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Post by Hoosier X on Jul 15, 2014 14:50:15 GMT -5
I watched Pillow Talk last night. It's not really my type of movie but I love Doris Day (I really want to see Midnight Lace!) and Pillow Talk seemed like a major omission in my "Films of Doris Day" list, so I DVRed it.
I liked some of it a lot. I love the way Robert Osborne felt he had to explain what a "party line" was in the introduction. (I vaguely remember them. People still had party lines in the early 1970s!) Doris Day is great, as usual, and there's some great musical segments. Tony Randall and Thelma Ritter and Nick Adams are all very good. And Rock Hudson is actually believable as the slimy pick-up artist. But his character is a bit of a problem.
He's is such a slimy rude s#it. He doesn't deserve to get the girl. All the way to the time his charade his discovered, he is still calling the girl he supposedly loves and playing his childish game of pretending to be two people and fooling her.
Doris Day's character deserved much better than that.
Geez Louise! 1959 was a long time ago. (At least they didn't have Mickey Rooney as a Japanese landlord! I admit, I always laugh, but I feel bad about it.) |
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Post by Slam_Bradley on Jul 15, 2014 15:43:38 GMT -5
In some places people still had party lines into the 80s.
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Post by Ish Kabbible on Jul 15, 2014 18:09:02 GMT -5
Four Flies On Grey Velvet (1971)
Michael Brandon,Mimsey Farmer,Bud Spencer
D-Dario Argento
Roberto (Brandon), a drummer in a rock band, keeps receiving weird phone calls and being followed by a mysterious man. One night he manages to catch up with his persecutor and tries to get him to talk but in the ensuing struggle he accidentally stabs him. He runs away, but he understands his troubles have just begun when the following day he receives an envelope with photos of him killing the man. Someone is killing all his friends and trying to frame him for the murders
The third of the so-called Animal Trilogy by Argento (following The Bird With The Crystal Plummage and Cat O'Nine Tails).They are not related besides the motif of a mystery killer stalking a victim and killing their acquaintences first.The gore is minimal and the focus is on the atmospherics.The film starts off fine but the middle section bogs down.Brandon is not much of a leading actor as well.The film always looks great and picks up as it speeds to its conclusion.The motive of the killer is pretty dumb and the killer's fate is dumber.Argento's attempts at humor in this film are astonishingly bad.We have a completely unfunny postman, a guru fisherman named Godfrey who people call God for short and who says absolutely nothing of interest at any point and a man with a moustache who tells a succession of abysmally unfunny stories to an audience of giggling women.Oh,and the rock band in this movie sucks.Stick to the giallo. 5 of 10 stars
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Post by mrc1214 on Jul 15, 2014 19:40:11 GMT -5
Just finished watching the Fly (1986). I thought is was a very good movie as I'm sure a lot of other people on here do as well. It was very creepy and had a lot of gross out moments. At times I felt bad with what was happening to Brundle (Goldbloom) cause he came off as a nice guy in the beginning of the film. Geena Davis was great in her role and I felt terrible for her. So it was a horror/love story and not what I expected at all. Great film.
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Post by Jesse on Jul 16, 2014 1:12:10 GMT -5
I've seen more Boris Karloff movies than I can count and I'm wondering what are peoples' favorite Karloff films? Some of my favorites include the Frankenstein movies (Frankenstein 1931, Bride of Frankenstein, Son of Frankenstein, House of Frankenstein, Frankenstein 1970), the three Val Lewton produced films (The Body Snatcher 1945, Isle of the Dead, Bedlam), and other films like Targets (1968), The Terror (1963), The Black Cat (1934), Corridors of Blood (1958), Black Sabbath (1963), The Mummy (1932), Black Friday (1940), The Walking Dead (1936), The Ghoul (1975), The Black Room (1935) and the ultra low budget cult classic The Ape (1940). One of my all time favorite monster movie special effects makeups is the Jack Pierce makeup that Karloff wears in The Mummy.  I think the more subtle version he wears later in the film was also really effective.  |
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Post by Ish Kabbible on Jul 16, 2014 9:42:32 GMT -5
The Killers (1946)
Burt Lancaster,Eva Gardner,Edmond O'Brien,Albert Dekker,William Conrad
D-Robert Siodmak
Two professional killers invade a small town and kill a gas station attendant, "the Swede," (Lancaster) who's expecting them. Insurance investigator Reardon (O'Brien) pursues the case against the orders of his boss, who considers it trivial. Weaving together threads of the Swede's life, Reardon uncovers a complex tale of treachery and crime, all linked with gorgeous, mysterious Kitty Collins (Gardner).
A film-noir classic adapted from a Ernest Hemingway story.This was both Lancaster's and Gardner's first leading roles.It's a perfect noir beginning with a suspensful murder and an absorbing and easy to follow unraveling of the mystery that led up to that event.Shadows and lighting effects add to the story.Lancaster sparkles as the tough and proud ex-boxer.Eva Gardner defines sultry.Even Hemingway loved this version
I couldn't find anything to fault for this movie.Except the astronomy lesson from the convict who had a few facts wrong even though he spent years looking at the stars through his cell bar's window.Otherwise 10 of 10 stars
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Post by Prince Hal on Jul 16, 2014 9:56:30 GMT -5
You mentioned some favorites of mine, ASD. Naturally the Frankenstein saga, but others include "The Black Cat," "Isle of the Dead" and "Bedlam." They are all so creepy. Don't forget "The Raven"(1935), with the great line form a horribly disfigured Karloff, "If a man looks ugly, he does ugly things!" Also always loved Karloff's turn as an Indian chief in the action-packed Cecil B. DeMille frontier epic, "Unconquered (1947).  |
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Post by Hoosier X on Jul 16, 2014 10:02:12 GMT -5
I've seen more Boris Karloff movies than I can count and I'm wondering what are peoples' favorite Karloff films? Some of my favorites include the Frankenstein movies (Frankenstein 1931, Bride of Frankenstein, Son of Frankenstein, House of Frankenstein, Frankenstein 1970), the three Val Lewton produced films (The Body Snatcher 1945, Isle of the Dead, Bedlam), and other films like Targets (1968), The Terror (1963), The Black Cat (1934), Corridors of Blood (1958), Black Sabbath (1963), The Mummy (1932), Black Friday (1940), The Walking Dead (1936), The Ghoul (1975), The Black Room (1935) and the ultra low budget cult classic The Ape (1940). The Invisible Ray, with Bela Lugosi and Frances Drake.
And don't forget Unconquered, where he plays a Mohawk chief.
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Post by Ish Kabbible on Jul 16, 2014 16:52:57 GMT -5
The Killers (1964)
Lee Marvin,Angie Dickinson,Ronald Reagan,John Cassavettes,Gulager,Norman Fell
D-Don Siegel
Loosely based on the short story by Ernest Hemingway.Two hitmen (Marvin & Gulager) want to find out why their latest victim (a race car driver!)(Cassavettes) "just stood there and took it" when they came to shoot him. Ronald Reagan plays a rich, double-crossing bad guy. A young Angie Dickinson plays the femme fatale.
A skewed remake of the 1946 classic film-noir,this was supposed to be the first made-for-TV movie production.However,the JFK assasination occured during filming and the movie was deemed too violent for a sensitized public. Off to the movie houses it went.It is also known as Ronald Reagan's last movie and the only film were he played the bad guy
Here,its the two hitmen who do the investigation of why their contract victim died so willingly.Same format as the previous movie in tracking down the victim's former acquaintences and learning the backstory via flashbacks.However the original is superior in so many ways
John Cassavettes is no Burt Lancaster
Angie Dickinson is no Eva Gardner
This version is shot in bright colors,all daytime scenes.Wear sunglasses when watching
The original film had great boxing sequences with Lancaster.The remake chucks that all out for race car sequences
However Reagan as the villian is cool and Marvin with Gulager make fine hitmen
Criterion has packaged both versions together on 2 discs with a wealth of extras.I just love Criterion. The 1946 version had recieved a 10 from me,the remake gets a 6
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Post by Ish Kabbible on Jul 17, 2014 18:47:04 GMT -5
The Twelve Chairs (1970)
Ron Moody,Frank Langella,Dom DeLuise,Mel Brooks
D-Mel Brooks
In 1920s Soviet Russia, a fallen aristocrat's dying mother reveals she hid a treasure load of jewels inside one of the family's twelve dining chairs.The chairs had been confiscated by the Russian government years before.Now the son, a priest and a con artist search for the chair with the fortune
The forgotten Mel Brooks movie.What happened? My theory:It did not appeal to the counter-culture audience because it was a period piece,not offensive and had no relation to what concerned young adults at that time.It did not appeal to the older crowd because it had no recognizable star and it dealt with Russia which does not conjure comedy.It did not get sparkling reviews or good word of mouth because,well,Ron Moody and Frank Langella are not funny.No matter what the script says,they are not funny.DeLuise and Brooks are on the screen ocassionally and thats when the giggles kick in.But the film after 45 minutes or so stops being funny.A better American comedy about Russia would be Woody Allen's Love and Death. I did like one line in the movie "I hate people I don't like"
Comedy is very subjective.Maybe you'll like it. 4 of 10 stars
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Post by MDG on Jul 18, 2014 10:49:06 GMT -5
Part of the thing is that there wasn't such a thing as a "Mel Brooks movie" yet. It probably seemed like a safe bet for him and the studio, considering the kind of stuff Hollywood was putting out at the time, especially comedies.
There's another version of the novel, starring Fred Allen, called "It's in the Bag," which is probably the most fortiesish movie I've ever seen. Written by Alma Reville, of all people.
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Post by Ish Kabbible on Jul 18, 2014 11:48:22 GMT -5
The Quatermass Xperiment (AKA The Creeping Unknown) 1955
Brian Donlevy,Jack Warner,Margia Dean,Victor Wordsworth,Lionel Jeffries
D-Val Guest
A missile, launched by the team led by Prof. Quatermass (Donlevy) , crash lands in the English countryside. Of the three members of the crew, two have mysteriously disappeared. The third one (Wordsworth) , barely alive, undergoes an horrible metamorphosis turning into a monstrous "thing". When he breaks out and, chased in vain by inspector Lomax (Warner) , starts killing humans and animals to feed his transformation, Quatermass realizes that this is the way chosen by an alien form of life to invade the Earth.
A very early Hammer Film,their first SF.And a very good mid-50s SF film as well.The missing astronauts and the strange condition of the lone survivor sets up a compelling science fiction mystery. Applause for Victor Wordsworth as the monster who never speaks a line of dialogue but shambles as well as Frankenstein ever did and whose eyes revealed all the torment he was going through.
In fact,the movie does change from an SF mystery to a Frankenstein clone when the monster escapes from the hospital and roams through the city. He even comes upon a little girl whose alone and playing with her dolls. That little girl will grow up to be Paul McCartney's long time fiancee Jane Asher.
The Prof Quatermass character is a dick. Seems he fired off the rocket without warning the authorities.With 2 astronauts missing he absolves himself of any blame by praising himself that at least he got the rocket to return to earth. With the surviving astronaut in obvious shock and his body changing, the Prof refuses to send him to a hospital believing he's the one best to examine him. When the police want to investigate the case,the Prof refuses to cooperate saying "This is a science matter best left to a scientist". I'd have thrown the pompous Prof in prison for obstruction of justice.
The film achieved a degree of notoriety stateside when in 1956 the parents of Stewart Cohen attempted to sue the Lake Theater and distributors United Artists for negligence after their nine-year-old son died of a ruptured artery in the cinema lobby at a double-bill of this and The Black Sleep (1956). Cohen entered the Guinness Book of Records as the only known case of someone literally dying of fright at a horror film.
I'd include this film in a list of a dozen essential SF film of the 50s. 8 of 10 stars
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Post by MDG on Jul 18, 2014 13:14:26 GMT -5
The Quatermass Xperiment (AKA The Creeping Unknown) 1955
Brian Donlevy,Jack Warner,Margia Dean,Victor Wordsworth,Lionel Jeffries
D-Val Guest
The Prof Quatermass character is a dick. That was the point of the character, and adds to what makes the series entertaining. Quartermass and the Pit/5 Million years to Earth is a really good movie. The original TV version is on YouTube, but i haven't found time to watch it. The film achieved a degree of notoriety stateside when in 1956 the parents of Stewart Cohen attempted to sue the Lake Theater and distributors United Artists for negligence after their nine-year-old son died of a ruptured artery in the cinema lobby at a double-bill of this and The Black Sleep (1956). Cohen entered the Guinness Book of Records as the only known case of someone literally dying of fright at a horror film. I'm surprised they didn't put that in the ads! |
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Post by Ish Kabbible on Jul 18, 2014 19:03:03 GMT -5
This is both my 1,000th post at CCF and, including the Charlie Chan thread, my 200th Movie Review. I'm not sure if the selection matches the momentous occassion but I'm sure its someone's guilty pleasure from the past
Battle Beyond The Stars (1980)
Richard Thomas,Robert Vaughn,John Saxon,George Peppard,Darlanne Fluegel,Sybil Danning,Sam Jaffee,Jeff Corey
D-Jimmy T Murakami
Shad (Thomas), a young farmer, assembles a band of diverse mercenaries in outer space to defend his peaceful planet from the evil tyrant Sador (Saxon) and his armada of aggressors. Among the mercenaries are Space Cowboy (Peppard), a spacegoing truck driver from Earth; Gelt (Vaughn) , a wealthy but experienced assassin looking for a place to hide; and Saint-Exmin (Danning), a Valkyrie warrior looking to prove herself in battle.
A Roger Corman production and his favorite film.Screenplay by John (Eight Men Out/Wild Thing) Sayles.Space ship minitures and art direction by James (Avatar/Terminator) Cameron.Music by James (Titanic/Amazing Spider-Man) Horner
Star Wars meets The Seven Samarai (or The Magnificent Seven).Planet Akir is threatened by the armada headed by Sador.The movie starts with a long,long tracking shot showing all the details of Sador's starship.His ultimate weapon is The Stellar Convertor (STELLLLLAAAA).His evil hordes have pig snouts and scars on their foreheads.They shoot people at weddings.
Akir's tribal elder,a white bearded blind man of course,urges his people to resist.The first half of the movie is young,clean cut Shad seeking help in his little space ship.The ship's computer has a female voice and sassy attitude
1st stop is a planet with old scientist Sam Jaffee and his beautiful daughter.Everyone else on the planet is an android and they all do the robot walk.The daughter joins because,hey its just Sam Jaffee there
Next comes Pirate Scavenger Space Cowboy from Earth.He wears a cowboy hat and plays harmonica.He joins because he might make money
A Lizard Guy joins because he hates Saydor. No Wookies were available
Nestor from a race thats uni-mind join becauses they are bored
Robert Vaughn,a fighter on the run,joins for a decent meal and a place to hide
Sybil Danning the Valkyrie joins so she can show off her hydraulically uplifted breasts As she says preparing for battle "You've never seen a Valkyrie go down"
The rest is outer space battles with all the sound effects you would hear walking into a 1980's video arcade.Lots of exploding spaceships and different color laser beams.Space is very noisy in this film.
By now you know the movie is not about innovation but rather hitting every cliche note correctly to make the audience comfortable. A nice bottle of wine goes well with the cheese.
I think its better than Battlestar Galactica and more fun then the first Star Trek movie
Comedienne Kathy Griffin makes her debut.Cameron met his future producer/wife Gale Anne Hurd on the set. All the special effects were later re-used on 1983's Space Raiders.
8 of 10 stars for the kind of movie it is
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Post by Jesse on Jul 19, 2014 1:22:22 GMT -5
Prince of Darkness (1987)  It's been years since I revisited this. Not my favorite John Carpenter movie but some of the casting is pretty good especially Donald Pleasence and a surprisingly good performance from Alice Cooper. While I find the characters uninteresting the film is able to deliver on the creepy factor. There are some disgusting uses of live insects, a really cool special effect on the canister and a couple solid kills. I think the idea that Satan was an alien is kind of interesting as well.
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