WHAT FILMS HAVE YOU SEEN LATELY?

[Synnove]

I saw Dodsworth two days ago, thanks to Fernando!

It surprised me, because it was different. That's not a very original comment, I know. I agree with what was said before though, this is an excellent movie. I liked the performances all around. Mary Astor's in particular, since I had never warmed to her before. It's a moving film, a definite classic. I'm very thankful to have had the opportunity to see it, and I'm also kind of surprised that it's not so well known. Of course, I'm no expert on 30's cinema.

I thought the wife was sympathetic to begin with, and I thought while I was watching it, 'of course she's going to turn out looking shallow.' That seems to be typical of films made after the code. Women not content with staying at home are portrayed as a bit shallow and selfish. Then I read a bit about the film, and apparently the director wanted her to be played sympathetically in the beginning, to show why Walter Huston's character loved her. That made me see the film differently. Her performance was also one of my favourites.

[ChiO]

Caught two yesterday.

GOOD MORNING was immediately identifiable as by Ozu. Does any other director put more frames within a frame as frequently? It also was quite a surprise for me to see an Ozu film that centered on children rather than mature adults, not to mention the running gag regarding flatulence.

What a gem SLEEP MY LOVE (Sirk) is! Of course, Claudette Colbert makes it hard for me to dislike. Don Ameche does cold and calculating quite well, and Robert Cummings smiles and tries to be a hero. And Hazel Brooks is hot hot hot as the femme fatale. Why wasn't she huge? In uncredited roles, but immediately recognizable, Jimmie Dodd (looking lost without Annette and Roy) as an elevator operator, and Robert Dudley (The Wienie King!) as a gaper of Ms. Brooks. Sirk creates a house that is a living monster at night and a class symbol of what some may want to escape (She's so unsophisticated, like all sophisticated people are.) and others desire. One of Sirk's creepier effects is his use of mirrors: with one exception, whenever a character stands in front of a mirror, the viewer see the character's reflection; however, whenever Ameche stands in front of a mirror, the camera angle is such that the viewer sees the reflection of the surrounding set, but not of Ameche. The metaphor of and related meanings attendant to vampirism are chilling. Comparisons with GASLIGHT are inevitable, but I prefer SLEEP MY LOVE to the 1940 version and f-a-r prefer it to the 1944 version. If it could now be released on Region 1 DVD so I could have a double-feature of it and MY NAME IS JULIA ROSS.

[feaito]

I saw Dodsworth two days ago, thanks to Fernando!

It surprised me, because it was different. That's not a very original comment, I know. I agree with what was said before though, this is an excellent movie. I liked the performances all around. Mary Astor's in particular, since I had never warmed to her before. It's a moving film, a definite classic. I'm very thankful to have had the opportunity to see it, and I'm also kind of surprised that it's not so well known. Of course, I'm no expert on 30's cinema.

I thought the wife was sympathetic to begin with, and I thought while I was watching it, 'of course she's going to turn out looking shallow.' That seems to be typical of films made after the code. Women not content with staying at home are portrayed as a bit shallow and selfish. Then I read a bit about the film, and apparently the director wanted her to be played sympathetically in the beginning, to show why Walter Huston's character loved her. That made me see the film differently. Her performance was also one of my favourites.

I am glad you liked the film Hedvig. It's in my top 5 list of favourites.

[movieman1957]

I watched a little piece of fluff called "If You Could Only Cook." Jean Arthur (thump-thump) and an oddly cast Herbert Marshall. Unemployed girl and auto exec pose as a couple to get her/them a job as cook and butler.

It clocks in at about 70 minutes and could have benefited from a little more exposition. Not a screwball comedy but more of a "smiler."

Jean is wonderful as always.

[MikeBSG]

I've never seen "If Only You Could Cook" but I know about the because of the following weird reason. It was released by Columbia after the huge success of "It Happened One Night," and Columbia tried to promote it as if it were directed by Frank Capra. I think a lawsuit followed.

[movieman1957]

Didn't know that. I'm not even sure how they would have promoted it as a Capra film. It didn't remind me of one at all. The closest thing I could come was the house that Marshall was to be married in did look a lot like the mansion in "It Happened One Night" but I couldn't say for sure.

[feaito]

Over the weekend I watched Joe Mankiewicz's very atmospheric thriller-gothic-horror-drama "Dragonwyck" (1946) and I enjoyed it very much. Walter Huston and Vincent Price give excellent performances and Gene Tierney is good. I did not recognize Vivienne Osborne, whom I had seen in "Supernatural" (1933), as Price's wife. The film is very intriguing and mysterious and the featurette that is included as a bonus on the DVD, is quite enlightening. I definitely will watch it again. I wonder why on earth it was released by Fox in a Three-pack along with 2 inferior B & C films. I bought the set just for Dragonwyck.

I also saw "Midnight" (1939) in my building's Projection Room, because I wanted to show it to new friends from USA. They loved it! And it was a new experience to watch it on a bigger screen. I maintain that it's one of the very best comedies of all time. GRAND entertainment.

[Bogie]

I've been watching quite a few movies but the last one I watched was YOU CAN'T TAKE IT WITH YOU. What a great film! Lionel Barrymore does a great job as Gramps and I gotta say that was one ECCENTRIC family! The message of the film is more relevant today then it was in '38 which is kind of pathetic in some ways.

Edward Arnold did a fantastic job as A.P. Kirby. In fact, I have to watch just about every movie he's in. The guy was a wonderful actor. Tonight I plan to watch Sargeant York.

The biggest treat for me this holiday season however is the two Superman serials that I bought for X-mas! I plan to watch a chapter every saturday to recreate the magic of those old days. I've never seen a full serial before so this will be neat to say the least.

[movieman1957]

Hi Bogie:

I hope you are well. (I asked where you have been in another thread.) Anyway, I'm glad you enjoyed "You Can't Take It With You." It is a family favorite at our house.

Talk about being relevant I think the conversation with the tax man is quite fitting for today. It is a real treat to see Arnold melt away into a normal guy at the end. Even Mrs. Kirby thaws out a little. I love Stewart and Arthur together. It is a sweet scene with Arthur and Barrymore talking about her grandmother.

We should all be so happy.

[Bogie]

Last night I watched Sargent York and I thought it was okay. I think it may be a tad overrated. The first 45ish minutes of the movie was a bit of a bore to me. I also have to laugh at the idea of Gary Cooper playing a part that was meant for someone much younger. I've seen some other classic era actors do it and pull it off a lot better then Cooper did. That's not to say I didn't like Cooper's performance because I did. The movie was definitely tailored to his skills and style as an actor.

The one surprise (well not really) to me was Walter Brennan. This guy was quite versatile in his own unique way and I really enjoyed every scene he was in. I especially liked the scene where he's convincing Cooper to enlist yet at the same time showing him that he could opt out of service due to religious reasons.

Overall, the one scene that stuck with me the most was Cooper's conversion scene. Walking in that thunderstorm with tons of rain on him and hearing the church music and finally coming to his senses and converting while everyone was singing "gimme that ol' time religion" was just very memorable and filmed quite well.

This isn't one of my favorite films of Coop's but I did grow to like it quite a bit.

[movieman1957]

I enjoyed "The Shop Around The Corner" tonight. It's a lovely Lubitsch picture with Jimmy Stewart and Margaret Sullavan. (But then I guess you already know that.)

It is a bit odd picturing Stewart as living in Budapest but setting that aside it's a fun picture with some good laughs and plenty to make you smile.

[Ann Harding]

Yesterday I watched Litvak's This Above All (1942) with Joan Fontaine & Tyrone Power.
This wartime romance follows a working-class deserter Clive (T. Power) falling in love with Prudence (J. Fontaine) a real blue-blood girl...
The film has a really lovely cinematography by Henry Miller: the first meeting in the dark between Fontaine and Power has bags of atmosphere. The script by RC Sheriff started rather well emphasizing the social divide in wartime England with Fontaine sounding the charge against social prejudices! Alas, the end of the film proved a disappointment, probably due to the heavy whitewashing by the censors. Nevertheless, the cosy and nice England recreated in Hollywood looked a lot less syrupy than in contemporary MGM glossy productions like Random Harvest (which I cannot stand...) It looked as if XXth Century Fox had recruited nearly all the English players they could find in Hollywood for the supporting part! Fontaine had a perfect English accent unlike Power and Thomas Mitchell who sounded American. Rather fun to watch, especially visually, but overlong towards the end. Thanks Fernando!

[Ann Harding]

I have just seen Stützen der Gesellschaft (Pillars of Society, 1935) another rare Douglas Sirk when he was still Detlef Sierck.
Consul Bernick is a real pillar of society in Norway. He owns the local naval shipyard. But the return from his brother-in-law who had emigrated in America spells problems for this crooked man...
This very early Sirk is adapted from a play by Ibsen. The whole society is very well delineated: the fishermen who hate Bernick and the rest of society who applauds him politely. This is quite astonishing what Sirk could get away with in Nazi Germany. He seems to like classical authors such as Lagerlof and Ibsen which is not surprising as he was a former theatre director. I enjoyed the film's structure as well: its transitions from one place to another were very well done. Bernick is really crooked to the core: accusing his brother-in-law of embezzelment to help his own career, and raising his illegitimate daughter as his maid. The actors were overall very good. A really interesting early Sirk.

[jdb1]

The Great Lie (1941) was on TCM over the long weekend (the day that they alternated Davis and Crawford movies). It's the first time I'd seen it in its entirety. I liked it a lot, and I have these observations:

- I continue to be mystified by the popularity of George Brent. What a big galoot. However, he was less loser-like than usual in this one.

- RO made the comment that Bette Davis did this movie to appease her fans, who wondered why she never played "nice" girls. I think she did a very good job of it. It was especially interesting to see her physical appearance: that is, younger, more petite and softer than we are used to seeing her.

- Mary Astor continually climbs in my estimation. She won an Oscar for this one, and rightly so. Her portrayal of a sophisticated, self-absorbed woman was still tinged with humor and humanity. Her best scene: after having given up her illigitimate child some time before, she is shown pictures of him by someone who doesn't know the child is her son. The fleeting expressions on her face - reluctance to look, interest, affection, regret, pain. So quick, so subtle, so very very good.

[Bogie]

Well I watched a couple of movies the other day. I'll go chronological

Who's Harry Crumb? (1989)

This is a John Candy detective comedy film. It's garnered a bad reputation as one of Candy's lesser efforts on film. I'd agree this isn't one of his best works but it's enjoyable if you're in the right mood for it. Candy plays Harry Crumb the last in the line of great detectives in his family. Harry is by far the dumbest and most clumsy of all of them and is pretty much pushed to the side. He gets called in to solve a big kidnapping/ransom case by his boss who is secretly the mastermind of the whole kidnapping. Reason being is that no one expects Harry to be able to solve it.

Hilarity ensues with tons of misunderstandings and Candy dressing up in different disguises. The jokes are pretty juvenile and for about half of the movie I kept thinking this could've been a Closeau movie if the script was adjusted a bit. The film does acquire its own personality though and it's good for a few giggles.

2/5 stars


Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008)

"sigh"

This was a good campy in some ways homage to the B movies of the 1950s as Indy is roped into helping Soviets find a crystal skull that would give the possessor untold fortune and the power to control people psychologically. Of course Jones finds out the true nature of the skull and tries to stop the Soviets. Shia Labeuf is Ford's main sidekick in the movie as a greaser who was supported by one of Jones' closest friends. Said friend was taken by the Soviets to find the skull and bring it to the lost temple where it belongs.

There's a lot of action and some great action scenes like the jungle chase with tons of guns blazing with the good guys and bad guys in separate vehicles. Some of the scenes look a little silly due to CGI but for the most part it's believable if you suspend your disbelief a bit. Ford looks pretty damn good for his age (64) and did most of the stunts in the film. I also liked how the script had Indy making numerous jokes about his age.

The last third of the movie is the classic "ending that nearly kills the experience". I won't reveal what the ending is if you haven't seen it but let's just say it's far from an Indiana Jones style conclusion.

The movie for the most part is fun and I enjoyed it so I give it a 2.5/5 stars.