I Just Watched...

[LawrenceA]

Annie Oakley (1935) - Entertaining western biopic from RKO and director George Stevens. Barbara Stanwyck stars as Annie, a master sharpshooter who gets recruited to join Buffalo Bill's Wild West show. She has a rivalry with fellow sharpshooter Toby Walker (Preston Foster) that turns to romance, while she's also wooed by talent scout Jeff (Melvyn Douglas). Also featuring Moroni Olsen as Buffalo Bill, Chief Thunderbird as Sitting Bull, Pert Kelton, Andy Clyde, Dick Elliott, Margaret Armstrong, Iron Eyes Cody, and Willie Best.

This is pure Hollywood hokum, but it's well done, and the leads are all admirable. The issue of a woman proving herself in a man's world is still timely, while the depiction of Buffalo Bill's show and the backstage personalities is fun. The movie even touches of western mythologizing via the character of Ned Buntline, whose cheap novels made many western figures larger than life.   (7/10)

Source: TCM.

[EricJ]

2 hours ago, Bethluvsfilms said:

I watched Johnny Dangerously, a 1984 comedy set in the 1930's and it's a spoof of the old gangster films of the 30's and 40's with Michael Keaton in the title role as a man who starts up a life of crime at an early age because of his mom's ailing health.

I really REALLY wanted to like this movie (especially since I like Michael Keaton in almost everything he's done) and Amy Heckerling (the movie's director) has admitted she was a fan of the classic tough guy movies (especially the ones with James Cagney in it)....but this movie is simply IMO NOT funny in any shape or form.

Every time I heard discussions of "Why are there no women directors in Hollywood?", for years, I would throw "Amy Heckerling" back in their face.  

I hadn't seen Dangerously, Clueless hadn't opened yet, and I'm too sober to have ever seen Fast Times at Ridgemont High; that opinion was 100% formed on having sat through Heckerling's ANTI-funny lack of any and all remote instinct of basic comic timing in "National Lampoon's European Vacation".

(In Dangerously's case, "Anti-funny" is when you take an actual clever script by Blazing Saddles' Norman Steinberg, and a funny hipster performance by Keaton in his comedy days before he turned creepy, and proceed to willfully destroy anything witty or clever about it with a big giant sledgehammer, and by repeating or explaining the jokes as many times as possible.)

Although Joe Piscopo's brief movie and early-80's SNL career would be another example of "Anti-funny" in action.

[darkblue]

49 minutes ago, EricJ said:

I'm too sober to have ever seen Fast Times at Ridgemont High

Too bad. That's one of her best.

[speedracer5]

2 minutes ago, darkblue said:

Too bad. That's one of her best.

I love "Fast times at Ridgemont High."  Spicoli and Mr. Hand make that film. And man once Stacey loses her virginity, she really gets around in this movie. What ever happened to Damone? He isn't seen again after this movie. 

I also love Heckerling's "Clueless."

[darkblue]

41 minutes ago, speedracer5 said:

What ever happened to Damone? He isn't seen again after this movie. 

I have to admit, I would have thought his good work in Fast Times would have paid off for him in movies. Recently, I was watching the 1980 Jodie Foster movie 'Foxes' and there he was.

But, since Fast Times he has been very busy as an actor - acting in television a lot.

I guess he has one of those faces not quite meant for stardom, but definitely recognizable nonetheless.

[LawrenceA]

Break of Hearts (1935) - Corny romantic melodrama from RKO and director Philip Moeller. Charles Boyer is Franz Roberti, a world famous orchestra conductor and notorious playboy. One day while visiting old colleague Professor Thalma (Jean Hersholt), Franz meets the professor's neighbor, young aspiring composer Constance (Katharine Hepburn). Constance is immediately smitten with the dashing and worldly Franz, while the older conductor falls for her as well. Their romance is doomed to heartache though, as Franz's libertine ways resume. Also featuring John Beal, Sam Hardy, Inez Courtney, Helene Millard, Susan Fleming, Jean Howard, Torben Meyer, Jason Robards Sr., and Ferdinand Gottschalk.

This follows the same formula as A Star is Born to a certain extent, although Constance isn't so much a star as a sad-eyed bore. Hepburn is utterly wasted in a role that ill suits her, and she and Boyer have next to no chemistry. The classical music milieu isn't utilized well, either, and the many pieces from noted composers didn't make an impression. I've seen worse movies by far, but not many with these stars.   (5/10)

Source: TCM.

[MCannady1]

On 12/17/2017 at 11:59 AM, LawrenceA said:

Treasure Island (1934) - Pirate adventure tale for the whole family, based on Robert Louis Stevenson's book, from MGM and director Victor Fleming. Jackie Cooper stars as Jim Hawkins, a boy working in his mother's seaside inn. One night a crusty old sea dog named Billy Bones (Lionel Barrymore) arrives with a large chest which he zealously guards. When circumstances lead to it being opened, a treasure map is inside, which inspires Squire Trelawney (Nigel Bruce) to sponsor a sea voyage to look for the hidden booty. Jim goes along for the journey, and befriends a one-legged sea veteran named Long John Silver (Wallace Beery) who may turn out to be more than just a ship's cook. Also featuring Lewis Stone, Otto Kruger, Douglass Dumbrille, "Chic" Sale, William V. Mong, Charles McNaughton, Edmund Breese, Dorothy Peterson, Cora Sue Collins, and Bruce Bennett.

I read Stevenson's book as a kid, but I never watched any of the many film adaptations until fairly recently, when I watched the 1990 TV movie version starring a young Christian Bale as Jim and Charlton Heston as Long John Silver. This MGM version manages to do more in less time, and I liked Beery in the Silver role much more than Heston. Cooper, on the other hand, gives an awful "movie-kid" performance that pulled me out of the story with almost every line he uttered. I tend to be overly harsh on kids in movies (I'm not a fan), so letting that slide, this is an enjoyable adventure tale with excellent costumes and settings. This was a big hit, and helped spur a boom in nautical films and other period adventure movies, such as the following year's Captain Blood and Mutiny on the Bounty.   (7/10)

Source: YouTube.

I like this version best too.  The acting is very good.  It is wonderful seeing Wallace Beery in his role and the others are absorbing as well.  Child star Jackie Cooper seems appealing in his role.

[speedracer5]

2 hours ago, darkblue said:

I have to admit, I would have thought his good work in Fast Times would have paid off for him in movies. Recently, I was watching the 1980 Jodie Foster movie 'Foxes' and there he was.

But, since Fast Times he has been very busy as an actor - acting in television a lot.

I guess he has one of those faces not quite meant for stardom, but definitely recognizable nonetheless.

I just googled Robert Romanus, today he's unrecognizable (at least he was in the picture Google selected for him).  He's 61 now.  Poor Judge Reinhold, underneath Romanus' picture are some of the other 'Fast Times' cast members.  Everyone else has some sort of professional headshot or at least a screenshot of them from some film.  Not Judge Reinhold.  His picture is a mugshot. 

I see that one of Romanus' credits is Natalie's boyfriend Snake in The Facts of Life.  It's coming back to me now, I do remember him on The Facts of Life.  He's the boyfriend that Natalie loses her virginity to. 

One of his latest credits was in a 2014 episode of Cougar Town.  That was an awful show.

Apparently Romanus also owned an espresso shop in Hollywood, but it has since closed.

I've always wanted to see Foxes.  I'll have to see if I can find a copy at the library or hope that TCM airs it in the near future.  I saw Little Darlings a couple years ago.  It wasn't nearly as scandalous as I had hoped.  I'd read about how controversial it was and when I saw it, I found it to be pretty tame. 

[LawrenceA]

Burden of Life (1935) - Japanese domestic comedy-drama from Shochiku and director Heinosuke Gosho. Aging parents worry over the financial burden of marrying off their daughters, as well as the problem having a very young son so late in life. When the father and son can't get along, it leads to upheaval. Featuring Tatsuo Saito, Mitsuko Yoshikawa, Masao Hayama, Yoshiko Tsubouchi, Kinuyo Tanaka, Kenji Oyama, and Choko Iida.

This very minor effort was at least in sound, a rarity for Japanese films of the time. The material is a bit too mundane to hold much interest, though, even if the performances are good, especially from the father.  (6/10)

Source: FilmStruck.

[LawrenceA]

The Beguiled (2017) - Stylish if lethargic remake of the 1971 film, from Universal/Focus Features and writer-producer-director Sofia Coppola. In Civil War Virginia, wounded Union soldier McBurney (Colin Farrell) seeks shelter in the plantation house of Miss Martha (Nicole Kidman) who runs a school for young women. The war has reduced the student body to a handful of young girls and teenagers, and only one remaining teacher, Edwina (Kirsten Dunst). Vowing to nurse the injured man back to health before turning him in to the Confederate authorities, Miss Martha and the other girls all become enamored of the handsome soldier, with dire consequences. Also featuring Elle Fanning, Oona Laurence, Angourie Rice, Addison Riecke, Emma Howard, and Wayne Pere.

Coppola seems to be striving for a Barry Lyndon-esque natural light look, with no artificial lighting used at all, resulting in lots of gloomy and shadows during the evening scenes. The sound design also goes for an antiquated natural quiet, with the sounds of crickets and wind moving through the trees dominating, adding to a sleepy, dreamy atmosphere. The performers are all fine, and I even though Farrell fit the manipulative soldier role better than Clint Eastwood did in the previous film. The three central women characters are noticeably different, though, and I felt they were each less compelling than those in the earlier movie (Kidman = Geraldine Page, Dunst = Elizabeth Hartman, and Fanning = Jo Ann Harris). This isn't a terrible film, but there's not a lot to recommend going out of your way for it, either, although I wouldn't be surprised if the film's cinematography and sound were mentioned at the Oscars.   (6/10)

Source: Universal Blu-Ray.

[Swithin]

I just watched The Meyerowitz Stories (2017). Some amusing and moving bits, but I didn't really enjoy it that much.  Best line (spoken by Dustin Hoffman): "Every time I turn on TCM, it’s Meet Me in St. Louis."

 

[JamesJazGuitar]

24 minutes ago, Swithin said:

I just watched The Meyerowitz Stories (2017). Some amusing and moving bits, but I didn't really enjoy it that much.  Best line (spoken by Dustin Hoffman): "Every time I turn on TCM, it’s Meet Me in St. Louis."

 

 

That Hoffman line is all the more funny because someone posted this week that TCM isn't showing Meet Me in St. Louis enough! 

 

[Swithin]

1 hour ago, jamesjazzguitar said:

That Hoffman line is all the more funny because someone posted this week that TCM isn't showing Meet Me in St. Louis enough! 

 

Earlier in The Meyerowitz Stories, Hoffman is shown watching TCM. The film seems to be The Awful Truth.

[MCannady1]

4 hours ago, Swithin said:

Earlier in The Meyerowitz Stories, Hoffman is shown watching TCM. The film seems to be The Awful Truth.

I like that too.  I think it is The Awful Truth played so adeptly by Cary Grant and Irene Dunne.  Love their repartee and the clever ending.

[LawrenceA]

The Call of the Wild (1935) - Loose adaptation of Jack London's adventure novel, from 20th Century and director William Wellman. Clark Gable stars as Jack Thornton who, along with pal Shorty (Jack Oakie), heads out into the frigid Yukon wilderness during the Alaskan gold rush. After buying a temperamental sled dog named Buck, they run into prospector's wife Claire (Loretta Young). Her husband has disappeared and is believed dead, so she joins up with Jack and Shorty in the search for treasure. Also featuring Reginald Owen, Frank Conroy, Katherine DeMille, Sidney Toler, James Burke, Charles Stevens, and Herman Bing.

The leads are good, but it's a bit awkward watching it with knowledge of the behind-the-scenes turmoil, which included a supposed rape and a definite child born to Young. Owen makes for a very despicable villain.   (7/10)

Source: FXM (Fox Movie Channel).

[TomJH]

38 minutes ago, LawrenceA said:

The Call of the Wild (1935)

I've always like this film.

Despite the behind the scenes activities with his leading lady, Gable's greatest screen rapport is with the st. bernard playing Buck, and the highlight of the film, for me, at least, is the big sled pull race between the dogs, with Buck ultimately triumphant.

But for the action to look convincing the sled Buck pulled really was weighed down to make it appear the saint bernard was in a struggle to pull it which, indeed, he was. The problem, though, is that they couldn't get the dog interested in performing the task.

Up until then Gable and the dog had gotten along very well are the set, were, in fact, buddies. So it really was Gable at the finish line urging Buck to pull the sled, in combination with (not shown by the camera, of course) a female st. bernard in heat. So when you watch that scene today and you see Buck's struggle with the sled the dog had just one thing in mind and it wasn't the winning of the race.

However when they finished filming the scene the b i t c h in heat was taken away, much to Buck's steamed up disappointment, and thereafter the dog's attitude towards Gable noticeably cooled. Their buddy days were over. I suspect Gable felt a bit guilty for having been in on the dirty trick that fooled the dog. It's ironic, too, of course, considering Gable's own off set activity during the production with Loretta Young.

[LawrenceA]

Captured in Chinatown (1935) - Dumb Poverty Row mystery from Consolidated Pictures and director Elmer Clifton. The Lings and the Wongs are rival factions in Chinatown, and now they're at war, with the body count rising. The daughter (Bo Ling) of the Ling leader and the son (James B. Leong) of the Wong leader fall in love, Romeo & Juliet style, but their forbidden romance is further complicated when sleazy crook Zamboni (Paul Ellis) takes the opportunity to try and steal a valuable necklace. Out to thwart him are reporters Bob Martin (Charles Delaney) and Ann Parker (Marion Shilling), and the real hero, Tarzan the Police Dog. Also featuring Philo McCullough, Robert Walker, Bobby Nelson, John Elliott, Paul Fong, and Richard Loo.

This was the third and final Tarzan the Police Dog adventure put out by Consolidated to try and cash in on the popularity of the Rin Tin Tin movies. The German Shepherd pulls off blankets, sets the coffee on to boil, knocks people down stairs, and barks, but even he looks like he'd rather be elsewhere. The cast is unmemorable and are only barely adequate as actors.   (3/10)

Source: YouTube.

[TomJH]

1 hour ago, LawrenceA said:

Captured in Chinatown (1935)  The German Shepherd pulls off blankets, sets the coffee on to boil, knocks people down stairs, and barks, but even he looks like he'd rather be elsewhere.

 

Just so long as they didn't tease him with a b i t c h in heat.

[spence]

On ‎12‎/‎19‎/‎2017 at 7:09 PM, LawrenceA said:

The Beguiled (2017) - Stylish if lethargic remake of the 1971 film, from Universal/Focus Features and writer-producer-director Sofia Coppola. In Civil War Virginia, wounded Union soldier McBurney (Colin Farrell) seeks shelter in the plantation house of Miss Martha (Nicole Kidman) who runs a school for young women. The war has reduced the student body to a handful of young girls and teenagers, and only one remaining teacher, Edwina (Kirsten Dunst). Vowing to nurse the injured man back to health before turning him in to the Confederate authorities, Miss Martha and the other girls all become enamored of the handsome soldier, with dire consequences. Also featuring Elle Fanning, Oona Laurence, Angourie Rice, Addison Riecke, Emma Howard, and Wayne Pere.

Coppola seems to be striving for a Barry Lyndon-esque natural light look, with no artificial lighting used at all, resulting in lots of gloomy and shadows during the evening scenes. The sound design also goes for an antiquated natural quiet, with the sounds of crickets and wind moving through the trees dominating, adding to a sleepy, dreamy atmosphere. The performers are all fine, and I even though Farrell fit the manipulative soldier role better than Clint Eastwood did in the previous film. The three central women characters are noticeably different, though, and I felt they were each less compelling than those in the earlier movie (Kidman = Geraldine Page, Dunst = Elizabeth Hartman, and Fanning = Jo Ann Harris). This isn't a terrible film, but there's not a lot to recommend going out of your way for it, either, although I wouldn't be surprised if the film's cinematography and sound were mentioned at the Oscars.   (6/10)

Source: Universal Blu-Ray.

Was hoping to go to it but it barely got a wide release

May still snag a couple technical nods & maybe it's script

[NickAndNora34]

SCARLET STREET (1945)

Edward G. Robinson, Joan Bennett, Dan Duryea, and Margaret Lindsay. 

I was thoroughly impressed by this film. It was quite thrilling to see Robinson in a role other than the gangster. Robinson was a working-man with a shrewish wife, who ended up falling for a girl with a beautiful face and ugly morals (Joan Bennett). Is it wrong that I absolutely loved Joan in this? She was very good, in my opinion. This is the first of her films that I've seen; I've seen about 2 of her sister's (Constance Bennett) movies, though. Joan's oily, no good boyfriend, (Dan Duryea) is short on cash, and convinces her to cajole Robinson into giving her money. Ultimately, certain persons get their comeuppance (I don't necessarily condone the events that unravel at the end, but let's just say they had it comin'). 

I also really liked Margaret Lindsay. I have seen her in "A Tragedy at Midnight" (1942) when TCM showed it in the past; I really wish she had become more popular than she had, because she certainly had talent. 

[spence]

19 minutes ago, NickAndNora34 said:

SCARLET STREET (1945)

Edward G. Robinson, Joan Bennett, Dan Duryea, and Margaret Lindsay. 

I was thoroughly impressed by this film. It was quite thrilling to see Robinson in a role other than the gangster. Robinson was a working-man with a shrewish wife, who ended up falling for a girl with a beautiful face and ugly morals (Joan Bennett). Is it wrong that I absolutely loved Joan in this? She was very good, in my opinion. This is the first of her films that I've seen; I've seen about 2 of her sister's (Constance Bennett) movies, though. Joan's oily, no good boyfriend, (Dan Duryea) is short on cash, and convinces her to cajole Robinson into giving her money. Ultimately, certain persons get their comeuppance (I don't necessarily condone the events that unravel at the end, but let's just say they had it comin'). 

I also really liked Margaret Lindsay. I have seen her in "A Tragedy at Midnight" (1942) when TCM showed it in the past; I really wish she had become more popular than she had, because she certainly had talent. 

"The Woman in the Window' is better though

[Bethluvsfilms]

18 minutes ago, spence said:

"The Woman in the Window' is better though

We'll have to agree to disagree...Woman in the Window is good, but I like Scarlet Street much, much better.

[LawrenceA]

11 minutes ago, Bethluvsfilms said:

We'll have to agree to disagree...Woman in the Window is good, but I like Scarlet Street much, much better.

I like them about the same, which is a lot, but I put Woman in the Window a tiny bit higher in my estimation because it was original whereas Scarlet Street was a remake (of the very good French film La Chienne).

[LawrenceA]

Leatherface (2017) - Yet another prequel to the 40+ year old horror franchise, from Lionsgate/Millennium Films and directors Alexandre Bustillo & Julien Maury. Starting out in 1954, the story follows the Sawyer family, a rural Texas band of miscreants and murderers. When a cop's daughter is killed by one of the family, the child culprit is taken away and put into a home for disturbed youth. Cut to ten years later, and new nurse Lizzy (Vanessa Grasse) is assigned to the disturbed teens ward. When the Sawyer family matriarch Verna (Lili Taylor) causes a riot during a visit, several of the inmates escape, taking Lizzy with them as a hostage. One of the escaped mental patients will grow up to become Leatherface, the mask-wearing, chainsaw-wielding terror of the earlier films, but which one will it be: volatile Ike (James Bloor), hulking idiot Bud (Sam Coleman), or troubled nice guy Jackson (Sam Strike)? Also starring Stephen Dorff as a violent cop, Jessica Marsden as another homicidal escaped inmate, Finn Jones, Christopher Adamson, Dimo Alexiev, Nathan Cooper, and Dejan Angelov.

There's a lot wrong here, from the easy-to-guess "mystery" of who will become Leatherface (a transformation that doesn't take place until the movie's final 10 minutes, so be forewarned), to the many anachronisms for a story supposedly taking place in 1964. The production values are low, and you don't have to look at the minor cast credits or crew listings to guess that this was made on the cheap in Eastern Europe (Bulgaria, to be specific). There's some bloody gore, but not presented in any original or at least humorous way. The acting is all barely serviceable, with Dorff turning in another loathsome jerk role, and Taylor seriously slumming as the killer family boss. To date, this is the eighth movie in the series, although most of them are unrelated, with perpetual reboots, prequels or just dismissal of previous films the norm.   (4/10)

Source: Lionsgate Blu-Ray.

[laffite]

1 hour ago, NickAndNora34 said:

SCARLET STREET (1945)

Edward G. Robinson, Joan Bennett, Dan Duryea, and Margaret Lindsay. 

I was thoroughly impressed by this film. It was quite thrilling to see Robinson in a role other than the gangster. Robinson was a working-man with a shrewish wife, who ended up falling for a girl with a beautiful face and ugly morals (Joan Bennett). Is it wrong that I absolutely loved Joan in this? She was very good, in my opinion. This is the first of her films that I've seen; I've seen about 2 of her sister's (Constance Bennett) movies, though. Joan's oily, no good boyfriend, (Dan Duryea) is short on cash, and convinces her to cajole Robinson into giving her money. Ultimately, certain persons get their comeuppance (I don't necessarily condone the events that unravel at the end, but let's just say they had it comin'). 

I also really liked Margaret Lindsay. I have seen her in "A Tragedy at Midnight" (1942) when TCM showed it in the past; I really wish she had become more popular than she had, because she certainly had talent. 

I'm assuming you feel that "the girl with a beautiful face and ugly morals" and the "no good boyfriend" deserved their comeuppance, but what about Robinson's character? I'm not badgering you, nor is it a trick question ; the answer might vary from viewer to viewer, after all, despite the heavy deed, he was a sympathetic character. This question gets tied up on what the Hays Code thought as well, which is a controversial issue with this film.

Thanks.