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Post by Hoosier X on Oct 22, 2015 13:42:34 GMT -5
Zotz (1962) Tom Poston, Jim Backus, Cecil Kellaway, Margaret Dumont, Fred Clark, Mike Mazurki. Directed and written by William Castle Professor Jones has in his possession an ancient coin that gives him strange powers when holding it. By pointing his finger at something, it will cause great pain. By saying the word "Zotz" it will slow down motion. When pointing and saying "Zotz" it will destroy Tom Poston points his finger at the viewer for the entire movie because it's a complete pain to watch. Castle might be good when it comes to grade B horror or suspense but comedy-horrendous. Makes Birds Do It by Soupy Sales seem like a masterpiece. Interesting cast of actors except Tom Poston who was a "celebrity" panelist on What's My Line, I've Got A Secret and many more game shows for decades. Otherwise a boring comic actor. Margaret Dumont is certainly missing her Groucho. With trepidation I continue with the William Castle DVD collection. But as far as Zotz goes- Zotz Zucks This was on TCM a while back as part of a William Castle marathon and I skipped it because I felt like I'd seen enough William Castle for one night. But what a great cast! If I had known it had such a great cast, I would have bitten the bullet and watched it.
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Post by Hoosier X on Oct 22, 2015 18:37:57 GMT -5
I just watched The Blue Bird (1940) with Shirley Temple.
This movie is nuts! It's a fantasy about a selfish little girl who has a dream (or is it?) where she travels in a fantasy world with her much-less-famous little brother to find the blue bird, the source of happiness. The pets (a dog and a cat) are transformed into people to go with them. They're both entertaining but Gale Sondergaard as the cat is hilarious.
I'm surprised this film isn't better known. I first heard of it last year when I saw one scene while flipping channels. I went "WHA-?" and I've been on the lookout to see the whole thing ever since.
Highly recommended for people who like old movies that are totally nuts.
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Post by Ish Kabbible on Oct 23, 2015 12:58:19 GMT -5
The Lion In Winter (1968) Peter O'Toole, Katherine Hepburn, Anthony Hopkins, Timothy Dalton, Nigel Terry, John Castle
England, Christmas 1183. King Henry II (O'Toole) is aging and its time to declare which of his 3 (Hopkins, Terry &Castle) sons will ascend to the throne. Each believes the throne is rightfully theirs and will plot behind the scenes to achieve it. King Phillip of France (Dalton) is visiting and gets mixed into the machinations as well. And to really stir the pot, since its Christmas, the Queen Of England (Hepburn) is allowed out of her prison cell to join in the holiday "Festivities".
My all time favorite film dealing with palace intrigues. Once again Peter O'Toole brings dynamic energy to his performance. Hepburn is one of the few actresses who can match him step by step. Magnificent dialogue. Great supporting cast. Hepburn, the music and the screenplay all won Oscars with 4 other nominations. It won the Golden Globes for best picture. I can't praise it enough
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Post by Ish Kabbible on Oct 23, 2015 13:08:17 GMT -5
Strait-Jacket (1964) Joan Crawford, Leif Erikson, Diane Baker, George Kennedy Written by Robert Bloch Directed by William Castle
20 years ago Lucy Harbin caught her husband in bed with a floozy and they got what they axed for. Lucy's little daughter witnessed it from her bedroom. Now Lucy has been released from the criminal asylum to reunite with her daughter.
Joan Crawford must have been wondering how her once stellar career has come down to this. Leif Erikson must be wondering if he can ever get into a Chris Columbus directed film. The movie starts out fine with the opening murder but its predictable from then on. Crawford is wearing the worst bracelets I've ever seen, clunky mothers that make a racket every time she moves. The "shocking" ending should fool no one. I did like the final 15 seconds of the film when they show the Columbia Pictures statue of liberty lady symbol without a head. Rudimentary Castle-far from the superb Tingler or House On The Haunted Hill for B-Movie excitement
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Post by Hoosier X on Oct 23, 2015 13:33:39 GMT -5
The main thing I love about Strait Jacket is Diane Baker's performance. I thought she did a great job as Joan Crawford, Jr!
No, it's not as good as The Tingler, but I find it to be an entertaining and somewhat nasty little romp.
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Post by Ish Kabbible on Oct 23, 2015 13:37:31 GMT -5
The main thing I love about Strait Jacket is Diane Baker's performance. I thought she did a great job as Joan Crawford, Jr! No, it's not as good as The Tingler, but I find it to be an entertaining and somewhat nasty little romp. I'll admit young George Kennedy was nasty looking as a hired hand on the farm. And the pigs fighting over their slop was a highlight too
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Post by Hoosier X on Oct 23, 2015 14:22:21 GMT -5
A little off-topic, here's an old weird TV clip I found when I was checking to see if YouTube had very many obscure Peter Lorre movies available. How weird? Peter Lorre plays Ralph Kramden in a Honeymooners parody inspired by the work of Charles Addams.
Don't try to act like you aren't intrigued!
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Post by Slam_Bradley on Oct 23, 2015 14:25:05 GMT -5
The Lion In Winter (1968) Peter O'Toole, Katherine Hepburn, Anthony Hopkins, Timothy Dalton, Nigel Terry, John Castle England, Christmas 1183. King Henry II (O'Toole) is aging and its time to declare which of his 3 (Hopkins, Terry &Castle) sons will ascend to the throne. Each believes the throne is rightfully theirs and will plot behind the scenes to achieve it. King Phillip of France (Dalton) is visiting and gets mixed into the machinations as well. And to really stir the pot, since its Christmas, the Queen Of England (Hepburn) is allowed out of her prison cell to join in the holiday "Festivities". My all time favorite film dealing with palace intrigues. Once again Peter O'Toole brings dynamic energy to his performance. Hepburn is one of the few actresses who can match him step by step. Magnificent dialogue. Great supporting cast. Hepburn, the music and the screenplay all won Oscars with 4 other nominations. It won the Golden Globes for best picture. I can't praise it enough I love this movie. But I'm kind of a nut for the Plantagenets. If time isn't an issue like to watch this one following Beckett.
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Post by Hoosier X on Oct 23, 2015 14:46:58 GMT -5
How does everybody feel about Beat the Devil (1953) with Humphrey Bogart, Peter Lorre, Gina Lollabrigida and Jennifer Jones?
This one always stymies me when it comes to figuring out if somebody is going to like it or not. I've recommended it to people who like quirky old movies who seem to be the perfect viewer ... and they look at me funny after they see it and are too polite to say what they really think.
And I've run into several cinephiles with rather specific cinema tastes who love it! I knew a guy who loved French films and independent films, but he thought most of the old Hollywood classics were overrated and he hardly ever liked any movie made before 1970 or so. He worshipped Catherine Deneuve. (There's nothing wrong with that.) He loved John Cassavettes.
And he was crazy for Beat the Devil!
I love it! In the 1990s, I had a cheap VHS tape of Beat the Devil and I watched it a lot. The only Bogart movie I've seen more times than Beat the Devil is Casablanca.
I'm refusing to recommend it because I've never recommended it to anybody who ended up liking it. You have to watch it accidentally, I think. It was on Cinemoi a few days ago and since I haven't seen it for a while, I thought it was time to re-visit one of my favorites. It's still so great!
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Post by Ish Kabbible on Oct 23, 2015 18:32:05 GMT -5
How does everybody feel about Beat the Devil (1953) with Humphrey Bogart, Peter Lorre, Gina Lollabrigida and Jennifer Jones? Last saw it about 3-4 years ago and I recollect it as middling. Parts I liked and parts not working for me. Still worthy of viewing
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Post by Ish Kabbible on Oct 24, 2015 15:11:25 GMT -5
The Old Dark House (1963) D-William Castle Tom Poston, Robert Morley
Eccentric members of a family must stay in a dilapidated old English manor to be entitled to an inheritance
A color William Castle movie? Wonderful. Made in conjunction with England's Hammer Films? Excellent. Another comedy with the god awful Tom Poston? Heavens to Zotz Noooooo!
Reportedly, Boris Karloff turned down the movie because he didn't like the script. The man had class. Tom Poston is an ass.
Well at least actress Fenella Fielding wears very tight dresses. That's all I'll say. Wasted enough precious time watching this. Not as bad as Zotz but that's like saying being shot in the genitals is not as bad as having them burned off
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Post by Ish Kabbible on Oct 24, 2015 15:24:35 GMT -5
This Happy Breed (1944) D-David Lean Robert Newton, Celia Johnson, Robert Mills, Stanley Holloway
An ordinary English family between the years 1919-1939
Yes congratulations, the film perfectly captures ordinariness. I guess since it was released in England during the time of total war, ordinariness was a thing to be dreamt of. The Gibbons family consists of sons and daughters, grandma and in-laws. Middle class through and through. One son believes in communism, one daughter is a flapper and wants the good life.
With huge, sprawling epics to his credit like Dr.Zhivago, Lawrence Of Arabia , Bridge On The River Kwai and more, this film is the complete opposite since its about 98% filmed inside a small modest 2 story private home. Well a director has to start somewhere. Lots of tea is served. Would you like a cupa? Yes I'd like a cupa. Dear would you get a cups? Here is a cupa. Would like some more tea? Yes a cupa would do.
The big dramatic point is when the flapper daughter runs away. She was sick of the tea. A Criterion release. All because its a David Lean film.
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Post by Hoosier X on Oct 24, 2015 21:40:30 GMT -5
Maureen O'Hara has died at the age of 95.
As far as I'm concerned, her best movie was The Hunchback of Notre Dame. Here's the trailer:
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Post by Prince Hal on Oct 24, 2015 22:04:58 GMT -5
She was indeed, Hoosier.
I would also submit her starring role in The Quiet Man and her supporting role in Only the Lonely as two other noteworthy performances, among many.
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Post by Hoosier X on Oct 25, 2015 0:55:42 GMT -5
One thing I keep my eyes open for is movies that I wanted to see when I was a kid but didn't get around to them. So I saw The Swarm a few weeks ago. (Lucky me!)
A few days ago, I noticed Empire of the Ants scheduled on the channel called THIS. So I DVRed it and I'm watching it now. It looks pretty bad so far.
Have I ever mentioned how much I love Frogs? It's part of what I call Ray Milland's Terrible Trilogy, three genre movies that Ray Milland starred in that are on the surface quite awful-looking but are actually highly entertaining. They are: X - The Man with the X-Ray Eyes, The Thing with Two Heads and Frogs.
I have my doubts that Empire of the Ants is going to be as much fun as any of them.
I'm also looking out for Night of the Lepus. I've watched segments of it a few time but I've never seen the whole thing. I love it!
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