What Classics Did You See Last Week (August 4–August 10)
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spiderwort — 1 year ago(August 11, 2024 01:11 PM)
First viewings:
The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp / Michael Powell & Emeric Pressburger
(1943). A cinematic beauty that’s taken me way too long to see. Highly recommended.
Rendezvous / William K. Howard
(1935). A comedy/drama suspense film, with William Powell as a lieutenant assigned to crack a spy ring during World War I and Rosalind Russell as the woman who loves him. Recommended for fans of the cast and the genre.
Re-watches:
Julia / Fred Zinneman
(1977). A powerfully acted, beautifully scripted and directed memory drama about playwright Lillian Hellman’s friend, Julia, first when they were girls at home in America, then later in Berlin, where Julia is caught up in the nightmare of WWII, and Lillian goes to help her. Great cast, several of whom received Oscar nominations (out of the 11 the film received, including Best Picture), with Vanessa Redgrave and Jason Robards winning. A film with many merits. Highly recommended.
Red River / Howard Hawks
(1948). A cattle baron (John Wayne) and his foster son (Montgomery Clift) drive ten thousand head of cattle along the Chisholm Trail, encountering difficulties along the way. Outstanding performances by all the cast, especially John Wayne, who gives one of his career best. Great direction by Hawks and cinematography by Russell Harlan. Highly recommended (though I wish it had been shot in Oklahoma and Texas, not in Arizona. The film's Red River doesn’t come close to the real one.). -
PygmyLion — 1 year ago(August 11, 2024 09:03 PM)
I haven't gotten around to watching Colonel Blimp either. It really doesn't seem like my type of movie.
I have seen "Rendezvous". The had a William Powell day on TCM for August Summer under the Stars. I had seen them all, and liked them all. I choose to rewatch on with Myrna Loy in it.
I have seen "Red River". I'm not too high on the story, but I'll probably watch it again someday. For John Wayne's summer under the stars day, I went with "Tall in the Saddle" (1944), which I hadn't seen before. -
spiderwort — 1 year ago(August 12, 2024 03:09 PM)
Took me forever to watch "Colonel Blimp," because it's so darned long. I confess I think it's still too long, but I did enjoy it, and Roger Livesey gives a truly wonderful performance in it.
And I haven't seen "Tall in the Saddle." Maybe one of these days. As for "Rendezvous," too bad Loy was unavailable for it. I thought Rosalind Russell was good, but Loy would have been better. I love Powell and Loy in everything. -
unex — 1 year ago(August 13, 2024 12:27 AM)
The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp is one I need to re-watch, along with The Red Shoes and Black Narcissus. I thought they were all great when I saw them and my opinion probably won't change but I don't remember much about them.
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spiderwort — 1 year ago(August 13, 2024 01:58 PM)
Yes, it's easy to forget over time, isn't it? I've been re-watching things I saw when they were first released in the early sixties, and it's almost like seeing them for the first time (which is a treat, actually).
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EdwardVP — 1 year ago(August 11, 2024 01:23 PM)
1951 THE PEOPLE AGAINST O'HARA - Spencer Tracy courtroom drama where he takes on a defense case with the odds stacked against him. He has his own drinking demons to contend with also. (IMDb 6.8)
1952 HANS CHRISTIAN ANDERSEN - Fairy tale musical of a cobbler who likes to entertain children with stories. Danny Kaye sings melodic Frank Loesser songs in a gentle avuncular style. (IMDb 6.8)
1952 WAY OF A GAUCHO - Western type filmed on the Argentine Pampas with Gene Tierney. She leaves her noble family to join a wild gaucho wanted for murder. Rory Calhoun seeks to prove his innocence. (IMDb 6.4)
1953 TUMBLEWEED - Nicely photographed western where Audie Murphy is a wagon train guard accused of desertion. Scene stealer is the spirited white Cayuse pony who proves it's worth.
️ (IMDb 6.6)
1955 NOT AS A STRANGER - Robert Mitchum is an over-aged medical student who marries Olivia De Havilland for her savings. He is strongly opiniated which alienates his wife and friends. (IMDb 6.7)
1955 TO CATCH A THIEF - Hitchcock's jewel thief thriller starring Cary Grant. This one has more McGuffins than in any Hitchcock movie. Ace sequence is the Riviera cliff road car chase shot from above. (IMDb 7.4) -
FreeHugs — 1 year ago(August 11, 2024 07:37 PM)
I watched:
The Witches of Eastwick 1987 6/10 I liked the actors, but the story is a bit of a mess. It's too long and much of it doesn't really work. There are some fantastic moments though.
School Daze 1988 6/10 I felt this was too long and not as entertaining as it should have been. It could have used more singing and more laughs.
The Island of Lost Girls 2022 8/10 Watched on Tubi. A family adventure made by a family. Directed by Ann-Marie and Brian Schmidt and starring their three daughters, Autumn, Avila , and Scarlet. Three orphaned sisters find themselves in a dangerous predicament when they are stranded at sea. I thought this was really well done. The story is engaging and I cared about the girls and was invested in their journey. The three girls are fantastic and do their own stunts, which is quite impressive considering their age and how difficult some of the stunts looked. The cinematography is also quite good. Definitely worth checking out.
Black Belt Angels 1994 3/10 This was not good. It looks cheap and the writing and acting are substandard.
The Saddle Club 2001 6/10 The story isn't that interesting and the acting is just okay. It does have some charm to it though.
Baby Geniuses and the Space Baby 2015 7/10 Why did I watch this? Would you believe an alien baby forced me to? No? Would you believe I sometimes force myself to watch bad movies so I can make fun of them? This is technically a terrible movie, yet I secretly enjoyed watching it. It's ridiculous on so many levels. These babies really should start wearing pants if they are going to go on international adventures like this. It's weird that they never wear pants, yet wear hats, boots, shirts and jackets. The acting by the adult actors is fairly hammy, but the babies give enjoyable performances. And Space Baby is pretty cute. These movies are awful though. They should make more.
People Are Funny 1946 4/10 People may be funny, but this movie isn't. The music is mediocre. Acting is okay.
Baby Geniuses and the Treasures of Egypt 2014 6/10 Sometimes I watch bad movies so I can make fun of them. As expected, this is ridiculously awful. Yet, it is also entertaining in its badness. Perhaps one of the genius babies in the movie can explain how it is possible for a film to be so bad yet also enjoyable. I don't think this one is as amusing as Baby Geniuses and the Space Baby. It's weird that these babies travel the world and go on wild adventures, but never wear pants. Someone gives these poor babies some pants!
Monkey Man 2024 5/10 This felt too long and I didn't find it very exciting or entertaining.
Springtime in the Rockies 1942 5/10 A good cast is wasted in this dull and mostly flat musical.
Junebug 2024 7/10 I didn't like Autumn Reeser's character at first, but as the film progressed, I warmed up to her. Her performance ended up working for me. Mila Jones is charming and delightful as the young version of her character. Aaron O'Connell is likeable here too and the rest of the cast are effective in their roles. Junebug is an enjoyable and pleasant Hallmark romance.
The Million Pound Note 1954 7/10 Gregory Peck is good here and the film is interesting with a couple amusing moments.
The Snow Queen 1957 6/10 I thought this was just okay.
Calendar Girl 1947 5/10 This wasn't very interesting. Acting is okay, songs are alright.
Monster High: The Movie 2022 7/10 This is a silly musical for children about teenage monsters based on a line of dolls. Needless to say, I enjoyed it. The cast is likeable, the songs are good, and it's a fun story. If you don't take it too seriously, you can appreciate it for what it is.
Pup Star: World Tour 2018 6/10 This isn't as fun as the original Pup Star movie, but it has some amusing moments. The story takes some bizarre turns that don't completely work. Makenzie Moss is underused and should have had a larger role. I did like the singing doggies though.
The Shakedown 2024 5/10 This wasn't very funny or entertaining. It picked up a little bit towards the end, but still pretty mediocre.
Let Us In 2021 5/10 The writing in this is pretty weak. It isn't scary or fun and feels too derivative. I liked Makenzie Moss and O'Neill Monahan and thought their friendship was cute. Tobin Bell is underused, but does what he can with limited screentime. A lot of the story doesn't work, but the two central kids manage to do a decent job with a subpar screenplay.
Harlem Is Heaven 1932 6/10 The story isn't great, but there are some highlights. The dancing is good and there is an entertaining fight scene between two women.
Rocketman 2019 9/10 I saw Rocket Man at the theatre when it first came out and enjoyed it. I rewatched it today. Taron Egerton is fantastic and really becomes Sir Elton John. I really liked the way they used Elton's songs to tell his story. It was done in a very effective and clever way. Rocket Man is wildly entertaining and spectacularly directed with a wonderful screenplay. The costumes and cinematography are really well -
PygmyLion — 1 year ago(August 11, 2024 10:17 PM)
I was mostly in the early 1930's this week, pre-code. Realizing that I hadn't seen any early 1930's Ida Lupino movies, I went in quest of them and found 3 right here on this filmboards site. Ida is a blonde in all 3 movies.
Manhattan Melodrama
1934 - William Powell, Myrna Loy, Clark Gable - 7.2
The Beast of the City
1932 - Walter Huston, Wallace Ford, Jean Harlow - Policemen leads a determine fight against a crime gang with a big shootout near the end - 7
Hell's Angels
1930 - Jean Harlow, Ben Lyon, James Hall - the Rutledge boys go off to fight in WWI as pilots. Really nice dogfight scenes - 7
The Secret Six
1931 - Wallace Beery, Lewis Stone, Jean Harlow, Clark Gable - Wallace Beery's character rises up to the top of a bootlegging gang - 7
From IMDB:
Despite being billed seventh in the cast, Clark Gable has more screen time than this implies, and much greater impact. During the filming, Irving Thalberg had scenes added to bolster Gable's part. The result was a screen presence three times longer than that called for in the original script. He was given an MGM contract after shooting was completed.
The Ghost Camera
1933 - Ida Lupino, Henry Kendall, John Mills - John Gray (Kendall) finds a camera has mysteriously fallen into his car. He develops the photos so as to find the owner of the camera - only to find that the last photo shows a murder in progress. This photo is stolen from him. He decides to follow the trail of the other photos. The first leads him to May Elton (Lupino), who's brother (John Mills) owned the camera. Together they set off to follow the rest of the photos and find her brother - 7
I Lived With You
1933 - Ida Lupino, Ivor Novello, Ursula Jeans - Pennyless Russian Prince moves in with middle-classed English family - 7
Search for Beauty
1934 - Ida Lupino, Buster Crabbe, Robert Armstrong, James Gleason, Gertrude Michael - Crabbe and Lupino play former Olympic athletes that the other 3 employ for a fitness magazine. The magazine turns out to be rather sleazy - so Crabbe and Lupino give up their shares for a rundown hotel that they turn into a fitness resort. Not the greatest movie, but interesting in seeing how pre–code it is. 6.5
Tall in the Saddle
1944 - John Wayne, Ward Bond, Gabby Hayes, Ella Raines, Audrey Long - solid western fare. John Wayne is looking fit and trim - 6.8 -
spiderwort — 1 year ago(August 12, 2024 03:25 PM)
I was mostly in the early 1930's this week, pre-code. Realizing that I hadn't seen any early 1930's Ida Lupino movies, I went in quest of them and found 3 right here on this filmboards site.
Ida is a blonde in all 3 movies.
Of all your titles, I've only seen "Manhattan Melodrama," which I quite enjoyed. But Ida Lupino as a blonde – well, that's a mind-spinning thing! I can't even recognize her. Wow. -
PygmyLion — 1 year ago(August 12, 2024 04:14 PM)
Ida is also only 15 years old and has a bit more flesh on her face. I plan on watching an in between movie tonight "Yours For the Asking" (1936) with George Raft.
Ida's hair is not so blonde and she is getting a little more character to her face: -
PygmyLion — 1 year ago(August 13, 2024 08:11 PM)
Mostly just a blessing for me. They usually have pretty good prints of old movies.
TCM only seems a little like a curse when they don't have anything up on watchTCM that I want to watch. Sometimes I have seen all the top ones within the last few years and the rest look uninteresting - and I spend a half an hour going up and down the list looking.
I see 4 Anita Page movies that I want a watch, so I'm good for the next 4 nights. -
spiderwort — 1 year ago(August 13, 2024 10:23 PM)
A blessing for me, too, without question. Wouldn't want to live without it. But I know it can be frrustrating to find something that interests you that you haven't already seen.
I hope you enjoy the Anita Page films. I know her from
Our Blushing Brides
and
Our Dancing Daughters
, both seen a long time ago. There might be others, but I'm not sure.