markbeckuaf Posted December 5, 2010 Share Posted December 5, 2010 Grooving to TCM this week! Not a lot of pre-codes compared to last week, but some cool and relatively obscure noir/crime flix though! Wee hours of Monday morning--3:45am--catch ZOO IN BUDAPEST, very rare pre-code with a young sexy Loretta Young! Monday is pretty jazzy with BLUES IN THE NIGHT, YOUNG MAN WITH A HORN and The Mick in THE STRIP--great noir!! Basically you want to stay up all night on Tuesday, cos the wee hours starting at midnight has some groovy flix that are part of the Dorothy Malone fest earlier in the eve: THE FAST AND THE FURIOUS with John Ireland, CONVICTED with Broderick Crawford himself and Glenn Ford! Then at 5am a pretty rare noir with Freddie Mac, PUSHOVER, along with Kim Novak!! Mick's day on Thursday has a few crime and noir flicks including KILLER MCCOY, THE BIG WHEEL and the best, IMHO, QUICKSAND, also starring Peter Lorre!! And of course on Saturday, I always have to give a shout out to my Boys from Bowery, this week is BOWERY TO BAGDAD! Tune in for your B chuckles!!! And later in the afternoon on Saturday, THE THING FROM ANOTHER WORLD, always dig that sci-fi gem! Just a few of the groovy highlights from the upcoming week! Thank you, TCM! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SansFin Posted December 6, 2010 Share Posted December 6, 2010 I recorded *Zoo in Budapest* (1933) and *Josephine and Men* (1955). I hope to watch them this week. I have been told the second is very much under-rated. *Pushover* (1954) is one of the few Kim Novak movies I have not seen and I am greatly looking forward to it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MyFavoriteFilms Posted December 6, 2010 Share Posted December 6, 2010 I am looking forward to PUSHOVER, too. Again, it's timed to coincide with the release of the new disc. We are using cable TV to niche market films to consumers right around the holidays. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sewannie Posted December 6, 2010 Share Posted December 6, 2010 *Mark*, I love your posts about what's upcoming during the week. They usually get me interested in something I might not have been otherwise...in this case, PUSHOVER. I was already looking forward to QUICKSAND. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markbeckuaf Posted December 7, 2010 Author Share Posted December 7, 2010 Thank you, Sewannie!!! I'm glad you are digging on many of the flix on TCM!!! Please let us know how you like PUSHOVER? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MyFavoriteFilms Posted December 8, 2010 Share Posted December 8, 2010 PUSHOVER has a rather late showing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
misswonderly3 Posted December 8, 2010 Share Posted December 8, 2010 Sorry, mark, I am not a pushover for *Pushover*. It just doesn't "work" for me. I don't sense any "chemistry" between MacMurray and Novak, and the window-spying business is clumsily done and just strikes me as silly. I wanted to like it, but in my mind it's definitely a lesser noir. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markbeckuaf Posted December 8, 2010 Author Share Posted December 8, 2010 > {quote:title=misswonderly wrote:}{quote} > Sorry, mark, I am not a pushover for *Pushover*. It just doesn't "work" for me. I don't sense any "chemistry" between MacMurray and Novak, and the window-spying business is clumsily done and just strikes me as silly. I wanted to like it, but in my mind it's definitely a lesser noir. Oh wow, I guess I will agree that it's a lesser Noir, but I think I liked it a bit better than you did! Sorry you were disappointed though! Did you happen to catch CONVICTED?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MyFavoriteFilms Posted December 8, 2010 Share Posted December 8, 2010 It reminded me of DOUBLE INDEMNITY (and I'm sure that is why Fred was cast...as the guy who gets drawn into a moll/femme fatale's entangled life). But the voyeurism during the stakeout was reminiscent of REAR WINDOW. If it had been made after the production code, we would've had a peep show of sorts. I think Fred and Kim had chemistry, but Phil Carey and Dorothy Malone had more. I was much more fascinated in them as a couple. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
misswonderly3 Posted December 8, 2010 Share Posted December 8, 2010 I haven't seen *Convicted* , but I'd like to (sometimes, whether it'd due to the airing time of the film or some other reason, I miss something I'd normally make a point of watching or recording.). Glenn Ford is usually, good, I like him in both noirs and Westerns - I think he's an under-rated actor. As for *Pushover*, I don't hate it or anything. I was just a little disappointed, my expectations for any noir title are usually pretty high. Of course, there are mediocre noirs as there are mediocre films in any genre. And you know what? - I'd rather see a mediocre noir than a less-than-outstanding movie of any other type. If I don't like the story or characters, I can always sit back and enjoy the shadows, the mise-en-scene, and those great fedora hats. MFF, yes, Carey and Malone made a more believable and nicer couple. Edited by: misswonderly on Dec 8, 2010 1:32 PM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MyFavoriteFilms Posted December 8, 2010 Share Posted December 8, 2010 I know we had a discussion about CORNERED a few months ago...and I find it a lesser noir (a questionable noir). What I liked about PUSHOVER is that Harry Cohn gives it a big budget (something most noirs do not get, especially at RKO). And it's just so slick in terms of atmosphere and cinematography (Richard Quine's direction being very noteworthy). If you are looking at Fred as the bad guy, then a double feature of this film and INDEMNITY is a must. But if you are looking at Kim as the center of trouble in noir, then I would pair this film with 5 FOR THE HOUSE. While Phil Karlson's caper is not technically pure noir, it does have a lot of the same elements of PUSHOVER and Novak is used in the same way...she is not irredeemable like Stanwyck or other noir dames, but instead she is a combustible force of sexuality and innocence that helps these men into criminal activity. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MyFavoriteFilms Posted December 8, 2010 Share Posted December 8, 2010 I haven't seen QUANTEZ, a late 50s western from Universal. But Malone and MacMurray were reteamed in it as love interests. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SansFin Posted December 9, 2010 Share Posted December 9, 2010 I very much like Kim Novak, Fred MacMurray and noir but *Pushover* (1954) did not excite me. I believe part of the problem is the storyline. I found it difficult to accept Fred MacMurray as an innocent drawn into crime. His meeting and affair with Kim Novak was duplicitous. It does not matter that he was doing it 'for the greater good' as an officer seeking information. It was a slimy job and he did it with great enthusiasm. I believe another part of the problem was the lack of a foundation of a deep relationship between them. There was no evidence of him falling for her or for her needing him. I also fault Richard Qunie for using a great many empty mood shots. I found myself thinking: "This pause is meant to show us..." instead of my feeling as if I was reading the character. I am happy I have watched it but it does not reach standards of so many better noir films. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
misswonderly3 Posted December 9, 2010 Share Posted December 9, 2010 Well, tonight at 6:30 they're airing something we'll all probably like: *Quicksand*, with Mickey Rooney in a nifty little noir role. This lesser known film noir is very good, lots of fun, watch out for fur coats and Peter Lorre, his usual enjoyable creepy self, as a carnival operator. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DownGoesFrazier Posted December 9, 2010 Share Posted December 9, 2010 But, as I said in another thread, PUSHOVER has historical interest for me because this is the movie that first made the world aware of Kim Novak. It's fun watching her in this film and determining why she was on her way to stardom. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MyFavoriteFilms Posted December 9, 2010 Share Posted December 9, 2010 She was on her way to stardom because she was the lover of producer Phil Waxman who sold this property to Harry Cohn. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DownGoesFrazier Posted December 9, 2010 Share Posted December 9, 2010 I've always liked Kim, so I respectfully disagree. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MyFavoriteFilms Posted December 9, 2010 Share Posted December 9, 2010 I like her, too. It was not a slam but the reality of how she found some of her opportunities in Hollywood. I don't think you can really disagree with her being involved with Phil Waxman...that is a matter of fact. LOL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
margarita_salt Posted December 9, 2010 Share Posted December 9, 2010 It is a fact she was involved with that producer, and I am sure that furthered her career a bit but she was talented in her own right. I am sure many other actresses besides Kim Novack helped their career by going out with the heads of the studios. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markbeckuaf Posted December 9, 2010 Author Share Posted December 9, 2010 I don't think I mentioned LOVE IS A HEADACHE for things to watch for, but wow, home sick today and really enjoyed this relatively unknown gem! Digging on character actors like Frank Jenks and Ted Healy among others, as well as leading lady Gladys George (of THE ROARING TWENTIES fame)!! Since I'm home sick, I can watch today's flix live (if the cold meds let me that is!) and I'm looking forward to KILLER MCCOY, THE BIG WHEEL and for sure QUICKSAND (most of all!) in today's all-Mick lineup! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MyFavoriteFilms Posted December 9, 2010 Share Posted December 9, 2010 She went from being 27th-billed in THE FRENCH LINE to being 3rd-billed in PUSHOVER. Nobody is disputing her talent. And nobody is saying she was the first (nor the last) starlet to more than just go out with her producer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DownGoesFrazier Posted December 9, 2010 Share Posted December 9, 2010 "Going out" is a great euphemism. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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