|
Post by Ish Kabbible on Oct 16, 2016 14:34:05 GMT -5
Francis Goes To West Point (1952) Donald O'Conner, Lori Nelson,Gregg Palmer, David Janssen Peter has now found a job working at a government defense plant. Somehow Francis has overheard a plot to sabotage the installation and tells Peter when it will happen. Peter is now a hero for helping to crush the saboteurs. As a reward, he's given the chance to enroll at the West Point Academy. Francis comes along and is employed as the mascot of the football team Peter has to endure the hazing rituals from 2 of the hard-ass senior cadets (James Best and David " The Fugitive" Janssen"). It's another mid-level comedy. Best routines are Francis The Mule teaching Peter math, biology and French to pass his classes. Lots of great footage shot on location at West Point. And plenty of football scenes as well, especially at a big Army-Navy game. Another funny touch is Francis, the team mascot, on the sidelines at the games standing next to the coach. During critical moments, Francis whispers some football plays into the coach's ears who thinks it's messages from God Still, there's not much story or truly inspired comedy routines. It's enjoyable enough but missing a quality to attain real classic status. These films were produced by Universal Studios and must have been a temporary godsend for them For over a decade, Abbott and Costello where the big comedy money generators for Universal but by the early 1950's their box office draw began to wane. Their contract with the studio was allowed to run out and off they went to the land of television. Thankfully for Universal, Francis had arrived to replace them If you don't blink, you'll see Leonard Nimoy as one of the West Point football players. The voice of Francis, Chill Wills, has a cameo too I once visited West Point as a child, for a school trip or a cub scout trip, I forget which. It's about 50 miles north of New York City. As other films so far, Francis unveils his talking abilities towards the end to help his buddy get out of trouble.In this film, Francis even gives the football team a pep talk in the locker room during half-time of the big game. They went out to win one for the Big Mule At the film's conclusion, scientists arrive at the academy to begin a study on Francis. The mule thinks now it's a good time to get the hell away. He says goodbye to Peter who's just graduated. Does this mean a status quo change for the 4th Francis The Talking Mule series? We shall see
|
|
|
Post by Hoosier X on Oct 16, 2016 16:32:15 GMT -5
This one sounds familiar. I'm pretty sure I saw Francis at West Point when I was a kid.
That Nimoy cameo reminds me of his very short appearance in Rhubarb, the one with Ray Milland and Jan Sterling about the cat that owns a baseball team.
|
|
|
Post by Hoosier X on Oct 16, 2016 16:39:01 GMT -5
I taped Superfly (1972) off TCM last night and watched it this morning. It's pretty awesome. And such great music. I don't watch a lot of Blaxploitation. I did go through a period where I was watching a lot of Pam Grier movies. Is Coffy the one where she has a really awful but hilarious Jamaican accent in one scene? I've also seen the Blacula movies. But Superfly was on TCM and it's famous and influential, so I thought it was time to see it. It's highly entertaining! So glad I watched it. Highly recommended.
|
|
|
Post by Ish Kabbible on Oct 16, 2016 17:07:16 GMT -5
I taped Superfly (1972) off TCM last night and watched it this morning. It's pretty awesome. And such great music. I don't watch a lot of Blaxploitation. I did go through a period where I was watching a lot of Pam Grier movies. Is Coffy the one where she has a really awful but hilarious Jamaican accent in one scene? I've also seen the Blacula movies. But Superfly was on TCM and it's famous and influential, so I thought it was time to see it. It's highly entertaining! So glad I watched it. Highly recommended. For more Superfly type action, of course there's Shaft (the original and the remake wasn't bad too with Samuel Jackson). Another I liked was Across 110th St
|
|
|
Post by Hoosier X on Oct 16, 2016 17:12:14 GMT -5
Shaft is another one I've never seen.
|
|
|
Post by Ish Kabbible on Oct 16, 2016 17:14:19 GMT -5
Shaft is another one I've never seen. Decent movie with one of the greatest all-time Movie Theme songs ever!!!!!!
|
|
|
Post by Ish Kabbible on Oct 16, 2016 22:46:51 GMT -5
Not a Western but a Romantic Comedy The Cowboy And The Lady (1938) Gary Cooper, Merle Oberon, Walter Brennan, Fuzzy Knight, Harry Davenport Merle is the daughter of a wealthy judge running for the Presidency of the United States. She wants an opportunity to party but avoid scandalizing her father. So off to Palm Beach she goes to meet men. She's given the advice to come up with a sob story and a false hard-luck upbringing to meet a good man. She falls in love with Gary Cooper who works in rodeo shows. And as typical in the movies and TV sitcoms, they marry without her telling her husband her real background It's cute and the 2 leads are very like-able. Cooper is the perfect "aw shucks" cowhand. I never had much opportunity to appreciate Merle Oberon before but with this film I certainly do. Walter Brennan is always a hoot. it's a solid 1930's comedy It's a simple film but according to IMDB there was a load of turmoil behind the scenes with 3 directors pitching in, many re-writes and delays. 17 screenwriters in total had a hand with the script. One actor had to leave because the production was taking too long and his part had to be re-cast and completely re-shot. You'd never know by watching this that there was so much trouble going on
|
|
|
Post by Ish Kabbible on Oct 17, 2016 3:17:04 GMT -5
Francis Covers The Big Town (1953) Donald O'Connor, Yvette DuGay, Gene Lockheart,Nancy Guild, Gale Gordon Yes, Yes-this is the Francis movie that tops them all. There's no reference to the previous West Point installment, this time Pete and his mule arrive in New York City, If you can make it there, you can make it anywhere. Pete gets a job as copyboy for a newspaper. Francis starts hanging around the horses of the mounted police and gets loads of scuttlebutt and tips. He passes it on to Pete who winds up promoted as a full time reporter. That is after the psychiatrists are done testing him about his talking mule syndrome. What makes this the best Francis film so far? Well part of it is obviously my own New York City upbringing and seeing location shots of Pete and Francis strolling along Times Square and other settings. You can see in the Times Square scene that word must have gotten out about Francis arriving because there were hundreds of onlookers lined up in the sidewalks to watch. But besides that, the film had an actual story and lots of scenes with Francis. In fact there were 3 excellent scenes. First is Francis talking to a psychiatrist telling him his theories are a bunch of hooey. Then Francis giving a girl advice and a makeover to capture the attention of Pete. Finally, there's a murder trial with Pete standing accused against the prosecuting attorney, The Lucy Show's very own Mr. Mooney (Gale Gordon). Francis takes the witness stand in hilarious fashion We also learn that Francis has read the Encyclopedia Britannica 7 times and is currently reading a book on Einstein's Relativity Theorems. Mr. Peabody would be impressed. So the 4th of 7 Francis films without doubt has reached an apex. Please let it continue for a bit more Oh, Francis finds a girlfriend at the end of this film. Another funny bit
|
|
|
Post by brutalis on Oct 17, 2016 7:35:06 GMT -5
Another round of Saturday horror movies. Afternoon romp was Francis Ford Coppola's Dracula and Kenneth Branagh's Frankenstein. Both being artistically and visually stunning. The costuming and effects and makeup work just insane. Loved the shadow play through out Dracula and the varying transformations they placed Gary Oldman through. Frankenstein taking a more cerebral path showing off Branagh as Victor the creator of monster's. Creative and entertaining in exploring both the creator and the monster's connections to one another until their ultimate death.
For the night it was B movie schlock filled fun with Leprechaun 3 and 4 terrorizing the television. These are "classic" in the true B movie sensibility of being dumb humor/horror drive in movie meant for seeing at your local Drive-in theater for an all night marathon showing of all the Leprechaun movies. Fairly generic dumb jokes and kills done tongue in cheek manner yet still can be appreciated for what they are meant to be: mindless entertainment. Kept Warwick Davis working for many years and if nobody else was having fun you can tell that he was enjoying the mirthful mayhem...
|
|
|
Post by adamwarlock2099 on Oct 17, 2016 9:49:55 GMT -5
I watched Oh God! with my wife for the first time over the weekend. She's seen it before but it was my first time. Never knew John Denver did movie acting. I mean I know he did concerts and was on the Muppet Show a lot and then like his music specials and what not, but not acting in another role. He was always himself. Anyway, not a surprise that being raised religiously conflicted with a family of fans of John Denver's music, and so never knew this movie existed.
Either way, I enjoyed it. I think it was an interesting way to make God a more understandable being. The movie tried to make him relatable and explain some of the mysteries of life and death and our existence to be people at ease. It wasn't, to me, in anyway offensive, or take light of God or religion. I actually think it was a nice sentiment. Being agnostic, and having been raised religiously, I've been on both sides. Not sure if it got as much flack as other religious movies have gotten in more recent years, but I wouldn't be surprised.
Anyone watch the sequel? Is it worth a watch?
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Oct 17, 2016 10:12:46 GMT -5
I watched The Innocents from 1961 and starring Deborah Kerr. What a creepy movie. No gore or anything over the top, just creepy scenes, music, interesting use of lighting and atmosphere to create a very memorable scary movie. I remember on Dark Shadows when they ripped off this storyline with the ghosts of Beth and Quentin. Also watched The Curse of Frankenstein and Revenge of Frankenstein from Hammer Films. Great stuff with Peter Cushing!
|
|
|
Post by Farrar on Oct 17, 2016 11:05:15 GMT -5
I watched The Innocents from 1961 and starring Deborah Kerr. What a creepy movie. No gore or anything over the top, just creepy scenes, music, interesting use of lighting and atmosphere to create a very memorable scary movie. I remember on Dark Shadows when they ripped off this storyline with the ghosts of Beth and Quentin. Excellent movie, great cast (love Michael Redgrave!) And yeah, it's based on a play The Innocents...which in turn is based on Henry James's The Turn of the Screw. I know I saw Claire Bloom in a revival of the stage play a long while back, but it was a rather (IMO) lackluster production and I don't recall specifics about it.
|
|
|
Post by Hoosier X on Oct 17, 2016 11:17:51 GMT -5
I watched The Innocents from 1961 and starring Deborah Kerr. What a creepy movie. No gore or anything over the top, just creepy scenes, music, interesting use of lighting and atmosphere to create a very memorable scary movie. I remember on Dark Shadows when they ripped off this storyline with the ghosts of Beth and Quentin. Also watched The Curse of Frankenstein and Revenge of Frankenstein from Hammer Films. Great stuff with Peter Cushing! The Innocents is great! My brother loves it and so I see it every three or four years or so just because he likes it so much. The Hammer Frankenstein films are pretty good. But I decided to watch all the Universal Frankenstein movies this year (which I haven't done for a while) and I thought I might be a bit Frankensteined-out by the end of the month if I DVRed the Hammers too. I did mark Frankenstein Must be Destroyed! on my schedule (it's on TCM) because I saw it as a kid and it totally creeped me out like few movies did back then. I've seen it once or twice since then, and it doesn't have the same effect, but Geez Louise! Cushing's Dr. Frankenstein is Satanic! Driven, crazed, DETERMINED! I don't want to miss that one. I DVRed Frankenstein Meets the Space Monster off (I think) IFC, but when I started to watch it, it was the remake of Assault of Precinct 13! BOOOOOO!
|
|
|
Post by Hoosier X on Oct 17, 2016 12:00:58 GMT -5
I watched Cabin in the Sky (1943) last night. It's so crazy! Little Joe (Eddie "Rochester" Anderson) is a lazy shiftless fellow who gambles and drinks and cheats on his wife. He gets shot in a dispute about loaded dice and is hovering on the brink of life and death. The forces of Heaven and the forces of Hell get into a bit of a dispute about his ultimate disposition. While they are arguing, his wife (Ethel Waters) prays and prays for his soul, and so the Lord decides to give him six months to clean up his act. It won't be easy because the forces of evil will be tempting him at every turn! The best thing about this movie is Rex Ingraham as the son of the devil. You may remember him as the genie in The Thief of Baghdad with Sabu, Conrad Veidt and June Duprez. OMG! He's pretty crazy in Cabin in the Sky as well. In addition to the people mentioned, this movie also has a bunch of other great people, notably Lena Horne! But also Mantan Moreland! And Louis Armstrong, Butterfly McQueen and Willie Best! Some great musical numbers. Directed by Vincente Minnelli!
|
|
|
Post by Ish Kabbible on Oct 17, 2016 13:04:33 GMT -5
I watched Oh God! with my wife for the first time over the weekend. Anyone watch the sequel? Is it worth a watch? Absolutely not. I saw it when it came to HBO. Bailed out halfway through . A waste of time
|
|