I Just Watched...

[Detective Jim McLeod]

The Collector (1965) DVD-9/10

A disturbed man (Terence Stamp) kidnaps a woman (Samantha Eggar) hoping she will fall in love with him.

I haven't seen this in years and it still has a powerful impact. This was one of director William Wyler's last films and I think it ranks with his best. The acting by the two leads is phenomenal. I was able to find empathy for both characters, a minor miracle for Stamp since he seems like a menacing creep at times but socially awkward loner at other times. Eggar gives an excellent performance as the first frightened girl but she will do anything to gain her freedom. The suspense is worthy of Hitchcock, especially in a scene involving an over flowing bathtub. The ending, while chilling, did seem kind of abrupt to me, since I had become so invested in both characters.

[Detective Jim McLeod]

Who Killed Teddy Bear? (1965) - Juliet Prowse keeps getting creepy phone calls from a stranger. Could they be from sweaty waiter Sal Mineo, or sweaty cop Jan Murray? With Elaine Stritch as her lesbian boss! Recommended.

I love this too. One of my favorite things about it are the songs played at the discotheque, they are fun and catchy and were co written by Bob Gaudio of the Four Seasons. They weren't hits but sound good enough to be. The creepy, haunting title song is also memorable. I wish there was a soundtrack album to this.

[Intrepid37]

I just watched a movie from 1994 titled 'The Last Seduction'.

Wow. I've seen some nasty females in Noirs over the years, but this one (played by Linda Fiorentino) is something else. She is heartless - and hypnotic in her wickedness. The thing with modern noirs - as compared to code-age noirs - is that you can't count on justice at the end of the modern ones. Makes them scarier, if not more satisfying.

After I watched this I went to IMDb to see what the critics thought - it's that kind of movie where you really do wonder about the reaction it got - and found that Roger Ebert gave it his highest rating (4 Stars).

[LawrenceA]

Today's titles were a mixed bag:

The Swinger (1966) - Ann-Margret writes a supposedly autobiographical article about being a wild party girl, then has to masquerade at it to convince Hefner-esque editor Tony Franciosa. This struggles to be hip and of-the-moment, but instead largely comes across as a bad sitcom. Ann's dancing and outfits almost make it worth watching, though.

Take Me Naked (1966) - Tawdry early effort from husband-and-wife exploitation duo Michael & Roberta Findlay, who write, produce, direct and star in this hour-long tale of a deranged homeless guy who obsesses over a woman who walks around nude in her apartment. Bring the kids!

Women of the Prehistoric Planet (1966) - Grade-Z science fiction with Wendell Corey leading a spaceship crew in a search and rescue mission on an uncharted planet. Also featuring John Agar, Merry Anders, Stuart Margolin, Irene Tsu, and the debut of Robert Ito. Cardboard sets and unfortunate real lizards standing in for dinosaurs are "highlights". There's also a lot of heavy-handed speechifying about racism. I held off on seeing this for so long because I always got it mixed up with the equally atrocious Voyage to the Planet of Prehistoric Women.

The Fox (1967) - "Ladyfriends" Sandy Dennis and Anne Heywood live on a secluded farm in the snowy Canadian wilderness. There tranquility is upended by the appearance of Keir Dullea. Based on a D.H. Lawrence story. I thought it was dull and overlong, and there are multiple onscreen animals deaths.

House of 1000 Dolls (1967) - Vincent Price and Martha Hyer are a stage magician/mentalist duo who also secretly operate a white slavery and prostitution ring. George Nader sets out to stop them. No one's finest moment.

Late August at the Hotel Ozone (1967) - More Czechoslovakian sci-fi, this one an endlessly dreary post-apocalyptic tale of a group of young women struggling to survive in a blasted wasteland. More onscreen animal cruelty mars an otherwise decent, if dour, effort.

[EP Millstone]

. . . House of the Damned (1963) - Dopey "old dark house" shenanigans with two couples staying at a supposedly haunted castle in California. It only seems like 4 hours . . .

I enjoy House of the Damned. The story and screenplay are routine. But for me, it is redeemed by its eerie images and atmosphere.

















Another attribute: The "haunted" house "portrayed" by Castillo del Lago, used for exterior shots, and Greystone Mansion, used for interior shots.

Castillo del Lago


Greystone Mansion

[LawrenceA]

I enjoy House of the Damned. The story and screenplay are routine. But for me, it is redeemed by its eerie images and atmosphere.

I'm glad you enjoyed it. I thought it was dull and pretty dumb, especially the final revelations, which weren't really surprising given early info, but silly nonetheless. And that one actor's brief appearance (no spoilers!) was nice.

I do agree that some of the cinematography was good, and the locations were nice, even if the house's supposed layout doesn't really make sense. But it was intended to remind people of the Winchester house, so I guess that was the idea.

The exterior was familiar from other things, but I'm not much on noticing architecture, so I couldn't place from what.

[LawrenceA]

Yesterday's viewing:

Mondo Hollywood (1967) - Weak "mondo" documentary focusing on Hollywood and the weird locals. The film lurches from sycophantic celebrity gazing to gawking at weirdos. Highlights include a dinner speech from Governor Ronald Reagan, and a different dinner speech by Gene Autry. In a morbid coincidence, hairstylist Jay Sebring, later a Manson family victim, is profiled, while Manson family member Bobby Beausoleil appears elsewhere as Cupid.

Portrait of Jason (1967) - From director Shirley Clarke comes this documentary that consists solely of gay prostitute Jason Holliday telling anecdotes from his life while getting progressively more inebriated. Glimpses into the life of a black gay man in this era hold historical value for the sociologically minded.

Spy on the Fly (1967) - Short, very low budget spy spoof featuring drag performers in the lead roles. The lack of production values hamper an otherwise funny, unusual take on a tired formula. One character's name is "Fonda Peters".

Violated Angels (1967) - Sleazy Japanese pinku film based loosely on the Richard Speck murder spree. A mentally ill guy rapes and murders young women in a nurses' dormitory. A lot of artsy flourishes try to elevate the material.

Journey to Midnight (1968) - Feature film edited together from 2 episodes of the British anthology show Journey to the Unknown. In the first tale, Chad Everett accepts an invitation to a costume party at a secluded country manor, only to make a startling discovery. In the second, a shady P.I. (Tom Adams) tries to take advantage of an American widow (Julie Harris) who wants to contact the spirit of her dead husband. I thought this was well-made, if routine, supernatural stuff of the era, and will likely watch the rest of the series when I get the chance.

[laffite]

All Through The Night (1942) Delightful watch. Those who find fault with mixing action-drama and comedy may be missing the point. Zinger one-liners and rapid repartee (along with a little slapstick here and there) pepper this a story of a Nazi spy ring aiming to perpetrate an operation that we would call terrorism today. And yet the movie insists on poking fun ... and with success. They have the right people to do it. What a surprise to see a young Phil Silvers and a young Jackie Gleason trading barbs while Humphrey Bogart waits for his cheesecake. Would be viewers are generally pretty aware of the top billers, but the cavalcade of recognizable others keep appearing, like Jane Darwell, Judith Anderson, Frank McHugh, William Demarest, Wallace Ford. And introducing (for me, anyway) one Kaaren [sic] Verne, who doesn't crack any jokes but who doesn't need to (and besides, she has enough on her mind). Love the meeting in the basement, I need to learn that language Bogie and cohort used, it might get me out of a jam sometime. The fast pace and lickity-split dialogue kept my mind glued. Enjoyed thoroughly.

[HoldenIsHere]

Who Killed Teddy Bear? (1965) - Juliet Prowse keeps getting creepy phone calls from a stranger. Could they be from sweaty waiter Sal Mineo, or sweaty cop Jan Murray? With Elaine Stritch as her lesbian boss! Recommended.

I also liked WHO KILLED TEDDY BEAR? I saw it for the first time recently. Besides enjoying the movie for its own sake, I loved that the New York City locations from the 1960s were captured.

I'm surprised the scene with Sal Mineo in the swimsuit made it to the big screen in 1965.

[HoldenIsHere]

I finally saw ERIN BROCKOVICH 2000 starring Julia Roberts & Albert Finney after MrTiki said, "You've NEVER seen it? It's one of my favorites"

After watching it, I see what he liked-there's a lot of Julia Roberts' body showing despite clothing, haha. It's aways fun discovering a movie everyone else discovered 20 years ago-some hold up, others don't.

I liked it solely upon both powerhouse performances and the story they tell. Julia Roberts is outstanding as the title charactor- albeit over the top in both appearance & behaviour- but that's what gets you involved. Brockovich's sincerity & hard work overcome every mistake she makes along the way, only revealing this viewer's prejudices of discounting her as a dumb floozy.

I was blown away by Roberts' performance, but I see both her parents were actors, making perfect sense. She brought all kinds of nuance and tiny gestures to express exactly what was in the charactor's mind along with the broader played dialogue. Brilliant!

I liked ERIN BROCKOVICH too, but I admit that I think Ellen Burstyn was robbed of the Best Actress Oscar for REQIIEM FOR A DREAM the year that Julia Roberts won it for ERIN BROCKOVICH.

But then I remember that an Oscar win is just about whoever got the most votes rather than the performance so more Academy voters wanted to acknowledge Julia Roberts that year. Ellen Burstyn already had an Oscar for ALICE DOESN'T LIVE HERE ANYMORE.

[HoldenIsHere]

I had taped Gangs of New York and have now watched the first half. It's slow, well-crafted, and uninvolving--my general reaction to most Scorsese films. I couldn't care less about any of the characters. Even the scenes that are supposed to be sexy seem remote. The plot is like a superhero comic book franchise "origin story." The Sepia Sludge cinematography did not deserve its Oscar nomination.

Cameron Diaz is lovely, but doesn't fit the period, nor does Leonardo Di Caprio. I've never been wowed by Di Caprio's looks or acting (which is perfectly adequate), but he has the Tom Cruise ability to look like he belongs at the center of a movie. Daniel Day Lewis is such a cold fish that his villain is two-dimensional, not too interesting, though good enough for this movie. Day Lewis is like the older generation of theater-trained British actors (Olivier, Gielgud, Ralph Richardson, Michael Redgrave) who don't necessarily connect with the audience emotionally despite their remarkable skill.

What genuinely delighted me was the elegance of the tall stovepipe hats. Good work by the costume department.

I liked GANGS OF NEW YORK better than you, kingrat, and also think Leonardo DiCaprio's acting is more than adequate (we can agree to disagree on that point). However, I am in total agreement with you about Daniel Day-Lewis. He's clearly an extremely skilled craftsman and wouldn't come off as "acting" to a typical movie viewer, but there is a lack of emotional connection that diminishes the power of his performances. And technical skill and emotional connection can co-exist in an acting performance: probably the best example is Meryl Streep's work in A CRY IN THE DARK.

The sweetie and I watched GANGS OF NEW YORK on Watch TCM. (It was a second viewing for me, but I had forgotten almost everything about the plot.) The sweetie remarked that the violence and gore was something usually only seen in fantasy or horror movies.
I had totally forgotten the shot of "present day" New York City featuring the World Trade Center Twin Towers at the end of the movie.
It also didn't click until the end that Henry Thomas (Elliott from E.T.) played the friend of DiCaprio's character.

[HoldenIsHere]

More adventures with new-ish films via premium channels.... plus one classic era film.

The classic era film is the 1939 western Jesse James with the famous outlaw being portrayed in a surprising positive light by Tyrone Power, with Henry Fonda as his brother. Most, if not all here, have likely seen it, suffice it to say it is a top-notch production with one of Tyrone's best performances and ravishing use of early Technicolor.

I agree that Tyrone Power is great in JESSE JAMES and that the Technicolor cinematography is dazzling.

RE: Jesse James's portrayal in a positive light
When I watch this movie, I can't help but think about the episode of THE BRADY BUNCH were Bobby Brady hero worships Jesse James after watching movies on TV.

[nakanosunplaza]

Just watched the European alternate ending of Vertigo, now I know Scottie was blamed for the death,interesting finale.