WHAT FILMS HAVE YOU SEEN LATELY?

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Uncle Stevie
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Re: WHAT FILMS HAVE YOU SEEN LATELY?

Post by Uncle Stevie »

I just installed a 51" plasma TV in my 11x12 room and watched "You were never lovlier" on the "BIG SCREEN".
Uncle Stevie


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JackFavell
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Re: WHAT FILMS HAVE YOU SEEN LATELY?

Post by JackFavell »

NICE! Congrats on the new big screen!How was the picture? It's hard to get used to these big screens, we got one for Christmas, it's 36 inches, I think, but so much bigger than the last TV that I find it amazing the things that jump out at you.
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CineMaven
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Re: WHAT FILMS HAVE YOU SEEN LATELY?

Post by CineMaven »

Mmmmmm. Time to load up some Jack LaRue and Ricardo Cortez movies then.
"You build my gallows high, baby."

http://www.megramsey.com
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JackFavell
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Re: WHAT FILMS HAVE YOU SEEN LATELY?

Post by JackFavell »

No kidding! :D

Did anyone see the pipperooni of a movie on Saturday morning - The Phantom of Crestwood? My new favorite Ricardo Cortez movie. He's a thief in this one. While he's burgling a stately mansion, one of the guests is killed. In order to clear his name, he's got to find the killer, and on a time limit. This is a great, fun film, with a superb Karen Morley as the victim, one Jenny Wren. She's a mantrap who wants some payback, blackmailing several of the guests invited for the weekend who happen to have been her johns, but would like to hide that fact. Now she wants money and they aren't thrilled. Her little sister, Anita Louise, is an innocent who is to marry the scion of the family that owns the creepy house they are all shacked up in. Don't miss this one next time around!
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CineMaven
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Re: WHAT FILMS HAVE YOU SEEN LATELY?

Post by CineMaven »

I'll pipe in here.

Yes I did.

It really was good. Ricardo Cortez...a hottie...a detective...a smart guy. ( Why is he reminding me of a breezier George Raft?? ) He seemed like a fresh of breath air breezing into that stuffy hoary ol' mansion trying to find the murderer before he becomes the fall guy. ( I smiled and said "GEORGIE" when I saw little George E. Stone come into the scene. ) I thought the movie was kind of sophisticated in its flashbacking storytelling style, even though the acting of some of the old folks felt like a different era of acting-style. As Ricardo ( slicked back hair, quick snappy actions ) tries to figure out what's going on, I like how his eyes shifted & darted, he snaps his finger as another :idea: pops into his head. He's so very natural. As we flashbacked the camera zooooomed out and panned to the flashback and then the opposite way back to the present. I loved "The General" ?? the aunt? She was scary and wonderful and large & in charge. Karen Morley was a pip. Seductive, great voice and was ready to take those youngsters ( and geezers ) to task. The lovely Anita Louise was also there. Pretty much playing the sweet young girl, but I'm always brought up short when I hear her alto voice. Death masks and secret tunnels and pure bloodlines...this dark-old-house tale was indeed, a pipperooni!
Last edited by CineMaven on January 21st, 2013, 2:54 pm, edited 2 times in total.
"You build my gallows high, baby."

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RedRiver
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Re: WHAT FILMS HAVE YOU SEEN LATELY?

Post by RedRiver »

Instead of pipperooni, could I get sausage and green pepper? Thanks!
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CineMaven
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Re: WHAT FILMS HAVE YOU SEEN LATELY?

Post by CineMaven »

Write your own post and you can have whatever you want on your pizza.
"You build my gallows high, baby."

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JackFavell
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Re: WHAT FILMS HAVE YOU SEEN LATELY?

Post by JackFavell »

Yes, I loved the very modern looking flashback technique! And you are right, Cortez was easy breezy, just the right mix of good and bad, tough and sweet, for a depression era detective. Gosh, I wish I'd recorded this one. I wish they'd followed it up with another Morley/Cortez detective film. Famous silent era diva Pauline Frederick was the General. She was really scary, another twisted woman with gender issues and I loved her! H.B. Warner is so underrated, he's in so many of these pre-codes turning in solid performances, where the rest of the old fogeys look so stagey. He's a plus in any movie. And I thought Karen Morley was never better in her entire career. She's awful, but man, you can see why! I thought she was excellent in a trashy way. Very similar to Myrna Loy in Thirteen Women.

But Cortez won my heart. Sheesh. He could have done a whole slew of these detective films and I would have loved it. What a great film.
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CineMaven
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Re: WHAT FILMS HAVE YOU SEEN LATELY?

Post by CineMaven »

...Aahhh. I know her name but I don't know the actress. I'll read up about her here:

Image

PAULINE FREDERICK - What a handsome woman. I love your description of her character. REVENGE!!
"You build my gallows high, baby."

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JackFavell
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Re: WHAT FILMS HAVE YOU SEEN LATELY?

Post by JackFavell »

Apparently, Joan Crawford was a big fan, and she took some of Frederick's persona when she herself became a star. Frederick excelled at playing controversial characters that other actresses feared taking on (That tells me that you and she are a natural fit). She was a regal star, on stage before she came to movies and you can see one of her few surviving movies here (I haven't seen it yet, so I can make no comment on the quality of this production, though I generally like Clarence Brown as a director):

[youtube][/youtube]
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CineMaven
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Re: WHAT FILMS HAVE YOU SEEN LATELY?

Post by CineMaven »

You know her? Wow...you know so much.
"You build my gallows high, baby."

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JackFavell
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Re: WHAT FILMS HAVE YOU SEEN LATELY?

Post by JackFavell »

I used to look up silent film stars, I was attracted by their photos in several books I had. So I read up on them, but have seen precious few of their movies. It's weird. I know OF the stars of the silent era, even some facts about them, but I haven't actually seen them in action. I know a lot of names too, but not necessarily their personalities. The women are easier than the men, somehow all the teens and twenties men look alike to me.

I also did a quick fact check at wiki just to make sure I had the right personality linked up with the right name. At first I thought she was Clara Kimball Young, who I saw in a movie called Eyes of Youth on youtube, who gave a pretty outstanding performance. She was another of the upright older diva types, but she played long suffering women of a certain age.
Last edited by JackFavell on January 21st, 2013, 4:14 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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CineMaven
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Re: WHAT FILMS HAVE YOU SEEN LATELY?

Post by CineMaven »

I've watched it. The quality is iffy...but she's so striking! She's running a corporation her father started bossing men around. Asks a secretary "What do you want to be, a business woman or a chorus girl?" What's not to like? This is swell, thanks for posting it.
"You build my gallows high, baby."

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JackFavell
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Re: WHAT FILMS HAVE YOU SEEN LATELY?

Post by JackFavell »

Cool! I'm going to give it a try based on your description. She sounds so groundbreaking! Love it.

There's an awful lot of silents on youtube lately, I'm trying desperately to catch up. Right now I'm in the middle of a Capra film called The Power of the Press.
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CineMaven
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Re: WHAT FILMS HAVE YOU SEEN LATELY?

Post by CineMaven »

I'll catch the other parts of the movie later. I suspect by the end of it, she will take off her tie, scoop up one of her board members and leave business altogether. Silents...is the one of your favorite eras?
"You build my gallows high, baby."

http://www.megramsey.com
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