WHAT FILMS HAVE YOU SEEN LATELY?

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MikeBSG
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Post by MikeBSG »

I watched the 1947 "Possessed" this morning. I liked it, especially thanks to Raymond Massey and Van Heflin. It had a terrific noir beginning, but as the movie went on (and on) I began to see a lot of similarities to "Mildred Pierce" (Crawford wants a no-good man who is after her "daughter") and "Rebecca" (the draining influence of the dead first wife.) Still, this one had great scenes, as when Crawford thinks she has killed her daughter, and great atmosphere.

Interestingly, both my son (age 13) and daughter (age 16) came over and got involved in the movie, thanks to the Franz Waxman score which caught their attention. I really didn't expect that to happen.
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charliechaplinfan
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Post by charliechaplinfan »

It's great when your kids share your hobby, my daughter does a little. Time will tell.

I've just watched Gun Crazy, I've been absolutely riveted for the last hour and a half. I haven't heard much of either of the leads before. (I've not watched many noir films) This is like Bonnie and Clyde twenty years before but far more realistic and less narcassistic. The car chases are very realistic for the time and Peggy Cummins plays one of the most fatal femme fatales I've seen.

Any further recommendations for my journey into noir :wink:
Failure is unimportant. It takes courage to make a fool of yourself - Charlie Chaplin
Mr. Arkadin
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Post by Mr. Arkadin »

charliechaplinfan wrote:I've just watched Gun Crazy, I've been absolutely riveted for the last hour and a half. I haven't heard much of either of the leads before. (I've not watched many noir films) This is like Bonnie and Clyde twenty years before but far more realistic and less narcassistic. The car chases are very realistic for the time and Peggy Cummins plays one of the most fatal femme fatales I've seen.
Perhaps you should mention this just a bit louder. I don't think ChiO heard you. :wink:
Any further recommendations for my journey into noir?
Step right this way:

Mr. Dewey's List:

1. OUT OF THE PAST (1947; Jacques Tourneur)
2. KISS ME DEADLY (1955; Robert Aldrich)
3. DETOUR (1945; Edgar G. Ulmer)
4. BLACK ANGEL (1946; Roy William Neill)
5. STRANGER ON THE THIRD FLOOR (1940; Boris Ingster)
6. ON DANGEROUS GROUND (1951; Nicholas Ray)
7. TOUCH OF EVIL (1958; Orson Welles)
8. THE BIG HEAT (1953; Fritz Lang)
9. PICK UP ON SOUTH STREET (1953; Samuel Fuller)
10. TRY AND GET ME (1950; Cyril Endfield)
11. NIGHTMARE ALLEY (1947; Edmund Goulding)
12. THIEVES’ HIGHWAY (1948; Jules Dassin)
13. DECOY (1946; Jack Bernhardt)
14. THE BIG COMBO (1955; Joseph H. Lewis)
15. THE KILLING (1956; Stanley Kubrick)

ChiO's list (see anything familar? :wink: )

1. GUN CRAZY (Joseph H. Lewis, 1949)
2. TOUCH OF EVIL (Orson Welles, 1958)
3. BLAST OF SILENCE (Allen Baron, 1961)
4. THE KILLING (Stanley Kubrick, 1956)
5. HE WALKED BY NIGHT (Alfred Werker/Anthony Mann (unc.), 1948)
6. DOUBLE INDEMNITY (Billy Wilder, 1944)
7. DETOUR (Edgar G. Ulmer, 1946)
8. PICKUP ON SOUTH STREET (Samuel Fuller, 1953)
9. NIGHT OF THE HUNTER (Charles Laughton, 1955)
10. OUT OF THE PAST (Jacques Tourneur, 1947)
11. RAW DEAL (Anthony Mann, 1948)
12. CRIME WAVE (Andre De Toth, 1954)
13. BIG COMBO (Joseph H. Lewis, 1955)
14. DIAL 1119 (Gerald Mayer, 1950)
15. THE FRIENDS OF EDDIE COYLE (Peter Yates, 1973)

My list:

Force of Evil (1948)
Scarlet Street (1945)
Out of the Past (1947)
Rififi (1955)
Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia (1974)
Sunset Blvd. (1950)
You Only Live Once (1937)
Port of Shadows (Le Quai des brumes) (1938)
Il Bidone (The Swindle) (1955)
Act of Violence (1948)
The Killing of a Chinese Bookie (1976)
In a Lonely Place (1950)
Kiss Me Deadly (1955)
Vertigo (1958)
Touch of Evil (1958)


You also have many fine UK works such as Brighton Rock (1947), Get Carter (1971), The Third Man (1949), The Good Die Young (1954) and others.

P.S. If you're looking for more films in the GC vein, check out You Only Live Once (1937) (although Sylvia Sidney is not a Femme Fatale) and Mississippi Mermaid (1969). I did a review for MM awhile back. You can find it here:

http://silverscreenoasis.com/oasis/viewtopic.php?t=1489
feaito

Post by feaito »

Excellent Noir recommendations... I'd also add "The Woman in the Window" (1944), which I watched recently and "Fallen Angel" (1945).

Today I've watched my share of films:

Firstly I saw a early Luis Buñuel (master of the Surrealism) film of the Mexican stage of his career: "Subida al Cielo" (1952) (aka "Ascent to Heaven" or "Mexican Bus Ride") a very interesting account of assorted, colorful passangers travelling by bus through small villages located in the Mexican countryside and mountains. Interesting plot, some offbeat and surreal (of course) touches. A very worthwhile film.

Then I caught on TV, quite by chance, the ending of a Maureen O'Hara film titled "Do You Love Me?" (1946) in which she co-stars with Dick Haymes and Harry James. Betty Grable makes a cameo. Some nice music, especially swing courtesy of Mr. James. We commented with my wife about O'Hara's beauty. She looks so pretty in Technicolor. After this film Maureen's "The Redhead from Wyoming" was aired... a western she made at Universal in which she stars opposite Alex Nicol.

In fact it looks as if Cinecanal Classics is doing everything to please my pal Ken 'cuz besides the aformentioned films it has been airing many Maureen films: "Lady Godiva" (1955), "The Quiet Man" (1952), "Britannia Mews" (1949), "Homestretch" (1947), "Buffalo Bill" (1944) and "Everything but the Truth" (1956).

Well, aftewards I watched the 1932 "Sherlock Holmes", a highly entertaining and well done film with Britisher Clive Brook, who was born to play Holmes. He fits the bill perfectly. And Reginald Owen is quite effective as Watson although he has little screen time. Ernest Torrence, what an actor and a personality!, is superb as Moriarty, Holmes' nemesis -he was quite deft at playing villains, but he was good playing good natured sidekicks like in "Fighting Caravans" (1931)- and Alan Mowbray is equally good as Scotland Yard' Colonel Gore-King. The love interest is played by Miriam Jordan, who uncannily resembles Madeleine Carroll.

Then I went to my building's projection room and watched two films on the big screen:

"Moonrise" (1948) Another Borzage small gem (thanks Christine) with Dane Clark playing doomed Danny Hawkins. I'd resume the moral of the story as how one realizes that nobody's doomed unless he or she believes so. Dane Clark's is very fine as the enraged, strong-willed son of a man who was hanged for killing a man and who apparently -unwillingly- cursed his only son's destiny. The romance between Clark and pretty Gail Russell gets the Borzage touch, who focuses on the sensitive, ethereal aspects of the couple's relationship rather than in only passion (like in "Ruby Gentry " for example, which comes to my mind as the just the opposite). The film has noirish touches, but love redeems everything. Fine stock of supporting players lead by Rex Ingram, Ethel Barrymore, Allyn Joslyn, Selena Royle and Harry Morgan. Lloyds Bridges plays a heavy. In all a satisfying, uplifting film. In a certain way its atmosphere reminded me of Borzage's adaptation of "Liliom" (1930), although this film is not uplifting.

Then, thanks also to Christine I watched the highly amusing, non-stop fun, tongue-in-cheek "Bulldog Drummond Strikes Back" (1934) a nice mixture of action and, especially, high class comedy, with Ronald Colman at his suavest and most debonair as Captian Drummond. Loretta Young is perfect for him. They make one handsome couple. She plays a lady in distress. And Charles Butterworth is priceless as Drummond's sidekick Algy. Una Merkel is Algy's new wife, who cannot spend her wedding night with Algy, due the constant interruptions of Ronnie. C. Aubrey Smith plays Captain Neilsen. Warner Oland, Mischa Auer, Kathleen Burke, George Regas play the exotic, foreign villains of the story. Non-stop fun, fastly paced. A 20th Century film (before it merged with FOX) released thru United Artists.
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Ann Harding
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Post by Ann Harding »

I am really glad you enjoyed them both Fernando! :)
Moonrise is strange bird in Borzage's filmography, but, still worth looking at. Bulldog Drummond Strikes Back is a forgotten gem that never fails to make me laugh!
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charliechaplinfan
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Post by charliechaplinfan »

Thanks for the Noir lists. I plan to do some more delving into the world of noir, now I know where to start. I've seen the more popular noirs but not really the ones without star names.
Failure is unimportant. It takes courage to make a fool of yourself - Charlie Chaplin
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ChiO
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Post by ChiO »

GUN CRAZY? Did I hear some mention GUN CRAZY? Watch it a few dozen times and it only gets better.

MOONRISE is a wonderful film...the opening sequence is one of my favorites. Borzage is another of the many directors whose films I need more exposure to.
Everyday people...that's what's wrong with the world. -- Morgan Morgan
I love movies. But don't get me wrong. I hate Hollywood. -- Orson Welles
Movies can only go forward in spite of the motion picture industry. -- Orson Welles
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charliechaplinfan
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Post by charliechaplinfan »

GUN CRAZY ! It was great, I'll be watching it again. Very good film noir :wink:
Failure is unimportant. It takes courage to make a fool of yourself - Charlie Chaplin
feaito

Post by feaito »

Today I watched "Stargate: The Ark of Truth" (2008). Very entertaining but nothing out of this world. Since I do not follow the TV series, I had to guess som things in the plot and other I took for granted. Anyway, it's the kind of sci-fi flick I tend to enjoy, due to its subject of the search for truth and the manipulations of people's beliefs.
feaito

Post by feaito »

Also today, I watched the interesting 2006 Indian-American film "The Namesake". Perhaps overlong, but very well done and quite touching.

Previously I saw a "10/10" western: "Winchester 73" (1950). It's simply superb. I had never seen it, but I had read it was one of Jimmy Stewart's and Anthony Mann's best films. Even my wife, who does not like westerns, was trapped by the excellent storyline. Very well acted all around, deftly cast. Engrossing with capital E. Jimmy Stewart, Stephen Mc Nally, Millard Mitchell, Shelley Winters among others, excel. Rock Hudson and Tony Curtis have small roles. Brilliant! There are many deep, psychological aspects to the plot. Talk about siblings!
Hollis
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Post by Hollis »

This morning at 2:30 CT (due to my all too frequent insomnia) I saw a Quentin Tarantino film I'd never seen before, "Death Proof." Typical Tarantino with an excess of violence and a script that was entirely secondary in the scheme of things. But you know what? I loved it! As much as I adore the Classics from the 30's thru the mid 50's, every now and then I pick up on a more modern film that's well worth the time it takes to watch it. If anyone else has seen it, I'd be interested in what you thought of it. Not his best (that's a toss up between "Reservoir Dogs" and "Pulp Fiction") but more than watchable in my humble opinion. Hope everyone had a great weekend and enjoyed themselves away from work.

As always, and with affection,

Hollis
MikeBSG
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Post by MikeBSG »

This morning, I watched the Burt Lancaster swashbuckler "The Flame and the Arrow." It was okay. Lancaster and Nick Cravat were terrific, and Virginia Mayo was surprisingly good as the heroine. However, the plot was too much a recycling of the "Adventures of Robin Hood" and a few of the more "modern" touches, such as having Lancaster finish the duel by putting out the candles and killing his foe in the dark, didn't quite work for me.

However, my son really enjoyed this film.

All of us watched "The Crimson Pirate" last year, and we liked that one very much. I think that is a better film than "The Flame and the Arrow."
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inglis
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Aldo Ray

Post by inglis »

I just watched last night for the first time The Marrying Kind .Judy Holliday was great and I had not seen before any of Aldo Ray's past work . The life they had and the loss of their child was deeply moving .They had their ups and downs and just when it seemed they had given up they found that strength in each other to keep going .
feaito

Post by feaito »

Inglis,

"The Marrying Kind" (1952) was a real surprise for me when I watched it and it demonstrated to me Judy's huge talent as dramatic actress as well. I think that I haven't yet watched a film of hers I haven't totally enjoyed. She was magnificent.
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movieman1957
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Post by movieman1957 »

And yet it sits on my shelf waiting to be enjoyed. I need to get cracking.
Chris

"Time flies like an arrow, fruit flies like a banana."
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