Bad Movies You Love

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Sue Sue Applegate
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Re: Bad Movies You Love

Post by Sue Sue Applegate »

Ha! Great! The all Allison Hayes channel! :D

Yes, my Mom was pretty funny when it came to things she didn't feel like explaining!
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Re: Bad Movies You Love

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moira finnie wrote:You guys are so funny! Allison Hayes certainly had the bod to be a giant, but I had never seen all of Attack of the Fifty Foot Woman until yesterday, only parts. The special effects were hilarious (loved the giant hand in the bedroom and the fact that you could see through the giant aliens), but I can see why people have read a certain amount of proto-feminism into the storyline, especially since the men were such unsympathetic losers and the women all seemed hysterical or shrewish.

Poor Allison. I kept hoping that she would stomp on the two doctors--Dr. Cushing & Dr. van Loeb, who were so smug about describing her marital issues and "time of life." I was especially chagrined to see that Dr. Heinrich van Loeb was played by Otto Waldis, who also played an ex-Nazi turned Commie medico in the comical The Whip Hand (1951). Poor Otto. In between appearing in tiny roles in much better movies (A Foreign Affair, Border Incident, Dark City, Judgment at Nuremberg), he eked out a living in sci-fi like this, Schlitz Playhouse and Gomer Pyle. Even artists must eat.

Thank you for your delightful responses.



I've always wanted to know all about that hilarious screaming nurse. "Doctor, she's loose!"

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moira finnie
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Bad Movies I Love: The Pleasure Seekers

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This week I found that I killed two birds with one stone by seeking out one of the few Jean Neglesco-directed movies I've never seen. While this colorful film featured a few glimpses of beautifully framed Spain (and even some breathtaking El Grecos and somber portraits by Velasquez), the movie was essentially a remake of several other awfully familiar movies, three versions of which were made by Negulesco after he sold his soul to CinemaScope and Technicolor at 20th Century Fox (How To Marry a Millionaire, Three Coins in the Fountain, The Best of Everything). Not surprisingly, this movie turned out to be a fine entry for "bad movies i love" too. The show helped me scratch that itch for something beguiling but also tickled my funny bone. The story is set among some glorious Spanish locations, is beautifully photographed by Daniel Flapp, has a peppy score from Lionel Newman, Alexander Courage and songwriters Sammy Cahn & Jimmy Van Heusen really gave their all to A-M's set pieces here. There is also a blind, clueless, perfectly likable if fatally wrong-headed American energy thanks to the girls who spout stuff like "Well, that's that. The most beautiful two days in my whole life wasted on a fine, decent, stubborn, pigheaded, beautiful, dumb cluck like you," and there are a few more lines directly referencing s-e-x than past versions of the same tale, indicating that the production code was getting flabby. And of course, there is Big Red aka Ann-Margret, a force of show business nature at this point in pop history:

The Pleasure-Seekers (1964)

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Using the essential, now threadbare plot that was first a success in 1925 as Sally, Irene and Mary, this movie takes three sixties-style babes (Pamela Tiffin, who is sweet but dumb, Carol Lynley who is savvy but deluded, and Ann-Margret, who has ants in her pants), and plants them in_________________
a.) Vienna
b.) NYC
c.) Rome
d.) Madrid

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Above: The granddaughters of Sally, Irene and Mary: Pamela Tiffin (who seems to be having some issues with her false eyelashes), Ann-Margret, and Carol Lynley in The Pleasure Seekers, set in sunny Spain (this was during Franco's reign, but this picture makes it look as though the ladies are visiting Disneyland, doesn't it?).

The trio are seeking: _________________
a.) Money
b.) Adventure
c.) A husband
d.) A good time
e.) An education
f.) All of the above

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Above: Ann-Margret demonstrating her appreciation of Spanish culture in her own hot pink way in The Pleasure Seekers.

Their diverse experiences teach the girls that: ______________________

a.) Be careful what you wish for while gazing at the masterpieces in The Prado (even if he is a rich Spanish aristocrat)
b.) Washing your dainty underthings and hanging them up on your porch while in your underwear is not wise (that's called "being a tease," Misses Lynley & Ann)
c.) Don't think that cool older guy (Brian Keith, looking sheepish, as well he should) is such a catch (he's married, you turnip, Carol!)
d.) A girl CAN shake her moneymaker and still win true love in the form of a brown-eyed provincial deer caught in the headlights of your glamour doctor (André Lawrence) (I give it three years for Ann-Margret & Dr. André, tops)
e.) Former stars (Gene Tierney) can still make their presence felt among a gaggle of twenty-somethings (though the helmet-head hairstyle doesn't do the woman any more favors than the script)
f.) Getting hitched to a playboy aristocrat/a sulky reporter/a traditional Spaniard is central to their continued existence.

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Above: Brian Keith looks chagrined to see his staff (Gardner McKay & Carol Lynley) hard at work in The Pleasure Seekers.

Here's what I learned during this cinematic trip to Spain:

1.) You can still be a good girl and get picked up by Anthony Franciosa in The Prado (yeah, right!)
2.) If you work for a news service in Madrid, your work life never gets in the way of your time spent scampering
around your apartment in as little as possible.
3.) You can have a screaming match with your boss's over-wound wife (poor Gene Tierney* in her last film role) in the ladies room with everyone listening but still "make nice" with her at a farewell party.
4.) Gardner McKay should never have left the sea and his adventures in paradise...psst, he is right purty, but is he an actor?
5.) Isobel Elsom, who plays Maria Ouspenskaya's role lifted from Dodsworth, transforms her character into a warm and cozy Doña Fixit. What a relief to see her haughtiness here.
6.) I had forgotten how much fun Anthony Franciosa could be when he gave up trying to be a great method actor and played happy-go-lucky slicksters instead.
7.) I now understand why this odd little movie has achieved a weird cult status among those who worship at the shrine of Ann-Margret, the erstwhile sex kitten with a whipload of heavy-duty sex appeal, Vegas-style. I never knew that the flamenco originated in Burlesque until I had seen Ms. Margret in this movie.
8.) Now I know what drove Pedro Almodóvar to make Women on the Verge of a Nevous Breakdown aka The Pleasure Seekers II.

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Above: Tony Franciosa, aka Emilio Lacayo, a first cousin to Pepe LePew in The Pleasure Seekers.

This movie is currently on youtube, but I doubt if that will last:
[youtube][/youtube]

*I experienced a lone moment of genuine feeling while watching this movie when I noticed that Brian Keith, who is married to Gene Tierney in this movie, had a lovely photo of her wearing a hat as she appeared in an earlier 20th Century Fox movie, Rings on Her Fingers (1942). So poignant...
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Re: Bad Movies You Love

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ADVENTURES IN PARADISE was one of the first TV shows I was aware of. I was too young to watch it. But I saw the ads, and knew it existed!
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Re: Bad Movies You Love

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Was watching CASANOVA BROWN totally slack-jawed. What the----?? Gary Cooper sets fire to his mother-in-law's $750,000 mansion, unquestioningly hops aboard a gurney in a maternity hospital for an initially unexplainable series of physical exams, disguises himself as a doctor in order to kidnap his newborn daughter, and in general makes the rest of his awww-shucks film characters look like Noel Coward. Can I learn to love this exercise in stupidity? Is this Gary's worst movie? I missed the first twenty minutes or so. Was that crucial?

THE PLEASURE SEEKERS has been popping up frequently on Fox Movie Channel. (unfortunately, also 1962's CABINET OF CALIGARI with Glynis Johns -- this bizarre "remake" scares the bejesus out of me for some reason) Whose Latin accent is worse -- Tony Franciosa's in TPS, or "Italians" Warren Beatty and George Hamilton (THE ROMAN SPRING OF MRS. STONE and LIGHT IN THE PIAZZA, respectively)?
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Re: Bad Movies You Love

Post by movieman1957 »

Looks like I can take "Casanova Brown" off of my list.
Chris

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Re: Bad Movies You Love

Post by moira finnie »

Bronxgirl48 wrote:Whose Latin accent is worse -- Tony Franciosa's in TPS, or "Italians" Warren Beatty and George Hamilton (THE ROMAN SPRING OF MRS. STONE and LIGHT IN THE PIAZZA, respectively)?
I think that Warren Beatty wins out since he is always unbelievable anyway.

Re: Casanova Brown
I haven't been able to make myself watch this in a long time, but I believe that Cooper did the film with his friend, writer & producer Nunnally Johnson, who seemed to be trying to reinvent the screwball comedy for the forties in this one. Maybe Gary should have realized that Ball of Fire (1941) already accomplished that goal and let it go at that.
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Re: Bad Movies You Love

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Talking about unbelievable, I've got THE VIKING QUEEN on in the background. Don Murray is a long way from the ranch.

Thanks for the CB info and insights, moira. It also seemed they tried (in desperation?) to inject some Preston Sturges sensibilities into the mix.

Chris, I daresay, lol And you also don't want to see the wonderful Patricia Collinge (again Theresa Wright's mother) as an astrology buff.
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Re: Bad Movies You Love

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Bronxgirl48 wrote:Talking about unbelievable, I've got THE VIKING QUEEN on in the background. Don Murray is a long way from the ranch.
Darn! I always come in on this movie when Don and the Viking Queen are racing around in their chariots! Some day I would like to see this whole weird mess from the beginning.

All Mr. Murray needed was a lariat to make me think of him as a cowpoke again.
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Re: Bad Movies You Love

Post by Bronxgirl48 »

I feel your distress, moira. And imagine mine over missing THE VENGEANCE OF SHE. I was running late for work and didn't even have time to record what I'm sure is a wonderfully terrible Hammer sequel. Please God, let me find it on YouTube.
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Re: Bad Movies You Love

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I've seen The Pleasure Seekers a few times and found things to enjoy, such as the location photography in Spain. The greatest pleasure for me is the cameo by legendary flamenco dancer Antonio Gades.

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Re: Bad Movies You Love

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moira, your newest avatar is so lovely, it makes my child-like heart sing -- two beautiful lassies, somewhat forlorn and melancholic but quietly hopeful for a better day, looking out a frosted window as snow gently falls outside. Bittersweet, nostalgic, I love it. Perfect for the holiday season.

Going from the sublime to the frankly ridiculous, I recorded LOOK IN ANY WINDOW and am sure it's going to become a favorite Bad Movie. I saw glimpses of it on YouTube, with Paul Anka inexplicably wearing a Paul Anka mask. And I can't wait to see Ruth Roman strutting and fretting her earthy and ribald self upon the suburban stage, playing around with Jack Cassidy.
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Re: Bad Movies You Love

Post by RedRiver »

I didn't even like the book. Oddly, I can't remember if I've seen the movie!
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Re: Bad Movies You Love

Post by Bronxgirl48 »

MY BLOOD RUNS COLD tomorrow!!!!!!





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