What Classics Did You See Last Week (July 27–August 2)
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spiderwort — 8 months ago(August 04, 2025 01:10 AM)
I love
M
, unex. It's a great film, indeed, although I'm not sure I'd call it Lang's best movie. He made so many great ones in his long, long career from the silent into the sound era. But it's certainly a brilliant, haunting film, and Lorre's best for sure. And I love your mention of how well Lang used sound in the film. I couldn't agree more. It was sheer genius on his part and is one of the elements that made the film so haunting. Now you've got me thinking, maybe it is his best film. Oh, who knows? He was a master. Even when the scripts weren't that great, his work always was. -
unex — 7 months ago(August 10, 2025 01:47 PM)
I think it was his most artistically successful work. He was able to combine all the elements of film creatively and innovatively in a way I don't think he quite reached before or after but probably could have had he not had to flee Germany.
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Rufus-T — 8 months ago(August 04, 2025 05:11 PM)
M is the movie that puts Peter Lorre on the map. The first time I watched it, I was blown away by the story and how disturbing must be to the audience at the time. I thought it probably was the earliest movie about psychological disorder. Turned out there was an even earlier one, The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari.
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Rufus-T — 8 months ago(August 03, 2025 07:55 PM)
Frenzy (1972)
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0068611/
A man on the run in London after he was a suspect for a crime. Much like The Fugitive. A good Hitchcock suspense late in his career. Included were some humor especially with the lead investigator and his wife regarding his meal.
One Night in Idaho: The College Murders (2025)
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt32810392/
The trial for the suspect was on the news lately. This 4-parts documentary was about how four college student killed in their dorm affected the friends and family. It didn't presented as a suspense mystery, but more of a dramatic breakdown of the survivor. Think of it like that of The Deer Hunter, before, during, and after the war. Here we have, before, during, and after the murder. I don't think it need to be 4 episodes, but they present every little nooks and crannies about the survivor's experience.
Go Ask Alice (1973)
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0068644/
Based on a diary form novel about a teenage girl caught in drug abuse. I saw this on Prime. The transfer quality was awful. The story was campy, but quite effective emotionally. It was a TV movie after all. Despite lack of quality, it is a movie should be shown in every middle school.
The Sugarland Express (1974)
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0072226/
Technically a Steven Spielberg feature film directorial debut. Duel was a TV movie. A convict couple took hostage of a patrol to cross Texas to get to their son. Much like the Bonnie and Clyde, Thelma and Louise, The Legend of Billie Jean. The car chase story is very straight forward but sometimes all over the place probably because of the script. This is really a comedy until it gets serious at the end. I did crack up many times. Strong performances from Goldie Howe, William Atherton, Michael Sacks, and Ben Johnson as the captain in charge of chase.
The Abyss (1989)
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0096754/
An underwater thriller and fantasy directed by James Cameron. A group led by the leader played by Ed Harris dive down the sea the look for a sunken nuclear submarine only to find something fantastic. It is a movie I would think right down the alley of Spielberg. With Cameron, he exceled in the action part of the movie. The only problem I have was the Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio role supposed to play the bitchy wife of the Ed Harris character, and also the one who designed the underwater vehicle that was used in the deep water diving. She was not convincing. Otherwise, it was an enjoyable action film.
American Conspiracy: The Octopus Murders (2024)
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt31030101/
Fascinating 4 parts documentary about the investigation by a couple friends, including the director Zachary Treitz and reporter Christian Hansen digging into a suicide, or possibly murder, of a reporter Danny Casolaro more than 30 years ago after he dug too deep into the reason behind the piracy of an important software. Originally, I thought it is called Octopus because of the network graph of all the connection discovered by Danny Casolaro formed a shape looking like an Octopus. With each different part of the octopus network chart revealed slowly. The real reason for it calling the Octopus was not revealed why until the 3 episodes. Mystery fans would like it. Slow moving though. -
spiderwort — 8 months ago(August 04, 2025 01:50 AM)
Appreciate your assessment of Spielberg's first feature, Rufus. I haven't seen it since it was released, but I remember enjoying it, although I had some problems with the casting (Atherton in particular).
That said, it has a scene in it that I remember vividly to this day, because of its powerful and meaningful cinematic manipulation: the scene when they're parked across from the drive-in movie theater and the images of the film they're able to watch are reflected on their faces. A beautifully conceived and realized bit of genius that I know was particularly meaningful to Spielberg.
Haven't seen any of your other films, except
Frenzy
, which I know I'm in the minority in not liking.
️ -
MissMargoChanning — 8 months ago(August 04, 2025 02:58 PM)
These are great!
I especially liked Go Ask Alice. I remember it when it first aired on television. Pretty powerful at the time.
I had forgotten about Andy Griffin being in this.
Others like William Shatner, Mackenzie Phillips and Robert Carradine as well!
You asked a pretty question; I've given you the ugly answer.
Fasten Your Seatbelts….
It's Going To Be A Bumpy Night! -
PygmyLion — 8 months ago(August 03, 2025 09:52 PM)
Comrade X
1940 - Clark Gable, Hedy Lemarr, Oscar Homolka, Felex Bressart, Eve Arden. Comedy Spy Spoof. Clark Gable plays a reporter in the USSR. ***
Honky Tonk
1941 - Clark Gable, Lana Turner, Frank Morgan, Claire Trevor. Western. **1/2
Crossroads
1942 - William Powell, Hedy Lamarr, Claire Trevor, Basil Rathbone, Felix Bressart - David Talbot (Powell) has earned an important position as a French Diplomat and just married Lucienne (Lamarr). Talbot has had amnesia since 1919 and Sarrou (Rathbone) and Allaine (Trevor) try to blackmail him for things that occured in 1919. ***
Gentleman's Agreement
1948 - Gregory Peck, Dorothy McGuire, John Garfield. Celeste Holm. Director Elia Kazan. Won the 1948 Best Picture Academy Award. ****
The Lady Vanishes
1938 - Margaret Lockwood, Michael Redgrave, May Whitty, Paul Lukas. Director - Alfred Hitchock. ****
Captain Kidd
1945 1945 - Charles Laughton, Randolph Scott, Barbara Britton, John Carradine - Swashbuckler that doesn't have quite enough buckling. **1/2
Chase a Crooked Shadow
1958 - Ann Baxter, Richard Todd - some people seem to like this movie, it gets a 7.0 on IMDB. For me, it seemed rather implausible and reminded me of the type of fare one would get in a 1970's made for TV movie. ** -
spiderwort — 8 months ago(August 04, 2025 01:27 AM)
I love
Gentleman's Agreement
and
The Lady Vanishes
, PL. Two of my favorites, and one of the best for both Kazan and Hitchcock. I've been meaning to watch
The Lady Vanishes
again for awhile now and need to do it soon. Thanks for the reminder. I'm always up to date on my Kazan films, given that he's my favorite director
And I haven't seen
Crossroads
, but it looks like a film I would enjoy. Love the cast. And I think I saw
Comrade X
decades ago, but I'm not remembering it very well. It also seems like one I would enjoy, so I'll keep an eye out for both of them. -
Rufus-T — 8 months ago(August 04, 2025 05:05 PM)
I like
Gentleman's Agreement
a lot too. I remember back in days when I was first discovering movies, this was often cited as the worst Oscar Best Picture winner. I never get it. Maybe have to do with Kazan. I don't know. I would rather watch
Gentleman's Agreement
than many of the Best Picture winners in the last couple decades. -
spiderwort — 8 months ago(August 04, 2025 09:07 PM)
I would rather watch
Gentleman's Agreement
than many of the Best Picture winners in the last couple decades.
Oh, Rufus, I couldn't agree more!! I'm so disappointed with so many films that are made these days. It's really discouraging and fills me with despair. -
spiderwort — 8 months ago(August 04, 2025 12:34 AM)
All first viewings this week:
The Man with a Cloak / Fletcher Markle
(1951). A 19th-century murder mystery set in Manhattan in which a man (Joseph Cotton) tries to help a young woman (Leslie Caron) escape a murderous housekeeper (Barbara Stanwyck). Louis Calhern as the wealthy master of the house gives one of his best performances. A gothic noir that I found quite intriguing and entertaining, thanks to its cast and its remarkably literary story, to say nothing of the great cinematography by the 13 time Oscar nominated George Folsey. I’m surprised it didn’t get more attention when it was first released; even more surprised that I never even heard of it before I saw it. Highly recommended. (On Max)
Compensation / Zeinabu Irene Davis
(1999). Inspired by a 1906 poem from early African American writer, Paul Laurence Dunbar, this unique drama explores aspects of Black culture in both the turn of the 20th century and in present day 20th century Chicago through two parallel love stories, both of them about the relationship between a deaf woman and a hearing man, with the same actors playing the characters in each generation. The film utilizes silent film techniques to tell both stories, although the film isn’t silent, but the use of those techniques is mesmerizing. And apparently, while it has screened at festivals and in special series, it has never been run in theatres. If it ever gets a distribution deal, it could then become a new release, making it eligible for Oscar consideration, which it certainly deserves. It's a wonderful homage to film history, black history, and to those who are disabled. It also garnered a metacritic score of 100 on IMDb, and it was recently restored by The Criterion Collection, The UCLA Film and Television Archive, and The Sundance Institute. Kudos to the remarkably talented director Zeinabu Irene Davis for her great work in this, her feature film debut. I think it’s truly a masterpiece. Highly recommended; even a must-see. (I watched it on TCM, where it’s available until August 27. Don’t hesitate to seek it out. And the trailer doesn't begin to to it justice.)
History is Made at Night / Frank Borzage
(1937). A wealthy divorcée (Jean Arthur) falls for a charming Parisian (Charles Boyer), but her insanely jealous ex-husband (Colin Clive) will do anything to get her back. One of Borzage’s best films, filled with his usual romantic sensitivity. Highly recommended.
Cynthia / Robert Z. Leonard
(1947). A small town teenager (Elizabeth Taylor) who has been a sickly child for years is overly sheltered by her parents (George Murphy, Mary Astor). Although they have sacrificed their own ambitions in life to care for her, she’s struggling now to find a sense of normal life for herself. Based upon the play “The Rich, Full Life” by Vina Delmar, it’s a sweet if predictable film. I watched it to see Elizabeth Taylor in one of her early teenage roles, maybe the first in which it’s possible to see the great beauty that she was going to become. Also, for me, it was reminder of a time when things in life were kinder and simpler than they are now. Worth viewing for that and for the fine performances by Taylor and all the cast. -
PygmyLion — 8 months ago(August 04, 2025 02:41 PM)
I've watched
The Man with a Cloak
a couple of times, although not recently. It is an interesting movie. I like Joseph Cotton in it. It's a role somewhat akin to his role in
Gaslight
(1944). "Gothic noir" is a nice description.
I watched
Cynthia
a number of years ago. Like you I watched it to see a teenaged Elizabeth Taylor. I was noticing it was up on watchTCM, and thinking about watching it again. I remember it being a watchable movie. I recently saw a young Elizabeth Taylor in
Julia Misbehaves
(1948). -
spiderwort — 8 months ago(August 04, 2025 09:19 PM)
Glad you liked
The Man with a Cloak
, PL. And I don't think I've seen
Julia Misbehaves
, but I have a feeling it's one I would enjoy. Will see if I can find it. I love the cast, and I could use a few good laughs right now. -
spiderwort — 8 months ago(August 04, 2025 09:48 PM)
I've only seen
Cry Havoc
, which I very much enjoyed. But I'm a big fan of Joan Blondell, so I would probably enjoy
Miss Pacific Fleet
, too.
And
A Blueprint for Murder
sounds really interesting. Excellent cast and director. I will keep it in mind if it shows up where I can see it.
