WHAT FILMS HAVE YOU SEEN LATELY?

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RedRiver
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Re: WHAT FILMS HAVE YOU SEEN LATELY?

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Love the song by The Supremes! I bought the 45!
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JackFavell
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Re: WHAT FILMS HAVE YOU SEEN LATELY?

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:D
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CineMaven
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Re: WHAT FILMS HAVE YOU SEEN LATELY?

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moira finnie
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Re: WHAT FILMS HAVE YOU SEEN LATELY?

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Unfortunately, after seeing The Happening, that song may not be quite so appealing. The filmmakers hammered that tune into the audiences' ear whenever the lousy script failed them (which was often).
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Re: WHAT FILMS HAVE YOU SEEN LATELY?

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LOL!
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Re: WHAT FILMS HAVE YOU SEEN LATELY?

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I just watched SEVEN DAYS OF MAY last night and every time I see this movie - I shed a new light of this movie and it's seems it's takes a whole new direction and I just loved the performance of Fredric March more than ever. He did a great job as President Lyman that the American People did not think that he's doing a good job in the Gallup Poll at 28%.

To me, the quartet of March, Lancaster, Douglas, and O'Brien was fabulous and most importantly I learned to like Ava Gardner's role as Eleanor Holbrook even better. It was fast-paced and one fabulous movie directed by John Frankenheimer. This movie is rapidly becoming a favorite of mine (more so) every time I see it.

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RedRiver
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Re: WHAT FILMS HAVE YOU SEEN LATELY?

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My instinct is to call this the best political thriller of all time. Then I remember Otto Preminger's scintillating ADVISE AND CONSENT, which is even better. As a character in yet another movie says, "I'd hate to have to live on the difference!"
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Re: WHAT FILMS HAVE YOU SEEN LATELY?

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I love these political thrillers:

"Seven Days In May"
"Advise and Consent"
"The Manchurian Candidate"


and would "Fail Safe" fall under this category?
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Re: WHAT FILMS HAVE YOU SEEN LATELY?

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A WALK IN THE SPRING RAIN ( 1970 )

“A WALK IN THE SPRING RAIN” is a bittersweet tale of two married people from different worlds who fall in love, but are unhappily married to others. Twenty-somethings in angst? Nah! Typical story? Could be. But with two pros like INGRID BERGMAN and ANTHONY QUINN they make this story poignant, well-acted and believable.

It’s love at first sight for Quinn as he comes out the box, swinging and pitching in his attraction for her. Honestly, it’s just a little unsettling him always popping up, being a corn-pone chatterbox, subtly moving in with the compliments and lingering looks. He comes out the gate heated; but who can blame him. It’s Ingrid Bergman he’s fancying. And she slowly simmers as her attraction grows for the Tennessee mountain man Quinn plays. She’s the wife of a University professor ( Fritz Weaver. ) Nice guy, good provider, but you know the type: he’s no ogre, but he’s staid, pedantic, not...romantic. As she is throughout her career in films, Bergman is the one to watch. Her character’s so full of life if only allowed to break free. She does come alive and has an awakening as Nature does when the seasons change. She’s open to plants, her surroundings, to cute little baby goats she holds tenderly - giving them kisses. And after first pooh-poohing him: “Will it’s just plain stupid.” She begins to open to Quinn. There’s something dear watching him watch her.

You know how unfair, biased, skewed and stark movies present choices when they pit Marriage vs the Love Affair. We’ve seen it time and time again ( “The Arnelo Affair” “There’s Always Tomorrow” etc. etc. etc. ) Well this movie is no different. Quinn’s wife ( played by Virginia Gregg ) is as drab and as sexless as Bergman is glamorous and sensual. It’s difficult to conjure up why there was even an attraction between them ( Quinn & Gregg ) in the first place. Fritz Weaver’s character fares no better. Apparently he doesn’t realize what we all know very well from watching movies; when a spouse says: “let's go away, just the two of us” your marriage is on the damned rocks. Even worse...to go away and still be clueless is clearly grounds for some kind of subpoena and court appearance. Or at the very least a bop on the noggin. Yes, Bergman could glamorously fit in at a faculty party with Prof. Fritzie. But Weaver fails to see she’d fit right in front of a cozy fireplace, or a candle lit dinner for two, or a king-size bed with tons of comforters in the middle of winter. Him throwing up their age as a deterrent to living is also a fly in the liniment.

The movie throws in an unnecessary monkey wrench with the issues of the son and daughter of Quinn’s and Bergman’s in order to create conflict. I do like how Bergman stands up to her daughter in order to try and get some piece of happiness and joy out of life instead of maternal duty. No, we didn’t need the kids in this to get conflict. Let the story focus on how Bergman and Quinn handle their situation. It’s interesting to see her play this type of woman, something so opposite to the way Bergman lived her own life. If you have time, check out this documentary to prove this point.

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“Now that I know, there ain’t no limit to my waiting.”

Quinn’s cards have been on the table from the beginning. He’s easy with her, coaxes her gently as he would a fawn or seedling in the land. He waits for her to come to him. I don’t think I’m giving anything away when I say, and I must say their love scene is palpably effective. It’s Bergman all the way in this movie. How she looks around to see if anyone’s watching her go to the barn to “see the goats” knowing Quinn will be there. How she rushes into the house not able to face Quinn after a romantically unsatisfying weekend getaway with her husband. Her sensitivity to things and how she uses it to “manage” Weaver and Quinn in roundabout ways. How there are worlds of desire in just the way she says “Of course,” when she notes she has not forgotten Quinn’s crazy absurd idea of bathing her. Here's a mature woman acknowledging and reaching for life that others tell her is over, but that Quinn desirously reassures her is NOT.

My very very first date ever was in high school with a boy who took me to see “Cactus Flower” so Ingrid Bergman was on my radar back then. Oh, not in a big way. She was just one of those old time actors from back then, back then; some actress who did a black ‘n white with Humphrey Bogart. But recently she's been on my mind since I knew I was creating a collage for her birthday. I forgot all about “A Walk in the Spring Rain” until a friend mentioned it. I enjoyed seeing it after so many many too many years.

I admit I forget about her with all the other actresses blazing and buzzing around in my mind. But I confess: I like to watch Ingrid Bergman. Watching her is like watching a beautifully quiet and expressive silent movie. She does so much, with so little.
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RedRiver
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Re: WHAT FILMS HAVE YOU SEEN LATELY?

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would "Fail Safe" fall under this category?

You bet it would, Cine-majesty!
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Re: WHAT FILMS HAVE YOU SEEN LATELY?

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would "Fail Safe" fall under this category?
[u][color=#0080FF]RedRiver[/color][/u] wrote:You bet it would, Cine-majesty!
Heeeeeeeeeeeey...SMILE when you say that, pardner!
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moira finnie
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Re: WHAT FILMS HAVE YOU SEEN LATELY?

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CineMaven wrote: Apparently he doesn’t realize what we all know very well from watching movies; when a spouse says: “let's go away, just the two of us” your marriage is on the damned rocks. Even worse...to go away and still be clueless is clearly grounds for some kind of subpoena and court appearance. Or at the very least a bop on the noggin. Yes, Bergman could glamorously fit in at a faculty party with Prof. Fritzie. But Weaver fails to see she’d fit right in front of a cozy fireplace, or a candle lit dinner for two, or a king-size bed with tons of comforters in the middle of winter. Him throwing up their age as a deterrent to living is also a fly in the liniment.
Loved your observations along these lines. I could not see how anyone like Fritz Weaver could be married to Ingrid Bergman. His character made Victor Laszlo look like Errol Flynn by comparison.

While I wanted to like this movie (stayed up late to see it on TCM awhile ago), I have more issues with this movie than your more tolerant eyes saw, however. There is the role of the son of Anthony Quinn in the plot's denouement (leaving me scratching my head and saying "say what?"). I was also more than a little creeped out by Quinn's hillbilly "froggy-goes-a-courtin'" manner with her. Was that supposed to be seductive? Jeez, Ingrid was hard up. To each his own.

BTW, loved the Tennessee countryside where this was filmed!
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Re: WHAT FILMS HAVE YOU SEEN LATELY?

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You know I'm on board for this picture... Anthony Quinn AND Ingrid Bergman? Wow. I can't believe I don't know about it.

Despite the reservations, your review makes me want to see this film, Maven. I know exactly what you mean about Bergman, the most sensual and emotive of actresses. She's like a Stradivarius, there are notes in her performances, deep tones that you just don't get with any other actress. She's reactive, real, not bound by some script or acting technique. She's free and moving and uses all her senses when she plays a role. And she truly seems to be about the actor she is with. I loved how you described her. You really capture the way she is, the way we watch her and what makes her great.

I also laughed at your description of Fritz Weaver. It WOULD be Weaver of course. No one can play internal, flat and boring better... a woman would lead a stifled existence with him. It would be interesting to have switched the men... I wonder what these two excellent actors would have done with the opposite roles?

Your review and the description of the kids made me think of another of those stifled middle aged love stories - All That Heaven Allows.
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Re: WHAT FILMS HAVE YOU SEEN LATELY?

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JackFavell wrote: It WOULD be Weaver of course. No one can play internal, flat and boring better... a woman would lead a stifled existence with him. It would be interesting to have switched the men... I wonder what these two excellent actors would have done with the opposite roles?
Oh, but let's not forget the man who could have been Fritz Weaver's spiritual, more sweet-natured brother, Arthur "Milquetoast" Hill. Both are good actors, but romantic? Maybe not.

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Re: WHAT FILMS HAVE YOU SEEN LATELY?

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[u][color=#FF0000]moira[/color][/u] [u][color=#FF0000]finnie[/color][/u] wrote:Loved your observations along these lines. I could not see how anyone like Fritz Weaver could be married to Ingrid Bergman. His character made Victor Laszlo look like Errol Flynn by comparison.
:lol: L0L!!! :lol: I'm with you there Moira. But you know those college professors. They rope you in with their brains and sweet vocabulary but have no clue as to what makes a woman tick for the long haul. Whaddya gonna do? Look at the Professor on "Gilligan's Island.' He had a choice of Mary Ann or Ginger, and he probably was concentrating more on how to get OFF that island. :shock:
While I wanted to like this movie (stayed up late to see it on TCM awhile ago), I have more issues with this movie than your more tolerant eyes saw, however. There is the role of the son of Anthony Quinn in the plot's denouement (leaving me scratching my head and saying "say what?"). I was also more than a little creeped out by Quinn's hillbilly "froggy-goes-a-courtin'" manner with her. Was that supposed to be seductive? Jeez, Ingrid was hard up. To each his own.
I have issues with the movie as well, though I always like to go with the positive spin. Your aptly titled: "froggy-goes-a-courtin'" scene made me close my eyes when I figured out what was coming. ( "WHY?!" I asked? To show a contrast between the city folk and country folk??! ) But what I did like was how Ingrid managed to get the rifle out of his hands and back into the jeep. I can only hope they put the safety on for that bumpy ride back in the night to their cabin; frog drippings and all. As for the son...he was creepy. His character doesn't make sense at all except as a way to add some more conflict to things. He and his Daddy issues were unnecessary and not believable for me. That piece felt like TV-Movie 101. ( Stirling Silliphant adapted this didn't he? )

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[u][color=#FF0000]Jack[/color][/u] [u][color=#FF0000]Favell[/color][/u] wrote:You know I'm on board for this picture... Anthony Quinn AND Ingrid Bergman? Wow. I can't believe I don't know about it.
I totally forgot about this movie until my friend brought it up. I remember when it came out. Quinn and Bergman previously starred in "THE VISIT." Do you know that film?
Despite the reservations, your review makes me want to see this film, Maven. I know exactly what you mean about Bergman, the most sensual and emotive of actresses. She's like a Stradivarius, there are notes in her performances, deep tones that you just don't get with any other actress. She's reactive, real, not bound by some script or acting technique. She's free and moving and uses all her senses when she plays a role. And she truly seems to be about the actor she is with. I loved how you described her. You really capture the way she is, the way we watch her and what makes her great.
I love the way YOU describe her JackaAay. I just don't have the words she deserves. See the movie.

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I also laughed at your description of Fritz Weaver. It WOULD be Weaver of course. No one can play internal, flat and boring better... a woman would lead a stifled existence with him. It would be interesting to have switched the men... I wonder what these two excellent actors would have done with the opposite roles?

I can't see the switch. But I sure wish Hollywood'd give a husband or wife an even break. I'm still shocked you think Fritz couldn't fit the bill.
Your review and the description of the kids made me think of another of those stifled middle aged love stories - All That Heaven Allows.
Yeah. This movie has a different feel. I hope you check it out.

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[u][color=#FF0000]moira[/color][/u] [u][color=#FF0000]finnie[/color][/u] wrote:Oh, but let's not forget the man who could have been Fritz Weaver's spiritual, more sweet-natured brother, Arthur "Milquetoast" Hill. Both are good actors, but romantic? Maybe not.
Maybe not? Awwww man! Arthur Hill? I loved his voice. Wasn't he Jean Seberg's husband in "Moment to Moment"? And Jane Fonda's husband in the movie she made with Peter O'Toole? You guys are killin' me. Killing me. Yes I liked the boys next door like Richard Carlson, Jeffrey Lynn, Lon McAllister. And pretty boys like Robert Taylor, Tyrone power, Errol Flynn. And my boys of tv: Jon Provost, Ricky Nelson, Johnny Crawford. So my tastes are pretty shallow. But I did like those middle-aged Daddies:

ImageImage Image
Fritz Weaver, Mark Miller, Arthur Hill
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