I Just Watched...

[Janet0312]

Creature from the Black Lagoon

Sorry, folks. I just never get tired seeing this thing. I am always amazed at the rubber costume, which up until hi def, you really couldn't make out that it was made of rubber, even tho you know it had to be. It's just a fun film on a lazy, hazy summer day. I have wondered what Evelyn Ankers saw in Richard Denning to become his life long bride, but after seeing him in a skin-tight bathing suit...

RetroPlex. I can't figure out what their schedule is or who makes it up or why. The Invisible Man was on this morning followed by The Woman in Green, the Reds and The Creature. Hitchcock films are scheduled this afternoon. It's like they threw a bunch of films into a hat and picked them out at random. There's no rhyme or reason. Young Frankenstein is coming on at some point today. No complaints from this film fan. Just find it bizarro scheduling. 

[LornaHansonForbes]

Damn, ROCK HUDSON impresses me more and more each time I see THE TARNISHED ANGELS. 

[EricJ]

16 hours ago, TikiSoo said:

hamradio said: Could never get around to seeing this movie until tonight. "Gods and Monsters" (1998)

I couldn't get through GODS & MONSTERS, it had the same distraction as PBS' ON CUKOR (2000)I was interested in learning more about Whale's life and career and instead it seemed like a cheap exposé focused only on his "gayness". Anyone who knows classic film already knows his preferences and I was not shocked or titillated by those scenes. I'm sure the argument can be made, it WAS the only thing in his life and therefore greatly effected his career, but I'm uncomfortable seeing private situations played out in ANY story.
The Cukor biography was presented as a documentary and illustrated examples of how his personality influenced his career & colleagues. Maybe because GODS & MONSTERS was a fictionalized story, it just came across as trying to be salacious, rather than just presenting the facts and allowing the viewer to create their own conclusion.

When the whole plot revolves around whether Whale can trap a date with unsuspectingly goofy-dim straight-hunk boytoy Brendan Fraser--while feeling tragically self-loathing about it--the entire plot excuse was pretty much a gay-cinema "We had famous gay people TOO back then!" attempt to grab credibility off of classic Hollywood-cultural references.  (Rather like the "Celluloid Closet" documentary, which keeps rubbing every single 30's-50's "subtext" in our faces saying "Oh yeah, how about 'Dracula's Daughter', how about them apples, huh, breeder, still think we 'don't exist'??")

If it'd been nominated for an Oscar today, we already have so many overlooked-historical-closet-gay movies (most of them with Ian McKellen), we'd barely blink, but since we didn't when it came out, this just fooled us into thinking we'd actually learn something about Whale.

Which is too bad, since yes, Jack Betts absolutely nails the elegant offscreen Boris Karloff, for those who only came for the film history.

[LawrenceA]

I'm going to start just making one post a day covering what I watched the day before. I'm also going to be even briefer in my thoughts on each. Yesterday I started watching movies from 1956. They included:

Aparajito aka The Unvanquished - Bengali drama from writer-producer-director Satyajit Ray. A boy grows into manhood under the loving care of his mother and in impoverished surroundings. This was the second part of Ray's world-renowned Apu Trilogy. I liked the first film, 1955's Pather Panchali, more, but this one was very good. Recommended.  (8/10)

Back from Eternity - Somewhat effective remake of 1939's Five Came Back, about a passenger plane crashing in the South American jungle. The survivors try to escape before headhunters attack. With Robert Ryan, Anita Ekberg, Rod Steiger, Keith Andes, Beulah Bondi, and Gene Barry. This takes a while to get moving, but there are a few good suspenseful scenes in the last third.   (7/10)

Beyond Mombasa - African adventure with Cornel Wilde, Donna Reed, Leo Genn, and Christopher Lee searching for uranium deposits in Kenya. A fearsome cult of "leopard men" are also stalking them. This one was okay, although the big "surprise" twist was obvious from early on.   (6/10)

The Black Sleep - Horror film that's shocking for its time and often very silly, starring Basil Rathbone as a mad scientist conducting strange brain experiments. The supporting cast includes Lon Chaney Jr., John Carradine, Tor Johnson, and Bela Lugosi, as a mute, in his last real role.   (6/10)

Carousel - Lavish Fox production of the Rogers & Hammerstein musical. Spirit Gordon MacRae reflects on the life that led to his demise while also planning a short trip back to the world of the living. Also featuring Shirley Jones, Cameron Mitchell and Gene Lockhart. I'd seen Liliom years ago, and couldn't imagine why it would need songs, and after watching this I still can't figure it out. But I'm not a musical fan, so your mileage may vary.    (5/10)

[Bethluvsfilms]

1 hour ago, LawrenceA said:

 

Carousel - Lavish Fox production of the Rogers & Hammerstein musical. Spirit Gordon MacRae reflects on the life that led to his demise while also planning a short trip back to the world of the living. Also featuring Shirley Jones, Cameron Mitchell and Gene Lockhart. I'd seen Liliom years ago, and couldn't imagine why it would need songs, and after watching this I still can't figure it out. But I'm not a musical fan, so your mileage may vary.    (5/10)

You know, it's funny, I enjoyed Gordon and Shirley very much in OKLAHOMA! but I always felt they couldn't quite recapture the old magic in this one. Maybe because Billy Bigelow isn't as noble as Curly was. I wasn't very enamored with the songs in here either.

[speedracer5]

2 hours ago, LornaHansonForbes said:

Damn, ROCK HUDSON impresses me more and more each time I see THE TARNISHED ANGELS. 

I’ve never seen it before! But I recorded it. I like Rock Hudson. Dorothy Malone is impressive as well. Every time I hear Robert Stack speak, all I can think of is “Unsolved Mysteries.” 

[Craigmar]

30 minutes ago, speedracer5 said:

I’ve never seen it before! But I recorded it. I like Rock Hudson. Dorothy Malone is impressive as well. Every time I hear Robert Stack speak, all I can think of is “Unsolved Mysteries.” 

Every time I hear Robert Stack speak I think of "Airplane"

[Craigmar]

Nothing subtle about "Written on the Wind", was there? This was my first exposure to Douglas Sirk several years ago and my overriding memory of the film is the end where Dorothy Malone is fondling that miniature oil derrick like she wished it was something else. In those days they had to pull their punches but that didn't stop them from hitting you over the head. Lots of lurid latent symbolism.

[ChristineHoard]

39 minutes ago, Craigmar said:

Nothing subtle about "Written on the Wind", was there? This was my first exposure to Douglas Sirk several years ago and my overriding memory of the film is the end where Dorothy Malone is fondling that miniature oil derrick like she wished it was something else. In those days they had to pull their punches but that didn't stop them from hitting you over the head. Lots of lurid latent symbolism.

My favorite lurid latent symbolism in WRITTEN ON THE WIND is when (SPOILER) Robert Stack's character leaves the restaurant after the conversation with the doc (his swimmers are "weak") and the kid outside is furiously rockin' the rocking horse.

[ChristineHoard]

3 hours ago, speedracer5 said:

I’ve never seen it before! But I recorded it. I like Rock Hudson. Dorothy Malone is impressive as well. Every time I hear Robert Stack speak, all I can think of is “Unsolved Mysteries.” 

I'm so old that every time I hear Robert Stack speak, all I can think of is "The Untouchables."  ?

[LornaHansonForbes]

9 hours ago, speedracer5 said:

 Every time I hear Robert Stack speak, all I can think of is “Unsolved Mysteries.” 

+1, Gurl, +1. 

God I miss the 80s.....

[LornaHansonForbes]

At least no one here thinks of CADDYSHACK II when they hear Robert Stack speak...

[LornaHansonForbes]

sometimes you see a film by a director and, for whatever reason, it just affects you so strongly, you see his films a little differently from then on (even the ones you've seen before)- I'm that way with DOUGLAS SIRK after seeing HITLER'S MADMAN (1943).

THE TARNISHED ANGELS is theatrical and has a lot of DIALOGUE! and ACTING!- but it is based on a Faulkner story and really, while it might be LOUD, SHOWY WORK, it's done well-enough that I let it slide.

It might not be a film for everyone, but really- I think it's worth seeing.

also, I forgot about DOROTHY MALONE'S UNDERPANTS in the parachute scene.

also also- why IS IT that nearly all films made in the 1950's that are about the 1920's and 30's do next to nothing when it comes to getting the hair and wardrobe and general atmosphere of the time down? I mean, it's not the 70's where everything looked horrible- they could've approximated the fashions of the time and it wouldn't have been painful to look at.

[LornaHansonForbes]

i finished watching THE TAKING OF PELHAM ONE, TWO, THREE (1974) on TCM OnDemand this morning.

i'd never seen it before and i've been trying to brush up on my 70's films.

if you like bleak procedural films with irate New Yorkers yelling into phone receivers and microphones at one another for two hours, hoo boy: is this the film for you.

all kidding aside though, i liked it a lot...although I question MARTIN BALSAM'S choice of playing his role almost entirely in Groucho Glasses....

this is one of those films where the actors involved really just showed off their "wares" so to speak (presence, voices, mannerisms) and IT WORKS REALLY WELL....not a lot of showy acting, just "being" (if that makes sense)

ie: WALTER MATHAU is WALTER MATHAU; MR. COSTANZA is MR. COSTANZA, DORIS ROBERTS is DORIS ROBERTS, and ROBERT SHAW is fantastic.

[speedracer5]

2 hours ago, LornaHansonForbes said:

+1, Gurl, +1. 

God I miss the 80s.....

Unsolved Mysteries is on Hulu! 

[LornaHansonForbes]

2 minutes ago, speedracer5 said:

Unsolved Mysteries is on Hulu! 

wonder how many have been solved by now....

[LawrenceA]

Continuing with 1956, yesterday I watched:

The Catered Affair - Kitchen-sink drama with Ernest Borgnine pulling out his hair as his wife Bette Davis goes overboard planning a wedding for daughter Debbie Reynolds. Rod Taylor plays the fiance, and Barry Fitzgerald shows up to creep out Kingrat. I wasn't looking forward to this, but ended up being impressed with the acting and the dialogue.    (7/10)

Death of a Scoundrel - Who killed cad George Sanders? The flashback story details his exploits and provides a cast of suspects, including Yvonne De Carlo, John Hoyt, Coleen Gray, Victor Jory, Nancy Gates, and Zsa Zsa Gabor. This is trashy soap opera melodramatics, but in the best sense of those terms.    (7/10)

Elena and Her Men - French comedy from director Jean Renoir featuring Ingrid Bergman as a Polish princess in turn of the century France and the various men who chase after her, including Mel Ferrer and Jean Marais. This is more farcical than most of Renoir's stuff, and I was left underwhelmed.    (6/10)

Fire Maidens of Outer Space - Z-grade sci-fi starring Anthony Dexter as the leader of an Earth expedition to the newly-discovered 13th moon of Jupiter, which turns out to be the home of the survivors of the lost continent of Atlantis. The population consists of one old man, a bunch of 20-something girls in skimpy outfits, and a "monster" in black tights lurking in the bushes. This was terrible on all levels, and makes Cat-Women of the Moon look good in comparison.    (2/10)

The First Traveling Saleslady - Tepid western comedy starring Ginger Rogers as a barbwire seller in 1897 Texas. She's assisted by Carol Channing and Barry Nelson. James Arness, David Brian and Clint Eastwood show up, too. This was pretty terrible, and Rogers called it "the movie that killed RKO."   (4/10)

[LornaHansonForbes]

18 minutes ago, LawrenceA said:

Continuing with 1956, yesterday I watched:

The Catered Affair - Kitchen-sink drama with Ernest Borgnine pulling out his hair as his wife Bette Davis goes overboard planning a wedding for daughter Debbie Reynolds. Rod Taylor plays the fiance, and Barry Fitzgerald shows up to creep out Kingrat. I wasn't looking forward to this, but ended up being impressed with the acting and the dialogue.    (7/10)

ME TOO THO! And I'm not Catholic and have an overwhelmingly positive impression of Irish People.

There is just SOMETHING about BARRY FITZGERALD that I don't trust or like, so again, put me proudly on the side of Mr. Rat on this matter.

[speedracer5]

39 minutes ago, LornaHansonForbes said:

wonder how many have been solved by now....

Some of the Unsolved Mysteries I've watched recently have had updates posted.  But I don't know if those are included on the Hulu episodes.  I haven't watched those yet.  The episodes I watched were ones that my friend had downloaded (or purchased?) off of iTunes. 

Frankly I prefer the murder episodes over the alien ones.  But many of the stories are very interesting.  My favorite part are the reenactments.  Forensic Files is another of my favorite shows (which is also available on Hulu and/or Netflix) and they also do reenactments.  

[CaveGirl]

31 minutes ago, LornaHansonForbes said:

ME TOO THO! And I'm not Catholic and have an overwhelmingly positive impression of Irish People.

There is just SOMETHING about BARRY FITZGERALD that I don't trust or like, so again, put me proudly on the side of Mr. Rat on this matter.

That Barry Fitzgerald is just nowhere as appealing as his bro, Arthur Shields.

Though I love Ireland, sometimes the guys in classic films who were constantly playing Irish types, really annoy me. For example, I hate Pat O'Brien even when he is chatting with the Gipper. He thinks he is more Irish than Darby O'Gill, and I bet people in Dublin even hate him. And let's not even get into actors who do horrid fakey brogues. Thanks for letting me get that all out. 

[Bethluvsfilms]

4 hours ago, LornaHansonForbes said:

At least no one here thinks of CADDYSHACK II when they hear Robert Stack speak...

He was also in the original AIRPLANE. But yes I reckon most people who, when they think of Stack, UNSOLVED MYSTERIES is probably the first thing that comes to their minds.

I never had that problem, I seldom watched the show. 

[LornaHansonForbes]

1 hour ago, Bethluvsfilms said:

He was also in the original AIRPLANE. But yes I reckon most people who, when they think of Stack, UNSOLVED MYSTERIES is probably the first thing that comes to their minds.

I never had that problem, I seldom watched the show. 

It really was the forerunner of DATELINE and all those other "real life mystery" shows.

It probably had to of peeved Angela Lansbury off during her "murder she wrote" prime that Robert Stack got such an easy gig with UNSOLVED MYSTERIES... I mean, throw on a trenchcoat, stand on location and he could probably do a whole episode in one day; Whereas she was pulling down 18 hour days on the universal lot.

[rosebette]

The Secret of Madame Blanche (1933) - This is kind of a Madame X story with Irene Dunne.   She actually makes the picture seem better than it really is.  She goes from this light musical comedy star to a tragic heroine and later an aging Café-owner, but she's such a fine actress that she is completely believable.  I also found Phillip Holmes strangely affecting and haunting.  I almost cried three times, which I'm rather ashamed of, because I knew the story was rubbish.  The scene with her playing with her baby will melt your heart, yet there's a stiffness and hardness to her in the later scenes that one would hardly believe possible for such a young actress.   It's not just as if they stuck a wig and some makeup on a younger actress; she speaks and  moves like an older woman.  Lionel Atwill is at his best being at his worst -- in this movie, more of a moral monster than anything you'll see in Doctor X or The History of Wax Museum.   At least these guys were deranged; this man is allegedly upholding the "decent" values of his social class. 

 

[Guest]

4 hours ago, CaveGirl said:

That Barry Fitzgerald is just nowhere as appealing as his bro, Arthur Shields.

Though I love Ireland, sometimes the guys in classic films who were constantly playing Irish types, really annoy me. For example, I hate Pat O'Brien even when he is chatting with the Gipper. He thinks he is more Irish than Darby O'Gill, and I bet people in Dublin even hate him. And let's not even get into actors who do horrid fakey brogues. Thanks for letting me get that all out. 

I have to chime in here. There is a 4 movie "Murder, She Wrote" collection. They sometimes play on Hallmark Movies & Mysteries on a marathon weekend day. They have commercials and are probably edited. I did not want to supply an Amazon link, but here is a reference to the 4 movies. If you like Jessica, this is probably worth owning. It does tie in with Dublin.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murder,_She_Wrote#Ending

 

[kingrat]

19 hours ago, LornaHansonForbes said:

Damn, ROCK HUDSON impresses me more and more each time I see THE TARNISHED ANGELS. 

I agree, Lorna. I saw the last half hour of The Tarnished Angels last night, including the scene in the newsroom you mentioned, and Rock Hudson delivers an outstanding performance. The scene is very well-written, which helps, but Hudson makes this extended monologue seem real and personal.

I believe that Rodgers and Hammerstein thought Carousel had their best score, but the public (including me) has always preferred Oklahoma! and South Pacific. I'd even trade "If I Loved You" for "Love, Look Away" from Flower Drum Song.

Ah, Barry Fitzgerald! Just cast him as a sniveling, treacherous villain, as in The Sea Wolf, and I won't complain at all.

Last night I saw Too Much, Too Soon, which didn't quite work either as serious drama or as campy melodrama, though it has its moments. What seemed true of the film also seemed true of Dorothy Malone's performance. I wished that two characters had been developed further: Diana's mother, the novelist Michael Strange (Neva Patterson) and Diana's third husband (Edward Kemmer), the recovering alcoholic who can't stay sober with an alcoholic spouse (a similar scenario happened to a good friend of mine). Neva Patterson made a career of playing horrible dragon-type mothers (David and Lisa, the mini-series V), but she has a few moments of humanity here. Edward Kemmer was on several soaps, best remembered as the ideal father and husband Ben Grant on Somerset. What a surprise it was to see him doing a drunk-in-his-underwear scene with Dorothy Malone.

I'll bet a number of posters here noticed the noir stylings of Too Much, Too Soon, with Nicholas Musuraca listed as one of the cinematographers.