|
Post by Hoosier X on Dec 5, 2015 14:29:42 GMT -5
I was looking at the Cary Grant filmography again, and I find that from Bringing Up Baby in 1938 to Walk Don't Run in 1966, there's only five Cary Grant movies I haven't seen. (I'm not counting a few short films and cameo appearances.)
In Name Only (1939) The Howards of Virginia (1940) Every Girl Should Be Married (1948) Kiss Them for Me (1957) Walk Don't Run (1966)
Kiss Them for Me is available on Netflix streaming. And Every Girl Should Be Married is on TCM this month.
|
|
|
Post by Prince Hal on Dec 5, 2015 15:54:34 GMT -5
I was looking at the Cary Grant filmography again, and I find that from Bringing Up Baby in 1938 to Walk Don't Run in 1966, there's only five Cary Grant movies I haven't seen. (I'm not counting a few short films and cameo appearances.) In Name Only (1939) The Howards of Virginia (1940) Every Girl Should Be Married (1948) Kiss Them for Me (1957) Walk Don't Run (1966) Kiss Them for Me is available on Netflix streaming. And Every Girl Should Be Married is on TCM this month. Of these, I've only seen The Howards and was doubly disappointed: first b/c I love the Revolutionary era and so few films are set then, and second b/c Grant is miscast and poorly directed as a backwoods farmer who favors rebellion and marries up to an aristocratic Tory girl. I really wanted this movie to be better. Big budget, scenes shot in Williamsburg, etc., but no spark, IMO. I'd watch it once for the sake of completing your Cary Grant "set," though.
|
|
|
Post by Ish Kabbible on Dec 5, 2015 19:52:04 GMT -5
I was looking at the Cary Grant filmography again, and I find that from Bringing Up Baby in 1938 to Walk Don't Run in 1966, there's only five Cary Grant movies I haven't seen. (I'm not counting a few short films and cameo appearances.) In Name Only (1939) The Howards of Virginia (1940) Every Girl Should Be Married (1948) Kiss Them for Me (1957) Walk Don't Run (1966) Kiss Them for Me is available on Netflix streaming. And Every Girl Should Be Married is on TCM this month. Of those Cary Grant films, I saw and own on DVD In Name Only. Got it via Warners Archives. Saw it for the first time, after ownimg it many years, not all that long ago and I'm sure I wrote up my impressions of it. Thought it was quite decent, methinks.
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Dec 5, 2015 22:50:42 GMT -5
Every Girl Should Be Married ... I want to see that movie too. The Howards of Virginia - I have seen that movie and I completely agree with Prince Hal's assessment and this is a poorly miscast movie for Cary Grant by a Country Mile.
Every Girl Should Be Married is a candidate for the DVR ... 2:30 in the Morning on 30th of this month. I will be recording that movie.
|
|
|
Post by Hoosier X on Dec 6, 2015 0:34:09 GMT -5
I'm watching The Littlest Rebel (1935) with Shirley Temple.
It seems to be about those dark days when evil Mr. Lincoln sent the Union Army down South to take away Shirley Temple's slaves ... er, servants so they couldn't dance for her no mo'.
Of course, the most offensive thing about this movie (by far!) is the colorization.
|
|
|
Post by Ish Kabbible on Dec 6, 2015 1:22:08 GMT -5
Hollywood Canteen (1944) The Andrews Sisters, Jack Benny, Joe E. Brown, Eddie Cantor, Kitty Carlisle, Jack Carson, Joan Crawford, Bette Davis, Faye Emerson, John Garfield, Sydney Greenstreet, Alan Hale, Sr., Paul Henreid, Joan Leslie, Peter Lorre, Ida Lupino, Dorothy Malone, Dennis Morgan, Janis Paige, Eleanor Parker, Roy Rogers (with Trigger), S.Z. Sakall, Zachary Scott, Alexis Smith, Barbara Stanwyck, Jane Wyman, Jimmy Dorsey and his Orchestra
Bette Davis & John Garfield helped to organize a night spot for enlisted men on leave in Hollywood during WWII to help entertain them. They got others in the film industry to volunteer their time to work at the club as greeters, waiters, chefs etc. This Warner Bros cavalcade of stars film uses that location for its all star salute to the military. While you watch you keep wondering who will pop up next
Highlights include Roy Rogers with Trigger singing "Don't Fence Me In' Peter Lorre and Sydney Greenstreet intimidating some army officer Jack Benny and his violin
Probably the best of its kind during the war years, Director Delmer Daves keeps it interesting with varied camera angles
|
|
|
Post by Hoosier X on Dec 6, 2015 11:25:42 GMT -5
Despite its outrageous distortion of the facts of American slavery (it's not as bad as Mel Gibson's The Patriot), The Littlest Rebel is very entertaining. Shirley dances with Bill Robinson (as the loyal house slave) for some wonderful segments. Shirley marches in the middle of the road as she sings "Dixie" in defiance of some Union officers. I would never have thought I would find "Polly Wolly Doodle" such an endearing song, but here it is.
And Willie Best is in this movie! He's the African American actor who thought Stepin Fetchit wasn't trying hard enough. Best performed under the name Sleep N Eat in the early part of his career (when you see "Sleep N Eat" in the credits, you know it's a classy production!) but he eventually changed to Willie Best. (His most famous role is probably in Humphrey Bogart's High Sierra.)
One thing I thought odd about The Littlest Rebel was how it starts. They're having a big birthday party, Shirley's the hostess, enjoying the attention of the boys, and the children are dancing, when a guy riding a horse charges in and tells them that Fort Sumter's been fired on. And Shirley wants to know what a war is and why they have to have one and why they let it spoil the party.
It's just like Gone with the Wind! (Although GWTW leaves out the part where Shirley asks Bill Robinson what it means to "free the slaves" and Robinson says he doesn't know what that means. It just too much fo his headbone to reckon on.)
I don't think they were copying GWTW. The Littlest Rebel came out in 1935, the year before the book came out! Was the whole South having a party when Fort Sumter was fired on? I'm wondering if this is a trope of Southern novels or a Southern tradition or something that was well known in the 1930s.
|
|
|
Post by Hoosier X on Dec 6, 2015 19:06:50 GMT -5
I forgot to mention something I noticed in Room for One More.
There's a scene with a major Boy Scout gathering. The boy they've adopted has completed all the requirements for the rank of Eagle Scout. Everybody says the Pledge of Allegiance to the flag.
But it's the old version of the Pledge. They don't say "under god." They just say "to the Republic for which it stands, one nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all."
You see, it wasn't politically correct like that, so they added "under god" between "one nation" and "indivisible" a year or two after this movie was made. (I really don't know how the U.S. ended up on the winning side in the fight against the Nazis without "god" in their expression of loyalty to a piece of cloth.)
|
|
|
Post by berkley on Dec 7, 2015 1:01:06 GMT -5
I would never have thought I would find "Polly Wolly Doodle" such an endearing song, but here it is. Ever heard the Leon Redbone version?
|
|
|
Post by Ish Kabbible on Dec 7, 2015 12:24:18 GMT -5
Crossing Delancey (1988) Amy Irving, Peter Riegert, Sylvia Miles
Amy Irving works at a small bookstore, loves being part of literary society and is hot for a pompous author. Her old-time Jewish grandmother fears she will never marry and wants to fix her up with a nice Jewish boy. Sylvia Miles, as a match-maker, arranges a meeting with the local pickle man. Amy is very irritated with the meddling into her love life
Sweet couples movie helped out by nice location shots on the lower east side of Manhattan. Well acted, believable, and oy vey, I could go for a bagel with a smear right about now
|
|
|
Post by Ish Kabbible on Dec 7, 2015 12:33:57 GMT -5
Backfire (1950) Virginia Mayo, Gordon MacRae, Edmond O'Brien, Dane Clark, Viveca Lindfors, Ed Begley
Bob is a soldier recuperating from back surgery and getting daily visits from an army buddy. Just before being released from the hospital, Bob's friend stops visiting. Bob soon learns his friend is wanted for murder and has been mixed up with gamblers.
The DVD is part OF Warner Bros Film Noir Collection Vol. 4 but its really a decent crime mystery movie (I know a noir when I see it, this ain't one). Sat in a canister for 2 years before release. Los Angeles location with a decent cast. The revealed mystery is a bit strange. I really like Dane Clark, reminds me of the younger George Segal. Just saw him in Hollywood Canteen a few nights before. Funny when you unexpectedly run into the same character actors form one night to the next
|
|
|
Post by Ish Kabbible on Dec 7, 2015 18:21:33 GMT -5
Despite its outrageous distortion of the facts of American slavery (it's not as bad as Mel Gibson's The Patriot), The Littlest Rebel is very entertaining. Shirley dances with Bill Robinson (as the loyal house slave) for some wonderful segments. Shirley marches in the middle of the road as she sings "Dixie" in defiance of some Union officers. I would never have thought I would find "Polly Wolly Doodle" such an endearing song, but here it is. And Willie Best is in this movie! He's the African American actor who thought Stepin Fetchit wasn't trying hard enough. Best performed under the name Sleep N Eat in the early part of his career (when you see "Sleep N Eat" in the credits, you know it's a classy production!) but he eventually changed to Willie Best. (His most famous role is probably in Humphrey Bogart's High Sierra.) One thing I thought odd about The Littlest Rebel was how it starts. They're having a big birthday party, Shirley's the hostess, enjoying the attention of the boys, and the children are dancing, when a guy riding a horse charges in and tells them that Fort Sumter's been fired on. And Shirley wants to know what a war is and why they have to have one and why they let it spoil the party. It's just like Gone with the Wind! (Although GWTW leaves out the part where Shirley asks Bill Robinson what it means to "free the slaves" and Robinson says he doesn't know what that means. It just too much fo his headbone to reckon on.) I don't think they were copying GWTW. The Littlest Rebel came out in 1935, the year before the book came out! Was the whole South having a party when Fort Sumter was fired on? I'm wondering if this is a trope of Southern novels or a Southern tradition or something that was well known in the 1930s. Sometime this coming week, I'm gonna hitch up my big boy pants and attempt to watch the one and only Birth Of A Nation. It's essential for any film buff to view it. If you had problems with Shirley Temple, I'd be curious to your reactions to the movie that started it all I'll always remember Willie Best as the elevator man in the TV show My Little Margie. Fond memories of coming home at 3AM, stoned out of my mind as a teen, and watching Margie reruns
|
|
|
Post by Hoosier X on Dec 7, 2015 18:35:52 GMT -5
Sometime this coming week, I'm gonna hitch up my big boy pants and attempt to watch the one and only Birth Of A Nation. It's essential for any film buff to view it. If you had problems with Shirley Temple, I'd be curious to your reactions to the movie that started it all I'll always remember Willie Best as the elevator man in the TV show My Little Margie. Fond memories of coming home at 3AM, stoned out of my mind as a teen, and watching Margie reruns I've seen Birth of a Nation several times. As a historical document, it's horrifying. It gives a very distorted, patriarchal view of slavery and Reconstruction. It's also a horrifying look at the times in which it was made. (As a teaching assistant in college, I showed scenes from Birth of a Nation in a US History class, 1860 to modern times, to give an idea of racial views of the 1910 to 1920 era. I had a five-page handout with quotes from the NAACP, Griffith, Woodrow Wilson, etc.) But judged solely as entertainment, it's wonderful! Very exciting, very entertaining, I've never had any trouble sitting through BOAN the way I do with some of the earlier silent feature films. (I usually find Griffith to be a very entertaining director. Intolerance is one-half wonderful and one-half a CHORE!) Hopefully, you'll be able to enjoy it for the entertainment value at the same time you recognize that its white supremacist politics are awful.
|
|
|
Post by Hoosier X on Dec 8, 2015 15:06:28 GMT -5
I'm watching The Mark of Zorro, the 1940 version with Tyrone Power. I noticed it on the schedule for the MOVIES! channel and I figured it was ridiculous that a really major Batman fanatic AND cinephile like myself had never seen it. (I think I saw the one with Douglas Fairbanks and I also remember Zorro on TV when I was a kid but it was either a TV series or maybe a Disney TV movie.)
The best thing about the 1940 version? Tyrone Power as Don Diego, Zorro's self-indulgent, indifferent foppish alter ego. He cracks me up. Tyrone Power would have made a great Bruce Wayne (and Batman) if there had ever been a major studio feature film of Batman in the 1940s.
|
|
|
Post by Hoosier X on Dec 8, 2015 15:30:10 GMT -5
Yeah, they could have made a great Batman movie in the 1940s with that cast! Tyrone Power as Bruce Wayne/Batman, Linda Darnell as Catwoman (or maybe Linda Page or Julie Madison), Basil Rathbone as the Joker (if Cesar Romero wasn't available), Eugene Pallette as a very menacing Penguin (but only if Burgess Meredith wasn't around), J. Edward Bromberg as Commissioner Gordon.
Oh, yeah, that would have been great!
|
|