I Just Watched...

[Sepiatone]

I literally just watched the short film HITLER LIVES (aka THE GHOSTS OF BERCHTESGADEN) that aired tonight before CITIZEN KANE.

 

This very eerie film, produced and distributed at the end World War II, warns about forces in the US that seek to create division by stirring up racial hatred and the danger of fascist groups in this country producing a "messiah" not unlike Hitler. 

 

Oh, EVERYbody knows that couldn't EVER happen here in AMERICA, could it? 

 

 

Or...uuuuhhhhh...........

 

Sepiatone

[LornaHansonForbes]

oh god.

 

i just watched an episode of the current British sci-fi anthology series BLACK MIRROR- the very first episode in fact.

 

you should stop reading this now.

 

the premise is that a popular member of the British royal family has been kidnapped and she will be killed unless...

 

seriously, stop.

 

the Prime Minister has sex with a pig on tv.

 

i told you.

 

NOW, IF YOU HAVE BEEN READING, JUST KEEP ON:

 

He does it.

They let the princess go.

Credits roll.

Postscript after the credits: it's a year later and life has gone on, and he is still the (popular) PM...although his wife is really po'd at him in private.

The end.

There you go.

That's all.

 

I told you this so you don't waste an hour of your life on this crap like i did.

 

NOW- if at the end of the postscript, AFTER his wife glowers at him once the door to 10 Downing Street is shut and goes upstairs, he THEN opens the door to his office and there's the pig, splayed across the desk casting  a "come-hither" glance his way, maybe something by Barry White playing on the I-Phone:

THEN IT WOULD HAVE all BEEN WORTH IT.

 

I am sorry I shared this with you all.

 

God, Oscar month can't end soon enough for me.

[scsu1975]

oh god.

 

i just watched an episode of the current British sci-fi anthology series BLACK MIRROR- the very first episode in fact.

 

you should stop reading this now.

 

the premise is that a popular member of the British royal family has been kidnapped and she will be killed unless...

 

seriously, stop.

 

the Prime Minister has sex with a pig on tv.

 

Alright, I'll sink this low ... are you sure this wasn't a new game show called "Let's Make a Squeal?"

[Sepiatone]

 

 

the premise is that a popular member of the British royal family has been kidnapped and she will be killed unless...

 

seriously, stop.

 

the Prime Minister has sex with a pig on tv.

 

 

 

Was the title of the episode, "PIG NAILIN'  "?

 

Was the pig a REAL one?  Or played by NED BEATTY?

 

Was "Dueling Banjos" playing in the background?

 

DETAILS please!

 

 

Sepiatone

[Dargo]

Was the title of the episode, "PIG NAILIN'  "?

 

 

Sepiatone

 

Yeah Sepia. I can't wait to see the musical version of that..."My Fair Piggy".

 

(...and of course featuring the song, "Why Can't a Woman be More Like a Boar")

[LornaHansonForbes]

it's called THE NATIONAL ANTHEM.

 

Here is a link to its wikipedia entry (SFW, Honest!):

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_National_Anthem_(Black_Mirror)

[film lover 293]

"The King and Four Queens" (1956)--Starring Clark Gable, Jo Van Fleet, and Eleanor Parker.  Directed by Raoul Walsh.

 

Enjoyable, lightweight con-game Western.

 

The setup: Dan Kehoe (Gable) is warned away from a town called Wagon Mound.  The town was the hideout of the McDade Gang, three members of whom were killed in a fire; the fourth got away.  Ma McDade (Van Fleet), three widows and a wife remain behind, waiting for the survivor to turn up and claim his share of the $100,000 dollars in gold hidden there; then the rest will claim their share and split.  Only Ma knows the location of the money.  Kehoe ignores the warning and goes to Wagon Mound.  Film proceeds from there.

 

Van Fleet dominates the film with her portrayal of a woman furious about the loss of her sons and having to put up with their wives.  Gable and Parker expertly underplay their roles and are very funny.  

 

Lucien Ballards' cinematography is striking.  Alex North's musical score is pleasant.

 

From what I'd read, this was supposed to be one of Gables' worst films.  It's far from that.  No award winner, but an enjoyable comedy that improves as it goes along.  2.5/4.

 

Source--YouTube.

[film lover 293]

"Ride Lonesome" (1959)--Starring Randolph Scott, Pernell Roberts, and Karen Steele.  Directed by Budd Boetticher.

 

The sixth of seven Boetticher/Scott collaborations, this western moves fast and without fuss to its conclusion.

 

The plot--Bounty hunter Ben Brigade (Scott) captures Billy John (James Best) who is wanted for killing a man by shooting him in the back.  On the way to the nearest town to turn John in, Brigade stops at a seemingly deserted stagecoach way station.  After finding out it's not deserted, the overdue stagecoach arrives, crashing into a fence.  Film goes from there.

 

Scott plays another of his bitter but gentlemanly Westerners.  He is excellent.  Steele looks too modern to be in a period picture, but does well.  Pernell Roberts, in his third film, does well as Sam Boone,  one of Brigades' opponents in the film.

 

Charles Lawton Jr's location cinematography is outstanding; Heinz Roemheld's score is low-keyed yet menacing; it underscores the action well.  Burt Kennedy's script is taut and lean.

 

Very good Columbia western wasn't nominated for any awards.  An overlooked gem.  3.2/4.

[NickAndNora34]

 Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea (1961): starring Walter Pidgeon, Joan Fontaine, Peter Lorre. I recently found this on Netflix, and decided to give it a try. It was actually fairly decent. Pidgeon plays the admiral of a submarine when suddenly a red fire appears in the sky, and he decides to take a journey towards the Marianas to shoot off a missile into the sky, in an attempt to extinguish the flare and restore the world to its natural state. 

 

 

[Janet0312]

I Just Watched, 30 Days of Oscar Edition, Post #2, 2/4=2/5

The Bride of Frankenstein (Universal, 1935) - [/b]I've now managed to catch two of the only 12 Universal films TCM is showing this month. Wow, apologies to everyone who thinks James Whale is a genius, but this is one crazy movie that is really all over the place and narratively bewildering. Check out Dr. Pretorious' mind-boggling miniature clones who come and go in one scene and are never mentioned again. They look like perfect mini-human beings, so why does the Bride still come out looking like .. well, the way she looks? And what is the deal with Una O'Connor, who serves as some kind of one-woman shrieking cacophony of a Greek chorus. I mean, seriously, the most annoying character in move history? She's a servant at Castle Frankenstein, but her job apparently leaves her with endless free hours to hang out in the village, where she's present for all torch-and-pitchfork hunts, usually standing right beside the Burgermeister, exchanging verbal barbs. She also knows all the villagers so intimately (which seems odd for a member of the castle's domestic), she knows which house cries are coming from and which member is making them (and the villagers let her go upstairs alone to check out who's making the cries). She's a firsthand witness on at least two different occasions to let everyone know the monster is alive and loose. She's also the only person who notices Frankenstein is alive. She's virtually the central character of every scene. I'm stunned she wasn't present for the climactic bridal animation scene, screeching more unnecessary expository dialogue to the audience.

I was really hoping that somebody with extensive knowledge and enjoyment of this picture would respond to this, because I think sewhite has some valid points, some that I never thought about before. Pretty funny, actually. I enjoy the picture because of Karloff's performance, the sets and camera work, but other than that, I just don't get the appeal.

[JamesJazGuitar]

I was really hoping that somebody with extensive knowledge and enjoyment of this picture would respond to this, because I think sewhite has some valid points, some that I never thought about before. Pretty funny, actually. I enjoy the picture because of Karloff's performance, the sets and camera work, but other than that, I just don't get the appeal.

 

Those points have been discussed at this forum before and as you note the points raised are solid.    The film is a camp classic and as such I overlook the over the top portions of the film.   

[Mr. Gorman]

For those who have patience of movies with narratives that journey all over during the course of the film check out either or both of these movies:

 

     ALABAMA'S GHOST (1972)

     GODMONSTER OF INDIAN FLATS (1973)

 

      Both were directed by Frederic Hobbs.  They're indescribable.  I will say this, however, 'GODMONSTER' is the only movie I've seen where I've felt sympathy toward a deformed mutant sheep roaming the countryside.  (The sheep has a limp arm).     

[LawrenceA]

For those who have patience of movies with narratives that journey all over during the course of the film check out either or both of these movies:

 

     ALABAMA'S GHOST (1972)

     GODMONSTER OF INDIAN FLATS (1973)

 

      Both were directed by Frederic Hobbs.  They're indescribable.  I will say this, however, 'GODMONSTER' is the only movie I've seen where I've felt sympathy toward a deformed mutant sheep roaming the countryside.  (The sheep has a limp arm).     

 

I love Godmonster of Indian Flats. I used to torment friends and loved ones by forcing them to watch it. I've never seen Alabama's Ghost. Does it measure up?

[Mr. Gorman]

I think you'd like ALABAMA'S GHOST.  If you liked 'GODMONSTER' then it's more likely than not you'll find enjoyment in "Alabama's Ghost".  Just reading about it is amusing.      

 

      I have a Something Weird Video of another Hobbs movie called ROSELAND, but I haven't seen it yet.  My VCR is busted and I bought it on tape from SWV.  

[hamradio]

 Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea (1961): starring Walter Pidgeon, Joan Fontaine, Peter Lorre. I recently found this on Netflix, and decided to give it a try. It was actually fairly decent. Pidgeon plays the admiral of a submarine when suddenly a red fire appears in the sky, and he decides to take a journey towards the Marianas to shoot off a missile into the sky, in an attempt to extinguish the flare and restore the world to its natural state. 

 

Trivia, the movie used a Westrex 4 channel magnetic for the Cinamascope 35mm prints. (well as the standard 1 channel opitcal)

 

 

 

35mm center compared to 70mm

 

 

 

[film lover 293]

"The Little Prince" (1974)--Starring Steven Warner, Richard Kiley, Bob Fosse, and Gene  Wilder.   Directed by Stanley Donen.  Music by Frederick Loewe, lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner.

 

Based on the book by Antoine De Saint-Exupery (which I haven't read), film is an uneasy mix of live action/animation, fantasy, and philosophy.

 

The wisp of plot follows The Pilot (Kiley) from childhood, where his dreams die to sensible adulthood.  A plane he is testing crashes in the Sahara.  He meets The Little Prince (Warner) from another planet, who tells him about his past life and journey to seek knowledge.  He tells of The Snake (Fosse) and The Fox (Wilder).

 

Warner plays his role matter of factly, and keeps the cuteness of his role from getting overwhelming.  Kiley's voice is fine.  Bob Fosse's song and dance number is the highlight of the film.  Wilder as The Fox is a very close second.

 

Loewe's music varies from very good to just ok.  Lerner's lyrics are occasionally witty, but more often they drag Loewe's music down to earth when the music threatens to soar.

 

When the film was released, critics pounced on it, and it failed at the box office.  "The Little Prince" did get two Oscar nominations, Best Song and Best Score (It lost both).

 

Trivia--according to the closing credits, movie was filmed in Tunisia.

 

Film is worth a look, especially for Lerner and Loewe completists.  2.3/4.

 

Source--YouTube, where film was in eleven parts.

[film lover 293]

"Westbound" (1959)--Starring Randolph Scott, Virginia Mayo, and Karen Steele.  Directed by Budd Boetticher.

 

Scott is John Hayes, a Union officer appointed to take care of the Overland Stage line and protect regular shipments of gold to the Union government to finance the Civil War in 1864.  The headquarters of the line is to be in Julesberg, Colorado Territory, a center for Confederate sympathizers and also where his former fiancee Norma Putnam (Mayo) lives. The resistance Hayes runs into makes up the rest of the film.

 

Scott is good in an undemanding role.  Mayo and Steele are mainly present for decoration.  Berne Giler's predictable screenplay doesn't plod from A to  B, it races so the viewer doesn't get bored.  Copy I saw wasn't of good quality, so I can't say anything about the photography.

 

A watchable B Western, not great, not terrible; definitely one of Scott and Boetticher's lesser efforts (they made seven films together).  2.3/4

 

Source--dailymotion.com.

[film lover 293]

"Comanche Station" (1960)--Starring Randolph Scott, Nancy Gates, and Claude Akins.  Directed by Budd Boetticher.  

 

Seventh and last collaboration between Scott and Boetticher is a marvelous Western that takes off and slows down only so the viewer can catch their breath.

 

Cowboy Jefferson Cody (Scott) trades a woman (Gates) captured by the Comanche for $5 dollars worth of trinkets and a rifle.  After they get away, he finds out her name is Mrs. Nancy Loewe.  They head for the nearest stagecoach station, but find it deserted.  Three travelers appear, chased by Indians.  The Comanche have apparently decided they want Mrs. Loewe back.  Film goes from there.

 

Burt Kennedy wrote the terse, rather blunt script.  The music credit says "Music conducted by Mischa Bakaleinikoff"; so I guess the score  isn't original.  Original or not, it's very effective.   The beautiful cinematography is by Charles Lawton Jr.  Those who have seen Boetticher's other films, especially "Ride Lonesome" (1959) will notice they were shot in the Lone Pine area in California; they use the same rock formations for background.  The actors are all excellent.

 

TCM has a webpage for the film and an article, so I assume the film has been shown in the past; the only review is dated 2007.  If Comanche Station ever shows up on TCM's schedule, watch it or record it.  It's not perfect, but it's better than a lot of "A" movies.  3.5/4.

 

Source--dailymotion.com.

[TomJH]

"Ride Lonesome" (1959)--Starring Randolph Scott, Pernell Roberts, and Karen Steele.  Directed by Budd Boetticher.

 

 

 

"Westbound" (1959)--Starring Randolph Scott, Virginia Mayo, and Karen Steele.  Directed by Budd Boetticher.

 

 

 

"Comanche Station" (1960)--Starring Randolph Scott, Nancy Gates, and Claude Akins.  Directed by Budd Boetticher.  

 

 

It's interesting that Randolph Scott's top ten box office standing actually fell off when he made his now celebrated series of tough, unpretentious, lean westerns with Budd Boetticher. I love Scott's sparse, sharp dialogue in these westerns and, of course, the ambiguity of the villainy portrayals. The villains are sometimes more interesting than the hero, with whom they will share some characteristics.

 

Ride Lonesome has always been a particular favourite of mine but they're all worth a look, with Westbound the only possible misstep of the collection. The Boetticher-Scott westerns are more celebrated today than they were at the time of their releases. As a reflection of that, Virginia Mayo considered it demeaning when she was forced by contract to appear in Westbound with Scott. Scott always brought a leathery credibility, combined with a sense of integrity and great dignity to the series.

 

[film lover 293]

TomJH--Re Virginia Mayo--Maybe her attitude was why she got all of 20 minutes screen time in "Westbound" (1959).

[TomJH]

TomJH--Re Virginia Mayo--Maybe her attitude was why she got all of 20 minutes screen time in "Westbound" (1959).

 

I like Virginia but I didn't realize her screen time was so limited, filmlover, in a not so memorable Scott-Boetticher effort. Too bad the lovely Miss Mayo appeared in a weaker effort.

[sewhite2000]

I Just Watched, 31 Days of Oscar Edition, Post #3: 2/6-2/7

 

It was originally my intention to only post every three days, but I'm just watching too many damn movies, way more so far than I thought I would this month.

 

Crossfire (RKO) (1947) - Six days in, and we finally get to the first 31 Days movie I hadn't seen before. I had always read about how great and chilling Robert Ryan's Oscar-nominated performance was. Glad I finally caught it. The film seems particularly relevant in this day and age where I'm learning, to my unhappiness, that racial tensions I frankly thought were on the whole dead and buried are in fact alive and thriving in this country. Okay, maybe we don't so much go and beat someone else to death because their ethnicity is different than ours (not saying it never happens anymore!); we spew our venom anonymously from our laptops and our smartphones. This appears to be why imdb is shutting down its message boards. Okay, the message is more than a little heavy-handed: Robert Young's speech about how anyone can be the victim of bigotry lays it on with a trowel, but it was certainly novel for the time: who else was saying this in the movies? Gentleman's Agreement, which won Best Picture this same year, deals mostly with the secret ban of Jews from quality hotels, which certainly seems like not so important an issue, given what happens to the Jewish character in THIS movie. It's interesting that between The Jazz Singer and these two 1947 movies, one can hardly find a mention of Judaism in a mainstream Hollywood film, even though every major studio but Fox was Jewish-run. That seems to me to be a sort of a self-censoring type of prejudice maybe done for commercial reasons, with the movie-going audience being so overwhelmingly WASP-y in those days. There are probably one or more good books about that era. Anyway, I digress. It's a gripping noir with first-rate acting even in the small parts and loads of atmosphere.

 

A Cry in the Dark (Warner Bros., 1988) - The second-most modern film being shown during 31 Days. Unusually light on the modern films this year, which should make happy the people who complain about that sort of thing. Another movie I had never seen. I was well aware of the Streep-accented (Spoiler alert!) "The dingoes ate my baby!" line, which has been the fodder for parody for 30 years now, but I can't fathom what this poor couple had to go through in real life, to have this unthinkable tragedy occur and then to be blamed and punished for it. It was certainly an interesting story, well worth learning more about, though there's a certain emotional detachment to the whole presentation that made it hard for me to really get into. I think that was part of a deliberate attempt at the cinema verite style alluded to by Ben Mankiewicz in his introduction.

 

Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde (Paramount, 1932) - TCM is showing only 23 Paramount films this month. This is is the first one I've caught. We can learn from viewing this that Universal didn't have a lock on quality horror films in the early 30s (MGM also weighed in with Freaks). The special effects showing the transformation still look fabulous 85 years later, and Frederic March is so different in his two roles, I think he was well-deserving of his Oscar (shared in an extremely rare tie with Wallace Beery for The Champ). The makeup certainly helps, but check him out, all unrestrained id and menace. It's a tour de force. He also makes you feel the agony of his human self, slowly losing his soul, I didn't care for the guy who played his "friend", who pooh-poohs and is highly judgmental of all of Jekyll's ideas early on and is a total jerk to Jekyll once he's really in trouble. Miriam Hopkins, whom I usually find grating beyond belief, is sexy as all get-out, and then later a figure of pity in the terrible situation in which she finds herself. One of her best performances.

 

Dreamgirls (Dreamworks, 2006) - The most modern movie being shown this year and (thanks largely to no less than three nominations in the Best Original Song category), the most-nominated film of 2006, though it didn't get a Best Picture nomination. . I remember seeing this in the theater. Sort of hard to believe it's been 11 years since its release. It appeared to be a return to greatness for Eddie Murphy, but he's mostly retreated into self-imposed exile since then. Ultimately, it didn't foretell a great future in movies for either Beyonce Knowles or Jennifer Hudson, both of whom have only appeared in films very sporadically since then. "And I'm Telling You I'm Not Going" is a goose-bump inducing moment as has been discussed recently on another thread. That's what got Hudson her Oscar just like "I Had a Dream" got an Oscar for Anne Hathaway. As maybe the world's biggest fan of '60s music, I love the idea of the Supremes story being told, if indirectly, on film, although honestly, little of the music sounds even remotely like the actual '60s, especially the new crap they wrote for Beyonce, which I can definitely leave.

 

Fame (MGM, 1980) - Another first-time viewing for me. As a child of that era, I certainly remember the commercials for the movie on TV, and the Irene Cara song, which was all over the radio, but I was too young to get into this rated R movie, so I finally watched it for the first time only 37 years after its release! Just a handful of observations: all the actors playing alleged high school freshmen were in the 17-23 range, which is very common in modern movies and television. There is a casual abortion scene in the year before Ronald Reagan assumed the presidency, one I think would be unlikely to be seen in any mainstream Hollywood film in the drastic shift to the right our country has been steadily undergoing ever since he took office. I feel in its effort to present all types of teens, the films had an unusually authentic assessment of its times. Overall, though, there are too many characters and storylines and too many jumps between them. I found it all too chaotic. The big dance scene in the middle of traffic - awesome or a bunch of obnoxious beautiful kids shoving it in the face of everyone else? Discuss.

 

Fanny (Warner Bros., 1961) - I'm not really a fan of this film because Maurice Chevalier does such a noble thing in the name of decency and so Leslie Caron can have security and dignity, but by the end of the film (Spoiler alert!), we're manipulated into wanting him to just drop dead already so she can go back to having intercourse with the lusty idiot her own age. Yuck. Ugh. Boo. Just my opinion.

[Mr. Gorman]

Greetings, sewhite of 2000.  You mentioned 'discuss' in regards to FAME (1980).  Yesterday was the 1st time I'd seen it, too.  I was 7 when it came out in '80 so I didn't get to see it on the BIG screen and it eluded me as well . . . until now.  I'd read the Leonard Maltin review of 'FAME' (he gave it **½ stars out of a possible ****) scores of times over the years and you mentioned the same thing his reviewer did about the disjointed continuity as the film progresses and a fat number of loose story ends.  Maybe the director filmed so many scenes there was no way to tie up (or at least wrap up a little bit!) some of the story threads without having another 30 minutes of movie.  Or longer.  An extra half-hour would've pushed the run time to 2 hrs 45 mins and perhaps MGM didn't want it to run that long?  So The Chop/per went to work cutting scenes here 'n' there that could have wrapped up some threads.  I dunno . . .

 

     In regards to a casual abortion scene like is seen in 'FAME'  the TV print of 1982's "FAST TIMES AT RIDGEMONT HIGH" includes a scene cut out of the theatrical version when Jennifer Jason Leigh goes to the abortion clinic and a doctor is seen performing the procedure.  I taped the Tv version aired on TBS back in the '90s and I noted that scene didn't appear when I'd watched the movie on my MCA Home Video tape.  There's quite a bit of alternate/cutting-room floor footage put back in to FAST TIMES for its Tv presentation.  Couple extra scenes with Sean Penn among other added-back stuff.  (Another Tv version of a movie with lots of different footage from the theatrical release:  CAR WASH (1976)). 

 

     THE DANCING ON THE STREET SCENE IN 'FAME':  I can't help but think someone involved in the production of 'FAME' saw the 1976 movie "APPLE PIE" and incorporated the final scene of "Apple Pie" into "Fame".  APPLE PIE only runs 80 minutes but the the last 10m. feature the rubber-limbed TONY AZITO and all sorts of extras dancing on the streets of New York City.  They dance on cars -- especially a white Ford station wagon.  They dance on the sidewalk.  They dance on fire escapes on the sides of buildings.  → And who shows up at the end of the film as one of the dancers?  IRENE CARA.  She's easily recognizable in the final sequence.  I think she comes running from her red brick apartment building to start dancing on the street.  (I'm guessing she appeared in "Apple Pie" before being featured in "AARON LOVES ANGELA").  I didn't think of the FAME kids as being obnoxious dancing all around.  They were just feelin' the music.    

 

     I wrote a review of the NYC-based movie 'APPLE PIE' on the IMDb should anyone wish to read a bit about it.  Near the end of the movie -- but before the dancing scene -- there's a woman who drives up next to Tony Azito at a stoplight and he reads her shirt which says: 

 

    "If you can beat me

     You can eat me" (!) 

 

     So Tony and the gal have a road race and later end up at a fancy restaurant where they start chucking fancy food at one another while the bemused patrons look on. 

 

     In the final analysis I'd watch 'FAME' again.  One of the reasons being I liked the music. 

     ---------------------------------------

     ♣SHAMELESS MOVIE PLUG♣:  The forgotten 1980 release 'HEADIN' FOR BROADWAY'.  It seems like director Joseph Brooks ran out of production money and wasn't able to film all the scenes he needed.  Even so, I rather liked it despite its shortcomings.  Like 'FAME', I enjoyed the music in "Headin' for Broadway".  Starred Rex Smith, Paul Carafotes, Terri Treas, Vivian Reed, Gene Foote.  Runs 89 minutes and is [PG].           

[speedracer5]

I've been so busy lately, I feel like I haven't been able to watch anything, let alone movies.  However, I can't even say that that is true, as I've had time to watch the entire first, second and part of the third season, of The Mary Tyler Moore Show.  I'm trying to make my way through the whole series.  I've seen the entire series, but since MTM's passing, I want to watch it all in order.  After that, I have The Dick Van Dyke Show lined up, which will be exciting because I haven't seen the whole series.

 

Anyway, I have watched some movies, but mostly ones I've seen multiple times before.  Even though I have 400 movies recorded on the DVR, sometimes you're just in the mood for a particular film and watching something else just won't do. I rarely get to watch movies live on TCM.  During Oscar month, I have watched Captain Blood and Citizen Kane. I actually haven't recorded anything this month, except for 42nd Street, which I understand had some issues, which is unfortunate.  If the movie ends up on On Demand, I wonder if it'll have the same issues.

 

Anyway... I have managed to watch two "new" movies:

 

The Unfaithful.  This is a 1947 noir starring Ann Sheridan, Lew Ayres and Zachary Scott.  In this film, a woman (Sheridan) is attacked on her doorstep as she arrives home from a party.  Sheridan ends up stabbing and killing her attacker, claiming self defense. She is adamant that she does not know this man.  However, her integrity is in question when she is blackmailed with evidence to the contrary.  Ayres portrays Sheridan's lawyer and friend and Scott plays her husband who struggles with the information that comes out during the investigation.  

 

This movie was very similar to The Letter with Bette Davis.  It even had the same vibe and the same cast of characters: The wife, her lawyer, her husband, the murder victim and the murder victim's wife.  I really like Ann Sheridan and I thought she was excellent in this film.  I think she deserves to have been a bigger star, but most likely, like Ida Lupino, being under contract to the same studio as Bette Davis and Olivia de Havilland probably took away a lot of the choice roles. I also really liked the photography in this film.  The scenes of 1940s Los Angeles were also a lot of fun.  I don't think this movie was as good or as memorable as The Letter, but it was a fun diversion.

 

---

 

Made For Each Other.  I've been trying to see more of Carole Lombard's films.  I really liked her in this film.  It was quite a different role for her than when I last saw her in My Man Godfrey.  She was a lot less manic and I actually found her quite charming.  James Stewart is his same self and he and Lombard made a great pair.  This was an interesting story about a couple who marry after only knowing each other for one day.  Stewart's mother, a delightfully crabby Lucile Watson, of course does not approve of Lombard.  She wanted her son to marry Eunice Doolittle (what a name), the daughter of Charles Coburn, a prominent judge in town.  Marrying into the Doolittle family would lend prestige (and presumably a bump up the social ladder), but Stewart doesn't love Eunice Doolittle.  Stewart, a lawyer at a local law firm (but one that apparently doesn't make much money), feels like he and Lombard will have it made.  Unfortunately, his career seems to be at a standstill.  Lombard then announces that she's having a baby which further strains and complicates Stewart and Lombard's marriage.  

 

This was a nice dramatic film about a whirlwind romance and a couple trying to succeed despite facing odds at every corner.  I really liked this different role for Lombard.  I thought she did a great job and had she not died in 1942, she would have gone on to do even more great things in her career.  James Stewart was excellent as the newlywed who wants nothing more than to provide for his wife and get his mother to accept her.  Charles Coburn provides great support for the film.  I especially liked the scene between he and Stewart when Stewart shows up on his doorstep begging for help in locating serum to help his baby's pneumonia.

 

This was a nice little film and I look forward to seeing more from Lombard, Coburn and Stewart.  

[sagebrush]

I saw 42nd Street Wed night, but missed the introduction to the film. Can anyone tell me why it was narrated? Have they always shown this version and I just didn't notice it? Anyway, it was annoying to me...