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Post by Hoosier X on Apr 1, 2016 10:46:33 GMT -5
While I was watching it, I remembered why I like several of Keaton's other movies more than The General. It's a great movie, I'm not disputing that. But it loses a few points from me because of the ending. After Johnnie Gray rides the train into town and warns the Confederate Army that the blue-bellies are coming, the movies continues for a few minutes with the battle and Johnnie standing by the general and pretending to direct the battle and some other similar gags. It's OK. It doesn't ruin the movie or anything.
But I think Seven Chances and Our Hospitality are both great movies with much better endings.
That's no excuse for not watching The General for 25 years, I will admit.
(But now I want to see Seven Chances and Our Hospitality again!
P.S. I taped Blue Hawaii. I haven't seen it for a while. I love it that Angela Lansbury is Elvis's mom!
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Post by Ish Kabbible on Apr 1, 2016 11:22:38 GMT -5
P.S. I taped Blue Hawaii. I haven't seen it for a while. I love it that Angela Lansbury is Elvis's mom! Of the few Elvis films I can watch, my favorite is Change Of Habit. So bad it's good and a wacky casting job. Police officer Ed Asner arrests radical nun Mary Tyler Moore in the movie Asner "You got spunk, Sister Mary" Mary "Oh Officer Grant, thank you" Asner "You're under arrest Sister Mary. I hate spunk" The film is from 1969, about a year before their TV show
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Post by Hoosier X on Apr 1, 2016 11:58:04 GMT -5
P.S. I taped Blue Hawaii. I haven't seen it for a while. I love it that Angela Lansbury is Elvis's mom! Of the few Elvis films I can watch, my favorite is Change Of Habit. So bad it's good and a wacky casting job. Police officer Ed Asner arrests radical nun Mary Tyler Moore in the movie Asner "You got spunk, Sister Mary" Mary "Oh Officer Grant, thank you" Asner "You're under arrest Sister Mary. I hate spunk" The film is from 1969, about a year before their TV show My favorite Elvis movie is Viva Las Vegas. It has the exact same plot as an episode of Speed Racer! Many years ago, I watched bits of Change of Habit late at night. I had the TV on while I was doing some stuff. It looked very interesting! And I've been wanting to see the whole thing ever since.
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Post by Hoosier X on Apr 1, 2016 14:13:46 GMT -5
I watched Isle of Fury (1936) this morning. OMG! Wow! I've been seeking out obscure Humphrey Bogart movies for more than 25 years. I still find good ones that I haven't seen. And you just never know, especially when you're watching obscure Bogart movies from the 1930s. Bogart was a gangster a lot. And a private investigator on more than one occasion. A crusading district attorney! A convict! A dedicated city editor! Sometimes he was in show business. You can see him as a screenwriter, a director or a producer. A Mexican bandit? Check. A circus owner? Yup. A M*A*S*H surgeon in Korea? You betcha! A ghoulish mad scientist, a member of a Ku Klux Klan-type organization, a boxing promoter, a tank commander in North Africa, a homeless man who becomes a gold prospector? Yes to all of these! In Isle of Fury, he's a pearl cultivator! Well, why not? He's got a really cool pencil-thin moustache that makes him look like John Waters's father. He marries Margaret Lindsay in the first scene. They live on a remote island in the South Pacific. A boat is wrecked in a storm and one of the survivors is a mysterious stranger. Margaret Lindsay finds herself attracted to him. Oh dear! What's going to happen next? Bogart finds himself on the edge of financial ruin because the native pearl-divers won't work because two men have been eaten by a devil fish! Here comes the awesome scene! Bogart descends into the deep to show the pearl divers there's nothing to be afraid of. And he wears one of those bulky diving suits with a metal helmet with a window in the front. Humphrey Bogart in an old-timey diving suit always means WIN! The devil fish turns out to be a very silly looking octopus! It's glorious! The highlight of this wonderfully silly movie! It's one of the most amusing bad special effects I've ever seen! Bogart and Lindsay are as great as ever and, as always, are very sincere in taking the material as seriously as possible. Also on hand is E.E. Clive, who we should all know as the magistrate trying to restore order to the village in The Bride of Frankenstein. Highly recommended for Bogart completists and for fans of hilarious octopus effects.
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Post by Prince Hal on Apr 1, 2016 14:39:39 GMT -5
I watched Isle of Fury (1936) this morning. OMG! Wow! I've been seeking out obscure Humphrey Bogart movies for more than 25 years. I still find good ones that I haven't seen. And you just never know, especially when you're watching obscure Bogart movies from the 1930s. Bogart was s gangster a lot. Or a private investigator on more than occasion. A crusading district attorney! A convict! A dedicated city editor! Sometimes he was in show business. You can see him as a screenwriter, a director or a producer. A Mexican bandit? Check. A circus owner? Yup. A M*A*S*H surgeon in Korea? You betcha! A ghoulish mad scientist, a member of a Ku Klux Klan-type organization, a boxing promoter, a tank commander in North Africa, a homeless man who becomes a gold prospector? Yes to all of these! In Isle of Fury, he's a pearl cultivator! Well, why not? He's got a really cool pencil-thin moustache that makes him look like John Waters's father. He marries Margaret Lindsay in the first scene. They live on a remote island in the South Pacific. A boat is wrecked in a storm and one of the survivors is a mysterious stranger. Margaret Lindsay finds herself attracted to him. Oh dear! What's going to happen next? Bogart finds himself on the edge of financial ruin because the native pearl-divers won't work because two men have been eaten by a devil fish! Here comes the awesome scene! Bogart descends into the deep to show the pearl divers there's nothing to be afraid of. And he wears one of those bulky diving suits with a metal helmet with a window in the front. Humphrey Bogart in an old-timey diving suit always means WIN! The devil fish turns out to be a very silly looking octopus! It's glorious! The highlight of this wonderfully silly movie! It's one of the most amusing bad special effects I've ever seen! Bogart and Lindsay are as great as ever and, as always, are very sincere in taking the material as seriously as possible. Also on hand is E.E. Clive, who we should all know as the magistrate trying to restore order to the village in The Bride of Frankenstein. Highly recommended for Bogart completists and for fans of hilarious octopus effects. One of your best written reviews, Hoosier! Bravo! I love your love for the movies.
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Post by Hoosier X on Apr 1, 2016 15:12:53 GMT -5
Thanks, Hal!
That feeling I got when I was watching Isle of Fury when the octopus swims menacingly forward because he want to eat Humphrey Bogart, that's why I watch so many out-of-the-way movies! Because you just never know.
Isle of Fury isn't "a little over an hour long." It's exactly an hour long! It's four minutes SHORTER than Freaks!
At 70 minutes, this might have been a chore to sit through. I think film editors knew EXACTLY what they were doing in the old days, and they knew Isle of Fury didn't need to be any longer that an hour.
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Post by Prince Hal on Apr 1, 2016 15:50:49 GMT -5
Thanks, Hal! That feeling I got when I was watching Isle of Fury when the octopus swims menacingly forward because he want to eat Humphrey Bogart, that's why I watch so many out-of-the-way movies! Because you just never know.
So true, and I had that experience yesterday watching Blues in the Night (1941) form Warner Brothers, a movie I'd never heard of and had recorded via TCM on my DVR. Just an odd little movie that tried to do so much, and though it may not have completely suceeded, was so different that it served praise for the attempt alone. Suffice it to say that it combined bits and pieces of several genres: the "orchestra" musical; romantic comedy; film noir (before it was defined as such); Warner Brothers' working-class melodrama; the road movie; and "let's put on a show!" You had murder, adultery, a femme fatale (shot in such sexy silhouette in one scene that I don't know how it made it past the censors), a good girl like you wouldn't believe, a devastating car crash, a band on the run from the cops, and living like hobos, great musical numbers, more than obvious hints of sex outside of marriage and "living together"; illegal gambling, a mob hit, alcoholism a la Lost Weekend, and a stretch in a psychiatric unit, and as weird a dream sequence -- directed by Don Siegel, IIRC -- as I've ever seen from those years outside of Hitchcock's Spellbound (which came out a few years after this little beauty). A cool cast: Lloyd Nolan as a criminal who takes an odd liking to the band; Billy halop of the Dead End Kids; the usually menacing character actor Peter Whitney as a nice-guy bassist; Jack Carson as his usual caddish self -- always a treat!); Wallace Ford as a gimpy washed-up hanger-on; Priscilla Lane as --Surprise!-- the good girl, and Betty Field as the amoral gun moll/ wannabe chanteuse with a taste for men and money. Not to mention the soon-to-be blacklisted Howard da Silva as a sycophantic bartender and Elia Kazan (yes, that Elia Kazan as a fast-talking horn player. Prince Hal says, "Don't ask! Just watch it!"
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Post by Hoosier X on Apr 1, 2016 16:12:44 GMT -5
Thanks, Hal! That feeling I got when I was watching Isle of Fury when the octopus swims menacingly forward because he want to eat Humphrey Bogart, that's why I watch so many out-of-the-way movies! Because you just never know.
So true, and I had that experience yesterday watching Blues in the Night (1941) form Warner Brothers, a movie I'd never heard of and had recorded via TCM on my DVR. Just an odd little movie that tried to do so much, and though it may not have completely suceeded, was so different that it served praise for the attempt alone. Suffice it to say that it combined bits and pieces of several genres: the "orchestra" musical; romantic comedy; film noir (before it was defined as such); Warner Brothers' working-class melodrama; the road movie; and "let's put on a show!" You had murder, adultery, a femme fatale (shot in such sexy silhouette in one scene that I don't know how it made it past the censors), a good girl like you wouldn't believe, a devastating car crash, a band on the run from the cops, and living like hobos, great musical numbers, more than obvious hints of sex outside of marriage and "living together"; illegal gambling, a mob hit, alcoholism a la Lost Weekend, and a stretch in a psychiatric unit, and as weird a dream sequence -- directed by Don Siegel, IIRC -- as I've ever seen from those years outside of Hitchcock's Spellbound (which came out a few years after this little beauty). A cool cast: Lloyd Nolan as a criminal who takes an odd liking to the band; Billy halop of the Dead End Kids; the usually menacing character actor Peter Whitney as a nice-guy bassist; Jack Carson as his usual caddish self -- always a treat!); Wallace Ford as a gimpy washed-up hanger-on; Priscilla Lane as --Surprise!-- the good girl, and Betty Field as the amoral gun moll/ wannabe chanteuse with a taste for men and money. Not to mention the soon-to-be blacklisted Howard da Silva as a sycophantic bartender and Elia Kazan (yes, that Elia Kazan as a fast-talking horn player. Prince Hal says, "Don't ask! Just watch it!" I'm sorry I missed it! It looks like something you would make up to make fun of how crazy old movies are. Lloyd Nolan is really awesome in those Michael Shayne movies. Billy Halop! Wow! Love seeing Jack Carson wherever! Like that "Twilight Zone" episode where he's a used-car salesman. Wallace Ford! From Freaks, Shadow of a Doubt, The Mysterious Mr. Wong, He Ran All the Way and I don't know what-all. He's great! Priscilla Lane is so incredibly pretty. I love Betty Field! She's so good in Of Mice and Men as Curly's wife. I love that scene where she's watching Curly and his father eat dinner and she's grossed out! Yeah, I have to see it. I'll see if I can get the TCM streaming to work! It's kind of hit-and-miss.
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Post by Hoosier X on Apr 1, 2016 17:05:46 GMT -5
Prince Hal, have you ever seen the movie with Buddy Ebsen and Bert Lahr, and gangsters are trying to persuade Bert Lahr to kill himself for some reason?
I've never seen the whole movie (and I don't remember the name right offhand) but my dad was watching it on TCM a year or so ago and suddenly, one of the most amazing dance numbers I've ever seen sort of popped up in the movie. Buddy Ebsen was by a swimming pool and he started dancing with this really really short girl (less than five feet tall, I'm sure) and the choreography showcased the difference in height but really highlighted that they were both very talented dancers.
I was mesmerized. It was amazing.
That's why I watch so many obscure movies. You just never know when you're going to see something AMAZING that you never heard of.
In that vein, I highly recommend Without Orders, with Robert Armstrong, Sally Eilers and Ward Bond. The ending will pop your eyes out!
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Post by Prince Hal on Apr 1, 2016 18:45:48 GMT -5
Prince Hal, have you ever seen the movie with Buddy Ebsen and Bert Lahr, and gangsters are trying to persuade Bert Lahr to kill himself for some reason? I've never seen the whole movie (and I don't remember the name right offhand) but my dad was watching it on TCM a year or so ago and suddenly, one of the most amazing dance numbers I've ever seen sort of popped up in the movie. Buddy Ebsen was by a swimming pool and he started dancing with this really really short girl (less than five feet tall, I'm sure) and the choreography showcased the difference in height but really highlighted that they were both very talented dancers. I was mesmerized. It was amazing. That's why I watch so many obscure movies. You just never know when you're going to see something AMAZING that you never heard of. In that vein, I highly recommend Without Orders, with Robert Armstrong, Sally Eilers and Ward Bond. The ending will pop your eyes out! Sounds like this www.imdb.com/title/tt0035338/?ref_=nm_flmg_act_34I'll keep my eyes out for this and the Armstrong movie. love finding the films that drop through the cracks.
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Post by Rob Allen on Apr 1, 2016 19:30:50 GMT -5
Yesterday on the radio a couple of sportscasters were talking about how to tell if your new girlfriend is a "keeper". The older one said he would show them the movie Pride of the Yankees about Lou Gehrig, and if they liked it, the relationship was likely to go well. The younger one had never seen that movie, but he said he knew his new relationship had promise when he looked at her DVD collection and saw Bull Durham and Major League.
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Post by Slam_Bradley on Apr 1, 2016 22:05:30 GMT -5
Tales of the Rat Fink (2006) Directed by Ron Mann. John Goodman as the voice of Big Daddy Roth.
Documentary about the life and work of Ed "Big Daddy" Roth. Roth was one of the great customizers of automobiles starting out with rat-rods in the 50s and producing the first fiberglass custom with The Outlaw. Roth created Rat Fink as his mascot and pioneered silk-screening his creations onto white t-shirts. The Revell models of his cars and cartoons made him a household name in the late 50s through the 60s.
The documentary covers his life and work in okay detail and takes a nice look at hot rod culture in the 50s. It makes some choices that don't wholly pay off, and the cartoons of Rat Fink begin to become intrusive. But Goodman is nice as the voice of Roth and it's a decent and interesting overview of his work.
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Post by Ish Kabbible on Apr 2, 2016 0:30:28 GMT -5
Lots of great recommendations these last few posts. I am taking notes.!! Be advised that when I might skip a day or so of posting a classic movie viewing, it's because I wound up seeing something new recently arriving on DVD. So the last day or so I watched Spotlight (all of a sudden Michael Keaton is in these fantastic films), Creed (This made me feel real, real old remembering seeing the first Rocky in the theaters when it came out) & Steve Jobs. All very, very good
Plaza Suite (1971) Walter Matthau, Maureen Stapleton, Barbara Harris, Lee Grant
Neil Simon's play, a comedy trilogy centering around the famed NYC hotel. Walter Matthau stars as 3 separate characters for each scenario 1-Matthau and Stapleton return to the Plaza for their 24th Anniversary in the same room they spent together on their honeymoon. Arguments ensue over the littlest things but build to something important
2=Matthau returns to his hometown of NYC after 15 years as a big shot Hollywood producer and wants to reunite with the New Jersey girl (Harris) he left behind
3-Matthau and Grant's daughter will be having her wedding at the Plaza but the daughter has locked hersrlf into the bathroom, refusing to open the door or say why she won't come out
Neil Simon had a great long streak of witty and popular stage plays and this was part of his peak run. Matthau is terrific handling the theww roles. They are all good, the last is the best.George C. Scott and Stapleton handled all the roles for 3 years on Broadway
Co-incidentally I was giving my niece from Michigan a walking tour of mid-Manhattan 2 weeks ago and we walked right by the Plaza Hotel and I made mention of the movies filmed there as well as the celebrities who stayed too.Looking at the film from 45 years ago, the immediate neighborhood seems not to have changed one iota
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Post by Hoosier X on Apr 2, 2016 11:46:23 GMT -5
I'm having a marathon of movies I haven't seen for a while. Last night I watched Night Nurse (1931) with Barbara Stanwyck. My favorite Stanwyck movie! I know I'm suppose to pick Double Indemnity, but I find Night Nurse irresistible! Stanwyck, Joan Blondell, Clark Gable as a frightening, villainous chauffer! It's just a little over an hour long! It's pre-Code! And it's directed by Willaim Wellman! It hasn't been that long since I saw it. I watched it last year and kept it on the DVR because I knew I'd want to see it again sooner rather than later. But I thought it would be great on a double bill with Front Page Woman! Front Page Woman stars Bette Davis, George Brent and Roscoe Karns! I used to have it on a VHS tape I recorded off AMC and I watched it a lot in the 1990s. But I bet it's been more than 10 years since I last saw it. Directed by Michael Curtiz! It's a crazy crazy movie about how crazy big-city journalism was in the old days. Bette Davis and boyfriend George Brent work for rival newspapers and they get into a big competition with each other to be the first to solve a high-profile murder. Bananashenanigans ensue! As I was watching it, I got about halfway through and I wondered if George Chandler was in it. He's a bit player who's in bunches of movies as a delivery boy, an elevator operator, a hobo, a cook in a diner, whatever. He usually has a few lines.
That's George Chandler on the right in the Charlie Chan movie The Shanghai Cobra. Just seconds after I wondered if he would show up, there he was, one of the reporters fighting for a telephone to call in the story! Right now, I'm about halfway through Blue Hawaii. I like it OK. It's been a while since I saw it. It's pretty easy to stop every 30 minutes and do something else for a few minutes. It's hilarious that Angela Lansbury is Elvis's mother. And even more hilarious that she's Southern! What really gets me about this movie is what a selfish butthole Elvis's character is! Yes, your mother is a shallow, judgmental, pretentious twit, but that's no reason to wait a week before going to see her after getting back from military service! Joan Blackman deserves better!
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Post by Ish Kabbible on Apr 3, 2016 0:35:24 GMT -5
Nashville (1975) directed by Robert Altman Keith Carradine, Karen Black, Ned Beatty, Lily Tomlin, Ronee Blakley, Geraldine Chaplin, Shelly Duvalle, Henry Gibson, Allen Garfield, Scott Glenn, Jeff Goldblum, Barbara Harris, Michael Murphy,
Numerous characters intersect in Nashville, Tennessee centering around the country music industry and an independent dark horse candidate for the Presidential election
A movie whose influence seems to have grown in the ensuing years. A dozen or so characters with their own distinct story, inter-playing with each other. A loose screenplay was written but improvisation was encouraged among the cast. The original songs performed in the film. believe it or not, were written by the actors themselves. Keith Carradine's "I'm Easy" won an Oscar for best song and a Grammy as well. An Oscar for the soundtrack was also bestowed. Actual Nashville musicians were used and legendary fiddler Vassar Clements performs. Elliot Gould and Julie Christie play themselves
The film was shot totally in sequence. It would seem to me the success of this type of film has led to similar attempts down through the years, titles like Crash, Pulp Fiction, Traffic and more. I'm aware of older films like Grand Hotel used parallel character storylines but I'd suppose Nashville was the impetus more so for what came after it. But that is just my supposition
All the actors gave great performances but of particular note was Henry Gibson who up til then was known for his comedy on Rowan and Martin's Laugh-in. He totally reinvented his persona here.
I'm no country and western music aficionado. I would be quite interested in someone like Slam Bradley's views on this film
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