What Classics Did You See Last Week (November 12 - 18)?
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Rufus-T — 2 years ago(November 19, 2023 07:58 AM)
99 River Street (1953)
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0045465/
Boxer turned cab driver got framed for a murder. Quite good cat and mouse story.
The Kennel Murder Case (1933)
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0024210/
William Powell played a detective in figuring out a murder of a wealthy collector. Typical good mystery and good performances.
Dark Mountain (1944)
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0036743/
A forest ranger protecting his former girlfriend who is married to a criminal. Very short. Low quality. Some good moments. Not one of the best.
Jaws 2 (1978)
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0077766/
Of course, can not hold up to the original, but quite good a sequel.
The Wrong Man (1956)
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0051207/
One of my Hitchcock first watch. A man mistakened for a serial robbery. One thing leads to another to his life's ruin. Excellent suspense like Hitchcock can.
I Confess (1953)
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0045897/
A priest is accused of a murder he didn't do. Another excellent Hitchcock first watch.
I Want to Live! (1958)
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0051758/
A woman with a shady past hooked up with a gang that committed a murder and got charged along. Powerful.
Kiss of Death (1947)
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0039536/
A man caught in his jewel robbery. Willing to do anything to get out. Richard Widmark was awesome as one of the gangster. One of the best. -
MovieManCin2 — 2 years ago(November 19, 2023 08:06 AM)
ab_channel=HDRetroTrailers
My Darling Clementine
(1946)
starring Henry Ford, Ward Bond, Victor Mature, Walter Brennan and Tim Holt. An excellent film!
MAGA! FAFO!
Schrodinger's Cat walks into a bar, and doesn't. Dumbocraps: evil people who celebrate murder. 
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EdwardVP — 2 years ago(November 19, 2023 09:34 AM)
TREASURE ISLAND (1934/1950)
As the book turned 140 years old this week I watched two of the classic onscreen versions. 1934 with Wallace Beery and Jackie Cooper. 1950 with Robert Newton and Bobby Driscoll. It's close but I think the 1934 version wins.
BLOOD MONEY (1933)
A story of 1930s LA underworld. I'd never heard of vaudeville singer Blossom Seeley before seeing her belt out two numbers in this. Judith Anderson is a moll involved in a love triangle. She's so different here than her key role of Mrs Danvers in Hitchcock's 'Rebecca.' -
FreeHugs — 2 years ago(November 19, 2023 09:51 PM)
I watched:
A Merry Scottish Christmas 2023 7/10 I liked the actors, but the story was a little thin. Nice scenery though.
Lured 1947 7/10 A good cast, fine performances, and an effective story.
The Fallen Idol 1948 6/10 Good cinematography, decent performances, but the story wasn't that interesting.
Possessed 1947 7/10 Joan Crawford is fantastic in this fairly interesting film noir.
Best. Christmas. Ever! 2023 5/10 Heather Graham, Brandy and Jason Biggs all feel miscast and none of them do a good job in the film. Their characters aren't very interesting, which doesn't help. I found the kids in the movie more interesting than the adults and the child actors do better with the material than the adults. Madison Skye Validum has some amusing moments as a child genius who tries to prove that Santa isn't real and Abby Villasmil has a cute storyline about thinking she has superpowers. The plot isn't well developed and the central conflict is resolved too early and too easily, so the story goes in some odd directions that don't really work. There are a couple funny moments and the two girls in the movie are adorable, but overall this isn't very good.
Navigating Christmas 2023 5/10 This one didn't work for me. I didn't feel the chemistry between the leads and the story wasn't that interesting.
Dashing Through the Snow 2023 6/10 This isn't as fun or merry as it should be, but there are some cute, funny moments. I thought Ludacris's performance falls flat and several of the supporting performances are mediocre. I did like Madison Skye Validum's performance and found her sweet and charming playing the daughter of Ludacris's character. Lil Rel Howery does the best he can with his character and brings a goofy, fun energy to the role.
A World Record Christmas 2023 8/10 I really liked this one. This was different from most Hallmark movies. It was sweet, heartfelt and I was invested in the story. I really liked the cast, especially Aias Dalman and Daphne Hoskins. This is the best of the Hallmark Christmas movies so far this year.
Backlash 1947 6/10 A decent little noir mystery with fine performances.
The Lost Moment 1947 5/10 A good cast but they don't do enough with the story or characters for my liking. I found this pretty boring for the most part.
Reptile 2023 6/10 Benicio Del Toro is good and the film establishes the right mood and style, but can't quite overcome its storytelling. It's far too long and many scenes feel unnecessary. There is a lot going on and much of it doesn't work the way it should. The resolution to the mystery feels too convoluted and far fetched and isn't completely satisfactory.
Human Desire 1954 7/10 An effective and well acted film noir.
A Heidelberg Holiday 2023 6/10 Acting was fine, but the story feels too slight. Some cute moments, but they could have done more with it.
Cast a Dark Shadow 1955 7/10 Dirk Bogarde is delightfully sinister in this entertaining noir.
The Lineup 1958 6/10 Some good moments,but overall I didn't find it very interesting. -
ZolotoyRetriever — 2 years ago(November 19, 2023 11:06 PM)
Captain Horatio Hornblower R.N.
(1951) - Sea story set during the Napoleonic Wars of the early 1800's, based on the
Captain Horatio Hornblower
novels by C.S. Forester (written in the late 1930's), this stars Gregory Peck as the captain of the 38-gun British frigate HMS
Lydia
, and Virginia Mayo as Lady Barbara Wellesley, who is taken aboard the
Lydia
while fleeing a yellow fever outbreak in Panama. With supporting parts played by Robert Beatty, James Robertson Justice, Alec Mango, Denis O'Dea
et al
. Pretty good maritime actioner - though it had me hitting the encyclopedia to refresh my knowledge of what all the Napoleonic Wars entailed. Peck and Mayo were very good, though IMO their not being British did dampen the effectiveness of their portrayals. Nicely filmed in Technicolor… the print I watched has held up well. -
PygmyLion — 2 years ago(November 20, 2023 03:14 AM)
A pretty good movie.
Although as an American, I really should be rooting for the French. As we know. America went to war against the British in 1812, one of the causes was neutral maritime rights and the British seizure of neutral ships and their cargoes on the high seas. -
PygmyLion — 2 years ago(November 20, 2023 06:55 PM)
I hadn't really been aware of the Quasi War:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quasi-War
but it had ended by 1800.
Captain Hornblower takes place in 1807.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_of_1812
In 1806, Napoleon's Berlin Decree declared a blockade of the British Isles, forbade neutral vessels harbour in British ports, and declared all British made goods carried on neutral ships lawful prizes of war. The British responded in 1807 with Orders in Council which similarly forbade any shipping to France.[41] By 1807, when Napoleon introduced his Milan Decree, declaring all ships touching at British ports to be legitimate prizes of war, it had become almost impossible for the U.S. to remain neutral.[42] Between 1804 and 1807, 731 American ships were seized by Britain or France for violation of one of the blockades, roughly two thirds by Britain.[43] Since the Jay Treaty, France had also adopted an aggressive attitude to American neutrality.[44]
So perhaps as an American, we should be rooting for both sides to get sunk.
Of course, the British Navy was also doing the impressment of sailors:
Though Britain was willing to release from service anyone who could establish their American citizenship, the process often took years while the men in question remained impressed in the British Navy.[57] However, from 1793 to 1812 up to 15,000 Americans had been impressed[58] while many appeals for release were simply ignored or dismissed for other reasons.[59] There were also cases when the United States Navy also impressed British sailors.[60] Once impressed, any seaman, regardless of citizenship, could accept a recruitment bounty and was then no longer considered impressed but a "volunteer", further complicating matters.[50]
American anger with Britain grew when Royal Navy frigates were stationed just outside American harbours in view of American shores to search ships for goods bound to France and impress men within the United States territorial waters.[61] Well-publicized events outraged the American public such as the Leander affair and the Chesapeake–Leopard affair.[62]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Leander_(1780)
Leander Affair took place of April 25, 1806
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chesapeake–Leopard_affair
The Chesapeake-Leopard affair took place on June 22, 1807 -
unex — 2 years ago(November 20, 2023 01:14 PM)
The Man on the Other Side (2019) - German movie that is mostly in English. Starts with an exaggerated thriller style but mostly drops it when it gets more confined. Mostly predictable, not very good.
Subway (1985) - A movie about a subway. There is a Walter Matthau look-alike in what might be a nod to The Taking of Pelham One Two Three but the movies are not in anyway similar. Or maybe I'm seeing something that isn't there. This is a French movie so the characters are more interested in looking stylish and cool than in too thoughtfully pursuing their supposed goals. This leads to a lot of meandering. Christopher Lambert has a Jean-Paul Belmondo thing going on.