I Just Watched...

[film lover 293]

"Carry On Cowboy" (1966).

 

Copy I saw on archive.org is damaged, returned to the start of the film at the 24:25, 45:00, 54:06, and 1: 31 minute marks.  See another copy or if you try this one, be prepared for technical problems.  With that said:

 

A winner in the Carry On series.  British spoof of Westerns has an elaborate final parody of "High Noon" (1952), and bits stolen from "The Ox-Bow Incident" (1943), "Johnny Guitar" (1954) and "The Harvey Girls" (1946), to name a few.  Not as good as Carry On...Up the Khyber, but as good as Carry on Cleo.  A fun watch, in spite of the technical troubles.  2.7/4

[Fedya]

Les Diaboliques (Diabolique) (1955)

Should be on a double-bill with Psycho.

[Mr. Gorman]

The 1980 movie UNION CITY has a plot that folks who like 'Diabolique' might enjoy.  "Union City" stars Dennis Lipscomb, Debbie Harry and Sam McMurray.  Think Pat Benatar is in it, too.  I've seen it once and wouldn't mind seeing it again sometime. 

[RoyCronin]

There's a remake with Sharon Stone, Isabelle Adjani and Kathy Bates. It's not bad, (I mean, it has Sharon Stone!), but I do prefer the original.

[LornaHansonForbes]

There's a remake with Sharon Stone, Isabelle Adjani and Kathy Bates. It's not bad, (I mean, it has Sharon Stone!), but I do prefer the original.

There is something wrong with me, because I actually prefer the remake and I LOVE Sharon Stone in it.

 

Spaulding Gray: "haven't you heard that smoking kills?"

 

Stone: (blows smoke in his face) "not reliably."

[film lover 293]

"Dracula Has Risen From The Grave" (1968)--Starring Christopher Lee, Veronica Carlson, and Rupert Davies.  Directed by Freddie Francis.

 

 The fourth entry in the Hammer Dracula series has an excellent opening, occasional good scenes, and a fantastic finish, but film seems stuck in a rut.  Too much of the film is predictable, with John Elder's screenplay being a paint-by-numbers job that resembles earlier entries.  The visual effects by Frank George and Peter Melrose range from ok to excellent.  James Bernard's score sounds a replay of his scores from "Dracula--Prince of Darkness" (1966) and "Horror of Dracula" (1958).

 

Christopher Lee is good. Barbara Ewing is amusing as Zena, a tavern girl.  Everyone else looks  the part.

 

Arthur Grants' fine cinematography uses shadows well and makes the film look better than it is

 

The next two entries (1970's "Taste the Blood of Dracula" and "Scars of Dracula") are returns to form for the series.  "Dracula Has Risen From the Grave" is a mild disappointment, with some good scenes and two spectacular scenes making it worth the watch.  2.5/4

[Swithin]

"Carry On Cowboy" (1966).

 

Copy I saw on archive.org is damaged, returned to the start of the film at the 24:25, 45:00, 54:06, and 1: 31 minute marks.  See another copy or if you try this one, be prepared for technical problems.  With that said:

 

A winner in the Carry On series.  British spoof of Westerns has an elaborate final parody of "High Noon" (1952), and bits stolen from "The Ox-Bow Incident" (1943), "Johnny Guitar" (1954) and "The Harvey Girls" (1946), to name a few.  Not as good as Carry On...Up the Khyber, but as good as Carry on Cleo.  A fun watch, in spite of the technical troubles.  2.7/4

 

Haven't seen that in yonks but have fond memories of it, even though it lacks the great Hattie Jacques. I particularly like Charles Hawtrey as Chief Big Heap and Bernard Bresslaw as his son -- Little Heap. I saw Bernard Bresslaw's Bottom in Regent's Park many years ago.

 

[cigarjoe]

The 1980 movie UNION CITY has a plot that folks who like 'Diabolique' might enjoy.  "Union City" stars Dennis Lipscomb, Debbie Harry and Sam McMurray.  Think Pat Benatar is in it, too.  I've seen it once and wouldn't mind seeing it again sometime. 

It's based on a Cornell Woolrich story, who BTY had many of his stories turned into Film Noir.

 

Street of Chance (1942) (novel The Black Curtain)

Phantom Lady (1944) (novel) directed by Robert Siodmak.

Deadline at Dawn (1946) (novel)

Black Angel (1946) (novel)

The Chase (1946) (novel The Black Path of Fear)

Fall Guy (1947) (story Cocaine)

The Guilty (1947) (story He Looked Like Murder)

Fear in the Night (1947) (story Nightmare)

I Wouldn't Be in Your Shoes (1948) (story)

Night Has a Thousand Eyes (1948) (novel)

The Window (1949) (story The Boy Cried Murder)

No Man of Her Own (1950) (novel I Married a Dead Man)

Rear Window (1954) (story It Had to Be Murder) directed by Alfred Hitchcock

Obsession (1954) (story Silent as the Grave)

Nightmare (1956) (story)

[scsu1975]

Invasion USA (1952) youtube

 

A bunch of people are in a bar, when tv reporter Gerald Mohr strolls in and starts asking everyone how they feel about a “universal draft.” Well, personally, I’m always a little chilly. The other characters in the bar consist of Peggie Castle, Dan O’Herlihy (as “Mr. Ohman” – omen, get it????), and some other clowns you don’t care about.

 

In short order, there is an announcement that the enemy has attacked Alaska, and Sarah Palin saw them coming. The enemy quickly bomb Washington and Oregon (stock footage), but the residents are already so bombed they have no idea what is going on. San Francisco is next (stock footage), and the only survivor is Colin Kaepernick, whose ‘fro defects a missile.

 

Hey, just rig the election, save the bombs.

 

Meanwhile, back at the bar Mohr gets the hots for Castle. Mohr discovers that “hey, we’re going to be incinerated any day now” is a pretty good pickup line.

 

New York City is bombed (stock footage) while Mohr and Castle stand outside the bar and watch. Washington D.C. is invaded and the Capitol is taken over. Wait, that’s actually going to happen, isn’t it?

 

The commies take over the radio station: “The people’s government of America will take the wealth from the greedy, the speculators, and the capitalistic bourgeoisie, and distribute it among the workers whose labor will never again be exploited for the benefit of the warmongers of Wall Street,” declares Comrade Bernie Sandersovich.

 

This film needs less of Mohr and more of Castle. The film also features two Lois Lanes, but no Superman.

 

 

 

Gerry explains chess to Peggie, and offers to show her what “castling” means.

[LawrenceA]

Invasion USA (1952) 

 

That's a personal bad-movie favorite of mine.

[Mr. Gorman]

I watched some of those prison films on TCM this evening.  I'd seen TWO-WAY STRETCH one time before, but it's been so long I'm glad I watched it again.  Lionel Jeffries was hilarious as the upright/uptight prison guard captain.     

 

     I'm amazed TCM aired the 1985 comedy "DOIN' TIME".  I've seen it 3 times before.  I actually bought an old Warner clamshell release of it waaaay back when.  I'd not seen the movie in probably 15 years . . . until tonite!  Anyone looking for high-class entertainment picked the wrong movie if they watched DOIN' TIME this evening.   

 

     I can only imagine what Ben Mankiewicz and Frank Darabont must have been thinking when they watched "Doin' Time" . . .   

 

      DOIN' TIME is right in line with other mid-80s movies like NIGHT PATROL (1984) and OFF THE WALL (1983; original title "Snake Canyon Prison".  Movie re-edited by film doctor Simon Nuchtern). 

 

      OFF THE WALL and DOIN' TIME have quite a bit in common.  Very familiar character actor faces seen throughout.  Paul Sorvino plays the prison warden in "Off The Wall".  Both feature a state governor.  Rosanna Arquette plays the Gov.'s daughter in "Off The Wall"; Monte Markham is the The Gov.     

 

      I didn't think DOIN' TIME had even been released on DVD so TCM could air a digital copy; maybe someone copied a tape?  The film obviously hasn't been re-mastered.  (And why on earth would it ever be?!?!). 

[film lover 293]

"Pardon Us" (1931)--Starring Laurel & Hardy and Boris Karloff.

 

Not terribly funny mix of gangster film with comedy.  Film starts promisingly, and there are a couple good routines early in the film, but Laurel & Hardy's particular universe doesn't mesh well with the reality of the jail film.  Boris Karloff in a tiny part makes no particular impact.  Film's an ok time killer, but is no classic.  2.2/4.

[Sepiatone]

I watched some of those prison films on TCM this evening.  I'd seen TWO-WAY STRETCH one time before, but it's been so long I'm glad I watched it again.  Lionel Jeffries was hilarious as the upright/uptight prison guard captain.     

 

     I'm amazed TCM aired the 1985 comedy "DOIN' TIME".  I've seen it 3 times before.  I actually bought an old Warner clamshell release of it waaaay back when.  I'd not seen the movie in probably 15 years . . . until tonite!  Anyone looking for high-class entertainment picked the wrong movie if they watched DOIN' TIME this evening.   

 

     I can only imagine what Ben Mankiewicz and Frank Darabont must have been thinking when they watched "Doin' Time" . . .   

 

      DOIN' TIME is right in line with other mid-80s movies like NIGHT PATROL (1984) and OFF THE WALL (1983; original title "Snake Canyon Prison".  Movie re-edited by film doctor Simon Nuchtern). 

 

      OFF THE WALL and DOIN' TIME have quite a bit in common.  Very familiar character actor faces seen throughout.  Paul Sorvino plays the prison warden in "Off The Wall".  Both feature a state governor.  Rosanna Arquette plays the Gov.'s daughter in "Off The Wall"; Monte Markham is the The Gov.     

 

      I didn't think DOIN' TIME had even been released on DVD so TCM could air a digital copy; maybe someone copied a tape?  The film obviously hasn't been re-mastered.  (And why on earth would it ever be?!?!). 

Of all of them last night I only watched JAILHOUSE ROCK and WEARY RIVER.

 

The latter WAS kind of strange with that "silent/talkie" mix that Ben and Frank talked about briefly but.....

 

The one striking thing about it for me was that 1.  I'm unfamiliar with  RICHARD BARTHELMESS and it was probably, to my memory, the first movie I ever saw of his.  2.  In many scenes, I seemed to see a distinct resemblance between him and  LEONARDO DiCAPRIO.   He didn't strike me as a particularily bad actor, and fairly good looking enough to have had a more lasting familiarity among the average "movie buff".

 

 

Sepiatone

[EricJ]

Invasion USA (1952) youtube

 

A bunch of people are in a bar, when tv reporter Gerald Mohr strolls in and starts asking everyone how they feel about a “universal draft.” Well, personally, I’m always a little chilly. The other characters in the bar consist of Peggie Castle, Dan O’Herlihy (as “Mr. Ohman” – omen, get it????), and some other clowns you don’t care about.

 

The film also features two Lois Lanes, but no Superman.

 

Eh, you just cribbed that bit from the MST3K episode:

 

[kingrat]

I loved Two Way Stretch, a 1960 British comedy I'd never heard of. Peter Sellers plays the most normal of the characters, which is unusual for those of us familiar mostly with his later films. Lionel Jeffries was hysterically funny as the tough guy ready to shape up the prisoners. Favorite line: "SILENCE when you're talking to me!" And will it be possible when doing jumping jacks not to think of a particular scene in this film?

 

Irene Handl was also wonderful as the mother of the none too bright prisoner Lenny, played by Bernard Cribbins. Mom is upset that he isn't living up to the family tradition of trying to escape from prison.

 

Of course, there's also Maurice Denham as the prison warden whose vegetable marrow is the subject of several double entendres, and Liz Fraser as Sellers' Monroe-esque girlfriend, and, well, the whole cast, every one of whom knows how play this comic style. I had never heard of the director, Robert Day.

 

Here's hoping Two Way Stretch will be repeated soon on TCM.

[film lover 293]

"Autumn Leaves" (1956)--Starring Joan Crawford, Cliff Robertson, and Lorne Greene.  Directed by Robert Aldrich.

 

Surprisingly good psychological soap opera.  Crawford is Millie, a middle aged typist who has thrown away her chances to get married to take care of her sick father.  Robertson is Burt Hanson, a man Millie meets when she stops for a chicken salad sandwich after seeing a concert.  They gradually fall in love, in spite of Millie's protestations that she's too old for him, and get married.  Film goes from there.

 

Aldrich's direct approach meshes well with soap opera.  Themes of self-denial*, loneliness, and mental illness are brought up and explored.  

 

The film is hard to take seriously because of the occasional howler that pops up in the dialogue:

 

Joan (to the air): "Isn't it strange how that wonderful song makes you think of chicken salad?"

Joan (to lovers Lorne Greene & Vera Miles): "Your souls are too filthy for Hell itself!"

When Joan tries to pass as a 20 something in flashbacks, she raises her voice to falsetto range and the camera Never looks at her face.

 

The film's theme song is very nice, and is sung by Nat King Cole.

 

Movie is an uneasy mix of soap opera and thriller, with a heavy dose of  self- martyrdom* thrown in.   2.6/4.

 

*--"Otto" censored my first choice of words.

[kingrat]

Two of the most fun things about Autumn Leaves are 1) Cliff Robertson throwing a typewriter at Joan Crawford and 2) Crawford calling Vera Miles a term beginning with "s" which implies a woman of loose morals--not Miles saying that to Crawford, as you might expect.

 

The beautiful title song is from the French "Les feuilles mortes," lyrics by the poet and screenwriter Jacques Prevert, who worked on several great films with Marcel Carne, like Children of Paradise, Port of Shadows, and Le jour se leve (Daybreak).

[Hibi]

When Were You Born? (1938)

 

Interesting 30's B movie I watched about a week ago on TCM. An astrologer (Anna May Wong) helps police solve a murder case using astrology after she predicts a shipboard murder. One of the rare times Wong played a lead. A bit on the talky side, but worth seeing (once anyway). Film starts out showing the astrological signs of the characters in the film.  Good cast. (Wong, Margaret Lindsay, James Stephenson, Lola Lane)

 

6 out of 10 (on the B movie scale)

[scsu1975]

When Were You Born? (1938)

 

Interesting 30's B movie I watched about a week ago on TCM. An astrologer (Anna May Wong) helps police solve a murder case using astrology after she predicts a shipboard murder. One of the rare times Wong played a lead.

So apparently Wong was right for the part?

[Hibi]

VERY.

[Dargo]

So apparently Wong was right for the part?

 

Yes, but remember Rich, TWO Wongs never make a right.

 

(...but then again of course, three rights DO make a left)

[scsu1975]

Yes, but remember Rich, TWO Wongs never make a right.

 

(...but then again of course, three rights DO make a left)

And two Wrights make a plane

[Dargo]

And two Wrights make a plane

 

Unless one of 'em is named Teresa.

 

(...cute girl, but didn't know a thing about aeronautics)

[scsu1975]

Unless one of 'em is named Teresa.

 

(...cute girl, but didn't know a thing about aeronautics)

Gets your old propeller spinning, does she?

[cigarjoe]

Private Property (1960) Psychological California Smog Noir

The film revolves around two down and out creepy and twisted drifters, hitchhiking their way to The Sunset Strip. The two become sexually obsessed over a hawt "California Girl" blond housewife driving a white corvette who casually stops for directions at a Pacific Coast Highway Veltex filling station near Malibu. (BTW the Veltex Gas is going for 8 cents a gallon in 1960). 

 

Corey Allen's silver tongued devil Duke, is easily convincing as a womanizer, but you don't have to wonder why he never gained traction after this performance, the film opened without Code approval, was condemned by the Legion Of Decency and got slim to none distribution. Warren Oates underplays the malleable simple minded sexual neophyte Boots. Oates specialized most of his career in playing hopeless lowlifes doomed to wallow in eternal misery, always getting the *beep* end of the stick. Kate Manx excels as Ann with her portrayal ranging from "I Dream Of Jeannie" perky to that of sweet quiet desperation for the attention of her husband. Again one wonders how her career may have went if the film had had a regular release. Four years later she committed suicide, a waste. 

 

So, does the title refer to trophy wife Ann, the house and pool, or the whole gaudy tinseltown world that only the others, the "elites" can inhabit? 7/10 

 

Full review with digital camera images caps of the newly restored Cinelicious Pictures from a TCM premiere here: http://noirsville.blogspot.com/2017/01/private-property-1960-psychological.html