I Just Watched...

[NickAndNora34]

12 minutes ago, laffite said:

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.

Although Robinson did what he did, I agree that he still remains a character I can sympathize with. I sympathize with the fact that I understand why he did what he did; his motives and such. 

[Bethluvsfilms]

1 hour ago, laffite said:

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?

While his actions were wrong, he wasn't an all out heel the way the other two were. I think one can certainly still feel empathy for his character without condoning his actions.

Again (SPOILERS)....Robinson's life is pretty much ruined anyway at the end of the film, even without going to the chair or rotting in prison for life. He's homeless and without a job. Guess the filmmakers felt that was penalty enough for what he did.

[laffite]

3 hours ago, Bethluvsfilms said:

While his actions were wrong, he wasn't an all out heel the way the other two were. I think one can certainly still feel empathy for his character without condoning his actions.

Again (SPOILERS)....Robinson's life is pretty much ruined anyway at the end of the film, even without going to the chair or rotting in prison for life. He's homeless and without a job. Guess the filmmakers felt that was penalty enough for what he did.

...and fortunately for the filmakers, so did the censors.

[Tikisoo]

The Call of the Wild (1935)
TomJH-where'd you hear about the story of getting the St Bernard to pull the weight?

We just screened this last month and as ticket seller, I asked "Have you seen this movie before?" Not one person (except for staff) had. The room was completely engaged in this movie and 90% of laughs, groans & "awws" were concerning the dog! I liked it much better on this second view-there were a few really nice authentic location shots. While many people dis Gable, I thoroughly enjoyed him in this movie.

I WATCHED two related movies this week: WHEN COMEDY WENT TO SCHOOL (2013) and WELCOME TO KUTSHERS (2015)
Very interesting comparing these two documentaries concerning the "Borscht Belt" Catskill Mountain Resorts. The "COMEDY" one did not follow any sort of timeline or even outline. It was mostly interviews with comedians, their impressions and observations about performing in the Catskill Resorts.
There was a little insight as to why/how these resorts were so important for Jewish comedians to learn their craft. How quickly I had forgotten that Jews were segregated from "mainstream" entertainment....but this documentary spends too much time on famous talking heads and too little time on fleshing out a coherent story. A highlight was seeing a very early photo of Stiller & Meara, presumably newlyweds.

KUTSHER'S was everything the other doc wasn't: a coherent story broken up in chapters that focused on different aspects of this Catskill resort. Everything was covered, including insight as to what originally made the area such a resort "hot spot". Although the largest resort compound, you knew other resorts of the area offered similar features-like 3 Kosher meals a day, entertainment, pool, golf course all included in the hotel price. Kutsher's stood out because it was so large and operated by generations of Kutshers. Several family members were interviewed, as were many guests & veteran employees. The entire story (including it's demise) played out like our lives have-this era of family run, personal attention, unique businesses that were common have been pushed by the wayside for the big homogenized business cash grab.
(BTW, if you too lament the loss of these owner operated resorts, they still can be found in the Lake George/Bolton Landing NY area)
Obviously I really enjoyed WELCOME TO KUTSHER'S, a very well done documentary, although it was rather sad knowing it's gone now. WHEN COMEDY WENT TO SCHOOL was a poorly put together show, not really a documentary, but lighthearted.

[TomJH]

2 hours ago, TikiSoo said:

The Call of the Wild (1935)
TomJH-where'd you hear about the story of getting the St Bernard to pull the weight?

 

That's a legitimate question, Tiki, and I'm sorry that I can't answer it. I heard or read the story years ago but darned if I can recall the source. Truth is, I think there may have been more than one source for it, too, all the more reason for my frustration in not being able to recall where they were.

But the anecdote made a big impression upon me. It's one of my favourite behind the scenes stories in the making of a film. Poor Buck.

By the way, if anyone else can find a source for the sled pull tale it would be appreciated if you could cite the source here. It's a great story, in my opinion, but it's always good to be able to cite backup for accuracy, as well. I'm sorry that I can't do that in this case.

It strikes me, though, that I saw an interview with Wild Bill Wellman years ago. I distinctly recall his having an anecdote about threatening Gable with a fist fight if he didn't shape up on the set. Whether he had the Buck tale, as well, I'm not certain.

If I had to make a guess the Wellman interview I saw came from The Men Who Made The Movies series by Richard Schickel. If I could find that documentary again, that may be the source of the Buck story. Again, though, just a guess.

[Swithin]

On December 17, 2017 at 2:59 PM, LawrenceA said:

Treasure Island (1934) -

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.

I prefer the early film versions of Stevenson's novels to the later, slicker versions. The 1931 Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is much better, I think, than the 1941 (and later) versions; and I certainly prefer the 1938 Kidnapped to later versions, even though Warner Baxter is a bit miscast. Freddy Bartholomew, C. Aubrey Smith and the others more than make up for that, and the feel of the film is just right. I read the novel as a kid and loved it.

I do have one favorite among the later adaptations:

[JamesJazGuitar]

16 hours ago, NickAndNora34 said:

SCARLET STREET (1945)

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. 

Margaret Lindsay was in a lot of films, but typically was a secondary female lead.  She got her start in the early 30s, and was in 4 films in 32,  11 in 33 (yea eleven!)  4 in 34,  8 in 35,   4 in 36, 4 in 37,  5 in 38, 5 in 39, 6 in 1940, 4 in 41, 5 in 42, 3 in 43, 1 in 44,  and 3 in 1945 the year of Scarlet Street,   1 in 46 and 4 in 47.   After that she made only a handful of films.   

I have always been a fan of hers with my favorite films of hers' (and the lead actress) being:

Baby Face (Stanwyck),   Lady Killer (Mae Clark),  Fog over Frisco, Bordertown,  Dangerous,  Jezebel,   (Davis),  G-Men (Dvorak),   Gold Is Where You Find It (DeHavilland),  There's That Women Again (Bruce),  and of course Scarlet Street.

She had a leading role in the Vincent Price \ George Sanders gothic film House of Seven Gables - 1940. 

         

[scsu1975]

1 hour ago, jamesjazzguitar said:

Margaret Lindsay was in a lot of films ...

She had a leading role in the Vincent Price \ George Sanders gothic film House of Seven Gables - 1940. 

         

Her performance was the best part of that film. She more than held her own while two of my favorite hams, Price and Sanders, overacted.

[JamesJazGuitar]

36 minutes ago, scsu1975 said:

Her performance was the best part of that film. She more than held her own while two of my favorite hams, Price and Sanders, overacted.

I completely agree.   Great, grounded performance by Margaret Lindsey.   Wow,  if Agnes Moorehead was cast instead of Margaret,  it would have been a deli!  

[TomJH]

53 minutes ago, scsu1975 said:

Her performance was the best part of that film. She more than held her own while two of my favorite hams, Price and Sanders, overacted.

The truth is I'm not certain that Margaret Lindsay ever had a better role than in The House of the Seven Gables. Yet, just a few short years later, she would be getting small bit parts, such as in Scarlet Street (I have to struggle to remember her role in that film).

Add me to the list of those who like this largely forgotten actress who never made it as a major star.

[LawrenceA]

4 minutes ago, TomJH said:

The truth is, I'm not certain that Margaret Lindsay ever had a better role than in The House of the Seven Gables. Yet, just a few short years later, she would be getting small bit parts, such as in Scarlet Street.

Add me to the list of those who like this largely forgotten actress who never made it as a major star..

I like her as well, but her failure to reach a larger star status is partly to do with her barely-concealed sexuality. It was common knowledge among the Hollywood producers and studio heads that she was a lesbian, and she never really tried to hide it, openly living with her partner for decades. She was also said to be somewhat cold and aloof from most her co-stars, which didn't endear her much or garner her much support from them. This also resulted in the studios putting less time into making her a bigger name via the publicity machines. 

 

[TomJH]

1 minute ago, LawrenceA said:

I like her as well, but her failure to reach a larger star status is partly to do with her barely-concealed sexuality. It was common knowledge among the Hollywood producers and studio heads that she was a lesbian, and she never really tried to hide it, openly living with her partner for decades. She was also said to be somewhat cold and aloof from most her co-stars, which didn't endear her much or garner her much support from them. This also resulted in the studios putting less time into making her a bigger name via the publicity machines. 

 

I knew about her sexuality but hadn't heard that she was aloof from her co-stars. Since she often played somewhat chilly types I guess it was effective casting.

When I think back upon her Warners career she didn't have the best of roles (ie Green Light, Jezebel, G Men - pretty standard stuff), all in support of some of the studio's big guns. She appeared with Ralph Bellamy in the Ellery Queen Bs in the early 40s, but those films have a pretty negligible reputation.

[LawrenceA]

Just now, TomJH said:

I knew about her sexuality but hadn't heard that she was aloof from her co-stars. Since she often played somewhat chilly types I guess it was effective casting.

When I think back upon her Warners career she didn't have the best of roles (ie Green Light, Jezebel, G Men - pretty standard stuff), all in support of some of the studio's big guns. She appeared with Ralph Bellamy in the Ellery Queen Bs in the early 40s, but those films have a pretty negligible reputation.

I've read about her in a couple of biographies, the most recent being Cagney's. He wasn't too enamored of her, finding her a bit haughty and aloof. I know she pretended to be British to land her early role in Cavalcade, and it wasn't until later that the producers learned that she was from Iowa. Regardless of her off-screen personality, I always perk up when I see her name in the credits.

[LawrenceA]

Carnival in Flanders (1935) aka La Kermesse Heroique. French period-piece comedy from director Jacques Feyder. In early-17th century Flanders, at the town of Boom, a Spanish duke (Jean Murat) and his retinue are due to stop over for the night. The townsfolk panic, as they believe the "savage Spaniards" will rape and pillage their small village. So the burgomaster (Andre Alerme) and his sharp-witted wife (Francoise Rosay) devise a plan wherein many of the menfolk will pretend to be dead and the "widows" will be accommodating to the visitors. The plan works, only too well, as the women find the Spanish visitors virile and attractive in comparison to their fat and lazy husbands. Also featuring Louis Jouvet, Lyne Clevers, Micheline Cheirel, Maryse Wendling, Ginette Gaubert, and Alexander D'Arcy.

This is a fun, bawdy, lighthearted historical fiction that doesn't skimp on period detail. The costumes are elaborate and fascinating, from the corsets to the giant frilled collars to the over-sized pants. The performers are entertaining, especially the ladies, playing a range of flustered flirtation and nervous excitement. There are sly comments about the church of the time, and the hedonistic impulses of even the most chaste. Marcel Carne was one of the assistant director. Recommended.   (8/10)

Source: FilmStruck.

[Bethluvsfilms]

1 hour ago, TomJH said:

 

When I think back upon her Warners career she didn't have the best of roles (ie Green Light, Jezebel, G Men - pretty standard stuff),

I thought she did pretty well in Jezebel. Her character Amy, was a very polite and polished young woman, in sharp contrast to Bette Davis' manipulative, self-centered Julie (and I am sure Henry Fonda's Pres appreciated the difference).

G-Men I kind of agree with, she was reduced to playing the helpless victim in the film's last act which I think was beneath her talent.

Never saw Green Light.

 

[TomJH]

9 minutes ago, Bethluvsfilms said:

I thought she did pretty well in Jezebel. Her character Amy, was a very polite and polished young woman, in sharp contrast to Bette Davis' manipulative, self-centered Julie (and I am sure Henry Fonda's Pres appreciated the difference).

 

I agree that Lindsay is not bad in Jezebel. But the film is still a Bette Davis showcase, and even though Lindsay got a lot of work with Warners there are few, if any, memorable roles for her there. She had to travel over to Universal in 1940 for a good part in House of the Seven Gables, and, even then, it was only one good role (though it did show her off very well, indeed).

"I tell you, George, I've got the biggest scenes in this film and I'll make the most of them!"

"Hardly, old boy, wait till you see my scenes at the end."

"Forget it, boys. This is the first good role I've had in years and neither of you hams are taking this film away from me."

 

 

[Bethluvsfilms]

Never saw House of the Seven Gables, but I do enjoy Vincent Price and George Sanders in other films very much.

I'll have to watch this one someday.

 

[Fedya]

13 hours ago, TikiSoo said:

The entire story (including it's demise) played out like our lives have-this era of family run, personal attention, unique businesses that were common have been pushed by the wayside for the big homogenized business cash grab.

To be fair, Jews' becoming able to partake in mainstream entertainment/vacationing had a lot to do with.  That, and the coming of cheap air travel; that I think also has a lot to do with why Atlantic City started going by the wayside.

I live on the northern side of the Catskills, so probably a good hour from the old Borscht Belt places.  But there's a summer camp here that used to be a Girl Scouts day camp, then got bought by the Boys' and Girls' Clubs of NYC as a place to send poor city kids to get some fresh air for a couple of weeks in the summer.  Now it's a summer camp yeshiva for the ultra-orthodox Jews of Crown Heights, who have rather more niche tastes than the sort of Jews who would have gone to the Borscht Belt.

[ChristineHoard]

2 hours ago, Bethluvsfilms said:

Never saw House of the Seven Gables, but I do enjoy Vincent Price and George Sanders in other films very much.

I'll have to watch this one someday.

 

Me, too.  I've never seen it but I want to.  Price and Sanders may be somewhat "hammy" at times but they're so much fun to watch I don't mind.

[TomJH]

3 hours ago, Bethluvsfilms said:

Never saw House of the Seven Gables, but I do enjoy Vincent Price and George Sanders in other films very much.

I'll have to watch this one someday.

 

There's currently a good looking copy of House of the Seven Gables on You Tube.

[LawrenceA]

The Case of the Curious Bride (1935) - Second in the Perry Mason series of films, from Warner Brothers/First National and director Michael Curtiz. Warren William stars as the title lawyer, a well-known San Francisco celebrity with a reputation as a chef that's as respected as that of his legal prowess. When an old friend (Margaret Lindsay) gets accused of murder, Perry is on the case, acting as much as a detective as an attorney, with help from his wisecracking sidekick "Spudsy" Drake (Allen Jenkins) and loyal secretary Della Street (Claire Todd). Also featuring Donald Woods, Barton MacLane, Mayo Methot, Warren Hymer, Phillip Reed, Wini Shaw, Olin Howland, and Errol Flynn.

While the characters bear little resemblance to their well-known TV counterparts, they're entertaining in their own way. William's Mason is more energetic and quick with a sharp rejoinder, while Jenkins's goofball Drake is able comic relief. Most of the supporting cast just has to look apprehensive, but Methot and Hymer both have fun bit roles as a con artist and a thug, respectively. Flynn's role is of the blink-and-you-miss-it variety. Director Curtiz keeps things moving quickly, at times almost madcap, and there's a San Francisco car chase 30 years before Bullitt.  (7/10)

Source: TCM.

[cigarjoe]

Blade Runner: The Directors Cut (1982) Sci Fi Noir Masterpiece

 
The Noir City Of Angels, less than a year from now.

So begins Blade Runner, though now, and at the pace we are going, the producers would have been safer to call it 3019. We don't have deep space off world colonies quite yet, warp speed or wormholes to bridge the 817 light years to Orion, nor anywhere near the robotics/biogenetics technology depicted, or some of the other advances shown. Though, we do have phenomenally better TVs than shown in the film, along with computers and cellphones. But then, we've managed to screw things up in completely other ways.

Los Angeles, in the noir universe in this film, is a vast megalopolis, skyscraper sized refineries belching flames among megalithic buildings, all threaded by flying cars. The perpetual night sky is a drab, dirty, rusted brown. The future city has transformed into a weird paella of still extant vestiges of Tinsel Town, Chinatown, and Seattle. Long periods of rain with a heavy Asian fusion. We see crowded streets hovered over by advertising billboard blimps. The latest fad du jour are frivolous umbrella shafts that glow in the murky evening rush hour.

Directed brilliantly by Ridley Scott (Alien (1979), Gladiator (2000), Hannibal (2001), Black Hawk Down (2001)), who, except for Alien and  Gladiator has never, in my opinion, directed anything to match this total imagination immersional experience since. The beautiful cinematography was by Jordan Cronenweth (The Nickel Ride (1974)). The absolutely stunning, intricately detailed  Production Design was by Lawrence G. Paull and the Art Direction by David L. Snyder. Special effects are by Douglas Trumbull, Richard Yuricich, and David Dryer. The excellent soundtrack was by Vangelis.

The film stars Harrison Ford whose Neo Noir creds include (The Conversation (1974), also The Fugitive (1993)), he and the entire cast should have been in more, similar fare. I haven't seen Presumed Innocent (1990) which may be another Neo Noir. Ford is basically playing a retro, slightly disheveled, hard boiled detective. Rutger Hauer  (The Hitcher (1986), Sin City(2005)) as Roy Batty leader of the skinjobs is appropriately cold blooded.

Sean Young (Dune (1984), A Kiss Before Dying (1991)) plays Rachael. Rachael reminds me a bit of Joan Crawford with her extreme shoulder pads and hair in a 1940s styled pompadour with rolled bangs, there is also a hint of Victorian Gothic emphasized when she's out of the office wearing ridiculously large Edmund Gorey-ish overcoats with high collars.

Edward James Olmos is Gaff the weird and creepy cop flunky. M. Emmet Walsh (Midnight Cowboy (1969), Mikey and Nicky (1976), Blood Simple (1984), White Sands (1992)) is the good ol' boy L.A.P.D. Inspector.  Walsh is a good, memorable, character actor, he is another who, if we were still under the studio system and if they would have been cranking out Neo Noirs with the same dedication that they did for Classic Noirs, would absolutely have been a Neo Noir staple.

Daryl Hannah (Kill Bill: Vol. 1 and Kill Bill: Vol. 2 (2003)) as Pris, William Sanderson (Death Hunt (1981)) plays J. F. Sebastian, Sanderson would have been a natural for the parts that usually went to Elisha Cook Jr. during the Classic Film Noir Era.  Brion James (The Postman Always Rings Twice (1981), The Fifth Element (1997), Brown's Requiem (1998)) plays skinjob Leon Kowalski.

Joe Turkel is the only member of the cast who was a Classic Film Noir veteran appearing in (City Across the River (1949), Johnny Stool Pigeon (1949), Southside 1-1000 (1950), The Glass Wall (1953), The Human Jungle (1954), The Naked Street (1955), The Killing (1956), The Case Against Brooklyn (1958)) He plays the oily replicant tycoon Dr. Eldon Tyrell.

Joanna Cassidy as Zhora Salome, one of the sex worker replicants was in The Laughing Policeman (1973), and the very recent Neo Noir Too Late (2015)). Hy Pyke plays Taffey Lewis the Chinatown strip club owner, and James Hong (The Satan Bug (1965), Chinatown (1974), Big Trouble in Little China (1986), Black Widow (1987)), plays Hannibal Chew the replicant eye manufacturer. Bob Okasaki (House of Bamboo (1955), The Crimson Kimono (1959)), is noodle shop counterman.

A visually atmospheric masterpiece. 10/10 Full review in Film Noir/Gangster with more screencaps.

[LawrenceA]

Clive of India (1935) - Historical biopic from 20th Century and director Richard Boleslawski. Ronald Colman plays the title role, a somewhat self-destructive office clerk who impulsively joins the British army, travels to India, and engineers a spectacular military victory against an Indian uprising. That's just the start of his colorful career as a Defender of the Realm against a number of native rebels and tyrants. He also struggles to balance his time between his service and his wife (Loretta Young), who wishes that he would settle down. Also featuring Colin Clive, C. Aubrey Smith, Montagu Love, Leo G. Carroll, Francis Lister, Cesar Romero, Mischa Auer, Lumsden Hare, Ferdinand Munier, Gilbert Emery, Etienne Girardot, Robert Grieg, Ian Wolfe, John Carradine, Murdock MacQuarrie, and Ferdinand Gottschalk.

Here's another one that I wanted to like more than I did. Colman seems well cast as the seemingly impetuous Clive, who disregards the rules and societal proprieties in the service of his country and personal glory. But his part seems poorly written at times, more childish than daring, and his performance suffers for it. As does Young, who I normally like, especially in her 30's films, but who here seems phony and a bit overdone. Director Boleslawski seems to manage well with drawing room scenes of debate and heavy dialogue, but fails miserably at the war scenes, of which there are few, a glaring absence given the material. Oftentimes, instead of dramatizing plot developments in a compelling way, the filmmakers opted for written title cards explaining the outcomes of decisions, which inevitably leads to anti-climactic disappointment. Still, the production values are good, and there are some well-done scenes.  (6/10)

Source: TCM.

[JamesJazGuitar]

22 hours ago, TomJH said:

The truth is I'm not certain that Margaret Lindsay ever had a better role than in The House of the Seven Gables. Yet, just a few short years later, she would be getting small bit parts, such as in Scarlet Street (I have to struggle to remember her role in that film).

Add me to the list of those who like this largely forgotten actress who never made it as a major star.

Good to see there are other fans of Margaret Lindsay.   As we have discussed before part of the problem for any actress under contract with Warner Bros. during the 30s \ 40s was that the studio's films were very male forward, promoting the talents of Cagney, Flynn,  E.G. Robinson and Raft,  and of course later on Bogart.    The big exception being Bette Davis, and therefore Lindsay was second fiddle in many Davis films.     All actresses other than Davis felt that they were given mostly leftovers or just leading female roles in male dominated films (DeHavilland with Flynn and your gal Ann Sheridan in many films,  like Dodge City where she is mostly wasted).    With DeHavilland her best work was on loan out (GWTW, Hold Back the Dawn).   Ann was given some films where she was the lead with a secondary male star (e.g. Juke Girl),  but still her best films were one with those major male stars.

Once Ida Lupino was added to the roster that left only the type of parts that Lindsay was able to get.  

MGM or Paramount were clearly the better studio (over WB) for an actresses to advance her career. 

   

[CaveGirl]

On 12/21/2017 at 12:52 PM, jamesjazzguitar said:

Margaret Lindsay was in a lot of films, but typically was a secondary female lead.  She got her start in the early 30s, and was in 4 films in 32,  11 in 33 (yea eleven!)  4 in 34,  8 in 35,   4 in 36, 4 in 37,  5 in 38, 5 in 39, 6 in 1940, 4 in 41, 5 in 42, 3 in 43, 1 in 44,  and 3 in 1945 the year of Scarlet Street,   1 in 46 and 4 in 47.   After that she made only a handful of films.   

I have always been a fan of hers with my favorite films of hers' (and the lead actress) being:

Baby Face (Stanwyck),   Lady Killer (Mae Clark),  Fog over Frisco, Bordertown,  Dangerous,  Jezebel,   (Davis),  G-Men (Dvorak),   Gold Is Where You Find It (DeHavilland),  There's That Women Again (Bruce),  and of course Scarlet Street.

She had a leading role in the Vincent Price \ George Sanders gothic film House of Seven Gables - 1940. 

         

I love Margaret Lindsay and you have a great list there, but can I also include her work in "Seven Keys to Baldpate"?