Re: Classics Around The Dial
Posted: February 21st, 2011, 2:37 pm
Fox Movie Channel has been unearthing some obscure films that might be worth a look. Here's a few classics, remakes, film noirs, westerns, caper flicks, as well as interesting failures in the next few days on Tuesday and Friday:
Tuesday, Febuary 22
6:00 am
THE MUDLARK (1950)
Offbeat drama of reclusive Queen Victoria (Irene Dunne and her encounter with a "mudlark" (Andrew Ray), an English steet child who breaks into Windsor Castle just to catch a glimpse of her.
Cast: Irene Dunne, Alec Guinness, Beatrice Campbell, Finlay Currie, Andrew Ray
Director: Jean Negulesco (I think that this may be Negulesco's last black and white film)
8:00 am
SEVENTH HEAVEN (1937)
A mistreated Parisian street girl (Simone Simon) falls in love with a sewer worker (James Stewart).
Cast: James Stewart, Simone Simon, Sig Ruman, Jean Hersholt.
Strangely effective at times, but not a patch on Borzage's silent with Charles Farrel-Janet Gaynor. I like Simone Simon, though she's not a very expressive actress, at least in English.
Director: Henry King
10:00 am
PEOPLE WILL TALK (1951)
Cary Grant is a successful and well-liked doctor who marries a student made pregnant by another man and must answer charges relating to his past when his controversial methods have made him the target of a witch-hunt by a small-minded colleague (H Cronyn)
Cast: Cary Grant, Jeanne Crain, Hume Cronyn, Walter Slezak, Finlay Currie
Director: Joseph L. Mankiewicz
A Joe Mankiewicz misfire, but an entertaining, sometimes moving story that gives Finlay Currie a good role as the walking dead, Walter Slezak and Cary Grant time to play Brahms and model train buffs, Jeanne Crain coping with an unwed pregnancy and Hume Cronyn doing his snarling prune imitation. It can't be all bad.
12:00 pm
THE RAINS OF RANCHIPUR (1955)
Richard Burton and Lana Turner struggle between romance and duty when a severe monsoon threatens their lives in Pakistan. Remake of "The Rains Came".
Cast: Richard Burton, Lana Turner, Joan Caulfield, Michael Rennie, Fred Macmurray
Director: Jean Negulesco (Danger: Negulesco with CinemaScope + Color=Somewhat Unfortunate Remake of Earlier Movie). At least Michael Rennie makes a more believable bad aristocrat than Nigel Bruce ever did. But Tyrone Power eclipsed by the talented Burton in the same outlandish role? Power entered into the fantasy of it all wholeheartedly (or at least he appeared to prior to WWII). Burton always looked slightly ashamed.
2:00 pm
A HATFUL OF RAIN (1957)
From the director of "High Noon" and "From Here To Eternity", this is the story of a Korean war veteran (Don Murray) who returns home and hides his morphine addiction from his wife (Eva Murray Saint) and family. (Not available on DVD.)
Cast: Eva marie Saint, Don Murray, Tony Franciosa, Lloyd Nolan, Henry Silva
Director: Fred Zinnemann
Despite some method overacting from Tony F., the location shooting in the NYC projects, and the supporting cast, particularly by Lloyd Nolan and Henry Silva, and Murray's blend of self-pity and self-loathing still make this harrowing viewing.
THE LEGEND OF HELLHOUSE (1973)
Four people (Franklin, McDowall, Revill, Hunnicut) are hired by an eccentric millionaire to see if his house is haunted.
Cast: Pamela Franklin, Roddy Mcdowall, Clive Revill, Gayle Hunnicutt, Roland Culver
Director: John Hough
McDowall and Franklin make this haunted house movie enjoyable.
Wed. February 23
12:30 am
SUSPIRIA (1977)
Italian horror master Dario Argento's terrifying story of a young American ballet student (Jessica Harper) who joins a European Ballet school only to discover that the staff is filled with witches bent on destruction and chaos. Chilling Goblin score.
Cast: Jessica Harper, Joan Bennett, Udo Kier, Stefania Casini, Alida Valli
Director: Dario Argento
Great cast, stylish claptrap presented well. Joan Bennett's last film, alas.
Friday, Febuary 25
6:00 am
RIDERS OF THE PURPLE SAGE (1941)
A thrilling adaptation of Zane Grey's classic Western novel of cheated inheritances, crooked judges and a lawman (Montgomery) determined to tame the West.
Cast: George Montgomery, Lynne Roberts, Robert Barrat, Mary Howard
Director: James Tinling
Some of the Fox B movies from this period were pretty good. Maybe this is one? Anyone know?
7:00 am
THE RAID (1954)
True story of a group of Confederates who enter Vermont from the Canada and plan to destroy a town to create a diversion to ease Union pressure on the Southern armies. Leader (Van Heflin) is drawn to an attractive window (Anne Bancroft) in the town.
Cast: Lee Marvin, Van Heflin, Richard Boone, Anne Bancroft, Tommy Rettig, Peter Graves
Director: Hugo Fregonese
Interesting premise, based on fact Civil War story, with SSO faves Lee Marvin and Richard Boone in prominent roles. More about this film here, if you're interested.
8:30 am
THE STREET WITH NO NAME (1948)
A gritty FBI crime drama about an agent (Stevens) sent undercover to expose the dealings of a crafty mobster (Widmark) who outwits the feds at every turn.
Cast: Lloyd Nolan, Richard Widmark, Mark Stevens, Ed Begley, Barbara Lawrence
Director: William Keighley
Widmark and his nasal inflammation almost steal this film noir, which seems to echo Louis de Rochemont's The House on 92nd Street, though the tense, well-staged finish makes up for some blandness in the script and characterizations.
2:00 pm
BROKEN LANCE (1954)
An overbearing father (Tracy) pits his sons (Wagner, O'Brien, Widmark) against each other over the inheritance of a cattle ranch.
Cast: Spencer Tracy, Richard Widmark, Jean Peters, Robert Wagner, Katy Jurado, Earl Holliman, Carl Benton Reid
Director: Edward Dmytryk
Good, solid remake of House of Strangers--with excellent work from Katy Jurado, in particular.And yeah, you get to see Spencer Tracy on a horse in a movie that is a wee bit closer to being a western than The Sea of Grass, but not as gritty as a modern western like Bad Day at Black Rock. Now, if only FMC would show House of Strangers again.
Tuesday, Febuary 22
6:00 am
THE MUDLARK (1950)
Offbeat drama of reclusive Queen Victoria (Irene Dunne and her encounter with a "mudlark" (Andrew Ray), an English steet child who breaks into Windsor Castle just to catch a glimpse of her.
Cast: Irene Dunne, Alec Guinness, Beatrice Campbell, Finlay Currie, Andrew Ray
Director: Jean Negulesco (I think that this may be Negulesco's last black and white film)
8:00 am
SEVENTH HEAVEN (1937)
A mistreated Parisian street girl (Simone Simon) falls in love with a sewer worker (James Stewart).
Cast: James Stewart, Simone Simon, Sig Ruman, Jean Hersholt.
Strangely effective at times, but not a patch on Borzage's silent with Charles Farrel-Janet Gaynor. I like Simone Simon, though she's not a very expressive actress, at least in English.
Director: Henry King
10:00 am
PEOPLE WILL TALK (1951)
Cary Grant is a successful and well-liked doctor who marries a student made pregnant by another man and must answer charges relating to his past when his controversial methods have made him the target of a witch-hunt by a small-minded colleague (H Cronyn)
Cast: Cary Grant, Jeanne Crain, Hume Cronyn, Walter Slezak, Finlay Currie
Director: Joseph L. Mankiewicz
A Joe Mankiewicz misfire, but an entertaining, sometimes moving story that gives Finlay Currie a good role as the walking dead, Walter Slezak and Cary Grant time to play Brahms and model train buffs, Jeanne Crain coping with an unwed pregnancy and Hume Cronyn doing his snarling prune imitation. It can't be all bad.
12:00 pm
THE RAINS OF RANCHIPUR (1955)
Richard Burton and Lana Turner struggle between romance and duty when a severe monsoon threatens their lives in Pakistan. Remake of "The Rains Came".
Cast: Richard Burton, Lana Turner, Joan Caulfield, Michael Rennie, Fred Macmurray
Director: Jean Negulesco (Danger: Negulesco with CinemaScope + Color=Somewhat Unfortunate Remake of Earlier Movie). At least Michael Rennie makes a more believable bad aristocrat than Nigel Bruce ever did. But Tyrone Power eclipsed by the talented Burton in the same outlandish role? Power entered into the fantasy of it all wholeheartedly (or at least he appeared to prior to WWII). Burton always looked slightly ashamed.
2:00 pm
A HATFUL OF RAIN (1957)
From the director of "High Noon" and "From Here To Eternity", this is the story of a Korean war veteran (Don Murray) who returns home and hides his morphine addiction from his wife (Eva Murray Saint) and family. (Not available on DVD.)
Cast: Eva marie Saint, Don Murray, Tony Franciosa, Lloyd Nolan, Henry Silva
Director: Fred Zinnemann
Despite some method overacting from Tony F., the location shooting in the NYC projects, and the supporting cast, particularly by Lloyd Nolan and Henry Silva, and Murray's blend of self-pity and self-loathing still make this harrowing viewing.
THE LEGEND OF HELLHOUSE (1973)
Four people (Franklin, McDowall, Revill, Hunnicut) are hired by an eccentric millionaire to see if his house is haunted.
Cast: Pamela Franklin, Roddy Mcdowall, Clive Revill, Gayle Hunnicutt, Roland Culver
Director: John Hough
McDowall and Franklin make this haunted house movie enjoyable.
Wed. February 23
12:30 am
SUSPIRIA (1977)
Italian horror master Dario Argento's terrifying story of a young American ballet student (Jessica Harper) who joins a European Ballet school only to discover that the staff is filled with witches bent on destruction and chaos. Chilling Goblin score.
Cast: Jessica Harper, Joan Bennett, Udo Kier, Stefania Casini, Alida Valli
Director: Dario Argento
Great cast, stylish claptrap presented well. Joan Bennett's last film, alas.
Friday, Febuary 25
6:00 am
RIDERS OF THE PURPLE SAGE (1941)
A thrilling adaptation of Zane Grey's classic Western novel of cheated inheritances, crooked judges and a lawman (Montgomery) determined to tame the West.
Cast: George Montgomery, Lynne Roberts, Robert Barrat, Mary Howard
Director: James Tinling
Some of the Fox B movies from this period were pretty good. Maybe this is one? Anyone know?
7:00 am
THE RAID (1954)
True story of a group of Confederates who enter Vermont from the Canada and plan to destroy a town to create a diversion to ease Union pressure on the Southern armies. Leader (Van Heflin) is drawn to an attractive window (Anne Bancroft) in the town.
Cast: Lee Marvin, Van Heflin, Richard Boone, Anne Bancroft, Tommy Rettig, Peter Graves
Director: Hugo Fregonese
Interesting premise, based on fact Civil War story, with SSO faves Lee Marvin and Richard Boone in prominent roles. More about this film here, if you're interested.
8:30 am
THE STREET WITH NO NAME (1948)
A gritty FBI crime drama about an agent (Stevens) sent undercover to expose the dealings of a crafty mobster (Widmark) who outwits the feds at every turn.
Cast: Lloyd Nolan, Richard Widmark, Mark Stevens, Ed Begley, Barbara Lawrence
Director: William Keighley
Widmark and his nasal inflammation almost steal this film noir, which seems to echo Louis de Rochemont's The House on 92nd Street, though the tense, well-staged finish makes up for some blandness in the script and characterizations.
2:00 pm
BROKEN LANCE (1954)
An overbearing father (Tracy) pits his sons (Wagner, O'Brien, Widmark) against each other over the inheritance of a cattle ranch.
Cast: Spencer Tracy, Richard Widmark, Jean Peters, Robert Wagner, Katy Jurado, Earl Holliman, Carl Benton Reid
Director: Edward Dmytryk
Good, solid remake of House of Strangers--with excellent work from Katy Jurado, in particular.And yeah, you get to see Spencer Tracy on a horse in a movie that is a wee bit closer to being a western than The Sea of Grass, but not as gritty as a modern western like Bad Day at Black Rock. Now, if only FMC would show House of Strangers again.