Tcm mark 2

[Johann]

I'm starting a new thread, a sequel to my old Turner Classic Movies thread.
I love classic movies, and I love that channel.
www.tcm.com

[Johann]

THE PALM BEACH STORY (1942)



This is a Preston Sturges "screwball comedy", and it's charming.
I recently saw Sturges' THE LADY EVE and enjoyed it, but I liked this one better.
Claudette Colbert plays Geraldine or "Gerry", unhappy wife of Joel McCrea.
Their marriage is listless in New York, and she wants a divorce. She learns from a cabbie that Palm Beach is the best place to get a divorce and she flees her hubby without luggage or even a train ticket. She has rich men pay her way onto the train to Florida and encounters a millionaire who falls for her.
Hapless Joel McCrea follows her to Florida and things get convoluted, ending with a surprise ending about who-marries-who.
Colbert is pretty, and McCrea seems like a decent leading man.
This movie gave people something to laugh at in the middle of WW2.

[Chris Knipp]

Bravo, welcome back.

You give me nostalgia for things I haven't seen.

This movie is on the Criterion Channel too.

[Johann]

Thanks.
It’s a good one.

[Johann]

THE ADVENTURES OF ROBIN HOOD (1938)



Great entertainment.
Errol Flynn plays Sir Robin of Locksley, a Saxon noble during the Crusades.
He's oppressed by Sir Guy of Gisbourne and Prince John (Basil Rathbone & Claude Rains).
Rousing swashbuckling ensues.
The love interest/muse is Maid Marion (Olivia de Havilland).
Fairly lavish production here, with colorful costumes and big sets.
Well worth your time. This film was selected for preservation for it's fine qualities.
Directed by Michael Curtiz

[Johann]

BREAKFAST AT TIFFANYS (1961)



Blake Edwards directs George Peppard and Audrey Hepburn in a wonky drama/comedy.
Hepburn plays Holly GoLightly, a free spirit who doesn't know if she's coming or going.
She's hiding her past, and she masks it by being a New York socialite.
Peppard is Paul Varjak, a writer who falls for Holly. She calls him Fred because he looks like her brother. (?)
Mickey Rooney is offensive and utterly ridiculous as their JAPANESE (?!) landlord. I cringed every time he was onscreen.
I suppose you could label this a romance flick, but Holly doesn't realize the love until the very end when Paul gives her a stinging rebuke and leaves her in a cab in the rain.
Not really my kind of movie.
The most interesting thing was her nameless cat!!!
"MOON RIVER" is a memorable oscar-winning song.

[Johann]

I was shocked to learn that Truman Capote (writer of Breakfast at Tiffanys) originally wanted Marilyn Monroe to play Holly but she was talked out of it.
Capote felt swindled.
I couldn't help but think of how different the movie would be with Marilyn.

[Johann]

MRS. MINIVER (1942)



A classic, albeit propaganda, from William Wyler.
Greer Garson is Mrs. Clem Miniver, pretty British housewife. We follow her throughout the harrowing beginnings of WW2, when her whole world is upended. Her hubby Clem (Walter Pidgeon) ends up volunteering for the Dunkirk evacuation and her son enlists as a pilot for the RAF.
She endures the London bombings with her children and she only flinches when the bombs actually hit. She's a stoic Mama, and Garson earned her Oscar.
This film won best picture, deservedly so. Life itself was threatened, and this movie presented a brave perspective in the face of Nazi terror. In one scene a downed German pilot holds Mrs. Miniver at gunpoint, demanding to be taken to her house for food. She eventually takes his gun and slaps him hard, after calling the police.
The ending is powerful, set in a bombed-out church, where a Priest gives a rousing speech about fighting for freedom, as this was "the people's war".

[Johann]

THE BEST YEARS OF OUR LIVES (1946)


Another William Wyler classic, even tho I was non-plussed.
We follow three ex-servicemen as they cope after the war.
They have employment woes and relationship woes.
Long movie, clocking in at almost three hours.
This won best picture at the Oscars but I find it unworthy.
Too dull! Too uninteresting!

[Chris Knipp]

My mother spoke of it. It seemed to have impressed her. Maybe they were more patient back then.

[Johann]

It’s well made, I just found it to be a slog.
This was the highest grossing movie of the entire 1940’s.

[Johann]

TOM JONES (1963)



This was a revelation, however if I had never seen BARRY LYNDON I'm not sure I would like it as much as I did. This was nominated for ten Oscars and won four, including best director and best picture.
Handsome Albert Finney plays Tom, a bastard child who has many adventures.
This movie is a rollicking, rowdy ride that employs cool camera techniques, such as the rotating and locking of the camera on actors' faces, as seen in FULL METAL JACKET.
Stanley Kubrick clearly drew inspiration from Tom Jones for his 1700's film Barry Lyndon.
The costumes! The hairstyles and headwear! Even card games, a duel and cleavage- all stolen. lol
Reccomended, but it may be an acquired taste- the humour flew over my head a lot of the time.

[Chris Knipp]

I saw it when I was a graduate student of 18th-c English lit. It was wonderful. And then Tony Richardson went on to make THE LONELINESS OF THE LONG DISTANCE RUNNER. That was a great time for English film.

[Johann]

The editing should be singled out- rapid and always presenting a new perspective.
Fun movie.
I recognized a Kubrick alum too- the Soviet Ambassador from Dr. Strangelove, Peter Bull.

[Johann]

CASABLANCA (1942)


This month is all about the Oscars at TCM, and Casablanca won best picture and best director.
This is one of the most famous films of all-time and was selected for preservation.
It's the story of Rick Blaine and Ilsa Lund during WW2.
Rick ends up with valuable "letters of transit", and must decide between helping a woman he loves or her husband. It all builds up to one of the greatest endings in movie history.
If you haven't seen Casablanca then it's a crime.
Beautiful performances from Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman and Claude Rains.

[Johann]

THE DIVORCEE (1930)


Directed by Robert Z. Leonard, this was an interesting look at relationships in the early 30's.
It was under scrutiny due to the subject matter: marriage in those days was sacred. Divorce was seriously frowned upon.
Starring Irving Thalberg's wife Norma Shearer (who won the best actress Oscar for this film), this was an exercise in infidelity and it's consequences.
Jerry (Shearer) married Ted and she catches him in a compromising spot with another woman.
Ted tells her it was nothing, but she ain't buying it. She cheats on him with another dude to even things out. Ted hypocritically loses it, and they seperate, getting a divorce.
Jerry is courted by another man, and marries him.
Long story short, Ted and Jerry miss each other and reconcile by film's end.
Charming and fairly short movie.

[Chris Knipp]

So, a feel-good divorce movie.

[Johann]

haha. yep.
The moral was: divorce ain't a thang.

[Johann]

A MAN FOR ALL SEASONS (1966)



Winner of six Academy Awards including best picture, actor and director.
Very compelling indeed historical drama.
This is the story of Thomas More, a man with large integrity who stands by his principles, even if it get him beheaded. Set during the 1500's reign of Henry the Eighth, More is at odds with the king. He's a man of Faith, and will not kowtow to annulments, pledges or oaths.
Paul Scofield is rock solid as More, earning his Oscar.
Orson Welles has a small role but he's very memorable.
Fred Zinnemann directs, with a sure hand.
The cinematography is rich, and for a film with no action or sex or any other "draws" than drama itself, it was damn good.
It was cool to see a young John Hurt too!

[Chris Knipp]

It was originally a successful stage play by Robert Bolt. Paul Scofield, who played the leading role in the West End premiere, reprised it on Broadway in 1961, winning a Tony Award. Both productions were directed by Noel Willman. That was an exciting time in the Broadway theater, and this was one of the major plays. Another was Albee's Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf, first staged in October 1962. It was mind blowing, and this was the time of Beckett and Jean Genet. Ionesco's Rhinoceros with comic Zero Mostrel in the lead role, 1961. Beckeett's Endgame had its debut New York production in 1958. This was a really great time in the theater.

[Johann]

Thanks for that. The studio wanted Richard Burton or Richard Harris as More, but Zinnemann insisted on Scofield. Paul wasn't even able to receive his Oscar- a co-star picked it up for him.

[Chris Knipp]

Scofield defined the role. It was wise to keep him.

[Johann]

THE FRENCH CONNECTION (1971)



William Friedkin directs Gene Hackman and Roy Schieder, 2 NYPD narcotics detectives (Doyle & Russo). They are on the trail of drug lords from France, and they have aggressive methods to get their man/men. Doyle is a racist to boot! He uses the N word and gets away with it. (!)
This movie is exciting, with a great car chase from the same team that did the car chase in BULLITT.
Winner of five Academy Awards, including best picture, actor and director, besting Kubrick's A Clockwork Orange.

[Johann]

THE BLACK STALLION (1979)




Uplifting family film produced by Francis Coppola and directed by Carroll Ballard.
A boy and an arabian stallion find themselves on a sinking ship which later explodes.
They're both eventually marooned on the same island for a time, and then are picked up by a fishing boat and taken to America. They have a bond, horse and kid, and by film's end they are winning team racehorse and jockey.
Co-starring Mickey Rooney as his mentor (and getting an Oscar nom in the process).
This film took me back to childhood, as it was one of the first films I ever saw.

[Johann]

SUNRISE: A Song of Two Humans (1927)



Masterpiece.
Winner of three Academy Awards at the first ever ceremony, this is widely considered one of the best films ever made. F.W. Murnau agreed to make this as long as he had complete artistic control.
George O'Brien is The Man, and Janet Gaynor is The Wife (1st ever Best Actress winner!).
Their marriage is mightily tested, with "The Woman From The City" (Margaret Livingston) threatening everything.
This wasn't a true silent, as it utilized synchronized sound effects and music.
If you're a film buff, then you simply can't miss Sunrise.
Manna from film heaven...

[Johann]

WOODSTOCK: the director's cut (1970)




This Oscar-winning documentary by Michael Wadleigh is a fantastic time capsule.
Wadleigh was an independent film producer who was hired after all the major studios turned down the festival. He hired a young Martin Scorsese to help, along with editor Thelma Schoonmaker.
It was 3 days of peace, love and music which was declared a free concert on the first day.
I loved opening act Richie Havens, Canned Heat, Jefferson Airplane and the Who.
We get tons of festival footage; around the grounds and on stage.
They really covered their subject! helicopters, motorcycles, the sea of humanity that was filtering in, it was a huge event. Janis Joplin and Jimi Hendrix are probably the highlights.
A must-see.

[Johann]

MAGNIFICENT OBSESSION (1954)



Weird romance/melodrama from Douglas Sirk.
Rock Hudson plays Bob Merrick, a rich playboy who crashes his speedboat.
His rescuers obtain a resuscitator from a home belonging to Dr. Philips.
While they use it on Bob, Dr. Philips has a heart attack and dies.
Bob is eventually sent to Dr. Philips’ clinic to recover, scorned by everyone for causing the good Dr’s death.
He leaves the clinic before he’s healed, collapsing in front of the Dr’s widow’s car. (Jane Wyman)
Long story short, he’s in love with her, and when he advances on her in a car, she gets out and gets hit by a car, causing blindness.
He uses a ruse of being a poor medical student so he can keep seeing her, eventually becoming a brain surgeon (!).
After looking to cure her blindness in Europe with no hope, he eventually performs brain surgery on her and she can see again.

Weird movie, mang. I won’t see it again.

[Chris Knipp]

From Richard Brody, the back pages movie commentator of The New Yorker (https://www.newyorker.com/goings-on-about-town/movies/a-thousand-and-one):

This implausible, extravagant, coincidence-riddled romantic drama, from 1954, made Rock Hudson a star and Douglas Sirk a specialist in melodrama, a genre that he infused with a philosophical import all his own. The astonishing plot is centered on Bob Merrick (Hudson), an arrogant playboy in a small town in upstate New York, whose mischief contributes to the death of a beloved doctor, Wayne Phillips. Merrick meets and falls for Phillips’s widow (Jane Wyman), gets her into an accident that blinds her, and—after many years of devoted exertions—becomes a brain surgeon, in the hope of operating on her and restoring her sight. The late Dr. Phillips turns out to have been something of a religious philosopher, whose metaphysics of charity unlocked the talent of his best friend (Otto Kruger), an artist, who, in turn, imparts the wisdom to Merrick; Sirk, a German émigré, locates the source of this New World gospel in the lovingly depicted American landscape. Besides treating the ridiculous story with the utmost dramatic precision and visual coherence, the director lends it surprising thematic depth. Every step depends on stifled emotions and closely guarded secrets, resulting in a buildup of operatic passion that endows everyday gestures and inflections with grandeur and nobility.n— Richard Brody
A citizen review (https://www.google.com/search?q=reveiws+douglas+sirk+magnificent+obsessio n&oq=reveiws+douglas+sirk+magnificent+obsession&aqs=chrome..69i57j33i10i160j33i299.7164j0j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8) sounds more like my opinion:
Jochen Stossberg
2 years ago

Today, it's hilarious. Jane Wyman with a mumsy fringe and sensible clothes, looks like she could be Rock Hudson's maiden aunt. Or his mother. These campy, ridiculous films were fun once. Not any more. It really is embarrassing today. Douglas Sirk, before he was considered to be an unsung genius, was once laughed off the screen. They got it right the first time around. All his films, including this one, are not even funny today, sorry. It's so bad it's painful.

[Johann]

Those are great quotes.
The second one is more accurate. THe plot was just plain ridiculous, with too many coincidences.
The first quote is Brody giving Sirk more credit than he deserves. "Specialist" in melodrama? lol

[Chris Knipp]

I agree with your assessment of the two quotes completely though I have not seen this film.

[Johann]

THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN ARM (1955)



Dramatic noir from Otto Preminger.
Frank Sinatra plays Frankie Machine, fresh out of prison and back home in Chicago.
He got clean in jail, from an unspecified drug. (In the Algren book it was morphine, but it's obvious it's heroin)
He wants to start a new life as a musician, but those hopes get dashed when he gets hooked again.
His wife Zosh is in a wheelchair, but she's faking it and unstable.
He has an old flame (Kim Novak) who is more supportive of his drumming plans.
He also moonlights as a shady card dealer.
This movie is merely ok, it's Sinatra as a junkie, how exciting is that?
He's not a terrible actor, but this role isn't juicy enough.
The scene of him going thru withdrawals was good, but nothing amazing.

[Chris Knipp]

This came across as lurid at the time and was well publicized, but emerges as only a watered down version of the bolder Nelson Algren novel it was based on, and watered down from its own original version. Scanning the Metacritic reviews (https://www.metacritic.com/movie/the-man-with-the-golden-arm), I gather it's not much. I thought Sinatra was supposed to have been great in it, and emerged as one of the great Hollywood actors of the fifties. I'm surprised you dismiss him: he got an Academy Award nomination, do you scoff at that? Why is "Sinatra as a junkie" uninteresting to you? I have not seen it, imagine it would seem dated to me.

[Johann]

His Oscar nomination was probably due to how sensational and edgy this was at the time.
He's believable, but ultimately boring to me.
Put Brando in his role and then you have something!
It's very dated to 1955.

[Johann]

PSYCHO (1960)



Probably Alfred Hitchcock's most famous film.
Was this the first slasher flick?
Janet Leigh is Marion Crane, a woman who embezzles $40,000 from her workplace to cover her lovers' debts.
She hits the road, and decides to stay at the Bates motel.
She's booked into a room under an assumed name by Norman Bates, an odd fellow.
Norman kills her when she takes a shower- the famous "shower scene".
The next day he cleans up, putting her body, belongings and stolen money in the trunk of her car and submerges it in a swamp.
The following investigation into her disappearance is real good.
Norman is a sick puppy, and the final scene with him is creepy to the max.
A must see. One of the best horror movies ever.

[Chris Knipp]

PSYCHO - some pull quotes and a personal comment.


The score alone is a supporting character. It makes various appearances throughout suspenseful moments in the story most notably the shower scene. Those high-pitched, ear-piercing violin strings will forever be associated with fear and catastrophe. - Jamie Broadnax

The impeccable direction and cinematography, the masterful suspense, and the pitch-perfect performance of Anthony Perkins as Norman Bates all combine to create not just one of the best horror movies of all time, but one of the best films of all time. - Samantha Allen.
Psycho still works on the big screen. Its success lies in its ability to find horror in the mundane... the true horror of Hitchcock’s masterpiece is that (Norman Bates) could be anywhere, just waiting at that next rest stop.

“Gets scarier after you leave the theatre and discover how much it’s gotten under your skin.”– Amy Taubin, The Village Voice

“Excruciatingly tense and frightening…If you’re too scared to look you can still hear the slashing sounds.”– Pauline Kael. But she said its shrink explanation at the end was his worst scene ever.

“A chic, creepy thriller. The ultimate in arthouse Grand Guignol.”– J. Hoberman, The Village Voice

And yet it doesn't represent the qualities I love in Hitchcock - or in movies, except for his precision of construction and skill in manipulation of audience response. The most critically admired Hitchcock film today is VERTIGO. My favorite Hitchcock film is STRANGERS ON A TRAIN, but I love many others. PSYCHO is minor, limited, and despite what people say, forgettable. It's like a Fun House horror show. It shocks you and scares you for a few minutes. But it's totally unreal. There is more real horror in a Bergman film, or one by Michael Haneke. I love Hitchcock though, I love his craftsmanship and his ability to entertain. I love the Hitchcock-Truffaut dialogues tapes. You can find them somewhere on YouTube. Currently HERE (https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLrwUnL23zrPvip0v2HuFysocXdw8Ut_k8).


Pauline Kael didn’t review it (even when it ran in revival) but, in 1978, complained about it as “a borderline case of immorality… which, because of the director’s cheerful complicity with the killer, had a sadistic glee that I couldn’t quite deal with,” and she condescended to the shower scene as “a good dirty joke.”- Richard Brody, "The Greatness of PSYCHO" in The New Yorker (https://www.newyorker.com/culture/richard-brody/the-greatness-of-psycho) Nov. 18, 2012. . As a great Pauline Kael fan myself (not that I don't disagree with a lot of her opinions and disapprove of some of her behavior), I fall in with her regarding PSYCHO as an outlier. Brody in that article points out that PSYCHO made Hitchcock a fortune, and was a flop with the critics. Incidentally I don't think it was a "career-best performance" for Anthony Perkins; I think it ruined his career.

[Johann]

You mean Anthony PERKINS.

He's very good in this movie- the first time I ever saw it I was convinced his mother was alive, a testament to his acting ability. I suppose you could reduce this to a cheap parlour trick, but the filmmaking is pretty bravura. Hitchcock knew something we didn't.
Years ago the mother of a friend of mine said she had a mad crush on Anthony Perkins; I couldn't see how you could after seeing Psycho!

Thanks for the juicy context, Chris.
I can see how Kael would be turned off by it.

[Johann]

NOAH'S ARK (1928)



An awesome silent/talkie that I'm very happy to have seen.
All actors play dual roles. George O'Brien is the star of this early Michael Curtiz film.
We get the epic disaster Bible story of Noah and his Ark, which people scoff at as folly until the great flood comes. We also get a parallel story of World War 1.
For the most part this film is silent with intertitles, but it was on the cusp of talkies, so we get some scenes with dialogue and synchronized sound effects.
The acting can be a bit over-the-top, a little hammy, but I didn't mind.
This is a silent that should be seen.
When the flood comes, whoa baby...

[Chris Knipp]

You mean Anthony PERKINS.

He's very good in this movie- the first time I ever saw it I was convinced his mother was alive, a testament to his acting ability. I suppose you could reduce this to a cheap parlour trick, but the filmmaking is pretty bravura. Hitchcock knew something we didn't.
Years ago the mother of a friend of mine said she had a mad crush on Anthony Perkins; I couldn't see how you could after seeing Psycho!

Thanks for the juicy context, Chris.
I can see how Kael would be turned off by it.


I certainly did mean Perkins, NOT "Hopkins" and I've corrected that.
Tony Perkins played slightly weird, over-sensitive characters but he did get to play human beings. Thhis is a classic monster. The shrieking noises are very effective. But they erase our sense of reality and take us into extreme horror-movie mode. He was cute. He had a lot of gay appeal. He also was funny.

[Johann]

THE BROTHERS WARNER (2007)



This is a tremendous detailed biography of the 4 Warner brothers, pioneers of film.
Made by Harry Warner's grandaughter Cass Warner Sperling, we get a beautiful overview of their careers; from Rin Tin Tin to Camelot.
They were Polish jews who immigrated to the USA and changed their names to fit in: Harry, Albert, Sam and Jack Wonskalaser became the Warner brothers when they got into the nickelodeon business.
Among their achievements is bringing sound to film, a big risk at the time. They bought Vitaphone for seven million in the late 20's.
THE JAZZ SINGER (1927) with Al Jolson inspired Walt Disney to start making cartoons with sound, and MGM honchos told Warners it was just a fad, that it won't last.
Well, it revolutionized the industry.
They were a socially-conscious studio, declaring that the films meant more than making a buck. In 1934 they got wind of Hitler and the concentration camps and tried to make a film about it but were dissuaded.
They stopped doing business with Germany LONG BEFORE anyone else in America- they were told they were fools for doing so.
The family was not without problems- Sam died right when The Jazz Singer was taking off, oldest Harry did not like youngest Jack, and he was ultimately betrayed by the studio's sale.
He vowed to never set foot on the lot again and he didn't.
This doc is chock full of talking heads who give their memories/recollections.
A loving tribute from a member of the family...

[Johann]

SAFE IN HELL (1931)



Great little thriller clocking in at 73 minutes.
Gilda (a luminous Dorothy Mackaill) is a prostitute in New Orleans.
She gets a trick that turns out to be the guy who cost her her former job as a secretary.
She loses it on him and kills him, setting the apartment on fire to boot.
She flees by boat to an island where there is no extradition.
She marries the man she loves and stays at a hotel. One day the guy she killed shows up to the island! Then she is conned into taking a gun in case he causes trouble. He does, he attempts to rape her and she shoots him.
She goes on trial, and the jury is seemingly on her side. But the cretin who gave her the gun wants sexual favours and tells her she'll be guilty of gun possession and sentenced to six months, her word against his...
The film ends with Gilda being led to the gallows.
Nice pre-code gem of a movie from William "Wild Bill" Wellman, director of the classics Wings (1927) and THE PUBLIC ENEMY (1931).

[Johann]

THE SEA WOLF (1941)




Dynamic drama directed by Michael Curtiz.
A great acting showcase for Edward G. Robinson, Captain of the seal-pelt ship "GHOST".
He's a megalomaniac, a sadist and a fascist. He rules his ship with an iron fist.
His ship picks up two survivors of a shipping collision: a writer and a female criminal who escaped prison. (Ida Lupino)
From then on it's the dramatic tension onboard, leading to a mutiny and ultimately the sinking of the Ghost. Based on the Jack London novel. Well worth your time.

[Johann]

THEY WON'T FORGET (1937)



Strong courtroom drama from Mervyn Leroy, 2 years prior to his work on The Wizard of Oz.
It's Memorial day for the Civil war, and a teenager is killed at her school when no one was there- except for a janitor and witness accounts of seeing a teacher and a boyfriend of the girl.
Claude Rains is the district attorney who wants to make his career with this case.
The girl, Mary, is played by Lana Turner in her screen debut.
The teacher is innocent, the janitor is innocent and her boyfriend (Young Kubrick alum Elisha Cook, Jr.|) is also innocent. But they need a scapegoat, and the teacher is it.
Claude Rains is a real thespian...this movie shows him in full flight, and I must say he's commanding. You can really notice how much better he is than all the other actors.
The teacher is convicted of murder, and it's an outrage. The governor ultimately commutes his sentence to life in jail, only to have a mob seize him and lynch him. (They won't forget, see?)
Good movie that highlights prejudice and corruption and the media's role, not to mention how justice is elusive.

[Johann]

THE TREASURE OF THE SIERRA MADRE (1948)



John Huston's adaptation of the novel about mining for gold in Mexico.
Starring Humphrey Bogart as Fred Dobbs, a down on his luck drifter.
After finding work and then getting stiffed on payment he and a friend go to a flophouse, where he overhears an old man talk about finding gold in them thar hills...
He and his friend take the old man up on the offer, and soon they are prospecting for gold and doing pretty good. They run into trouble when their operation is discovered.
This film is dusty, grimy, dirty. You can smell the dirt and sweat!
Stanley Kubrick listed it in his ten favorite films.

[Johann]

WHITE HEAT (1949)




Universally recognized as one of the best gangster movies ever made.
Directed by Raoul Walsh and starring a crazy James Cagney, this was a treat.
Cagney is Arthur "CODY" Jarrett, a homicidal psychotic. He leads a gang that robs a mail train, has the authorities in hot pursuit, and when it looks like he's going to jail, he concocts a plan to get a lesser sentence. His mother is in on his crimes too, and while he's in jail she gets shot dead in the back. He manages to escape prison with some help, and he plans more crime.
He's basically cornered by police by the film's end, but they won't take him alive..."I made it, Ma....TOP OF THE WORLD!!!"

[Chris Knipp]

Sounds great, and I should definitely see it. I do rather prefer the Éric Rohmer type of film, though, these days. As one grows older, one's taste for violence may diminish.

[Johann]

It's a must-see.
A lot more happens than what I said. But it all moves at a very brisk pace.
It may be Cagney's best role. His gangster pictures at Warner brothers are legendary.
He goes for broke in WHITE HEAT, and he's electric, the dynamic focal point.

[Chris Knipp]

Just got a Patreon review from Mike D'Angelo saying Double Indemnity (1944, Billy Wilder) is the greatest film noir ever made. Any views on that?

[Johann]

Yes, I thumbnailed Double Indemnity in my first TCM thread.
It probably is the best noir ever. The dialogue is fantastic.
There are tons of noirs I've never seen, tho.

[Johann]

THE SPIRIT OF ST. LOUIS (1957)



Billy Wilder's interesting film of Charles A. Lindbergh and his history-making trans-Atlantic flight from New York to France in 1927.
James Stewart plays Lindy or "Slim" as he's nicknamed.
The film takes us thru getting financing for the flight and aircraft, all the preparations involved and how other fliers who want to make history suffer setbacks.
Then we get to the momentous takeoff on a wet and muddy runway.
He was off, flying with no navigator, only using dead reckoning.
He flies past the East coast, then Nova Scotia and Newfoundland Canada, then making it to Ireland and Europe.
He was going on very little sleep, and he falls asleep a few times, almost crashing. He also did not account for ice on the wings, which also almost ends in disaster.
When he finally lands in France 200,000 people are waiting to greet him.
In America he had 4 million at his ticker tape parade.
No frills movie- we don't really learn all that much about him.

[Chris Knipp]

Yes, I thumbnailed Double Indemnity in my first TCM thread.
It probably is the best noir ever. The dialogue is fantastic.
There are tons of noirs I've never seen, tho. Me too. Theoretically I am a great fan of noir, but it's more "neo-noir" that I'm familiar with.

[Chris Knipp]

THE SPIRIT OF ST. LOUIS (1957)



Billy Wilder's interesting film of Charles A. Lindbergh and his history-making trans-Atlantic flight from New York to France in 1927.
James Stewart plays Lindy or "Slim" as he's nicknamed.
The film takes us thru getting financing for the flight and aircraft, all the preparations involved and how other fliers who want to make history suffer setbacks.
Then we get to the momentous takeoff on a wet and muddy runway.
He was off, flying with no navigator, only using dead reckoning.
He flies past the East coast, then Nova Scotia and Newfoundland Canada, then making it to Ireland and Europe.
He was going on very little sleep, and he falls asleep a few times, almost crashing. He also did not account for ice on the wings, which also almost ends in disaster.
When he finally lands in France 200,000 people are waiting to greet him.
In America he had 4 million at his ticker tape parade.
No frills movie- we don't really learn all that much about him. It may have been expedient not to reveal too much about him, since he was one of America's most prominent Nazi sympathizers.

[Johann]

Was not aware of that.
It hurts to say Stanley Kubrick was also a Nazi sympathizer- he married German aristocracy, was fascinated with Goebbels and famously said "Hitler was right about almost everything".

[Chris Knipp]

Lindy's politics came earlier of course. And for that reason and others were more significant than Kubrick's admiration for the Nazis.
Philip Roth's novel The plot Against America (which however I have not read - yet) deals with Lindburgh
The Plot Against America is a novel by Philip Roth published in 2004. It is an alternative history in which Franklin D. Roosevelt is defeated in the presidential election of 1940 by Charles Lindbergh.
Wikipedia, The Plot Against America (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Plot_Against_America#:~:text=The%20Plot%20Agai nst%20America%20is,Philip%20Roth%20published%20in% 202004.)
It's a nightmare alternate reality image of a new right-wing, anti-Semitic nation.

[Johann]

LAND OF THE PHARAOHS (1955)



This was a special treat.
Brand newly restored and introduced by Martin Scorsese, I had never heard of this film. Who knew Howard Hawks did a lavish historical epic? This was shot in special cinemascope- very wide and very thin letterboxing. We get to see a *probable* look at how the pyramids were built- with vast manpower.
The film opens with a lulling victory march back to Egypt from battle. There are so many extras in this movie it's staggering, and apparently a few died due to heat exhaustion!
Jack Hawkins is Pharaoh Khufu, and he's good, albeit with a distracting british accent.
He commissions the construction of a pyramid, in exchange for the freedom of the slaves who build it once it's complete. Joan Collins is the scheming Princess who's after his gold once he dies.
They don't make 'em like this anymore, no Sir...

[Chris Knipp]

I can see how you would enjoy it; the spectacle is awesome. I could never stand these Fifties "epics". The pyramid-building crowd scenes and the grandiose sets are remarkable, I'll grant. Silly script, though, and I can't stand intrusive movie music like this has. I wonder how they got all those Egyptian extras to go around nearly naked, since Egyptian Muslim culture forbids nakedness, even in men's locker rooms. This, lacking big names, was a commercial and critical failure. CLEOPATRA in the early Sixties did much better both ways, with Liz Taylor and Richard Burton, despite lots of production problems and delays.
I see William Faulkner worked on LAND OF THE PHARAOHS during his ill-starred period in Hollywood.
"They don't make 'em like this anymore, no Sir..." No, and a good thing, too!
"The film was banned in Egypt on the grounds of "distortion of historical facts.'" -Wikipedia. The last part was made up, I guess.
The Wikipedia article tells how much Scorsese loves this film. He loved film epics. This one stands out for the richness of its detail.

[Johann]

I can see how youu would enjoy it; the spectacle is awesome. The pyramid-building crowd scenes and the grandiose sets are remarkable, I'll grant. Silly script, though This one stands out for the richness of its detail.


All true.
While watching it all I could think of was THE TEN COMMANDMENTS, DeMille's epic and better film. The colors dazzle and the sets are indeed memorable. LAND OF THE PHARAOHS could bore people; I was interested because it was new and Scorsese was praising it. He saw it when it came out in Times square.

[Chris Knipp]

Scorsese's enthusiasm for all sorts of cinema is legendary.

[Johann]

WHO'S AFRAID OF VIRGINIA WOOLF? (1966)




Slightly bizarre film about a married couple who get drunk and invite another couple over for company. Revelations spill out and arguments ensue. Real-life married couple Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor are George and Martha, academically connected.
This was a renowned stage play by Edward Albee and I'm not sure how it translates to the screen.
It was a rather tense and uncomfortable watch for me- a couple at each other and another haplessly watching/listening.
Taylor won an Oscar for best actress and Sandy Dennis won for best supporting actress.
Burton lost out to Paul Scofield.

[Chris Knipp]

I reported here recently how thrilling and innovative Edward Albee's play was on Broadway when I saw it in the fall shortly after its premiere at the Billy Rose Theater, October 13, 1962. The original cast featured Uta Hagen as Martha, Arthur Hill as George, Melinda Dillon as Honey and George Grizzard as Nick. It was directed by Alan Schneider. I can assure you it worked stunningly on the stage. The film cast was more star-studded but it doesn't work as well - just a shadow of its brilliant original. This was the same season of Robert Bolt's A MAN FOR ALL SEASONS with a superb actor, Paul Scofield, in the lead. A great time for theater, long gone. Another play originated then I didn't see but had a cool title: STOP THE WORLD, I WANT TO GET OFF.

[Johann]

You witnessed some theatrical history! Excellent.
I thought Burton and Taylor's acting was top notch, but the film was a little strange to me.

[Chris Knipp]

Burton and Liz Taylor were good, and the movie got a raft of Oscars and noms, including Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress (Sandy Dennis). But it's much better on the stage. Not quite right as a movie. I watched it disappointed: nothing could match the amazing play experience. I remember standing around at intermission time dazed, awestruck, looking at other people and thinking, Isn't this amazing? You can't imagine. It was revolutionary to hear dialogue like this on the stage back then.

[Johann]

Jack Warner clashed with the censors. He insisted on keeping the "adult" content adult.
No one was allowed admission unless you were 18 accompanied by an adult.

[Chris Knipp]

A transitional period, no doubt. Then, words and gestures still meant something and had the power to shock (or enlighten).

[Johann]

BLACK LEGION (1937)



Warner Brothers had a record of making movies that stood up to fascism and racism.
Black Legion is one of those movies. The KKK even sued Warners, and lost.
Humphrey Bogart got a chance to shine here, 4 years prior to his superstardom.
He plays Frank Taylor, a factory worker looking to move up to foreman.
He doesn't get the promotion, a hard working Polish immigrant does.
Frank, kinda lost, joins the Black Legion, a mysterious hooded and robed group who put the squeeze on immigrants.
They raid the Polish man's farm, and Frank eventually gets the foreman post.
Long story short, he is suspected of oppressing immigrants. Ultimately he kills a man he knows under orders from the Legion. Frank goes on trial, and he tells all, getting life sentences for all Legion members.
Short movie at 83 minutes.

[Johann]

ROMANCE ON THE HIGH SEAS (1948)




Doris Day's film debut. She stayed at Warner brothers for 9 years, making the studio a fair amount of money. This was a musical/comedy directed by Michael Curtiz, whose filmography impresses me more everyday.
A lightweight comedy, its about a couple who suspect each other of cheating. One hires a private investigator, the other goes on a cruise to Rio only with Day in her place. Both think they will catch each other in the act.
The songs are sugary, with "It's Magic" becoming a hit for Day.
I enjoyed this, despite being dated and hokey at times.
It's one of those "take you away from your troubles" films that the 40's were good at.

[Johann]

EAST OF EDEN (1955)



This was a special screening of the restored 4K version of Elia Kazan's classic.
Introduced by two directors (Joanna Hogg & Wes Anderson), this was a biblical story of a family in turmoil.
James Dean plays Cal Trask, in competition with his brother for his father's approval/affection in 1917.
The whole film is building up to an explosive series of events, and it is well acted.
Kazan resisted Cinemascope, but when he finally used it for this film, he maximized each shot. You can study this film just on composition and framing alone. The colors are really bright too.
Loosely based on the John Steinbeck novel.

[Johann]

COME SEPTEMBER (1961)



Robert Mulligan directs Rock Hudson and Gina Lollabrigida in this tame rom-com.
I found it worth watching for Bobby Darin’s film debut- he even sings.
Rock plays Talbot, a rich mogul who vacays in Italy once a year.
He owns a villa, but the caretakers have sneakily turned it into a hotel for when he’s not there.
He finds out, fires all the staff, and ends up chaperoning some young kids (Darin, Sandra Dee & 8 others). The humour stems from the generation gap and how Talbot is a hypocrite.
Gina Lollabrigida is gorgeous, a real beauty…
Bobby Darin and Sandra Dee fell in love while making this movie.
Gina’s accent reminded me of Melania Trump.
Fairly light and fluffy movie-harmless all the way.

[Chris Knipp]

Sounds fun - except for the Melania Trump memory.

[Johann]

JEWEL ROBBERY (1932)



The star of the month for May at TCM is William Powell.
This heist/romance by William Dieterle shows us Powell's charm as a leading man.
He robs a jewelry store in Vienna and a bunch of screwball antics play out, including scenes of smoking marijuana.
This film is rather blah, but thankfully short at 70 minutes. Hopelessly dated.