What Was The Last Movie You Watched?

[LizzieMaine]

The Palm Beach Story, with the brother- and sister-in-law. Occasionally laugh out loud funny. Is Preston Sturges the inspiration of the Coen brothers' love of dialogue rich stories?

Indeed. It's no coincidence that "O Brother Where Art Thou?" is the title of the "socially significant" picture Sullivan wants to make in "Sullivan's Travels."

I've never seen a Sturges picture I didn't love. "The Miracle of Morgan's Creek" makes me laugh out loud every time I see it, because every time I see it I catch some bit of dialog I hadn't caught before. "Lissen, zipperpuss..."

 

[Julian Shellhammer]

Indeed. It's no coincidence that "O Brother Where Art Thou?" is the title of the "socially significant" picture Sullivan wants to make in "Sullivan's Travels."

I've never seen a Sturges picture I didn't love. "The Miracle of Morgan's Creek" makes me laugh out loud every time I see it, because every time I see it I catch some bit of dialog I hadn't caught before. "Lissen, zipperpuss..."

(Slaps forehead and rolls eyes) Of course... McCrea tries to sell his movie to the studio heads, who can only see the ticket sales from his comedies. I should probably have my Movie Nerd card revoked for missing this one...

 

[Lean'n'mean]

' Into The Grizzly Maze' (2015)....Pretty good grizzly slasher flick. Decent cinematrography & good use of the natural surroundings, although prehaps one too many arial shots of the wilderness, Ok character developement wise (albeit clichéd)& the bear attacks were very well done......the star of the film was a mix of real grizz & CGI which was artistically top notch & expertly applied. Fortunately this film had a mature cast so we're spared the usual parade of brainless teenagers running around drunk in their underwear as they're eliminated, one by one, which seems ubiquitous in this movie genre. One thing doesn't quite add up though, you have a group of guys going on a man eatin' bear hunt & they only take a couple guns with 'em, none capable of killling a large bear & only a few rounds of ammo for each......they're also wandering about in a cold,rain sodden forest woefully underdressed.........the big Grizz was surely the most intelligent character in this movie.
Bart the 'real' bear in this film was OK but 'The' Bart, who alas died in 2000 & appeared in many movies, would have been terrific as he was a far better actor, though he did play a similar role in 'The Edge' (1997)

 

[Doctor Strange]

Forever Amber, the 1947 Restoration-era romantic epic with Linda Darnell, Cornel Wilde, George Sanders, etc. Not a great film - kind of like a mash-up of Tom Jones and Gone With The Wind - but its classic Hollywood style did hold my interest for close to 2-1/2 hours.

But... I don't understand how this film was released under the Production Code. Foundling heroine Amber basically sleeps her way to the top, ultimately becoming Charles II's mistress... after two marriages where her husbands are killed, having a child out of wedlock, murdering a nurse/thief (arguably in self-defense), spending time in Newgate Prison for thievery and breaking out with a famed highwayman whose lover/partner in crime she subsequently becomes, etc. Yet she's still alive and free at the end. I figured for sure that she was going to have a classic death scene, since so many of these offenses required that appropriate punishment be shown under the Code!

 

[Fading Fast]

Forever Amber, the 1947 Restoration-era romantic epic with Linda Darnell, Cornell Wilde, George Sanders, etc. Not a great film - kind of like a mash-up of Tom Jones and Gone With The Wind - but its classic Hollywood style did hold my interest for close to 2-1/2 hours.

But... I don't understand how this film was released under the Production Code. Foundling heroine Amber basically sleeps her way to the top, ultimately becoming Charles II's mistress... after two marriages where her husbands are killed, having a child out of wedlock, murdering a nurse/thief (arguably in self-defense), spending time in Newgate Prison for thievery and breaking out with a famed highwayman whose lover/partner in crime she subsequently becomes, etc. Yet she's still alive and free at the end. I figured for sure that she was going to have a classic death scene, since so many of these offenses required that appropriate punishment be shown under the Code!

Maybe they gave it more leeway than usual because it was a "historical" picture and not a representation of, at the time, modern values?

 

[Doctor Strange]

That, and it was based on a hugely successful novel that was too popular to not adapt. One thing they did do was cut away quickly at the ending, without actually showing or implying what Amber's final disposition would be. So I guess the churchgoing members of the audience could imagine that she'd get hers, and the less strict could applaud her for living her life on her own terms and coming through okay!

 

[Stearmen]

The Lost Patrol (1934) Victor McLaglen and Boris Karloff. Directed by John Ford.

 

[Doctor Strange]

Chicken With Plums, a (mostly) live-action film in French by Marjane Satrapi of the brilliant Persepolis. A famed violinist decides to die because he feels he can no longer play; he stays in bed and doesn't eat, and as each day passes, flashbacks and side-trips show the reactions of his friends and family, and ultimately reveal his driving passion and loss. I was dubious at first - it uses that arch Wes Anderson/Amelie narrative approach that I often find too cutesy and clever - but I was very moved by the end.

 

[Cap_7597]

I've been watching Laural and Hardy Short Films on YouTube.

Can't get enough of those two!!



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Touchofevil]

Mission: Impossible-Rogue Nation
Very entertaining!

 

[Worf]

A great documentary "The Women He Undressed" - I love it when a documentary teaches me things. Orry-Ryan, born in late 1800's in Australia, lands in NY City at the height of the Bootleggin' "Roarin' Twenties". Hustles for a living with his lover and soon to be famous roommate. They eventually wind up in Hollywood with Ryan becoming a 3 time Oscar winning costume designer. We was Betty Davis' main man for a looooong time. He also did Betty Grable and a host of others. He was so talented and I NEVER knew anything about the man. You also learn a great deal about Hollywood's "love hate" relationship with talented homosexuals of the golden age. Two of the revelations totally left my jaw on the floor. It's on the Flix. Great film.

Worf

 

[Touchofevil]

Brooklyn
Well acted, nice little flick.

 

[2jakes]

Casablanca tonight
Like a pair of favorite old shoes.

 

[Touchofevil]

Casablanca tonight
Like a pair of favorite old shoes.

On TCM!
Nice little intro to the film by one of New York's bravest.

 

[scottyrocks]

We had It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (1963) on the tube this afternoon. Always cracks me up.

 

[Touchofevil]

We had It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (1963) on the tube this afternoon. Always cracks me up.

How do you like Ethel Merman's voice? It's been on the past couple of weekends. I love this movie. I used to watch this with Dad every time we saw it on television when I was a child.

 

[Stearmen]

Davy Crockett & The River Pirates. (1956) Disney sap at it's finest! Still, I still liked it after all these years. Fun to see a pre Jeb Clampett, AKA Buddy Ebsen!

 

[Fading Fast]

A great documentary "The Women He Undressed" - I love it when a documentary teaches me things. Orry-Ryan, born in late 1800's in Australia, lands in NY City at the height of the Bootleggin' "Roarin' Twenties". Hustles for a living with his lover and soon to be famous roommate. They eventually wind up in Hollywood with Ryan becoming a 3 time Oscar winning costume designer. We was Betty Davis' main man for a looooong time. He also did Betty Grable and a host of others. He was so talented and I NEVER knew anything about the man. You also learn a great deal about Hollywood's "love hate" relationship with talented homosexuals of the golden age. Two of the revelations totally left my jaw on the floor. It's on the Flix. Great film.

Worf

Is he the same as Orry-Kelly, as I've seen Orry-Kelly's name for years on TCM movie credits? His, "Adrian" and "Edith Head" are the names that seem to come up all the time for "costumes by," or "Miss blah, blah, blah's gowns by...". I don't know anything about Orry-Kelly or Adrian, but Edith Head I've read a little about and, from memory, she was both talented and extremely aggressive in protecting her turf and career (which considering the way the studio system treated its employees, might be fully justified).

Just found it on Netflix and will watch it soon. Thanks for the heads up, I love all this old Hollywood inside baseball stuff.

 

[AmateisGal]

I also watched Casablanca last night since it was on TCM! I've seen it so many times, but each time, something I've not noticed before pops up.

 

[2jakes]

I also watched Casablanca last night since it was on TCM! I've seen it so many times, but each time, something I've not noticed before pops up.

I know what you mean.

In the summer of ’78 I worked for Jack Warner in Beverly Hills.
I met two of his daughters.
This is one of them (step-daughter)
The actress is Joy Page.
When I met her that summer, I had the feeling that I had seen her before
but couldn’t quite figure out where or when.
She was very soft-spoken with melancholy eyes.


It was not until years later, checking online the Casablanca "cast”,
I found where I had seen her before. She was 17 at the time when
she appeared in Casablanca.