What Was The Last Movie You Watched?

[Fading Fast]

Small Town Girl from 1936 with Janet Gaynor and Robert Taylor

Once enforced in 1934, the movie production code forced every silly "we're married so it's okay if we have sex" scheme onto the screen in the second half of the thirties - in Small Town Girl, college man, wealthy scion and engaged Robert Taylor meets townie dreamer Gaynor by chance and, in a completely not-believable scene, gets drunk and marries her that same day.

Gaynor, itching to get out of her small town (I have nothing against small towns and liked hers, but would have walked barefoot over broken glass to get away from her brain-dead family) commits a sin of omission and just lets it happen.

Once Taylor tells his surprisingly cool-about-it parents - it was nice to see them not stereotyped as snooty blue-bloods horrified by what the cat dragged in, but instead, they where respectful to Gaynor - all agreed to a six month marriage that would end with a quiet divorce to prevent talk and scandal, which would allow Taylor to, then, marry his less-than-thrilled-with-the-arrangement fiancee (she, though, is snooty).

To make the marriage appear genuine to the outside world, Taylor and Gaynor embark on a long honeymoon cruise on the family's private yacht. If you are at all a fan of 1930s rom-coms/screwball comedies, then you can all but guess what happens next (motivated by the rule that two young, good looking people will fall in love and do all that goes along with it when stuck alone on a boat for weeks), but the fun is watching it happen as Gaynor and Taylor are engaging in this fast-paced movie.

It's a shame that the production code mangled movies for decades, but some of them, like this one, worked out okay anyway as light entertainment.

 

[Doctor Damage]

^ These are great reviews, Fading Fast, but do you do anything other than watch movies??? lol

 

[BobHufford]

^ These are great reviews, Fading Fast, but do you do anything other than watch movies??? lol

He ... ahem ... "works from home".

 

[Fading Fast]

^ These are great reviews, Fading Fast, but do you do anything other than watch movies??? lol

He ... ahem ... "works from home".

Thank you - I enjoy sharing my movie comments with others here at FL.

As to time and working from home, when I was working for a large financial company, I was working between 70+ and 80+ hours a week (depending on how busy we were / seasonality to the business) plus commuting just under a total of an hour a day (even though I work and live in NYC, as crazy as it sounds, that's a normal commute in the city).

Now, I work from home, for myself and put in 40+ to 50+ hours a week with no commute. I often keep TCM on in background on mute and, when I see something I want, I hit record on the DVR - so I have a bunch of movies always ready to go. And, as noted, I now have a lot more time to watch those movies and still get my work done.

 

[LizzieMaine]

Small Town Girl from 1936 with Janet Gaynor and Robert Taylor

Janet Gaynor was one of the most remarkable actresses of her time. Watch her in something like this, and then go watch her in the 1937 version of "A Star Is Born." Not too many performers with that kind of range, and yet her name rarely comes up when the Screen Legends Of The Era are discussed. I've never understood that.

 

[Fading Fast]

Janet Gaynor was one of the most remarkable actresses of her time. Watch her in something like this, and then go watch her in the 1937 version of "A Star Is Born." Not too many performers with that kind of range, and yet her name rarely comes up when the Screen Legends Of The Era are discussed. I've never understood that.

Good point. I'll admit that I don't think about her when I think about the big stars.

I just looked her up on IMDB and it appears that she stopped making films in '38 and didn't resume until '57, so that doesn't help. While on IMDB, I noticed that she married the costume designer Adrian in '39 - this might be why she stopped working in '38, but that's just a guess.

Also, fair or not, I just haven't seen as many of her movies on TCM as most of the other big names.

 

[LizzieMaine]

Another factor is that she did her best work for Fox, a studio that hasn't been well represented on the classic-movie channels over the years. Their pictures were fairly easy to see in the 60s and 70s, when they were distributed all over the place by National Telefilm Associates, but once the classic movie realm shifted from free UHF channels to cable, the Fox library seemed to get left behind. The "Fox Movie Channel" has never been in the same league as the Turner channels, and they don't get the attention with their made-on-demand DVD releases that Warner Archive gets with theirs. About the only Fox releases that have stayed prominent are the Shirley Temple features, and even those haven't really been handled all that well.

It's too bad -- people don't talk about Tyrone Power or Don Ameche or Alice Faye that much anymore, and they made some pretty good pictures. But because they were made for Fox, they hardly ever turn up. It's the same story with the pre-1948 Paramounts -- if they aren't Bing Crosby or the Marx Brothers, they hardly ever get shown anywhere.

TCM will occasionally license film packages from libraries they don't own, and I wish they'd do more of this. There's a lot of neat pictures that nobody's really noticed over the last forty years or so.

 

[Fading Fast]

Another factor is that she did her best work for Fox, a studio that hasn't been well represented on the classic-movie channels over the years. Their pictures were fairly easy to see in the 60s and 70s, when they were distributed all over the place by National Telefilm Associates, but once the classic movie realm shifted from free UHF channels to cable, the Fox library seemed to get left behind. The "Fox Movie Channel" has never been in the same league as the Turner channels, and they don't get the attention with their made-on-demand DVD releases that Warner Archive gets with theirs. About the only Fox releases that have stayed prominent are the Shirley Temple features, and even those haven't really been handled all that well.

It's too bad -- people don't talk about Tyrone Power or Don Ameche or Alice Faye that much anymore, and they made some pretty good pictures. But because they were made for Fox, they hardly ever turn up. It's the same story with the pre-1948 Paramounts -- if they aren't Bing Crosby or the Marx Brothers, they hardly ever get shown anywhere.

TCM will occasionally license film packages from libraries they don't own, and I wish they'd do more of this. There's a lot of neat pictures that nobody's really noticed over the last forty years or so.

If TCM stays as successful as it seems to be at present, then hopefully, it will do as you suggest as getting more old movies into its mix would be good for its long-term health. Every year, I "discover" two or three old movies I never saw before that are really good, but, years ago, it used to be five or more annual discoveries. As much fun as seeing a classic again is, there's nothing better than finding a brand-new-to-you really good old movie.

I can probably list all the Power's movies I've seen - "The Rains Came," "Razor's Edge" and "Witness for the Prosecution" plus a few others I'm forgetting - even though I know he was a huge star in his day. My mother loved him. It would be great if his, Ameche's and Faye's full library of movies made it to TCM. Beside TCM, I keep my eye on Movies! (which has some Fox ownership), but find that it basically runs a smaller selection of the same movies TCM runs but with commercials.

 

[LizzieMaine]

At least Fox does try -- a poorly-promoted MOD disc program and a second-tier cable channel are better than nothing at all. NBCUniversal owns the Universal and pre-1948 Paramount libraries and other than the Universal monster pictures they act like they're embarrassed to own any moldy old black and white features.

Paramount was the most elegant studio in Hollywood in the 30s, with dozens and dozens of real gems -- but with very rare exceptions you'll never see them on TV anymore, and you'll never see them released on DVD or Blu-Ray. The Universal stuff isn't all that classy, but they had a great line in dark little melodramas even before the noir era, and some of their comedies that weren't Abbott and Costello were pretty good -- I'd give a lot for a legitmate, pristine DVD edition of "Hellzapoppin'" instead of a murky 16mm bootleg, but dream on....

 

[Fading Fast]

What's nuts is that, right now, all the studios - all the "media" companies - are looking for every revenue stream they can develop; hence, I'm surprised NBCUniversal isn't cranking this stuff out somehow, someway.

I am glad to hear there's a library of rarely seen good old movies tucked away as, as implied above, I'll bet they'll surface sooner or later.

 

[Fading Fast]

Illegal from 1955 staring Edward G. Robinson, Nina Foch, Hugh Marlowe and Jayne Mansfield

Good movies are usually better than their individual parts - the actors, the story, the backdrop, etc., all come together in a special way: think Casablanca's chemistry.

Illegal is the reverse: the actors, the individual scenes here and there, elements of the story are very good, but when added up, it's all just a bit too contrived.

Illegal - a crime drama-noir-soap opera mashup - has Robinson playing a former star district attorney who was on a glide path to mayor, but who quits over an unintentionally false conviction he obtained that sent an innocent man to the chair. This forces him into private practice while leaving his mentee and one-time charge, Foch (she should have had more of a career), adrift at the DA's office and unsure about accepting a proposal of marriage from co-worker Marlowe as we - and it's left unclear - think she's carrying a torch for Robinson (I mentioned soap opera).

That's all in the first thirty minutes or so and, then, it gets even more convoluted as Robinson, unbelievably, struggles to establish himself in private practice and - kinda, sorta - takes on mob business which puts him in the sights of his former district attorney's office (and Foch and Marlowe). From here it gets almost Greek-Tragedy like as Robinson and Foch confront moral and personal-relationship issues - it's not quite Oedipus killing his father, sleeping with his mother and stabbing his eyes out (those Ancient Greeks knew angst), but overwrought is a fair description.

More is to give it all away, but if you do watch it - and, as noted, it's got some good parts and actors - look for a young DeForest Kelley and Edward Platt (who never really looked young), as well as, blonde bombshell (that's just fun to write) Jayne Mansfield as a gun moll (also fun to write) who might have acting talent, but that's not what's asked of her in this movie.

P.S. After recent chastisement, I really wanted to comment on director Lewis Allen - who does a solid job moving a complex story along with strong transitions and smart use of camera angles - but there was nothing standout-ish in this effort and I wasn't familiar with much of his other work; although, I did learn from IMDB that he directed my favorite ghost movie of all time - 1944's The Uninvited - which, since that was very early in his career, would have led me to guess he'd have had more success in his career than he did.

 

[Trenchfriend]

Star Trek II and III, right now from self-recorded VHS-cassette.

 

[The Jackal]

Dark Phoenix

I won't post any spoilers, but suffice to say I expected more from the final X-Men movie.

 

[Trenchfriend]

Jesus, why I forgot one of my favorite actors?

So, Gary Oldman, Stellan Skarsgard AND Alan Alda!

 

[Fading Fast]

Niagara from 1953 with Marylin Monroe, Joseph Cotton, Jean Peters and Max Showalter

I always expect to - and want to - like this one more than I do. It checks so many boxes - film noir(ish), beautiful and exotic locale, decent story, solid actors and great time travel - and it always receives high ratings, but I'm always a bit underwhelmed.

Maybe it's because I don't really feel that bad for Cotton as the (we assume) veteran experiencing some form of PTSD that is worsened by his accurate belief that his wife is cheating on him. He loses my support when he tells us he knew exactly what she was - a cheating dancehall girl - when he married her. Sure, she could have been less mean to him (and maybe even have helped him if she had been a decent person), but he knew exactly what he was getting: You are responsible for your voluntary choices and actions in this world and marrying a cheating dancehall girl is not a path to happiness.

Maybe it's because the husband (Showalter) of the vacationing couple drawn into Cotton-and-Monroe's broken world over acts by trying to be some sort of caricature of a super-friendly, glad-handing salesman who never turns it off except when he explodes in anger, perhaps built up during his forced overly friendly periods.

Maybe it's because the only character I like and care about - and the one giving the strongest performance - is Peters as the salesman's wife (you have to wonder what the heck made her agree to marry him) who tries to help Cotton and Monroe even as she begins to see their train wreck of a marriage for what it is (unfortunately, she remains blind to her husband throughout).

And, lastly, maybe it's because Marilyn is just too "Marilyn" in this one - boomeranging from sexpot on steroid to wounded bird and back too many times and only revealing her character's, seemingly, true self all too briefly (but showing real acting talent when she does).

All that said, if you go in with modest expectations, it's a good movie with incredible time travel to mid-'50s Niagara Falls - cars, clothes, Art Deco architecture, tourist cabins and the Falls themselves are wonderfully showcased. And there's this: you could learn a lot about a man by knowing if he prefers Monroe or Peters in this movie and a woman by if she'd rather be Monroe or Peters.

Oh, I have nothing much to say about director Henry Hathaway other than that I felt he dragged some scenes out too long and, I checked, was disappointed to find that he doesn't seem related to the Hathaway shirt company in any way.

 

[Julian Shellhammer]

Illegal from 1955 staring Edward G. Robinson, Nina Foch, Hugh Marlowe and Jayne Mansfield

Good movies are usually better than their individual parts - the actors, the story, the backdrop, etc., all come together in a special way: think Casablanca's chemistry.

Illegal is the reverse: the actors, the individual scenes here and there, elements of the story are very good, but when added up, it's all just a bit too contrived.

Illegal - a crime drama-noir-soap opera mashup - has Robinson playing a former star district attorney who was on a glide path to mayor, but who quits over an unintentionally false conviction he obtained that sent an innocent man to the chair. This forces him into private practice while leaving his mentee and one-time charge, Foch (she should have had more of a career), adrift at the DA's office and unsure about accepting a proposal of marriage from co-worker Marlowe as we - and it's left unclear - think she's carrying a torch for Robinson (I mentioned soap opera).

That's all in the first thirty minutes or so and, then, it gets even more convoluted as Robinson, unbelievably, struggles to establish himself in private practice and - kinda, sorta - takes on mob business which puts him in the sights of his former district attorney's office (and Foch and Marlowe). From here it gets almost Greek-Tragedy like as Robinson and Foch confront moral and personal-relationship issues - it's not quite Oedipus killing his father, sleeping with his mother and stabbing his eyes out (those Ancient Greeks knew angst), but overwrought is a fair description.

More is to give it all away, but if you do watch it - and, as noted, it's got some good parts and actors - look for a young DeForest Kelley and Edward Platt (who never really looked young), as well as, blonde bombshell (that's just fun to write) Jayne Mansfield as a gun moll (also fun to write) who might have acting talent, but that's not what's asked of her in this movie.

P.S. After recent chastisement, I really wanted to comment on director Lewis Allen - who does a solid job moving a complex story along with strong transitions and smart use of camera angles - but there was nothing standout-ish in this effort and I wasn't familiar with much of his other work; although, I did learn from IMDB that he directed my favorite ghost movie of all time - 1944's The Uninvited - which, since that was very early in his career, would have led me to guess he'd have had more success in his career than he did.

Illegal is a remake of a 1932 Warren William movie, entitled The Mouthpiece; the plots track pretty closely. I do not recall where I saw the '32 version, but it is still worth a watch. There was a remake in 1940, The Man Who Talked Too Much, with George Brent in the lead. The Robinson version is an interesting mixture of crime and soap opera (as you pointed out), with courtroom hijinks and lawyerly-legerdemain.

 

[Fading Fast]

Illegal is a remake of a 1932 Warren William movie, entitled The Mouthpiece; the plots track pretty closely. I do not recall where I saw the '32 version, but it is still worth a watch. There was a remake in 1940, The Man Who Talked Too Much, with George Brent in the lead. The Robinson version is an interesting mixture of crime and soap opera (as you pointed out), with courtroom hijinks and lawyerly-legerdemain.

Thanks - I'll keep an eye out for both. I think I've seen the '32 version, but if so, it was a longish time ago. Williams made about ten thousand movies in the '30s with, maybe, five different plots - so it can be hard to keep them all straight.

 

[Big Steve]

Not a vintage film, but just finished the HBO series 'Chernobyl' and wow is all I can really say. One of the best shows I've seen on TV. Quite poignant and powerful if you're in the mood.

 

[Doctor Strange]

Totally agree. I said virtually the same thing yesterday... on the TV show thread:

What was the last TV show you watched?

 

[Fading Fast]

In Which We Serve from 1942 with Noel Coward and Celia Johnson

Darn good propaganda film. England was at war, fighting for its life with no guarantee of victory - England wasn't losing sleep over the morality of putting out propaganda films; it was losing sleep over whether it would survive to see them.

This movie follows the British Naval ship H.M.S. Torrin from its launch, thorough its battles and to its sinking (not a spoiler, happens early on) - weaving in the background stories of its captain - played incredibly well by Coward (who also produced and co-directed with David Lean) - and several officers and crew members through flashbacks.

From sailors getting married the night before leaving, through servicemen's families getting bombed in the Blitz to wives stoically receiving telegrams of lost love ones - this is a picture of England united in a war effort. Petty family squabbles and other frivolities quickly dissipate when someone is faced with real tragedy.

Equally stoic are the men serving on the Torrin who endure endless attacks with courage to the point of still manning the guns as water washes over them with their torpedoed ship sinking fast - a powerful scene.

It is a moving story of a country united at war. It also serves as an incredible piece of time travel - not just visually (although the visuals - the cars, clothes, advertising, architecture and archival war footage - are amazing) - but also, from a cultural and social perspective as England's class culture is on display, but looking at its (probably) spiffed-up-for-morale best as genuine respect amongst the classes flows back and forth.

To wit, in one of the closing scenes, when Coward is saying good by to the surviving crew of the Torrin, you can't help but be touched as Coward's handshake and personal comment to each man makes you think, if you ever had to serve, Coward is the man you'd want as your captain. My guess, that scene was Lean's, as few can touch a deep emotional cord with "small" personal detail like that better than Lean.

Mrs. Miniver is still my gold-standard for WWII "England at War" propaganda films, but In Which We Serve isn't that far behind.