WHAT FILMS HAVE YOU SEEN LATELY?

[Professional Tourist]

I've watched a few films on Hulu.com recently, which were a mixed bag. The Taking of Pelham One Two Three had been interesting when I first saw it back in the '70s, but was kind of dull to me now. I saw Hair for the first time, which I have never seen on stage. Some great songs, but it didn't seem to have much of a plot. I didn't see it when it was first released in theaters in 1979 because it had seemed then that its time had long passed, plus the reviews had not been good. Seeing it today I can project back to 1968, when it takes place, but it isn't really a cohesive musical. It's more like the bits of plot and characterization are there only to link the musical numbers and to exhibit aspects of the hippie lifestyle. Then today I saw Waking Ned Devine, the best of the lot -- I enjoyed it as much as when I first saw in theaters in 1998. Very funny, interesting characters, beautiful locale.

[melwalton]

LURED....murder mystery with C harles Coburn, George Sanders, Boris Kreloff, lucille Ball, ...Good cast, lousy soundtrack. Not just deteriorated but poorly done.

SCENE OF THE CRIME cops and robbers with Van Johnso, Tom Drake, Gloria DeHaven, Average. Arline ( Watta ) Dahl had a small part with star billing. I couldn't take my eyes off her ..not that I wanted to. .... mel


Here's an old one.

HE KISSED AND TOLD, BUT THAT'S ALRIGHT, THE GUY HE TOLD PHONED ME LAST NIGHT,

[MikeBSG]

On Monday, I watched the Robert Altman film "Dr. T and the Women." I had always heard it was controversial, with men loving it and women hating it.

Well, I thought it was good, but not entirely top-level Altman. Maybe it could have had a faster pace, or maybe Richard Gere was too likeable as Dr. T, and the role called for someone with more of an edge. (I suppose Gere struck me as too cuddly.) Oddly, I kept thinking that this would be a perfect project for Howard Hawks with Cary Grant as Dr. T. (Perhaps this film is yet another example of how Hollywood can't do screwball comedy any more.)

[charliechaplinfan]

My teenage crush, Richard Gere, I admit though, he's no Cary Grant.

[jdb1]

Good morning, fellow cinephiles.

Last night on the Western Channel I enjoyed a minor opus I'd never seen before. It's called The Badge of Marshal Brennan (1957), and it stars my favorite cowboy, Jim Davis.

Now, on the surface, this is a high C-level, maybe low B-level Western, but it had some very good aspects, and not only did I watch it all the way through, I'd like to see it again to pick up things I may have missed the first time.

The primary surprise of this movie was the excellent cinematography (unfortunately, I missed the name of the cinematographer in the credits, and I don't see it listed on IMBd). The locale is supposedly Texas, although who knows where it was actually filmed. There were lots of rock outcroppings and broad vistas, and it there were many long and middle-distance shots, with horizontal rock formations in the background to make the scene look even more wide-screen. The b&w was crystal-clear and well lit -- everyone looked good. It seemed to me that a Ford-esque ethic was a work here, and for what might otherwise have been dismissed as a low-budget quickie, it looked very good.

Davis is on the run from the law, after killing a man in a fair fight, and the movie opens with him galloping furiously along the chaparral scenery as he is being pursued by a posse. That in itself was enough to catch my attention - Davis was an excellent rider, and the scene is beautifully filmed. When Davis crosses the county line, the sheriff in pursuit decides to let him go "The Apaches will get him now."

The next scene was quite interesting: Davis is carefully riding across "Apache Country," and he can hear the sounds of animals in the brush, which are really the Apaches trying to disconcert him. They come running at him, and he handily dispatches all but one. These two engage in hand-to-hand combat, and there is no music, and no dialog, only the sound of the breathing of the two men. It was quite effective.

Davis continues his journey (he wants to go to El Paso), and comes across a wounded older man who, it turns out, is a Federal marshal. They engage in a dialog about running away, self-respect, commitment, etc., and the old man dies. Davis takes his badge and in effect steals his identity.

Of course when he comes to a town, they all think he's the marshal, and they try to enlist his aid -- it seems that the local cattle baron has a herd of infected cows spreading "black spot fever," and they need Federal muscle to get the cattleman to keep his herd isolated.

So we have the seeds of a psychological Western, with Davis conflicted about whether he should follow through on his deception and do the right thing, or get the hell out of town.

Unfortunately, there were other problems with this movie, most particularly the rather amateurish dialog, which was, at times, unintentially funny. As one would expect from movies like this, issues were raised and not followed up on, and relationships grew or ended without much explanation.

The local cafe was run by an attractive woman, who instantly fell for Davis, and told him the town needed a man like him -- "hard, tough, but with a good heart." He told her it just wouldn't work out between them "But thanks" (this said as he left the cafe, but turned in the doorway one last time). It played out pretty silly.

Poor dialog notwithstanding, the performances here were very good. Lee Van Cleef co-starred as the nasty son of the cattle baron, and he and Davis had a pretty hot final confrontation in the river as Davis attempts to keep the cattle from crossing (all wet, with shirts clinging to their manly chests, etc.)

Davis was his usual rangy, stoic and authoritative self here, and the director kept posing him in manly poses -- one foot up on a log with one hand on a gun, or standing under a tree with one hand on a branch, gazing purposefully into the distance with his clear, blue eyes, and so on. The man was always much better than his material, and he was definitely one big hunk-and-a-half.

Other notable points: the score consisted of a single electric guitar and occasional drum. The music was kind of mournful bluesy, and at times gave the movie the feel of a French New Wave film, and at other times the feel of a Twilight Zone episode. Then there was that title song. What was that all about? There was a baritone singing about "Man on the run, gotta settle down," but in full, loud, operatic voice, bringing to my mind Robert Merrill singing the "Star Spangled Banner" at a Yankees game, or maybe the Warner Bros.' singing frog. Completely inappropriate to the ambiance of this film.

Nevertheless, I recommend at least one look at The Badge of Marshal Brennan, which I think can be categorized, as the film critics like to say, as an "interesting failure."

[klondike]

The man was always much better than his material, and he was definitely one big hunk-and-a-half.

You're exactly right, Judith; I always squint to spot Jim Davis among the bunkhouse cronies in any "new" Western I catch, or any of the ones I revisit less than often.
He definitely lent an air of authenticity to those "oater" storylines, often merely by his "looks", especially when his character was limited to just a line or two.
I've also noted that he's one of a select group of cinematic Westerners who can, at any point in his career, play the tough, decent, two-fisted loner, or the cruel & deadly skulker, with absolute conviction & credibility.
Remember him as the ambushing heavy in The Big Sky?

[ChiO]

Judith wrote:

The primary surprise of this movie was the excellent cinematography (unfortunately, I missed the name of the cinematographer in the credits, and I don't see it listed on IMBd).

The cinematographer was Charles Straumer. Not alot of credits as Cinematographer or Director of Photography, but some of the better known movies he worked on are:

GUNGA DIN (George Stevens, 1939) -- Ass't Camera Operator
PITFALL (Andre de Toth, 1945) -- Camera Operator
EASY LIVING (Jacques Tourneur, 1949) -- Camera Operator
THE BIG STEAL (Don Siegel, 1949) -- Camera Operator
AROUND THE WORLD IN EIGHTY DAYS (Michael Anderson, 1956) -- U.S. Photography

[jdb1]

Thank you, Chi-O. I've been thinking about the camera work and lighting of The Badge, etc., and it really did set this movie far above others of its ilk, including others with the fly Mr. Davis. He rarely looked quite as good as he did here, and I think he looked pretty damn good in all his movies.

[Hollis]

Hi all,

Although he's not my favorite actor, I don't think that Richard Gere gets all the credit he deserves for his roles. To be more specific, I'll point out "Primal Fear" (1996) as an example. I hear very few people saying they've seen the movie even though, in addition to Mr Gere's outstanding performance, it features Edward Norton's feature debut. I think that he's dismissed too easily as "another pretty face" but in point of fact he's been blessed with more than a modicum of talent. I don't know who else would have been better in "An Officer And A Gentle man" or "Pretty Woman." Further, I believe he's getting better with age and experience and his best work may still be ahead of him. Also, he just happens to have been born in Philadelphia, my own hometown and we all know how many talented people have risen from the "City of Brotherly Love!"

As always,

Hollis

[Ann Harding]

I watched Remember The Night (1940) a sparkling Mitchell Leisen feature with a Preston Sturges script. Barbara Stanwyck is a thief on bail who spends Christmas time with the very district attorney prosecuting her (F. MacMurray). The film is superbly handled with a moving performance from Stanwyck as the girl born on the wrong side of the track falling in love. Brilliant character actors as well with Elizabeth Patterson and Beulah Bondi as MacMurray's relatives. Really wonderful.

I also saw Tovarich (1937) directed by Anatole Litvak (who was Russian-born) with Claudette Colbert and Charles Boyer. This is an adaptation of a French play which was a huge hit in the 30s following two impoverished Russian aristocrats in exile in Paris who have to become servants in a rich banker's home. The material is first rate and I remember laughing my head off when I saw a broadcast of the play in the 80s. The film is realatively well handled, it could have gained certainly with another director like McCarey, more specialised in comedy. Nevertheless, Colbert is sparkling. Good supporting cast with Isabel Jeans, Melville Cooper and Basil Rathbone as the icy Soviet Commissar.

[charliechaplinfan]

Hollis I have to agree with you. Although he isn't Cary Grant, he is a better actor than he's given credit for. He's played tortured good looking guy quite a few times in his early career but he's also taken on more challenging roles as he's got older. He was perfection in Pretty Woman and inspired casting in Chicago. Unfortunately I haven't seen as many of his later films as I'd like.

[feaito]

God must be testing my perseverance, because it is the 3rd time I am writing this post on “Once Upon a Honeymoon” (1942): on Friday I posted it pressing submit and it was lost; now I used the “save” button and it was lost again… maybe the SSO Board wants nothing with me or my computer! But this time I’m taking no chances and I am writing it on a word document first in order to copy-paste it later.

I watched this good film last Friday and once more I did not agree at all with Maltin’s rating of **1/2. I had wanted to see it for decades and thanks to a Video Club I found in Downtown Santiago, near where I work, I finally could. By the way, this marvelous Video Club has thousands of films on DVD which have not been released on the Zone 1 or Zone 4 (my Zone) markets; mainly Spanish and other European Zone 2 PAL DVDs. There such rare films as “Texas Lady” (1951) and “Thunder on the Hill” (1950) with Claudette Colbert, Duvivier’s “Lydia” (1941), Otto Preminger’s “The Fan” (1948) and many, many more.

This film is quite an offbeat blend of comedy, drama and romance. Indeed, at certain points I wondered if the blend worked well –the transition from pathos to comedy is sometimes abrupt-, but in the whole I’d say it’s successful –much better than the blend of comedy and tragedy in Roberto Begnini’s “Life is Beautiful”, which I did not like at all and I found quite offensive in a way the only time I saw the movie.

Ginger Rogers and Cary Grant have a wonderful chemistry together (I had never seen them work together before and I have yet to see them in Monkey Business) and they play their parts perfectly –the acting is superb, including that of the supporting cast. Ginger impersonates a Burlesque queen from Brooklyn who’s posing as American socialite in Vienna circa 1938 in order to marry a wealthy Austrian Baron deftly impersonated by Walter Slezak. Cary is an American reporter who’s after the Baron’s shady activities with the Nazis.

There is a scene in which Ginger switches from phony well-educated English to her heavy Brooklyn accent, which is hilarious. There is also a funny scene in which she’s testing Albert Dekker’s character to be a true American and where she speaks some funny slang which he does not understands at all!

In all, a good film which due to its almost 2-hour length sometimes stalls. A wonderful opportunity to see two great stars at peak form and to check Leo McCarey’s gifted talent.

Incidentally, the actress who plays Ginger’s maid –Natasha Lytess- was Marilyn Monroe’s acting coach for a period of time.

Yesterday night I organized a Movie Night in the building’s projection room –after dinner- with our American friends from NYC who are also live in our building and two relatives from NMexico. The chosen film was “The Star” (1952) with Bette Davis and while we agreed it wasn’t a really good film, due to its one-dimensional characters, so-so script and plot and an unbelievable ending, we enjoyed Bette’s histrionics nevertheless and giggled quite a bit too. Some of the viewers where pleased to see Sterling Hayden in the masculine lead –he looked so much younger than Bette, whom the ladies thought was around 55-58 years old when she did this film and they could not believe she only was 43 years old –my wife’s 45 now and looks like her daughter! She’s an attractive actress -Bette was a tremendously attractive woman IMO during the 1930s and early 40s- who did not age well.

[silentscreen]

You're right Fernando. Bette didn't age well. All that smoking and drinking didn't help.Crawford did slightly better, but she could still be sort of scary looking in her later years. I think it was the eyebrows.

[charliechaplinfan]

Fernando, you have to see Monkey Business, it's fabulous. It's Cary and Ginger at their best, they are a brilliant pairing.

Life Is Beautiful is a controversial film, I did like it, I found the comedy made the tragedy even sadder. I remain a little troubled by the pairing of comedy with a subject like the death camps, I fully understand why people would critcize or find the film distasteful.

[feaito]

Thanks for the recommendation Alison. I have MB on tape.

In regard to Bette I agree with you. On the other hand stars like Olivia De Havilland have aged beautifully.