What Was The Last Movie You Watched?

[Fading Fast]

I have The Young Stranger from 1957 on mute on TCM on in the background and saw this:


I don't remember ever seeing "Parents Free With Children" at a movie theater before - was that common back then? (Lizzie?)

 

[Doctor Damage]

I have The Young Stranger from 1957 on mute on TCM on in the background and saw this:
View attachment 173535

I don't remember ever seeing "Parents Free With Children" at a movie theater before - was that common back then? (Lizzie?)

Good eye... something tells me we had children's rates when I was a youngster (1970s) but certainly never free!

 

[Fading Fast]

Good eye... something tells me we had children's rates when I was a youngster (1970s) but certainly never free!

We had children rates in my town in the '70s, too, but not "parent" rates.

 

[Bushman]

Watched my copy of 1998's Godzilla. Not even close to being even a relatively "good" Godzilla movie, but it's a decent monster attack movie and has a lot of nostalgic and camp value to it. I enjoy the whole US Military vs giant mutant lizard in NYC angle, and it's filled with a great late-90s movie feel.

 

[Vera Godfrey]

Watched Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019) today. The scenes where the monsters fought each other were fairly epic and there were certainly some decent moments when the monsters interacted with the humans, but I could have done without the humans interacting with other humans. lol

 

[LizzieMaine]

I have The Young Stranger from 1957 on mute on TCM on in the background and saw this:
View attachment 173535

I don't remember ever seeing "Parents Free With Children" at a movie theater before - was that common back then? (Lizzie?)

At one time or another, especially in the late fifties when TV was cutting deepest into theatre attendance, every possible gimmick for stimulating attendance was tried. In the thirties, it would have been more likely to be KIDS ADMITTED FREE, the better to load them up on candy and popcorn, but the fifties saw young parents becoming wary of letting their kids do things alone -- it was the age of "Togetherness" -- so the idea was to encourage them to join the little folks for a delightful morning show of scratchy old cartoons and superannuated monster movies. I bet "White Zombie" was on the bill.

 

[Fading Fast]

⇧ Thank you. Great color.

As opposed to a "togetherness" moment, in the '70s, my mom clearly saw the movies as a place to dump me on a Saturday where ~$3 ($2 bought a ticket with another $1ish covering soda and candy) got the kid out of the house for several hours. That $2 ticket was both a combination matinee special and a kid-under-12 special.

 

[The Jackal]

Watched Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019) today...
but I could have done without the humans interacting with other humans. lol

That's how I felt about the Transformers movies. Like, there isn't a whole lot going on with the robots in a movie that's supposed to be about robots.

 

[LizzieMaine]

⇧ Thank you. Great color.

As opposed to a "togetherness" moment, in the '70s, my mom clearly saw the movies as a place to dump me on a Saturday where ~$3 ($2 bought a ticket with another $1ish covering soda and candy) got the kid out of the house for several hours. That $2 ticket was both a combination matinee special and a kid-under-12 special.

Yep. When I was five years old, my seven-year-old cousin and I would get dropped off at the movies -- didn't matter what was playing -- and get picked up two hours later. In between, we were on our own. Saw a lot of strange sixties movies that way -- Planet of the Apes, The Monkees in "Head," Peter Ustinov and Maggie Smith in "Hot Millions," etc etc etc.

 

[Julian Shellhammer]

The other day, They Shall Not Grow Old, the Great War documentary by Peter Jackson. The use of computerized coloring (generally a bad thing with me) made the events real in a powerful way. If you have not seen it, it is well worth the investment of your time. Off of Amazon Prime.

 

[Doctor Damage]

Last night I finished watching Topkapi, a heist film from the 1960s starring Peter Ustinov and Maximillian Schell. Roger Ebert called it the template for all recent heist films and I see what he meant. Great film in every respect! The only downside was the dvd transfer had crap sound so it was hard to hear a few lines, especially the female actress who had a strong accent. But that aside, it was a great way to spend two hours and like the Matrix was for a certain type of action film, yes this really was a template for later heist films.

 

[Fading Fast]

Yep. When I was five years old, my seven-year-old cousin and I would get dropped off at the movies -- didn't matter what was playing -- and get picked up two hours later. In between, we were on our own. Saw a lot of strange sixties movies that way -- Planet of the Apes, The Monkees in "Head," Peter Ustinov and Maggie Smith in "Hot Millions," etc etc etc.

Funny, I watched part of "Hot Millions" on TCM a week or two back and, thought, I want to see this one from the beginning. That said, after having seen Maggie Smith define the role of the Dowager on "Downton Abbey," I find it a bit awkward seeing a younger version of her in older movies. I don't really know why as seeing an actor at different ages is a normal thing, but somehow, she's defined in my head as the Dowager.

 

[LizzieMaine]

Some people seem to have been born old, and it's jarring to realize they weren't. My favorite example is Charles Lane, who played mean old men on television for a very long time (well into his nineties), and when he turns up as a pushy reporter or detective or hotel clerk in a thirties Warner Bros. programmer, it take a minute for it to register for me that it's the same guy.

"Millions" is a pretty good example of the sixties caper movie, and it made a big impression on me as a little kid -- for some time after, my cousin and I would reenact scenes from it using Barbies. I forget who we used to play the Bob Newhart character.

 

[Fading Fast]

Some people seem to have been born old, and it's jarring to realize they weren't. My favorite example is Charles Lane, who played mean old men on television for a very long time (well into his nineties), and when he turns up as a pushy reporter or detective or hotel clerk in a thirties Warner Bros. programmer, it take a minute for it to register for me that it's the same guy.

"Millions" is a pretty good example of the sixties caper movie, and it made a big impression on me as a little kid -- for some time after, my cousin and I would reenact scenes from it using Barbies. I forget who we used to play the Bob Newhart character.

And then there are the William Frawley's of the world who, even when young, you always see the old man in them waiting to come out.

 

[ChiTownScion]

Some people seem to have been born old, and it's jarring to realize they weren't. My favorite example is Charles Lane, who played mean old men on television for a very long time (well into his nineties), and when he turns up as a pushy reporter or detective or hotel clerk in a thirties Warner Bros. programmer, it take a minute for it to register for me that it's the same guy.

"Homer Bedloe" of Petticoat Junction fame. A classic example of the axiom that a good actor can play a character that exhibits a personality 180 degrees in opposition to that of his own: the man was by all accounts a sweetheart in real life.

 

[belfastboy]

⇧ Thank you. Great color.

As opposed to a "togetherness" moment, in the '70s, my mom clearly saw the movies as a place to dump me on a Saturday where ~$3 ($2 bought a ticket with another $1ish covering soda and candy) got the kid out of the house for several hours. That $2 ticket was both a combination matinee special and a kid-under-12 special.

Yes, even in the mid 1950's my Mom used the local movie house as a babysitter. They had .25 Saturday afternoon movies, usually cowboy movies. I was dumped off so my mother could go shopping and have a few hours of respite. My recollection, as an introvert, the movie house was filled with kids, no adults, and it approached bedlam, popcorn thrown about, screaming and general pandemonium while all I wanted to do was watch the damn movie and get my two bits worth.

 

[Fading Fast]

Yes, even in the mid 1950's my Mom used the local movie house as a babysitter. They had .25 Saturday afternoon movies, usually cowboy movies. I was dumped off so my mother could go shopping and have a few hours of respite. My recollection, as an introvert, the movie house was filled with kids, no adults, and it approached bedlam, popcorn thrown about, screaming and general pandemonium while all I wanted to do was watch the damn movie and get my two bits worth.

I, too, am a strong "I" (Myers Briggs), but don't remember the theater being chaos, but the one that had the best discount (where I went) was well run with "ushers" removing any noise/trouble makers. That said, in general, if everyone, everywhere would be quieter, the world would be better.

As to price - 25 cents is amazing as I remember my mother complaining when the Saturday kid's matinee price went from $2 to $2.50 - she still sent me though , she wanted her time to herself.

 

[Trenchfriend]

All About Eve which only gets better with every viewing.

How things are going, Amateis?

 

[Fading Fast]

To Have and Have Not from 1944 with Bogie, Bacall, Walter Brennan and Hoagy Carmichael (apparently, Ian Fleming's visual ideal for Bond!)

This is a very good movie that was even better when it was first made as Casablanca. I'm only the ten-millionth person to note that, but it's such an obvious rip-off that it hurts ,not helps, the movie as one is forced to see and judge the comparisons.

So, here goes: Carmichael is really good as the piano player as is Brennan as the alchy, but combined they are no Sam / Frenchy is no Captain Renault / other than being really fat, Captain Renard is no Signor Ferrari / Bogie as Harry is not as complex as Rick nor is his transition to freedom fighter as powerful / the closing scenes of friends going off to fight for the allies aren't even worthy of comparison / the To Have and Have Not sets are obviously fake versus Casablanca's better done fakes / Letters of Transit trump Harbor Passes / but I'll concede that Bacall wrestles Bergman to a draw.

There's more, but you get it. A good movie diminished by its shining progenitor.

 

[Doctor Damage]

To Have and Have Not from 1944 with Bogie, Bacall, Walter Brennan and Hoagy Carmichael (apparently, Ian Fleming's visual ideal for Bond!)

This is a very good movie that was even better when it was first made as Casablanca. I'm only the ten-millionth person to note that, but it's such an obvious rip-off that it hurts ,not helps, the movie as one is forced to see and judge the comparisons.

So, here goes: Carmichael is really good as the piano player as is Brennan as the alchy, but combined they are no Sam / Frenchy is no Captain Renault / other than being really fat, Captain Renard is no Signor Ferrari / Bogie as Harry is not as complex as Rick nor is his transition to freedom fighter as powerful / the closing scenes of friends going off to fight for the allies aren't even worthy of comparison / the To Have and Have Not sets are obviously fake versus Casablanca's better done fakes / Letters of Transit trump Harbor Passes / but I'll concede that Bacall wrestles Bergman to a draw.

There's more, but you get it. A good movie diminished by its shining progenitor.

I own a copy of To Have And Have Not and always enjoy watching it. I'm the one in ten million person who has never really seen the similarities with Casa Blanca, even though I know they were supposedly similar; frankly, I think the movie stands on its own.

The Hoagy Carmichael as 007 thing is weird. I read about that someplace. Amazing what Fleming was thinking!