards.

 

Mark Robson is a director that I'm interested in and I thought Peggy Dow was quite striking in Harvey. I was just reading about Dow at IMDb. She left the business to get married in 1951 and she's still married to the same man. They have five sons. Boy, she had her hands full.

 

Thanks for taking the time to share your opinions and knowledge.

[Film_Fatale]

I never heard of this one but the IMDb write-up I read really makes me want to see it. I really enjoy watching the challenges of a couple and the challenges in this one look to be remarkable. And this one features the Zinnemann and Foreman combination BEFORE High Noon. Fascinating. I'm also an Everett Sloane fan, too.

 

 

You've never seen Marlon Brando's first movie? I think you're in for a treat.

 

And good point regarding Zinnemann-Foreman. Hadn't really thought of that. B-)

[rohanaka]

Well...I enjoyed Strangers On A Train very much....I loved the opening scene...shoes...shoes....and more shoes. :-) I can't say that it was as good as the last Hitch I got to see...(The Lady Vanishes) But still, was a nice little "thiller". That Robert Walker was an all out LOON....very creepy. And young Mr. Granger...woowee, baby. Too gorgeous.

 

The scene w/ the merrygoround....very shocking. I have to say I really was on the edge of my seat.

 

Glad to have seen it and to be able to cross another off my list. I am sure I will have more to add..it is only a matter of time...I think I have seen parts of The Best Years of Our Lives...but it is sounding like one I might need to check into.

 

Time to turn it. Have a nice evening folks. :-)

[Film_Fatale]

*Well...I enjoyed Strangers On A Train very much....*

 

I kinda had the feeling you'd like it, Kathy. Glad you had fun, Hitchcock usually delivers.

[JackFavell]

I love *Strangers on a Train*. It is one of my favorites. I love the imagery. And the sound. And I find it extremely entertaining.

 

*SPOILER ALERT*

 

I was noticing the "stalking" scene in particular last night, partly because I had just been reading the voyeurism thread. I found it fascinating that as Bruno is following the happy threesome further and further out of the park, he is eating popcorn as if he were watching a movie (Miriam has been suggestively licking a big ice cream cone). The boys stop at the "big hammer" and attempt to impress Miriam with their strength, but she only has eyes for Bruno. She is obviously excited by him following her, and she looks around when she thinks he is gone. He appears next to her and she is relieved, and maybe a little scared too. But she likes that feeling. He looks at his hands and then at Miriam before taking a swing with the big hammer. We know he will strangle her with those hands, but we read that she likes the idea that he will "put his hands on her".

 

I also really like the sequence in the tunnel of love. The shadows on the wall make it look like Miriam is making love with the "boys", but it might also be that she is struggling in the arms of murderer......They look the same. Bruno's shadow crosses over Miriam's. Then a scream rings out, echoing in the night. It is a fake out- Miriam is just screaming with delight at being in the dark on a ride with her fellas. She is also showing off for Bruno. When Bruno finally speaks to her, he actually acts like he knows her. I don't just mean her name...Bruno thinks that because he has watched her, he "knows" her. When she is murdered, we get to see the whole thing from the distorted view through the lens of her broken glasses on the ground. Super shot! The camera THEN takes a huge step away, and we listen to the sounds of the carnival quietly drifting on the wind to our vantage point, miles away. We hear the sounds of the "boys", who have found Miriam's body....and we realize that nobody will be able to tell their screams from those of the people on the carnival rides.

 

I also noticed that there is a blind man at the end of the scene that Bruno helps across the street. Does this man appear at the end of the movie to clear Guy? I don't remember, but I don't

think so. I think it is Bruno's little joke- and also an homage to Fritz Lang's *M*.

 

I think that any other director would have cut away from the actual murder. The genius of Hitchcock is that he shows us exactly what is happening, and yet none of the suspense is lost. We now know exactly what Bruno is capable of.

 

Message was edited by: JackFavell

[Film_Fatale]

I think that any other director would have cut away from the actual murder. The genius of Hitchcock is that he shows us exactly what is happening, and yet none of the suspense is lost. We now know exactly what Bruno is capable of.

 

Great analysis, Jackie. The master's best movies are a never-ending source of great delight, as far as I'm concerned. B-)

 

On an unrelated movie ramble, what do you think of Pierce Brosnan's Bond movies? B-)

[JackFavell]

I haven't seen them, FF. I hate to say that I have never really warmed up to Pierce as an actor. Not since he was on TV. My sister always liked him, but he seems really weak acting wise. That being said, I believe he was born to play Bond.....I just can't appreciate him.

[Film_Fatale]

I haven't seen them, FF. I hate to say that I have never really warmed up to Pierce as an actor. Not since he was on TV. My sister always liked him, but he seems really weak acting wise. That being said, I believe he was born to play Bond.....I just can't appreciate him.

 

That's fair enough. I'm pretty close to the end of my little Bond marathon... it's been an interesting experience B-)