What Was The Last Movie You Watched?

[Doctor Strange]

I lost track of when I first heard about this (probably in Vito Russo's book?), but even the film's Wiki page includes this section:

Unscripted ad-lib by Grant[edit]
It is debated by some whether Bringing Up Baby is the first fictional work (apart from pornography) to use the word "gay" in a homosexual context.[15][16] In one scene, Cary Grant's character is wearing a woman's marabou-trimmed négligée; when asked why, he replies exasperatedly "Because I just went gay all of a sudden!" (leaping into the air at the word "gay"). As the term "gay" did not become familiar to the general public until the Stonewall riots in 1969,[17] it is debated whether the word was used here in its original sense (meaning "happy"[18]) or is an intentional, joking reference to homosexuality.[18]

In the film, the line was an ad-lib by Grant and not in any version of the original script.[19] According to Vito Russo in The Celluloid Closet (1981, revised 1987), the script originally had Grant's character say "I...I suppose you think it's odd, my wearing this. I realize it looks odd...I don't usually...I mean, I don't own one of these". Russo suggests that this indicates that people in Hollywood (at least in Grant's circles) were familiar with the slang connotations of the word; however, neither Grant nor anyone involved in the film suggested this.[17]​

 

[Benzadmiral]

"Bringing Up Baby"

I don't really enjoy slapstick, screw-ball, physical or Catskill type of humor. On the right day, at the right moment and with the best of the best of it, I'll enjoy it a bit - like a good Abbott and Costello routine - but in general, it just doesn't work for me.

But for some reason, I always enjoy "Bringing Up Baby," even if I cringe a bit at some of the too-slapstickey, too-screwball aspects - the personalities of Grant and Hepburn carry this one along for me with enough wit and personality that I just enjoy the ride. . . .

The film (like a lot of Howard Hawks's films) has a machine-gun, carry-everything-before-it pace. If there's a scene you don't like, just hang on a moment, there may be one you will like coming up. The nebbishness of Grant's character (did I read here that Christopher Reeve modeled his Clark Kent on this performance?); its contrast with Hepburn's breeziness up to and including her "gun-moll confession" in the last reel; Charlie Ruggles as the hapless safari veteran . . . there's a lot to like and admire even if you're not a super-fan of the film as a whole.

 

[LizzieMaine]

You are a fount of information. I'm amazed he was able to say it and get it by the code. Also, a bit of personal irony for Grant as he's always been viewed as having had his male dalliances - at least when young.

He and Randolph Scott lived together in luxury in the mid-1930s in an arrangement that seems awfully suspect in modern retrospect -- and maybe not even all that modern. In 1936, Grant and Scott appeared together as guests on the "Amos 'n' Andy" radio program, in a sequence in which Amos and Andy from some quirk of circumstance found themselves at the Grant-Scott residence. The scene was played very casually, with the two actors depicted as relaxing together at poolside, admiring each other's diving form, and although no recording exists to document how they played the lines given them, the script itself is practically screaming its subtext.

 

[Doctor Strange]

I acknowledge that it's a classic, but I simply don't enjoy watching it. There are plenty of Hawks films, and screwball comedies, I love. But not this one.

And I never liked Christopher Reeve's cartoonish, too-broad Clark Kent (give me the more mature George Reeves version, someone that Metropolis criminals already feared just for being a crusading reporter), so I'm happy to blame Bringing Up Baby if it was his inspiration.

 

[Fading Fast]

He and Randolph Scott lived together in luxury in the mid-1930s in an arrangement that seems awfully suspect in modern retrospect -- and maybe not even all that modern. In 1936, Grant and Scott appeared together as guests on the "Amos 'n' Andy" radio program, in a sequence in which Amos and Andy from some quirk of circumstance found themselves at the Grant-Scott residence. The scene was played very casually, with the two actors depicted as relaxing together at poolside, admiring each other's diving form, and although no recording exists to document how they played the lines given them, the script itself is practically screaming its subtext.

That's a neat little tidbit that probably flew by all but the most attuned at the time.

Somewhere I've seen, unless my memory is now just making things up, what almost look like publicity pictures of Grant's and Scott's living arrangement - their house, them in bathings suits, them lounging, making cocktails, etc., that - at least to a modern eye - looks very "coupley."

 

[DavidJones]

El Dorado, with John Wayne.

 

[2jakes]

"Bringing Up Baby".

You might say this is "screwball"
viewing.
But I mostly watch the scenes
when the Ford woodie or woody
(station-wagon) comes on.
Once it gets feathered I usually
stop.

With "Holiday"...

Kate & Cary dancing to a tune from a music box prior to the
New Year.
For me it captures perfectly that moment of discovering emotions that are felt for someone but are not voiced for various reasons.

 

[Doctor Strange]

The Wrecking Crew, a fascinating documentary about a varying group of Los Angeles studio musicians who played on a simply unbelievable number of hit records and TV soundtracks in the sixties. They coalesced as the backing group in Phil Spector's Wall of Sound records(!), and went on to play on huge hits by the Beach Boys, Frank Sinatra, Sonny & Cher, Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass, The Association, Simon & Garfunkel, The Fifth Dimension, The Byrds, Nancy Sinatra, the Righteous Brothers, The Monkees, Glen Campbell, the Mommas and the Papas, and MANY more.

These guys played together constantly, so they functioned like a well-oiled machine, and they were expert sight-readers and arrangers, and could produce great results far faster than musicians who weren't studio regulars - which reduced studio time rentals to cost-conscious producers, and kept them in high demand. They were essentially unknown to the public because none of the groups/artists wanted it known that THEY weren't playing on their own songs, or that such a small group of musicians were responsible for so many hits. A couple of members went on to notable careers as topliners: Glen Campbell and Leon Russell.

The standout in the interviews is the incredible Carol Kaye - the sole female member of the team, and a bass and guitar wizard of astounding versatility. She comes across as a fascinating character, and her list of credits is jaw dropping!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carol_Kaye

Anyway, I highly recommend this film for anybody interested in sixties music.

 

[2jakes]

For women's sixties hairstyles:

"Doctor Zhivago".

 

[Fading Fast]

The Wrecking Crew, a fascinating documentary about a varying group of Los Angeles studio musicians who played on a simply unbelievable number of hit records and TV soundtracks in the sixties. They coalesced as the backing group in Phil Spector's Wall of Sound records(!), and went on to play on huge hits by the Beach Boys, Frank Sinatra, Sonny & Cher, Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass, The Association, Simon & Garfunkel, The Fifth Dimension, The Byrds, Nancy Sinatra, the Righteous Brothers, The Monkees, Glen Campbell, the Mommas and the Papas, and MANY more.

These guys played together constantly, so they functioned like a well-oiled machine, and they were expert sight-readers and arrangers, and could produce great results far faster than musicians who weren't studio regulars - which reduced studio time rentals to cost-conscious producers, and kept them in high demand. They were essentially unknown to the public because none of the groups/artists wanted it known that THEY weren't playing on their own songs, or that such a small group of musicians were responsible for so many hits. A couple of members went on to notable careers as topliners: Glen Campbell and Leon Russell.

The standout in the interviews is the incredible Carol Kaye - the sole female member of the team, and a bass and guitar wizard of astounding versatility. She comes across as a fascinating character, and her list of credits is jaw dropping!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carol_Kaye

Anyway, I highly recommend this film for anybody interested in sixties music.

Saw it and can only echo your comments. A really well-done and enjoyable one.

 

[Fading Fast]

"Bringing Up Baby".

You might say this is "screwball"
viewing.
But I mostly watch the scenes
when the Ford woodie or woody
(station-wagon) comes on.
Once it gets feathered I usually
stop.

With "Holiday"...

Kate & Cary dancing to a tune from a music box prior to the
New Year.

Woodie - absolutely outstanding

Kate and Cary dancing to a tune... - absolutely outstanding

 

[Fading Fast]

For women's sixties hairstyles:

"Doctor Zhivago".

Sixties hair notwithstanding, Julie Christie's finest movie.

And one other thing, it is the only example I know of a man having an affair and women (three in my life) having told me they still think Zhivago was a good guy / they understood what he did owing to the circumstances. Very, very, very hard to find another example of women excusing a man for cheating.

 

[2jakes]

A pity-party of one with Cary & Kate!
Stayed home with a cold... unable to have a grand time
for the New Year!

 

[basbol13]

Watched the Duelists again....still my favorite.

 

[Touchofevil]

The Maltese Falcon on TCM with a cup of coffee; perfect for a rainy Saturday morning.

 

[Fading Fast]

The Maltese Falcon on TCM with a cup of coffee; perfect for a rainy Saturday morning.

Could not agree more - outstanding movie. Just saw it a week or so ago and posted this: http://www.thefedoralounge.com/thre...ovie-you-watched.20830/page-1133#post-2190987

 

[Touchofevil]

Could not agree more - outstanding movie. Just saw it a week or so ago and posted this: http://www.thefedoralounge.com/thre...ovie-you-watched.20830/page-1133#post-2190987

I too viewed a week or so ago, but cannot help myself with viewing it one more time.

 

[Fading Fast]

I too viewed a week or so ago, but cannot help myself with viewing it one more time.

I prefer SGF to not know I'm completely insane, so I didn't watch it again so close to just having seen it. Early on in our relationship, when I was watching "The Godfather" for the third or fourth time in so many weeks (some channel was running it a bunch), she seemed a bit discomfited - as if she discovered something amiss in the usually smooth running engine of her Jaguar. At that point, I kinda dialed back my old-movie obsession just a bit and have never fully moved the dial back to where it started.

 

[Redshoes51]

The Wrecking Crew, a fascinating documentary about a varying group of Los Angeles studio musicians who played on a simply unbelievable number of hit records...

These guys played together constantly, so they functioned like a well-oiled machine, and they were expert sight-readers and arrangers, and could produce great results far faster than musicians who weren't studio regulars - which reduced studio time rentals to cost-conscious producers, and kept them in high demand. They were essentially unknown to the public because none of the groups/artists wanted it known that THEY weren't playing on their own songs, or that such a small group of musicians were responsible for so many hits. A couple of members went on to notable careers as topliners: Glen Campbell and Leon Russell.

The standout in the interviews is the incredible Carol Kaye - the sole female member of the team, and a bass and guitar wizard of astounding versatility. She comes across as a fascinating character, and her list of credits is jaw dropping!

I've seen this... and it is magnificent. I've been aware of 'The Wrecking Crew' for sometime and their body of work... especially that of Carol Kaye... she has been a monster as far as bass guitar goes... having been a frustrated bassist for many years, I followed her work and technique for years.

There is another great documentary available called "Muscle Shoals," I believe... it's about 'The Swampers' and the body of work that was turned out in that northwest Alabama town down through the years. These guys provided the musical backing for Aretha Franklin, Paul Simon, The Rolling Stones... and many many other acts whose names simply escape me right now. I would highly recommend it as well.

~shoes~

 

[Fading Fast]

I've seen this... and it is magnificent. I've been aware of 'The Wrecking Crew' for sometime and their body of work... especially that of Carol Kaye... she has been a monster as far as bass guitar goes... having been a frustrated bassist for many years, I followed her work and technique for years.

There is another great documentary available called "Muscle Shoals," I believe... it's about 'The Swampers' and the body of work that was turned out in that northwest Alabama town down through the years. These guys provided the musical backing for Aretha Franklin, Paul Simon, The Rolling Stones... and many many other acts whose names simply escape me right now. I would highly recommend it as well.

~shoes~

Yes, the Muscle Shoals documentary is excellent as well (maybe even better as it gave the music a bit more focus).