WHAT FILMS HAVE YOU SEEN LATELY?

[charliechaplinfan]

Ah, I see, I thought perhaps I'd missed an advertisement he'd made.

I followed up Touchez Pas Au Grisbi with Jenny D'Amour or Quai Des Orfevres ah the power of suggestion, someone mentioned this film and I just had to see it again and thankfully I couldn't completely remember what happens apart from one person who is not guilty. Suzi Delair as Jenny Lamour married to, it seems the mousiest of men played by Bernard Blier, until he's confronted by an old lecher who has money and influence who tries to deflower his wife, imflamed he goes to restuarant and is heard to threaten the lecher. His wife deceives him, he goes out armed to kill only to be beaten to it but by who? We think we know, it's only part of the story, still waters run very deep and although it isn't apparent to us why Jenny loves Maurice, she does, it is a passionate relationship behind closed doors. The is another woman, a third, Dora a photographer who is a childhood friend of Maurice, who Jenny thinks holds a flame for her husband but someone tell me if this is true because my subtitles failed me at the end is it Jenny who she really holds the candle for? A great movie from a great director.

[JackFavell]

SPOILERS

Yes, it's Jenny she is carrying the torch for. My jaw dropped at that point, Alison, it was such a shock. I loved it! I kind of like being duped by the director in movies. It isn't completely unexpected, in looking back on the movie... we know there is something hidden there, just never realize what the exact nature of Dora's love is.

[MikeBSG]

Recently I watched "Northwest Frontier" (aka "Flame Over India") 1959, directed by J. Lee Thompson.

I had seen part of it on TV back when I was in high school.

The movie started on a jarring note for me. We are plunged smack into the middle of a revolt in India and Kenneth More and Lauren Bacall escape a doomed palace with a little Hindu prince all without dialogue. Then the movie eventually settles down and tells us that the real story will be how they get the prince from this besieged town to a bigger British base. It was jarring because there was all this action and there was no explanation as to who was doing what and why. It was the kind of thing that might be a pre-credit action sequence in a James Bond film, but because they didn't do such things in 1959 (or at least very rarely) it came after the credits.

However, once Herbert Lom showed up, the movie got a lot better. In fact, I would say that Lom saved the movie for me. He was simply terrific, both sarcastic and menacing.

As an American, I have to say that "Northwest Frontier" struck me as a British "Stagecoach." This one had a train instead of a stagecoach, but you had a humorous driver, a baby, a fussy male passenger, a military officer's wife, a sinister passenger and a horde of hostile "Indians" in both films.

Kidding aside, the action sequences were terrific here. I especially liked the attack that happened when they had to stop the train to replace the track and the scene in which they had to cross the damaged trestle was very suspenseful. Also Lom had a terrifying moment when he was with the prince in the pump house.

I would not rank this movie as highly as "Zulu" or "The Naked Prey," but it was pretty enjoyable.

[movieman1957]

Glad to read your review Mike. I've had this sitting in my Netflix queue for a while.

I watched "The Young In Heart." A fine cast with Roland Young, Janet Gaynor, Douglas Fairbanks, Jr, Billie Burke star as a family of con artists who try and work their way into an old lady's will by loving her and being upstanding citizens actually become what they are playing.

No surprises as you can see it coming a mile away but it is a light hearted journey getting there. For being so destitute they are an awfully happy family. Breezing their way into jobs only to find they have a gift for them. Faibanks, Jr. has the good fortune to land a job but gets to work with Paulette Goddard.

A David Selznick production looks the part. There is also a rare film appearance by Minnie Dupree who starred on stage in "Arsenic and Old Lace" for about 100 years.

Nice film. I'd never heard of it. Looking for something rare this might be worth checking out. You won't laugh out loud much but it might be a pleasant enough way to spend 90 minutes.

[Vienna]

I've always thought NORTHWEST FRONTIER was a very good adventure film with great locations . Kenneth More playing the lead took a bit of getting used to but he did well .Odd role for Lauren Bacall..

[JackFavell]

I've got Flame over India in my queue as well.

Young in Heart is one of my favorite unsung movies. The cast is a dream, with Janet Gaynor charming as usual in the leading lady role, a little different spin on her usual too good to be true characters. Her dilemma over a lifestyle of conning rich people is emotional and touching. She was a much underrated performer who could do just about anything well. I absolutely love Roland Young and Billie Burke together, they're like peanut butter and jelly or apple pie and cheese if you like that sort of thing. I adore the way Young becomes a Flying Wombat salesman, it's just super how nervous he is as he actually acquires business skills. My favorite parts of the movie belong to Doug and Paulette though, Doug out charms even Janet Gaynor, and he's just adorable as the wastrel son who suddenly gets a work ethic without even realizing it. I love the scene with the puppies.

[feaito]

I've got Flame over India in my queue as well.

Young in Heart is one of my favorite unsung movies. The cast is a dream, with Janet Gaynor charming as usual in the leading lady role, a little different spin on her usual too good to be true characters. Her dilemma over a lifestyle of conning rich people is emotional and touching. She was a much underrated performer who could do just about anything well. I absolutely love Roland Young and Billie Burke together, they're like peanut butter and jelly or apple pie and cheese if you like that sort of thing. I adore the way Young becomes a Flying Wombat salesman, it's just super how nervous he is as he actually acquires business skills. My favorite parts of the movie belong to Doug and Paulette though, Doug out charms even Janet Gaynor, and he's just adorable as the wastrel son who suddenly gets a work ethic without even realizing it. I love the scene with the puppies.

One of my favorite films as well. A little gem I discovered many years ago.

[movieman1957]

Now that was a cute dog.

I almost had to remind myself that Gaynor and Fairbanks were siblings. They had such a light touch and terrific relationship it bordered on the romantic. (Like the man at the train station thinks.)

Young and Burke are always great. I liked the scene where Young is going into the Wombat dealership for the first time. He is alternately scared by the automatic doors and the idea of going in anyway. The long shot of him going behind the big doors at the end of the showroom gives you a sense that he is going to prison.

[RedRiver]

Both these movies, unknown to me, sound fun. British STAGECOACH? Move over. I'll ride shotgun! That's a time honored format that seldom fails to entertain. I'm glad to hear of another J. Lee Thompson adventure. Not a director who receives a lot of praise, he made at least two fine thrillers. THE GUNS OF NAVARONE and the nail-biting CAPE FEAR.

The Selznick production sounds good too. Sweet, thoughtful, character driven? I haven't seen it, but that's the way it sounds! By the way, did anybody mention the hilarious Roland Young on the character actors thread? If not, allow me!

[JackFavell]

Please do, red! I can't wait. RY is one of my favorites. How can you not like a guy who can fall all over the place as if he were being carried by two people, but no one can see them? And then play Uriah Heep as the very creepiest definition of the word obsequious?

Chris, you have a great eye for such things... I love that underlying theme of avoidance of work... or work as prison.

[feaito]

Agree. Guns of Navarone and Cape Fear are terrifc films. Among the best of the early 1960s.

[Rita Hayworth]

Dam Busters 1955 War Film

This is the first time I seen this movie in several years and I considered it one of the best Richard Todd's movies that he did portraying Wing Commander Guy Gibson. This is a fast paced movie loaded with action, suspense, and drama. I consider it an excellent film and a great cast too. Micheal Redgrave was fabulous as an Inventor (of the Dam Busting Bombs) of a weapons to destroy three German Dams in the Industrial Ruhr Area. He played Dr. Wallis.

I hope some of you watch it ... I love these kinds of films.

[CineMaven]

I followed up Touchez Pas Au Grisbi with Jenny D'Amour or Quai Des Orfevres ah the power of suggestion, someone mentioned this film and I just had to see it again and thankfully I couldn't completely remember what happens apart from one person who is not guilty...The is another woman, a third, Dora a photographer who is a childhood friend of Maurice, who Jenny thinks holds a flame for her husband but someone tell me if this is true because my subtitles failed me at the end is it Jenny who she really holds the candle for? A great movie from a great director.

SPOILERS
Yes, it's Jenny she is carrying the torch for. My jaw dropped at that point, Alison, it was such a shock. I loved it! I kind of like being duped by the director in movies. It isn't completely unexpected, in looking back on the movie... we know there is something hidden there, just never realize what the exact nature of Dora's love is.

For me, there was a double shock. I wasn't too surprised that Dora was in love with Jenny; there were enough clues along the way for me to raise my eyebrows and say "Really? Nawww. Really?" My shock came with seeing how the director made this ( and the Detective and son ) fact of life seem very natural and not a shocking 'two-headed monster' kind of thing. ( "It's the 40's...everything was a two-headed monster...even married couples in a single bed!!!Run! Cover your eyes!" ) That felt ahead of its time for me. Dare I say that both "Quai..." and "...Au Grisbi" is still making me think. And feel.

My favorite shot of the film:

[RedRiver]

I watched two movies from the late 60's last night. TWO FOR THE ROAD? I don't know. I love Audrey Hepburn. Albert Finney's a fine actor, though I dislike the character. William Daniels is typically irritating. Not sure about the writing. The dialogue tries painfully to be clever. It's not. The story is...interesting? If you're generous! It jumps haphazardly back and forth in time and place. Nothing wrong with that. But the mood and the conflict don't change significantly. It's like, "Ok. Why are we bouncing around this way?" The film has a hard, unpleasant quality to it. But a Stanley Donen movie will only get SO dark. One way or another, a somewhat upbeat ending will be forced.

THE BOSTON STRANGLER is quite well done. It's suspenseful, procedural and clinical, if you will. What makes a serial killer tick? What's going on in that padded cell? Shot in a fragmented, subjective style, the screen often splits into two, even three, brackets, showing different things simultaneously. This system creates a level of tension that's infectious. We're watching three stories at once and it's stressful. It's supposed to be. I can only imagine this would be most effective on a big screen. I've only seen the video.

Tony Curtis is fine as Albert DeSalvo, the strangler. Not my favorite actor, he shines in this role. He's deeply troubled, scared. No silly skirt chasing in this one. Mustachioed Henry Fonda is the commonwealth lawyer assigned to coordinate the investigation. Fonda is good, but this film belongs to his co-star. It's a good one.