Bad Movies You Love

[RedRiver]

I like VIOLENT SATURDAY. It's colorful and exciting. Not one of the great crime films, but certainly not bad.

[Bronxgirl48]

Oh, no, Mike, did you say Arthur O'Connell is in THE VOICE IN THE MIRROR? (thanks for the title correction, moira) That ruins it for me right there, ha! But seriously, even though he gives me the willies for whatever reason, old Art has some fine performances under his belt, most notably BUS STOP. I can tolerate him in THE CIRCUS OF DR. LAO and FOLLOW THAT DREAM, even though the thought of personally running into him gives me the creeps, much like the affect Orson Welles in THE THIRD MAN has on those nut case teenagers from HEAVENLY CREATURES, lol.

My favorite hookers-with-hearts-of-gold are Claire Trevor in STAGECOACH and Guilietta Masina in NIGHTS OF CABIRIA. These are authentically complex and sensitively drawn women in two classic, timeless movies. Then the late sixties roll around and we get a lot of "rollicking" period comedy-dramas with adult situations and "social significance". Spare me!

Once again I woke up in the middle of the night with TCM on but this time my bleary eyes liked what it saw: Bugs Bu-- er, I mean, Lloyd Nolan, looking embarrassed and adorable dashing about in his underwear, trying to avoid Alexis Smith. (nice pits, too, JACKIE)

[Bronxgirl48]

I for one supports BronxGirl48's assessment that Victor Mature was an underrated actor.

I know I'm not alone in this, king, and that makes me happy, because Victor certainly deserves praise! I tend to get his gladiator roles a bit mixed up, though; it always seems he's with Jean Simmons in ancient Rome, lol -- ANDROCLES AND THE LION, THE EGYPTIAN, etc. (Of course Jean also found time to be with Richard Burton in THE ROBE and Kirk Douglas in SPARTACUS)

I think he could have been credible in Shakespeare, maybe playing the soldier friend of a nobleman, because Victor certainly had a manly, authoritative presence plus the vocal skills to pull it off.

[JackFavell]

I'd love to see him in Shakespeare! Well you almost do in Ford's My Darling Clementine. He does a great job there. And of course he still would get to show off his manliness in Shakespeare by wearing tights and perhaps even a toga in Julius Caesar.

Lloyd Nolan and nice pits don't automatically become synonymous in my mind, but he does look good in this movie! This is the one that's a remake of the Jimmy Cagney Pat O'Brien THE IRISH IN US, I think? Almost a shot for shot steal in that underwear scene. I can't think of anyone who is better at playing Pat O'Brien than Lloyd Nolan.

[RedRiver]

If I woke up and saw Lloyd Nolan in his underwear, I wouldn't go back to sleep for weeks!

[Sue Sue Applegate]

Don't miss it!

George Cukor directed it, and Jane Fonda looks fab. As I recall, she wears this lovely white suit with a wide-brimmed hat (by Orry Kelly?) that is so out of place with the scenario that you can't help but notice what she's wearing.

( This was filmed after Walk on the Wild Side and right before Period of Adjustment.)

The most disturbing vignette of the ensemble piece is the one starring Claire Bloom.
If you love bad movies, the sensationalism of the sixties hype and the "clinical" nature of the "scientific" studies will appeal to your entertainment instincts.

Harold J. Stone, as I recall, has some sweet moments in this as Shelley Winter's cuckolded husband.

[MissGoddess]

Oh, wow, this sounds like one I have to see. Thanks, kingrat! I love Jane Fonda in the 60s, she was so pretty.

[JackFavell]

I do too, she's really gorgeous. And she just seems to be able to handle any type of film, comedy and drama, right off the bat.

[moira finnie]

I can't really agree wholeheartedly with the opinions on Jane Fonda at this stage of her early career, (I found her to be a walking twitch-festival then), but Claire Bloom is great in The Chapman Report.

I'll have to watch this just to see if I can restrain myself from yelling at dear Harold J. Stone that he deserves better, far better. One sure sign that this movie is a wonderful turkey are the following cast members, who were absolutely necessary for a good-bad movie in this period, especially if they were made at Warner Brothers in the late '50s & early '60s.:

Ray Danton: Mr. Smooth brought an element of slickness and danger to his many parts, often as a bounder.
Danton's good-bad movie stripes were earned in I'll Cry Tomorrow, Too Much Too Soon, and A Fever in the Blood, among others.

Efrem Zimbalist, Jr: Ef became a good-bad movie regular, who was most often the answer to a sullied maiden's prayers.
Zimbalist always seems to have wandered accidentally onto the set of such "great" but entertaining films as Band of Angels, Too Much, Too Soon, The Crowded Sky, A Fever in the Blood, By Love Possessed, and Harlow.

[JackFavell]

Isn't it funny how our opinions change? When I was a kid, Efrem Zimbalist Jr. was just an old guy with a thick head of grey hair. Now I think he looks damn good in a turtleneck. Aging can be fun.

[Vienna]

Just remembered Efrem Zimbalist was one of the brothers in HOUSE OF STRANGERS. His stardom really came with TV. I can remember loving him in 77 SUNSET STRIP!

[RedRiver]

I can't really agree wholeheartedly with the opinions on Jane Fonda at this stage of her early career

I'm sure some women will agree with you. Men won't stop to think about it! So beautiful.

When I was a kid, Efrem Zimbalist Jr. was just an old guy with a thick head of grey hair

Clearly, you're a little younger than I, Wendy. When I was a kid, he wasn't so old! In fact, the few times I watched THE FBI, I was impressed. It was kind of quiet, thoughtful. More drama than suspense. I don't know why I didn't watch it more often.

[Sue Sue Applegate]

Vienna, I also enjoyed Efrem Zimbalist, Jr., in 77 Sunset Strip.

I can't really agree wholeheartedly with the opinions on Jane Fonda at this stage of her early career, (I found her to be a walking twitch-festival then), but Claire Bloom is great is in The Chapman Report.

Just to reiterate, I thought she looked wonderful, but I must agree that she could actually have given Elizabeth Montgomery some serious competition in the "twitch" competition. Like a remuda on the run from a lariat...

But you are right, Red. Men just don't think about them there things lak that...

[RedRiver]

Men aren't into thinking!