I Just Watched...

[Sepiatone]

Y'know, maybe Coop might have been(or not) the better ACTOR for the role, but IMHO, PRESTON FOSTER bore the closer resemblance to the real Alvin York. 

Sepiatone

[TomJH]

21 minutes ago, Sepiatone said:

Y'know, maybe Coop might have been(or not) the better ACTOR for the role, but IMHO, PRESTON FOSTER bore the closer resemblance to the real Alvin York. 

Sepiatone

Yeh, but it's Cooper that the real Alvin York insisted play him. The two men remained friends until Coop's death.

[rosebette]

54 minutes ago, TomJH said:

Gary Cooper appeared in an uncommonly large number of good to outstanding films in his career.

Among them: Lives of a Bengal Lancer, Desire, Mr Deeds Goes to Town, General Died at Dawn, Beau Geste, The Westerner, Meet John Doe, Sergeant York, Ball of Fire, Pride of the Yankees, For Whom the Bell Tolls, Unconquered, High Noon, Friendly Persuasion and The Hanging Tree, all done with some of Hollywood's best directors.

He has played the hero. He has played the "common man" with integrity. He played high drama but he could also stretch his limited range by effectively playing comedy on screen, as well (his comedies vary in quality from good to forgettable).

Coop's minimalist acting style can be extraordinarily effective in some roles (the Capra films, Sergeant York, Pride of the Yankees). And sometimes he has floundered (I agree with the criticisms expressed by Lawrence and Tiki about his wooden portrayal in Billy Mitchell).

Towards the end of his career Cooper was trying to stretch by playing some darker characters on screen. The results were mixed, though it works well, I feel, in his last western, The Hanging Tree. But take a look, too, at the sensitivity of his performance as a middle aged man having an affair with a younger woman in Ten North Frederick, a 1958 soap opera.

One thing that can't be taken away, though, are the facts about this incredibly successful film actor. A 37 year film career, still the star of "A" productions at the end of his life, a five time Oscar nominee, winning twice, and ranked among the top ten box office stars 18 times in his career. Few other actors/actresses have a record that can match that.

Sergeant York, probably my favourite Cooper film and performance

I'm a Coop fan myself, and my favorite performances include Sergeant York, as well as Mr. Deeds Goes to Town, Meet John Doe, Friendly Persuasion, and High Noon.  I'm reading a fine book about High Noon, of the same title, by Glenn Frankel, which tells the story of the making of that film in the environment of HUAC and the blacklist.  There are a couple of good chapters on Coop.  Although he was politically conservative and an anti-Communist he ultimately supported blacklisted writer Carl Foreman.  I got the impression from the book that despite his flaws (Coop had a serious affair with Patricia Neal that was hurtful to her and to his own marriage), Coop was indeed a man of honor.  Coop was also a contradictory figure; despite his folksy image, he was one of the best-dressed men in Hollywood.

[LornaHansonForbes]

11 hours ago, LawrenceA said:

The Court-Martial of Billy Mitchell (1955) -

I was looking forward to this one and was very disappointed in it. I'm a fan of Cooper's, and have defended him and his oft-disparaged acting abilities on this message board more than once. But in this film he is just plain awful, frequently unconvincing in his line deliveries, and failing to illuminate the man he's playing in the least. I've read that even Mitchell's family were disappointed in Cooper's casting, and said that 1955-era James Cagney was much closer to the real man. Cooper's lackluster performance could have been alleviated a bit by a sharper script or tighter direction, neither of which is present here. The first half of the film kind of lumbers along from anecdote to anecdote before finally settling in during the second half as an uninspired courtroom drama. Prominently billed Rod Steiger, soon after his On the Waterfront Oscar nomination, doesn't show up until late in the proceedings as an assistant prosecutor, and it's interesting to see how both he and Cooper give bad performances but of completely different sorts, and I say this as a fan of both men. The movie nabbed an Oscar nomination for Best Writing, Story & Screenplay (Milton Sperling & Emmet Lavery).    (6/10)

Source: Olive/Paramount DVD.

 

1. wonderful write-up. i want to see this now ALTHOUGH ITS ONE OF THE FEW I HAVE NEVER HEARD OF.

2. I like Olive Films a lot. Their DVD Catalogue is pretty obviously put together by some folks who know what the eff they're doin.

3. in re Cooper: I don't think there is any actor whom i run a broader gamut of opinions in re his work: there are three times where he gives nomination-worthy work- DEEDS, BALL OF FIRE and PRIDE OF THE YANKEES. There are fine films he's fine in- SGT YORK and THE WESTERNER; there is one EXCEPTIONAL film he is only ok (AND SHOULD BE WAY BETTER) in: PETER IBBETSON; there are dull films he's dull in: HIGH NOON and BRIGHT LEAF; there are bad movies he is ok in: MEET JOHN DOE, there are bad movies he is terrible in- FOR WHOM THE BELL TOLLS, there are otherwise solid films that he is bad in to the point of ruining them- LOVE IN THE AFTERNOON.

He also deserves some kind of Gold Star for being able to complete THE FOUNTAINHEAD and especially that GAWDAWFUL monologue he has to recite at the end without throwing the script in the air, flipping everyone on the set off WITH BOTH BARRELS, and walking right out the studio gates to head for the hills of Montana or wherever the Hell he had the ranch.

4. Oh God, STEEGER. That was the one error of Vazquez's that actually made me *almost like her for a hot second.

5. *almost

[TomJH]

47 minutes ago, rosebette said:

I'm a Coop fan myself, and my favorite performances include Sergeant York, as well as Mr. Deeds Goes to Town, Meet John Doe, Friendly Persuasion, and High Noon.  I'm reading a fine book about High Noon, of the same title, by Glenn Frankel, which tells the story of the making of that film in the environment of HUAC and the blacklist.  There are a couple of good chapters on Coop.  Although he was politically conservative and an anti-Communist he ultimately supported blacklisted writer Carl Foreman.  I got the impression from the book that despite his flaws (Coop had a serious affair with Patricia Neal that was hurtful to her and to his own marriage), Coop was indeed a man of honor.  Coop was also a contradictory figure; despite his folksy image, he was one of the best-dressed men in Hollywood.

Of the support that Foreman received from Cooper (the actor was warned by Hollywood insiders that he was risking his career by doing so), Foreman later said Cooper "was the only big one who tried to help - the only one."

[LornaHansonForbes]

ADDENDUM to review of STRAW DOGS (1971)

One thing I didn't address in my review was-

 

the "sexual assault" scene (otto doesn't like the "r" word.)

ultimately, i think it was a mistake because STRAW DOGS has become known as "the r a pe scene movie"- the wiki article even referred to the scene as the "movie's centerpiece" and, unless they meant the literal fact that the scene comes at the middle- it so is not.

a lot of people are bothered by the fact that SUSAN GEORGE'S character kisses and caresses her attacker- this is where the movie's EXCELLENT editing helps, because it is interspersed with scenes of her with her husband that we saw earlier in the movie. to me, the kissing and caresses (and even the apparent enjoyment) were A COPING MECHANISM IN ORDER TO SURVIVE an ordeal that she did not instigate and was not her fault. i got that, it didn't bother me.

honestly, if i had had any input on the film ca. its making, I'd've offered up the proposal that the character consensually sleeps with the two workers...i know that sounds a bit icky, but for those of you who've seen the film, you'll know it could be seen as an impetuous act by a young person in an unstable relationship with someone who may have some manipulative impulses (or maybe i'm reading too much in to DUSTIN HOFFMAN'S presence given some things i've read about him lately).

Lord knows, Men act on impulse enough, i see no issue with the female character in this movie doing the same.

[TomJH]

Gary Cooper will be star of the day, by the way, on August 11. They will be showing a lot of his best films, as well as a fairly rare broadcast of DeMille's The Story of Dr. Wassell, a WW2 propaganda film "taken from the day's headlines" and the weakest of the actor's four films made with that director.   11     Saturday
6:00 AM	Saratoga Trunk ( 1945)
	A woman with a past returns to 19th-century New Orleans for revenge. Dir:  Sam Wood Cast:  Gary Cooper , Ingrid Bergman , Flora Robson . BW- 135 mins, CC,
8:30 AM	Star Night at the Cocoanut Grove ( 1934)
	Several members of MGM's 'galaxy of stars' attend an evening of music and a fashion show in this short film. Cast:  Leo Carillo , C- 20 mins,
9:00 AM	La Fiesta de Santa Barbara ( 1935)
	This short film provides a musical and sketch comedy revue staged as a fiesta in Santa Barbara. Cast:  Jim Thorpe , Harpo Marx , C- 19 mins,
9:30 AM	Lives of a Bengal Lancer, The ( 1935)
	Three British soldiers in India fight invaders when not fighting each other. Dir:  Henry Hathaway Cast:  Gary Cooper , Franchot Tone , Richard Cromwell . BW- 109 mins,
11:30 AM	Westerner, The ( 1940)
	A drifter accused of horse stealing faces off against the notorious Judge Roy Bean. Dir:  William Wyler Cast:  Gary Cooper , Walter Brennan , Fred Stone . BW- 100 mins, CC,
1:30 PM	Mr. Deeds Goes to Town ( 1936)
	When he inherits a fortune, a small-town poet has to deal with the corruption of city life. Dir:  Frank Capra Cast:  Gary Cooper , Jean Arthur , George Bancroft . BW- 116 mins, CC,
3:30 PM	Love in the Afternoon ( 1957)
	An aging American tycoon overcomes his inhibitions to court a young Parisian. Dir:  Billy Wilder Cast:  Gary Cooper , Audrey Hepburn , Maurice Chevalier . BW- 130 mins, CC,
6:00 PM	Wreck of the Mary Deare, The ( 1959)
	The skipper of a sunken ship stands trial for negligence. Dir:  Michael Anderson Cast:  Gary Cooper , Charlton Heston , Michael Redgrave . C- 105 mins, CC,
8:00 PM	Pride Of The Yankees, The ( 1942)
	Baseball legend Lou Gehrig faces a crippling disease at the height of his success. Dir:  Sam Wood Cast:  Gary Cooper , Teresa Wright , Babe Ruth . BW- 129 mins, CC,
10:30 PM	Sergeant York ( 1941)
	True story of the farm boy who made the transition from religious pacifist to World War I hero. Dir:  Howard Hawks Cast:  Gary Cooper , Walter Brennan , Joan Leslie . BW- 134 mins, CC,
1:00 AM	Story of Dr. Wassell, The ( 1944)
	A Navy doctor fights to help wounded sailors escape the Japanese during World War II. Dir:  Cecil B. DeMille Cast:  Gary Cooper , Laraine Day , Signe Hasso . C- 136 mins,
3:30 AM	Friendly Persuasion ( 1956)
	A peaceful Quaker family's sanctity is tested during the Civil War. Dir:  William Wyler Cast:  Gary Cooper , Dorothy McGuire , Marjorie Main . BW- 138 mins, CC,

[JamesJazGuitar]

Interesting description of Lives of a Bengal Lancer; Three British soldiers in India fight invaders when not fighting each other.

So in India the British are the natives?    I hope Ben doesn't saying anything along those lines.

 

[CinemaInternational]

Alice's Restaurant (1969)

This is a very loose film, so to speak. It really does not set out to have any real form so to speak, but this film about hippies made the year of Woodstock and based on an 18 minute song by Arlo Guthrie, who gives a nice wry performance as himself in the leading role, is worth catching for its large heart and charm.  It's also a pretty wistful film, and the extended final shot of the film is very poignant.

[LawrenceA]

The End of the Affair (1955) - British drama based on the Graham Greene novel, from Columbia Pictures and director Edward Dmytryk. American writer Maurice Bendrix (Van Johnson) has an affair with married woman Sarah Miles (Deborah Kerr) while in London during WW2. After a particularly destructive bombing raid by the Germans, their relationship fractures, with Maurice learning that Sarah's husband Henry (Peter Cushing) suspects that she's having an affair and so he enlists a private investigator (John Mills) to follow her, while Sarah is having a crisis of conscience and an emergence of religious belief. Also featuring Michael Goodliffe, Stephen Murray, Charles Goldner, and Nora Swinburne.

This is an interesting, adult-minded drama that touches on issues of fidelity, fear, the nature of religious faith, guilt, and romantic obsession. The Greene novel is compromised a bit due to production code censorship, but enough remains to still have an impact. Johnson is an actor that I can take or leave, but I thought he turned in a very good performance here. Kerr is also excellent as the hopelessly conflicted Sarah. Peter Cushing gives what may be his best serious dramatic performance as the weak but loving Henry. This was adapted for the screen again in 1999 and stayed more faithful to the novel.    (7/10)

Source: TCM.

[CaveGirl]

Made time yesterday to watch my new dvd of "Go, Johnny, Go" from 1959. Now of course we've all seen it, but it goes something like this:

The great Alan Freed is holding court at the Paramount with his Jubilee of Stars and tells the cats and kittens that he is looking for a new singing talent, he will call Johnny Melody, to join his troupe.

Now clean cut Jimmy Clanton is working as an usher, looking all spiffy in his little outfit but totally disregarding his job, by dancing around to each performer. There is a lot of finger snapping and hand clapping in these segments and we see Alan introducing acts like The Cadillacs, the Flamingos, Harvey [yes, just Harvey but later to be billed as Harvey Fuqua, who was related to the Ink Spots], Jackie Wilson and Eddie Cochran. Jackie is magnificent, moving like a whirling dervish and Eddie plays and sings "Teenage Heaven" to perfection.

Clanton is promptly fired and runs into his former orphanage friend, Sandy Stewart who had the good fortune to be adopted, but alas...no matter how cute his rolled, flat top pompadour is, no one wanted to adopt poor Jimmy. Did I mention that Jimmy, delinguent he is, got kicked out of a choir for being caught singing the risque, "Ship on a Stormy Sea" in his off time? Well, he did.

Now Jimmy after coming up with some moola, decides to make a demo record, and submits it Alan Freed's office, but thinks no one is interested in it, not knowing that Alan of course has been trying to locate "Johnny Melody" for eons after showcasing the song on his nighttime radio broadcast for the teens in his listening area. We then get treated to a rousing version of "Oooh...My Head!" by Richie Valens, who recorded for Del-Fi and is really fun to see and looks little like Lou Diamond Phillips, but I digress. Did I mention that all through these travails, we have the good fortune to see Chuck Berry acting and singing, with things like "Little Queenie" and I think that though he violated the Mann Act, he was a much better actor than many of these ageing rap stars who now get roles on tv crime shows.

Finally with Sandy's help Alan is able to track down Jimmy, right after he throws a brick through a jewelry store window hoping to get gratis the heart pin with musical notes, that Sandy wants for Christmas. Good old Alan, takes the rap, pretending to be a drunken man whose wife shops there way too much and the police take him off to the pokey. All ends well, with Jimmy not serving time as a JD, and becoming a big singing star. My only beef, was that most of the acts did not do their most familiar hits, but why complain, right?

[rosebette]

Jewel Robbery (1932) - This is a delightful Warners pre-code with William Powell and Kay Francis.  The quality is definitely Lubitsch-like and uncharacteristically sophisticated for Warners.  Kay Francis is a very spoiled and already adulterous socialite and Powell is a charming jewel thief.  Plot elements include some interesting cigarettes, which according to Powell's character, make you very relaxed, sleepy, and when you wake up, quite hungry!  I don't think weed was ever offered so elegantly.  Kay is already unfaithful to her current husband, and her friend Helen Vinson, makes it pretty clear that husbands are for buying nice things, but there are other places to seek one's pleasure.  Needless to say, Powell is in line to be the next lover.  Kay spends the latter half of the film wearing an off-the-shoulder, low-backed dress that defies gravity.  I wasn't aware that something that still had sleeves could be so alluring.    I followed this up with Roberta (1933), in which Fred and Ginger steal the picture, despite Irene Dunne's excellent rendition of some of Jerome Kern's most beautiful songs.  I would say after watching the styles in both these style-conscious films back-to-back that in the 1930s, a woman's back was considered the most erotic part of her body. (Excuse the pun!)

 

[LawrenceA]

The Far Horizons (1955) - Historical western adventure from Paramount Pictures and director Rudolph Mate. Following the Louisiana Purchase of 1803, US President Thomas Jefferson (Herbert Heyes) enlists Capt. Meriwether Lewis (Fred MacMurray) and Lt. William Clark (Charlton Heston) to lead a surveying expedition of the new territory with hopes of finding a route to the Pacific ocean. Things get off to a rocky start when Clark unknowingly steals Lewis' girlfriend Julia Hancock (Barbara Hale). The expedition later recruits Shoshone woman Sacajawea (Donna Reed) to act as their guide into unknown territory, and wouldn't ya know it, Clark starts making time with her, too! Also featuring William Demarest, Alan Reed, Eduardo Noriega, Larry Pennell, Argentina Brunetti, Ralph Moody, Lester Matthews, Helen Wallace, and Bill Hickman.

Most Hollywood history lessons play fast and loose with the facts, but this movie earned the distinction of once being named by a group of historians as the most historically inaccurate Hollywood movie ever. I can't vouch for that, but a lot of this is pretty silly and unbelievable. Chief among the movie's problems is the awkward and unnecessary romantic triangle (Heston, Hale & Reed), which would be bad enough as a sub-plot, but which by the end seems to be the prime focus of the film. MacMurray's Lewis takes a back seat to things once the romance between Clark and Sacajawea starts, and he's reduced to supporting status. Reed isn't terrible as Sacajawea, it's just that...well, she's Donna Reed! On the movie's plus side, there is some spectacular scenery and location cinematography.    (5/10)

Source: Amazon video.

[LawrenceA]

Illegal (1955) - Solid crime drama from Warner Brothers and director Lewis Allen. Edward G. Robinson stars as District Attorney Victor Scott, a legendary legal mind with an unblemished conviction record. His confidence is shaken when a man that he had convicted and sentenced to death turns out to have been innocent, information obtained only after the innocent man was executed. After a lengthy wallow in drunken self-pity, Scott finds renewed purpose as a defense attorney, only to find himself involved with the sorts of shady characters that he used to put behind bars. Also featuring Nina Foch, Hugh Marlowe, Albert Dekker, Jayne Mansfield, Edward Platt, Ellen Corby, Howard St. John, Jan Merlin, Robert Ellenstein, Jay Adler, Henry Kulky, John Larch, and DeForest Kelley.

I enjoyed this minor yet entertaining crime/courtroom drama. It was great seeing Robinson in a substantial role in this phase of his career when he was "greylisted". Nina Foch shows more warmth than usual as a former colleague, and Ellen Corby gets more to do than usual as Robinson's later secretary. Mansfield isn't bad as the chief crook's kept woman. This gets handed the "noir" label in some sources, like IMDb and Ben Mankiewicz's intro, but I don't see it.    (7/10)

Source: TCM.

[LawrenceA]

Man Without a Star (1955) - Excellent 50's western from Universal Pictures and director King Vidor. Kirk Douglas stars as Dempsey Rae, a wandering cowhand in old west Wyoming. He and recently-acquired friend Jeff (William Campbell) find good work on a large cattle ranch, but new owner Reed Bowman (Jeanne Crain) complicates things, bringing in so many new head of cattle that the other, smaller ranchers will be forced out. Those ranchers have no choice but to start stringing up barbwire fences to save some grazing land for their own herds, which sets off a range war. Also featuring Richard Boone, Jay C. Flippen, Claire Trevor, Myrna Hansen, Mara Corday, Eddy Waller, Roy Barcroft, Jack Elam, Myron Healey, and Sheb Wooley.

I liked this western despite the familiar storyline, mainly due to the offbeat characters and good direction by Vidor. Douglas in particular assays a complicated man, a rowdy, seemingly fun-loving roughneck who is also capable of deadly violence at a moment's notice. His character Dempsey is not a heroic man, instead driven by personal demons that may lead to self-destruction or a sort of redemption. William Campbell is good as the young kid learning the ropes, while Jeanne Crain plays an alpha female not afraid to use her sexuality to get what she wants. And few actors of the time made better western villains than Richard Boone.    (7/10)

Source: Universal DVD.

[TomJH]

8 minutes ago, LawrenceA said:

Man Without a Star (1955)

Douglas is very good in this western, and he even gets to charm you by singing while strumming a guitar, as well. He also looks like an experienced westerner, which is pretty impressive as this was, I believe, only his second western.

[rosebette]

She Had to Say Yes (1933) - Another Warners' Precode and a real shocker, as much today in the MeToo era, as when it was made.  Loretta Young works for a company that uses "corporate girls," to entertain out of town businessmen; essentially a form of prostitution.  Her fiance, Regis Toomey, suggests that the women from the secretarial pool, who are less "floozy" material, might be more appealing to these out-of-towners, and Loretta Young agrees to meet with one client to further her boyfriend's career.  Lyle Talbot is the target, and of course, he wants more than someone to take dictation.  Throughout, Young manages to preserve her virtue, but just barely.  She is nearly raped at least twice, once by former boyfriend Toomey, who is jealous when he realizes that Young may have gone all the way (even though Toomey is already two-timing her).  Perhaps this movie was shocking in 1933 for its frank depiction of sexual exploitation of women in the workplace, but it is just as shocking today to see it presented as accepted practice.  Both the male characters are emotionally, verbally, and at times, physically abusive.  While there is a great deal of humor, I was ultimately infuriated by this film, especially the ending.  I won't give it away, but my own preference would have been if Barbara or Bette had shown up with a pistol and plugged both Toomey and Talbot while they fought on the porch.

[LawrenceA]

Mr. Arkadin aka Confidential Report (1955) - Highly uneven but interesting mystery from Mercury Productions and writer-director Orson Welles. Two-bit American hustler Guy Van Stratten (Robert Arden) searches for a mysterious, super-rich man named Gregory Arkadin (Orson Welles) in hopes of getting some money from him, one way or another. Surprisingly, Arkadin confesses to Guy that he suffers from amnesia, and he hires Guy to research Arkadin's past to fill in the blanks of his past. Guy suspects there's more to the story when those he interviews start showing up dead. Also featuring Paola Mori, Patricia Medina, Michael Redgrave, Akim Tamiroff, Mischa Auer, Katina Paxinou, Peter van Eyck, Gregoire Aslan, Suzanne Flon, and Gert Frobe.

This movie is a mess, but it's a fascinating mess. The movie was taken out of Welles' hands in the editing phase and was released in various cuts all over the world over the course of a decade or more. The version I watched was assembled from all of the various versions, and supposedly most closely resembles what Welles wanted. It's still a slightly confusing jumble, but it's entertaining. It's unlike most movies of the mid 50's, with rapid edits, odd camera angles, and the aforementioned narrative structure utilizing flashbacks. The sound is either mostly or all post-dub, which also adds to the disorienting effect. This movie has a lot of flaws (several shots are out of focus, Welles' fake nose looks terrible), but I found it an intriguing mystery, and I was never quite certain what was coming, which is exceedingly rare these days. Plus, the many brief appearances of classic character actors, such as Tamiroff, Paxinou, Auer, and Redgrave, all playing bizarre and eccentric characters, is amusing.    (7/10)

Source: TCM.

[Tikisoo]

rosebette says of Jewel Robbery: Kay spends the latter half of the film wearing an off-the-shoulder, low-backed dress that defies gravity.

While I love Kay Francis, I hate the way she wears her beautiful gowns. Both Francis & Bette Davis seem fond of looking like grannies with zero chest support. Having your chest hang on the ribcage (notice the elbow crease) elongates the neck, but completely shortens the waistline making them look droopy & sad.

In contrast, an almost-in-the-armpit "perky" chest looks youthful & gamine:
(oops obviously I don't know how to resize Dr Macros photos!)

[rosebette]

3 hours ago, TikiSoo said:

rosebette says of Jewel Robbery: Kay spends the latter half of the film wearing an off-the-shoulder, low-backed dress that defies gravity.

While I love Kay Francis, I hate the way she wears her beautiful gowns. Both Francis & Bette Davis seem fond of looking like grannies with zero chest support. Having your chest hang on the ribcage (notice the elbow crease) elongates the neck, but completely shortens the waistline making them look droopy & sad.

In contrast, an almost-in-the-armpit "perky" chest looks youthful & gamine:
(oops obviously I don't know how to resize Dr Macros photos!)

If you've watched a lot of Kay Francis movies, you can tell she is basically flat-chested, and I'd say in the 30s, the emphasis is on bare back, shoulders, and upper chest rather than cleavage.  Also, in that era, they did not have the bras that were available in the 50s.  In fact, if you watch a lot of 30s films, you can tell most women went braless.  (With everything cut as low as the small of the back, how could you wear bra?) I think Kay looks stunning in gowns.  Bette Davis was well-endowed, and Orry Kelly wrote quite a bit about the challenges of dressing and supporting her figure.  As far as Kay looking Granny-like, well when I become a granny, I think I'll slick back my short hair and buy that black number she has on.

Audrey Hepburn is a completely different body type from either women,  flat chested and extremely lean (Kay is definitely fleshier), more of our notion of a model's body.  She is probably wearing a modestly supportive bra because no one went braless in the 50s.

[NickAndNora34]

DISNEY'S CHRISTOPHER ROBIN (2018) Score: 4/5 

Starring: Ewan McGregor, Hayley Atwell, Jim Cummings, Brad Garrett, Toby Jones. 

I loved this. I saw it late last night with a friend, and I was left feeling quite satisfied. The premise of the film is that Christopher Robin grows up, and basically sells out to the adult world, and forgets what's truly important in life. Is it a cliche? Yes. Is it an overdone concept in films? Yes, but I was reminded of how much I adore Winnie-the-Pooh, and was entertained (which is honestly all I really ask for when I see a movie). 

I would recommend seeing this one. I'm always torn when I find out Disney is remaking one of their older animated films, but in this case, those doubts do not apply. I don't really know how much more to say without spoiling things for everyone on here. I was glad they got Jim Cummings (long-time voice of both Pooh and Tigger) to do this movie. I can't see anyone else really pulling off Pooh's voice, to be honest. 

[Hibi]

18 hours ago, LawrenceA said:

The Far Horizons (1955) - Historical western adventure from Paramount Pictures and director Rudolph Mate. Following the Louisiana Purchase of 1803, US President Thomas Jefferson (Herbert Heyes) enlists Capt. Meriwether Lewis (Fred MacMurray) and Lt. William Clark (Charlton Heston) to lead a surveying expedition of the new territory with hopes of finding a route to the Pacific ocean. Things get off to a rocky start when Clark unknowingly steals Lewis' girlfriend Julia Hancock (Barbara Hale). The expedition later recruits Shoshone woman Sacajawea (Donna Reed) to act as their guide into unknown territory, and wouldn't ya know it, Clark starts making time with her, too! Also featuring William Demarest, Alan Reed, Eduardo Noriega, Larry Pennell, Argentina Brunetti, Ralph Moody, Lester Matthews, Helen Wallace, and Bill Hickman.

Most Hollywood history lessons play fast and loose with the facts, but this movie earned the distinction of once being named by a group of historians as the most historically inaccurate Hollywood movie ever. I can't vouch for that, but a lot of this is pretty silly and unbelievable. Chief among the movie's problems is the awkward and unnecessary romantic triangle (Heston, Hale & Reed), which would be bad enough as a sub-plot, but which by the end seems to be the prime focus of the film. MacMurray's Lewis takes a back seat to things once the romance between Clark and Sacajawea starts, and he's reduced to supporting status. Reed isn't terrible as Sacajawea, it's just that...well, she's Donna Reed! On the movie's plus side, there is some spectacular scenery and location cinematography.    (5/10)

Source: Amazon video.

FRED got top billing over Heston??? WOW. And Donna Reed as an Indian!

[Hibi]

4 hours ago, TikiSoo said:

rosebette says of Jewel Robbery: Kay spends the latter half of the film wearing an off-the-shoulder, low-backed dress that defies gravity.

While I love Kay Francis, I hate the way she wears her beautiful gowns. Both Francis & Bette Davis seem fond of looking like grannies with zero chest support. Having your chest hang on the ribcage (notice the elbow crease) elongates the neck, but completely shortens the waistline making them look droopy & sad.

In contrast, an almost-in-the-armpit "perky" chest looks youthful & gamine:
(oops obviously I don't know how to resize Dr Macros photos!)

 

Well, Kay didnt have much "chest" to support, so I don't think she looks Granny! I agree about Bette, though. She hated wearing bras and let 'em hang! Orry-Kelly put support into the dress itself to help........

[LawrenceA]

My Sister Eileen (1955) - Musical take on stories by Ruth McKenney, from Columbia Pictures and director Richard Quine. Ohio sisters Ruth (Betty Garrett) and Eileen (Janet Leigh) move to New York City, with Ruth hoping to become a professional writer and Eileen hoping to become an actress. Their means are limited, so they take a basement apartment of dubious quality in Greenwich Village that comes equipped with kooky neighbors. Ruth meets an amorous publisher (Jack Lemmon), while Eileen finds companionship with a Walgreend soda jerk (Bob Fosse). Also featuring Dick York, Kurt Kasznar, Tommy Rall, Lucy Marlow, Henry Slate, Horace MacMahon, Barbara Brown, and Richard Deacon.

I'd seen, and was a fan of, the non-musical 1942 adaptation featuring Rosalind Russell and Janet Blair, so I was dubious going into this musical version. I ended up enjoying it thanks to the charming performances of Garrett and Leigh, as well as the terrific dancing of Bob Fosse. I particularly liked the dance-off between Fosse and Tommy Rall. Director Quine had played the Fosse role in the '42 version, while this version's screenplay was co-written by Blake Edwards.    (7/10)

Source: Mill Creek DVD.

[Fedya]

5 hours ago, NickAndNora34 said:

I can't see anyone else really pulling off Pooh's voice, to be honest. 

That's only because Sterling Holloway isn't available.