I Just Watched...

[LawrenceA]

Cyborg 2087 (1966)  -  4/10

Bargain-basement sci-fi with Michael Rennie as Garth, a cyborg (human-robot hybrid) from the year 2087. He travels back through time to 1966 in order to stop scientist Eduard Franz from inventing a mind-reading device that will eventually lead to a totalitarian government in the future. Rennie is aided by Franz's daughter Karen Steele and doctor Warren Stevens. Also featuring Wendell Corey as the local sheriff, Harry Carey Jr., Chubby Johnson, Adam Roarke, John Beck, Richard Travis, Byron Morrow, and Jo Ann Pflug. The plot is similar to The Terminator, but this was made for about $65. The thin script would have worked better as a 45-minute TV episode, perhaps on The Outer Limits, where it could have joined with other Terminator "inspirations" "Demon with a Glass Hand" and "Soldier".

Source: internet

[kingrat]

5 hours ago, LawrenceA said:

Oops...looks like I forgot to include Roger Miller in my comments, although he's on the poster. Most of the acts sounded very good, but Donovan didn't do any of the few songs of his that I like, and Joan Baez sorta butchers "You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling". I didn't mention The Modern Folk Quartet, either, but they aren't seen, just heard over the opening and closing credits.

I'd never guess that Joan Baez ever sang "You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling." Does not sound like her kind of song. The lineup is pretty impressive. I like a number of Donovan songs from the Mellow Yellow and Sunshine Superman albums, but not so much the earlier imitation Dylan songs or the later Love & Peace songs.

[speedracer5]

Lately I've been on an Edmond O'Brien kick...

-A Girl, A Guy and A Gob (1941). This is an RKO B-movie featuring Lucille Ball aka "The Queen of the Bs," George Murphy, and a young Edmond O'Brien.  I think this is something like his third film. In this film, O'Brien plays Stephen Herrick, a well to do shipping mogul.  He's been engaged to a stuffy woman named Cecilia for two years.  Cecilia is very much about privilege and the things that Herrick's money and position can get her and her mother in society.  While at the opera, Herrick finds Ball and her eccentric family sitting in his box seats. It turns out that he dropped his tickets, Ball's family member found the tickets under the guise that he purchased the seats using Ball's money.  Anyway, despite getting off on the wrong foot, O'Brien and Ball find themselves working together when O'Brien's secretary leaves her job abruptly to elope with her boyfriend.  Ball is hired on as the new secretary.  Soon, O'Brien finds himself enamored by Ball and her wacky, fun loving, but caring family.  Ball finds herself falling for O'Brien as he comes out of his stuffy shell.  George Murphy plays "Coffee Cup," Ball's sometimes paramour whose heart is more with the Navy than Ball. 

This isn't the greatest movie in anyone's filmography, but it is fun.  Dare I say that I also found O'Brien kind of cute in this film? 

---

DOA (1949). This was an excellent noir.  In this film, O'Brien plays a man who is poisoned while on a pleasure trip in San Francisco.  After visiting a physician, he is told that it could be "a couple of days or even a couple of months" before he dies.  However, he will for sure die as his organs have already absorbed too much poison.  The film starts with him visiting the homicide department and reporting his own murder.  The rest of the story is told in flashback as he tries to recount the events that led up to his poisoning and his investigation into who and why. I loved the club that they visited--The Fisherman's Club.  The music was fantastic. 

The only part of this movie that I did not enjoy was the weird slide whistle sound that was played toward the beginning whenever O'Brien encountered an attractive woman.  I found it very distracting and off-putting.  It lent nothing to the film whatsoever.  I also didn't care for O'Brien's girlfriend, played by Pamela Britton.  She was so whiny and way too saccharine for my tastes. 

---

The Killers (1946) I'd seen this film before.  The first couple of times I watched it, I kind of got lost in the middle.  This time I was able to put more of the pieces together and I really enjoyed it.  I thought that Burt Lancaster was excellent in this film.  He was actually my favorite part. O'Brien was also great as the detective investigating Lancaster's character's death.  It's hard to believe that The Killers was Lancaster's first film.

I really like the look of this movie.

---

White Heat (1949) I watched this film a while back when it was part of Noir Alley.  I think this is the film that started my Edmond O'Brien kick.  While White Heat is no doubt James Cagney's film and Virginia Mayo is fantastic, I thought O'Brien was excellent as Fallon.  I liked how well he was able to fall within Cagney's good graces and gain his trust.  His ability to portray a duplicitous character was very believable. 

[speedracer5]

Edmond O'Brien cont.

The Hitchhiker (1953).  I loved this movie.  I wasn't sure what to expect, but I thought it was fantastic--definitely one of the best noirs I've seen recently.  O'Brien and co-star Frank Lovejoy were excellent as a pair of friends, on a road trip to go fishing.  Both O'Brien and Lovejoy were adept at portraying the gamut of emotions that one would feel in a similar situation: fear, anger, determination, hope, etc. I especially liked O'Brien's character: a man who is determined to fight back and not just lie down waiting to be killed after spending days being emotionally tortured and terrorized.  And last, but certainly not least, William Talman was terrifying as the hitchhiker/serial killer.  I liked that his characterization wasn't over the top to the point of being ridiculous.  He was just bonkers and horrifying.  I especially liked that his character had a messed up eye that didn't close all the way.  The idea that the men couldn't just bail in the middle of the night, because they didn't know if Talman was awake or asleep added yet another unnerving element to this story.

---

The Bigamist (1953). Another Ida Lupino directed film. In this movie, O'Brien plays a traveling salesman who marries two different women.  His first wife, Joan Fontaine and he live in San Francisco.  O'Brien and Fontaine also own and run a business together.  Unfortunately, their working relationship has somewhat taken over their romantic one.  O'Brien feels bored with his wife who only wants to talk to him about sales leads and other business-related aspects.  She's also infertile and wants to adopt a baby.  It's the adoption that threatens to reveal O'Brien's double life.

O'Brien's business takes him to Los Angeles frequently.  The film makes it seem like he travels to LA from SF on a weekly basis. While in Los Angeles, O'Brien meets Ida Lupino on a bus tour of the movie stars' homes.  He and Lupino quickly find themselves in a romantic relationship.  Lupino brings an element of passion and romance that is missing in his relationship with Fontaine.  Soon enough, O'Brien is married to both women.

An interesting aspect to this film is that O'Brien's character isn't necessarily a bad person for being married to two women at once.  He legitimately loves both women for different reasons, but can't seem to find the nerve to leave either one of them.  Perhaps it is cowardice. Or perhaps it is indicative of his personality of being a fairly decent person, save for the bigamy. 

After seeing Lupino's The Hitchhiker followed by The Bigamist, it made me wish that Lupino's directorial efforts were available in a collection.  Lo and behold, literally the next day, I read that Kino was releasing a boxed set of films directed by Lupino! 

---

Backfire (1950).  This was an interesting film featuring O'Brien as a man who seemingly disappears while being investigated for murder.  I recorded this film during the Virginia Mayo SUTS day last year.  In this film, Mayo plays the nurse of O'Brien's friend, Gordon MacRae who is laid up in the hospital after having multiple spine surgeries. MacRae was wounded in battle during WWII.  It is not exactly said how long MacRae was in the hospital, but it was seemingly a long time--long enough for O'Brien to disappear, MacRae and Mayo to fall in love, and the very involved storyline to have taken place.  I was also interested in seeing MacRae in a noir.  Prior to this, I'd only seen the films he made with Doris Day.  MacRae and Mayo are the stars of Backfire. 

In this film, they team up to locate O'Brien and determine if he really committed the crimes he's been accused of and to see if he still has MacRae's money.  MacRae and O'Brien had planned to pool their funds and build and operate a ranch in Arizona after MacRae's out of the hospital.  Most of the film's narrative is told via flashback as MacRae and Mayo meet and talk with people who saw O'Brien.  When the characters are introduced, they tell a flashback as to how they knew O'Brien.  Each of these stories provide clues as to the reason behind O'Brien's disappearance and also provide clues behind who could have possibly committed the murder(s) O'Brien is accused of.  The narrative bounces back and forth between flashback and current time as MacRae and Mayo investigate O'Brien's disappearance.

I thought this was a pretty decent noir and I especially liked the ending.  Dane Clark (in a very surprising role), Ed Begley, Viveca Lindfors (whom I'd only seen in The Adventures of Don Juan previously), and MacRae's wife, Sheila, round out the cast. 

---

Another Part of the Forest (1948).  If you've ever wanted to see O'Brien sporting mutton chops, this is the film for you.  This movie, a prequel to The Little Foxes, features the Hubbard family and their rise to prominence within their Alabama town.  The Hubbard family are portrayed as ruthless with little regard for anyone else--even within their own family.  Poor Mrs. Hubbard (Florence Eldridge), seemingly the only member of the family with even a shred of propriety, is abandoned by her family on her birthday.  She's given a half-a s s e d birthday tribute and then left to her own devices.  Dialogue between her and Mr. Hubbard (Fredric March) indicate that it is an annual event for her family to be too self-involved to celebrate her birthday.  

March, the patriarch of the family, made his fortune by exploiting his fellow citizens by gaining control of commodities e.g. salt, charging them exorbitant prices, and making a fortune in the process.  Eldridge is disgusted at her husband's business ethics, or lack thereof.

O'Brien plays the eldest son, Benjamin, who is not only as ruthless and cutthroat as his father, but more so.  He wants nothing more than to take over his father's business and gain control of all the family's assets. The middle child, Oscar (played by Dan Duryea), is a K K K supporter who frequents the local brothel.  There is a particular employee at the brothel whom Duryea lusts after.  A penniless woman is interested in Oscar--but only because she wishes to obtain money, using her family's property as collateral.  Finally, Ann Blyth rounds out the family as the youngest sibling, Regina.  Blyth portrays the younger version of Bette Davis' character from The Little Foxes. Regina is a self-absorbed, over the hill, loose woman of 20 who lusts after John Dall, a confederate soldier.  Blyth and March's relationship has an unusual closeness to it.  Blyth and March are much closer as father/daughter than March is with his wife. 

I originally recorded this film because I'm a fan of Ann Blyth, but I also enjoyed O'Brien's role.  I hadn't yet seen him in a role as someone with such questionable character and integrity. 

---

I still have these O'Brien films on my DVR:

-The Wild Bunch

-Birdman From Alcatraz

-A Cry in the Night
 

These O'Brien films are on Amazon Prime:

-The Hitchhiker (watched)

-The Bigamist (watched)

-DOA (watched)

-The Barefoot Contessa

-Shield For Murder

-The Admiral Was a Lady

-Warpath

And I just borrowed A Double Life from the library.  I meant to watch this movie back when Ronald Colman was SOTM. I had the film recorded, then my DVR went on the fritz and I lost all my recordings.  I didn't even realize that O'Brien was in this film until I looked up his filmography on Wikipedia. 

I am also considering renting 711 Ocean Drive on Amazon Prime, because the film sounded interesting and I'd like to see it.  It doesn't seem to be available at the library.

[TomJH]

5 hours ago, speedracer5 said:

 It's hard to believe that The Killers was Lancaster's first film.
 

I don't believe it was. Desert Fury, in which Lancaster got third billing, was his first film role, though it would be released the year after The Killers. The Killers was Burt's introduction to movie audiences even if it wasn't his film debut. It may be just as well it worked out that way as The Killers gives Burt a more memorable role.

Burt (the Swede) seeing Ava (Kitty) for the first time, the poor sap. How many can blame him for becoming obsessed? This role would be a forerunner to a largely similar character for Lancaster in Criss Cross, made a few years later.

Criss Cross: one of the most memorable endings of all film noirs.

 

[cigarjoe]

8 hours ago, speedracer5 said:

I still have these O'Brien films on my DVR:

-The Wild Bunch

-Birdman From Alcatraz

-A Cry in the Night
 

These O'Brien films are on Amazon Prime:

-The Hitchhiker (watched)

-The Bigamist (watched)

-DOA (watched)

-The Barefoot Contessa

-Shield For Murder

-The Admiral Was a Lady

-Warpath

There is another O'Brien Noir that's pretty good where Laraine Day and O'Brien plan to kill Day's look-a-like (he looks like O'Brien) boss while he's on a fishing trip to Mexico. Then both are to abscond with as much money as they can get away with from (transferring company money to another account), however the boss's attractive gal pal Julie London shows up for a rendezvous and it all goes haywire.

It's called The 3rd Voice 6.5/10

There's a bootleg DVDr available in the gray market but it could used a good restoration.

[LornaHansonForbes]

i watched THE LAST GANGSTER (1937)- a film EDWARD G ROBINSON made on loanout to MGM...it was the most challenging role I've seen him play, and he was excellent- and the film has a lot of effective moments, but overall IT IS FRIGGIN WEIRD.

ROBINSON is a crime boss obviously modeled on AL CAPONE who married a foreign lady who can barely speak English who reminded me a lot of the current First Lady, only the lady in the movie's English improved notably as her role progressed. she was played by ROSE STRADNER- who did not do a lot of other stuff and i can see why (bless her heart). edit- according to imdb, LUISE RAINER was supposed to play the part.

EDDIE goes to ALCATRAZ for tax evasion and she takes their infant son and marries JAMES STEWART- who was not good in a badly written role.

10 years later, EDDIE gets out and seeks revenge, but before that- his son with his ex who has grown into a SLIGHTLY less prissy FREDDIE BARTHOLEMEW in a clown beanie , is drawn into a sadistic kidnapping scheme.

The ending to this thing is bonkers and there are some torture scenes that I'm surprised the Hayes Office allowed.

Just a weird movie, but EDDIE was GREAT.

[LornaHansonForbes]

I also had the pleasure of rewatching THE NORTH AVENUE IRREGULARS (1979) yesterday- I really recommend it for all sorts of reasons, it was a childhood favorite of mine- used to rent the VHS from the store at the mall every weekend.

The score is burned into my brain, as are many pieces of the dialogue, ie "I expect to be murdered at any moment."

God it is a delight- if there is any weakness to it, and I actually took special note of this since it applies to something I am working on on the side right now- it is that it is SUCH an ENSEMBLE with SO MANY CHARACTERS (seriously, the [iffily animated] opening credits- which list everyone and their character's names, go on forever) that there is no true lead, it's all "bits" a la MAD MAD MAD MAD WORLD, only THIS MOVIE ROCKS.

EDWARD HERMANN is a Presbyterian minister who takes over a struggling church and recruits his devoted church ladies into busting a local gambling outfit when their drunken Irish Sexton bets the church's entire risk fund on a horse.

the rest is INSANE car chases and everyone risking their lives in THE SAN FERNANDO VALLEY. this movie makes me get the 70's, even the CB craze......A MUST FOR CAR JUNKIES!!!!!!

(i THINK IN ONE REEL, YOU ACTUALLY SEE A PEDESTRIAN GET HIT!)

AGAIN, THIS IS A DISNEY FILM!!!!!!

SUSAN CLARK- who many know as WEBSTER'S LESBIAN ICON MOM- is SO CHARMING in the standard DISNEY LIVE ACTION DISAPPROVING LOVE INTEREST ROLE- as the church secretary. I really liked her a lot.

**this is one of those films that will also slightly break your heart, BECAUSE WE DON'T HAVE ACTORS LIKE THESE ANYMORE....

***i WISH i could id everyone's vehicles by make and model

CLORIS LEACHMAN IS "PHANTOM FOX" SHE LEGIT SHOULD HAVE BEEN NOMINATED FOR SUPPORTING ACTRESS FOR THIS

BARBARA HARRIS IS "KIDDIE CAR" After wrecking her station wagon and causing a pile up of fleeing gangsters, she yells out to the kids "see children! I told you I wouldn't be long!"

KAREN VALENTINE is "JUNE BRIDE"- CAR- silver phantom ROLLS ROYCE

PATSY KELLY AND DOUGLAS FOWLEY (IN DRAG) ARE "BLARNEY STONE"- "look whatcha done woman! Ya made me get a run in me stockins!!!!"

VIRGINA CAPERS is "CLUNKER" whose line "HEAVY DUTY COMIN' THRU" WHILE DRIVING A SEMI INTO AN OFFRAMP IS MY EVERYTHING!!!!!!!!!!

i adore this movie.

like, i've never seen KRAMER Vs KRAMER or ALL THAT JAZZ or APOLCALYPSE NOW, but THIS is the BEST PICTURE OF 1979.

[LornaHansonForbes]

PS- THE NORTH AVENUE IRREGULARS is in my TCM HULU feed, so if any of you have access to it on that or ON DEMAND, really, check it out!

[speedracer5]

2 hours ago, cigarjoe said:

There is another O'Brien Noir that's pretty good where Laraine Day and O'Brien plan to kill Day's look-a-like (he looks like O'Brien) boss while he's on a fishing trip to Mexico. Then both are to abscond with as much money as they can get away with from (transferring company money to another account), however the boss's attractive gal pal Julie London shows up for a rendezvous and it all goes haywire.

It's called The 3rd Voice 6.5/10

There's a bootleg DVDr available in the gray market but it could used a good restoration.

Thanks! It sounds interesting.  It appears that there may be a bad copy of it on You Tube. 

[speedracer5]

3 hours ago, TomJH said:

I don't believe it was. Desert Fury, in which Lancaster got third billing, was his first film role, though it would be released the year after The Killers. The Killers was Burt's introduction to movie audiences even if it wasn't his film debut. It may be just as well it worked out that way as The Killers gives Burt a more memorable role.

Criss Cross: one of the most memorable endings of all film noirs.

 

Hmm.  I thought I'd read/heard that The Killers was Lancaster's first film.  If it wasn't, it was sure an excellent part for a novice actor.  The Swede was definitely Lancaster's big break.

I just put Criss Cross on hold at the library.  I think this is one of those films that I keep seeing on the TCM schedule and have yet to actually record it.  I also put Brute Force on hold at the library (both films checked out, perhaps someone on the west side of the Portland Metro Area is on a Lancaster kick?).  I actually think I've seen Brute Force but I cannot recall what happened in it.

[kingrat]

1 hour ago, LornaHansonForbes said:

I also had the pleasure of rewatching THE NORTH AVENUE IRREGULARS (1979) yesterday- I really recommend it for all sorts of reasons, it was a childhood favorite of mine- used to rent the VHS from the store at the mall every weekend.

The score is burned into my brain, as are many pieces of the dialogue, ie "I expect to be murdered at any moment."

God it is a delight- if there is any weakness to it, and I actually took special note of this since it applies to something I am working on on the side right now- it is that it is SUCH an ENSEMBLE with SO MANY CHARACTERS (seriously, the [iffily animated] opening credits- which list everyone and their character's names, go on forever) that there is no true lead, it's all "bits" a la MAD MAD MAD MAD WORLD, only THIS MOVIE ROCKS.

EDWARD HERMANN is a Presbyterian minister who takes over a struggling church and recruits his devoted church ladies into busting a local gambling outfit when their drunken Irish Sexton bets the church's entire risk fund on a horse.

the rest is INSANE car chases and everyone risking their lives in THE SAN FERNANDO VALLEY. this movie makes me get the 70's, even the CB craze......A MUST FOR CAR JUNKIES!!!!!!

(i THINK IN ONE REEL, YOU ACTUALLY SEE A PEDESTRIAN GET HIT!)

AGAIN, THIS IS A DISNEY FILM!!!!!!

SUSAN CLARK- who many know as WEBSTER'S LESBIAN ICON MOM- is SO CHARMING in the standard DISNEY LIVE ACTION DISAPPROVING LOVE INTEREST ROLE- as the church secretary. I really liked her a lot.

**this is one of those films that will also slightly break your heart, BECAUSE WE DON'T HAVE ACTORS LIKE THESE ANYMORE....

***i WISH i could id everyone's vehicles by make and model

CLORIS LEACHMAN IS "PHANTOM FOX" SHE LEGIT SHOULD HAVE BEEN NOMINATED FOR SUPPORTING ACTRESS FOR THIS

BARBARA HARRIS IS "KIDDIE CAR" After wrecking her station wagon and causing a pile up of fleeing gangsters, she yells out to the kids "see children! I told you I wouldn't be long!"

KAREN VALENTINE is "JUNE BRIDE"- CAR- silver phantom ROLLS ROYCE

PATSY KELLY AND DOUGLAS FOWLEY (IN DRAG) ARE "BLARNEY STONE"- "look whatcha done woman! Ya made me get a run in me stockins!!!!"

VIRGINA CAPERS is "CLUNKER" whose line "HEAVY DUTY COMIN' THRU" WHILE DRIVING A SEMI INTO AN OFFRAMP IS MY EVERYTHING!!!!!!!!!!

i adore this movie.

like, i've never seen KRAMER Vs KRAMER or ALL THAT JAZZ or APOLCALYPSE NOW, but THIS is the BEST PICTURE OF 1979.

Lorna, I can tell you that Apocalypse Now isn't nearly as funny as North Avenue Irregulars.

[TomJH]

1 hour ago, speedracer5 said:

Hmm.  I thought I'd read/heard that The Killers was Lancaster's first film.  If it wasn't, it was sure an excellent part for a novice actor.  The Swede was definitely Lancaster's big break.

I just put Criss Cross on hold at the library.  I think this is one of those films that I keep seeing on the TCM schedule and have yet to actually record it.  I also put Brute Force on hold at the library (both films checked out, perhaps someone on the west side of the Portland Metro Area is on a Lancaster kick?).  I actually think I've seen Brute Force but I cannot recall what happened in it.

Criss Cross is a good one, Speedracer, noteworthy, among other things, for Dan Duryea's understated villainy performance. The final scene is classic noir, and watch the way Duryea plays it, almost as if he's sad.

[LawrenceA]

Daimajin aka Majin, the Monster of Terror (1966)  -  7/10

Japanese fantasy about a feudal-era village beset by a warlord (Ryutaro Gomi), who brutally subjugates the villagers. They turn to their mountain god for salvation, who comes to life in the form of Daimajin, a giant stone statue. Also featuring Miwa Takada, Masako Morishita, Yoshihiku Aoyama, Hideki Ninomiya, and Jun Fujimaki. I enjoyed this unusual kaiju-style movie, with a unique "creature" and emphasis on character over effects (Daimajin doesn't really appear until the film's last act). This was followed by two sequels this same year. AIP released a dubbed version in the US.

Source: YouTube

[LawrenceA]

The Deadly Affair (1967)*  -  6/10

Intrigue and infidelity based on a book by John Le Carre, directed by Sidney Lumet. Charles Dobbs (James Mason) is an aging agent with the British Home Office. He knows his wife (Harriet Andersson) is having an affair, but he has more pressing matters at hand: a politician has committed suicide shortly after being questioned by Dobbs about his college-era communist leanings. The higher-ups don't think it was suicide, so Dobbs, with the assistance of a retired Scotland Yard inspector (Harry Andrews), is ordered to look into it. Also featuring Simone Signoret as the dead man's widow, Maximilian Schell as an old friend of Dobbs', Kenneth Haigh, Roy Kinnear, Max Adrian, Lynn Redgrave, Corin Redgrave, and David Warner. This was another of Le Carre's George Smiley books, but due to rights issues the names were changed. Director Lumet presents a drab, gray London that perhaps fits the dour tone of the story but doesn't invite much audience enthusiasm. I was very impressed with Andrews as the tough cop, and Signoret as the Holocaust-surviving widow. The Quincy Jones soundtrack jars badly against the onscreen action.

*IMDb had this listed as a 1966 release until very recently, but now it shows it as a January, 1967 premiere.

Source: TCM

 

[EricJ]

7 hours ago, LornaHansonForbes said:

PS- THE NORTH AVENUE IRREGULARS is in my TCM HULU feed, so if any of you have access to it on that or ON DEMAND, really, check it out!

I remember when it came out in '79, those of us who'd seen it said "No, really!  A Ron Miller-era 70's Disney comedy, and it's funny!"

...Nobody believed us.  😓

(But then, they didn't believe us that young Jodie Foster was funny in "Freaky Friday" or "Candleshoe", either.  So, don't worry, Nick & Nora, it won't be too painful by the time you get to it in the upper 70's echelons of your Disney quest.)

7 hours ago, LornaHansonForbes said:

SUSAN CLARK- who many know as WEBSTER'S LESBIAN ICON MOM-

...Despite the fact that Clark was married to Webster's-dad Alex Karras IRL for thirty years?

Okay--after arguing with Shout Factory's "Pride Month sale" about what on heaven's green earth made the 70's Fantasy Island TV boxsets a "gay icon", with "Can't Stop the Music" as one of the also-like recommendations (and okay, that would explain "Webster", but "The Facts of Life"??)--I must ask:

Has a culture in desperate need of tribalistic pop-culture identification actually descended to "It's 'gay' BECAUSE it's decade-kitschy"?  I can understand how "Valley of the Dolls" and "Mommie Dearest" became misogynist-fantasy icons, and I've heard some flimsy explanations for why "Grease" attracts singalong-screening audiences, but have the "bullied" now become the sniggering bullies?

(Sorry, had to vent, but...seriously, the heck??)

[CinemaInternational]

6 hours ago, LornaHansonForbes said:

I also had the pleasure of rewatching THE NORTH AVENUE IRREGULARS (1979) yesterday- I really recommend it for all sorts of reasons, it was a childhood favorite of mine- used to rent the VHS from the store at the mall every weekend.

The score is burned into my brain, as are many pieces of the dialogue, ie "I expect to be murdered at any moment."

God it is a delight- if there is any weakness to it, and I actually took special note of this since it applies to something I am working on on the side right now- it is that it is SUCH an ENSEMBLE with SO MANY CHARACTERS (seriously, the [iffily animated] opening credits- which list everyone and their character's names, go on forever) that there is no true lead, it's all "bits" a la MAD MAD MAD MAD WORLD, only THIS MOVIE ROCKS.

EDWARD HERMANN is a Presbyterian minister who takes over a struggling church and recruits his devoted church ladies into busting a local gambling outfit when their drunken Irish Sexton bets the church's entire risk fund on a horse.

the rest is INSANE car chases and everyone risking their lives in THE SAN FERNANDO VALLEY. this movie makes me get the 70's, even the CB craze......A MUST FOR CAR JUNKIES!!!!!!

(i THINK IN ONE REEL, YOU ACTUALLY SEE A PEDESTRIAN GET HIT!)

AGAIN, THIS IS A DISNEY FILM!!!!!!

SUSAN CLARK- who many know as WEBSTER'S LESBIAN ICON MOM- is SO CHARMING in the standard DISNEY LIVE ACTION DISAPPROVING LOVE INTEREST ROLE- as the church secretary. I really liked her a lot.

**this is one of those films that will also slightly break your heart, BECAUSE WE DON'T HAVE ACTORS LIKE THESE ANYMORE....

***i WISH i could id everyone's vehicles by make and model

CLORIS LEACHMAN IS "PHANTOM FOX" SHE LEGIT SHOULD HAVE BEEN NOMINATED FOR SUPPORTING ACTRESS FOR THIS

BARBARA HARRIS IS "KIDDIE CAR" After wrecking her station wagon and causing a pile up of fleeing gangsters, she yells out to the kids "see children! I told you I wouldn't be long!"

KAREN VALENTINE is "JUNE BRIDE"- CAR- silver phantom ROLLS ROYCE

PATSY KELLY AND DOUGLAS FOWLEY (IN DRAG) ARE "BLARNEY STONE"- "look whatcha done woman! Ya made me get a run in me stockins!!!!"

VIRGINA CAPERS is "CLUNKER" whose line "HEAVY DUTY COMIN' THRU" WHILE DRIVING A SEMI INTO AN OFFRAMP IS MY EVERYTHING!!!!!!!!!!

i adore this movie.

like, i've never seen KRAMER Vs KRAMER or ALL THAT JAZZ or APOLCALYPSE NOW, but THIS is the BEST PICTURE OF 1979.

i did catch it when it was on the other night, and some of those moments in the film were quite amusing. I got a kick out of Cloris Leachman wanting revenge after that one driver broke all her nails. That and her look earlier in the film after she thinks she has secured a date with Edward Herrmann.

[Fedya]

5 hours ago, speedracer5 said:

I actually think I've seen Brute Force but I cannot recall what happened in it.

Hume Cronyn wears a wife-beater and carries a truncheon is what happens:

[LawrenceA]

Django Shoots First (1966)  -  6/10

Routine spaghetti western from director Alberto De Martino. Glenn Saxson stars as Django, aka Glenn Garvin, a gunfighter who learns that there's a bounty out on his father. Django finds his father already killed by a bounty hunter, but, after dispatching the bounty hunter, Django decides to turn in his father's body for the pay-off. He uncovers the crooked doings of corrupt banker Kluster (Nando Gazzolo), who may have set up Django's dad, as well as a mysterious stranger named Doc (Alberto Lupo). Also featuring Fernando Sancho, Evelyn Stewart, Jose Martin, George Eastman, and Erika Blanc. Dutch actor Saxson makes for a bland hero, but I liked Lupo as the cane-wielding Doc.

Source: Mill Creek DVD

 

[kingrat]

One of the interesting things about North Avenue Irregulars is how low Cloris Leachman is billed. She had won an Oscar for The Last Picture Show and was one of the best-known players in the cast. Her name certainly meant more at the box office than Barbara Harris did. It's a "fire your agent or demand extra money for the bad billing" situation.

[LawrenceA]

The Doomsday Flight (1966)  -  6/10

TV-movie thriller written by Rod Serling. Edmond O'Brien plays a sweaty creep with Coke-bottle glasses who put a barometric bomb on a passenger jet. If the plane goes below a certain altitude, the bomb will go off. O'Brien asks for a hundred grand in ransom, while FBI man Jack Lord tries to track him down. Also featuring Van Johnson as the pilot, John Saxon as an obnoxious celebrity, Michael Sarrazin as a Vietnam vet, Ed Asner as the airline exec, and Richard Carlson as the ground control expert. With Malachi Throne, Katherine Crawford, Tom Simcox, Greg Morris, David Lewis, Celia Lovsky, Bert Remsen, and Don Stewart. This is very familiar territory, but it's elevated a bit thanks to O'Brien's committed performance.

Source: YouTube

[LornaHansonForbes]

2 hours ago, kingrat said:

One of the interesting things about North Avenue Irregulars is how low Cloris Leachman is billed. She had won an Oscar for The Last Picture Show and was one of the best-known players in the cast. Her name certainly meant more at the box office than Barbara Harris did. It's a "fire your agent or demand extra money for the bad billing" situation.

Forgive my being gossipy but....

During my time in Hollywood I actually heard from several different people that Cloris Leachman is extremely difficult to work with...One person even went into great detail with me, and I’m not going to repeat those details...

So I personally think that probably had something to do with her relatively quick descent to sort of C list,  Even though she won an Oscar and was in some absolutely huge hits in the 1970s.

Nonetheless, as far as I’m concerned she is still a national treasure.

[LornaHansonForbes]

4 hours ago, EricJ said:

I remember when it came out in '79, those of us who'd seen it said "No, really!  A Ron Miller-era 70's Disney comedy, and it's funny!"

...Nobody believed us.  😓

(But then, they didn't believe us that young Jodie Foster was funny in "Freaky Friday" or "Candleshoe", either.  So, don't worry, Nick & Nora, it won't be too painful by the time you get to it in the upper 70's echelons of your Disney quest.)

...Despite the fact that Clark was married to Webster's-dad Alex Karras IRL for thirty years?

Okay--after arguing with Shout Factory's "Pride Month sale" about what on heaven's green earth made the 70's Fantasy Island TV boxsets a "gay icon", with "Can't Stop the Music" as one of the also-like recommendations (and okay, that would explain "Webster", but "The Facts of Life"??)--I must ask:

Has a culture in desperate need of tribalistic pop-culture identification actually descended to "It's 'gay' BECAUSE it's decade-kitschy"?  I can understand how "Valley of the Dolls" and "Mommie Dearest" became misogynist-fantasy icons, and I've heard some flimsy explanations for why "Grease" attracts singalong-screening audiences, but have the "bullied" now become the sniggering bullies?

(Sorry, had to vent, but...seriously, the heck??)

Oh I didn’t say Susan Clark was a lesbian, I said she was a lesbian icon. Same thing with Doris Day.

Lesbian icons are not made, they’re born, And they themselves do not have to actually be lesbians.

i can’t explain the phenomenon.

Gay icons, that’s easy. Give me a ponytail extension,  some body glitter and a drum beat and I can become a gay icon by next Wednesday.

The lesbians tend to be more discerning though.

Sadly, I am on my phone and I can’t post any images, but Susan Clark on WEBSTER Just is WALKING LESBIAN CHIC (Right down to the interracial adoption which is the ultimate lesbian accessory, forget the key ring on the belt loop),  Even if she was not in fact a lesbian....

although I am thrilled to pieces that she and Alex Karras managed to stay together for 30 years and they give me one hell of a fun couple vibe.

**And really, what is not a matter of debate is that she was a charming and very beautiful actress ...although PORKY’s....

 

[EricJ]

The Doomsday Flight (1966)  -  6/10

TV-movie thriller written by Rod Serling. Edmond O'Brien plays a sweaty creep with Coke-bottle glasses who put a barometric bomb on a passenger jet. If the plane goes below a certain altitude, the bomb will go off.

For some reason, I thought Serling's "twist" solution was from the original Airport.  Thanks for the title ID, wondered where that did come from.

[LawrenceA]

Emotion (1966)  -  5/10

Experimental Japanese short film from director Nobuhiko Obayashi. Two young women (Sari Akasaka and Emi Tabata) meet each and fall for the same man, who may or may not be a vampire. This forty-minute exercise in stylish overkill opens with a dedication to Roger Vadim and Blood and Roses. It's mostly incoherent quick-cuts, shaky-cam, and unreliable narration. I watched it because I like the director's later film House (1977).

Source: The Criterion Channel