I Just Watched...

[EricJ]

15 hours ago, Bethluvsfilms said:

THE JERK is hilarious, but my personal favorites of Steve's are ALL OF ME and of course, PLANES, TRAINS AND AUTOMOBILES.

Also thought he did a dang fine job in PARENTHOOD, he was both funny and serious in that one.

The Jerk was cashing in on Steve's 70's "wild and crazy" style, and critics who had never seen it called him "the new Jerry Lewis" (which caused the old one to think he was on the verge of a "comeback").

But the more restrained silly-deadpan Steve of "All of Me" didn't officially gel onscreen until his next two Carl Reiner films, Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid and The Man With Two Brains

 

[TomJH]

17 hours ago, LawrenceA said:

She (1935)

 

I agree that this is the best screen version of She though as one who must be obeyed, Helen Gahagan has always left me cold. The Hammer version has Ursula Andress, a queen-like, sensual image of Ayesha, to be sure, as well as a lovely musical score.

There have long been versions of the 1925 silent version, with Betty Blythe, floating around (and most of them look pretty awful). However, a new print just uploaded onto You Tube is far and away the best I've ever seen, running 95 minutes.

If you go to You Tube and type "She 1925," there are at least four different versions available. Click on the one just uploaded by "mjose."

Sorry about the tiny size but this image is taken off that video.

 

 

[hamradio]

15 hours ago, LawrenceA said:

The Tunnel (1935) aka Transatlantic Tunnel - British science fiction drama from Gaumont and director Maurice Elvey which had previously been filmed 3 times in France and Germany. American engineer Richard "Mac" McAllan (Richard Dix) proposes an audacious undertaking: the construction of an underground tunnel beneath the sea bed that will connect London to New York. The massive undertaking involves multiple investors and years of construction time. Mac neglects his wife Ruth (Madge Evans) who seeks comfort with Mac's best friend Frederick (Leslie Banks), while chief investor Lloyd (C. Aubrey Smith) struggles to secure the funds necessary to keep going, and his own daughter Varlia (Helen Vinson) falls in love with Mac. Also featuring Basil Sydney, Henry Oscar, Hilda Trevelyan, Cyril Hammond, Jimmy Hanley, and in brief cameos, George Arliss as the British Prime Minister, and Walter Huston as the US President.

The science fiction elements are largely kept in the background via set design, the "futuristic" appearance of automobiles, the use of video phones, etc. I would have liked the film more if it had concentrated on the engineering aspects of the construction, or even more on the backroom dealing and politicking of keeping the undertaking afloat. But unfortunately more time is spent on the emotional toil caused by Mac's overwork, and the weak and tedious love triangle. The performances are perfunctory, with the wild-eyed yet still wooden Dix contrasting with Banks, whose facial paralysis often makes it hard to tell what his expression is supposed to convey from scene to scene. I wanted to like this more than I did, but there's still some worthwhile moments among the cliches.  (6/10)

Source: TCM.

 

Wish I watched that, certainly were getting ahead of themselves crossing the Alantic instead of France!  From the internet photos, looks like it could have been made from our modern tunnel boring machines - got that right on the button with their own concept.  Amazing!

 

 

[hamradio]

Also it is still a serious plan, problem is technological.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2913214/Forget-Hyperloop-Plan-vacuum-tube-travel-UK-announced-just-pipe-dream.html

[LawrenceA]

8 minutes ago, hamradio said:

 

Wish I watched that, certainly were getting ahead of themselves crossing the Alantic instead of France!  

Early on in the movie, they say that Richard Dix's character was responsible for supervising the construction of the England-to-France Tunnel "back in 1940"! They never say what year The Tunnel is supposed to take place.

[marcar]

Watching "It Came from Outer Space" (1953) and one of the best things about it is watching the Professor (from Gilligan's Island" of course), walking around as a space-infected "zombie" copy of himself. The movie is pretty standard '50s sci-fi with Richard Carlson as an astronomer who is the only one who sees a space ship that landed on Earth, buried inside a crater in an old mine. Barbara Rush is the pretty helpless local schoolteacher in heels, who stands by her man (Carlson) but always seems to be somewhere else when he encounters the aliens.

I watched coz it's based on a Ray Bradbury short story and Ben M. said it was originally shown in theaters in 3D and you can see the shots that are supposed to be used for that effect. The whole things is done well without much of a budget with Joshua Trees constantly mistaken for aliens in the dark because they are sort of otherworldly, aren't they? 

BTW, why does an astronomer keep a gun in his convertible's glove compartment at all times? That one really was puzzling.

[LawrenceA]

4 minutes ago, marcar said:

Watching "It Came from Outer Space" (1953)

BTW, why does an astronomer keep a gun in his convertible's glove compartment at all times? That one really was puzzling.

Since it was 1953, he kept the gun in the car in case of commies. 

[marcar]

14 hours ago, scsu1975 said:

A curse and hex on McCarthy and the members of the HUAC for ruining his career and depriving audiences of many more fine performances he no doubt would have turned in for many years to come had he not been blacklisted.

McCarthy was indeed a Senator, and he was chairman of the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations of the Government Operations Committee of the U.S. Senate, his own operation that did the same work as HUAC, which were at least as aggressive and did as much damage. They were later condemned in the same way.

[LawrenceA]

Way Down East (1935) - Remake of the classic 1920 silent from DW Griffith starring Lillian Gish and Richard Barthelmess, this one from Fox and director Henry King. In late 19th century Maine farm country, a young woman named Anna (Rochelle Hudson) arrives at the farmhouse of the Bartlett family looking for work as a maid. She's hired by the stern patriarch Squire Amasa (Russell Simpson), and proves a great help to his wife Louisa (Spring Byington). It isn't long before the Bartlett's son David (Henry Fonda) has fallen in love with Anna, but she's hiding a dark past that may prevent their future together. Also featuring Andy Devine, Margaret Hamilton, Slim Summerville, Edward Trevor, Astrid Allwyn, Sara Haden, Billy Benedict, Al Lydell, Clem Bevans, Vera Lewis, and Ann Doran.

This can't match up to the silent version, but it has its good qualities. Hudson proves to be a good actress in a more demanding role than many she had at the time, and Fonda, in his first year in movies, is handsome and believable as a farmboy in love for the first time. The film's greatest asset is the tremendous supporting cast of great bit players, many of whom you'll know the faces of if not the names. Wicked Witch Hamilton has one of her better parts as the town gossip who's chasing after store-owner Summerville, and Al Lydell is a hoot as an ancient old man always looking for a handout of liquor or tobacco. The end scenes set on a frozen river don't match up to the silent version, but that one almost killed the stars of the film, so perhaps it's better that they were a little more safety conscious this time, even if the results were inferior.  (7/10)

Source: Fox Movie Channel.

[hamradio]

1 hour ago, marcar said:

Watching "It Came from Outer Space" (1953) and one of the best things about it is watching the Professor (from Gilligan's Island" of course), walking around as a space-infected "zombie" copy of himself. The movie is pretty standard '50s sci-fi with Richard Carlson as an astronomer who is the only one who sees a space ship that landed on Earth, buried inside a crater in an old mine. Barbara Rush is the pretty helpless local schoolteacher in heels, who stands by her man (Carlson) but always seems to be somewhere else when he encounters the aliens.

I watched coz it's based on a Ray Bradbury short story and Ben M. said it was originally shown in theaters in 3D and you can see the shots that are supposed to be used for that effect. The whole things is done well without much of a budget with Joshua Trees constantly mistaken for aliens in the dark because they are sort of otherworldly, aren't they? 

BTW, why does an astronomer keep a gun in his convertible's glove compartment at all times? That one really was puzzling.

To defend against drunken women with guns.

1950's ad 

[Fedya]

1 hour ago, marcar said:

BTW, why does an astronomer keep a gun in his convertible's glove compartment at all times?

Why not?

[JamesJazGuitar]

1 hour ago, LawrenceA said:

Way Down East (1935) - Remake of the classic 1920 silent from DW Griffith starring Lillian Gish and Richard Barthelmess, this one from Fox and director Henry King. In late 19th century Maine farm country, a young woman named Anna (Rochelle Hudson) arrives at the farmhouse of the Bartlett family looking for work as a maid. She's hired by the stern patriarch Squire Amasa (Russell Simpson), and proves a great help to his wife Louisa (Spring Byington). It isn't long before the Bartlett's son David (Henry Fonda) has fallen in love with Anna, but she's hiding a dark past that may prevent their future together. Also featuring Andy Devine, Margaret Hamilton, Slim Summerville, Edward Trevor, Astrid Allwyn, Sara Haden, Billy Benedict, Al Lydell, Clem Bevans, Vera Lewis, and Ann Doran.

 

This is one of the Rochelle Hudson films I would like to see.    

[LawrenceA]

The Wedding Night (1935) - Decent romantic drama from United Artists and director King Vidor. Gary Cooper stars as Tony Barrett, a drunken writer whose initial success has been followed by literary disappointment. To try and get his creative flow going again, he and his wife Dora (Helen Vinson) move out to the country, where Tony gets involved in the daily lives of the local Polish immigrant farming community. Farm girl Manya (Anna Sten) agrees to help Tony with his new book, and the two start to fall in love, despite Tony's being married and Manya's being promised in marriage to local farmer Fredrik (Ralph Bellamy). Also featuring Sig Rumann, Esther Dale, Leonid Snegoff, Hilda Vaughn, Agnes Anderson, Otto Yamaoka, and Walter Brennan.

Cooper doesn't exactly strike one as the literary type, but his awkward social graces work well in the tentative romantic scenes. Sten is good and underplays well. I won't go into detail about the last act, but I'll say that it surprised me.   (7/10)

Source: TCM.

[LawrenceA]

Westward Ho (1935) - B-western from Republic Pictures and director Robert N. Bradbury. John Wayne stars as John Wyatt, a fed-up rancher who decides to organize a vigilante posse to stop the crime spree affecting the whole state. He gathers other vengeance-seeking loners, outfits them all with white horses and black shirts, and leads them in war against the bandits. Things get complicated when John learns that one of the bandits is his long-believed-dead brother Jim (Frank McGlynn Jr.). Also featuring Sheila Bromley, Jim Farley, Jack Curtis, Yakima Canutt, and Glenn Strange.

This one was a step above many of the others, with superior scenery and action sequences. A lot of that may be due to the much improved quality of the print I saw. The story line is fairly routine, although the celebration of all things vigilante is a bit odd. Given the production code, I'm surprised the posse wasn't "deputized" or made "reserve US Marshals", something to add the patina of legality on their actions.   (6/10)

Source: YouTube.

 

[NickAndNora34]

FULL METAL JACKET (1987)

Starring Matthew Modine, Adam Baldwin, Vincent D'Onofrio, & R. Lee Ermey. This is the 2nd film I've seen of Kubrick's. I was definitely impressed. Of course, it isn't something I'd recommend to everyone; to some it might not be their cup of tea, and others might not be able to stomach it. I recognized Matthew Modine as the "Evil Scientist" Dr. Brenner, from Netflix's ever-so-popular TV series, Stranger Things. 

Score: 4/5

[NickAndNora34]

BACHELOR IN PARADISE (1961) 

Starring Bob Hope, Lana Turner, Jim Hutton, Paula Prentiss, Reta Shaw, Janis Paige, & Virginia Grey. 

I watched this just yesterday on the TCM Mobile app. This wasn't my favorite movie I've seen, not by a long shot. It was a little strange to see Bob Hope with more than just a touch of the wolf about him. I'm fairly certain it was meant to be a comedy, but none of the lines Hope spoke made me laugh. Or even chuckle, for that matter. On the plus side, Paula Prentiss was rather adorable, and Lana Turner was her usual charming self. 

Score: 2/5 

[hamradio]

15 minutes ago, NickAndNora34 said:

FULL METAL JACKET (1987)

Starring Matthew Modine, Adam Baldwin, Vincent D'Onofrio, & R. Lee Ermey. This is the 2nd film I've seen of Kubrick's. I was definitely impressed. Of course, it isn't something I'd recommend to everyone; to some it might not be their cup of tea, and others might not be able to stomach it. I recognized Matthew Modine as the "Evil Scientist" Dr. Brenner, from Netflix's ever-so-popular TV series, Stranger Things. 

Score: 4/5

 

Love to see Ermey actually train Gomer Pyle.

 

[Dargo]

5 hours ago, marcar said:

...BTW, why does an astronomer keep a gun in his convertible's glove compartment at all times? That one really was puzzling.

And not to take away from ham's and Lawrence's earlier funny answers to this, but perhaps also because out in the Arizona desert and where It Came from Outer Space is set, you never know when you might be surrounded by a pack of Javelina...

(...they're all around here, and especially up here in the high desert of Sedona...just saw a pack of 'em last night walkin' up my driveway...luckily though they're usually not aggressive, unless you happen to get between one of 'em and their baby...THEN you're in trouble)

[Fedya]

1 hour ago, NickAndNora34 said:

I'm fairly certain it was meant to be a comedy, but none of the lines Hope spoke made me laugh. Or even chuckle, for that matter.

I think I'll Take Sweden is on this week.  [pauses to check the schedule]  4:00 PM Saturday.

Terrible, terrible generation gap movie.

[Bethluvsfilms]

1 hour ago, NickAndNora34 said:

FULL METAL JACKET (1987)

Starring Matthew Modine, Adam Baldwin, Vincent D'Onofrio, & R. Lee Ermey. This is the 2nd film I've seen of Kubrick's. I was definitely impressed. Of course, it isn't something I'd recommend to everyone; to some it might not be their cup of tea, and others might not be able to stomach it. I recognized Matthew Modine as the "Evil Scientist" Dr. Brenner, from Netflix's ever-so-popular TV series, Stranger Things. 

 

 

Score: 4/5

It's definitely one of my favs. Especially love R. Lee Ermey in here, but I can understand if the rough language can put off some (I know it would my folks). Still a really good film though.

[Fedya]

23 minutes ago, Dargo said:

And not to take away from ham's and Lawrence's earlier funny answers to this, but perhaps also because out in the Arizona desert and where It Came from Outer Space is set, you never know when you might be surrounded by a pack of Javelina...

To paraphrase Lyndon Johnson, "I never trust a man unless I've got his peccary in my pocket."

[EricJ]

1 hour ago, NickAndNora34 said:

FULL METAL JACKET (1987)

Starring Matthew Modine, Adam Baldwin, Vincent D'Onofrio, & R. Lee Ermey. This is the 2nd film I've seen of Kubrick's. I was definitely impressed.

What was the first?  This's definitely got the Sardonic Kubrick touch, and was already billed as "Strangelove goes to Vietnam" when it opened.

...Can we throw any recommendations of The Killing, Paths of Glory or Barry Lyndon your way?

1 hour ago, hamradio said:

Love to see Ermey actually train Gomer Pyle.

Ermey had been doing some bit parts in addition to his military-consultant jobs, but this was the role that made him a star, long before he took Sgt. Hartman mainstream in Toy Story.

[LawrenceA]

Wings in the Dark (1935) - Romantic melodrama with an aviation theme from Paramount Pictures and director James Flood. Hotshot pilot Ken Gordon (Cary Grant) is planning a daring feat: flying "blind" (without instruments) from the U.S. to Paris. Fan and crack pilot in her own right Sheila Mason (Myrna Loy) wants to go along for the ride, but when a freak accident leaves Ken literally blind, she must help him cope with his new life. Also featuring Roscoe Karns, Dean Jagger, Hobart Cavanaugh, Russell Hopton, Matt McHugh, Samuel S. Hinds, and Lightning the dog.

This first teaming of Grant and Loy is a bit on the corny side, with Grant's aviator obsessed with "flying blind" only to be struck blind. The plot moves through the standard ailment-movie steps, from anger to acceptance to a drive to overcome it and prove everyone wrong, all with a silently-suffering romantic partner sticking by them, no matter what. The support cast is good, and some of the aerial footage is nicely done.   (6/10)

Source: Universal DVD, part of the Cary Grant: Screen Legend Collection.

[Dargo]

5 minutes ago, LawrenceA said:

Wings in the Dark (1935) - Romantic melodrama with an aviation theme from Paramount Pictures and director James Flood. Hotshot pilot Ken Gordon (Cary Grant) is planning a daring feat: flying "blind" (without instruments) from the U.S. to Paris. Fan and crack pilot in her own right Sheila Mason (Myrna Loy) wants to go along for the ride, but when a freak accident leaves Ken literally blind, she must help him cope with his new life. Also featuring Roscoe Karns, Dean Jagger, Hobart Cavanaugh, Russell Hopton, Matt McHugh, Samuel S. Hinds, and Lightning the dog.

This first teaming of Grant and Loy is a bit on the corny side, with Grant's aviator obsessed with "flying blind" only to be struck blind. The plot moves through the standard ailment-movie steps, from anger to acceptance to a drive to overcome it and prove everyone wrong, all with a silently-suffering romantic partner sticking by them, no matter what. The support cast is good, and some of the aerial footage is nicely done.   (6/10)

Source: Universal DVD, part of the Cary Grant: Screen Legend Collection.

So Lawrence, I take it there's no "Calling Barranca...Calling Barranca" line spoken by anyone in THIS one, eh?!

(...let alone, any character by the name of "Judy" in it, right?!)

[LawrenceA]

1 minute ago, Dargo said:

So Lawrence, I take it there's no "Calling Barranca...Calling Barranca" line spoken by anyone in THIS one, eh?!

Now I miss Kid Dabb...