WHAT FILMS HAVE YOU SEEN LATELY?

[MikeBSG]

Today I watched "Match Point" (2005) directed by Woody Allen.

I have to say that I was impressed. There isn't anything funny in this film, but it moves with a skill that leaves "Interiors," "Another Woman" and "September" far behind. (Although I actually seem to like "September" than most people do.)

"Match Point" has the emotional punch of a classic film noir. It is about how a man gets himself tied into a knot that he tries to break out of via murder. In a way, it reminded me (emotionally) of "Scarlet Street." It also reminded me of the "serious" half of "Crimes and Misdemeanors," but it was darker. The protagonist of "Match Point" had to get his hands dirty and ended up scarred in a way that his "C & M" counterpart never was.

The performances were wonderful all around. Scarlet Johansson in particular made her role something unforgettable, much more than the "femme fatale" that some writers described her as.

[charliechaplinfan]

Riff Raff with Spencer Tracy and Jean Harlow with Una Merkel and Jospeh Calellia in support. I enjoyed this movie, I was caught from the first scene when Harlow is discovered in bed with her little niece, a great set of a shanty house on the edge of the harbour. Mickey Rooney plays her brother, so all in all a real fun cast. The sets create the mood in this film is much takes pace on the waterfront, a great scene when Harlow knocks Spence off a boat and into the water with a mackerel, the fun between them continues all the way through, with many ups and downs and Joseph Calellia trying to put his money in the way of Harlow and Tracy's happiness. Along the way we have a shanty town by the railtracks, a women's prison breakout and a baby that looks like Spencer Tracy. I don't think Harlow has ever looked happier or healthier, she's great here, the regret at her early demise, what she could have gone on to we can only wonder about. Una Merkel and Mickey Rooney are great casting as her siblings, with slimy Joseph Calellia sufficiently seedy as the boss.

[JackFavell]

I love Riffraff, it's a little bombastic at the beginning, but Spence goes through a great change of heart, and this makes the movie for me, along with Harlow's fantastic performance. Harlow is so good at these loyal women, un-fazed by the threat of going to prison to save her man. Like most of my favorites, this one has a super supporting cast, with Joe Calleia, J. Farrell MacDonald, Paul Hurst and especially Una Merkel acting at their peak. Very enjoyable.

[charliechaplinfan]

That beautiful hair I commented on was a wig and I thought it was her own, I know she had trouble with her hair being over processed but thought they solved it by dying it a browner shade of blonde. She's still stunning though, I love her figure, I guess I'm not alone there, she fills her clothes very well without being too thin.

[RedRiver]

MATCH POINT is extremely well written. It's dark and creepy; suspenseful as we root for the bad guy. it moves with a skill that leaves "Interiors," "Another Woman" and "September" far behind. That it does! Hitchcock meets Dostoyevsky! A great companion piece to the similar CASSANDRA'S DREAM, but MATCH POINT is the better of the two. This is the unpredictable Mr. Allen's best movie of recent years.

[charliechaplinfan]

I haven't seen any of Woody Allen latest movies, but you've raised my level of interest.

[JackFavell]

I think Harlow's figure and Claudette Colbert's are just gorgeous in totally opposite ways, if I could have either I'd be happy.

[RedRiver]

So would I.

[charliechaplinfan]

I bet you would Red I agree Wendy, I'd love either of their figures and their ability to wisecrack would be nice too.

[JackFavell]

[CineMaven]

I'M GONNA LIVE FOREVER...

[youtube][/youtube]

I don't know where else to put Joanie. She doesn't have a thread of her own ( does she? ) and I simply wanted to celebrate her. The clips are kind of fuzzy here, but if you have five-mins. and you like Joan Crawford, won't you check it out? They've sung about "Bette Davis Eyes" but Joan's are outstanding as well and very expressive. In many shots the editor uses, Crawford looks simply stunning. It'd be great if the TCM Film Festival would remember her in their film selection. She was a great star.

[moira finnie]

I'M GONNA LIVE FOREVER...
I don't know where else to put Joanie. She doesn't have a thread of her own ( does she? ) and I simply wanted to celebrate her.

Here's a couple of Crawford-themed threads, though the topic of The Irrepressible One is laced throughout many threads on the board. Btw, one of the actress' explorations of internecine politics (public and private varieties) shows up tonight on TCM at 11:45pm (ET) in the amusingly rancid tale Flamingo Road (1949-Michael Curtiz). Watch out for that crankpants sheriff, Sydney Greenstreet, Joanie!:

Saturday Night with Joan Crawford
http://silverscreenoasis.com/oasis3/vie ... 74&start=0

The Q & A with guest Casey Lalonde, Joan Crawford's grandson:
http://silverscreenoasis.com/oasis3/vie ... =36&t=4557

[JackFavell]

I loved that! It was a perfect blend, the music was hilarious, and the clips were balanced between some really funny choices and a respect of the actress. I am super curious where they got those later film clips from her TV appearances.

The more I see her, the better Joan gets. There are very few films of hers that don't work. Torch Song for instance, lol. Everything else I've seen her in, she delivers, even when the movie itself does not. She always has true moments as an actress, whatever her circumstances are in the movie, she makes it work. Her Sadie Thompson is one of the most maligned performances, but I think it's extremely good. There hasn't been a Crawford picture I've seen that I haven't liked her in, or where she didn't get the job done. She was a pro and took her job seriously. What's not to like?

[CineMaven]

Thanxx for the sites Moira. ( "Crankpants sheriff..." You kill me! ) P.S. Any chance of getting a bonafide autographed copy of my NOW PLAYING TCM guide Moira, where your picture is?

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So glad you liked the video Wendy. Seeing those clips was just the reminder I need about Joanie! You're right, she was a pro...what's not to like. I need a Joan Crawford night, soon.

* * * * *

Look at that face! Look at that open smile! Is than an All-American boy or what?



My and Robert's college-friend, Brian, just sent me an e-mail about seeing TAB HUNTER interviewed in person. I wanted to share it with you classic film fans...some of whom might be fans of Tab's:

TAB HUNTER - LIVE!

Tab Hunter came to the CUNY Graduate Center to speak on Tuesday night, an event staged by the City University's Leon Levy Center for Biography. He talked about his memoir, "Tab Hunter Confidential," and he was joined by his co-author, Eddie Muller (Dark City: The Lost World of Film Noir). Critic and biographer Gary Giddins moderated.

I have a copy of the book, given to me for Christmas by my daughter a few years ago, so I started reading it before the event. It's quite good. Tab writes honestly and concisely about the upside and downside of being a studio star in the 1950s. He showed up at the event, looking fit and sounding great. He's 81 and was damned happy to be there. And he speaks with fondness of many of the people he worked with in Hollywood, esp. directors Raoul Walsh, William Wellman and Phil Karlson, as well as many of the actors. He has no illusions about his talent, but he was grateful for the opportunities he had and the life he's had.

And Muller was very interesting, too, in talking about how the co-writing process occurred and how it was his job to mainly shape and
organize what Hunter had written and augment it with more background research. Muller says his favorite Tab films are Phil Karlson's GUNMAN'S WALK and Sidney Lumet's THAT KIND OF WOMAN, with Sophia Loren and which was shot on location in New York. I've never seen either film and I don't have them on tape.

Tab makes quite a contrast with Piper Laurie, who I saw earlier this year at Barnes & Noble, who dismisses her period of employment at Universal and derides those great films she made with Tony Curtis like SON OF ALI BABA and THE PRINCE WHO WAS A THIEF.

The Tab Hunter event was short--just about an hour--and then he signed books, including mine. It was not as well-publicized as it should have been. Had it been at Barnes & Noble, I'm sure it would have attracted a bigger audience. The Piper Laurie audience was about the same, but I believe Tab would have been a bigger draw.

Brian

* Edited to include specific film titles.