I Just Watched...

[jamesjazzguitar]

14 minutes ago, txfilmfan said:

A drunk stork.   Didn't you watch WB cartoons in your hygiene classes in school?

 

And after the drop off Nick and the Stork had a few more!

 

[Vidor]

7 hours ago, TomJH said:

Have you seen Bulldog Drummond, with Ronald Colman? It's a tongue-in-cheek delight. Other than that, I think you're right about 99% of 1929 films.

 

 

I have seen "Bulldog Drummond" and it's among the better 1929 films, yes.  Best 1929 film I've seen is "Applause".

[CinemaInternational]

10 hours ago, Vidor said:

I haven't seen "Driving Miss Daisy" since it played in theaters but that film just feels like it would be embarrassing.

it holds up pretty well. And it feels far more authentic, moving, and honest than the slightly similar Green Book, which won Best picture 2 years ago, but was hardly a credible film.

[Allhallowsday]

I was up until 4:30am EST watching OLIVER TWIST (1948) on TCM last night, which I was looking forward to.  It's a fantastic film; dark, scary, touching. 

[Polly of the Precodes]

5 hours ago, TomJH said:

"Well then, how on earth did we come up with this little bundle between us? No, really, I want to know because Mr.Mayer wouldn't even let us get in the same bed. Where did this kid come from?"

At the very end Nick and Nora are supposed to have separate bunks on the train. But then Nick put Asta into the top bunk, and...CUT!

There's an amusing subversion of the twin beds convention in Young Bride (1932). The camera pans upwards to show the feet of a pair of beds...then pans up further to show the newly married couple cuddling in one of the two beds.

[kingrat]

11 hours ago, Vidor said:

Just a few hours ago I stumbled across some ranking of the Best Picture winners and I was surprised to see "Tom Jones" near the bottom.  It's a blast!  Finney is so handsome and charming, and then there's all those lusty ladies with heaving bosoms, David Warner being an evil psycho right from the very start of his career...lots of fun.

 

There were a lot of bad Best Picture winners in the early years.  It's scientific fact that the worst Best Picture winner ever was "Cimarron", "Cavalcade" is also pretty terrible, and then there's "The Broadway Melody" but then again most every film in 1929 was bad because the early talkies were bad.  The *creepiest* Best Picture winner ever is surely "Gigi", and I haven't seen "Driving Miss Daisy" since it played in theaters but that film just feels like it would be embarrassing.

For me, the worst Best Picture is either Braveheart or Going My Way, but I don't want to re-watch either one to break the tie. I haven't seen some of the recent winners. The Land Rush scene in Cimarron, nicely filmed, was probably the reason it won the Oscar. Cavalcade is the ancestor of Upstairs, Downstairs and is mostly interesting for that reason.  The quick cuts in Tom Jones, which made it seem so up-to-date in 1964, now look incredibly dated, and that is probably the reason for its low ranking today.

[txfilmfan]

2 hours ago, Polly of the Precodes said:

At the very end Nick and Nora are supposed to have separate bunks on the train. But then Nick put Asta into the top bunk, and...CUT!

There's an amusing subversion of the twin beds convention in Young Bride (1932). The camera pans upwards to show the feet of a pair of beds...then pans up further to show the newly married couple cuddling in one of the two beds.

Twin beds were a real thing among some  married couples.  Growing up in the 1960s, our next door neighbors had twin beds.  

My maternal grandparents took it a step further and had separate bedrooms.  My grandfather died when I was 6, so the significance didn't register with me until a few years later.   

[NickAndNora34]

BAD DAY AT BLACK ROCK (1955) *Score: 7/10* 

Starring: Spencer Tracy, Robert Ryan, Ernest Borgnine, Walter Brennan, Lee Marvin. 

Tracy stars as a one-armed war veteran who stops off in a small desert town with the intentions of awarding his war buddy's medal to his son, but ultimately finds out there might be something sinister within the town and amongst some of the townspeople. From the minute he steps foot in the town, he is immediately met with a very cold reception; some of the men in the town even go so far as to subtly threaten him and discourage him from trying to do what he came to do. It quickly becomes clear to MacReady (Tracy) that the men are attempting to hide something, and he aims to learn just what it is. 

I liked this one; all the men were exasperating me with their behavior for the entirety of the runtime and I was hoping that nothing bad would happen to MacReady. Watched on the Criterion Channel. 

ODD MAN OUT (1947) *Score: 6/10* 

I didn't enjoy this one as much as I previously thought I would; I watched it per a friend's recommendation. It wasn't awful, just a tad slow and James Mason wasn't in it enough despite being the main character. Watched on the Criterion Channel. 

THE PRINCE OF TIDES (1991) *Score: 6/10* 

Starring: Barbra Streisand, Nick Nolte, Blythe Danner. 

Based on the novel of the same name by Pat Conroy; I mainly wanted to watch this so I could log another one of Barbra's films, but it managed to keep my attention for the entirety of the run-time. Dramatic, yet slightly comedic at times, I thought this one was pretty decent. Not bad for a directing job, Barbra. Watched on the Criterion Channel. 

THE MIRROR HAS TWO FACES (1996) *Score: 7/10* 

Starring: Barbra Streisand, Jeff Bridges, Lauren Bacall, Brenda Vaccaro. 

I am not normally one for romantic comedies, however I had a good time with this one (but maybe that has something to do with my slight crush on Mr. Bridges). Watched on Criterion Channel. 

 

[Allhallowsday]

7 hours ago, Allhallowsday said:

OLIVER TWIST (1948)

ANTHONY NEWLEY

[TikiSoo]

17 hours ago, jamesjazzguitar said:

And after the drop off Nick and the Stork had a few more!

Back in the days when alcoholism was funny.

10 hours ago, txfilmfan said:

Twin beds were a real thing among some  married couples.  Growing up in the 1960s,

Heh, my parents had twin beds. We split the set when moving Mom into an apartment 5 years ago. The granddaughter that took the twin has already discarded it.

[TomJH]

45 minutes ago, TikiSoo said:

Heh, my parents had twin beds. We split the set when moving Mom into an apartment 5 years ago. The granddaughter that took the twin has already discarded it.

I recall when my parents, before they eventually got twin beds, slept in a big bed. I loved to crawl in between them. Mom and Dad finally figured out a way to get rid of me without saying anything by slowly pushing their butts in on me from both sides until the squeeze was so much that I ran down the hall back to my own bed. But what did I know? I was only 19.

[LornaHansonForbes]

21 hours ago, kingrat said:

For me, the worst Best Picture is either Braveheart or Going My Way, but I don't want to re-watch either one to break the tie. I haven't seen some of the recent winners. The Land Rush scene in Cimarron, nicely filmed, was probably the reason it won the Oscar. Cavalcade is the ancestor of Upstairs, Downstairs and is mostly interesting for that reason.  The quick cuts in Tom Jones, which made it seem so up-to-date in 1964, now look incredibly dated, and that is probably the reason for its low ranking today.

If only for the astoundingly baaaaaaaaaaaad acting of RICHARD DIX, CIMARRON deserves a place on the WORST BEST LIST.

Seriously, they should play clips of his performance for drama classes as WHAT NOT TO DO ONSCREEN 101.

[Vidor]

9 hours ago, LornaHansonForbes said:

If only for the astoundingly baaaaaaaaaaaad acting of RICHARD DIX, CIMARRON deserves a place on the WORST BEST LIST.

 

That's very true.  Dix is horrifically bad in that movie and is one of the main reasons, probably the main reason, why "Cimarron" is so damn terrible. 

[jamesjazzguitar]

Watched Mr.  Soft Touch on TCM last night.     The film was also on MOVIES-TV at the same time.     So I would flip back and forth just to track how the commercials impacted MOVIES-TV.       I think they must shorten some scenes because MOVIES-TV didn't get "behind" TCM by more than a few minutes.      My wife asked me "are you rewinding",  since there were scenes that were within seconds of each other.

I like the film even if it is somewhat silly;    Keyes is rather flat and John Ireland somewhat wasted,   but Ford is full of life.  Still my favorite in this film is Stanley Clements.   (23 playing a teen).      Set at Christmas with Santa a key plot point.

[txfilmfan]

30 minutes ago, jamesjazzguitar said:

Watch Mr.  Soft Touch on TCM last night.     The film was also on MOVIES-TV at the same time.     So I would flip back and forth just just to track how the commercials impacted MOVIES-TV.       I think they must shorten some scenes because MOVIES-TV didn't get "behind" TCM by more than a few minutes.      My wife ask me "are you rewinding",  since there were scenes that were within seconds of each other.

I like the film even if it is somewhat silly;    Keyes is rather flat and John Ireland somewhat wasted,   but Ford is full of life.  Still my favorite in this film is Stanley Clements.   (23 playing a teen).      Set at Christmas with Santa a key plot point.

Movies! is not supposed to edit for time, but does edit for graphic content that would run the risk of getting a fine from the FCC.  They may use time compression techniques, though, to squeeze a film into a time slot.  None of their publicly available information confirms or denies this, AFAIK, but  other Weigel properties (MeTV, for instance) use time compression techniques on their programs.  Their ad time is supposedly limited to 12 minutes per hour.

[jamesjazzguitar]

11 minutes ago, txfilmfan said:

Movies! is not supposed to edit for time, but does edit for graphic content that would run the risk of getting a fine from the FCC.  They may use time compression techniques, though, to squeeze a film into a time slot.  None of their publicly available information confirms or denies this, AFAIK, but  other Weigel properties (MeTV, for instance) use time compression techniques on their programs.  Their ad time is supposedly limited to 12 minutes per hour.

Yes,  I believe they only edited for graphic content,  which is why I was tracking the two films.    I would go back and forth to see if any scenes were cut (e.g. the one where Ford was making the bed with the torn up sheets and blankets,  since I felt MAYBE that scene could be cut).     No scenes cut as far as I could tell,  which is why I was surprised MOVIES-TV didn't fall much more behind TCM by more then a few minutes.

Thanks for that info.     Of course normally I would just watch TCM.    What got me doing this was I have the two channels as favorites and when I saw TCM was showing a Columbia film I turned to that saying to myself "guess I'll watch this instead of MOVIES-TV Thursday-Night-Noir series".    I went to  check what noirs MOVIES-TV was showing and then discovered the same film!  (but Soft Touch isn't close to being a noir,  but more like a light-hearted crime film).

 

[Sepiatone]

HA!  Saw a weird movie on the COMET channel yesterday afternoon.

SANTA CLAUS CONQUERS THE MARTIANS ('64).

Silly movie boasting the corniest looking movie robot ever made from a cardboard box.  And the absolutely worst looking Santa in film history.  even worse that the Santa in THE POLAR EXPRESS( if possible).  Made me think that with a much better budget and writing this could have been a pretty good movie, given the premise.  But that the cast was able to pull this off with straight faces is kind of a testament to their talent.   

Sepiatone

[SansFin]

No Trace (1950)

 

A would-be author lacking inspiration writes a fictionalized account of a robbery which he actually committed but was never suspected of doing. This movie opens some years later when he is a successful and insufferable crime novelist with a secretary who is much too good for him. All is well with him until one of his old partners finds him. The research he did for other books means he knows well that there is only one good way to deal with a blackmailer. Question of the day: can a person who writes of perfect murders commit one?

What is the opposite of: 'lively'? To call this movie 'deadly' would imply tension and suspense which are not present. To call this movie 'plodding' would imply that it does not move at a good pace which it does. It reminds me best of the first rehearsal of a play when actors show that they know their lines and can follow stage directions but are not yet in character nor are they attempting to make their movements seem natural. 

I like Hugh Sinclair very much in some movies but find him so-so in others. I am sorry to say that this movie is near the bottom of the so-so list. 

Dinah Sheridan is the high point of the movie but her usual lovely and spritely best seems muffled under a wet blanket.

A sufficiently good movie to watch once.

6/9.2

[Allhallowsday]

1 hour ago, Sepiatone said:

HA!  Saw a weird movie on the COMET channel yesterday afternoon.

SANTA CLAUS CONQUERS THE MARTIANS ('64).

Silly movie boasting the corniest looking movie robot ever made from a cardboard box.  And the absolutely worst looking Santa in film history.  even worse that the Santa in THE POLAR EXPRESS( if possible).  Made me think that with a much better budget and writing this could have been a pretty good movie, given the premise.  But that the cast was able to pull this off with straight faces is kind of a testament to their talent.

Always hated SANTA CLAUS CONQUERS THE MARTIANS which used to be shown over the holidays by local independent channels on weekend afternoons.  Someone gave me a DVD of it!  Ugh!  I like bad movies, unless they're irredeemably bad. 

And that POLAR EXPRESS is terrible : pointless, padded, pompous... Some nice visuals and a DREADFUL message to youth of marginalization and possessiveness. 

[Vautrin]

I saw Mr. Soft Touch a few months ago on YT. It starts out okay but gets gooier as it goes along.

Sort of a second-rate version of The Lemon Drop Kid, though I guess The Lemon Drop Kid is

a better version of Mr. Soft Touch, since Mr. Soft Touch came first.

[LornaHansonForbes]

2 hours ago, Allhallowsday said:

And that POLAR EXPRESS is terrible : pointless, padded, pompous... Some nice visuals and a DREADFUL message to youth of marginalization and possessiveness. 

At least it taught a lot of people the meaning of the term "The Uncanny Valley."

[CinemaInternational]

I'm currently looking at a brand new film (started showing online today) on the HBO Max streaming service called Let Them All Talk. So far its pretty much a chamber piece for essentially 5 characters, 3 female  friends in their early 70s who have grown apart since going to college together decades ago (Meryl Streep, Candice Bergen, Dianne Wiest), a young nephew of one of the three (Lucas Hedges), and a book editor (Gemma Chan). It might be set on a boat, but its all pretty much scenes of uninterrupted dialogue, mostly improvised. It's a bit dry, but its great to see the veteran stars, Streep her usual professional self, Wiest humane and charming, and  Candice Bergen an absolute delight who steals the show.

i feel though as though I've been neglecting film recently. I've still been caught up in exploring a lot of TV shows for the last few months.

 

[SansFin]

The Death Kiss (1932)

 

All seem to agree that shooting leading man Myles Brent was a good idea. It is unfortunate the murder occurred before the filming of his current movie was finished. He was a notorious womanizer and constantly a problem for the studio.  It is for this reason that many women, their husbands and the studio executives are suspects. 

David Manners as a writer and amateur detective carries his role well but is not particularly exemplary. 

Bela Lugosi is listed as the star on some posters and on some sites but his role is relatively minor. He delivers a competent performance while not being a stand out. It is doubtful his character would have been noticed at all if it were not for who he is. 

I found this to be a competent movie of its type. The method of murder was somewhat unusual and so I suppose I must give it points for that.

6/9.84764....

[HoldenIsHere]

2 hours ago, LornaHansonForbes said:

At least it taught a lot of people the meaning of the term "The Uncanny Valley."

 

Wasn't that the title of a TV series from the 1960s starring Miss Barbara Stanwyck?

[hamradio]

"1917" (2019)  that German pilot really p****ed me off.. WHAT AN INGRATE!! 

That's what poor Blake got for having compassion.  Should had let the SOB BURN!!!

 

(Hitler would had been PROUD of that now the most hated minor character)