TikiSoo wrote: ↑January 10th, 2023, 7:49 am
Last night I finished A SUMMER PLACE '59 after all the conversation on that other board, I just had to give it a try. In all honesty I avoided popping it into the DVD player thinking that damn easy listening theme song was going to play incessantly & get stuck in my head- courage rewarded, my fears were groundless.
This movie was a long drawn out soaper concerning adult love, lost love & teen love and starred Richard Egan & Dorothy McGuire and Sandra Dee & Troy Donahue. The story was written, produced & directed by Delmar Daves and is well told, very well acted.
There aren't many films where the music actually adds to the story as much as this one; the tempo slows & changes key to fit the dialogue, the familiar theme deviates to sour notes as the situation sours, etc.
The photography is the star of this film: the lighting & photography of the actors -especially Sandra Dee- is scrumptious and the landscapes, especially the ocean crashing on the shore to symbolize their love; the pulling tides, the strength of nature that can't be harnessed.
Those are the conventional high points of the movie. Then add a sprinkling of over the top drama (not unlike Mildred Pierce movie) for some delightful LOL moments. Of course, this was my favorite-
Ah yes, the Christmas tree scene!
The plastic Christmas tree that Constance Ford's character says should last ten years . . .
I like the way Beulah Bondi's character calls Richard Egan's character "Lifeguard" and gets him to fix the leak that's dripping on her "convenience." I love when he asks her: "Where are you leaking?"
I'm a big fan of Sandra Dee. I especially love her in GIDGET and TAMMY, TELL ME TRUE. She's very good in her first movie UNTIL THEY SAIL, where she holds her own with Jean Simmons, Joan Fontaine and Piper Laurie (who play her older sisters in the movie).
I also love her in A SUMMER PLACE even though her hairstyle in that movie is not very flattering.
Probably my favorite Sandra Dee lines is A SUMMER PLACE is the one to her mother: "Johnny's lettuhs were all I had to live for. And now you've even made them dirty. " (in Sandra Dee's New Jersey accent)
HoldenIsHere wrote: ↑January 10th, 2023, 3:15 pm
I like the way Beulah Bondi's character calls Richard Egan's character "Lifeguard" and gets him to fix the leak that's dripping on her "convenience." I love when he asks her: "Where are you leaking?"
Probably my favorite Sandra Dee lines is A SUMMER PLACE is the one to her mother: "Johnny's lettuhs were all I had to live for. And now you've even made them dirty. " (in Sandra Dee's New Jersey accent)
Yup two LOL moments.
And yes, thanks to earlier discussions, I too am quickly discovering Sandra Dee's charms. She strikes me as America's Hayley Mills. or versa.
The contrast in photography of the adult faces vs teen faces was astounding. Dee & Donahue looked like Gods. Richard Egan looked like he was wearing a Victor Mature mask while Kennedy looked like an oily animal. And I can't understand why McGuire never had her teeth capped. Only Constance Ford had a dewy, youthful look to her. Guess being nasty keeps you young!
This is a bit preemptive as I have not watched them recently but I feel that all should know that the following movies are newly available on: TubiTV for viewing for free with commercials. I believe that this is the only free legitimate service streaming to television which is currently carrying them.
Blazing Saddles (1974) Final Destination (2000) The Shining (1980) Contact (1997) The Whole Nine Yards (2000)
I doubt that I will post of them after watching because they are all staples well known to all.
I trust that all here will demonstrate a bit of discretion by refraining from speculating why all of these catch my eye.
Masha wrote: ↑January 10th, 2023, 9:04 pmBlazing Saddles (1974) Final Destination (2000) The Shining (1980) Contact (1997) The Whole Nine Yards (2000)
I doubt that I will post of them after watching because they are all staples well known to all.
Thanks for the heads up! I like all those movies, BLAZING SADDLES & THE SHINING especially. I believe them to be "essentials" and showed have them to get teens interested in classic movies. I've never seen FINAL DESTINATION, but based on your taste/posts will give it a try!
Several stage and screen stars perform a musical/comedy revue.
There's no plot but this is a fairly entertaining film with some interesting moments for film buffs. Jack Benny plays the MC of the show. I saw it mostly because it was a film with Laurel & Hardy I never got to see before. They have an amusing sequence where they do a magic act. Surprisingly, Laurel does not speak at all in this. Benny interacts with them, maybe the only time that ever happened.
Here are some other good scenes-
Joan Crawford sings a song "Got A Feeling For You" and does a funny, high kicking dance.
Marie Dressler talk/sings a very funny comedy song "For I'm The Queen"
My favorite sequence is Buster Keaton (in drag) doing a hilarious dance showing off his physical prowess.
There is a great song about an MGM horror star called "Lon Chaney's Gonna Get You If You Don't Watch Out" sung by composer Gus Edwards to some frightened chorus girls. Someone comes out with a grotesque mask and Jack Benny asks him if he is Lon Chaney. It was not him, I wonder why since he was one of the studio's biggest stars.
John Gilbert and Norma Shearer perform the balcony scene from Romeo And Juliet (in a color sequence). They do it straight then a comedy version with modern slang. "Julie baby, I'm ga-ga over you!" Lionel Barrymore is the one directing them.
Cliff Edwards (later the voice of Jiminy Cricket) sings an early version of "Singing In The Rain"
Detective Jim McLeod wrote: ↑January 11th, 2023, 11:07 am Hollywood Revue Of 1929 TCM 6/10
Several stage and screen stars perform a musical/comedy revue.
There's no plot but this is a fairly entertaining film with some interesting moments for film buffs. Jack Benny plays the MC of the show. I saw it mostly because it was a film with Laurel & Hardy I never got to see before. They have an amusing sequence where they do a magic act. Surprisingly, Laurel does not speak at all in this. Benny interacts with them, maybe the only time that ever happened.
Here are some other good scenes-
Joan Crawford sings a song "Got A Feeling For You" and does a funny, high kicking dance.
Marie Dressler talk/sings a very funny comedy song "For I'm The Queen"
My favorite sequence is Buster Keaton (in drag) doing a hilarious dance showing off his physical prowess.
There is a great song about an MGM horror star called "Lon Chaney's Gonna Get You If You Don't Watch Out" sung by composer Gus Edwards to some frightened chorus girls. Someone comes out with a grotesque mask and Jack Benny asks him if he is Lon Chaney. It was not him, I wonder why since he was one of the studio's biggest stars.
John Gilbert and Norma Shearer perform the balcony scene from Romeo And Juliet (in a color sequence). They do it straight then a comedy version with modern slang. "Julie baby, I'm ga-ga over you!" Lionel Barrymore is the one directing them.
Cliff Edwards (later the voice of Jiminy Cricket) sings an early version of "Singing In The Rain"
Thanks. I recorded this and plan to view it. I have seen that Joan Crawford dance and didn't care for it. There was no art but she sure seemed to enjoy it. Your post reminds me of The Show of Shows from '29 I think. Always loved that. O man, I want to see that again!
Life Begins (1932). The entire story plays out in a maternity ward. Loretta Young leads the cast. She is, of course, having a baby, like nearly all of the rest of the female cast. The varoius women tell their attitudes about motherhood. Brassy (her MO) Glenda Farrell bellows her attitude about her forthcoming twins. An Italian woman is frantic that her baby has died and has not been told yet. A woman about forty (but looks older) has six children already and tries to sooth the souls of first-timers, invoking her been-there done-that status. There is woman who seems to wander the halls being deathly afraid of her unborn child being born dead. It is apparent that she has mental issues. Later she turns up in the wrong ward (aren’t these nurses paying attention to this sort of thing?) with a baby in her arms that she says she “stole” from another ward. She knows it’s not hers but loves it because it is alive. Her short portrayal is heartbreaking (to me). Frank McHugh is one of the anxious husbands. He is such a pest that the head nurse (more about her later) sends him on an errand to get rid of him for awhile. He is told to go a drug store (“the farthest one down the block”) and buy some ether because his wife might need some. He frantically goes all about town but cannot buy any because he has no prescription. He returns to the hospital in the throes of high anxiety demanding to know if his wife is still alive. McHugh has dark hair and scruffy looking, not the McHugh we see later, a more amiable and jovial and much more prepossessing. An actor named Eric Lindon is the only other frantic father-to-be and Loretta’s husband. He a very boyish and laments in a whiny voice and is a basket case like the other. Neither of these men are strong as can be gathered, yet they are characterized as being typical. Rounding out the cast is solid Aline MacMahon, the head nurse. She is a tall and handsome woman. She is the impresario, she calms the storms and always shows up when necessary to guide. She is not the polite goody-goody girl who says, “Oh now, dearie, it will be all right.” On the one hand, she is coolly professional and waxes slightly aggressive at times when necessary, but on the other hand is nevertheless right there and sympathetic to all when the chips are down.. Underlying all of this is the difficult back story of Loretta’s character. The Head nurse may have had reason not to be sympathetic to her … but she was.. A good lady, that nurse.
I did not enjoy this. Part of why is that Loretta's character spends a lot of time in a hospital bed. The charm has been quashed between sheets. Story wise there is a sense of morbidity about the whole business I couldn't shake. This does not mean that I am insensitive to the rigors women go through when entering into this new world of imminent motherhood. And yet what would I know about it? Truly identifying with the women is impossible. Maybe that distance informs my impression. At least I can identify with the men. Is this a woman’s movie? Probably, but I didn't give up. I am a notorious chick-flick fan, not by design or by predisposition, I find myself liking them after the fact. But I did not like this one. I don’t like to think of myself as a moralist but I wonder if I thought that childbirth was being too coarsely represented here. And yet maybe the occasional comedy that invokes itself here and there is the palliative to that. Que sais-je?
Detective Jim McLeod wrote: ↑January 11th, 2023, 11:07 amHollywood Revue Of 1929 TCM 6/10
I first saw Hollywood Revue of 1929 on The Big Screen at a "revival movie house" in Los Angeles. For me, Buster Keaton's bit as Neptune's Daughter/Cleopatra was the best moment in this talkie. His acrobatic antics with a string of wieners -- "as" the asp that kills Cleo -- almost had me falling out of my seat from laughter.
Detective Jim McLeod wrote: ↑January 11th, 2023, 11:07 am
There is a great song about an MGM horror star called "Lon Chaney's Gonna Get You If You Don't Watch Out" sung by composer Gus Edwards to some frightened chorus girls. Someone comes out with a grotesque mask and Jack Benny asks him if he is Lon Chaney. It was not him, I wonder why since he was one of the studio's biggest stars.
That sequence was my second-favorite vignette. Lon Chaney was notoriously averse to promotional publicity, wanting to preserve his movie persona as a man of mystery. "Between pictures, there is no Lon Chaney" is a famous statement made by "The Man of a Thousand Faces."
"Start every day off with a smile and get it over with." -- W.C. Fields
Hollywood Revue is a very creaky film (I am reminded that more than once I have heard that MGM was the company that had the most problems switching over to sound, and the camerawork here is very static), but it is a fascinating film anyway for the talent that can be seen on screen and for having the general feel of being a lark.
Out of the Blue (1947) A 'Movie Neighbor' movie, of which the Granddad of surely must be Rear Window, I wasn't aware of this category designation but this is also a screwball comedy. A few light laughs. I had trouble getting through it. As I soughed my way frame by frame, I kept rooting for Ann Dvorak to bring the movie to a satisfying watch. Not quite. But she is not bad. Turhan Bey was slick and probably the best of the lot, though he was not particularly funny. George Brent was lost in the wilderness. Not his fault, this wasn't a role for him. Also with Virginia Mayo and Carole Landis. See the Net for a synopsis, I am loathe to approach that. At 84 minutes, it still seemed endless. One good note, there is a German Shepard who's name is French. Rabelais. Here is his namesake ... maybe.
Masha wrote: ↑January 10th, 2023, 9:04 pm
This is a bit preemptive as I have not watched them recently but I feel that all should know that the following movies are newly available on: TubiTV for viewing for free with commercials. I believe that this is the only free legitimate service streaming to television which is currently carrying them.
Final Destination (2000)
I doubt that I will post of them after watching because they are all staples well known to all.
I trust that all here will demonstrate a bit of discretion by refraining from speculating why all of these catch my eye.
Thanks for the heads up about the availability of the original FINAL DESTINATION movie. The impressionable young me saw it when it first came out and really enjoyed it.
Brendan Fehr, who was starring in my then favorite "current" TV series ---ROSWELL --- at the time, had a role in the movie.
Alas, his character dies early in the movie. (He stays on the plane that explodes.)
Elvis (2022) The King of Rock & Roll gets the Baz Luhrmann treatment (and it works here). Austin Butler as Elvis is electric, a performance that is visceral and poignant. Tom Hanks, jowled and cagey, plays Colonel Parker, the grifter who hitched his wagon to the Elvis gravy train. What emerges is a profound sense of what might have been, had Parker gotten out of the way and let Elvis follow his instincts to perform international venues. Nonetheless, Elvis’s Vegas performances have taken on a mythical quality.
TikiSoo wrote: ↑January 10th, 2023, 7:49 am
Last night I finished A SUMMER PLACE '59 after all the conversation on that other board, I just had to give it a try. In all honesty I avoided popping it into the DVD player thinking that damn easy listening theme song was going to play incessantly & get stuck in my head- courage rewarded, my fears were groundless.
This movie was a long drawn out soaper concerning adult love, lost love & teen love and starred Richard Egan & Dorothy McGuire and Sandra Dee & Troy Donahue. The story was written, produced & directed by Delmar Daves and is well told, very well acted.
There aren't many films where the music actually adds to the story as much as this one; the tempo slows & changes key to fit the dialogue, the familiar theme deviates to sour notes as the situation sours, etc.
The photography is the star of this film: the lighting & photography of the actors -especially Sandra Dee- is scrumptious and the landscapes, especially the ocean crashing on the shore to symbolize their love; the pulling tides, the strength of nature that can't be harnessed.
Those are the conventional high points of the movie. Then add a sprinkling of over the top drama (not unlike Mildred Pierce movie) for some delightful LOL moments. Of course, this was my favorite-
Ah yes, the Christmas tree scene!
The plastic Christmas tree that Constance Ford's character says should last ten years . . .
I like the way Beulah Bondi's character calls Richard Egan's character "Lifeguard" and gets him to fix the leak that's dripping on her "convenience." I love when he asks her: "Where are you leaking?"
I'm a big fan of Sandra Dee. I especially love her in GIDGET and TAMMY, TELL ME TRUE. She's very good in her first movie UNTIL THEY SAIL, where she holds her own with Jean Simmons, Joan Fontaine and Piper Laurie (who play her older sisters in the movie).
I also love her in A SUMMER PLACE even though her hairstyle in that movie is not very flattering.
Probably my favorite Sandra Dee lines is A SUMMER PLACE is the one to her mother: "Johnny's lettuhs were all I had to live for. And now you've even made them dirty. " (in Sandra Dee's New Jersey accent)
The Christmas tree scene is hilarious. It's so dramatic. I cannot believe that Sandra Dee made "A Summer Place" and "Gidget" in the same year. Talk about two extreme characters. I love Sandra Dee. Much like Doris Day, she's maligned as a goody two shoes, a reputation further cemented by Rizzo's song "Look at me, I'm Sandra Dee" in "Grease." I don't know why she was given this reputation. In "A Summer Place," she's a teenager who gets pregnant, in "Gidget," she's upset because she can't seem to score a boyfriend and laments to her mother that she "came home pure as the driven snow," in "Take Her, She's Mine," she writes home to father Jimmy Stewart that she's "still a virgin" and the tone of her letter says that she's not happy about it. Then in "Doctor, You Must Be Kidding," she's trying to figure out who the father of her baby is and there are three potential baby daddies!
Aside from "A Summer Place," I also love "Gidget," "Take Her, She's Mine," "Until They Sail," and "That Funny Feeling" (w/ husband Bobby Darin). I thought she was great as Lana Turner's daughter in "Imitation of Life" too.
Speaking of "Grease," I once had to convince a co-worker that Sandra Dee was a real person and was not in fact, the name of Olivia Newton-John's character. She thought Olivia was named "Sandy Dee" and I had to explain that 1) No. That's not who the song is referring to; and 2) Sandy's last name in the film is Olsson. I'm pretty sure they even say it in the film.
I watched two new-to-me Fred MacMurray movies recently.
1930s Fred MacMurray was hot.
With that out of the way, the first MacMurray film I watched was "The Princess Came Across" (1936) with Carole Lombard. This is the third Lombard/MacMurray pairing I've seen. I believe that they made four films together. "Swing High, Swing Low" is the only film of theirs that I have left. TCM aired it back in October for Lombard's birthday and I recorded it. Unfortunately, the quality was so bad that it was unwatchable. The images were so washed out that I could barely see anyone's faces and the sound was poor, which made the film difficult to hear. Anyway, I digress.
In "The Princess Comes Across," Lombard plays actress, Wanda Nash, who boards an ocean liner in Europe, which is destined for New York City. Wanda is not having any luck as an actress and decides that she's going to masquerade as the Swedish Princess Olga, hoping that the publicity of having royalty onboard will bring her the career break she desires. Alison Skipworth plays Olga's lady-in-waiting, Gertie. I missed if Gertie had a different role in Wanda's life prior to her coronation as "Princess Olga." At the beginning of the film, musician King Mantell (MacMurray) is being booted from the "royalty suite" in favor of Princess Olga. He ends up being moved to a cabin down the hall. Wanda channels her inner Greta Garbo to bring Princess Olga to life in front of the crew and other passengers on the ship.
Also traveling are a group of international detectives, one being Mischa Auer, who are searching for a murderer. There's also a blackmailer played by "Medford Man" Porter Hall. The blackmailer learns about Princess Olga's true identity as well as King Mantell's previous criminal activity and opts to blackmail them in exchange for cash and Olga's emerald ring. Wanda and King end up joining the investigation.
This was a fun film. MacMurray's character plays the concertina. Prior to this film, I had no idea that the small accordion was called a "concertina." I thought it was called "little accordion" or "squeeze box." You learn something new every day. Skipworth's character is funny as she constantly expresses disdain for the concertina and the people who play the concertina throughout the film. William "Fred Mertz" Frawley has a decent sized role as "Benton," MacMurray's traveling companion. I don't really know if he was his valet, or his manager, or what. But he was funny and always seems to be Fred Mertz. "The Princess Comes Across" has a somewhat convoluted plot, and I didn't find it as good as the previous two films of Lombard's and MacMurray's that I watched--"Hands Across the Table" and "True Confession." I think 'Hands' is my favorite so far.
---
"The Gilded Lily" (1935). I watched this film last night. It features Fred MacMurray in his breakthrough role as well as his first collaboration with Claudette Colbert. This movie also features Ray Milland, Donald Meek, and C Aubrey Smith. In this film, MacMurray plays reporter Peter Dawes who has been thoroughly "friend-zoned" by Marilyn David (Colbert) a Stenographer. Every Thursday night, the two friends meet on a secluded bench in Manhattan. They eat popcorn, tell each other about their life, and "watch the world go by." It's obvious that Peter has a crush on Marilyn, but she's set on his being her good friend. Later, she meets Charles Gray (Milland), a young man with whom Marilyn is instantly smitten. One day, Charles announces that he is going to England for business and will return. Marilyn is sad, but understanding. Later, Peter learns that Charles was hiding a secret and he's actually part of the British aristocracy. He and his father (C Aubrey Smith) were traveling in New York City incognito. Marilyn also learns that Charles was actually engaged, when she was led to believe that they would be married. Marilyn ends up giving Charles the heave ho.
All while this is going on, Peter is in the background looking out for his friend, Marilyn. He learns about Charles' deception and later does not care for how he treats his friend. Peter uses his position at the newspaper to plant some stories about Marilyn, whom he nicknames the "No Girl," and how she dumped Charles. The publicity blows up and turns Marilyn into an overnight celebrity. Her celebrity grows to the point that she's even headlining a nightclub act even though she cannot sing or dance.
This was a really sweet movie. I loved the rapport between Fred MacMurray and Claudette Colbert's characters. I didn't expect the twist with Milland's character and I always love to be surprised by a movie. The ending of the film came as no surprise, but it honestly was the only ending this film could have. I highly recommend this film to anyone who enjoys a sweet romantic comedy.
