I Just Watched...

[LornaHansonForbes]

Not wanting to tempt fate on Friday the 13th, I stayed in and watched most of two of the films shown yesterday.

THE INNOCENTS- (1961)- I don't usually tend to appreciate films that (deliberately or not) test the patience of the viewer, not having much myself, but this film really is exquisite. Deborah Kerr's finest performance (maybe the best of that year by an actress) and a truly wonderful example of an adult and child actor working together in perfect harmony, each bringing out the best in the other. I couldn't help but wonder though, given the somewhat controversial ending (that kiss!) and the fact that the movie was badly marketed as a cheesy horror flick, whether this film actually represented the beginning of a downturn of Kerr's career. She absolutely nails her reaction shots in the final scene though, the horror her face displays is so genuine.

THE CURSE OF THE CAT PEOPLE- another film that's not at all what it seems. I don't particularly like the original, and I'm not even really a huge Val Lewton fan, but this is an exquisite movie. Just completely unusual and wonderful, it still speaks loud and clear to those of us who played alone as a child because we wore clear nail polish and the other kids thought we were evil.

[LsDoorMat]

I just watched "Cat People" (1942)  AKA "She was a cat, he was a  dog".

 

First off SPOILER warning as I completely (almost) spoil the film.

 

Boy (Kent Smith as Oliver) meets girl (Simone Simon as Irena). Except boy is one of the few men between 20 and 60 who is not in the military, and the girl has bizarre fantasies about being one of the "cat people" - people descended from a group of witches and warlocks in Europe that escaped the sword of King John when he came to cleanse their village of wickedness.

 

Oliver and Irena eventually admit their love, and Oliver proposes marriage. Irena has doubts because of her feelings that there is evil in her, that she is one of the "cat people". Oliver poo poos such nonsense and basically says"Forget that cat people nonsense babe and marry me anyways, it will make no difference." But it does. Irena doesn't want to consummate the marriage. Oliver says no problem he'll wait. Irena goes to see a psychiatrist, Oliver says no problem he'll wait. Irena wrestles with her cat people identity problem until a few months later she tells Oliver she has decided to put the past behind her and be a real wife to him. Not so fast Oliver says. He now loves Alice, a girl at work and he wants a divorce.

 

So Irena, a troubled soul to begin with, has a husband who thinks "Until death do you part" is just a saying people kick around at weddings and has completely overestimated his patience, while Alice, a woman who has said she was Irena's friend has been that shoulder Oliver can cry on at work until she steals his heart. Also, the psychiatrist has ulterior motives too as Tom Conway rips a page from his brother George Sanders' playbook.

 

Last line of the film - Oliver saying "She never lied to us". Yep, but ALL of you - the doctor, Oliver, Alice - essentially lied to HER. I'd like to turn into a big cat and eat the three of them if I were in Irena's circumstances.

 

Don't think I don't love this film - I do. It uses atmosphere and what you don't see where the 82 version just used cheesy sex scenes and lots of gore. I'd give it an 8/10.

[LsDoorMat]

Not wanting to tempt fate on Friday the 13th, I stayed in and watched most of two of the films shown yesterday.

 

THE INNOCENTS- (1961)- I don't usually tend to appreciate films that (deliberately or not) test the patience of the viewer, not having much myself, but this film really is exquisite. Deborah Kerr's finest performance (maybe the best of that year by an actress) and a truly wonderful example of an adult and child actor working together in perfect harmony, each bringing out the best in the other. I couldn't help but wonder though, given the somewhat controversial ending (that kiss!) and the fact that the movie was badly marketed as a cheesy horror flick, whether this film actually represented the beginning of a downturn of Kerr's career. She absolutely nails her reaction shots in the final scene though, the horror her face displays is so genuine.

 

Love how you nailed "The Innocents". What got me was how Kerr's governess character was so absolutely darned sure about every step necessary to deal with the ghosts when she is obviously making this stuff up as she goes along, and that last look of horror when she realizes she has so underestimated the evil powers she is fighting. 

[JamesJazGuitar]

I just watched "Cat People" (1942)  AKA "She was a cat, he was a  dog".

 

First off SPOILER warning as I completely (almost) spoil the film.

 

Boy (Kent Smith as Oliver) meets girl (Simone Simon as Irena). Except boy is one of the few men between 20 and 60 who is not in the military, and the girl has bizarre fantasies about being one of the "cat people" - people descended from a group of witches and warlocks in Europe that escaped the sword of King John when he came to cleanse their village of wickedness.

 

Oliver and Irena eventually admit their love, and Oliver proposes marriage. Irena has doubts because of her feelings that there is evil in her, that she is one of the "cat people". Oliver poo poos such nonsense and basically says"Forget that cat people nonsense babe and marry me anyways, it will make no difference." But it does. Irena doesn't want to consummate the marriage. Oliver says no problem he'll wait. Irena goes to see a psychiatrist, Oliver says no problem he'll wait. Irena wrestles with her cat people identity problem until a few months later she tells Oliver she has decided to put the past behind her and be a real wife to him. Not so fast Oliver says. He now loves Alice, a girl at work and he wants a divorce.

 

So Irena, a troubled soul to begin with, has a husband who thinks "Until death do you part" is just a saying people kick around at weddings and has completely overestimated his patience, while Alice, a woman who has said she was Irena's friend has been that shoulder Oliver can cry on at work until she steals his heart. Also, the psychiatrist has ulterior motives too as Tom Conway rips a page from his brother George Sanders' playbook.

 

Last line of the film - Oliver saying "She never lied to us". Yep, but ALL of you - the doctor, Oliver, Alice - essentially lied to HER. I'd like to turn into a big cat and eat the three of them if I were in Irena's circumstances.

 

Don't think I don't love this film - I do. It uses atmosphere and what you don't see where the 82 version just used cheesy sex scenes and lots of gore. I'd give it an 8/10.

 

Nice write up!    I do have a lot of sympathy for Irena and that adds to my enjoyment of the film.   Just is like the Wolf man character;  a good decent person that is cursed.    She can't control what she does and ends up doing some bad things,  but the others can control what they do but still end up doing bad things. 

[EricJ]

THE CURSE OF THE CAT PEOPLE- another film that's not at all what it seems. I don't particularly like the original, and I'm not even really a huge Val Lewton fan, but this is an exquisite movie. Just completely unusual and wonderful, it still speaks loud and clear to those of us who played alone as a child because we wore clear nail polish and the other kids thought we were evil.

 

It's such a ten-list favorite of mine, I got kicked off of the FilmStruck blog because of my reaction to certain posters who kept putting their own, ahem, wishful spin on being "misunderstood kids".  (They always get so upset at "It's freakin' always about you, isn't it??")   Fact is, I've heard that psychiatrists have shown this movie as an "example" of socially withdrawn kids, just from Ann Carter's sullen expression, and try to illustrate Amy as a representative case history--But Carter in interviews later said she was just holding her chin down and her mouth closed trying to keep from being nervous, and deliver her lines on the right take.

 

Never could understand why the Kent Smith dad got so upset at his 7-yo. girl, gasp, having an imagination--gosh, if left unchecked, she might start liking unicorns next!--but the need for Lewton to tie the story back into his RKO "Cat People" studio demands ("She's just like Irena was, believing things that aren't true!") at least puts it into a little bit of context.

And yes, everyone wants a butler as nice as Sir Lancelot.

 

calvinme

I just watched "Cat People" (1942)  AKA "She was a cat, he was a  dog".

 It uses atmosphere and what you don't see where the 82 version just used cheesy sex scenes and lots of gore. 

And Paul Schrader's "taboo" attempt to work "Oo, INCEST!" into the updating, because abstract allegorical kinks weren't kinky enough.

Like there would be any other earthly reason Natassia Kinski, or anyone else, would consider having sex with Malcolm McDowell.

[LsDoorMat]

Never could understand why the Kent Smith dad got so upset at his 7-yo. girl, gasp, having an imagination--gosh, if left unchecked, she might start liking unicorns next!--but the need for Lewton to tie the story back into his RKO "Cat People" studio demands ("She's just like Irena was, believing things that aren't true!") at least puts it into a little bit of context.

And yes, everyone wants a butler as nice as Sir Lancelot.

 

 But what Irena believed was true, and Kent Smith believed it all by the end of "Cat People". Plus I just love how he teaches his daughter that lying is rewarding by telling her that if she tells him that she sees Irena in the garden he'll punish her. She tells the truth - she sees Irena - and he spanks her. Wow this guy is just as bad as a father to his daughter as he was a husband to Irena.

[JamesJazGuitar]

 But what Irena believed was true, and Kent Smith believed it all by the end of "Cat People". Plus I just love how he teaches his daughter that lying is rewarding by telling her that if she tells him that she sees Irena in the garden he'll punish her. She tells the truth - she sees Irena - and he spanks her. Wow this guy is just as bad as a father to his daughter as he was a husband to Irena.

 

It was my understanding that the father didn't wish for the child to 'see' his first wife due to guilt  (guilt due to the deception and actions both the father and mother practiced related to Irena).               

[film lover 293]

"Et Mourir de Plaisir" aka "Blood and Roses" (1961)--Starring Mel Ferrer, Elsa Martinelli, and Annette Vadim.  Directed by Roger Vadim.

 

Slow paced, but beautifully photographed vampire film.

 

Time is 1960.  On a jet, a man tells his friends a story about an inexplicable medical mystery that happened in Italy.  Count Leopoldo Karnstein (Ferrer) is making preparations for a masked ball to celebrate his wedding to Georgia Monteverdi (Martinelli). His cousin, Carmilla Karnstein (Vadim) is in love with Leopoldo, and jealous of Georgia.  The night of the ball, Carmilla wants to be alone and wanders the estate.  Odd events follow.

 

Director Vadim seems more interested in following the erotic possibilities afforded by vampirism than by following vampire folklore.  Ferrer is good as Leopoldo, who treats the whole story of his family's vampirism as a joke, until it's too late.  Martinelli is fine as Georgia, who's the imperiled Gothic heroine in a modern setting.  Annette Vadim is very good as Carmilla, who at first doesn't know what's happening to her, and then thinks she's possessed by an ancestor.

 

The photography is by Claude Renoir, and his playing with colors, light, and shadows alone make the film worth checking out.

 

Film is in French, with English subtitles that you have to turn on.

 

Movie is worth seeing because of the dream-like tone it sets, early on, and for Renoir's stunning photography.  2.7/4

 

Source--Youtube.  YT has it listed under the French title.  The copy has an annoying hiss and occasional crackle, otherwise I'd have rated it higher.

[cigarjoe]

Carny (1980) Directed by Robert Kaylor with Gary Busey, Jodie Foster, Robbie Robertson, Meg Foster, Kenneth McMillan, Elisha Cook Jr., A nice surprize, a film about carny life that stayed interesting. Currently on Youtube 7/10

 

[film lover 293]

"Prehistoric Women" (1967)--Starring Martine Beswick, Edina Ronay, and Michael Latimer.  Produced and directed by Michael Carreras.

 

Incredibly silly entry from Hammer Studios.

 

David (Latimer) is a guide to an African expedition.  The fool he's working for shoots, but only injures a leopard.  David goes to put the leopard out of its' misery, and unknowingly enters the land of The Sacred Great White Rhinoceros, which is guarded by fierce natives.  They capture David, and their leader speaks English.  He sentences David to death, while the others babble and wail nonsense (literally "ooga booga--listen for the phrase).  David escapes, and wanders further into the Rhino's land.  He is captured, this time by unfriendly women.  You can guess the rest of the plot.

 

The only acting required is to keep a straight face throughout the silliness.  Beswick succeeds admirably at this, and went on to better, more dignified roles with Hammer and AIP ( 1971's "Dr. Jekyll and Sister Hyde", 1974's "Seizure", etc.).  Ronay succeeds.  Latimer has a hard time keeping from smiling and in one instance, laughing.

 

The script is laughable.  It goes from business-like British, to nonsense, to pseudo-Biblical talk among the second group that captures Michael.  For those who've seen "Carry On: Up the Jungle" (1970), there are two scenes from PW satirized in that film.

 

The movie shows as much T and A as Hammer dared in the mid 60's.  It doesn't take a Freudian to figure out what these women are worshiping.

 

Don't expect a "good" movie.  On a "so bad it"s good" scale, 3.2/4.

 

Source--YouTube.  I'd clicked on links to the film before, to find it removed.  I was in time, for once.  If you want to see it, don't delay.

[LawrenceA]

Mmmmmm...Martine Beswick. [sigh]

 

 

 

[kingrat]

Carny was a good little film. I'll second cigarjoe's recommendation.

[cigarjoe]

Mmmmmm...Martine Beswick. [sigh]

 

She's great as Adelita in the film A Bullet for the General

[Sepiatone]

I was gonna chime in yesterday after seeing PAY OR DIE(1960) that morning.  But life interferred.

 

Being familiar with ERNEST BORGNINE only from McHALE'S NAVY, I didn't recognize him at first when I first saw this movie on TV when I was 15 (1966).

 

Seen it sparsely over the years since, I always enjoyed it's attention to period detail.  I didn't do any research on it, so I don't know the cinematographer, but a hearty "well done!" to him.  All in all, I think it's really not too bad of a film. 

 

I'm not Italian, but have had several Italian neighbors and friends over the years, and that the movie seems devoid of any Italian OR mobster caricatures is a plus.

 

 

Sepiatone

[TomJH]

"Prehistoric Women" (1967)--Starring Martine Beswick, Edina Ronay, and Michael Latimer.  Produced and directed by Michael Carreras.

 

Source--YouTube.  I'd clicked on links to the film before, to find it removed.  I was in time, for once.  If you want to see it, don't delay.

 

In any You Tube searches for this film you will encounter countless prints of another PREHISTORIC WOMEN from 1950, starring Laurette Luez. I've yet to see a print of this film that is even slightly sub par in quality. They are all dark and soft focus.

 

 

That's Luez, third from the left. Anyone recognize the second cave girl from the left? She had supporting roles in a couple of Billy Wilder's most famous comedies, one of them a role of significance.

 

I'll give you a clue: "BEANSTALK!!!"

 

[film lover 293]

TomJH--Joan Shawlee??

 

She was Sweet Sue in "Some Like It Hot" (1959).

[TomJH]

TomJH--Joan Shawlee??

 

She was Sweet Sue in "Some Like It Hot" (1959).

 

Bingo! Give that man a free train berth ride to be shared with Jack Lemmon in drag!

 

Okay, okay, make it Marilyn Monroe or Laurette Luez (take your pick).

 

Speaking of which, those two ladies had been friends in Monroe's pre stardom years. Here they are, with Waldo Lydecker playing sugar daddy.

 

[ChristineHoard]

Love the Clifton Webb pix.

[EricJ]

Love the Clifton Webb pix.

 

Y'know, they're right:  With that bowtie, Webb really WAS the inspiration for Mr. Peabody.  

Always thought they were kidding.

[hamradio]

The month of Halloween and TCM had to show a stupid short about golf.

[cigarjoe]

Shock Corridor (1963) Nutter Noir

 

 

Sam Fuller's shot in 10 days in studio Neo Neo Noir.

 

Fuller (Pickup on South Street (1953), House of Bamboo (1955), The Crimson Kimono (1959), Underworld U.S.A. (1961), The Naked Kiss (1964)) also wrote the script back in the forties under the title Straitjacket for Fritz Lang. But Lang wanted to cast Joan Bennett in the lead. Cinematography was by Stanley Cortez (The Underworld Story (1950), The Night of the Hunter (1955), The Magnificent Ambersons (1942), The Three Faces of Eve (1957), Vice Raid (1959), and uncredited for Chinatown (1974)). Additional color footage sequences by Sam Fuller from The House Of Bamboo and the unfinished film Tigrero,  the Music was by Paul Dunlap.

 

Shock Corridor is good in some sequences with some powerful acting but in others not so much and not because of anything controllable, it was a victim of the restraints of the times. 7/10 

 

Review with more screencaps here: http://noirsville.blogspot.com/2017/10/shock-corridor-1963-nutter-noir.html

[Sepiatone]

Y'know, they're right:  With that bowtie, Webb really WAS the inspiration for Mr. Peabody.  

Always thought they were kidding.

 

There's nothing really, in any biograpy info on TED KEY( creator of Mr. Peabody) that claims Webb as the inspiration for the "wayback" inventor.

 

But, it works for me. 

 

 

Sepiatone

[hamradio]

"The Phantom Carriage" (1921) again.

 

 

He-e-e-re's Johnny!

 

[EricJ]

There's nothing really, in any biograpy info on TED KEY( creator of Mr. Peabody) that claims Webb as the inspiration for the "wayback" inventor.

 

But, it works for me. 

 

Jay Ward, and later Total TV (of Underdog and Tennessee Tuxedo) were all about patterning characters after favorite old movie stars.

You can't watch Akim Tamiroff in a Preston Sturges comedy without seeing Boris Badenov, and after finding out that Underdog's enemy Simon Bar-sinister is "really" Lionel Barrymore, you can't not see that either.  

[NickAndNora34]

No Reservations (2007): starring Catherine Zeta-Jones, Aaron Eckhart, Abigail Breslin, and Patricia Clarkson. Cute little dramatic romantic comedy. 

 

Source: Netflix