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Post by Ish Kabbible on Aug 16, 2016 19:14:48 GMT -5
PS. Mr. French was a valet, not a butler. Truthfully I have not watched Family Affair since it originally aired. Would it be safe to say Mr. French started as Bill Davis' valet but once the 3 kids arrived he became more or less a butler. A valet supposedly just attends to someone;s clothes, appearance or park the car. I think Mr French started to attend to Buffy, Jody and Cissy's needs as well besides clothing. And let's not forget Mrs Beasley
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Post by Slam_Bradley on Aug 16, 2016 20:46:01 GMT -5
Lassie Correction: There were 7 Lassie films made in the series Lassie is supposed to be a female dog but she's always portrayed by male collies because they are easier to train This was Liz Taylor's 2nd film. Her salary was less than Lassies. And rightly so Lassie became a big star because Albert Payson Terhune wouldn't or couldn't license his books about his collie Lad. The Lad stories started in magazines in 1915 and the first book came out in 1919 and sold in the millions, but there wasn't a Lad movie until 1962. By that time audiences thought it was a ripoff of Lassie when the reverse was closer to the truth. I went thru a phase of reading dog stories when I was a kid - I read Terhune, and Jack London, and Jim Kjelgaard's Irish Setter stories. I went through a similar phase. Read all of London and most of Kjelgaard's books. I never did read Lad by Terhune, though I remember a copy being in our home library. My "dog" reading also corresponded with "hunting" reading which certainly included London and Robert Ruark.
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Post by Ish Kabbible on Aug 16, 2016 20:49:35 GMT -5
Woah, had to check this one out from the library. Looked good The Bigamist from 1953 Directed and co-starring Ida Lupino. A rarity for their being a female director in Hollywood back then and it's the first time a female directed herself Chunky traveling salesman Edmond O'Brien and his wife (Fontaine) are not able to have their own baby, a fault of the wife. So they plan to adopt. Edmund Gwenn runs background checks on prospective adoption couples and discovers that O'Brien has another wife (Lupino) and child in another city The balance of the film is a flashback, detailing how O'Brien wound up in this position. He'll have to answer for it in court. He's not bad man, things just happen it seems. How will the courts decide? Will any of his wives take him back? The film runs just 78 minutes so it moves along well. It's in public domain so the DVD quality is quite spotty. I'm sure it is also on YouTube.It's dated , of course, with 1950's values and had to be careful to get through the censor boards back then . But worth seeing
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Post by Prince Hal on Aug 17, 2016 10:50:42 GMT -5
Think that big red "A" in the title is a reference to the infamous scarlet letter, only this time applied to a man?
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Post by Gene on Aug 17, 2016 20:40:00 GMT -5
I'm watching Raiders of the Lost Ark right now and I'm trying to figure out how in the hell this guy ever got tenure. He's the worst academic I've ever seen.
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Post by Ish Kabbible on Aug 18, 2016 15:34:02 GMT -5
Can The Behind-The -Scenes facts of a movie be more interesting then the movie itself
Another Time, Another Place (1958) Lana Turner, Barry Sullivan, Glynis Johns and Introducing Sean Connery
Actually Sean Connery had appeared in a couple of films before this. Lana Turner plays an American news correspondent covering the London Blitz bombings during WWII. She meets and falls in love with Sean Connery, a British newsman. Her boss, Barry Sullivan is in love with her too and wants to marry her. However Lana wants to be a Bond girl. Sean breaks off the relation with Lana, confessing he's married, has a child and won't leave his wife. Then Sean boards a plane and promptly dies in a crash. Lana is devestated and before returning to the states, she wants to visit the English town Sean was brought up. She arrives, gets lost and confused and invited into a home by a young lady. Of course it turns out to be Connery's widow. Lana won't reveal her relationship with the dead husband but wants to write a story about Connery with his widow's help. Barry Sullivan flies to England determinded to get Lana Turner out of England Wow, what a melodramatic soaper. It's pretty decent. But the better story was behind the scenes Lana Turner was in a relationship at that time with gangster Johnny Stompanato. Stompanato was extremely jealous and believed Lana was having an affair with Sean Connery. Stompanato confronted Sean. Connery decked him. My admiration for Sean Connery has now increased a hundred fold. Stompanato shortly met his final fate back in the USA at the hands of the teenage daughter of Lana Turner. He was stabbed to death. Goodbye Johnny Rotten
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Post by dupersuper on Aug 18, 2016 20:15:46 GMT -5
I'm watching Raiders of the Lost Ark right now and I'm trying to figure out how in the hell this guy ever got tenure. He's the worst academic I've ever seen. But the kids love him...
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Post by berkley on Aug 19, 2016 0:07:03 GMT -5
Think that big red "A" in the title is a reference to the infamous scarlet letter, only this time applied to a man? That threw me off too: for a fraction of a second I couldn't parse it as the English word "bigamist" and had a vague impression of an old-fashioned stage Italian on a foggy day saying "That's a big-a mist!" .
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Post by Ish Kabbible on Aug 19, 2016 0:15:22 GMT -5
Olympics Themed MoviesAnyone watch such a film this past week? I had one on my to-watch list from my DVD collection Jim Thorpe-All American (1951) Burt Lancaster Directed by Michael Curtiz with music by the legendary Max Steiner. One needs to get past the problem of Burt Lancaster portraying a Native American, but otherwise it's a fine Hollywood bio pic Covers Thorpe's career as a college football legend, winner of the pentathlon and decathlon events at the 1912 Olympics, his brief MLB stint and later pro football . Includes his being stripped of his Olympic medals for his brief summer stint as a paid ballplayer and the tragedy of his son. Thorpe was still alive when the movie was released Lancaster was an extremely fine athlete in his own right, performing many (but not all) of the stunts for the film The real Jim Thorpe
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Post by berkley on Aug 19, 2016 0:51:53 GMT -5
I think this is the first time I really looked at a picture the real Jim Thorpe and he looks like one tough bastard. If he had been born a few decades later he could have been a movie star of the Clint Eastwood or Charles Bronson variety.
He should have starred in the movie version of ERB's The Mucker.
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Post by Ish Kabbible on Aug 20, 2016 5:47:22 GMT -5
The 3rd Oldest Film I've Ever SeenSo far I've watched 1915's Birth Of A Nation and 1919's Cabinet Of Dr. Caligari. This 1921 film slots in at #3 The only full length Chaplain film I had not seen and it's a complete joy. Chaplin, as The Tramp, happens upon a new born orphan. At first he tries to pass him off to anyone else but winds up keeping him. 5 years later, the kid, played by Jackie Coogan, is the Tramp's partner in money making sceams. There is a wacko dream sequence when the Tramp thinks he died and went to heaven, bedecked with Angel wings and flying about. Also a fight with the neighborhood bully who seems to have super-strength. Hey, maybe Siegel and Shuster got some inspiration from this movie. Criterion has recently released their versions of Chaplain movies. I watched this DVD on a blu-ray player with a HD TV and the quality of the restoration is magnificent. I can't imagine how the blu-ray disc might look. It is so pristine and sharp, as if filmed this year. The supplements, as usual from Criterion are stupendous too. You get 4 filmed interviews from surviving cast members, including Jackie Coogan from the 1980s and 90s. A short doc on the special effects for this film. Another short doc on the film score Chaplain composed. A 1921 newsreel of Chaplains voyage to Europe. 7 minutes of deleted scenes. 11 minutes of a short Chaplain starred and directed, with Jackie Coogan, exclusively for the British Royal Family. A 20 minute doc on Jackie Coogan, considered Hollywood's first child actor. Also trailers for other Chaplains films. And a booklet with an essay Just another reason why I love Criterion
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Post by Prince Hal on Aug 20, 2016 6:37:58 GMT -5
Olympics Themed MoviesAnyone watch such a film this past week? I had one on my to-watch list from my DVD collection Jim Thorpe-All American (1951) Burt Lancaster Directed by Michael Curtiz with music by the legendary Max Steiner. One needs to get past the problem of Burt Lancaster portraying a Native American, but otherwise it's a fine Hollywood bio pic Covers Thorpe's career as a college football legend, winner of the pentathlon and decathlon events at the 1912 Olympics, his brief MLB stint and later pro football . Includes his being stripped of his Olympic medals for his brief summer stint as a paid ballplayer and the tragedy of his son. Thorpe was still alive when the movie was released Lancaster was an extremely fine athlete in his own right, performing many (but not all) of the stunts for the film The real Jim Thorpe Love this movie. Directed by Hollywood's most versatile director, Michael Curtiz. Guy could direct adventures, musicals, romances, anything. The Jack Kirby of directors.
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Post by Ish Kabbible on Aug 22, 2016 3:34:21 GMT -5
A Most Interesting Movie Anthology Spirits Of The Dead AKA Tales Of Mystery (1968) Three Edgar Allan Poe adaptations by three different directors. French/ Italian production. Let's look at the stories separately Metzengerstein Directed by Roger Vadim starring Jane and Peter Fonda
Jane Fonda plays a countess somewhat like the Marquis De Sade, conducting orgies and acts of depravity in her castle. She meets a neighbor (Peter Fonda) and is infatuated by him. But he turns her down, knowing her reputation. For revenge, she orders one of her servants to set fire to the neighbor's stable. Peter Fonda dies trying to save his favorite horse. The horse shows up at Jane Fonda's castle. Jane can't stop riding the horse. Woah there. Lots of symbolism with that plot, eh wot? A bit creepy with the Fonda siblings making goo goo eyes at each other. Director Vadim, as he did in Barbarella, takes every opportunity he can with his directing to showcase the eye candy beauty of Jane. She also seems to change outfits every 4 minutes William Wiison Directed by Louis Malle staring Alain Delon and Brigitte Bardot
Alain Delon all through life has been a cruel bully and a cheat. But there's another boy that seems to follow him during his life, with the same name, and puts a stop to Alain's evil acts. Alain gets into a card game with Brigitte Bardot and, by cheating, not only wins all her money but also gets her to promise to do anything he wants. Want he wants, more than anything, is to whip her. Interesting story but weak ending Toby Dammit Directed by Federico Fellini starring Terrence Stamp
Stamp plays a drug and alcohol addled actor in modern day Paris and is invited to some sort of media gathering. After that, things get Fellini-esque Terrence Stamp does the best acting piece in the film. Fellini takes great liberties with Poe's story but the visuals are memorable and compelling. Less linear storytelling than the other segments but , by far, the stand out of the three. The car driving finale is a classic
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Post by Ish Kabbible on Aug 22, 2016 20:05:10 GMT -5
David Bowie's Greatest Performance (Movie)?Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence (1983) David Bowie, Tom Conti, Ryuichi Sakamoto, Takeshi Kitano Directed by Nagisa Oshima Based on the true experience of Laurens Van Der Post in a Japanese POW camp in Java 1942. Under the capable hands of the director, this movie is a powerful depiction of life in the camp and how the Japanese viewed the prisoners as cowards for not committing suicide instead of allowing their capture. It's an honest portrayal of the conditions without histrionics and both protagonists are three dimensional characters . It's David Bowie's starring role that is a real eye opener for me. I've seen his Man Who Fell To Earth and Labyrinth. Both films seemed to show Bowie re-enacting one of his stage personas. The Man Who Fell To Earth was a bit uninvolving, disjointed and oblique. Labyrinth was cartoony, juvenile fantasy and Bowie scenery-chewing, over the top with a sock stuffed into the front of his tight pants. This film shows that he was a fine actor, nay avery fine actor and able to emote a gamut of emotions Being a Criterion release, in addition to a beautiful pristine print, a get a booklet essay and a second disc of supplements including archival interviews and biography of the story's author. Another Criterion winner
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Post by Ish Kabbible on Aug 23, 2016 6:04:20 GMT -5
Alex In Wonderland (1970) Donald Sutherland, Ellen Burstyn Directed by Paul Mazursky Here's a film I meant to see back when it appeared and never got the opportunity. I also seemed to always miss it when it would play on those Midnight Movie marathons at the theaters in the early 1970s. Donald Sutherland had just appeared in both M.A.S.H. and Kelly's Heroes. Mazursky had just directed Bob And Carol And Ted And Alice. Finally I watch it unreel Sutherland is a hippie film director, just finished his first film. The critics and the studio love it and believe it will be a big hit. So now he's pondering what should be his followup. A film about Lenny Bruce? How about a riot of black folks who take over Los Angeles? He just can't decide and fantasizes scenes of his new film during his everyday activities. He drops some LSD to get inspired. he gets advice from a studio bigwig about doing a film about a woman getting a heart transplant. He goes to Italy and meets Federico Fellini and tries to get advice Meanwhile, Sutherland is married to Ellen Burstyn and has 2 young daughters. Should he by a big house, knowing he'll soon make big money Well, that's the movie. A character piece, no real plot. A time capsule of 1970 counter culture Hollywood. Sutherland's a fine actor and it was interesting to watch for it's nostalgic (to me at least) environment. I'm just glad it was a freebie from the library and I didn'y pay an admission price
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