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HITS & MISSES: Yesterday, Today & Tomorrow on TCM


Bogie56
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I'm looking forward to seeing Clouds Over Europe (1939) tomorrow. I now won't have to resort to the shoddy print of this on YT-- though I would have. I love Ralph Richardson.

 

The remake of M (1951) is also on again, which I missed a great deal of last time it was on. I'm glad I'll finally get to catch up. It seemed really good, which is really saying something since the original Fritz Lang film set a very high bar. It seemed the director, Joseph Losey, and actor taking over the Peter Lorre role, David Wayne, both do justice to Lang's film.

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Kay:  so the remake of M is a fun film for crime film fans?  Then I'll have to check it out.  I love the original.

 

Suffice to say, it was far better than I was expecting from a low-budget Hollywood remake of a great foreign film, sans Peter Lorre. According to commentary, the director didn't even want to make the film, being an admirer of the original, but finally agreed when he realized he couldn't afford to refuse. It's respectful of the original, but different enough so that it's not just an inferior version of the same thing, (as remakes so often are.)

 

But maybe I'll take this all back when I finally see the whole thing- hah.

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Friday, March 11

8 p.m. The Lodger (1944). Laird Cregar is the whole show here and deservedly so.

 

...i dunno. Cregar is superb, but not the only good thing about THE LODGER... it's got a good, if slightly underused, supporting cast and some excellent production values. I saw an HD version online that was lovely to look at. Nice sharp direction by John Brahm too. And a great ending.

 

An all-around Improvement on the good, but slightly disappointing, source novel.

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I have been recording several today.  I am recording the Condemned  films overnight that I have not seen already.

 

Re: Laird Craiger:

 

Similar to Raymond Burr, he was typecast as heavies.  Unlike Burr, he didn't give up on unhealthy dieting to become slim and instead died.  There was no Weight Watchers back then.  He did it all himself.

 

 

 

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The Divorce of Lady X

 

The Scarlet Pimpernel

 

 

I feel that those are both excellent movies. I love the former because it is serious and magnificent actors in a romp. I find the latter to be much more than the sum of its parts. The underlying romance is very intense.

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Re: Laird Craiger:

Similar to Raymond Burr, he was typecast as heavies. Unlike Burr, he didn't give up on unhealthy dieting to become slim and instead died. There was no Weight Watchers back then. He did it all himself.

I've never entirely bought the story that Craigar died as the result of a crash diet. I think maybe there was something else, like amphetamines, going on. Either way it's a damn shame, he was a wonderful actor and not only do I recommend THE LODGER, I LOVE HANGOVER SQUARE (1945)- it is probably one of my ten favorite films of the 1940s.

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I'll be taping Lord of the Flies, as I haven't seen it, and Toys in the Attic for Gene Tierney.

 

 

 

I would say what I thought of Lord of the Flies the book in high school which gave me  nightmares, but I'm not allowed to -see Vicious Rumours thread.

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Sunday, March 13

 

10 a.m.  Love Letters (1945).  I thought this Jennifer Jones, Joseph Cotten film wasn’t too bad.

 

3:45 a.m.  The Devil’s Eye (1960).  I haven’t seen this Ingmar Bergman film as yet.

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3/13

 

Hits

 

Victor/Victoria.  This is a really fun film starring Julie Andrews and James Garner.  Andrews is fabulous as is Robert Preston who portrays Andrews' fellow cabaret partner.

 

So-So

 

The Prince and the Pauper.  This film features Errol Flynn, Claude Rains and Alan Hale.  It also features the Mauch Twins as "The Prince and Pauper."  They're okay, but they giggle too much for my tastes.  However, it doesn't take away from the overall film.  My complaint is that there is too much Prince and Pauper and not enough Flynn.  Too bad, the Prince and Pauper weren't older (or Flynn could pass as someone much younger, which he most definitely cannot.  He definitely looks like an adult man), and Flynn could have played a dual role.  That is something missing from Flynn's career, a movie in which he played twins.  But I digress, Rains is excellent as usual and this film I believe is the only film in which Hale plays Flynn's rival and adversary and they actually have a sword fight against one another.

 

I'm recording:

 

Viva Las Vegas.  Normally I am not big on the Elvis films, but I really like Ann-Margret, so I'd like to see this film.  It's been on before, but I keep forgetting to record it. Plus, I do like Elvis' "Viva Las Vegas" song.

 

I would record The Smiling Lieutenant, but I still have it recorded from the last time it was on.  I recorded it mainly because it was a Claudette Colbert pre-code.  I haven't seen any of her pre-code films unless It Happened One Night counts as one.  I'm not sure if it does.

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speedracer5--Yes, "It Happened One Night" (1934) is a PreCode; The Code went into effect in July 1934; IHON was released in February 1934, according to TCM's page on IHON.

Thanks! I never know with the 1934 films.  I believe The Thin Man is a pre-code as well, which I didn't realize until I was reading an article about pre-codes.

 

I figured that it was one of those laws that was passed in 1933 but would go into effect in 1934.  I guess that's not the case.

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