I Just Watched...

[MCannady1]

I love this movie.  William Powell's fame as Philo Vance almost cost him the role as Nick Charles, because he was so identified with that first detective.

 

Now, Nick Charles is much more remembered today than Philo Vance.

I love this film too!  William Powell was great as Nick Charles and wonderful as Philo Vance. 

 

The wonderful William Powell and lovely Myrna Loy teamed beautifully together as the world's beloved detective couple.  Yes, Nick and Nora Charles will long be remembered.  With sophisticated wit and finesse, a difficult case would be solved.

 

Both were very appealing in their roles.

[MCannady1]

Better watching the movie of "By Love Possessed" than trying to read the novel by James Gould Cozzens; the Loong book has all the interest of an instruction booklet written for a build-it yourself garage written in German/Latin.  JMO.

Sounds like a good film to watch.  Lately I have been re-watching some melodrama-type films of the 50's and 60's like Portrait in Black and Madame X.  Lana Turner was great in those too.

[MCannady1]

What is PVR?

PVR sounds neat!  I have a regular DVR that connects to TCM and Fox Movie Channel, etc.   I always have an eye on those two stations.  So PVR is a device to watch silver screen classics?  That is really super!

[GregoryPeckfan]

PVR sounds neat!  I have a regular DVR that connects to TCM and Fox Movie Channel, etc.   I always have an eye on those two stations.  So PVR is a device to watch silver screen classics?  That is really super!

Silver Screen Classics is a channel we get in Canada.  The PVR can record any channel.  I didn't have one until I switched to a different cable company.  I record TCM on PVR too.  I love it.  I had to get a teenager in my building to show me how to use it, of course.

[LonesomePolecat]

A FOREIGN AFFAIR - lots of funny stuff going on here; Dietrich rocks but Arthur steals the movie with her funny character; for once an interesting and believable "crisis" in the relationship; John Lund not so great--not bad but not worth Dietrich fighting to keep, IMHO. This would be a very good rom-com/screwball comedy as it is, but is kinda forgettable for a Billy Wilder--not one of his more brilliant films. Basically, would be more enjoyable without "Wilder" expectations (pardon the pun).

[cigarjoe]

Impulse (1990) directed by Sondra Locke is a gritty story of an Los Angeles femme fatale vice cop Lottie Mason (Theresa Russell) and her "Walk On The Wild Side" of the cusp of Noir. It is a dance with with death, love, power and temptation. It's probably one of the Last of the Warner Brothers Noirs.

 

 

A piano riff dissolves the blackness into an elevated view of a sleazy Hollywood, hot sheet motel block, at the corner of Las Palmas and Sunset Blvd., one of those all look alike City of Angels low profile strips. Time the late '80s, Madonna is in vogue. The scene is accented by wet pavement reflecting neon. A long ringletted blonde "angel" is strutting her stuff in tight gold Lamé snakeskins, but this celestial Femme Fatale has clipped wings. She's trolling the midnight drift, a lure with hooks. Lonely sad losers cruise the mainstem scoping the fast skirts that will get them a shot at 20 minutes of ecstasy. The opening title sequence displays the workings of the vice stakeout with the excellent noir-ish stylistic cinematography of Dean Semler. The piano riff repeats and become a leitmotif for Lottie's darkside. 9/10

[LornaHansonForbes]

Silver Screen Classics is a channel we get in Canada.  The PVR can record any channel.  I didn't have one until I switched to a different cable company.  I record TCM on PVR too.  I love it.  I had to get a teenager in my building to show me how to use it, of course.

 

So this PVR is not a DVD or a VCR, but it is more like a DVR built into your TV?

[LornaHansonForbes]

 

A piano riff dissolves the blackness...

 

...into an elevated view of a sleazy Hollywood, hot sheet motel block, at the corner of Las Palmas and Sunset Blvd., one of those all look alike City of Angels low profile strips. Time the late '80s, Madonna is in vogue. The scene is accented by wet pavement reflecting neon. A long ringletted blonde "angel" is strutting her stuff in tight gold Lamé snakeskins, but this celestial Femme Fatale has clipped wings. She's trolling the midnight drift, a lure with hooks. Lonely sad losers cruise the mainstem scoping the fast skirts that will get them a shot at 20 minutes of ecstasy.

 

The opening title sequence displays the workings of the vice stakeout with the excellent noir-ish stylistic cinematography of Dean Semler. The piano riff repeats and become a leitmotif for Lottie's darkside. 9/10

 

*** dammit, YES!

Beautiful piece of writing here, makes me miss LA so much.

You ever write in long-form?

[cigarjoe]

*** dammit, YES!

Beautiful piece of writing here, makes me miss LA so much.

You ever write in long-form?

No but I've written some pieces for the New York Times.

[GregoryPeckfan]

A FOREIGN AFFAIR - lots of funny stuff going on here; Dietrich rocks but Arthur steals the movie with her funny character; for once an interesting and believable "crisis" in the relationship; John Lund not so great--not bad but not worth Dietrich fighting to keep, IMHO. This would be a very good rom-com/screwball comedy as it is, but is kinda forgettable for a Billy Wilder--not one of his more brilliant films. Basically, would be more enjoyable without "Wilder" expectations (pardon the pun).

This is the problem I have with The Paradine Case.  Although it is overlong, and Peck was not allowed to work on a British accent to appear more believable for his role as a British barrister, it is an engaging courtroom melodrama.  Where it goes wrong is that is  directed by Hitchcock.  Really, Selznick had total control over it and edited it his way, etc.  But if I pretend I do not know who the director was, I enjoy it more.

[GregoryPeckfan]

So this PVR is not a DVD or a VCR, but it is more like a DVR built into your TV?

Yes, it is.

[GregoryPeckfan]

Last night I watched the 1947 Harold Lloyd comedy THE SIN OF HAROLD DIDDLEBOCK which I had recorded from TCM. It incorporated his silent film The Freshman.

 

Parts of this movie were hilarious.

 

Other parts were scary as has been the case with several talkies of Mr. Lloyds.  Scenes that are very funny in silent actually are suspenseful such as when he is trying to save the lion and ends up hanging from a building just by the lion's chain around his ankle.

 

 

Mr. Diddlebock is a non--drinker when he loses his job but goes on several benders after which he cannot remember days at a time.  That's a serious issue. 

 

I quite enjoyed this movie.  But as I said, events in silent comedies don't always play out that way when there is dialogue.

 

This was the first time I saw this movie.

[CaveGirl]

I watched "Kind Lady" with Ethel Barrymore and it was such a pleasure to see Maurice Evans as the really nasty bad guy.

 

I mean he is always so nice and plays great guys like Rosemary's friend, Hutch [?] in RB and in "Bewitched" on tv he is just a darling, and seeing him in all the Shakespearean parts where he is noble and kind was so diametrically opposed to seeing him as this dastardly villain.

It was truly was eye opening as to his talent, of which I was aware but now I am even more impressed.

 

 

[film lover 293]

"Attack of The Giant Leeches" (1959) three of ten stars/six of ten stars.  If you're looking for a "good" movie, pass this by; if you want one" so bad it's good", this is one to watch.  Film is set in The Everglades, but has Southern accents from every state in the South.  A few high/lowlights: Victim #1 sits on a full bottle of booze with no pain (viewers of "Sabrina" (1954) will remember William Holden & the champagne glasses); accents are applied as actors remember( or forget) to use them; the first Good look at the "Leeches" is memorably funny; heroic scientist takes his wife (along with coffee and china cups!) with him to search the swamps for a killer creature.

 

Photography varies from abominable to OK.  Film is just over one hour.

[SonOfMary]

"A Little Romance"   1979  

 

Delightful little movie I had never seen before.   

[CaveGirl]

"Attack of The Giant Leeches" (1959) three of ten stars/six of ten stars.  If you're looking for a "good" movie, pass this by; if you want one" so bad it's good", this is one to watch.  Film is set in The Everglades, but has Southern accents from every state in the South.  A few high/lowlights: Victim #1 sits on a full bottle of booze with no pain (viewers of "Sabrina" (1954) will remember William Holden & the champagne glasses); accents are applied as actors remember( or forget) to use them; the first Good look at the "Leeches" is memorably funny; heroic scientist takes his wife (along with coffee and china cups!) with him to search the swamps for a killer creature.

 

Photography varies from abominable to OK.  Film is just over one hour.

Any movie which stars both Yvette Vickers AND Bruno VeSota has to be a winner! 

[darkblue]

"Attack of The Giant Leeches" (1959) three of ten stars/six of ten stars.  If you're looking for a "good" movie, pass this by; if you want one" so bad it's good", this is one to watch.  Film is set in The Everglades, but has Southern accents from every state in the South.  A few high/lowlights: Victim #1 sits on a full bottle of booze with no pain (viewers of "Sabrina" (1954) will remember William Holden & the champagne glasses); accents are applied as actors remember( or forget) to use them; the first Good look at the "Leeches" is memorably funny; heroic scientist takes his wife (along with coffee and china cups!) with him to search the swamps for a killer creature.

 

Photography varies from abominable to OK.  Film is just over one hour.

 

I love how sweaty that one is. You can almost feel the clamminess on your skin while you're watching it.

 

And sleazy doings are so welcome in a cheap horror movie, don't you think?

[film lover 293]

"13 Ghosts" (1960).  Gimmicky William Castle horror film that originally used 3-D(?) glasses for its' effects.  Print I saw had Castles' preface and afterword to the film intact.  Film is tinted when ghosts appear--they are visible without 3-D glasses, although comments on YT said they were clearer when viewed through red or green cellophane, plastic, whatever.  Enjoyable, bloodless film.  6.4 out of 10 stars.

[MCannady1]

Silver Screen Classics is a channel we get in Canada.  The PVR can record any channel.  I didn't have one until I switched to a different cable company.  I record TCM on PVR too.  I love it.  I had to get a teenager in my building to show me how to use it, of course.

I know!  These teenagers know more about the devices that we do.  My kids in 20's and 30's know more than I about them..  I am at sea at times.  When we had trouble viewing something on the computer, my older son just checked it out and ho, hum, the TV screen came back!  It was like, No problem!  (Turns out he switched it from You TUbe back to the TV).

 

Silver Screen Classics sounds like a great channel to have!

[MCannady1]

"13 Ghosts" (1960).  Gimmicky William Castle horror film that originally used 3-D(?) glasses for its' effects.  Print I saw had Castles' preface and afterword to the film intact.  Film is tinted when ghosts appear--they are visible without 3-D glasses, although comments on YT said they were clearer when viewed through red or green cellophane, plastic, whatever.  Enjoyable, bloodless film.  6.4 out of 10 stars.

I was nine when I saw it and it was scary to me -lol.  THat was a couple of years after it was in theaters.  We really liked it.  I like the bloodless type still.

[MCannady1]

I watched "Kind Lady" with Ethel Barrymore and it was such a pleasure to see Maurice Evans as the really nasty bad guy.

 

I mean he is always so nice and plays great guys like Rosemary's friend, Hutch [?] in RB and in "Bewitched" on tv he is just a darling, and seeing him in all the Shakespearean parts where he is noble and kind was so diametrically opposed to seeing him as this dastardly villain.

It was truly was eye opening as to his talent, of which I was aware but now I am even more impressed.

I saw that too recently and really appreciated the combined talents of Ethel, Maurice and the rest.  

 

I too thought of Maurice as a darling as  Samantha's dad in Bewitched and even Rosemary's friend Hutch in Rosemary's Baby.  It was pretty scary when they cracked the code toward the end of the movie  - They Used to be Witches.

 

Yes, he was quite talented in Shakespearean roles too.

 

Ever see the earlier Kind Lady with Alline MacMahon in Ethel's part and Basil in Maurice's part.   That one is good too and pretty scary with Basil as villain!

[film lover 293]

"She" (1935).  Great, howling piece of camp from the very beginning.  I watched the colorized version on YT; instead of a black and white cheapo-deluxe (which is how it looked the first time I saw it on videotape), it looked like a semi-expensive piece of film.  This is maybe the only case of a good job of colorizing a film (and it reflects how bad a condition the b&w video of "She" was in).  The plot: Randolph Scott and company are in search of The Flame of Immortality.  

 

Actors are marvelous.  Nigel Bruce babbles on brainlessly throughout the film.  He's a delight.  Randolph Scotts' character seems dimwitted.  Helen Mack finally looks attractive (in b&w, she blended into the background), although she gets all the worst lines.  Helen Gahagan, as She, gets the most memorable lines in the film and delivers them well.

 

My favorites:  She, in a minor snit, to subjects who had mishandled Scott:  "WHO gave you leave to think contrary to MY will??!

Bruce, after the queendom they're looking for has been found, pooh-poohing Scotts' fears of an unfriendly reception:  "Oh, Bosh!  The natives are preparing a ceremony of welcome!" ( They're definitely not.)

 

Max Steiner's score is gorgeous, the special effects actually look better colorized than in b&w, IMHO, and the dance numbers--are unforgettable, and maybe the funniest things in the film.

 

One more thing; "She" was nominated for Best Dance Direction (?!?), so "She" would be eligible to be shown during TCM's 31 Days of Oscar!  TCM, Please show this in 2017; the last time "She" was reviewed was in 2011!   

 

Wonderfully funny film, a Great watch; 9.5 stars out of 10.

[MCannady1]

Last night I watched the 1947 Harold Lloyd comedy THE SIN OF HAROLD DIDDLEBOCK which I had recorded from TCM. It incorporated his silent film The Freshman.

 

Parts of this movie were hilarious.

 

Other parts were scary as has been the case with several talkies of Mr. Lloyds.  Scenes that are very funny in silent actually are suspenseful such as when he is trying to save the lion and ends up hanging from a building just by the lion's chain around his ankle.

 

 

Mr. Diddlebock is a non--drinker when he loses his job but goes on several benders after which he cannot remember days at a time.  That's a serious issue. 

 

I quite enjoyed this movie.  But as I said, events in silent comedies don't always play out that way when there is dialogue.

 

This was the first time I saw this movie.

I like Harold in the Silents, but never saw him in a talkie.  I know it must be different there with comedic and serious scenes. 

It sounds like a neat film to see.

 

On an interesting footnote, our 24 year old daughter who likes his son Norman Lloyd after watching Saboteur with me not long ago, just looked up Norman and he is  100 years old! 

[GregoryPeckfan]

I like Harold in the Silents, but never saw him in a talkie.  I know it must be different there with comedic and serious scenes. 

It sounds like a neat film to see.

 

On an interesting footnote, our 24 year old daughter who likes his son Norman Lloyd after watching Saboteur with me not long ago, just looked up Norman and he is  100 years old! 

I don't think the two Mr. Lloyds are related.?

 

I am a big fan of Norman Lloyd as might be expected from s Hitchcock fan.  Yes, Mr. Lloyd is 100.  Wonderful to know he passed that he passed that century mark.

 

I'm hoping that TCM airs the interview he had at last year's TCM festival -something I've never been able to attend - so that I can see it.

 

Another great who will be turning 100 this year is Kirk Douglas - that is in December.

[speedracer5]

The Maltese Falcon.  I watched this movie last night on the big screen.  I've seen the film before, multiple times in fact, but it's amazing how much more you notice when you see the film on the big screen.  This is probably the ultimate film noir.  Bogart makes the perfect detective--his look, his voice, his demeanor, everything is perfect.  Peter Lorre and Sydney Greenstreet are always fun to watch.  It's amazing that this was Greenstreet's first film.  I also enjoyed Elisha Cook, Jr.  It's amazing that he's only a few years younger than Bogart--he looks much younger.  The most interesting character in this film, in my opinion, is Mary Astor's.  You never really know what her deal is-- is she a femme fatale? or is she a victim? who knows.  I love that her character is established as a compulsive liar and you never know if what she's telling is the truth or not.  It's a great twist when her MissWonderley story is dragged through the mud and it's revealed that she's really Brigid O'Shaughnessy.  John Huston's directorial debut is impressive and I can think of very few directors who made such a dynamic first film.  I also learned through Ben Mankiewicz's introduction that Bette Davis' Satan Met a Lady was in fact, a remake of the 1931 The Maltese Falcon.  I had no idea!