I Just Watched...

[Andree]

I watched part of the colorized version of Terror By Night and the colorization
isn't all that bad, certainly no worse than average. The clothes seem to do better than
the human flesh tones. I always got a kick out of those patriotic speeches at the end
of many of the films as the two are sitting in the back seat of a car and Holmes explains
to Watson the dangers to the democratic world order with the good doctor nodding along
for the most part.

[HoldenIsHere]

I have been under the weather this weekend and have been alternating between watching WWII docs and UNIVERSAL SHERLOCK HOLMES FILMS.

MAN, WAS I EVER WRONG IN MY REVIEW OF TERROR BY NIGHT, and for that I APOLOGIZE.



In all honesty, TERROR BY NIGHT has been (with the exception of THE WOMAN IN GREEN) the WORST of the series, with almost ALL THE OTHER INSTALLMENTS being of vastly superior quality.

I also have to say from watching the series, THAT I HAVE A STRONG SUSPICION IT WAS IMMENSELY INFLUENTIAL ON FUTURE FILM AND TV SERIES and THE DETECTIVE/SPY genre in particular.

I have bad memories of the novelette THE HOUND OF THE BASKERVILLES because I had an absolutely AWFUL high school English Teacher who, for some reason, thought we should all take turns reading THE ENTIRE STORY out loud in class. (if you ever want to desecrate a written work, have it read out loud by a group of freshmen high schoolers.) However, the movie really grew on me as I watched it, and although I'm still bothered by the fact that this is A SHERLOCK HOLMES STORY where SHERLOCK HOLMES HIMSELF is absent for a HUGE CHUNK of the middle- the sets ARE MARVELOUS and the actors (with the exception of WENDY BARRIE) all do a very good job. I must say I was taken aback by HOW MUCH YOUNGER NIGEL BRUCE looks in this film, not sure if they aged him for later films or not, but in real life, he was actually 3 years younger than BASIL RATHBONE. NOTE: THIS FILM MADE IN 1939 ENDS WITH A LAST LINE THAT IS A DIRECT REFERENCE TO COCAINE.

AND THEN I watched SHERLOCK HOLMES AND THE VOICE OF DEATH, which is quite a bold and ingenious film- moving the series without explanation to 1939 ENGLAND and enlisting HOLMES AND WATSON into THE WAR EFFORT. This is handled effortlessly- and there is one very funny moment where HOLMES reaches to put on his DEERSTALKER CAP, only to be scolded by WATSON "HOLMES, YOU PROMISED!" before switching to the standard fedora. REGINALD DENNY (in HOT BRITISH DADDY MODE) and HENRY DANIELL have supporting parts, LIONEL ATWILL (who looks TERRIBLE!) has a very brief role as MORIARTY, i almost wonder if his part was truncated because at the time of the making of the film (1942) ATWILL was involved in a very public scandal involving allegations of sexual impropriety) this is a very moving and ambitious film, and I have very little doubt that it was, in its own way, a huge help to the WAR EFFORT. This was the only film in the series not directed by ROY WILLIAM NEIL, and I really like all the dynamic camera set-ups and INTENSE CLOSE-UPS (EVELYN ANKERS has one of her best roles in this movie and she gets a series OF STUNNING CLOSE-UPS to show what a really beautiful woman she was.) [it is funny though that her BRITISH ACCENT sounds put-on, since she was in fact a native BRIT)

MUCH OF THE SAME can also be said for SHERLOCK HOLMES AND THE SECRET WEAPON, which I also liked quite a bit.

much like THE SCARLET CLAW, which is set in CANADA, and ends with a very positive note in re: THE CANADIAN PEOPLE. it's pretty clearly propaganda to get AMERICANS to realize what a huge effort CANADA was putting into the war, but as CANADA has (IMO) never gotten the credit they really deserve for their efforts in WWII (i think they were the only country to have TWO flanks on D-DAY) I'm fine with it. There is a genuinely CREEPY SCENE where the killer (a master of disquise) stabs a man to death IN DRAG.

DRESSED TO KILL takes a similar premise as THE SCARLET CLAW- a killer who is a master of disguise- but turns it rather on its head by making the killer A WOMAN

THE PEARL OF DEATH was also a lot of fun, with another good role for EVELYN ANKERS (who deserved more good roles) as she gets play similar part to the antagonist of DRESSED TO KILL.

The sweetie is *huge" fan of the Basil Rathbone Sherlock Holmes movie series and seen all of the movies. Since we've been together I have seen most of not all of them myself.

I really enjoyed THE HOUND OF THE BASKERVILLES. I read the book in ninth grade too.

RE: Updating the time of the stories to WW IiI
There's one movie with a sequence in carnival shooting gallery where the faces on the targets are Hitler & other enemies of the Allies.

[Detective Jim McLeod]

Woman's World (1954) Youtube -8/10

An auto tycoon (Clifton Webb) invites three candidates and their wives to New York to decide which one will be named to the coveted position of general manager of the firm.

I spoke about this one on another thread about films worth of re discovery. This is the first time I have seen it in years but it is still highly entertaining. It is Cinemascope and in Technicolor so it is great to look at and the cast is excellent. The copy on Youtube is great.

Van Heflin is a quiet, seemingly unambitious Texan with a gold digger wife (Arlene Dahl). Fred MacMurray is a Philadelphia workaholic married to Lauren Bacall, who loves him but wants a divorce due to his obsession with work. Cornel Wilde is a loving husband and father from Kansas City, his wife is a well meaning klutz played by June Allyson.

The story is similar to another film from the same year Executive Suite. But that film was a stark B&W drama compared to this glossy film which is much more light hearted and entertaining. Ironically June Allyson appears in both films as a wife. Her performance in WW is hilarious and maybe my favorite part of the movie. There are also some nice shots of New York City.

I would recommend this to anyone who is a fan of 1950s color comedy/dramas, it has some soap opera vibes but I found the comedy the best part.

TCM showed this last night so I thought I would bump this up, did anyone see it?

[jamesjazzguitar]

Woman's World (1954) Youtube -8/10

An auto tycoon (Clifton Webb) invites three candidates and their wives to New York to decide which one will be named to the coveted position of general manager of the firm.

I spoke about this one on another thread about films worth of re discovery. This is the first time I have seen it in years but it is still highly entertaining. It is Cinemascope and in Technicolor so it is great to look at and the cast is excellent. The copy on Youtube is great.

Van Heflin is a quiet, seemingly unambitious Texan with a gold digger wife (Arlene Dahl). Fred MacMurray is a Philadelphia workaholic married to Lauren Bacall, who loves him but wants a divorce due to his obsession with work. Cornel Wilde is a loving husband and father from Kansas City, his wife is a well meaning klutz played by June Allyson.

The story is similar to another film from the same year Executive Suite. But that film was a stark B&W drama compared to this glossy film which is much more light hearted and entertaining. Ironically June Allyson appears in both films as a wife. Her performance in WW is hilarious and maybe my favorite part of the movie. There are also some nice shots of New York City.

I would recommend this to anyone who is a fan of 1950s color comedy/dramas, it has some soap opera vibes but I found the comedy the best part.

TCM showed this last night so I thought I would bump this up, did anyone see it?

I watched the film in between watching the US Open. I've seen it before, but my wife hadn't. She was more interested in how Bacall looked in the film. While I'm not a fan of Allyson (by a long shot), she does give a good performance in the film and is funny.

[Lorna]

1. I watched part of the colorized version of Terror By Night and the colorization
isn't all that bad, certainly no worse than average. The clothes seem to do better than
the human flesh tones.

2. I always got a kick out of those patriotic speeches at the end
of many of the films as the two are sitting in the back seat of a car and Holmes explains
to Watson the dangers to the democratic world order with the good doctor nodding along
for the most part.

1. I just love black and white cinematography- honestly- on a deep level that is unmotivated by my natural contrarian tendencies- it speaks to me on multiple levels and has a genuinely calming effect on me; and colorized films just ain't right to me- thoroughly nestled in the UNCANNY VALLEY, they are. Plus, there's always a sepia tint to colorized films and it looks like someone spilled cream soda on the negative. I have a natural contempt for them born perhaps in my neurodivergent mind, and honestly- I think that might've been one of the reasons I was so harsh in my review of COLOR BY NIGHT**.

2. You just KNOW WATSON'S MIND is 100% committed to being on the lookout for KFC signs on the roadway.

**I WROTE "COLOR BY NIGHT" INSTEAD OF "TERROR BY NIGHT" BUT IT TICKLES ME, SO I LEAVE IT.

[Lorna]

The sweetie is *huge" fan of the Basil Rathbone Sherlock Holmes movie series and seen all of the movies. Since we've been together I have seen most of not all of them myself. RE: Updating the time of the stories to WW IiI
There's one movie with a sequence in carnival shooting gallery where the faces on the targets are Hitler & other enemies of the Allies.

THAT must be SHERLOCK HOLMES AND THE SECRET CODE, which I have not seen yet.

this'll make you happy: I rewatched SHERLOCK HOLMES AND THE VOICE OF TERROR last night and it held up EVEN BETTER ON THE SECOND VIEWING. Posted below is an HD PRINT ON YOUTUBE of the movie IN FULL, and really I cannot recommend it highly enough and will note again that THE CINEMATOGRAPHY IS OUTSTANDING and the director's use of close-ups and dynamic camera angles is marvelous and EVELYN ANKERS has an absolutely INCREDIBLE SCENE early on and she looks FANTASTIC. It's a pretty bold and innovative piece of filmmaking

Also with REGINALD DADDY...er, I mean "DENNY" and HENRY DANIELL at his bitchiest.

REALLY, IF YOU GOT AN HOUR TO KILL, CHECK OUT THIS MOVIE:

one note: BASIL RATHBONE'S HAIR IS ON THE STRUGGLE BUS FOR THIS INSTALLMENT, BUT THEY FIXED IT FOR LATER APPEARANCES. I DON'T KNOW WHO TOLD HIM THAT LOOKED CUTE.

[Swithin]

Another Sherlock Holmes favorite is (Sherlock Holmes and) The Spider Woman, with Gale Sondergaard in the eponymous role. This is one of the most highly regarded films in the series, with Sondergaard playing a very amusing game of cat-and-mouse with Rathbone. Sondergaard's helper is Angelo Rossitto (as Obongo the Pygmy).







The film has little to do with Sondergaard's later film, The Spider Woman Strikes Back.

[Lorna]

I started watching SPIDER WOMAN, but the thing about HOLMES CALLOUSLY FAKING HIS DEATH (not a spoiler, it happens in the first act) PISSED ME OFF.
I promise I will go back to it soon, especially since I love GALE SONGERGAARD

[Lorna]

THERE'S EVEN MORE interesting backstory in re: SHERLOCK HOLMES AND THE VOICE OF TERROR; not only was it bold to bring SHERLOCK AND WATSON into the modern era, but it was wild that they based the premise on the real life LORD HAW HAW- who was a sort of AXIS SALLY/TOKYO ROSE figure- a BRITISH MAN who broadcast NAZI PROPAGANDA that interrupted BBC BROADCASTS.

I am a big fan of the VONNEGUT NOVEL "MOTHER NIGHT" that is inspired by the story of LORD HAW HAW

I went straight to YOUTUBE this morning and looked up "LORD HAW HAW" and came across this video, which I started watching and (honest-to-God) thought it was footage of the REAL LORD HAW HAW (although the "ersatz" sign confused me) I realized pretty soon in that it was a parody

it's pretty damn funny [especially the notion of "soup balloons"] (and the story of LORD HAW HAW and his subsequent capture itself is worth reading up on)

[jamesjazzguitar]

The sweetie is *huge" fan of the Basil Rathbone Sherlock Holmes movie series and seen all of the movies. Since we've been together I have seen most of not all of them myself. RE: Updating the time of the stories to WW IiI
There's one movie with a sequence in carnival shooting gallery where the faces on the targets are Hitler & other enemies of the Allies.

THAT must be SHERLOCK HOLMES AND THE SECRET CODE, which I have not seen yet.

this'll make you happy: I rewatched SHERLOCK HOLMES AND THE VOICE OF TERROR last night and it held up EVEN BETTER ON THE SECOND VIEWING. Posted below is an HD PRINT ON YOUTUBE of the movie IN FULL, and really I cannot recommend it highly enough and will note again that THE CINEMATOGRAPHY IS OUTSTANDING and the director's use of close-ups and dynamic camera angles is marvelous and EVELYN ANKERS has an absolutely INCREDIBLE SCENE early on and she looks FANTASTIC. It's a pretty bold and innovative piece of filmmaking

Also with REGINALD DADDY...er, I mean "DENNY" and HENRY DANIELL at his bitchiest.

REALLY, IF YOU GOT AN HOUR TO KILL, CHECK OUT THIS MOVIE:

one note: BASIL RATHBONE'S HAIR IS ON THE STRUGGLE BUS FOR THIS INSTALLMENT, BUT THEY FIXED IT FOR LATER APPEARANCES. I DON'T KNOW WHO TOLD HIM THAT LOOKED CUTE.

Maybe Holmes hair is the way it is to show that he was on one of his coke binges.

[Swithin]

The sweetie is *huge" fan of the Basil Rathbone Sherlock Holmes movie series and seen all of the movies. Since we've been together I have seen most of not all of them myself. RE: Updating the time of the stories to WW IiI
There's one movie with a sequence in carnival shooting gallery where the faces on the targets are Hitler & other enemies of the Allies.

THAT must be SHERLOCK HOLMES AND THE SECRET CODE, which I have not seen yet.

this'll make you happy: I rewatched SHERLOCK HOLMES AND THE VOICE OF TERROR last night and it held up EVEN BETTER ON THE SECOND VIEWING. Posted below is an HD PRINT ON YOUTUBE of the movie IN FULL, and really I cannot recommend it highly enough and will note again that THE CINEMATOGRAPHY IS OUTSTANDING and the director's use of close-ups and dynamic camera angles is marvelous and EVELYN ANKERS has an absolutely INCREDIBLE SCENE early on and she looks FANTASTIC. It's a pretty bold and innovative piece of filmmaking

Also with REGINALD DADDY...er, I mean "DENNY" and HENRY DANIELL at his bitchiest.

REALLY, IF YOU GOT AN HOUR TO KILL, CHECK OUT THIS MOVIE:

one note: BASIL RATHBONE'S HAIR IS ON THE STRUGGLE BUS FOR THIS INSTALLMENT, BUT THEY FIXED IT FOR LATER APPEARANCES. I DON'T KNOW WHO TOLD HIM THAT LOOKED CUTE.

Maybe Holmes hair is the way it is to show that he was on one of his coke binges.

The final line of The Hound of the Baskervilles (1939): "Quick Watson, the needle!"

[Andree]

1. I just love black and white cinematography- honestly- on a deep level that is unmotivated by my natural contrarian tendencies- it speaks to me on multiple levels and has a genuinely calming effect on me; and colorized films just ain't right to me- thoroughly nestled in the UNCANNY VALLEY, they are. Plus, there's always a sepia tint to colorized films and it looks like someone spilled cream soda on the negative. I have a natural contempt for them born perhaps in my neurodivergent mind, and honestly- I think that might've been one of the reasons I was so harsh in my review of COLOR BY NIGHT**.

2. You just KNOW WATSON'S MIND is 100% committed to being on the lookout for KFC signs on the roadway.

**I WROTE "COLOR BY NIGHT" INSTEAD OF "TERROR BY NIGHT" BUT IT TICKLES ME, SO I LEAVE IT.

I like b&w cinematography too. I rarely watch colorized versions. Since I've seen the Universal
Holmes films many times, out of curiosity I might watch a colorized version. Watson usually
listens to Holmes and might throw in a well said Holmes at some point. The cake is pretty
much baked on its own.

IIRC, Lord Haw Haw's real name was William Joyce. He paid the 'ultimate price' as they say,
which seems a bit harsh.

[Bronxgirl48]

THE MONTE CARLO STORY

Society gamblers on the French Riviera, with two significantly surreal moments -- Marlene Dietrich sings "On The Banks Of The Wabash" and is propositioned by (ugh) Arthur O'Connell.

Please miss.

[Bronxgirl48]

WOMAN'S WORLD is glossy and kind of kitschy but not in a fun way. Hits us over the head in defining each character; i.e., supportive little down-to-earth Kansas City wife June Allyson's first words (to adoring hubby Cornel Wilde) walking into their swanky New York hotel suite: "Oh, my! It's too big! Can't we get a smaller one?"

Who will become General Manager of Clifton Webb's auto empire?

I didn't care.

[kingrat]

WOMAN'S WORLD is glossy and kind of kitschy but not in a fun way. Hits us over the head in defining each character; i.e., supportive little down-to-earth Kansas City wife June Allyson's first words (to adoring hubby Cornel Wilde) walking into their swanky New York hotel suite: "Oh, my! It's too big! Can't we get a smaller one?"

Who will become General Manager of Clifton Webb's auto empire?

I didn't care.

You gotta love how Clifton Webb isn't married because, you know, of all the women he's been dating--does he have portraits of them? I can't remember. The couples are oddly matched, too. Wouldn't Fred MacMurray and June Allyson be a better couple? Cornel Wilde belongs with one of the gorgeous dames, Lauren Bacall or Arlene Dahl.

Woman's World has the 20th-Century Fox palette with the subdued blues favored by the Technicolor experts, Natalie Kalmus and Henri Jaffa.