I Just Watched...

[SansFin]

Cat People.

 

What I loved about Cat People was the way that Lewton told the story.  We never see Simone Simon transforming into a panther, but it is highly suggested that she does.  She constantly wears a black fur coat in the scenes where the panther appears.  I loved how the panther only appeared in shadows.  I also loved the music in this film.

 

 

What attracts me is how misunderstood she is. Her fears are very, very real but other people think she is deranged. She loves a man as deeply as any woman ever has but she has the strength of character to avoid physical passion because of the consequences. It is tormenting her and she is being persecuted for being so noble. The real horror in this movie is not the threat of an attack by a blood-crazed werecat but that people are so quick to judge others without trying to understand their heritage. 

 

I believe that a significant factor is added by the mystery that we are uncertain if her fears are real or are delusion. If it were overtly stated that she does change then it would be fantasy and we would find comfort in knowing that it is a story only. If it were stated overtly that she is truly delusional then we would find comfort in knowing that what she believes is not real.  The confusion created by not-knowing leaves us to question reality on a very instinctive level. 

 

The amazing cinematography of the movie parallels this by making us question whether we are truly seeing or we are imagining what we saw. 

 

I feel this raises the movie far beyond a typical horror movie and it makes it a supreme psychological drama.

[speedracer5]

 

What attracts me is how misunderstood she is. Her fears are very, very real but other people think she is deranged. She loves a man as deeply as any woman ever has but she has the strength of character to avoid physical passion because of the consequences. It is tormenting her and she is being persecuted for being so noble. The real horror in this movie is not the threat of an attack by a blood-crazed werecat but that people are so quick to judge others without trying to understand their heritage. 

 

I believe that a significant factor is added by the mystery that we are uncertain if her fears are real or are delusion. If it were overtly stated that she does change then it would be fantasy and we would find comfort in knowing that it is a story only. If it were stated overtly that she is truly delusional then we would find comfort in knowing that what she believes is not real.  The confusion created by not-knowing leaves us to question reality on a very instinctive level. 

 

The amazing cinematography of the movie parallels this by making us question whether we are truly seeing or we are imagining what we saw. 

 

I feel this raises the movie far beyond a typical horror movie and it makes it a supreme psychological drama.

 

 

I agree.  I really liked this film.  What did you think of the sequel? Do you recommend Val Lewton's other films?

[MCannady1]

I agree.  I really liked this film.  What did you think of the sequel? Do you recommend Val Lewton's other films?

I want to say that I like all of Val Lewton's films.  I was really touched by the original Cat People.  I feel that Simone Simone gave a great performance in this film as did Kent Smith and the other actors and actresses.

 

It is so true that sometimes it is hard when you are judged by others.  In this case we see Irena's dilemma very clearly.  Unfortunately (not wanting to give the denouement away to those who have not seen the film) a psychiatrist and some others perceived the lady as imagining things and possessing delusions.

 

I love Val Lewton's sequel; Curse of the Cat People which also has Kent Smith and the lovely Simone Simone.  Here we have Kent happily re-married and with a lovely little daughter, played by the appealing Ann Carter,  There are some intriguing situations here;  Julia Dean as a lonely retired actress who befriends little Amy but her sinister daughter, Barbara seems very jealous.  She is well-played by Elizabeth Russell who also appeared briefly in the first Cat People film.

 

I have promised to see the more recent versions which also sound very good (though more gruesome).

[LawrenceA]

I agree.  I really liked this film.  What did you think of the sequel? Do you recommend Val Lewton's other films?

 

I know this wasn't directed toward me, but I would recommend I Walked with a Zombie (1943), The Seventh Victim (1943), The Body Snatcher (1945), and Bedlam (1946). They are all atmospheric and well done, without relying on gore or shocks for effect. I've seen The Leopard Man (1943) and The Ghost Ship (1943) as well, but wasn't as thrilled with them. They, too, have their fans, though. It's been so long since I saw Curse of the Cat People that I really couldn't comment on its qualities.

[MCannady1]

I agree.  I really liked this film.  What did you think of the sequel? Do you recommend Val Lewton's other films?

I was also going to mention that I agree with you -  A lot of the film deals with perception.  Yes, Irena is scared to death that she will kill her beloved husband if she becomes too close to him.  She does avoid a physical relationship.  This leads us to wonder if she had had a similar dilemma prior to this or if this is the first one for her.  I gathered that gentle and kindly Oliver was her one and only love.  Sadly, he cannot understand her strange behaviors.  HE is led by a well-meaning co-worker to seek mental aid for her.

[MCannady1]

"Something For the Boys" (1944)--Had been a Broadway hit; 20th Century Fox bought the rights.  Diverting musical has a second-tier Cole Porter score, that is well sung by Vivian Blaine, Carmen Miranda, & Perry Como.  None of the songs are standards, although all of them are easy on the ear,and "I Wish We Didn't Have To Say Good Night" just misses being first class Porter. Phil Silvers is also starred; he does a non-PC parody of Al Jolson.   Plot is about radio waves and fillings.  6.8/10 stars.

 

"Carmen Miranda: Behind the Tutti-Frutti Hat" (2010?)--Excellent BBC documentary about Miranda.  Shows rare clips from Brazilian films she did before becoming a star in the U.S.  This talented lady went down a road of multiple addictions that ultimately killed her.  8/10 stars.

 

Both are available on YT.

Beautiful and talented lady.  It is sad that she died so young.  I was very very young when I saw the Lucy episode where she imitates

Carmen and wears a Tutti FRuitti hat.  I recall seeing a movie of hers on the Early Show not long after. 

 

Thanks!  Looking forward to watching  on You Tube.

[SansFin]

I agree.  I really liked this film.  What did you think of the sequel? Do you recommend Val Lewton's other films?

 

 

I feel that the sequel is very much a different type of story. It is also that the persecuted one is a child and I find that in general to be non-entertaining.

 

I had not thought to classify the original as: noir but I understand well why others have classified it as such. I believe the sequel could never truly be classified as: noir.

 

I have liked all Val Lewton movies which I have watched but in varying degrees. I can say only that his name on a movie draws me to watch it but I rarely have my expectations set high.

[misswonderly3]

I agree.  I really liked this film.  What did you think of the sequel? Do you recommend Val Lewton's other films?

 

I love the sequel, Curse of the Cat People. However, as SansFin stated, it is an entirely different  type of film from the original. It's very strange - well, so is Cat People, of course, that's one of the things I like about both movies. But the sequel is strange in a dreamy way; it's more like a fantasy, a children's story, than the earlier film. If you are looking for more of the same from Cat People in its sequel, you'll be disappointed. It almost isn't a sequel, in the usual sense of the word. It does have several of the same characters, but beyond that, it's an entirely different kind of story.

I'd actually seriously consider suggesting it as part of a line-up for a program of children's fantasy films. It's both eerie and sweet, a family story and at the same time an exploration into loneliness and yearning, we hardly even know for what. It's a very unusual little movie.

 

I recommend everything Val Lewton ever made.

 

ps: If you like Val Lewton, you might want to explore the work of someone who worked closely with him in many of his films, Jacques Tourneur.

[LonesomePolecat]

PHANTOM LADY -- started out as a regular noir in which the search was for the Phantom Lady, which I already enjoyed, but then they revealed the killer, then they revealed the killer's relationship to the protagonist, then it got quite exciting

[cigarjoe]

Experiment In Terror (1962) San Francisco Tail Fin Noir

 

 

A neat 1962 Suspense-Thriller Noir that fits into that particular period from mid to late 1950's early 1960's that is visually defined on cars by the Space Age design feature the tail fin, and by Googie style signage and architecture. Released by Columbia Pictures, the film was directed by Blake Edwards, Mickey Spillane's 'Mike Hammer!' (TV Movie 1954) Days of Wine And Roses (1962), and written by Mildred and Gordon Gordon and was based on their 1961 novel, Operation Terror.

 

The film stars Glenn Ford (seven classic noir films), Lee Remick (Anatomy of a Murder (1959)), Stefanie Powers, and Ross Martin. Supporting cast Ned Glass, Anita Loo, Patricia Huston, Clifton James, Al Avalon, James Lanphier, and William Sharon. The film is greatly enhanced by the excellent cinematography by Philip H. Lathrop who was assistant camera on Kiss the Blood Off My Hands (1948), camera operator on (The Raging Tide (1951), Touch Of Evil (1958), lensed as cinematographer a couple of critically forgettable Paul Henreid directed films, and a string of TV series, (Rawhide, and the noir-ish, Mr. Lucky, Peter Gunn, and Perry Mason)

 

Sherwood is a cute bank teller who lives on a hill overlooking the city with her 16-year-old sister (Stefanie Powers) in the Twin Peaks section of San Francisco. As we continue to follow her home from a party in Oakland to her house, she is grabbed from behind after she gets out of her car and is assaulted in her dark garage by a man with a raspy wheezing voice. The shot is in an uncomfortable extreme close-up. The Wheezer threatens to either kill her or her sister if she doesn't cooperate in his plan to rob her bank. 

 

 

I can't express enough how much this late Film Noir is an addictive visual treat, it's full of striking compositions, skewed by unsetting camera angles, teeming with bizarre interior sets all added to wonderful San Francisco location shots.  The film also has a good score from long time Blake Edwards collaborator Henry Mancini. 9/10

 

Fuller review in Film Noir & Gangster board.

 

 

[misswonderly3]

 

Experiment In Terror (1962) San Francisco Tail Fin Noir

 

 

 

A neat 1962 Suspense-Thriller Noir that fits into that particular period from mid to late 1950's early 1960's that is visually defined on cars by the Space Age design feature the tail fin, and by Googie style signage and architecture. Released by Columbia Pictures, the film was directed by Blake Edwards, Mickey Spillane's 'Mike Hammer!' (TV Movie 1954) Days of Wine And Roses (1962), and written by Mildred and Gordon Gordon and was based on their 1961 novel, Operation Terror.

 

I can't express enough how much this late Film Noir is an addictive visual treat, it's full of striking compositions, skewed by unsetting camera angles, teeming with bizarre interior sets all added to wonderful San Francisco location shots.  The film also has a good score from long time Blake Edwards collaborator Henry Mancini. 9/10

 

Fuller review in Film Noir & Gangster board.

 

 

Also, don't miss the sequel, currently being promoted by the TCM Wine Club:

Experiment in Terroir, in which the Lee Remick character decides to start a winery to calm her nerves after her ordeal. Little does she know what awaits her in  those dark vineyards.

 

Actually, cigarjoe, I agree, Experiment in Terror is an excellent latter-day noir. Very suspenseful, with an intriguing premise and spot-on performances by all involved.

[film lover 293]

And be Certain not to miss "Eye of the Devil" (1967), in which David Niven & Deborah Kerr give  Excellent reasons for sticking to coffee & avoiding wine.

[misswonderly3]

Yesterday, merely by chance and minutes before the broadcast time, I saw that TCM was airing You're a Big Boy Now.  I was curious about this movie for a few reasons: a fellow board member here (ok, darkblue) thinks highly of it, it has a soundtrack featuring songs by 60s pop band "The Lovin' Spoonful",and it was an early work by director Francis Ford Coppola. So I abandoned my responsibilities for the rest of the afternoon (such all-important things :l ), and succumbed to the temptation to watch it.

 

Well, you can certainly tell it was made in the mid-60s. It's got that "everything and everybody's kooky" vibe to it. But that's ok, it's kind of fun. It's actually a sweet little coming-of-age story, quite well-done (if you don't mind the kookiness.)

Interesting to see Karen Black in such an early performance  Actually, I just looked it up - apparently it is her film debut.

Also of note (anyone else think "of note" is one of those formal expressions that's kind of funny?): Geraldine Page, playing the young hero's mother, and a very stereotypical clinging over-emotional mother she is. I paid particular attention when she was on-screen, because a few of us here had recently discussed Miss Page and her talents on the Dear Heart thread (another kooky film from the same year, 1966.)

 

I particularly enjoyed the library scenes, with the dumb- waiter for books and the roller-skating pages (a "page" is a minor library employee who fetches and carries, not to be confused with the fact that of course a library is full of pages of the other kind.) And the play the young guy ("Bernard") and his parents go to see is so quintessentially 60s, it's hilarious to watch.

 

Later I looked up the actor who played the young man, Peter Kastner, and discovered he was Canadian, from my home town actually - Toronto. He died in 2008.

 

Anyway, it's a cute little movie, a great "slice of life" (in a kooky way) from mid-60s New York City, and worth watching if you like kooky slice of life movies set in New York City in the mid-60s. Which I do.

[Swithin]

Yesterday, merely by chance and minutes before the broadcast time, I saw that TCM was airing You're a Big Boy Now.  I was curious about this movie for a few reasons: a fellow board member here (ok, darkblue) thinks highly of it, it has a soundtrack featuring songs by 60s pop band "The Lovin' Spoonful",and it was an early work by director Francis Ford Coppola. So I abandoned my responsibilities for the rest of the afternoon (such all-important things :l ), and succumbed to the temptation to watch it.

 

Anyway, it's a cute little movie, a great "slice of life" (in a kooky way) from mid-60s New York City, and worth watching if you like kooky slice of life movies set in New York City in the mid-60s. Which I do.

 

I didn't watch it this time, but I am rather fond of that movie, as it depicts the New York of my youth. I later worked with Julie Harris, who played Miss Thing.

 

I did watch The World of Henry Orient recently, filmed around the same time, which also quite wonderfully depicts New York in the 1960s. Great locations in both movies.

 

Now -- missw. baby -- what are those responsibilities you abandoned to watch You're a Big Boy Now?

[misswonderly3]

I didn't watch it this time, but I am rather fond of that movie, as it depicts the New York of my youth. I later worked with Julie Harris, who played Miss Thing.

 

I did watch The World of Henry Orient recently, filmed around the same time, which also quite wonderfully depicts New York in the 1960s. Great locations in both movies.

 

Now -- missw. baby -- what are those responsibilities you abandoned to watch You're a Big Boy Now?

 

As George Costanza cryptically replied, when asked by a young lady in a phone conversation what he was doing,  "You don't want to know."

[GregoryPeckfan]

 

Experiment In Terror (1962) San Francisco Tail Fin Noir

 

 

A neat 1962 Suspense-Thriller Noir that fits into that particular period from mid to late 1950's early 1960's that is visually defined on cars by the Space Age design feature the tail fin, and by Googie style signage and architecture. Released by Columbia Pictures, the film was directed by Blake Edwards, Mickey Spillane's 'Mike Hammer!' (TV Movie 1954) Days of Wine And Roses (1962), and written by Mildred and Gordon Gordon and was based on their 1961 novel, Operation Terror.

 

The film stars Glenn Ford (seven classic noir films), Lee Remick (Anatomy of a Murder (1959)), Stefanie Powers, and Ross Martin. Supporting cast Ned Glass, Anita Loo, Patricia Huston, Clifton James, Al Avalon, James Lanphier, and William Sharon. The film is greatly enhanced by the excellent cinematography by Philip H. Lathrop who was assistant camera on Kiss the Blood Off My Hands (1948), camera operator on (The Raging Tide (1951), Touch Of Evil (1958), lensed as cinematographer a couple of critically forgettable Paul Henreid directed films, and a string of TV series, (Rawhide, and the noir-ish, Mr. Lucky, Peter Gunn, and Perry Mason)

 

Sherwood is a cute bank teller who lives on a hill overlooking the city with her 16-year-old sister (Stefanie Powers) in the Twin Peaks section of San Francisco. As we continue to follow her home from a party in Oakland to her house, she is grabbed from behind after she gets out of her car and is assaulted in her dark garage by a man with a raspy wheezing voice. The shot is in an uncomfortable extreme close-up. The Wheezer threatens to either kill her or her sister if she doesn't cooperate in his plan to rob her bank. 

 

 

I can't express enough how much this late Film Noir is an addictive visual treat, it's full of striking compositions, skewed by unsetting camera angles, teeming with bizarre interior sets all added to wonderful San Francisco location shots.  The film also has a good score from long time Blake Edwards collaborator Henry Mancini. 9/10

 

Fuller review in Film Noir & Gangster board.

 

 

This is one of my favourite Glenn Ford films.  I love this movie and everything about it.  I seem to be quite addicted to it.

 

I recognized Mancini as the composer within three notes as I am a big fan of his music.

 

Some further information on Ross Martin for people who haven't seen this movie yet-he is not named in the credits at the beginning of the movie.  He is never fully seen in light early in the film so that people who do not know him from the tv series The Wild Wild West would not have a clue who he was.

[GregoryPeckfan]

And be Certain not to miss "Eye of the Devil" (1967), in which David Niven & Deborah Kerr give  Excellent reasons for sticking to coffee & avoiding wine.

I cannot stand this movie.  It really bothered me.  I've come to realize after seeing several movies that David Hemmings has been in that any film with him in it will be too weird and creepy for me to enjoy.  It must be something about the scripts he or his agent chose to film.

[sapphiere]

This is one of my favourite Glenn Ford films.  I love this movie and everything about it.  I seem to be quite addicted to it.

 

I recognized Mancini as the composer within three notes as I am a big fan of his music.

 

Some further information on Ross Martin for people who haven't seen this movie yet-he is not named in the credits at the beginning of the movie.  He is never fully seen in light early in the film so that people who do not know him from the tv series The Wild Wild West would not have a clue who he was.

I am a fan of director Blake Edwards. He included a scene in the now torndown Candlestick Park which was the home of the San Francisco Giants MLB team. Blake directed films in all different genres, and he always wrote many screenplays. Recently I watched THE TAMARIND SEED 1974 as my tribute to Omar Sharif. Omar costarred with Blake`s wife Julie Andrews in a story of espionage, romance, and different locales. Blake would be a good selection for a TCM SPOTLIGHT.

[LawrenceA]

THE FINAL OPTION - (6/10) - a.k.a. WHO DARES WINS. British film about an S.A.S. (Special Air Service) soldier sent undercover to infiltrate a violent gang of anti-nuke radicals. He makes a romantic connection with a female leading member of the gang, and tries to discover their plan for a major upcoming mission, while also trying to stay one step ahead of her more paranoid colleagues. 

 

Lewis Collins has the lead role, with Judy Davis playing the American radical. Also with Edward Woodward, Ingrid Pitt as a particularly vicious terrorist, Robert Webber as a General, Kenneth Griffith as a priest, and Richard Widmark as the US Secretary of State.

 

This film was dismissed as obvious right-wing propaganda on it's initial release, and that assessment is accurate. The S.A.S. worked closely with the filmmakers to ensure authenticity, and there are some exciting commando raid sequences, and training operations. But the overt political posturing is a bit hard to take, especially in a lengthy debate between Widmark and Davis over the use of nuclear weapons and their place in national defense. The whole thing comes off as more of a recruitment film than anything else, and I read that their was a planned sequel, set to take place in the Falklands, that was eventually scuttled. 

 

 

First time watched.   Source: DVD

[darkblue]

This is one of my favourite Glenn Ford films.  I love this movie and everything about it.  I seem to be quite addicted to it.

 

I recognized Mancini as the composer within three notes as I am a big fan of his music.

 

Some further information on Ross Martin for people who haven't seen this movie yet-he is not named in the credits at the beginning of the movie.  He is never fully seen in light early in the film so that people who do not know him from the tv series The Wild Wild West would not have a clue who he was.

 

By far my favorite Mancini composition.

 

Ross Martin was the best thing about 'The Wild Wild West' - well, maybe the 2nd best thing - the frequent guest appearances of Michael Dunn as Dr. Loveless were probably the best.

 

Martin was also the best supporting player in 'The Great Race' (1965), in my opinion.

[LawrenceA]

FIREFOX - (7/10) - Cold War thriller from Clint Eastwood about a Vietnam vet fighter pilot sent undercover and across the iron curtain to steal a new Soviet super-plane. The first two-thirds of the film are a treat, with a lot of tense scenes of Clint and his sympathetic Russian contacts narrowly escaping capture. The last section is where the film loses some steam, with a lot of repetitious, dated fx shots of the jet in action.

 

Warren Clarke is memorable as Clint's chief contact. Also featured are Freddie Jones, Ronald Lacey, Nigel Hawthorne, and Kenneth Colley. As you may have noticed, there are no women listed; this is the rare film with no substantial female presence at all. The real star, though, other than Clint, is the fictional MiG31 "Firefox" fighter jet, invisible to radar, capable of Mach 6 speeds as well as full nuclear armament. The film also borders on science fiction with the jet's thought-controlled weapon systems.

 

I've always felt that no film featuring the line "Your papers, please," spoken in some European accent, can be all bad. By my count, the line is spoken at least 7 times in FIREFOX.

 

 

Rewatch. Source: DVD

[LawrenceA]

FITZCARRALDO - (8/10) - Director Werner Herzog's fevered masterpiece about obsession, art, and the exploitation of native peoples. Klaus Kinksi stars as the title character, a crazed opera fan living in a remote Peruvian enclave in early 20th century South America. He needs money to bring the opera to his town, so he sets out on a dangerous venture, traveling via steamship to a remote rubber plantation to load up on product and ship it back down the river for sale. The only problem is there's a mountain in his path. So he decides to have the local natives literally drag his ship up one side of the mountain and down the other. Claudia Cardinale shows up as a madam and fellow opera lover.

 

There is some terrific cinematography, and a few shots are among the best I've ever seen. The performances are a mixed bag, though Kinksi's usual wild-eyed intensity works perfectly for the character. The common European practice of using post-production dialogue works against the film a bit though, especially in the early stretches. 

 

This film brought up an interesting thought for me: How much should a film's behind-the-scenes production affect your appraisal of the final product? I liked this film a lot, even loved it for brief stretches, but I'm not sure if I would rate it as highly if it wasn't for the legendary tales of its making. There were very little special effects used. Herzog actually had a full steamship dragged up and down a mountain, had natives construct a full village in the middle of the jungle, actually sent the ship down dangerous rapids, dealt with terrible illnesses and injuries of various kinds among cast and crew, even replacing the film's original star (Jason Robards) 6 weeks into filming. All of that makes the finished film more interesting, in my opinion. But should it? You decide!

 

One of the 1001 Movies to See Before You Die.

 

First time watched.  Source: Blu Ray 

[Kay]

[...] - the frequent guest appearances of Michael Dunn as Dr. Loveless were probably the best.[...]

 

An' how! The things in which he appeared were seldom as good as he himself.

[Bogie56]

FITZCARRALDO - (8/10)

 

 

This film brought up an interesting thought for me: How much should a film's behind-the-scenes production affect your appraisal of the final product? I liked this film a lot, even loved it for brief stretches, but I'm not sure if I would rate it as highly if it wasn't for the legendary tales of its making. There were very little special effects used. Herzog actually had a full steamship dragged up and down a mountain, had natives construct a full village in the middle of the jungle, actually sent the ship down dangerous rapids, dealt with terrible illnesses and injuries of various kinds among cast and crew, even replacing the film's original star (Jason Robards) 6 weeks into filming. All of that makes the finished film more interesting, in my opinion. But should it? You decide!

 

 

Lawrence, have you seen Les Blank's making of film, Burden of Dreams (1982)?  I actually prefer that to Fitzcarraldo.  Plus it has footage of the aborted film with Mick Jagger.

[LawrenceA]

Lawrence, have you seen Les Blank's making of film, Burden of Dreams (1982)?  I actually prefer that to Fitzcarraldo.  Plus it has footage of the aborted film with Mick Jagger.

No, I know of it, and have read much about it, along with FITZCARRALDO, for years. I foolishly hoped it would be included on the blu ray, but no dice.