WHAT FILMS HAVE YOU SEEN LATELY?

[feaito]

Today in the morning I re-visited or re-watched the rousing De Mille 1938 adventure film "The Buccaneer". What an entertaining film. Frankly I did no had the intention of watching it again, especially since I had seen only some months ago, but it caught me completely.

Fredric March gives a very skilled performance as the idealistic Laffite, with a funny French accent and everything He's one of my favorite actors. Franciska Gaal is very charming as Gretchen. I wonder why she did not have a longer career in Hollywood. Physically she's a kind of cross between Janet Gaynor and Evelyn Keyes (who's also in the film in a minor role). Superb black and white photography, although the print I saw was a little bit dark for my taste. Beulah Bondi looks prettily attractive dressed and made up in early 1800s attires. They usually made her look older than her actual age in the films of the 1930s in which she appeared. She plays Aunt Charlotte to the aristocratic character portrayed by Margot Grahame (classily named Anette De Remy), who's the woman Laffite's has fallen for. There are lots of familiar faces in the cast: Walter Brennan, a very young Tony Quinn, Akim Tamiroff, Douglass Drumbille, Lina Basquette, Akim Tamiroff, Luise Campbell, Evelyn Keyes, Ian Keith et al. I'd really would like to have this one on DVD.

Then I watched "Gunfight at OK Corral". Believe it or not, it's the first time a have ever seen this John Sturges masterpiece. And from the moment I began to listen to Frankie Laine singing the powerful title song, I knew I would love this one!

I like westerns but they are not my favorite genre. But when I like I western (i.e.: "The Searchers") I like it wholeheartedly. Only one word fits this film: EPIC. It's a grand, magnificently acted film. Lancaster (Wyatt Earp) and Douglas (Doc Holliday) are superb. Strong actors and characters and Jo Van Fleet is truly astounding as the doomed fallen woman in love with Doc Holliday. Rhonda Fleming is beautiful and OK as Lancaster's belle, but it is Van Fleet who deserves the kudos for a grand performance. Lots of powerful moments, confrontations, fights, great dialogue, beautiful color cinematography and a great cast that includes John Ireland, Dennis Hopper, Lee Van Cleef, Olive Carey, Martin Milner, Jack Elam, etc.

Superb entertainment and magnificently well done film!

I can't believe that there are so many people at imdb who have this film in such low regard.

[moira finnie]

Hi Fernando,
I'm not entirely sure why, but Franciska Gaal was part of a 1930s short subject film that I recall seeing once that showed all the alleged research into history and Cecil B. DeMille's hunt for a "new face" before he filmed The Buccaneer(1938). Miss Gaal was apparently a hot tomato in the movie biz in Hungary at the time, and this little slice of ballyhoo pictured her in bed in the middle of the night in Budapest or somewhere answering a call from Hollywood from Mr. DeMille Himself! Of course, the movie treated this as if God had just dialed Franciska's phone number for a chat.

Then the movie went on to show all the primping, coaching and stress that went into having the actress "prepared" (sort of like a Christmas goose) for her Hollywood debut...long story short, like several continental imports from that period, Frannie's career didn't quite pan out with the American public.

I thought she was cute too, though I wonder if she really spoke English or if she had to learn everything phonetically? I've read that she was supposed to have returned to Europe just in time for WWII, but lived till the '70s.

According to IMDb, "Gaal was groomed and promoted in Hungary as a young, child-like singing star of light film romance by producer Joe Pasternak, who later settled in the United States and did the same thing for Deanna Durbin." Hmmm...maybe there's a backstory there...

I haven't seen this one in a while, but as I recall it is one of those times when Fredric March had a great time chewing the scenery as a flamboyant character. Sometimes in these parts (especially in The Sign of the Cross), he makes me laugh, but I like him anyway.

If you like Jo Van Fleet in Gunfight at the OK Corral, I hope that you have had a chance to see Wild River(1960), directed by Elia Kazan (who also directed Van Fleet in East of Eden (1956)? In Wild River The actress gives an incomparable performance playing an old woman forced to move from her rural home by the Tennessee Valley Authority project during the Roosevelt administration. Montgomery Clift and Lee Remick are also excellent in this little known movie.

[movieman1957]

Hey Fernando:

I'm glad you finally got to see "Gunfight At The OK Corral." It's always been one of my favorite westerns. Lancaster and Douglas really work well together. Good action and direction.

If you like them together you might like "Seven Days in May." Bogie just reviewed it in his Diary thread.

[Bogie]

I just watched one of the most dreadful movies of all time. The All-New Adventures of Laurel and Hardy in "for love or mummy" which was made in 1999 with Bronson Pinchot and Garland Sartain. (I think that's his name) There's so much wrong with this movie that i'd be typing for days on end so i'll limit it to 4 things:


1. The movie centers around a mummy and some guy who's destined to rule the world by kidnapping and putting the museum curator's daughter under his spell. It's pretty much a Z level script and harkens not to Stan and Ollie but rather Abbott and Costello!

2. The humor is dumb dumb dumb. I didn't even laugh at any of the jokes. Ok I know the movie was aimed at the kiddies but even kids would watch this movie stone faced. As an example of the humor check this out: Stan and Ollie are trying to decide who gets to ride inside the Mummy's tomb (they need to bring it to the warehouse where the living mummy is at at the moment)

Stan: OK i'm thinking of a number between (counting fingers) four and six
Ollie: Nine!
Stan: awww you always know!
Ollie: I've always had a brain for numbers!

Oye vey!


3. They're supposedly the nephews of the original Laurel and Hardy but that's just a cover as it's painfully obvious they're just imitating the real duo. Sadly, as noted before it's so dumb to the point that you want to gauge out your eyes. Pinchot does a passable Stan and if there was one good thing about this piece of crap is that there was an ode to the classic stuff with a scene where a detective is trying to put cuffs on Stan and stan is so ticklish that the detective can't do it. The guy that does Ollie exaggerates Hardy's busy fingers trademark to the extent that it becomes distracting. Add the fact that he spouts of lame pop culture lines at times such as "that bad mama jama wouldn't be able to hold that mummy in!" and it makes even a non L&H fan cringe. Then there's Ollie's love for the curator's daughter and you have hell on earth.

4. The relationship between Stan and Ollie is so far beyond the classic stuff that it just pisses me off. At one point we see Ollie chasing Stan around with a look of violence in his eyes. The comic timing is just not there, even some of the trademark stuff like how Stan and Ollie have to move things around and such comes off terribly. The movie is just a lame attempt at cashing in on the L&H name. Larry Harmon, who brought this picture to life even had the gall to put a credit dedicating this movie to the legacy of Stan and Ollie and the generations of laughter they provided.


This movie is so bad that it gets a negative 5 stars from me!

AVOID THIS MOVIE IF YOU WANT TO KEEP YOUR HEALTH!

[jdb1]

Wasn't it a distressing exercise in missing the point of L&H? So embarrassing.

Actually Pinchot and Sartain are two character actors I sort of like, but I think they have both made some pretty poor choices in their respective careers. There are so very, very few actors who have been able to successfully recreate L&H, and there's a good reason for that: they were much more skilled and unique than they are given credit for. In fact, the only two actors I've ever seen accurately portray them are themselves, when, in one of their shorts, they switched bodies.

[feaito]

Moira,

Thanks for all the information on Miss Gaal.

I'm glad to hear that we share a fondness for Fredric March. I've enjoyed all of his performances, even when he chews the scenery

I have been recommended before "Wild River". I'm really curious about that movie. Thanks for recommending it to me. I've only seen Jo Van Fleet in "East of Eden" and in "The Rose Tattoo". I'd like to watch her also in "The King and Four Queens".

And Chris, thanks for the recommendation of "Seven Days in May". I try to look for it.

[mrsl]

Feaito:

Jo Van Fleet is normally a serious dramatic actress, so if you ever want to see her entirely different, try to rent the 1965 TV version of Cinderella with Ginger Rogers and Walter Pidgeon as the King and Queen and Lesley Ann Warren as Cinderella, and Ms Van Fleet as the wicked stepmother. She's really funny as she makes this sour face all through it. It will give you a whole new perspective on her. I love people who aren't afraid to do something different.

Anne

[feaito]

Feaito:

Jo Van Fleet is normally a serious dramatic actress, so if you ever want to see her entirely different, try to rent the 1965 TV version of Cinderella with Ginger Rogers and Walter Pidgeon as the King and Queen and Lesley Ann Warren as Cinderella, and Ms Van Fleet as the wicked stepmother. She's really funny as she makes this sour face all through it. It will give you a whole new perspective on her. I love people who aren't afraid to do something different.

Anne

Thanks for the tip Anne!

Today I watched "Mississippi Gambler" a colorful film starring Tyrone Power, Piper Laurie and Julia Adams. It was a pleasure to see Paul Cavanagh (who played aristocratic leads opposite Kay Francis and others in the early 1930s) in a very sympathetic role as Piper Laurie's father. John McIntire is also in it as Ty's pal. Now "Just For You" is on, but I'm not really watching it, just listening to the songs.

Yesterday I watched for the first time yet another Pre-Code little gem: "Blondie of the Follies" in which Marion Davies is magnifique. She's been such a discovery for me. She was such a gifted comedienne and it is a pity that she did not make more comedies during the sound Era. She does a wonderful imitation of Greta Garbo with Jimmy Durante impersonating John Barrymore. And besides, we have Billie Dove as Marion's pal from infancy, who has a love & hate relationship due to their rivalry over the affections of Bob Montgomery. Lots of Pre-Code situations. Witty dialogue. Superb!

[moira finnie]

I watched these recent films on dvd in the last week:

La Vie En Rose (2006): this French film about the life of Edith Piaf features a spectacular turn by Marion Cotillard as the singer, whose life was as melodramatic as any song she ever sang. The songs and Piaf's singing (which is perfectly reproduced here, not imitated by another singer), are powerful, even if a person can't understand every word of French. While the bare facts of Piaf's family background were grim enough, (her mother and she lived on the streets while her soldier father fought in the French army & she was periodically dropped off at her grandmother's bordello for safekeeping), the film doesn't touch on World War II, Piaf's relationship with intellectuals such as Cocteau is ignored, as is Piaf's role in the French Resistance, her affairs and mentorship of several young men, including, among others, Yves Montand. Nor does it explain much about her mercurial temperament, though it presents her instability vividly, surely, this lady must've had enormous self-discipline to have gone as far as she did? Still, despite these quibbles, Cotillard is a remarkable actress, and the visual depiction of Piaf's whirlwind life was easy to get caught up in and the sequences when she sings are beautifully staged.

Venus (2006): This film is about an impossible flirtation between a very old, decrepit British character actor (Peter O'Toole, who has looked as though he was "death warmed over" for about 30 years now) and a young, unschooled girl from the North of England (Jodie Whitaker, who is very touching). There is enough material here for about three movies. Here are just a few themes:
1.)It is an attempt to tell a new version of Pygmalion with some pathetic sexuality thrown in without any hope of fulfillment for either party.

2.)A story of the friendships among O'Toole and his mates, among whom are his ex-wife, played wonderfully by Vanessa Redgrave. The scenes between Redgrave and O'Toole are the most touching in the film for me. Another, central figure in this movie is a very familiar face from English movies of the last 70 years, Leslie Phillips, who almost steals the movie. Mr. Phillips, who can be spotted in such early films as The Citadel (1938), the Doctor in the House series from the '50s and present day movies such as the Harry Potter flicks, is very funny, sad and outraged by life in general, though he proves to be a true friend to O'Toole and probably gives the young girl in the movie the only chance she'll ever have to have a life.

3.) The winding down of a life, as O'Toole clings to the remnants of this moderately successful actor. O'Toole's character is shown appearing in British soap operas as---not surprisingly--a corpse with the occasional Restoration play thrown in. The indignities and inanities and bravery of his efforts to keep going give Peter O'Toole some very funny and sad moments to enact. This is moving toward the end of the film, when a character reading the newspaper comes across a startlingly handsome photo of a young O'Toole.
As one character murmurs, appreciatively, "Coo, he was beautiful." Amen to that. I wouldn't recommend this movie to anyone who's squeamish about bodily functions, the ruder aspects of modern life or British humor, but I would think that people might enjoy it if they like good actors given a chance to play interesting, flawed human beings.

A game Peter O'Toole and Leslie Phillips at the opening of this movie in 2006.

[feaito]

just finished watching "We're No Angels" (1955), an amusing comedy which stars Bogart, Aldo Ray and Peter Ustinov as three very special convicts who befriend Leo G. Carrol and Joan Bennett's family. Basil Rathbone plays a truly despicable character. Many laughs.

[jdb1]

Over the weekend, one of the HBO channels, I think, was running Infamous, a version of the events surrounding Truman Capote's on-location research for "In Cold Blood." I think this film was probably overshadowed by the Oscar-winning performance of Phillip Seymour Hoffman in Capote. Both films were in circulation at about the same time.

I have yet to see the Hoffman film, but now I am very curious to see it, because of the splendid performance of the star of Infamous, Toby Jones, as Capote. He was eerily, uncannily, so much like the real Capote that I had to keep reminding myself this was a film, not a documentary. And Daniel Craig was pretty terrific as well, playing Perry Smith, one of the two murderers interviewed by Capote. (Both Craig and Jones are British.)

The movie itself is interesting and dramatically sound, but not particularly "impactful" as they say these days, save for the excellent performances. The focus for a large part of the film is on how Capote charms the attention-starved and star-struck Kansans he is among in order to get them to open up and tell him juicy details he can use in his book. His tales of his antics with movie stars gets him just about everything he wants, including free meals. Count how many times he says "Bogie" and "Frank." He uses the same tactics on the jailed murderers, and then observes and listens carefully, finding meanings and motivations far underneath what they say out loud.

Besides knowing how to be quite charming, Capote was a very shrewd man, who wrote honestly about what he observed. This trait was ultimately his downfall, as his influential so-called friends, about whom he in most cases simply wrote what he saw, turned against him. Jones' portrayal captures Capote very accurately. I have no doubt that Hoffman's performance does the same, but I am most eager now to see Hoffman's movie to compare and contrast "Tru."

Has anyone seen both?

[sandykaypax]

I've seen both Infamous and Capote, Judith. While I thought that Toby Jones and Daniel Craig were SUPERB, I think that Capote is the stronger film. I also like Sandra Bullock best as Harper Lee.

Capote had a stronger and narrower focus than Infamous, which made it the superior film overall. But I did enjoy both films.

Sandy K

[jdb1]

I suspected as much, Sandy. Infamous, does have the whiff of made-for-TV about it. Too bad. I would have liked to have seen Bullock make more of Harper Lee, but I don't think the character, as written, was very well delineated.

I really knew nothing of Toby Jones other than that he provided the voice of Dobby the Elf in the Harry Potter films. He really was splendid in Infamous (and he's quite small and is made up to look exactly like Capote). If you remember Capote (the "Tiny Terror," as he was called), having seen him on talk shows and such (or maybe actually knowing him), you will find Jones' characterization startlingly accurate.

[MissGoddess]

I'm recording some of the Una Merkel movies they are running today. One of them I caught bits of on my lunch hour---the precode The Women in His Life was really racy. However, Una, despite having the highest billing of any of the actresses so far as I saw had the least to do. Nevertheless, it was definitely racy and pure "pre-code" material. I'm so happy TCM is saluting this talented and engaging actress. I couln't imagine the 1930s cinema without her sparkle and characteristic voice.

By the way, Otto Kruger was the one with all the women in his life. I was always amazed he got so many leading lover type roles in those days. He and Lewis Stone had the "old fox" category just about sewn up.

[moira finnie]

Oops, Miss G., before I saw your post, I wrote up a little something on this very interesting little movie, The Women in His Life. It is here.