I Just Watched...

[EricJ]

filmlover293

 

"Whoever Slew Auntie Roo?" (1972)--Starring Shelley Winters and Ralph Richardson, directed by Curtis Harrington.

Underrated retelling of Hansel and Gretel, set in 1920's Britain.  Film is a cross between out and out horror film and a look at the disintegration of a persons' mind.

 

Even for all its 70's Hammer-era horror ickiness, it does actually work as a deliberate Hansel & Gretel updating.

 

At the end of the movie, when the children finally manage to defeat Winters, the police come to clean up, and one bobby says "Poor kids, they'll probably be traumatized for life", we see the two kids exchange a knowing look that they managed to push the witch into the oven.

Every time some showoff idiot tries to play up stupid shock-value at how "dark" he wants us to think fairytales are, I like to use that ending to show that kids are smart enough to know which characters were empowered enough to do what, in any story.

[film lover 293]

"Horror Castle" aka "The Virgin of Nuremberg" (1965)--Starring Rossana Podesta and Christopher Lee.  Directed by Antonio Margheriti, under the pseudonym of Anthony Dawson.

 

Badly dubbed but exquisitely filmed movie starts out with Mary (Podesta) being awakened on a dark and stormy night.  She hears a scream, lights a candle, and goes to investigate.  She wanders through the forbidding castle, finally arriving in the dungeon, where she finds a dead body in the torture chamber.  Film goes from there.

 

Movie has beautiful cinematography by Riccardo Pallottini.  The color scheme is predominantly red and gold,  black and white, with lots of shadows mixed in.  The music score by Riz Ortolani is jarring; part of it feels just right for the genre, while part of it sounds like it belongs in a nightclub.

 

Podesta's Mary is a refreshing change from the usual heroine.  She doesn't just scream on cue and faint, she fights back and thinks before she acts. Lee is good, as always.  The rest of the cast is ok.

 

Horror films' screenplay is routine, until the last half hour, when it has twist after plot twist.

 

Movie is a fun watch, very worth seeing.  3/4.

 

Source--YouTube.  I saw a beautiful copy on "RETROTHRILLS" channel.

[Swithin]

 

 

Even for all its 70's Hammer-era horror ickiness, it does actually work as a deliberate Hansel & Gretel updating.

 

At the end of the movie, when the children finally manage to defeat Winters, the police come to clean up, and one bobby says "Poor kids, they'll probably be traumatized for life", we see the two kids exchange a knowing look that they managed to push the witch into the oven.

Every time some showoff idiot tries to play up stupid shock-value at how "dark" he wants us to think fairytales are, I like to use that ending to show that kids are smart enough to know which characters were empowered enough to do what, in any story.

 

 

I'm quite fond of the film. My favorite line: "You mustn't disturb the cook when she's making something delicious."

 

However, I have a different take on the end of the film, and on that "knowing look" you mention. I see it, in a tamer way, as analogous to the end of Witchfinder General, that darkest of all films, when the good character has been consumed with hatred for his oppressor, and can't torture him enough. "You took him from me" is Ian Ogilvy's anguished cry, because he has been deprived of axing Vincent Price even more. In a sense, I see the kids in Auntie Roo in that same light: innocents who have been tormented and who have killed their tormenter, but who, in that act, have themselves become tainted by evil.

 

Btw -- the speaker at the end doesn't say "poor little kids... He says "poor little devils..."  I see those kids as budding sadists.  

 

And it's clear at the very end that Auntie Roo wasn't going to cook the kids. She was going to cook the pig, which was delivered to her house by Hugh Griffith at the end of the film.

[film lover 293]

"The Crusades" (1935)--Starring Henry Wilcoxon, Loretta Young, and Ian Keith.

 

Cecil B. DeMille's version of history.  His film focuses mainly on the Third Crusade, with events from the others used as background.

 

The plot: in 1187, when infidels take Jerusalem and hold Christians captive, a man called The Hermit escapes and goes back to Europe, preaching for a Crusade to free Jerusalem.  Several countries join.  When The Hermit reaches England, King Richard the Lion-Hearted (Wilcoxon) joins the Crusade to avoid marriage to Alice (Katharine DeMille), the King of France's sister.  When the soldiers from the various countries reach Navarre, the King of Navarre sells his daughter Berengaria (Young) in marriage to Richard in exchange for rations for the soldiers and horses.  Film goes from there.

 

Film is long, drawn out by political intrigues and Lots of speeches about Christianity being the only true religion.  Film Finally wakes up in the second hour with some spectacular footage of the siege of Acre, and the plot gets moving.

 

Wilcoxon plays Richard as a thuggish dimwit.  Young is seemingly the only person in the film to have a brain in her head, and who acts with subtlety. Keith, as Saladin, does well in a small role. Everyone else is Good or Bad, and you can tell by their dialogue in their first sentence which they're meant to be.  Alan Hale is annoying as a minstrel.

 

Film is almost free of howlers, but there is one priceless line.  Just before Acre is attacked, a sentry yells: "The Christians are coming!  The Christians are coming!".

 

Comic book history, smothered with religion to please The Code, and spectacle on the side.  An okay watch--just have caffeine handy for the talky scenes in the first hour.  2.5/4.

 

Source--YouTube.  I searched "Cecil B. DeMille films", and "The Crusades" was on the first page of results.

[cigarjoe]

The Conversation (1974) Surveillance Noir

 

 

The film is about a Surveillance P. I., Harry Caul (Hackman) an electronics nerd who incrementally becomes paranoid, alienated, and obsessed. Caul is "tops" in his field on the West Coast, a thorough and meticulous, snoop. His headquarters is in a chain link cage in the corner of an empty warehouse floor, at the edge of the rail freight yards of San Francisco. His workbench holds an array of audio equipment. He makes his office calls from various random payphones.

 

Hackman gives a great performance as the wound a bit too tight, idiosyncratic loner. The cast comprising Caul's peers are equally eccentric and nerdy. The rest of the players are more peripheral with only Harrison Ford standing out as an ominous flunkie of the nameless "director." The soundtrack is excellent. Screencaps are from the 2010 DVD. 9/10 Full review here in Film Noir/ Gangster board and with more screencaps here: http://http://noirsville.blogspot.com/2017/01/the-conversation-1974-surveillance-noir.html

 

[misswonderly3]

 

The Conversation (1974) Surveillance Noir

 

 

The film is about a Surveillance P. I., Harry Caul (Hackman) an electronics nerd who incrementally becomes paranoid, alienated, and obsessed. Caul is "tops" in his field on the West Coast, a thorough and meticulous, snoop. His headquarters is in a chain link cage in the corner of an empty warehouse floor, at the edge of the rail freight yards of San Francisco. His workbench holds an array of audio equipment. He makes his office calls from various random payphones.

 

Hackman gives a great performance as the wound a bit too tight, idiosyncratic loner. The cast comprising Caul's peers are equally eccentric and nerdy. The rest of the players are more peripheral with only Harrison Ford standing out as an ominous flunkie of the nameless "director." The soundtrack is excellent. Screencaps are from the 2010 DVD. 9/10 Full review here in Film Noir/ Gangster board and with more screencaps here: http://http://noirsville.blogspot.com/2017/01/the-conversation-1974-surveillance-noir.html

 

 

I think The Conversation is one of the best films of the 70s.  (Of course, that was a decade that yielded many great movies.)

[Fedya]

I think The Conversation is one of the best films of the 70s.

Better than Roller Boogie?

[Fedya]

Oh, God! (1977)

 

John Denver plays a supermarket assistant manager in suburban Los Angeles with a wife (Teri Garr) and two children. One day in the mail he gets a letter claiming to be from God, who wants to meet Denver at a particular place. Of course, the couple think it's a practical joke, but a couple things happen to pique John's curiosity.

 

Eventually, God reveals himself to Denver, taking the form of George Burns since that's a form Denver would be able to comprehend. God wants him to spread the message that yes, God exists, that he's interested in humanity, and that people have the capacity to solve their own problems to make the world a better place. Naturally, trying to spread God's word causes all sorts of difficulties in life for Denver and his family.

 

Denver does well in the role despite not being an actor by training. Burns is quite good, and most of the supporting cast does a fine job too. The premise of having God come into your life is, I think, also well-handled. The one weakness is that the writers played to the stereotype of the idiot televangelist (Paul Sorvino plays it for all it's worth, however).

 

The highlight might be the vintage 1970s look. I tend to like contemporary set decoration -- that is, movies from the 50s set in the 50s, or the 70s, set in the 70s, and so on -- more than looking back at periods much of the audience lived through. This one has all the goldenrod appliances you could ask for, as well as the ancient by today's standards supermarket. And then there's John Denver's AMC Pacer.

 

And John's hairstyle would have given Sydney Guilaroff a coronary.

 

8/10

[NickAndNora34]

Take Me to Town (1953): starring Ann Sheridan. This charming movie takes place in the west, and Sheridan plays a saloon girl named Vermillion O'Toole. She gets into trouble with the law, and conveniently finds these three young boys in search of a wife for their father, and decides to go home with them. This movie was pretty cute, the boys were all adorable, and of course Ann Sheridan was pretty good in this.

 

Source: YouTube 

[cigarjoe]

Fences (2016) Directed by Denzel Washington starring Denzel Washington, Viola Davis, Stephen Henderson, Jim Bono, Jovan Adepo, Russell Hornsby, Mykelti Williamson, and Saniyya Sidney. Another SAG Screener. This one is a good powerful drama sort of a The Honeymooners meets A Streetcar Named Desire. 9/10

 

Winter's Bone (2010) This one is sort of The Beverly Hillbillies Break Bad. Mountain folk, their standoffishness, their distrust of strangers, and problems with the law. It almost captures the hillfolk and their world pretty well, I say almost because I've had contact with these suckers on a regular basis, in the real hill country there's a lot of missing and rotting teeth in even the twenty year olds. 7/10

 

The Nice Guys (2016) Comedy 1970s Los Angeles, a mismatched pair one private eye one strong arm thug investigate a missing girl and the mysterious death of a porn star, not great but not very good either. 6/10

 

[scsu1975]

Rocket Attack USA (1958) youtube

 

This stinkeroo foists on us the premise that when the Reds launched Sputnik, it was the beginning of the end for the United States.

 

The “Central Intelligence Group” sends a secret agent to Moscow to stop the Russkies from launching an ICBM. The agent is flown into the middle of nowhere, and the narrator tells us it will take our hero 1-5 weeks to reach Moscow. That’s the kind of time frame to expect from a cable company.

 

The soon-to-be-dead agent hooks up with his contact, a soon-to-be-dead blonde babe who is worming secrets out of Boris Yeltsin (or some other drunk). The agent waits in the closet while the spy “does her thing,” shall we say.

 

Now we get a suspenseful scene where the two agents attempt to destroy the missile, guarded by one guy. They fail miserably. Most of this takes place in almost total darkness, so we are spared the sight of the crummy acting.

 

The missile is launched. Switch to New York City, where we are introduced to a few characters whom we know are going to be incinerated shortly.

 

A radio announcer comes on the air and tells New Yorkers they are about to be fried. “Follow these instructions if you can’t get underground,” he says. “Cover yourself with wet newspaper and lie still until the blast has subsided. Don’t touch or eat anything and above all keep calm and follow instructions.”

Translation:  “Bend over, put your head between your legs, and kiss your *** goodbye.”

 

The only recognizable face in the cast is Art Metrano, who has a bit towards the end. Metrano achieved some fame in the 1970s doing a magician schtick. “Da da dada … da da da … da da dada …dada da da ...”

 

If you must watch this thing, I recommend taking a strong emetic, so you can get your lunch and this film out of your system at the same time.

 

[Tikisoo]

Oh, God! (1977)

 

This movie holds up very well. Great story, great writing, great pacing.

I showed it to TikiKid when she was teen and it made her a life long fan of George Burns! Mixing up time periods, (all old movies) she thought John Denver was the kid from A CHRISTMAS STORY grown up!

[LsDoorMat]

Myrt and Marge (Universal, 1933) 8/10

A movie about vaudeville chuck full of real vaudevillians
 

This film has a paper thin plot and a few catchy tunes, but by no means am I comparing it to Busby Berkeley's polished work over at Warner Brothers at the time.

Instead, this is a great chance to see real vaudevillians practice their craft. The story outline is that a struggling show's backer comes to the cast and tells them that he and his partner have become insolvent and that they are going to give the cast the rights to the show as long as the cast releases the backers from any claims or debts against them. The cast agrees. Myrt (Myrt Vail), current star of the show, speaks up first and says that she realizes she is too old to continue playing the lead dancer and wants to give a new girl a try. She'd "rather be the manager of a success than the star of a flop". The troupe's comedian isn't funny either and they will need to replace him.

For both jobs, enter stage left Marge (Myrt Vail's actual daughter) and comedian Eddie Hanley (Eddie Foy Jr.). The problem is, Marge's mom, played by Trixie Friganza, does not want her daughter on the vaudeville circuit living the stage life unless she comes along - she does just that. Myrt finds a backer in Jackson (Thomas Jackson). The problem is Eddie and Marge are falling for one another, but married Jackson turns out to be a scum bag and moves in on Marge. Complications ensue since how do they keep the show going with the financial backer causing such emotional friction? Watch and find out.

The actual performance of the theater troupe in their staged act is not the real attraction here, although the numbers are not bad. The attraction is all of these actual former vaudevillians - Myrt, Foy, Friganza - doing bits of their former vaudeville act for the screen. Then there is the effeminate property manager, Clarence (Ray Hedges) throwing in a hilarious one liner here and there. This kind of act would be history after the production code but was common in film in the early 30's.

And finally I come to the Three Stooges, billed here as Ted Healy and "Howard, Fine, and Howard". They also get a lot of side bits of comedy that would have just been much funnier if somebody would have put a hook around Ted Healy's neck and dragged him off stage. He chokes out the comedy of the Stooges like weeds choke out a garden. But this is important viewing because it is filmed proof that Healy cutting the Stooges loose was the best thing that ever happened to them.

There is a bit of a trick ending, which is not such a trick if you know much about the title players, and I'll leave it at that. Very much worth your time, still funny and entertaining, and great if you are recovering from a nervous breakdown.

[Sepiatone]

Oh, God! (1977)

 

This movie holds up very well. Great story, great writing, great pacing.

I showed it to TikiKid when she was teen and it made her a life long fan of George Burns! Mixing up time periods, (all old movies) she thought John Denver was the kid from A CHRISTMAS STORY grown up!

 

Cute,  Never thought that, but could see where someone might.

 

Remember that blond headed kid with the glasses that was on THE BRADY BUNCH and a few commercials back about the Brady's last season?

 

That kid was on one of Denver's TV specials in a skit where Denver was transformed somehow into a little kid again.

 

And about a week ago, my PBS station showed a documentary about Denver that was pretty interesting.  Where he came from, and how he went about his journey to what became his meteoric fame.  Very interesting.

 

It's nice to learn that we BOTH have daughters who became George Burns fans in their youth. As mentioned in another thread, my younger fell in love with Gracie at a younger age.  But loved George as well, and was kinda bummed when he died.  AND she too, loved OH, GOD.

 

 

Sepiatone

[darkblue]

Oh, God! (1977)

 

This movie holds up very well. Great story, great writing, great pacing.

I showed it to TikiKid when she was teen and it made her a life long fan of George Burns! Mixing up time periods, (all old movies) she thought John Denver was the kid from A CHRISTMAS STORY grown up!

 

Amazing to think now, but such was the brainwashing done by organized religion back in the 50's and 60's that I remember many people who were horrified about this movie. They were actually scared to go see it, afraid that it was a specially unacceptable sin. I remember Catholic chicks saying to me (I was also Catholic then - having gone to Catholic school for 8 years) saying with seriously worried faces "I don't think it's right to make a movie called that."

 

No matter how many times I'd say what a lovely, gentle, inspiring movie it was, still I'd get that frightened resistance to it. And this was from pot-smoking, pre-marital sex having, mouths like sailors, Catholic girls!

[cigarjoe]

The Green Slime (1968) Totally ridiculous but a lot of fun, saw on the big screen as a kid. 6/10

[LornaHansonForbes]

A decent amount of THE TARNISHED ANGELS on TCM.

 

Last saw it when Rock Hudson was SOTM , would be interested to read what I thought of it then. I imagine I thought it was gorgeously shot, and it was; Sirk returned to black and white after his sumptuous color period and did it in style. I also remember really liking Hudson in this, and was just as impressed with his performance the second time around. I think this film is Exhibit A in "the case for Rock Hudson as good actor."

 

The MELODRAMA is a bit high; Dorothy Malone's performance – much like her eyebrows – is uneven. Jack Carson- looking awful- is as always wonderful; I thought that Robert Stack was terrific, but I might be so blinded by how damn sexy he was that He coulda been lousy and I'd forgive it.

 

Weird movie, but lovely to watch.

[film lover 293]

"Carry On...Up The Khyber" (1968)--Starring Sidney James, Kenneth Williams, and Joan Sims.

 

After seeing Carry On Cleo, I looked around the Web for other "Carry On" films, and found this gem.  The plot is hilariously politically incorrect, and everyone is a target for insults and one-liners.  James is Sir Sidney Ruff-Diamond, Sims is Lady Ruff-Diamond, Williams is The Khasi of Khalabar.  Bungdit-Din is commander of the Burpas, who are going to wipe out the British in Colonial India in the 1800's.  The final 30 minutes are a classic of sorts.

 

Williams is wonderfully funny as he sneers at everyone/thing in sight.  Sims is almost as good as a Lady who keeps lapsing back into a Cockney accent.  James is funny as well.

 

The film glories in English idiocy and every possible target is satirized.  The jokes, puns, and one liners are fast and furious, and most hit the target.

 

I read on imdb ("Khyber" isn't listed on TCM for some reason) there are over 30 "Carry On" films.  This is the second I've seen.  I have some movies to catch up on.  3.4/4.

 

Source--dailymotion.com.  YT has a copy that is Lousy.

[Mr. Gorman]

film lover 293:  You may well like the 1974 British comedy ESKIMO NELL.  It actually made me laugh.  It might make you laugh, too. 

[AndreaDoria]

A decent amount of THE TARNISHED ANGELS on TCM.

 

Last saw it when Rock Hudson was SOTM , would be interested to read what I thought of it then. I imagine I thought it was gorgeously shot, and it was; Sirk returned to black and white after his sumptuous color period and did it in style. I also remember really liking Hudson in this, and was just as impressed with his performance the second time around. I think this film is Exhibit A in "the case for Rock Hudson as good actor."

 

The MELODRAMA is a bit high; Dorothy Malone's performance – much like her eyebrows – is uneven. Jack Carson- looking awful- is as always wonderful; I thought that Robert Stack was terrific, but I might be so blinded by how damn sexy he was that He coulda been lousy and I'd forgive it.

 

Weird movie, but lovely to watch.

I saw it for the first time last night, agree with all you say.  I almost didn't recognize Jack Carson after seeing him trim and young in "Mildred Pierce," last week.  Yes the melodrama was high with people going from zero to ten all the time and some of Rock's speeches were way long.

 

...but Rock Hudson's performance was definitely good.  It was strange at first to see him playing an indecisive, almost nerdy young man, right after seeing his confident character in "Giant."  The character reminded me a little of the narrator character in "The Great Gatsby," because he seemed almost on the outside looking in at the family.  I kept wondering if this character was the closest to Rock's real self.  From this to "Giant," to the great comedic performances with Doris Day, I would have to say, yes, Rock Hudson can act.

 

On a side note, couldn't believe how much they left that little boy alone, even on the night after he watched his father die.

[LornaHansonForbes]

I saw it for the first time last night, agree with all you say.  I almost didn't recognize Jack Carson after seeing him trim and young in "Mildred Pierce," last week.  Yes the melodrama was high with people going from zero to ten all the time and some of Rock's speeches were way long.

 

...but Rock Hudson's performance was definitely good.  It was strange at first to see him playing an indecisive, almost nerdy young man, right after seeing his confident character in "Giant."  The character reminded me a little of the narrator character in "The Great Gatsby," because he seemed almost on the outside looking in at the family.  I kept wondering if this character was the closest to Rock's real self.  From this to "Giant," to the great comedic performances with Doris Day, I would have to say, yes, Rock Hudson can act.

 

On a side note, couldn't believe how much they left that little boy alone, even on the night after he watched his father die.

 

 

YES!

 

although you have to admit the scene of him trapped in the toy plane on the merry-go-round as he watches the real life crash was SICK GENIUS. You just KNOW whenever he hears calliope music for the rest of his life he is gonna pee his pants.

 

also- what kind of desperate thirst for danger do the townspeople have that they attend this weekly(?) low altitude plane race wherein there is a two-crash minimum, both crashes in the general area of the spectators. i think even NASCAR fans would back away from those odds...

 

then again, maybe not...

[EricJ]

"Carry On...Up The Khyber" (1968)--Starring Sidney James, Kenneth Williams, and Joan Sims.

 

After seeing Carry On Cleo, I looked around the Web for other "Carry On" films, and found this gem.  The plot is hilariously politically incorrect, and everyone is a target for insults and one-liners.  James is Sir Sidney Ruff-Diamond, Sims is Lady Ruff-Diamond, Williams is The Khasi of Khalabar.  Bungdit-Din is commander of the Burpas, who are going to wipe out the British in Colonial India in the 1800's.  The final 30 minutes are a classic of sorts.

 

Amazon VOD has most of the "classic" 60's Carry On's, while Hulu used to have the B/W first six, but doesn't anymore.

 

I got hooked on Carry On when I realized that the US's frustrating comfort-food taste for "Are You Being Served?" on PBS stations was probably because most of us had never seen the classic color CO's, and didn't realize that "Served" was a deliberate and willful "Carry On Shopping", right down to the equivalent Jim Dale, Barbara Windsor, Joan Sims and Charles Hawtrey characters.

Up the Khyber is considered the best (mostly for the ending dinner scene), while Carrry On Abroad is generally ranked near the top--And those who've seen "Are You Being Served?: the Movie", which also takes place at a vacation resort, will notice the resemblance.

 

 

[cigarjoe]

Jackie (2016) another background noise film while working on the PC, looked up every once in awhile, nothing interesting to me or impressive. meh/10

 

[cigarjoe]

Les Diaboliques (Diabolique) (1955)

 

 

A 1955 French psychological noir thriller directed by Henri-Georges Clouzot (Quai des Orfèvres (1947), Le salaire de la peur (The Wages of Fear ) (1953), ), starring Simone Signoret (Gunman in the Streets (1950), Casque d'Or (1952), Is Paris Burning? (1966), Army of Shadows (1969)), Véra Clouzot (Le salaire de la peur (The Wages of Fear) (1953)), Paul Meurisse (Sergil chez les filles (1952), Army of Shadows (1969), Le Deuxieme Souffle (1966)) and Charles Vanel (The Wages of Fear (1953), To Catch a Thief (1955)).  

 

Vera Clouzot, is a delight as the pious, frail, nervous, stepped on one to many times, wife. Simone Signoret seems almost butch in comparison. She is a big full figured woman and she towers over Christina both physically and mentally. There have been some critiques that state that Nicole may have lesbian designs on Christina, I got the same faint vibe. Paul Meurisse comes off like a French Jack Webb, and Charles Vanel's Inspector Fichet I hear is the original prototype of Colombo.

 

One of the best French Noir, screencaps are from the Criterion DVD. 10/10

 

Full review with more screencaps here: http://noirsville.blogspot.com/2017/01/les-diaboliques-diabolique-1955.html

 

[Tikisoo]

filmlover293 said: there are over 30 "Carry On" films.  This is the second I've seen.  I have some movies to catch up on. 

 

Thanks lover, for telling us about this...I never knew about them either. I'd like to "catch up" on those too!

 

And thanks cigarjoe for the non-review of JACKIE (2016) It says it all!

 

As for Diabolique (1955) I saw that when TCM aired it last year. Guessing the ending in the first 5 minutes ruined it for me.

Since I'm typically not so clever, it seems to be faulty storytelling of the director, imho.