I Just Watched...

[scsu1975]

Fog Island (1945) youtube

OK time-waster features George Zucco, framed for his wife’s murder, inviting everybody connected with the frame (Lionel Atwill, Jerome Cowan, Veda Ann Borg, Jacqueline DeWit) to his island home to even the score. Zucco’s stepdaughter (Sharon Douglas) and John Whitney attempt to provide romantic relief, to no avail. There are two other characters on the island: a doctor (Ian Keith) and Zucco’s butler (George Lloyd). There is your scorecard.

There are the usual secret panels and trap doors. The butler is the first to buy the farm, but no one seems to notice or care. Almost everyone else is killed off, including Zucco, who deserves kudos for delivering a pretty good soliloquy while croaking. Four characters are offed courtesy of a clever booby-trap. Speaking of boobies, Borg looks pretty good in her tight white outfit.

Production values are lacking. Only a few sets are used, and almost every scene is shot in near darkness, which decreases the suspense while increasing the viewer’s frustration. And everyone seems to sneak around the house at night (wearing formal attire), spying on everyone else. Me, I’d be looking for a well-lit room.

Oh, can someone explain how you can leave a house with a stack of dead bodies and act like you are going on a pleasure cruise?

 

[LornaHansonForbes]

16 hours ago, LawrenceA said:

Mr. Arkadin aka Confidential Report (1955) -

This movie is a mess, but it's a fascinating mess.

 

+1

aka THE ORIGINAL BAD SANTA

(I still like it tho!)

[LornaHansonForbes]

i took in some of "The LADY GANDHI OF THE WEEPERS" double feature this afternoon because of the rain...

forgiveness is begged, but i had seen the second half of THE AGE OF INNOCENCE (1934) before and was a little unimpressed, but i sat down and watched the first half today and see what i was missing. (sorry, i know that's a tacky way to watch movies)

I mean, it's still got some problems, but it's a pretty charming film, and I LOVE EARLY THIRTIES PERIOD ADAPTATIONS ESPECIALLY! There is just an air about them I can't describe, maybe because they were reaching back to a past that at the time was not so distant as it is now.

the film makes great use of MONTAGES (QUESTION: Did Slavko Vorkavich do the montages?)...I actually think I liked those the best of all and they served as pretty efficient methods of moving the plot forward.

i'm a big fan of the 1993 SCORCESE VERSION of the story (and the source novel), I remember a lot of people HATING it when it came out because the two (sexy) leads barely touch throughout the whole film (and possibly never kiss, i can't say as i recall- it's been a while.)anyway,  i thought it was like a lovely swan, still on the surface with a mass of action below. it was a challenging film and a subversive film and very much along the lines of the best British and American movies of the 1950s which suggested but did not show (see also THE REMAINS OF THE DAY, also 1993 as I recall)

this 1934 version was positively LURID compared to that, with numerous clenches and intense scenes between the fate-separated lovers. most of those scenes did not work at all I am sad to say- in part because IRENE DUNNE, while not badly cast, was a bit too modern and glib in the part; and JOHN BOLES was just not up to the challenge as an actor (and that eyeliner!) LAURA HOPE CREWS seemed a little lost as well, at times seeming to struggle with her lines.  MVP, as is oft the case, was the delightful HELEN WESTLEY, an actress I adore to pieces- she's the one person in the whole thing who seems to be having any damn fun.

[LawrenceA]

The Naked Street (1955) - Effective if uneven crime drama from United Artists and director Maxwell Shane. Feared gangster Phil Regal (Anthony Quinn) is angered to learn that his sister Rosalie (Anne Bancroft) is pregnant, and that the child's father is convicted murderer Nicky Bradna (Farley Granger). Phil decides that his nephew or niece won't be born without a father, so he sets out to get Nicky released from jail via various unscrupulous means. This draws the attention of crusading reporter Joe McFarland (Peter Graves), who wants to see an end to the racketeers ruling the city. Also featuring Else Back, Sara Berner, Jerry Paris, Whit Bissell, Joe Turkel, John Larch, Barney Phillips, Lee Van Cleef, and Jeanne Cooper.

I liked this flawed crime picture featuring strong performances from Quinn and Bancroft. Granger plays his weasely two-bit hood well, and future soap queen Jeanne Cooper stands out in her only scene. I wasn't fond of the unneeded narration from Graves, and his heroic reporter was just a bland wet blanket. However, these issues weren't enough to keep from enjoying this "B" movie for what it was worth.    (7/10)

Source: TCM.

[Fedya]

Is anybody on the street actually naked?

[LawrenceA]

7 minutes ago, Fedya said:

Is anybody on the street actually naked?

There's a giant billboard of Anthony Quinn's ****, but other than that, not that I noticed.

[scsu1975]

35 minutes ago, Fedya said:

Is anybody on the street actually naked?

Only in The Naked City.

[LornaHansonForbes]

You know, in many ways MYSTERY Of THE WAX MUSEUM is better than HOUSE OF WAX...

[LawrenceA]

Oklahoma! (1955) - CinemaScope/Todd-AO adaptation of the stage musical by Rogers & Hammerstein, from Magna Theater Corporation, RKO, 20th Century Fox and director Fred Zinnemann. The story follows various characters in the Oklahoma territory at the turn of the century. Much of the drama concerns who's taking who to the big dance: Laurey Williams (Shirley Jones) wants to go with Curly McLain (Gordon MacRae), but ends up being asked by the creepy Jud Fry (Rod Steiger). Cowboy Will Parker (Gene Nelson) pines for Ado Annie (Gloria Grahame), but she's with traveling salesman Ali Hakim (Eddie Albert). Also featuring Charlotte Greenwood, James Whitmore, Jay C. Flippen, Barbara Lawrence, Roy Barcroft, Russell Simpson, and Ben Johnson.

This movie is notable for a few reasons. It was the first movie made in the Todd-AO 70mm format, a process so new that, just in case things went wrong, the movie was simultaneously shot in CinemaScope. Most theatergoers saw the CinemaScope version which was distributed by first RKO and then Fox, while the Todd-AO version was taken out by the Magna Theater Corporation as the first of the "roadshow" musicals that began to dominate the genre for the next 20 years. 

Director Zinnemann does a terrific job of utilizing the widescreen format, filling the screen with activity and beautiful scenery. The songs, many of which have become standards, are infectious if occasionally overlong, much like the movie itself. The performances are all BIG, too, from Steiger's method intensity to MacRae's wholesome hero.  Lovely Shirley Jones makes her film debut and acquits herself well enough. Gene Nelson gets some of the best dance numbers, naturally. It may be blasphemous, but I could have done without the lengthy vocal-less dancing dream sequence. The movie earned Oscar nominations for Best Color Cinematography (Robert Surtees) and Best Editing (Gene Ruggiero, George Boemler), and it won for Best Score (Robert Russell Bennett, Jay Blackton, Adolph Deutsch) and Best Sound. It is also one of the 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die.    (7/10)

Source: Fox DVD.

 

[Tikisoo]

Lawrence- I like everything you wrote about OKLAHOMA except for : It is also one of the 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die.

Lists are for dummies who won't read and make their own choices.
I much prefer hearing your personal opinion of a movie while it's still fresh in your mind. Which begs the question: with all the constant movie watching you partake, how long do you remember what you watched 2 weeks ago? ;-)

[LornaHansonForbes]

14 hours ago, LawrenceA said:

There's a giant billboard of Anthony Quinn's ****, but other than that, not that I noticed.

WAITWAITWAITWAIT.

Anthony Quinn's whatnow?

[LornaHansonForbes]

 

sigh.

the renovation of my apartment is entering week three, my suggestion that they remove the load bearing wall to PUT IN A God-D**** WINDOW where one OUGHT TO BE!!!!!!! apparently has added to the time.

as such, i am staying at THE FORBES FAMILY HOME and i have family that I DETEST visiting from out of town.

there has been no escape.

it's been stressful. One of them is MAGA and a BIG fan of chipping in "well actually...." to anything someone else says no matter what the subject...the urge to stab him in the hand with a fork has been so great that i'm skipping luncheon today.

so, after a particularly IRRITATING dinner last night, i sat down to the LIONEL ATWILL SCIENCE FICTION DOUBLE FEATURE...I mention my fraught state of mind because I don't know if it affected how I viewed the movies or not, I'd seen MYSTERY OF THE WAX MUSEUM (aka TORCHY BLAINE MEETS PRUNEFACE) plenty of times, and I'd never seen THE SECRET OF THE BLUE ROOM before- I liked the latter and really enjoyed the former more than ever I have before.

iN FACT, I daresay that i like MYSTERY OF.... better than HOUSE OF... now, although it's a lesson in remakes to study the differences between the two. MYSTERY OF... is definitely more of an ensemble piece, and while certain characters are ultimately underused (FAY WRAY really serves no purpose, nor does her love interest other than to be a member of THE FRATERNITY OF COMPLETELY AND UTTERLY USELESS ROMANTIC LEADS IN HORROR MOVIES MADE BETWEEN 1930 AND 1960, and even LIONEL ATWILL vanishes for long spells of the movie)- GLENDA FARRELL commits wholesale robbery with this one, and i will totally allow it because it's refreshing as Hell seeing a woman in a movie refusing to take any **** from anyone.

the dialogue to this thing is ace in many parts; and i like the sets more and more each time i see it (and i note the influence of GERMAN EXPRESSIONISM all over the place)

i also have to say that i like the odd technicolor (two process?) it's sickly and eerie and a completely unnatural hue- not appropriate for most movies, but SO RIGHT for this film, which is all about fakery and unnatural acts) honestly, i think it's one of my favorite examples of cinematography from the 1930's...also really watching it last night (i'm bad about listening to, but not watching movies sometimes), i was impressed by CURTIZ'S camera movements and angles, especially shooting ATWILL from way down in the final reveal to make him seem even more imposing.

SECRET OF THE BLUE** ROOM (1932?) was not a bad way to kill a little over an hour...it starts with a shocking scene in which GLORIA STUART- never lovelier in spite of donning two ENORMOUS buff puffs on her shoulders in the scene- kisses all four of her fellow male actors on the lips...one can only imagine JAMES WHALE scribbling notes furiously at a screening. it's overall kind of silly, but the premise is solid, and EDWARD ARNOLD (who shows up about 40 minutes in) picks this thing up, puts it on his shoulders and carries it across the line admirably. Ever since seeing THE DEVIL AND DANIEL WEBSTER, i have been more and more impressed by EDWARD ARNOLD. the way the ending is shot leans so heavily on trickery, you'll prolly figure out what's going down, but it's still fun....although i wonder why they used exterior shots of a massive Germanic chateau when the primary set is a little small and two of the characters (guests)  share a room Bert and Ernie style.

Oh, Paul Lukas was in this too, and as always, he was terrible.

 

**TRUST US, EVEN THOUGH THE MOVIE IS IN BLACK AND WHITE AND IT'S WOOD-PANELED, IT'S BLUE AS HELL!

[CaveGirl]

22 minutes ago, LornaHansonForbes said:

 

sigh.

the renovation of my apartment is entering week three, my suggestion that they remove the load bearing wall to PUT IN A God-D**** WINDOW where one OUGHT TO BE!!!!!!! apparently has added to the time.

as such, i am staying at THE FORBES FAMILY HOME and i have family that I DETEST visiting from out of town.

there has been no escape.

it's been stressful. One of them is MAGA and a BIG fan of chipping in "well actually...." to anything someone else says no matter what the subject...the urge to stab him in the hand with a fork has been so great that i'm skipping luncheon today.

so, after a particularly IRRITATING dinner last night, i sat down to the LIONEL ATWILL SCIENCE FICTION DOUBLE FEATURE...I mention my fraught state of mind because I don't know if it affected how I viewed the movies or not, I'd seen MYSTERY OF THE WAX MUSEUM (aka TORCHY BLAINE MEETS PRUNEFACE) plenty of times, and I'd never seen THE SECRET OF THE BLUE ROOM before- I liked the latter and really enjoyed the former more than ever I have before.

iN FACT, I daresay that i like MYSTERY OF.... better than HOUSE OF... now, although it's a lesson in remakes to study the differences between the two. MYSTERY OF... is definitely more of an ensemble piece, and while certain characters are ultimately underused (FAY WRAY really serves no purpose, nor does her love interest other than to be a member of THE FRATERNITY OF COMPLETELY AND UTTERLY USELESS ROMANTIC LEADS IN HORROR MOVIES MADE BETWEEN 1930 AND 1960, and even LIONEL ATWILL vanishes for long spells of the movie)- GLENDA FARRELL commits wholesale robbery with this one, and i will totally allow it because it's refreshing as Hell seeing a woman in a movie refusing to take any **** from anyone.

the dialogue to this thing is ace in many parts; and i like the sets more and more each time i see it (and i note the influence of GERMAN EXPRESSIONISM all over the place)

i also have to say that i like the odd technicolor (two process?) it's sickly and eerie and a completely unnatural hue- not appropriate for most movies, but SO RIGHT for this film, which is all about fakery and unnatural acts) honestly, i think it's one of my favorite examples of cinematography from the 1930's...also really watching it last night (i'm bad about listening to, but not watching movies sometimes), i was impressed by CURTIZ'S camera movements and angles, especially shooting ATWILL from way down in the final reveal to make him seem even more imposing.

SECRET OF THE BLUE** ROOM (1932?) was not a bad way to kill a little over an hour...it starts with a shocking scene in which GLORIA STUART- never lovelier in spite of donning two ENORMOUS buff puffs on her shoulders in the scene- kisses all four of her fellow male actors on the lips...one can only imagine JAMES WHALE scribbling notes furiously at a screening. it's overall kind of silly, but the premise is solid, and EDWARD ARNOLD (who shows up about 40 minutes in) picks this thing up, puts it on his shoulders and carries it across the line admirably. Ever since seeing THE DEVIL AND DANIEL WEBSTER, i have been more and more impressed by EDWARD ARNOLD. the way the ending is shot leans so heavily on trickery, you'll prolly figure out what's going down, but it's still fun....although i wonder why they used exterior shots of a massive Germanic chateau when the primary set is a little small and two of the characters (guests)  share a room Bert and Ernie style.

Oh, Paul Lukas was in this too, and as always, he was terrible.

 

**TRUST US, EVEN THOUGH THE MOVIE IS IN BLACK AND WHITE AND IT'S WOOD-PANELED, IT'S BLUE AS HELL!

So weird that you mention Arnold's take in "The Devil and Daniel Webster" as I kept thinking of that too as I was watching him in TMOTBR. He was great as always, just like you say. I actually totally enjoyed the film, and was revelling in the atmospheric locale, which was suitably haunting. I too was aghast when the movie opened to see Gloria kissing each of the three actors on the lips, including Paul Lukas. All I can ever think of when I see him is someone saying once that Bette Davis used to call him "That old Nazi" but I digress. He was fine in the role, but I just was hoping for a more exciting resolution since from the beginning I thought, there's got to be a hidden door in the room and why are they so dense as not to think that. By the way, as you say the color in "The Mystery of the Wax Museum" is perfect for the film as it gives everyone a deathly glow in a greenish tinge. I bought it years ago on dvd, and relished the color then too when I first saw it. Fabulous review, Lorna!

[LawrenceA]

3 hours ago, TikiSoo said:

Lawrence- I like everything you wrote about OKLAHOMA except for : It is also one of the 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die.

Lists are for dummies who won't read and make their own choices.
I much prefer hearing your personal opinion of a movie while it's still fresh in your mind. Which begs the question: with all the constant movie watching you partake, how long do you remember what you watched 2 weeks ago? ?

Then consider me a dummy. You won't be the first, nor the last.

[Tikisoo]

1 minute ago, LawrenceA said:

Then consider me a dummy. You won't be the first, nor the last.

Oops sorry I think you misunderstood me.

I had meant quoting someone else's "list" is beneath your consideration.  In other words, I put far more weight on your personal posts' opinions/impressions than some anonymous list of what "should be" watched.

[LornaHansonForbes]

48 minutes ago, CaveGirl said:

So weird that you mention Arnold's take in "The Devil and Daniel Webster" as I kept thinking of that too as I was watching him in TMOTBR. He was great as always, just like you say. I actually totally enjoyed the film, and was revelling in the atmospheric locale, which was suitably haunting. I too was aghast when the movie opened to see Gloria kissing each of the three actors on the lips, including Paul Lukas. All I can ever think of when I see him is someone saying once that Bette Davis used to call him "That old Nazi" but I digress. He was fine in the role, but I just was hoping for a more exciting resolution since from the beginning I thought, there's got to be a hidden door in the room and why are they so dense as not to think that. By the way, as you say the color in "The Mystery of the Wax Museum" is perfect for the film as it gives everyone a deathly glow in a greenish tinge. I bought it years ago on dvd, and relished the color then too when I first saw it. Fabulous review, Lorna!

Actually, I remember, she kisses all four actors on the lips, including ATWILL who is playing her father.

and it's a lingering kiss for each one !!!!!

hope she don't got a cold sore!

EDWARD ARNOLD exudes authority, but not in a pompous way.

[Arteesto]

19 hours ago, LornaHansonForbes said:

in part because IRENE DUNNE, while not badly cast, was a bit too modern and glib in the part;

Agree

It as if the Countess Ellen Olenska seamlessly became Theodora Lynn / "Caroline Adams".   

[Arteesto]

23 minutes ago, LawrenceA said:

Then consider me a dummy. You won't be the first, nor the last.

Not certain of all the things that you are....

Dummy isn't among them.

[CaveGirl]

21 minutes ago, LornaHansonForbes said:

Actually, I remember, she kisses all four actors on the lips, including ATWILL who is playing her father.

and it's a lingering kiss for each one !!!!!

hope she don't got a cold sore!

EDWARD ARNOLD exudes authority, but not in a pompous way.

Oh, I forgot she kissed her daddy too! I think I was so shocked by the liberal smooching, that I thought it must be what it was like going to an Elvis concert, Lorna.

Good call on Arnold! Wasn't it cute how he comically endured the questioning of Elizabeth Patterson? Movies from that time period seemed to always have some wisecracking reporter or someone like Patsy Kelly along, to assuage the fear factor being too prevalent. I could do without Patsy but enjoyed Patterson since I've always dug her in films. Thanks, Lorna!

[LawrenceA]

The Prisoner (1955) - British Cold War drama from Columbia Pictures and director Peter Glenville. In an unnamed country behind the Iron Curtain, the government orders the arrest of the Cardinal (Alec Guinness) on charges of treason. The government wants the Cardinal to confess to his crimes so that the international community will hear it, so they set the Interrogator (Jack Hawkins) to work. He orders a battery of psychological tortures be used against the Cardinal, interrupted by regular, brow-beating interrogation sessions. The Cardinal's resolve is very strong, but the Interrogator may be stronger. Also featuring Wilfrid Lawson, Kenneth Griffith, Ronald Lewis, Jeanette Sterke, Raymond Huntley, Mark Dignam, Gerard Heinz, and Percy Herbert.

Based on a play by Bridget Boland (who also scripted this film version), the stage origins of the material are apparent. Director Glenville does what he can to open things up with some scenes set out in the oppressed streets, and using off-beat camera set-ups and editing to enliven the lengthy one-on-one dialogue sessions between Guinness and Hawkins. The story line is of its time (it was based on a couple of real incidents), but the subjects of mental and spiritual endurance in the face of extreme stress are universal. The performances by Guinness and Hawkins are excellent, and I also liked Wilfrid Lawson as the agreeable Jailer.    (7/10)

Source: Amazon video.

[scsu1975]

4 hours ago, LornaHansonForbes said:

two of the characters (guests)  share a room Bert and Ernie style.

 

[JamesJazGuitar]

1 minute ago, scsu1975 said:

This was the only scene I saw,  and it made me turn to something else.   The acting was just so poor I had to move on.

 

[LawrenceA]

Queen Bee (1955) - Campy melodrama from Columbia Pictures and director Ranald MacDougall. Naive young woman Jennifer Stewart (Lucy Marlow) travels to the Deep South and the mansion home of her cousin Eva Phillips (Joan Crawford). Jennifer is disturbed to learn that the Phillips household is an inwardly boiling cauldron of hatred, resentment, and petty squabbling. Eva mistreats everyone, including her scarred husband Avery (Barry Sullivan), her sister Carol Lee (Betsy Palmer), and their company foreman Jud Prentiss (John Ireland). Jud wants to marry Carol, only Eva was having an affair with Jud and hopes to undermine their planned matrimony. Also featuring William Leslie, Katherine Anderson, Tom Hovey, Linda Bennett, Olan Soule, and Fay Wray.

I wanted to see this for Crawford, but as it started I groaned to myself, as I could already see that it was going to be one of those overwrought Southern Gothic melodramas that bore me to tears. Only, as the movie progressed, things began to become more amusing, intentionally or not, and by the end I was very entertained. Don't get me wrong, I still think it was an overheated, trashy soap opera, but it was also funny, and Crawford's malicious-beyond-belief Eva became a sadistic hoot. The eventual resolution was a little disappointing, but not unexpected. The movie was nominated for Oscars for Best B&W Cinematography (Charles Lang) and Best B&W Costumes (Jean Louis).    (7/10)

Source: TCM.

[LornaHansonForbes]

2 hours ago, scsu1975 said:

I'm so happy other people noticed how FRIGGIN ODD the late-night hand-holding scene was.

because it WAS. 

FRIGGIN odd.

[JamesJazGuitar]

30 minutes ago, LornaHansonForbes said:

I'm so happy other people noticed how FRIGGIN ODD the late-night hand-holding scene was.

because it WAS. 

FRIGGIN odd.

I have to admit this was a case where I was thankful there was a Production code.