What Was The Last Movie You Watched?

[LizzieMaine]

"Comrade X"

• Anti-Soviet propaganda - clearly just before we "teamed up" with Russia for WWII

The supreme irony of this film for me has always been that its co-screenwriter, Ben Hecht -- despite being well-known in Hollywood as an outspoken critic of the USSR -- spent much of the 1940s under surveillance by the FBI because J. Edgar was convinced that, because he was Jewish and a Zionist, he was obviously a "fellow traveler." Ooopsie!

 

[Fading Fast]

The supreme irony of this film for me has always been that its co-screenwriter, Ben Hecht -- despite being well-known in Hollywood as an outspoken critic of the USSR -- spent much of the 1940s under surveillance by the FBI because J. Edgar was convinced that, because he was Jewish and a Zionist, he was obviously a "fellow traveler." Ooopsie!

Just goes to show how stereotypes will overcome facts. The movie hits the USSR hard (fairly IMHO based on what we know, for sure, today), but would seem to be exonerating evidence for calling Hecht a commie. But again, why let facts get in the way of a good made-up opinion. J. Edgar clearly seemed to lead with his conclusions.

 

[AmateisGal]

The Stranger with Orson Welles and Loretta Young. Welles is appropriately creepy.

 

[Fading Fast]

The Stranger with Orson Welles and Loretta Young. Welles is appropriately creepy.

Had the arc of Welles' career in movies ended or, even, peaked in the middle with "Citizen Kane," his life and legend would have played out differently and, probably, better for him. When you discover the cure for cancer as your first movie, you simply set the bar too high for, well, anything you do afterwards. To be fair, he was his own best and worst press agent / his own best friend and worst enemy.

IMHO, he was an immense talent who made interesting movies - some hits some misses - and was a captivating actor who demanded and got the camera's attention. Had movies like "The Stranger," "The Third Man," "Touch of Evil," "The Long, Hot Summer" and others fallen before or on both sides of "Kane" and not, as most did, relatively long after, his contemporaneous press and the public's opinion would probably have been more favorable.

I am always excited when I accidentally stumble on one of his movies or just something he's acted in as, even if it doesn't fully work, it will have some engaging and interesting elements.

 

[Worf]

Doc Strange was/is right... Ben Mankewicz is a poltroon! I watched the ORIGINAL all Japanese version of "Gojira" (Godzilla to us) last night, you know the one without Perry Mason in it. Not only does Mr. M confuse the two films he then introduces the LATTER as opposed to the former. And at the end of the movie he does it AGAIN essentially doubling down on his obvious stupidity. I'm no "expert" but even I know the difference between the two films and had he even bothered to read the schedule maybe he would've as well.

Whatta Maroon! A complete ta ra ra goondeay! What an imbissle! (all done in my Buggs Bunny voice)

Worf

 

[Worf]

And after the mangling of "Gojira" I watched the Grandaddy of em all... "Kong.. the 8th Wonder of the World".

"He's always been a King in his world.. but we'll teach him fear!"

"He was a King and God in the world he knew... now he comes before you in chains...."

Not for long buddy!

Worf

PS "Don't go on the roof, there'll be shooting!"

 

[Touchofevil]

Midnight Special
Nice cast.
Interrupted too much to make much of a assessment.
It was my Dad so it was okay.

 

[AmateisGal]

Saboteur, one of Alfred Hitchcock's WW2 films.

 

[Julian Shellhammer]

Saboteur, one of Alfred Hitchcock's WW2 films.

Watched it the other night, dvr'd from TCM. Otto Krueger's smiling bad guy, who plots havoc and death but loves his grandkid, steals every scene he's in. I noticed how there's no music at the climatic hanging from the iconic landmark sequence (worded vaguely so as to not give away any spoilers)

 

[Touchofevil]

Goodfellas
Liotta is so fun to watch.

 

[Horace Debussy Jones]

"Manos,..The Hands of Fate" on Mystery Science Theater 3000. One of the most awful films ever produced. But hilarious.
The last serious film I watched though was quite good. "Flame and Citron" about the real life fight of the Danish resistance against Nazi occupation.

 

[Touchofevil]

The Pink Panther on TCM.

 

[2jakes]

The Haunting (1963) with Julie Harris.
"The real star is the mansion!"

 

[Touchofevil]

Right now, Tension on TCM.
Entertaining.

 

[Fading Fast]

"The Fountainhead"

Probably my fourth or fifth time seeing it, in addition to having read the book twice which, thus, allows one to find "other things" in it than just the plot and action.

• Gary Cooper is perfect for the role of Howard Roark, but he's too old / Patricia Neal is perfect for the role of Domonique Francon - cold and beautiful - like Roark's buildings
  • Neal is an under-apreciated major talent who aged gracefully in a business that rarely allows its female stars to do so. But let's not kid ourselves, man or woman, there is a moment when one's youth and beauty is perfectly aglow - and hers was in this movie

• The architecture in this movie is insane and it could be watched with the sound off for that alone. Some of the windows and casements are so gorgeous that they should be studied today. Wynan's office is perfect over-the-top, full-on Mid-Century modern meets austere Art Deco

• With the current vogue of Mid-Century Modern architecture, this movie should be getting more press (my guess, its politics is so out of vogue that it cancels out its architectural verve for today's audiences)

• Perfect line for the perfect moment (and tells you all you need to know about Howard Roark)
  • “Toohey: "Mr. Roark, we're alone here. Why don't you tell me what you think of me? In any words you wish. No one will hear us. "Roark: "But I don't think of you.”

• Howard Roark's name only works said fully or as a last name: he's Howard Roark or Roark, but not a Howard.

• Dominique is a brutally hard character to understand: she gets it all, sees how little real integrity, honesty, talent and artistic beauty there is in the world and how little it is appreciated. And - and this is the hard part - would rather destroy what little there is of it than have it wasted or denounced by the majority of people who don't get it or, even worse, hate it for its greatness. It's taken me along time to (I think) understand the mystery of her mind

• Peter Keating is not a foil to Roark -- Keating is a failed ideology crying for help. Toohey is not a foil for Roark -- Toohey is the banal but brutal evil of the USSR, of the Statsi, of Mao. Wynand is Roark's foil -- he is Roark without out the full courage of his convictions, an inferior Roark

• This movie can only be appreciated as as stylized representation of a philosophy - taking it as literal drama misses the entire value of the movie

 

[Touchofevil]

The Man Who Knew Too Much on TCM
Not one of my favorites of Hitchcock's, but
still entertaining.

 

[Fading Fast]

The Man Who Knew Too Much on TCM
Not one of my favorites of Hitchcock's, but
still entertaining.

The '30s or '50s one - I think I like the '30s one better? The '50s one drags on too long, but I do like Doris Day belting out Que Sera Sera.

 

[Touchofevil]

The '30s or '50s one - I think I like the '30s one better? The '50s one drags on too long, but I do like Doris Day belting out Que Sera Sera.

The '50s version. I find it be more visually appealing although it does drag on towards the end.

 

[Fading Fast]

The '50s version. I find it be more visually appealing although it does drag on towards the end.

Both are flawed Hitchcocks IMHO. The first is the better movie, but its final gun battle plays out as some overwrought operatic scene that wore me out. The latter one does what the first one does, but takes longer doing it and doesn't add anything to the story or tension by doing so. I've come to like these particular two movies less over the years.

 

[Benzadmiral]

The 1931 Dracula, with (of course) Bela Lugosi. This new print shown on the Svengoolie syndicated show was beautiful, crisp and sharp, and it contains the often-cut scene aboard the Varna, the ship bringing Dracula to England. Yes, Lugosi's performance is rather stagey to us today, 86 years (!) later. So were a lot of early movie performances using stage-trained actors. It took a while for screen actors and directors to realize that film acting was different from stage performing, that a lifted eyebrow could convey surprise in a film as well or better than the "shocked face" which is necessary to reach the back rows of a theatre.

That said, Lugosi's vampire gives the distinct impression of someone -- something -- undead, not completely alive. Which is exactly right for the style of the film. It's basically a photographed stage play with outdoor scenes added (the Borgo Pass by night, the storm tossing the ship, the Count stalking down a London street on his way to the theatre).

To this day, though, when Van Helsing (Edward Van Sloan) faces off against Dracula, when Lugosi aims a clawlike hand at the elderly vampire-hunter and says in a grave-deep tone, "Come . . . here," I swear I want to get up and walk toward the TV screen!