I Just Watched...

[LornaHansonForbes]

32 minutes ago, Grumpytoad said:

Respect your opinion of China Seas. Grand Hotel was great. Was one of my first pre-code viewings-first time I saw Garbo too. I'll never understand her attraction. I tried with a few other of her movies, but just am unable to relate. 

GARBO is like olives, an acquired taste. Her performance in GRAND HOTEL is a fascinating failure, she’s better in NINOTCHKA, QUEEN CHRISTINA and THE PAINTED VEIL. 

[Fading Fast]

Wild River from 1960 with Montgomery Clift, Lee Remick, Jo Van Fleet and Albert Salmi

 

 

I don't know how I missed this gem of a movie from director Eli Kazan all these years, but I'm kinda glad I did as it was a treat to experience it fresh recently.

 

Kazan packs a lot into a movie ostensibly about eminent domain. But Wild River is really also about love where, when and with whom you don't want to find it and the extant racism embedded in the South, at least as late as the 1930s. 

 

Montgomery Clift is a Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) official sent to rural Tennessee to get a poor, proud, elderly woman to peacefully leave an island she owns that will soon be flooded by a TVA dam. 

 

Because of eminent domain, the government has the legal right to force her to sell her land to it - all the neighbors have already sold - but she won't accept any price and the TVA doesn't want the negative publicity of forcefully removing her from the island. 

 

Whatever thoughts you had about eminent domain will be challenged by this movie as we see Clift try to explain the situation to the woman as humanely as possible, while she, against stereotype and despite having little formal education, cogently, intelligently and, oftentimes, philosophically argues against him. 

 

Clift is also trying to help the TVA clear much of the land it already bought, but it is short labor. However, when he suggests they hire black workers at the same pay as whites, the local white business community objects as that would undermine their economy as blacks are currently paid less than whites for the same work. 

 

After the local leaders try to reason with Clift and then threaten him, one of the local employers, in a brilliantly done scary scene that takes place in Clift's claustrophobic hotel room, explains to Clift the "situation." 

 

He tells Clift he had to pay one black worker four dollars more because of Clift's pay plan. This man then offers to "remove the old lady from the island" and send Clift plenty of black workers at the black wage rate to solve all the problems or he expects Clift to pay him the four dollars Clift "owns" him.

 

When Clift refuses to do any of those things, the man beats the four dollars out of him. Even so, the next day, Clift continues on the same path, but with the added confusion of beginning an affair with the elderly woman's granddaughter, Lee Remick. 

 

Remick is a young widow with two kids who is close to being engaged to a local man she tells Clift she likes, but doesn't love, but hopes she will learn to love him over time. Clift and Remick have an immediate physical and emotional connection. 

 

Now Clift has a holy mess on his hands. The local whites try again to bully him out of town and the old lady says "no" to leaving her land once more, all while Remick proposes marriage. It's a proposal Clift doesn't embrace as it's one thing to have a fling with a pretty, uneducated local girl; it's another thing to marry her and have an instant family with her two kids. 

 

(Spoiler alert) After absorbing the blow of his rejection, Remick does two beautiful things to change Clift's mind. One, instead of getting offended by the rejection (a normal response) she argues effectively that she'd make him a good wife even if he doesn't see it now by pointing out his flaws and how she understands him. Then, two, when the bullying white man beats Clift up again, she jumps on the bully, gives it her all and ends up knocked out on the ground next to Clift. 

 

(Spoiler alert) No man in his right mind wouldn't want to marry this woman now. Thankfully, Clift is in his right mind. After that, it is, sadly, Clift getting the Marshall to evict the elderly woman, but you can feel the respect she and Clift have for each other at this point. 

 

In Wild River, Kazan delivers an incredibly powerful film using incredibly boring sounding subject matter - the TVA. Tucked inside his challenging eminent domain story is a harsh look at racism and a beautifully unconventional love story. 

 

Wild River is one of those "little" movies that, after you see it, you can't believe isn't better known. The performances all around were impressive, but in this one, Clift and Remick did some of the best work of their careers.  

[LornaHansonForbes]

12 minutes ago, mkahn22 said:

Wild River from 1960 with Montgomery Clift, Lee Remick, Jo Van Fleet and Albert Salmi

I don't know how I missed this gem of a movie from director Eli Kazan all these years, but I'm kinda glad I did as it was a treat to experience it fresh recently.

 

Kazan packs a lot into a movie ostensibly about eminent domain. But Wild River is really also about love where, when and with whom you don't want to find it and the extant racism embedded in the South, at least as late as the 1930s.

 

Wild River is one of those "little" movies that, after you see it, you can't believe isn't better known. The performances all around were impressive, but in this one, Clift and Remick did some of the best work of their careers.  

I'm honored you watched it- I assume as per your my and Kingrat's discussion- and THRILLED you liked it so much.

The thing that I loved the most about WILD RIVER is that the TRADITIONAL GENDER ROLES ARE TOTALLY SWAPPED for the THREE LEADS AS THE STORY UNFOLDS- LEE REMICK becomes THE HERO AND CHIEF PROTAGONIST, MONTGOMERY CLIFT becomes THE DAMSEL IN DISTRESS**, and JO VAN FLEET has sort of THE WALTER BRENNAN/LEE MARVIN part of the second male lead.

Sorry if that sounds odd, but it just made it fascinating to watch and very memorable for me.

 

**and I don't mean that as ANY INSULT to MONTGOMERY CLIFT when I say that, he is WONDERFUL IN THE PART.

[Fading Fast]

3 minutes ago, LornaHansonForbes said:

I'm honored you watched it- I assume as per your my and Kingrat's discussion- and THRILLED you liked it so much.

The thing that I loved the most about WILD RIVER is that the TRADITIONAL GENDER ROLES ARE TOTALLY SWAPPED for the THREE LEADS AS THE STORY UNFOLDS- LEE REMICK becomes THE HERO AND CHIEF PROTAGONIST, MONTGOMERY CLIFT becomes THE DAMSEL IN DISTRESS**, and JO VAN FLEET has sort of THE WALTER BRENNAN/LEE MARVIN part of the second male lead.

Sorry if that sounds odd, but it just made it fascinating to watch and very memorable for me.

 

**and I don't mean that as ANY INSULT to MONTGOMERY CLIFT when I say that, he is WONDERFUL IN THE PART.

Yes and thank you for a wonderful recommendation.

I, too, loved the strong women as they felt real and not forced to make a political point like in so many modern movies. Lee and Van Fleet had no choice but to be strong women as they were leading hard lives that required strength, smarts and courage to survive.

I also love when Lee absorbed the "I don't want to marry you" blow and kept fighting for Clift, not because she was all weepy about it, but because she saw it was good for both of them and wasn't going to give up. Plus, any woman who will try to beat up an ox of a man because he's beating up the man she loves is fantastic.

Good call on Van Fleet as Brennan/Marvin - spot on. 

 

[ElCid]

Just finished watching the final episode of Daredevils of the Red Circle (1939), a Republic serial.  Fairly interesting, but helped to be able to fast forward through credits and recaps of previous episodes.  Most notable actors were Carole Landis (not enough screen time) and Herman Brix (later known as Bruce Bennett).

Seems that there are a lot of serials on YouTube.  Most not as good as this one though.  

[Tikisoo]

7 hours ago, Grumpytoad said:

Respect your opinion of China Seas. Grand Hotel was great. Was one of my first pre-code viewings-first time I saw Garbo too. I'll never understand her attraction. I tried with a few other of her movies, but just am unable to relate. 

I don't care for CHINA SEAS nor GRAND HOTEL. We screened Grand Hotel and I didn't like it much better with an audience. (I do however enjoy ensemble flick DINNER AT EIGHT)

OTOH, I love Garbo and completely understand her appeal. I love ANNA CHRISTIE but do think her most accessible movie is NINOTCHKA. She is good, but basically a one note actress playing herself.

I love that there's movies for everybody, every taste - that's why they're "classic".

[speedracer5]

8 hours ago, LornaHansonForbes said:

GARBO is like olives, an acquired taste. Her performance in GRAND HOTEL is a fascinating failure, she’s better in NINOTCHKA, QUEEN CHRISTINA and THE PAINTED VEIL. 

Believe it or not, last night, I just watched my first Garbo film. I just watched Mata Hari. In the clips of hers I’d seen, I didn’t “get” her either. But I got “it” in Mata Hari. While it wasn’t the best film I’d ever seen, there was just something about Garbo. I look forward to seeing some of her other films. 

[King Rat]

4 hours ago, LornaHansonForbes said:

The thing that I loved the most about WILD RIVER is that the TRADITIONAL GENDER ROLES ARE TOTALLY SWAPPED for the THREE LEADS AS THE STORY UNFOLDS- LEE REMICK becomes THE HERO AND CHIEF PROTAGONIST, MONTGOMERY CLIFT becomes THE DAMSEL IN DISTRESS**, and JO VAN FLEET has sort of THE WALTER BRENNAN/LEE MARVIN part of the second male lead.

Sorry if that sounds odd, but it just made it fascinating to watch and very memorable for me.

 

**and I don't mean that as ANY INSULT to MONTGOMERY CLIFT when I say that, he is WONDERFUL IN THE PART.

I'd never of Wild River in that way, but it makes sense. One thing I like about the main plot is that it is a case of good vs. good. Clift and TVA are right that Ella Garth's land is needed to prevent flooding, but her attachment to the land and to the way of life she has known is also a good thing. The racial equality subject is more a simple matter of right vs. wrong, but the film doesn't make the mistake of giving the Garths more enlightened views about their black neighbors. Then the love plot has role reversal, as you noted. Kazan has said that with a homosexual actor like Clift, it worked better for the woman to be the pursuer.

The film is also beautifully photographed with autumn colors yet not the sepia glop of the 70s or today. The scene where Remick and Clift drift across the river while she sings "The Garden" is one of my favorite scenes from any film.

[HoldenIsHere]

On 3/9/2022 at 5:52 AM, LornaHansonForbes said:

I watched THE OMEN (1976) last night. 
 

I’ve seen the last half before, but I don’t think I had ever seen the first part. So, going into it I totally know how it ended (Which definitely affects the viewing experience.)

it was fine, I prefer it to ROSEMARYS BABY- A film from which it is obviously derived – but to be honest with you, I don’t particularly care for ROSEMARYS BABY. 

I also saw THE OMEN in its entirety for the first time this week.  I'd seen a number of scenes from the movie and I knew how it ended but had never seen it from beginning to end until now.  Overall, I thought it was well done.  The story held my interest and  the acting was believable.  Jerry Goldsmith's score is fantastic.

Seeing the movie in full, I realized I had misunderstood the  significance of the scene  where Damien's first nanny (played by Holly Palance, the daughter of Jack Palance) hangs herself.  Lee Remick's fall impressed me even more seeing it in the context of the story. 

Was there any explanation as to why to the photographer played by David Warner is able to take pictures that reveal the fates of the people in his photographs?  If there was an explanation I missed it.

Billie Whitelaw was wonderfully creepy as Mrs. Baylock,  Damien's second nanny and protector.  She resembles one of my co-workers!

My favorite line from THE OMEN:

"Baboons bite."  [said with an English accent]

 

 

[LornaHansonForbes]

17 hours ago, HoldenIsHere said:

I also saw THE OMEN in its entirety for the first time this week.

Was there any explanation as to why to the photographer played by David Warner is able to take pictures that reveal the fates of the people in his photographs?  If there was an explanation I missed it.

Billie Whitelaw was wonderfully creepy as Mrs. Baylock,  Damien's second nanny and protector.  She resembles one of my co-workers!

That surprises me somewhat that you'd be an OMEN first-timer, for some reason it seems like a film you would have seen...in large part for THE SCORE, which is a great example oh how A GREAT SCORE can ELEVATE A FILM IMMENSELY.

I dunno the answer to your DAVID WARNER question except to say that I got the general sense they were pulling a lot of the story elements of THE OMEN of of their you-know-whereses...it seems like THE OMEN would be based on a novel, but I don't think it is...although I think the novelization of the film became quite popular as well (maybe it goes into the details of just why film betrays THE MARK OF DEATH.)

BILLIE WHITELAW later played a SEVERE MRS, MEDLOCK in the HALLMARK HALL OF FAME VERSION OF THE SECRET GARDEN in 1987. she;s also in NIGHTWATCH (i think is the name?)- a weird LIZ TAYLOR/LAURENCE HARVEY BRitish film from the early 1970s.

[Dargo]

On 3/12/2022 at 4:00 PM, HoldenIsHere said:

Billie Whitelaw was wonderfully creepy as Mrs. Baylock,  Damien's second nanny and protector.  She resembles one of my co-workers!

Then in that case Holden, I'll bet this co-worker of yours also resembles David Bowie.

(...as I've always thought Whitelaw and Bowie could've easily been fraternal twins)

[Swithin]

On 3/12/2022 at 7:00 PM, HoldenIsHere said:

Billie Whitelaw was wonderfully creepy as Mrs. Baylock,  Damien's second nanny and protector.  She resembles one of my co-workers!

 

I first saw Billie Whitelaw in Make Mine Mink (1960), in which she plays the housekeeper. I've seen her on stage Michael Frayn's Alphabetical Order and in a Christopher Hampton play called Tales from Hollywood, in which she played Nelly Mann, the wife of Heinrich Mann, in a play which also included, as characters, Johnny Weissmuller, Chico Marx, Bertolt Brecht, Greta Garbo, and Odon von Horvath.

But one of Billie Whitelaw's major achievements, for which she received great acclaim, was for her performances in the plays of Samuel Beckett. She was Beckett's muse and the major interpreter of his work. He called her "a perfect actress" and wrote for her. 

Billie Whitelaw in Happy Days

The cast of Make Mine Mink: Elspeth Duxbury, Athene Seyler, Terry-Thomas, Hattie Jacques, and Billie Whitelaw 

 

[Grumpytoad]

On 3/12/2022 at 3:14 AM, LornaHansonForbes said:

GARBO is like olives, an acquired taste. Her performance in GRAND HOTEL is a fascinating failure, she’s better in NINOTCHKA, QUEEN CHRISTINA and THE PAINTED VEIL. 

I've seen Anna Christie, Susan Lenox, and Mata Hari partly. The first two were decent I thought. For some unknown reason I had a bad reaction to the third one-flipped it off after maybe 20 minutes. 
I'll look for the others you mention.

[King Rat]

11 hours ago, LornaHansonForbes said:

That surprises me somewhat that you'd be an OMEN first-timer, for some reason it seems like a film you would have seen...in large part for THE SCORE, which is a great example oh how A GREAT SCORE can ELEVATE A FILM IMMENSELY.

 

BILLIE WHITELAW later played a SEVERE MRS, MEDLOCK in the HALLMARK HALL OF FAME VERSION OF THE SECRET GARDEN in 1987. she;s also in NIGHTWATCH (i think is the name?)- a weird LIZ TAYLOR/LAURENCE HARVEY BRitish film from the early 1970s.

Billie Whitelaw was excellent and won one of the critics' awards as Albert Finney's ex-wife in Charlie Bubbles, a film that doesn't pop up that often. Liza Minnelli had a small role in the film as a girl interested in famous writer Charlie.

[Fading Fast]

 

The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer from 1947 with Cary Grant, Myrna Loy, Shirley Temple and Ray Collins

 

 

This is why we have movie stars. The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer would have been long forgotten if not for Cary Grant, Myrna Loy, Shirley Temple and Ray Collins. These talented actors take the movie's thin and inane script and create enjoyable characters who have so much charm that you forgive the picture its ample ridiculousness. 

 

Cary Grant plays a successful artist brought up before a judge played by Myrna Loy owing to a tussle over some girls at a nightclub the prior evening. After being let off with a warning, Grant, later that day, gives a lecture on art at the high school where Loy's younger sister, ward and bobby-soxer Shirley Temple attends.

 

Temple develops an immediate crush on middle-aged Grant and approaches him, after the lecture, under the pretense that as editor and chief of the school paper she needs to interview him. Later that night, unbeknownst to Grant, she sneaks into his apartment where - after Temple is discovered missing at home -  Loy and her date, an Assistant District Attorney, discover them. Oh boy.

 

The next day, Loy, the assistant DA and Loy's physician uncle played by Ray Collins hit on the eminently stupid plan to dismiss the charges against Grant if he'll agree to date Temple until her crush blows over. Loy and Collins are afraid, otherwise, the crush will become a life-altering obsession for Temple. Where are social services when you need them? 

 

By today's standards, this is beyond creepy, but even in 1947, you can feel them trying to finesse away the ick factor, which they almost do owing to the completely innocent vibe of the movie and the talent of the stars. 

 

From here, it plays out pretty much as expected with Grant feeling silly dating a teenager, while Loy and he develop feelings for each other that he encourages, while she attempts to deny them.

 

Upping the silliness factor there are a few screwball comedy routines like when Grant competes with the high school boys at picnic races. All along, though, Grant tries to bring Temple and her old high school boyfriend back together as a path out of this mess for him. 

 

(Spoiler alert if you haven't already guessed what's going to happen) Ray Collins finally can't take the nonsense anymore and knocks some sense into both Temple (Grant's too old for you) and Loy (you're too old to let Grant get away), leading to a happy ending for all.

 

This only works because each star is incredibly talented and all three leads have great chemistry. Loy's Thin Man "I love this guy even though he is often an idiot" persona plays perfectly against Grant's blend of disarming handsomeness and self-deprecating humor. 

 

But it's Temple's "mature beyond her years in some ways, yet still a goofy kid in others" personality that keeps this crazy love triangle from falling apart. Realizing the limits of the material, all three play it in a lighthearted way that almost lets the audience in on the joke.

 

The Bachelor and Bobby-Soxer works only if you forgive it its silly story and allow yourself to enjoy four stars who understand their craft so well they can make this nonsensical picture a fun and lighthearted romp. 

 

 

N.B. Despite this being 1947, part of the Dark Ages, Shirley Temple's character - the editor and chief of the school's newspaper and a young lady who is clearly smarter than the silly high school boys who pursue her - is a surprisingly modern role model for young girls at that time.   

 

 

[Tikisoo]

On 3/12/2022 at 8:10 AM, mkahn22 said:

I don't know how I missed this gem of a movie from director Eli Kazan all these years, but I'm kinda glad I did as it was a treat to experience it fresh recently.

I love this sentiment! And I so love when finding a delightful movie!

On 3/12/2022 at 8:10 AM, mkahn22 said:

(Spoiler alert) 

 

In Wild River, Kazan delivers an incredibly powerful film using incredibly boring sounding subject matter - the TVA. Tucked inside his challenging eminent domain story is a harsh look at racism and a beautifully unconventional love story. 

 

Wild River is one of those "little" movies that, after you see it, you can't believe isn't better known. The performances all around were impressive, but in this one, Clift and Remick did some of the best work of their careers.  

I read your first paragraph above and skipped to (spoiler).... then read these 2 closing thoughts! Perfect! I know I've seen this movie once & liked it, now completely forgotten. Looks like it's time to get the ole Kazan box set out.

[Katie_G]

My husband and I went to see Power of The Dog this weekend.  We were so bored that we left after about an hour.  He's from Montana and couldn't figure out where that setting with the bald hills was supposed to be.  

[Dargo]

2 hours ago, Katie_G said:

My husband and I went to see Power of The Dog this weekend.  We were so bored that we left after about an hour.  He's from Montana and couldn't figure out where that setting with the bald hills was supposed to be.  

Could be because New Zealand (and where this movie was actually filmed) is a long ways from Montana.

(...and which now reminds me of a few movies which had been filmed here in Sedona AZ back in the day...one of them starring Tyrone Power titled Pony Soldier has Ty as a Canadian Mountie battling the Cree Indians along the Montana/Canada border, and with the red rocks of Sedona standing in for that part of the world)

[Fedya]

Is a pony soldier anything like Francis the talking mule?

How did the pony make it through basic training?

[Dargo]

12 minutes ago, Fedya said:

Is a pony soldier anything like Francis the talking mule?

How did the pony make it through basic training?

It was easy, Fedya.

(...it was because they got Chill Wills to do the voice of the pony in this one TOO!)

[Sepiatone]

4 hours ago, Katie_G said:

My husband and I went to see Power of The Dog this weekend.  We were so bored that we left after about an hour.  He's from Montana and couldn't figure out where that setting with the bald hills was supposed to be.  

I didn't see the movie, but my guess would be, figuring that maybe it was filmed in Montana, that the hills were bald because they filmed it there AFTER the dental floss harvest.   

Sepiatone

[CinemaInternational]

Billie Whitelaw was quite good in Night Watch in 1973. She still occasionally popped up in films until the time of her passing a few years ago. She lived to see The Omen remade, with an aptly cast Mia Farrow in her old part.

[Dargo]

On 3/14/2022 at 2:00 PM, Sepiatone said:

I didn't see the movie, but my guess would be, figuring that maybe it was filmed in Montana, that the hills were bald because they filmed it there AFTER the dental floss harvest.   

Sepiatone

And now THIS reminds me of an old co-worker of mine at LAX named Meg. Meg was born and bred in the city of Billings in The Big Sky State.

I remember once forgetting which city she hailed from, and so remembering that it started with the letter 'B', I innocently said to her, "Your hometown is Butte, right?"

Well, Meg wasn't very pleased with that and replied, "No, NOT Butte! That's a pit of a city, and I mean that literally. It's nothing but a scar on the earth and due to all the mining activity which took place there years ago. No, I came from BILLINGS, and which is a LOVELY town!"

(...I never mentioned the word "Butte" in her presence ever again)

[Sepiatone]

You weren't even tempted to mess with her and say maybe, "You're a BEAUT of a lady Meg!"   

Sepiatone

[Dargo]

27 minutes ago, Sepiatone said:

You weren't even tempted to mess with her and say maybe, "You're a BEAUT of a lady Meg!"   

Sepiatone

Ya know and funny you mentioning this, but actually Meg WAS quite the beauty, Sepia.

Meg looked VERY much like the recently deceased actress JoAnna Cameron here...

...and who you might recall best in the 1971 film Pretty Maids All in a Row, a number of guest appearances in prime time television series during the 1970s, but probably most by her eponymous role in the 1975-76 Saturday morning children's television program "The Secrets of Isis".

(...yep, I kid you not, Meg could've been her twin sister...and if you might now be wonderin' here, yes, I had a major league crush on Meg, but she was already married by the time I first met and began working with her)