WHAT FILMS HAVE YOU SEEN LATELY?

Chit-chat, current events
User avatar
knitwit45
Posts: 4689
Joined: May 4th, 2007, 9:33 pm
Location: Gardner, KS

Re: WHAT FILMS HAVE YOU SEEN LATELY?

Post by knitwit45 »

Apparently, her 'star' was fading, as she was relegated to the very back. Up till this movie, she was always on the front row, perhaps to one side, but.....

I spotted her in Yolanda and the Thief, in the dream sequence. She is one of the three 'good' girls, dancing with Lucille Bremer at the beginning, and then at the end of the sequence, she's the one who places the wedding veil on Bremer's head. You never get to see her full face, but I recognized the smile and the posture, the way she wears her headpiece. Am I getting obsessed???? oh dear........
"Life is not the way it's supposed to be.. It's the way it is..
The way we cope with it, is what makes the difference." ~ Virginia Satir
""Most people pursue pleasure with such breathless haste that they hurry past it." ~ Soren Kierkegaard
RedRiver
Posts: 4200
Joined: July 28th, 2011, 9:42 am

Re: WHAT FILMS HAVE YOU SEEN LATELY?

Post by RedRiver »

THE STRANGER Robinson was not Welles' choice for that role. He wanted Agnes Moorehead

Holy cow! How interesting would that have been? Though, I do like Robinson in the role.
User avatar
JackFavell
Posts: 11926
Joined: April 20th, 2009, 9:56 am

Re: WHAT FILMS HAVE YOU SEEN LATELY?

Post by JackFavell »

you've always been obsessed! :D But aren't we all?

I didn't think she was in the back actually in Good News, she was in the very front of the dancers, on the left side, peeking around the main group of actors. I could see her face clearly, which wasn't the case with the other dancers. She was just in back of the main characters.

I forgot how much I liked Yolanda and the Thief. What a great movie. I missed your gal though.
MikeBSG
Posts: 1777
Joined: April 25th, 2007, 5:43 pm

Re: WHAT FILMS HAVE YOU SEEN LATELY?

Post by MikeBSG »

Today I watched "Genevieve" (1953) directed by Henry Cornelius.

I really enjoyed this movie. It started a little slow, but the characters had a real charm so I stayed with it. Once the road rally got underway, things heated up, and by the time the race started, I was rooted to the screen.

It was a delight to see Kenneth More as something of a rascal. I usually think of him as square-jawed British rectitude, so this was a real change of pace. Also, Kay Kendall was a lot of fun.

Actually, I was surprised by how many of the jokes were about sex and desire. It made me realize that "Genevieve" was never around when I was a movie fan in Cleveland. British comedy equaled Ealing comedy both at the film societies and on the PBS station. Thanks to the DVD, I've seen British comedies from the same era that are far more racy and less "nice" than Ealing films, such as this one and the St. Trinian's movies.

What about you who grew up in places other than Cleveland. was your view of British comedy confined to Ealing, or were you aware of other films?
User avatar
Jezebel38
Posts: 376
Joined: July 15th, 2007, 3:45 pm
Location: San Jose, CA

Re: WHAT FILMS HAVE YOU SEEN LATELY?

Post by Jezebel38 »

MikeBSG wrote: What about you who grew up in places other than Cleveland. was your view of British comedy confined to Ealing, or were you aware of other films?
The very first British comedy I ever saw was THE MOUSE THAT ROARED, in a theater with my family when I was just a little kid, and I thought it was weird but silly fun. When I started to really become interested in classic films in high school, I remember seeing DOCTOR IN THE HOUSE and the other DR movies, and then I saw GENEVIEVE at a repertory cinema in town and it became my favorite British comedy and still ls. I didn't come across the Ealing comedies until later, when I had more years of film viewing under my belt, and was more "conditioned" to watching British films in general. I'm pretty sure WHISKY GALORE was my first Ealing.
User avatar
JackFavell
Posts: 11926
Joined: April 20th, 2009, 9:56 am

Re: WHAT FILMS HAVE YOU SEEN LATELY?

Post by JackFavell »

My first British comedies were A Run For Your Money, Last Holiday (not quite a comedy) and To Paris With Love, which the Chicago PBS stations used to run quite a lot. I haven't seen the first and last in years. They aren't exactly naughty, but they have a healthy dose of sex in the plots.

I then moved on to the Ealings, with The Ladykillers, Kind Hearts and Coronets, The Lavender Hill Mob and The Man in the White Suit being popular enough for me to memorize them. Whisky Galore completely mystified me, I was too young to appreciate it. Later I found it charmingly anarchic. I remember enjoying Passport to Pimlico quite a good deal, but again, I haven't seen it in some time.

As it stands now, The Man in the White Suit is my favorite, with an extremely close Ladykillers in second place. Anything by Alexander MacKendrick is going to rank high on my favorites list. Last year, I discovered The Maggie which is a wonderful, wonderful movie. MacKendrick really knows how to deliver small, very funny comedies with huge, even cosmic themes.

As for naughty Brit movies, I didn't see the Carry On movies until a couple of years ago, and thoroughly enjoyed them. I haven't seen Genevieve, but am adding it to my list of must-see movies.

I do remember seeing How to Murder Your Wife and Start the Revolution Without Me as a young kid, and being very embarrassed by them. I still watched fascinated though. :D
RedRiver
Posts: 4200
Joined: July 28th, 2011, 9:42 am

Re: WHAT FILMS HAVE YOU SEEN LATELY?

Post by RedRiver »

Kay Kendall plays a mean trumpet! I heard she had a blast with that scene.
User avatar
CineMaven
Posts: 3815
Joined: September 24th, 2007, 9:54 am
Location: Brooklyn, New York
Contact:

Re: WHAT FILMS HAVE YOU SEEN LATELY?

Post by CineMaven »

I went to Lincoln Center for “The Discreet Charms of George Cukor” Film Festival.

Image

I’d missed some of the gems already screened, and there are some films I can't see because they interfere with my once-a-week, hen-house, Friday night drinking binge. The next available film to see was “The Marrying Kind.” I've never seen it, didn’t know what to expect from it, and am not exactly a Judy Holliday / Aldo Ray fan. ( Ugh! THEM!! )

I have to say I thoroughly enjoyed the movie.

Image

Judy Holliday and Aldo Ray play a married couple who are on the court’s docket to get a divorce. The movie took it’s time to play out, showing us the mundane, day-to-day, routine of married life. It’s about how we love, adore, get bored, don’t listen, keep on keeping on, give up and try try again. It’s the story of two people who’ve lost their way from each other and find their way back again. Holliday and Ray are perfectly matched and well – suited for each other as actors and love interests.

Image

Now truth be told, I had to get used to the sound of their voices; at first blush, he sounds like a raspy dumb jock and she sounds like a whiny dumb blonde. Their sound jars me. But a funny thing happened to me on the way to the film’s conclusion; I got used to the way they spoke...and ultimately found it part of their charm. The movie unfolds easily, allowing me get to know their characters. So after a little while, the way they sound fades into the background and becomes part of the fabric of these characters. I didn't even notice their voices other than it being part of the charm of their makeup. What I did begin to see is that He is a big loveable teddy bear, a sweet guy; and She is a bit of a chatterbox, but very loving. She defers to him as a Good Wife does ( in my Baby Booming year of 19__ ) and he is the Head of the House ( making mistakes along the way. )

Image

He is a bit of a dreamer, and a little immature. He has dreams of making it big and she is very supportive. They do as couples do, or did moreso back in the day. He goes to work and she stays home and has children. Things don’t pan out for them as they'd hoped...as they sometimes don't, for ordinary people. We are looking at Marriage.

Image Image

We get to look at the deal-making and bargaining and compromising that go on in marriage: preparing for a party, getting ready for bed, the short-hand way a couple communicates when they're in a group. The child actors Cukor uses have a case of the cutes and are a tad over the top in their manic exuberance. But they do sort of match Holliday and Ray's big temperaments.

I like the way Judy Holliday and Aldo Ray speak in the movie. Oh I'm not talking about their sound, but their syntax. This script is written by two of the very BEST in the business: Ruth Gordon and Garson Kanin. One has to be able to handle the sparkling champagne dialogue of their very literate scripts. Don’t take this the wrong way, and I don’t mean this to sound condescending but the team brought the high-brow down to the beer barrels with this movie. The dialogue doesn't sound arch and sophisticated because this is the life of an ordinary couple, written by a couple who know the ins and outs and drama of being married and can tailor their craft to fit the occasion.

Image
Screenplays include: “A DOUBLE LIFE” “ADAM'S RIB” &
“PAT & MIKE”

I like how Cukor uses flashbacks and voice-overs. I smile at how their recollections of events is played out. Their recollections don't match the flashbacks shown. It took a moment for me to get that and when I did I had to laugh at the cleverness. I like how their narration as they relay their story to the judge, is dubbed over other actors’ dialogue. I enjoyed how Ray's dream, after a drunken time at a party, gives birth to an idea for a kind of roller skates. Again, I like the technique director Cukor uses to slip us into Ray's dream. We see Aldo riding the Post Office's conveyor belt system, a la Chaplin in “Modern Times.” He gets caught up as a cog in the wheels of machinery. I loved seeing New York City's 1950's locations ( Peter Cooper Village, the main Post Office on 34th Street, Madison Avenue. ) In fact it started to dawn on me and I’ll say it here loud and proud: “The Marrying Kind” is a Woody Allen movie.

What came to life for me was their acting the drama and tragedy and struggle. Ray and Holliday handled those scenes very well. Their voices got down and deep into their gut. These angry scenes thrilled me the most; not that I wanted to see the couple in distress. I thought they were so very sweet together. But I was curious to see how the actors handled them - the yelling, the loss of a child, a disabling accident, a wife returning to work, an inheritance that stokes irrational but understandable jealousy and the egotism and sexism of not being able to be The Provider.

Image

“The Marrying Kind” covers all that. Yes we’ve seen movies about marriage before, but I think the chemistry of Judy Holliday and Aldo Ray makes this movie pretty special. And even better, it made me change my mind about both of them.
"You build my gallows high, baby."

http://www.megramsey.com
User avatar
JackFavell
Posts: 11926
Joined: April 20th, 2009, 9:56 am

Re: WHAT FILMS HAVE YOU SEEN LATELY?

Post by JackFavell »

That's fantastic, T! I'm so glad you went for this movie that could have grated on your nerves, it's a real film buff and a big person who will try something even if it isn't their normal fare and admit to changing their mind. Good for you, eating your spinach and finding you like it! :D

I am very fond of both players here. I can understand how the voices could get to you, his big raspy dumb guy one, and her dumb cluck one. But these two have so much to give other than that. I just plain love Aldo Ray, ever since I heard him say, "I trew up." in Pat and Mike. I've always liked those Slapsie Maxie types, the supporting players with their 'dems and dose' attitudes. But Aldo really started out knowing how to bring reality to a role. He had a talent that just doesn't really seem defined by the big dumb jock character.

Judy died young and I think it's a shame, she brings a lot of humor, but also a kind of a lost quality to certain parts of her work. If you end up seeing Born Yesterday, I think you'll like the more dramatic sections of her performance very much. She hits all the right points, becoming something other than just a gifted comedienne, an actress with real feelings to offer. She adds a touch of pathos.

I've seen the beginning of The Marrying Kind once, and thought it was pretty good. I don't remember any of the tragedy, so I must not have gotten that far. I know I LOVE Ruth Gordon so this is a movie I really must see. I always like the reality and humor these writers inject into their movies about marriage - like Adam's Rib, or relationships - like Pat and Mike. The great thing about their writing on the subject is how recognizable those marital or relationship battles can be - I know I've laughed out loud during Adam's Rib because of the familiarity of the arguments and the way Kate and Spence are a faulty couple with foibles and mistakes and bullheadedness between them just like in real life. I love how the writers channeled their own ....how shall I say this politely....CRAP from their marriage into a very funny script. It feels true even with Hepburn's Bryn Mawr accent and Tracy's acting chops. THAT'S what makes these scripts work, the recognition from your own life.

The movie I most wanted to see of that Cukor fest on a the big screen was A Double Life. I would have suggested it to you, because I think you would have really loved it. But alas, if I read the calendar correctly, it already played there.
feaito

Re: WHAT FILMS HAVE YOU SEEN LATELY?

Post by feaito »

I liked very much your write-up Tess. I bought this film many years ago on a DVD sale from DeepDiscountDVD and I remember that I was greatly impressed by it when I saw it for the first time; in fact, it's uncanny, because I've been thinking for a time to revisit it, but I haven't found the time to do it (we movie buffs have so many films on the queue -to watch for the first time and so many others we want to revisit....). BUT, your write-up has encouraged me to put this film on top of the list :wink: Thanks!
User avatar
CineMaven
Posts: 3815
Joined: September 24th, 2007, 9:54 am
Location: Brooklyn, New York
Contact:

Re: WHAT FILMS HAVE YOU SEEN LATELY?

Post by CineMaven »

Hola Fernando! I'm glad my write-up was an encouragement. If I were you...I'd put "The Marrying Kind" at the head of your queue. It's easy breezy to get through. Then you can watch "War and Peace." :wink:

* * * * *

Hiya Wendy...I'm really glad I saw it. I don't know how real a film buff I am. I had to be threatened to see it. And I also hate all things green and vegetably. But Aldo & Judy went down just fine. ( :roll: ) If the movie was made twenty years earlier, I could easily see Charles Bickford fighting with a toned down Carole Lombard. As it is, I don't think I'll ever complain about Aldo Ray again. He has a sweetness about him for all his bulkiness. The movie touted "new...screen...personality...Aldo Ray. Watch for him in his next motion picture." It seemed so new and hopeful about him. I know the end of his career and life wasn't a pleasant one. He made a movie that I'd love to get my hands on with Anne Bancroft...a kind of a noir sort of thing, though the title escapes me. Poor guy probably got taken for a ride by some dame in the dark. ALDO!!! See...now I want to protect him. I saw a little bit of him in "Sadie Thompson" recently but that was in my "Aldo Ray....ACK!" phase. I think I do my spinach and rhubarb and asparagus a lot better when it's on a big plate ( movie screen ) rather than not. But if I saw his name coming up on the small screen now, I'll give him a looksee. "Born Yesterday." Ooooh boy, THAT is going to really test my mettle. First I'm already mad at Judy for taking the award from Swanson and Davis. But that's pretty silly of me considering I never saw "Born Yesterday" from beginning to end. I saw traces of a quieter deeper line readings that made me want more. Can you promise me she won't be a cluck all the way through "Born Yesterday"? I mean, she's going to have to stand up to tough guy Broderick Crawford as she turns into my fair lady. I think I'm kind of liking her.

I must have been crazy, but I didn't even want to try to stay for the 6:30pm show ( buy a ticket...wait another half an hour...IF even tickets were left ) to see the next feature, "Rich and Famous" ( one of my favorite films ) which was going to ACTUALLY HAVE CANDICE BERGEN there to speak before the movie. I guess I didn't want to face the hour train ride home so cold and late. Yeah...I regret it.
"You build my gallows high, baby."

http://www.megramsey.com
User avatar
JackFavell
Posts: 11926
Joined: April 20th, 2009, 9:56 am

Re: WHAT FILMS HAVE YOU SEEN LATELY?

Post by JackFavell »

I have the same maternal...well, maybe not so maternal....feelings for Aldo. :D He was a cutie pie when he was starting out, that's for sure. The noir is called Nightfall, I think. I don't know why I have such a mental block for the name of that movie...

Don't worry about Born Yesterday, I'm sure you are going to enjoy it. Try it, you'll like it! :D After all, you've got charming William Holden to hold your hand through it. And for me, he's at his best looking, most ingratiating here.
User avatar
movieman1957
Administrator
Posts: 5522
Joined: April 15th, 2007, 3:50 pm
Location: MD

Re: WHAT FILMS HAVE YOU SEEN LATELY?

Post by movieman1957 »

Born Yesterday is a favorite in our family. Holliday is wonderful as the dumb blonde who always isn't so dumb. There are some poignant moments too.
Chris

"Time flies like an arrow, fruit flies like a banana."
Post Reply