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Post by Hoosier X on May 7, 2014 0:27:41 GMT -5
I watched the last hour of The Children's Hour (1961) tonight. (I've seen parts of it before so I know the story even though I had never before seen the ending.)
Shirley MacLaine and Audrey Hepburn run a girl's school and their lives are turned upside-down when one spoiled little girl gets mad at them for punishing her and she tells her grandma that Shirley and Audrey were heard making strange noises and one of the girls saw them kissing.
The main thing here is the acting. Hepburn and MacLaine are great, as is the rest of the cast, including James Garner, Miriam Hopkins and, as one of the girls at the school, Veronica Cartwright, probably best known for being one of the crew of the Nostromo in "Alien."
Directed by William Wyler. Based on a play by Lillian Hellman.
Highly recommended.
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Post by Ish Kabbible on May 8, 2014 16:36:15 GMT -5
tom thumb (1958)
Russ Tamblyn,Alan Young,Terry-Thomas,Peter Sellers
Director-George Pal
A childless couple is granted a wish by a fairy princess.And so tom thumb enters their life,all 5 inches of him.
But a pair of dasterdly thieves want to use tom to steal the kingdoms gold
A musical fairy tale for the kids that the grown-ups can enjoy. George Pal,stop-motion wizard,directs his first film and wins the Oscar for special effects for 1958.He will go from here to The Time Machine.Russ Tamblyne plays tom thumb and performs all the dancing and acrobatics.Very impressive.He goes on to West Side Story.Alan Young plays Woody who helps tom out of trouble.He goes on to Mr Ed. Terry-Thomas and Peter Sellers play the lowdown thiefs.They go on to be known by American audiences.The effects can be crude at times,but the stop-motion effects are wonderful. The songs never became well known but their OK. A cute one with the voice of Stan Freiberg called The Yawning Man
I enjoyed watching this.Early in the film is an eye-opening scene where the newly-arrived tom interacts with the toys that are in the bedroom. What other more modern film does this remind you of? 6.5 stars of 10
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Post by gothos on May 8, 2014 16:43:43 GMT -5
Agreed! It's a shame Tura Satana wasn't in more movies. Also that Meyer stopped getting films made after the 70s. Though I love PUSSYCAT and esteem most of Meyer's early stuff, I think he peaked around 1970 and was beginning to repeat himself. Some of his unfinished projects sound rather dire to my ears. Tura needed a director who realized the unique type of characters she could create, and mentored her in projects that made use of that character-type, a la Von Sternberg to Dietrich. Meyer had the potential to be such a mentor, just as Tura had more potential than most Meyer babes, like Kitten Natividad. But everything I've read indicates that PUSSYCAT did not make money, so it seems that was the end of Meyer's interest in Tura. |
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Post by gothos on May 8, 2014 16:47:31 GMT -5
Just re-watched the 1971 OMEGA MAN, and I thought this was an odd line of dialogue from the Lisa character as she's telling Heston's Neville to ride them out of trouble on his motorcycle: "Don't screw up. I know how to roll, but it's hard on the elbows. And if you just have to play James Bond, I'll bust your ass." How do you guys interpret this odd turn of phrase? When I was a kid, I thought this was one of the best movies ever made, right up there with King Kong vs. Godzilla. I still like it, but my enthusiasm is a little more moderate. (And it's not nearly as good as King Kong vs. Godzilla.)
That line of dialogue probably means Neville shouldn't get too fancy or try to show off. They just need to get out of there without any theatrics. (It might a subtle dig at some of the unbelievable stunts they pull in James Bond movies. I think Live and Let Die had just come out.)
Yeah, that sounds about right. I watched OMEGA recently, and I not only like it better than the Vincent Price adaptation, I like OMEGA better than the Matheson novel! |
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Post by The Man of Tomorrow on May 9, 2014 8:15:15 GMT -5
I saw The Shootist a few days ago on TCM. It was on a little later than I usually watch movies, but I started watching just to see how it was. And it was pretty darn good! So I stayed up and watched it. I'm a big fan of John Wayne's movies. I think Stagecoach is one of the best movies ever made. I also like Fort Apache, Sands of Iwo Jima, They Were Expendable and also those hour-long movies he made in the 1930s for Republic. The Shootist was Wayne's last movie, and I've never heard anybody make a big deal of it or say it was any good, so I never made any effort to watch it. My mistake. He's actually acting instead of behaving. He's a different guy in The Shootist, and the same John Wayne he is in most of his other movies. And he's supported by Jimmy Stewart, Lauren Bacall, John Carradine, Ron Howard, Richard Boone and Scatman Crothers. If you're a John Wayne movie fan and you've never seen The Shootist, consider this an endorsement. And I saw part of McClintock yesterday. I've seen it before, and that section reminded that I'm not overly fond of this movie. Yvonne DeCarlo is good, and so is Maureen O'Hara, but O'Hara's role is written so over-the-top shrewish that there is no way she can be sympathetic and Wayne's role immediately becomes the only sane alternative for the audience's sympathy because O'Hara's character is so rude and snobbish. Also, McClintock is kind of stupid in many other ways. I'm an also a huge fan of the Duke, but I have never liked McClintock! myself. The humiliation of O'Hara's character, whatever her faults, always has rubbed me the wrong way. Maybe it's just me, but a woman's loss of dignity on film has bothered me ever since I was a child. |
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Post by The Man of Tomorrow on May 9, 2014 8:20:54 GMT -5
He's actually acting instead of behaving. He's a different guy in The Shootist, and the same John Wayne he is in most of his other movies. John Wayne knew at the time that he was dying and the Shootist would be his last film.Not to be morbid but it would be an interesting list of films were the lead actor/actress knew it would be their last.I rank The Shootist as one of the best of those films.Love him or hate him,its an essential movie is my favorite of Wayne's films, but The Shootist is really close. Love his verbal exchange with Richard Boone, BTW, |
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Post by The Man of Tomorrow on May 9, 2014 8:32:02 GMT -5
Speaking of angels, We're No Angels, is a great movie. I watched it quite young for the first time, but every time I watch it again I enjoy it. Edward G Robinson was great in Key Largo, also a great movie i continue to enjoy with each viewing. Bogart's character was an idol to me. The cool guy that pretend not to care but does. Like when he gets Gay that drink after she sings for Johnny. Good stuff. I also think The Return of the Pink Panther is one of the funniest movies ever. So many great moments. Key Largo! Hell, yeah! I've seen that so many times. That bit where Claire Trevor sings and Edward G. snarls: "You were lousy" and Bogart gets her the drink, yeah, that scene makes Key Largo one of the best movies of the 1940s.
Well, also, Edward G. hissing "A live war hero ..." and calling Bogey "sojer" all the time.
And where he gives Bogey the gun and dares him to shoot him. And Lionel Barrymore going "Give me the gun!"
And ... well, just about everything in the movie.
That's my favorite Bogie-Bacall film (which is saying a lot, since the others were real good, too). |
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Post by DubipR on May 9, 2014 9:03:19 GMT -5
I watched the last hour of The Children's Hour (1961) tonight. (I've seen parts of it before so I know the story even though I had never before seen the ending.) Shirley MacLaine and Audrey Hepburn run a girl's school and their lives are turned upside-down when one spoiled little girl gets mad at them for punishing her and she tells her grandma that Shirley and Audrey were heard making strange noises and one of the girls saw them kissing. The main thing here is the acting. Hepburn and MacLaine are great, as is the rest of the cast, including James Garner, Miriam Hopkins and, as one of the girls at the school, Veronica Cartwright, probably best known for being one of the crew of the Nostromo in "Alien." Directed by William Wyler. Based on a play by Lillian Hellman. Highly recommended. I too watched this film on TCM. I've seen it many times and it still irks me to this day. While the film overall is definitely worth the watch, its Karen Balkin who makes my skin crawl. This was one of those films I came out to with my bisexuality back in the 90s. She was such a vindictive little witch in her acting. The snowball effect after Mary makes the accusation just upsets me to no end. If you ever get the chance, I highly recommend the 90s documentary The Celluloid Closet. This is one of the films used in it. |
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Post by The Man of Tomorrow on May 9, 2014 9:08:55 GMT -5
The Pink Panther Strikes Again (1976)
Peter Sellers,Herbert Lom, Lesley-Anne Down,Burt Kwouk
D-Blake Edwards
It seems with the financial success of 1974's Return of the Pink Panther,MGM had no problem in wanting the property back and Peter Sellers and Blake Edwards,previously going through some lean times,had no problems continuing the series regularly.And this movie as well strikes another home run Dreyfus(Herbert Lom) escapes from the insane asylum and vows revenge on Inspector Clouseau.He becomes a classic over-the-top manaical evildoer willing to destroy the world if Clouseau is not brought to his castle. So many funny bits.The opening cartoon sequence,the epic battle between Clouseau and Kato,Clouseau's hunchback disguise,Dreyfus' descent into madness,Clouseau trying to cross the castle moat,the 22 assassins trying to kill Clouseau,Clouseau pronouncing the word "room" There are some moments when the film veers to the brink of overkill. I get the feeling the series has gone as far as it can go and should probably end here.We shall see. 9 of 10 stars PS-I saw the Steve Martin version and it was terrible.Capitol T terrible My family saw that film and also Return of the Pink Panther at our local drive-in during the mid-'70s. Though not my introduction to Inspector Clouseau (too many Pink Panther shorts from the late '60s on Saturday mornings for that), they were my introduction to Peter Sellers. The man could make you laugh without saying a word. Probably the only films my father likes despite their slapsticky aspects, too. |
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Post by The Man of Tomorrow on May 9, 2014 9:13:51 GMT -5
I've watched quite a few silent films and have found them mostly enjoyable. Possibly my favorite silent movie is Fritz Lang's Metropolis. The production quality of this movie is amazing and there is a newly restored version with footage thought lost for decades. Every science fiction fan needs to see this film at least once in their life time. As a Batman fan naturally I was curious so I decided to watch the silent version of The Mark of Zorro. Its a really fun swashbuckler adventure and I highly recommend checking it out. I also recommend a movie called The Dragon Painter. I had a lot of fun watching films starring Buster Keaton, Charlie Chaplin and Laurel & Hardy. My preference is more the macabre and I think some of the best horror films of all time come from this era. Films like The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, F. W. Murnau's Nosferatu, The Hands of Orlac, Haxan, The Phantom Carriage, etc. really capture the mood and atmosphere that is necessary to tell a good scary story. Something many more modern films completely lack. Way-back in school we were forced to watch Lon Chaney, Sr. in The Hunchback of Notre-Dame by our English professor and at the time I never gave it much thought. In fact I kind of prefer the Charles Laughton version. I still love the way he delivered the line "Sanctuary! Sanctuary!" It wasn't until I saw Chaney in The Phantom of the Opera that I really started to appreciate these films for great works of art. There is this scene at the masked-ball where the Phantom shows up disguised as Poe's Red-Death. It changes to mostly color and it really blew me away. Since then I've checked out many other Chaney works including The Ace of Hearts, Tod Browning's The Unknown as-well-as going back to re-watch The Huntchback. In The Unknown Chaney plays a murderer who has two thumbs on one hand. He poses as a man with no arms, joins a carnival as a knife thrower and falls in love with a girl there. Its really creepy and easily one of my top 3 favorite Tod Browning films. The Monster has everything a B-movie should have including a charismatic villain with creepy henchmen and an atmospheric setting. I especially love the fact that the lead character is not a typical hero type. Instead he is a bumbling detective who literally gets his badge, gun and diploma through the mail at the beginning of the film. Chaney plays Dr. Ziska a mad scientist who performs ghastly experiments at an abandoned sanitarium and it's up to our would-be detective Johnny Goodlittle to stop him. It is fun, suspenseful, with a great use of mood and irony. The Black Bird features the combination of Tod Browning and Lon Chaney and is not to be missed. Chaney's character is a notorious thief called The Blackbird who pretends to be his twin, a crippled missionary known as The Bishop. Not the first time I've seen him play a character with a secondary identity, which he does brilliantly in this film. The supporting cast really shine in this movie especially Renée Adorée and Owen Moore who play The Blackbird's love interest and rival, respectively. Great ending and a really beautiful score by Robert Israel. The Unholy Three not only stars Chaney but it also features Harry Earles from Tod Browning's Freaks. Seeing one dressed in drag and the other dressed up as a baby is pretty funny. I nearly died of laughter seeing Earles with a cigar in his mouth wearing a toy fireman's helmet. I swear he had to be the inspiration for the Baby Herman character from Who Framed Roger Rabbit. Browning really nails the suspense throughout the movie especially in the toy elephant scene. The camera trick used during the "ape" scene at the end seems almost revolutionary for the time period. Great reveal during the courtroom confession and a happy ending of sorts. While it's not my favorite Browning film it's certainly an entertaining story and worth checking out if you're a fan of either Chaney or Browning. Chaney is my favorite actor of the silent era, bar none. Too bad he died so young. |
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Post by Ish Kabbible on May 9, 2014 12:17:12 GMT -5
The Sword Of Doom (1965)
Tetsuya Nakadai,Toshiro Mifume Director-Kihachi Okamoto
A wandering,masterless samurai named Ryunosuke (Nakadai) kills without remorse or mercy.For example,the wife of an opponent in an upcoming match begs Ryunosuke not to kill her brother.He rapes her and kills the husband anyway.His family fears him,those in his warrior school turn against him.Ryunosuke is always wary wherever he goes that assassins will leap out to try and finish him.In the final scenes,he will have to face approximately 200 assassins at once-alone and in close confines
Nakadai plays a great brooding and deadly samurai.This guy is as badass as any you will ever meet.Old men,women,family-cross his path and he'll put his sword thru you.At least he'll make it quick.The final duel against hundreds of opponents is cinema history.The movie ends abrubtly,unfortunately,for it was intended as a triology that never happened.Regardless I was caught up in this Japanese period piece,taking place in the 1860s.Its more than just combat,its about alienation and a descent into madness as well 8 of 10 stars
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Post by MDG on May 9, 2014 14:16:19 GMT -5
Agreed! It's a shame Tura Satana wasn't in more movies. Also that Meyer stopped getting films made after the 70s. Though I love PUSSYCAT and esteem most of Meyer's early stuff, I think he peaked around 1970 and was beginning to repeat himself. Some of his unfinished projects sound rather dire to my ears. I think he was still firing on all cylinders with Supervixens, which was '75, though it is more of a culmination of everything that came before. |
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Post by Hoosier X on May 9, 2014 16:04:24 GMT -5
I looked up Robert Aldrich at IMDB today after I saw his name as director on The Frisco Kid (1979). (It's a comedy/western with Gene Wilder and Harrison Ford. Wilder is a rabbi traveling in the Old West to get to San Francisco where he's going to take over the synagogue. It's never boring and there's a few chuckles.)
I remembered that he directed Whatever Happened to Baby Jane? but I forgot that he directed The Dirty Dozen! Wow! He directed two of my very favorite Top Ten movies! I've seen them both repeatedly and I don't think I will ever get bored with them. (He also directed another classic, Hush Hush Sweet Charlotte, and The Choirboys, which kind of freaked me out when I was a kid.)
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Post by Ish Kabbible on May 9, 2014 16:11:28 GMT -5
I looked up Robert Aldrich at IMDB today after I saw his name as director on The Frisco Kid (1979). (It's a comedy/western with Gene Wilder and Harrison Ford. Wilder is a rabbi traveling in the Old West to get to San Francisco where he's going to take over the synagogue. It's never boring and there's a few chuckles.) I remembered that he directed Whatever Happened to Baby Jane? but I forgot that he directed The Dirty Dozen! Wow! He directed two of my very favorite Top Ten movies! I've seen them both repeatedly and I don't think I will ever get bored with them. (He also directed another classic, Hush Hush Sweet Charlotte, and The Choirboys, which kind of freaked me out when I was a kid.) His name doesn't come up readily when you think of great directors,but when you include Kiss Me Deadly,Flight of the Phoenix and The Longest Yard,he's hard to ignore |
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Post by Hoosier X on May 9, 2014 16:14:59 GMT -5
Oh, yeah! I forgot about Kiss Me Deadly and The Longest Yard. Kiss Me Deadly especially is one of those classics I've only seen once, and it is great!
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