Sidewalk Crossings

Blanche Fury (1948)

2012-01-26T21:28:00.000-08:00

Hm, I'm still not quite sure whether I liked this movie or not. It's a little bit of everything, and I think I would have preferred something more... I'm not sure what the word is... clear cut? Or perhaps what keeps it interesting is that it's all over the board? It's hard to explain what I mean.

The brief synopsis without spoilers... Blanche (Valerie Hobson), tired of her poor and lowly positions as nurse/companion/house servant to a series of old ladies, receives a notice that her uncle would like her to come home and take a position as governess for her young cousin, Lavinia. The new position brings considerable more money with it, and ambitious for wealth and stability, Blanche marries her cousin, Lawrence(Michael Gough), which gives her the Fury surname... which her cousins appear to have appropriated from the previous, true owners of the estate when they left no legitimate heir. Things are complicated by the presence of Philip Thorn (Stewart Granger), who is the illegitimate son of the last Fury. He's quite bitter over not owning the estate himself and having to be groundskeeper for the usurpers. Blanche falls for him, even though she marries the other guy. Complications, illicit romance, murder, courtroom drama, perhaps a supernatural curse result from this mix of characters.

Okay, that wasn't brief at all! It's all quite complicated, which I admit I liked.

I think the movie just confused me because I kept flipflopping on how I reacted to the characters. In the first scenes, Blanche is so unpleasant, that I wondered how I'd make it through a movie with her as the lead. Then she turned really nice. Then she turned a bit mean again. Then she turned nice... it was odd. Same with Philip, played with lovely, simmering anger by Stewart Granger. He seems rightfully angry, then he takes it a couple steps too far, then a few steps really too far, then he comes back and I like him again... So I never could decide if I liked or disliked these people.

On the clear dislike list: Michael Gough as Lawrence was quite the despicable character, and he played it marvelously. On the clear like list: Lavinia (Suzanne Gibbs) was sweet and nice the whole time.

Then there's the whole possible curse on the estate, always lurking in the background. I rather enjoyed that. Gave the film a bit of a Gothic, horror cast to it that fit well with the mansion's dark shadowy corners and the sordid deeds of the plot.

There's a whole courtroom section... I didn't like that. Of course, it's a very very very rare film that makes me like anything set in a courtroom.

I did love the two lead actors. They did a great job and worked played well off each other. Valerie Hobson had the right look for her character: beautiful and austere, but soft when she needed to be. Stewart Granger was full of sharp edges, all dangerous and broody and stormy (except when his character was around horses, then he would turn gentle). His character had just one obsessive goal and watching his schemes turn darker and darker to achieve it was fascinating. I think the fact that he is so darned handsome makes his role work even better, because you want to like and trust him, even when he's scowling and plotting. I would have been more than a bit terrified of him, if I were in that movie.

It was definitely an engrossing film, and I wasn't sure how it would end, which is also something I liked about this movie. I should also mention the score by Clifton Parker, which was really neat and fit the movie perfectly. I loved the main theme in particular. Wouldn't mind owning this score on CD at all. It set the scene and the mood perfectly. And there was an intriguing use of color! Look at this shot, all blue, red, white. Very striking.

I think now, after writing this up, that I want to see it again. Now that I know the plot and the characters and how it wraps up, I think I'd like to go back and see how it fit together.

King Solomon's Mines (1950)

2012-01-22T11:36:00.000-08:00

Well, to my great surprise, I did not particularly like King Solomon’s Mines. This seemed like a perfect fit with my love of adventure films, action, on-location filming, and Stewart Granger. I would have thought anybody could safely recommend this movie. But even factoring out the animal element (and I really should know better than to watch any movie heavily involving animals that was made before animal safety regulations were introduced, as I will just get upset) I still didn’t like this movie.

Why? Because I hated the plot, or lack thereof. This was a quest story, never one of my favorite types of plots. I much prefer journeys (like Lord of the Rings), which is similar, but where characters return changed from their adventures at the end. Quests are just that... characters travel in search of something and have random adventures along the way. And I have to admit, this bores me greatly. For me, King Solomon’s Mines was a series of incidents that tied together only because they happened to the same people.

For example, when we finally reach this village in the middle of the unknown territory, we randomly encounter a criminal, who we’ve never heard of before in the movie until now. We have an exciting bit of fight/escape/chase... and then neither the criminal nor the villagers chasing our heroes with the intent of murdering them are ever mentioned or encountered again. It’s just a completely random incident. We do find out that our MacGuffin, Deborah Kerr’s husband, passed by, but there are a hundred ways to find out that information. That's just one example out of many. This movie is nothing but a string of mini-adventures, none particularly related to anything else... and while many viewers may not only not mind that, but love that type of story, it personally drives me crazy. When we finally get to the fabled mines... woo, hey, guess what? They’re real! But does anybody care? Does anybody pocket some jewels? We came all this way, and nothing happens. We also find our MacGuffin unsurprisingly dead. Nothing happens about that either. Nobody is changed or different at the end of this movie, other than they’re a lot more starving and tired than when they started out.

Yawn.

So, the scenery was impressive, Stewart Granger was handsome and pretty darned awesome, Deborah Kerr whined a lot (not without cause), her brother was my favorite character, the animals scenes traumatized me -- particularly the awful, horrible opening, the plot bored me silly, and there wasn’t even any payoff at the end in the mines that we went all that way to find...

What should have been a film right up my alley, just... wasn’t.

The Secret Invasion (1964)

2012-01-19T12:35:00.000-08:00

While I'm not fond of watching films on my computer, I do love Netflix's instant viewing just because I can sample some movies I'm not sure I really want to spend time on, on the spot, without waiting for the DVD to ship to me. I'm still waiting for King Solomon's Mines to arrive, so while I'm in a Stewart Granger mood (and I appear to have now forgiven him and gotten over my image of him as a double-crossing ratfink), I decided to try out The Secret Invasion, a 1964 WWII war movie directed by Roger Corman. Seemed like it might be right up my alley.

After a lackluster, rather cheesy first twenty minutes, it evened out and became a rather enjoyable WWII movie. This film seems to be a predecessor to The Dirty Dozen, with a similar concept. In this case, Stewart Granger's British officer leads five criminals on a mission into Yugoslavia to free a general from a Nazi prison. If they're successful, they'll be granted pardons. These prisoners are played by Mickey Rooney, Henry Silva, Raf Vallone, Edd Byrnes, and William Campbell. This may be a rather low budget film, but it certain brings an interesting cast to the plate! William Campbell, of course, is always delightful, and I love Raf Vallone. He's a solid actor, and I always think I've seen him in more movies than I have, for some reason. In many ways, he's more the lead in this film than Granger, and I liked his character a lot. His character carries this film, and he stays at the emotional center. He's also the smart one who basically takes over -- with no objections from Granger's character, interestingly -- to complete the mission. Mickey Rooney can often be annoying, but he looks like he's having the time of his life here, all grins and good humor, so I didn't mind him.

The movie benefits greatly from being filmed on location in Yugoslavia. It looks great, all sweeping vistas of the blue sea, blue sky, the old stone town, the mountains. Beautiful scenery. There's also a ton of extras for the big finale. Sometimes I think I get so used to television and its smaller budgets (mostly thinking Combat! here with usually no more than a handful of enemy soldiers giving chase to the good guys at any given time), that when easily a couple hundred enemy soldiers appear and start fanning across the countryside, I was thinking, whoa! The good guys are really in trouble. And when a matching number of armed partisans show up... well, it makes for an exciting finale, that's for sure.

The plot had a few interesting twists towards the end which kept it from being a strictly routine commando-mission type plot. I'd have to say I really enjoyed the second half. The first half has the obligatory get-to-know-the-criminals section, which was very brief, a couple escape attempts by some of the criminals, and arrival in Yugoslavia and setting up the scene. The second half is where the real action and story occurred.

Stewart Granger is one of those actors who aged extremely well. He's as handsome and fit as ever and still well-suited to action. He wields a machine pistol as nicely as a sword. There's lots of running around, hand-to-hand combat, etc., and he's right in the thick of it.

Not a film I'd want to own, but I'm glad I saw it. It was a diverting, suspend-your-disbelief, behind-the-enemy-lines couple of hours.

The Prisoner of Zenda (1937/1952)

2012-01-16T16:05:00.000-08:00

Since these two versions come nicely packaged on one DVD, I watched both of them this weekend. I viewed the 1952 version first, then the 1937 version. Now, the 1952 is a remake that used the same script, so the dialogue, even the staging, etc. is virtually the same. The only real differences are the cast, and that one film is in b&w, the other in color. I have to say I liked both versions and would happily watch either again, but if I had to choose, I'd go with the 1937 version.

Why? Because of Douglas Fairbanks Jr. as Rupert of Hentzau. Because he is awesome. The biggest difference between the two versions is in Rupert's character. In the 1952 version, James Mason has the role.

Both are very good, but despite the fact that they're saying the same dialogue, each is an entirely different character. James Mason is an older Rupert, a wee bit older than Stewart Granger, and he makes Rupert more thoughtful, creepy, and downright evil. Douglas Fairbanks Jr. is considerably younger than Ronald Colman, and is a cocky/arrogant/devil-may-care version. I wanted James Mason to get it at the end, whereas I wanted Douglas Fairbanks Jr. to get away.

I wouldn't want to mix casts, either, because each villain works specifically with their type of protagonist. Stewart Granger is a bit flippant and devil-may-care himself, so James Mason is a nice foil for that. Same with Fairbanks and Ronald Colman. Colman is the thoughtful one, so having Fairbanks be the grinning, cocky one works beautifully. I particularly love their sword fight at the end. Fairbanks' Rupert is so arrogantly sure of himself, facing this unassuming, older Englishman. You can just see how he's positive there's no way he can lose. But Ronald Colman's Rudolph is all steady confidence and resourceful physicality. As the fight goes on and Fairbanks realizes he's not teaching Colman a lesson, quite the reverse, he gets more and more desperate. It gives the whole fight an arc that plays out just perfectly.

Granger and Mason seem much more evenly matched, and while Mason plays Rupert with a fair touch of arrogance, there's more caution there, less recklessness. He's more the older soldier going to teach the younger foreigner a lesson. As he starts losing, his desperateness is of an entirely different tone. It's quite interesting watching the two movies back to back. I loved both sword fights.

I enjoyed Stewart Granger and Ronald Colman. One gives you matinee idol dashing, the other gives you clever reliability. I think Ronald Colman and Douglas Fairbanks Jr. are the better matches for the characters they're portraying, but at the same time, it's hard to beat handsome Stewart Granger. I think this is why I liked both versions. The 1937 version is better, more accurate, but the 1952 has a lot going for it too.

As for the rest of the cast, both sets of actors were good and interchangeable. Princess Flavia is played by Deborah Kerr in the newer version, Madeleine Carroll in the older. Jane Greer vs. Mary Astor, as Antoinette. They all were fine. Same with the different sets of male characters. Oh, I should mention that the 1937 version has David Niven, who is delightful.

Some favorite shots from both films:

Douglas Fairbanks Jr. showing his dangerous side.

Ronald Colman, nicely backlit by the fireplace during the final fight... but you know, did he have to put on the heavy sweater? He had a very nice black outfit on before he swam the moat... rather like:

Stewart Granger sneaking around, in his most excellent and attractive black attire. See, he knows better than to put on a wool sweater! More please!

And finally, my favorite shot of Stewart Granger in the whole movie, as the imprisoned king, suffering from an unknown wound, rumpled and disheveled, chained up, and sporting a lovely five o'clock shadow. I'd break into the castle to rescue him!

There's a 1979 version of Prisoner of Zenda that I'd like to see, but Netflix doesn't have it. It stars Peter Sellers, which doesn't interest me, but it does have one of my favorite modern sword fighting actors, Stuart Wilson, as Rupert of Hentzau, and I would dearly love to see him play that role! I've commented on how fast he is with a sword every time I see him wield one (which, so far, is in Ivanhoe, Mask of Zorro, and Princess of Thieves... the latter, I realize, I loved and never blogged about... sigh.) One of these days, it might come around.

The Vikings (1958)

2012-01-13T12:35:00.000-08:00

Sometimes, I just have to go back to the tried and true. Sometimes, I get sick of seeing movies new-to-me, and I want something comforting and familiar. So, I re-watched The Vikings last night, for the umpteenth time. This film is one of those films on which I grew up. Although, I do actually remember a time before I saw it. When we were young and there weren’t VCRs or DVDs yet, we’d have to wait for the network stations to decide to air something, and we could wait months to see something. My mom would intrigue us by telling us how cool certain movies were and what we had to look forward to when it finally did air. For The Vikings, she would always tell us about her favorite part, when Kirk Douglas climbs up the tower in the end battle and swings feet-first right through the stained glass window at the top.

This movie is directed by Richard Fleisher, who directs my number one movie of all time, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. Harper Goff, who designed the Nautilus in 20,000 worked with Fleisher again on The Vikings to help recreate the Viking ships, villages, etc. and, once again, he does a spectacular job. There’s a lovely little retrospective extra on the DVD of Fleisher talking about his memories of making this movie, of the two years it took, the research they did, the location work, his funny memories, and a lot of great still photos of the actors during the shoot. Wish there were more DVD extras like this, to add that cool insight and bits of trivia! Here's two of my favorite pics from the retrospective.

Anyway, I love this movie for a jillion and one reasons. This is the type of movie I grew up. Westerns, war movies, and period action adventures. There’s a lot of violence in this movie, but except for one scene, you don’t actually see much blood at all. I love that about older films. You don’t need the gore to get the point across. I absolutely cringe at one point in this movie even though you don’t see a thing. You don’t need to! When will modern filmmakers get it back in their heads that letting your audience fill in the blanks themselves is a hundred times more effective then showing it outright. Even still, this is undeniably a violent and movie and so definitely not for everybody. But then, hello, Vikings! Not the most peace-loving of people. Life was short, harsh, brutal, but also full of passion and beauty.

This is my favorite Tony Curtis movie, and my favorite Tony Curtis look. I love him with his beard. He’s an amazingly good-looking man anyway, but I just love him like this, less pretty and more straight handsome, all edgy and full of raw anger. He and Kirk Douglas play off each other so well, and I love their sword fight at the end, particularly as it takes place at the top of this tower, partly on these very steep steps. I've seen this movie how many times? And I still worry every single time that one of them is going to slip and fall.

This is also my second favorite Kirk Douglas film, right behind 20,000. His character isn't a nice man at all, but he fits right into the world the movie depicts and provides the perfect antagonist and foil for Tony Curtis. And The Vikings is also my favorite Ernest Borgnine role. He just makes a perfect Viking leader, with that great boisterous laugh of his. I love Janet Leigh in this movie as well and wanted to be her when I was little. She is so pretty as Morgana!

This is also the film in which I fell in love with James Donald. He’s one of those stalwart British actors who slips into good movies and makes them better. This was the first film I saw him in, and I quite fancied him. His character of Lord Egbert is intriguing. He allies with the Vikings, which technically makes him a traitor to England, but he does it only because King Aella is such a ratfink. He looks out for himself, but he’s not a coward either. He looks for ways to come out ahead personally, but at the same time, he’s got broader scope. I’m also an absolute sucker (probably since the first time I saw Mario sing “Vittoria!” in Tosca) for patriotic characters who quite loudly, noblely, and very inadvisedly, seal their guilt by decrying the evil of their captors in front of their captors. Good way to get yourself killed. Also a good way to make me love you forever. Egbert gets in such a moment when he’s hauled off to the dungeons: “Lies will not sustain a tyrant!” Mwah-hah-hah. He has some of my other favorite moments in the movie, such as when Ragnar (Ernest Borgnine) gives him a friendly clap on the back and nearly sends him flying. Egbert’s expression is priceless. I also love the casual, confused way he says, “Oh, I see,” when Ragnar explains a Viking custom to him. Makes me laugh every time. My only complaint is that I don’t know what happens to his character in the final battle! Does he live? Does he die? Alas, no such answers are forthcoming. I like to assume he made it, of course, and gave his devious, but faithful support to the new, true king.

I love the on location scenery in this film. The fjords are gorgeous, and I really do love ships… if it floats and is elegant and dangerous, I’m probably in love with it. My breath catches and my heart soars whenever I see a beautiful ship, and I absolutely adore these sleek dragon-headed Viking ships. I think if the movie was nothing but shots of the ships sailing around, I'd probably be quite happy. Yeah, I think I really did want to run away to sea all my life and just never fully realized it.

My favorite part of this film is the running of the oars scene. As the successful Viking ship comes in to dock, the rowers hold their oars out and the rest of the crew run along them. The scene makes me grin and grin.

Two short reviews

2012-01-11T17:02:00.000-08:00

Well, I find I don’t have much to say about Scaramouche other than I enjoyed it. It was pretty, it had lovely costumes, it had fantastic sword fights, I’m growing to like Stewart Granger, I love Eleanor Parker, and, oh, did I mention it had fantastic sword fights? It won’t become a favorite, but I’d definitely watch it again.

One of the highlights of watching it is that it was filmed partly in the French Village backlot at MGM that was used heavily in the television series, Combat!. It was great fun to see the oh-so-very-familiar locations all colorful and shiny. Particularly as Stewart Granger always reminds me a bit of a British version of one of the Combat! stars, Rick Jason. Both are tall, dark-haired, very handsome men, with similar face shapes. I also enjoyed a short retrospective extra on the DVD, with Mel Ferrer talking about the film. I love that he said he and Stewart Granger really jumped up on the precarious balcony railing for the final fight, without really giving it a second thought. They just did it, no safety nets or anything. Whoa. Well it sure does look great!

I also find I don’t have much to say about The Lady From Shanghai. I neither liked nor disliked it, expressly, though I lean towards the dislike category. There just wasn’t much for me to hold onto or care about. It appears I am turning out not to be much of a fan of Orson Welles as director. Rita Hayworth was gorgeous, as usual, though. I like her with the short blond hair. Orson Welles as actor is always fun to watch, so I enjoyed their interplay, but, oddly, I couldn’t understand some of his dialogue. I find this amusing because I have no trouble understanding Antonio Banderas at his most accented mumbling, but I couldn’t understand Orson Welles with an Irish accent. Go figure. I like the scenes on the yacht and in Mexico best. I disliked the courtroom scenes the most, mostly because it’s a rare film that makes me like anything set in a courtroom. And the rest of the film just sort of fumbled along, neither here nor there for me.

To be or not to be...

2012-01-09T18:51:00.000-08:00

ell, my leg healed fast, fortunately. I'd like to say I watched a couple movies while I was keeping it immobile on the couch, but, well, I've been in too much of an opera mood for movies (I'm listening to Butterfly as I type this). I received the DVD of the Barcelona 2003 production of Thomas' Hamlet, an opera I've never seen or even heard all the way through before, so that was my viewing pleasure over the New Year's holiday. Simon Keenlyside sings the title role, and that meant I was grinning and loving every minute he was on stage. But then, I am thoroughly in love with Simon Keenlyside and his voice. He's the first baritone in... well, ever... who can actually compete with Sherill Milnes for number one position in my heart. And they're different enough that I can love them both for different things without them ever really overlapping, and that just makes life full of win-win.

Hamlet the opera was almost three hours long. Only a couple arias are truly memorable, but the rest of the music is pleasant enough, and the story of Hamlet is always entertaining. The opera changes quite a few things from Shakespeare, but that just made it more fun, when the plot deviated and went new directions. The ghost has a much expanded role, and I think those changes were probably my favorite differences.

The staging, alas, was very minimalist. I don't mind operas updated to modern or different settings, but I do prefer a bit of awesome spectacle in my opera sets. I don't find bare walls at all appealing. Of course, on the other hand, it means I can focus entirely on Simon Keenlyside, and that's not a bad thing... I think my favorite part of the whole operas is this one tiny little bit after he feigns total madness and then, when everyone has fled the stage and he's alone, his stance and expression instantly sobers to this rather resolute, satisfied grimness. Almost gave me chills.

The following aria has been one of my favorite baritone arias for years and years, so it was nice to finally see it in context with the whole opera. This clip is from the Met's 2010 version, which I'd really love to see, but alas it's not on DVD yet. Sigh.

I also finished watching Scaramouche, which I will review shortly!

My Foolish Heart (1949)

2012-01-03T07:56:00.001-08:00

This movie reminded me that I am just not much of a straight romance person. This isn't a bad movie, there's nothing wrong with it, many other bloggers I know really really love this movie (coincidentally, Patti, from They Don't Make 'Em Like They Used To just reviewed it very positively here)... it's just not for me. It simply doesn't offer me what I look for in my entertainment, despite Dana Andrews being in it. I was bored from the get-go. I never could relate or feel for the characters, the plot held no surprises and was very by-the-book, and... I found I'd rather have been elsewhere. Sigh. The only character I truly enjoyed was Robert Keith as Susan Hayward's character's father. He was great, and their relationship was refreshing.

Very glad I finally saw this one -- it's been on my to-see list for ages! -- but it's not one I'll be revisiting any time soon.

New Year's Movie Meme

2011-12-31T15:44:00.000-08:00

Rachel, who blogs at The Girl with the White Parasol, has an interesting movie meme to finish out the year. Here are my answers.

1. What is your all-time favorite Grace Kelly costume?
Toss up between the white/black dress in Rear Window and the pink dress in To Catch a Thief.

2. What classic film would you nominate for a remake?
None.

3. Name your favorite femme fatale.
Fiona Volpe from Thunderball. If James Bond bad girls don't count, then Claire Trevor in Murder, My Sweet.

4. Name the best movie with the word "heaven" in its title.
Kingdom of Heaven (mostly because I have seen very few of the famous movies with "heaven" in their title.

5. Describe the worst performance by a child actor that you’ve ever seen (since Laura gave me the idea).
Brandon de Wilde in Shane! That kid ruins the entire movie for me. Never ran into a kid so painful to watch.

6. Who gets your vote for most tragic movie monster?
Frankenstein

7. What is the one Western that you would recommend to anybody?
Er... I wouldn't. There's so many types of Westerns, I don't really think of it as a one-size-fits-all. I'd be tempted to pick Silverado, though, the best of the modern Westerns in my opinion, with a fine cast, great score by Bruce Broughton, and it's a movie that hits on just about all the tropes of the genre. Good representation.

8. Who is your ideal movie-viewing partner?
My sister.

9. Has a film ever made you want to change your life? If so, what was the film?
Of course. Repeatedly. Not only that, but many films have changed my life. How could they not? Films are the biggest influence on me besides my parents and opera. I took up fencing because I loved sword fighting in movies. Without Where Eagles Dare to introduce me to Alistair MacLean, I wouldn't be a fiction writer today. But since the question is specifically "want to change" not what did change, I'll go with 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. I wanted to go into the Navy and become a submarine captain because of that movie (and Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea). I didn't become a sub captain for the sole reason that women weren't allowed on submarines back when I applied to Annapolis. If they had, I'd be in a very different place right now!

10. Think of one performer that you truly love. Now think of one scene/movie/performance of theirs that is too uncomfortable for you to watch.
I love Dana Andrews, but watching Town Tamer was one of the most painful, embarrassing things I ever sat through.

11. On the flip side, think of one really good scene/performance/movie from a performer that you truly loathe.
I hate Marlon Brando, but I found myself completely surprised when I genuinely liked him in Sayonara.

12. And finally, since it will be New Year's soon, do you have any movie or blogging-related resolutions for 2012?
Blog more frequently!

Happy New Year!

Derailed...

2011-12-31T13:42:00.000-08:00

Or... your day's plans might be thrown off when you get attacked by the outdoor stray cat. I ran outside to break up a fight between him and my cat. Normally when they start to get into it, I just throw a few small rocks between them, they break it up, and go their separate ways. This time, the stray turned, charged 10 feet, and threw himself on my leg. Literally. Clawed and bit me up pretty good. I can't even remember how I got him off, but he actually tried to come after me a second time. I danced back and threw another rock, this time not aiming to miss. He finally ran.

Darn near ruined the pair of jeans I was wearing. Have to see if I can mend the holes. I have a couple of fairly deep punctures in my thigh... will be keeping a close eye on those. The scratches, though deep, are nothing.

Soooooo. Interesting. Never been deliberately attacked by a cat before. Not quite the way I wanted to go into the new year, but what's a few more scars?

Last Day of the Year

2011-12-31T10:31:00.001-08:00

And so 2011 wraps up! I'm currently making a batch of spaghetti sauce and just started some homemade Italian bread. I'm listening to Carlo Buti, "the Italian Bing Crosby," singing popular Italian songs from the 1940s. Perfect background music for preparing an Italian feast! The sauce is the family recipe, takes 5-6 hours to cook. Finding good Italian sausages has been a near impossibility (must have fennel!!), but I finally found a little hole-in-the-wall Italian deli in Rancho Cucamonga where the owner makes his own! I bought ten, and we'll see tonight if I have a new source for the real thing.

I'm in the middle of watching two movies, one of which I don't think I'll finish. That's Black Horse Canyon with Joel McCrea. It's on instant viewing at Netflix and will go away tomorrow. I've watched the first 45 minutes or so, and I'm just not sure I can finish it. It's not a bad movie, I just can't deal with horse movies. I cry constantly. It's stupid, but they are so beautiful and amazing creatures that just watching a shot of them galloping and I'll get tears in my eyes. I can't watch horse racing either. This movie's about a gorgeous, dangerous black stallion that's escaped its owner, and about the attempt to catch and break him. The owner of the horse was a really annoying woman. I should like her because she's very strong-willed and do-it-yourself, which is always refreshing, but she still needs the men to help her. There's a lot of attitude from everyone and it gets old. I know it's just a sign of the times the film was made, but... just no desire to finish the film.

The other one is Scaramouche, with Stewart Granger. It might even make me like him and stop thinking of him as a double-crossing ratfink! (Those first impressions made by certain movies are just hard to lose sometimes.) Anyway, enjoying it immensely, particularly the sword fights. It's also filmed on one of the MGM back lots that was used in Combat! and I just love seeing the same buildings/bridge/etc. Makes me grin. When I finish this one, I'll post a review, but it's not going to be today.

I need to write today. When I'm not cooking and baking bread.

Last night I saw Vertigo with Laura of Laura's Miscellaneous Musings, and it was a great evening. It's always fun when the audience applauds for the composer (Bernard Herrmann, of course!) when his name goes by in the credits. Fills my heart with joy. Vertigo probably has my favorite Herrmann score for a Hitchcock film. Seeing the movie in 70mm just reminded me of all the reasons movies were made for the big screen. And not just because the details are lost on a small screen (Kim Novak is wearing the coolest hummingbird pin with her grey suit that I've never seen before), but because scenes have so much more power on the big screen. The nightmare scene in particular was twice as creepy and affecting as usual. And I got chills at the end.

I used to watch Vertigo quite often when I was younger. Anytime it came on tv, we'd usually watch it. But I haven't seen it in at least 10 years, probably a lot more. What a little age and maturity will do to your impressions! Things I once semi-mocked, I now understood why they were so. Things that bothered me when I was young made perfect sense now. It was a very different experience, and probably the long gap between viewings helped. Even if I knew every scene and image, I came to it a different person, and it was a different movie.

And now, off to go knead the bread dough...

The War Lord (1965)

2011-12-21T07:54:00.000-08:00

I watched this movie set in medieval times for only one reason... okay, two reasons. 1) to see Richard Boone sword fighting, and 2) curiosity. Alas, I was gypped of number one! It appears his character favored either a mace or a flail. Damn. I've seen him fence in Have Gun-Will Travel, but I wanted to see him swinging a broadsword around. Yeah, I'm shallow like that sometimes, but I do so love my sword fights.

This was a movie that took itself a bit too seriously. Charlton Heston is the titular War Lord, and Richard Boone played a good guy for once, as his right-hand man. Guy Stockwell (Dean Stockwell's older brother!) played Heston's younger, ambitious brother, and Rosemary Forsyth was the maiden who captured Heston's heart. There's little plot to this one. Our War Lord, after serving the Duke for twenty years, is rewarded with a tower and a lousy, swampy chunk of land nobody else wants. But he's an honorable man and intends to hold it for the Duke against the Frisian (Viking) invaders. He falls for Ms. Forsyth, who is quite beautiful, and he evokes droit de seigneur on her wedding night to claim her for himself. (Although in his defense, he does offer to let her go before he even touches her, but she's fallen for him by that point and stays. Typical -- cue eye roll.) This causes the villagers to retaliate by deliberately inviting the Frisians back to attack the Normans. Big fight results.

The battles were by far the best part. Heston and Boone and their handful of soldiers are literally defending one lone tower against a horde of clever barbarians. The scenes are well done and quite tense. Battering rams, siege engines, catapults, fire, swords, arrows... they threw it all in. Richard Boone had one lovely scene where he rappelled down the back side of the tower to grab a sunken anchor out of the moat, and then climbed back up a rope to the top of the tower again -- with the bad guys shooting arrows at him, and a battering ram threatening to bust down the castle's front door. I was on the edge of my seat. Good, tense stuff.

The rest of the film, however... the movie is like an uneasy combination of old school romantic epic and the more modern violent realism of the late 1960's films. It's a bit uncomfortable to sit through at places. And as much as I love Richard Boone, it's a little weird seeing him in Medieval England (though no weirder than seeing him as Pontius Pilate in The Robe). He does wield a very mean club and can bark orders better than just about anybody, and I absolutely want him guarding my back in a fight. Charlton Heston belongs anywhere, anytime, so he was fine, but ye gods, the filmmakers were aiming for accuracy, so everyone's sporting those god-awful medieval bowl cuts that make everyone look like unattractive. There was some really nice dialogue in the film, and some really nice delineation between the life of the Normans and the life of their vassals, and what exactly it meant to survive in a world structured that way. Heston is honorable to the end, and... well, I'm not exactly sure what happens after "the end" popped up on screen, as it left things a bit hanging as far as the fate of one character. Hm.

Favorite scene (beside any time Richard Boone went into action, which kind of goes without saying), is when a wounded Charlton Heston leaned his head against Richard Boone's shoulder for comfort... just because that is an image I never expected to see in my life, and I'm still boggling over it.

Madigan (1968)

2011-12-16T12:36:00.000-08:00

This is a rather intriguing cop movie starring Richard Widmark and Henry Fonda. Spoiler-filled review follows....

Okay, this really is it. I've had it! Henry Fonda in a movie with an actor I love = death for the actor I love's character. Seriously, this just keeps happening! Yeah, that means Richard Widmark got it. I should have known going into the film this would happen. I think Warlock lulled me into thinking Widmark was okay in Fonda's company (although okay is relative in that movie, but at least he didn't die) . Nope, no such luck.

Anyway, this was an interesting, rather different film. Simple plot -- Widmark and his partner, played by Harry Guardino, get surprised by the murderer they're trying to bring in. Bad guy takes their guns and gets away clean. Widmark and Guardino are given 72 hours to catch him by the police commissioner (Fonda). That's really the whole plot. What I found rather unusual about the film is that it just drops you into the middle of things, never explains anything. The plot may be simple, but the characters are not. They're in the middle of affairs and potential scandals that have nothing to do with finding the escaped murderer. It's just stuff going on in these character's lives. I kind of expected things to tie together, but they didn't. This film is much more like "Three Days in the Lives of a Few Cops" than anything else. That made it rather frustrating and ultimately a bit unsatisfying, but also intriguing and energetic at the same time. Characters have all sorts of history together we're not privy to, that affects their behavior and relationships, and you just have to pick it up as you go. Gotta love that, even if it's all a bit sordid.

Things I loved about this movie: The cast! Richard Widmark, naturally, but Harry Guardino was also a welcome sight. There's also James Whitmore, Bert Freed (yay!), Michael Dunn, Warren Stevens, Steve Ihnat, Woodrow Parfrey, and Inger Stevens. Henry Fonda seemed very dour and wooden and one expression the whole time. I wanted a few more fireworks at a couple points, but that's okay.

The New York locations looked great.

I loved that the happily married family man was not the one to get killed for once. Usually, the minute characters start talking about the wife and kids and how happy they are, they get a big red target painted on them.

I loved the scene where Richard Widmark runs into Henry Fonda's charater accidentally and turns into a nervous babbling school boy trying to explain his presence. The two of them have this uncomfortable history that is never entirely explained, which is cool. The scene cracked me up, because throughout the rest of the film, Widmark was in control. But one look at Henry Fonda sapped all that confidence right out of him.

I loved the scene where Richard Widmark told his singer friend that he was in love with his wife. Just kind of refreshing in a movie with a couple affairs going on.

All in all, I enjoyed the movie, but it wasn't entirely satisfying either.

Favorite Singing Actors

2011-12-14T17:10:00.000-08:00

Favorite male actor singing voices. And I'm limiting this to movies only, otherwise opera singers would take over.

1. Dean Martin
2. Hoagy Carmichael
3. Bing Crosby
4. Howard Keel
5. Gordon MacRae
6. Fred Astaire
7. Bobby Darin
8. Frank Sinatra
9. Bill Lee
10. Frankie Laine

Okay, sort of cheating on the last two. Bill Lee did the singing for John Kerr in South Pacific and Christopher Plummer in Sound of Music, and I love his voice so much, I have to count him here, even though I don't actually know what he looks like! I just love his voice.

Frankie Laine didn't do any acting that I'm aware of (?), but there are quite a few movies that he's sung the theme song for, where the movie would not be the same without his singing, so that puts him on this list for me.

Everyone else is pretty self-explanatory, I would think. Dino's been my favorite popular singer for ages, so naturally he tops the list, and I love his acting too. Hoagy Carmichael makes any movie he's in better just by being there. Now Frank Sinatra... I like his singing when he's young (like in Anchors Aweigh, etc.), but I honestly prefer him as an actor to a singer. I really enjoy his acting performances.

Runners up - any time an actor who is not a singer really sings in their movies. I'd rather hear Lee Marvin and Clint Eastwood sing any day of the week then listen to someone dub over them. I love Sean Connery's singing in Darby O'Gill and Dr. No. I love when George Raft and Gary Cooper sing in Souls at Sea. I don't really care if they're good or bad, I just love when actors knock out a few notes on their own.

Contest

2011-12-11T16:41:00.000-08:00

I didn't have a chance to announce it over here, but I recently had my short story, "A Hatful of Dynamite," accepted for the upcoming anthology, Adventurers in Hell. This new story is a follow-up/sequel to my Lawyers in Hell story, "Measure of a Man," and again involves Bat Masterson and Wyatt Earp.

The publisher of the series is having a contest for all readers out there. Here's the particulars if anyone is interested:

***

Perseid Publishing is excited to announce a contest open to all who wish to submit a character (dead ones only, please) to be included in a Hell story. Here are the rules:

Perseid Publishing and Zauberspiegel announce a contest to submit a character for a story in the Heroes in Hell Series:

Submit a Character to be written into Hell:

In the next volume of the Heroes in Hell series, the winning character will be included in either a new Janet and Chris Morris story, if the winning character is of sufficient depth and importance, or it will be included in an existing story.

Starting Dec 1st 2011, you will have the chance to contribute to the next volume of the Heroes in Hell series – “Adventurers in Hell.” The contest ends Dec 23rd 2011, 23:59 central European time.

CONTEST RULES:

Write a text of 200-400 words describing the character you are nominating: Why should this particular character be included in a story in Hell? What errors did the character make in life that will be punished in Hell? Extra credit for appropriate (and innovative) punishment in line with the character’s life on earth.

The number of words is not the determinative criteria for winning; rather, it is the character itself and your description of the character’s personality and behavior while living; your personal reasons why the character should be included in a hell story. All prospective characters must have been real living people and they must have died before 1950.

Only one story per person.

There will be three prizes awarded as follows:

1st prize: Janet and Chris Morris write a story featuring the chosen character, or the character will be included in a story, already in process, for the next volume of the Heroes in Hell series and an autographed copy of the book containing the Winner’s character when released.

2nd prize: an autographed copy of the most recently published book in the Heroes in Hell series and the appearance of the 2nd place character in the next book in the series.

3rd prize: an autographed copy of the most recently published book.

The jury is: Janet Morris, editor/author, Chris Morris, editor/author, and the Muse of Hell: Sarah Snyder Gray Hulcy.

Attention: No author who has ever been published in the Heroes in Hell series may submit a character. No present or former employees of Perseid Publishing, Kerlak Publishing or official employees of Zauberspeigel is eligible to participate.

Submit entries to the following email address: Hell@zauberspiegel-online.de and please include your full name, address, email address, phone number.

Texts are accepted in English and German.

Winners will be announced December 25, 2011. Good Luck!

Oh, the weather outside is frightful, da-de-da, de-da, delightful...

2011-12-11T09:52:00.000-08:00

Christmas is fast approaching! Winter is my second favorite season, right behind Autumn. The colder temps makes me feel alive, and since my dog is a Siberian Husky, we go on a lot more walks this time of year than during summer. The deciduous trees are still yellow, gold, red, but losing their leaves fast, so you can see farther. I'm big on views, that's for sure. I need to see far and, right now, with the trees in back leafless, I have a view across the valley from my bedroom that I do not have in Spring and Summer. I love that view!

So, what about Christmas movies? My family was not all that big on Christmas movies, I have to admit. We had a few stalwarts, and the rest were pretty much ignored. I've still never seen movies like A Miracle on 34th Street. This is what happens when you grow up in a family that loves action movies... Christmas movies aren't exactly action-oriented, so they weren't put on the menu.

The following four movies were the four I saw on TV just about every Christmas season growing up:

1. Ben-Hur (1959)
2. Babes in Toyland (1934)
3. It's a Wonderful Life (1946)
4. The Bishop's Wife (1947)

We did not do Christmas specials, with the exception of the Star Wars Holiday Special. LOL! Much more recently (last five years) I got to see the following three, and now count them among my favorite Christmas movies.

5. Holiday Inn (1942)
6. We're No Angels (1955)
7. White Christmas (1954)

But... I can't even make 10 films. I'd be remiss if I didn't mention Die Hard, which is set at Christmas. One of my favorite action movies of all times, but it's one I watch year round. I get no particular desire to see in December over July or April or any other month. Though I do start quoting it more this time of year, that's for sure! "

So, what have I been missing out on? Any Christmas movies I should put on my to-watch list?

(my Christmas tree this year)

Favorite Actor Voices

2011-12-06T19:10:00.000-08:00

Here's my top fifteen favorite male actor speaking voices (because I had a hard time narrowing it down to 15, and 10 was almost impossible). Not singing voices... which is another thing altogether. And not the voices I think are just plain cool... that would be yet another list! Or the voices I love that are just so distinctive and famous you'd know them anywhere.... I love all of those in a different way. (Man, there are so many ways to love and categorize things, aren't there.) This is more the list of voices I'd like just to talk to me over a quiet, candlelit dinner, where I'd be resting my cheek on my hand, sighing and listening and not eating. Perhaps I should just call these the voices I find sexiest? Hm, but it's more than that. We'll just go back to saying "my favorite speaking voices..."

For the most part, there seems to be a commonality here... I appear to like deeper throaty/raspy/purring/gravelly, well-enunciated voices.

1. Oliver Reed - by a landslide!

Everyone else (ranking quite flexible):

2. Aldo Ray
3. Lee Marvin
4. Dana Andrews
5. Yul Brynner
6. Richard Burton
7. Alec Baldwin
8. William Holden
9. Sean Connery
10. Ralph Meeker
11. Malcolm McDowell
12. Vic Morrow
13. James Mason
14. Anthony Hopkins
15. Antonio Banderas

When I got to meet Malcolm McDowell, one of the coolest things ever was just listening to him talk. Yowza, what a marvelous voice! Way better live and in person than out of that box in my living room. I could have stood there all day, just listening. Which makes me wonder how the other actors sounded in person? Mmmmm.

Least favorite male actor voice... Marlon Brando. Cannot cannot cannot stand listening to him. Nails on a chalkboard.

Listy things - Jimmy Stewart

2011-11-23T07:30:00.000-08:00

Favorite James Stewart films:

1. The Flight of the Phoenix (1965)
2. The Naked Spur (1953)
3. It's a Wonderful Life (1946)
4. Rear Window (1954)
5. Vertigo (1958)
6. The Man from Laramie (1955)
7. Bend of the River (1952)
8. The Far Country (1954)
9. The Philadelphia Story (1940)
10. The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962)

Like John Wayne, there's no time when I can't remember Jimmy Stewart. He's my dad's favorite actor. I love watching all of his films, but because I gravitate towards Westerns, those are what dominate my favorites list for him. My sister used to complain that there were "happy" Jimmy Stewart roles (early years) and "cranky" Jimmy Stewart roles (later years). She prefers the early stuff, I prefer the later stuff, but he was so good at both.

Listy things -- John Wayne

2011-11-22T17:19:00.000-08:00

My favorite John Wayne films:

1. Big Jake (1971)
2. The Sons of Katie Elder (1965)
3. The Horse Soldiers (1959)
4. The Alamo (1960)
5. The Quiet Man (1952)
6. Donovan's Reef (1963)
7. The Comancheros (1961)
8. Rio Bravo (1959)
9. El Dorado (1966)
10. Rio Lobo (1970)

There's no point in my memory where John Wayne wasn't part of my movie-viewing experience. I've been watching his Westerns since before I could probably talk. Big Jake is not just my favorite John Wayne Western, but it's one of my top five movies of all time. John Wayne movies are like comfort food, and I return to them again and again.

There was a statue of John Wayne at the bank we used to go to when I was young, which was Great Western (I'm still mad it's gone, and sometimes slip and call my current bank Great Western). They also handed out posters of John Wayne once, and I still have mine. It's one I should frame at some point. I used to wear a silver bracelet like his, just because he did.

Rio Lobo, on the other hand, I have a bit of a love-hate relationship with. This movie got watched an awful lot when I was young. I had a big crush on Jorge Rivera for awhile. I love this movie (particularly the beginning) with one BIG EXCEPTION -- I cannot stand Jennifer O'Neill in this movie. She almost single-handedly ruins the whole picture with her inability to act or deliver her lines. She drives me insane. If you remove her (and Sherry Lansing), everything else goes fine, swimmingly, delightfully! Jack Elam is hilarious, Chris Mitchum is earnest and cute. But then, here comes Jennifer O'Neill's character, and I just cringe. So, a love-hate relationship indeed.

(next up... Jimmy Stewart)

Listy things -- Ralph Meeker

2011-11-21T07:53:00.000-08:00

Today is Ralph Meeker's birthday! Here's my favorites of his films:

1. Kiss Me Deadly (1955)
2. The Dirty Dozen (1967)
3. The Naked Spur (1953)
4. Jeopardy (1953)
5. Paths of Glory (1957)
6. Four in a Jeep (1951)
7. Desert Sands (1955)
8. Birds of Prey (1973)
9. The Fuzzy Pink Nightgown (1957)
10. Battle Shock (1956)

I know, I'm one of the few people who even knows who he is, but my love for him has not diminished in the slightest. There're very few actors I'll sit through movies like Food of the Gods for, but he's one of them. I love his easy, smiling charm. Paths of Glory is such a powerful, gut-wrenching movie, and I absolutely love his doomed Corporal Paris. Desert Sands is a rather ridiculous story, but he looks so good in it that I ignore the story. I really want to see Run of the Arrow, but haven't yet had an opportunity. I like all the clips I've seen from it, although I will be looking away and covering my ears for the gruesome ending, which I've had spoiled, but that's okay in this case.

But more than the films, I really wish I could see two of his Broadway stage performances: Stanley Kowalski in "A Streetcar Named Desire" and Hal Carter in "Picnic," with Janice Rule. I think that he would have been fabulous in both.

(next up, John Wayne)

Blaze of Noon (1947)

2011-11-19T11:05:00.000-08:00

Time out from lists for a quick review. I watched Blaze of Noon last night, courtesy of youtube. It's a William Holden film I've never seen hide nor hair of, so this was a treat. I watched it in two halves, as I went to see a school play last night (Diary of Anne Frank).

SPOILERS follow, so stop right here if you want to remain unspoiled!! You have been warned!

Blaze of Noon is about four brothers, (William Holden, Sterling Hayden, Sonny Tufts, and Johnny Sands), who make a living doing stunt flying for a circus. This film is set in the 1920s, so we've got some lovely bi-planes zipping around. The first half of the film is rather light. We see the brothers at work, they leave the circus for the serious job of carry air mail between cities for a start-up company. William Holden falls madly in love with Anne Baxter, proposing just hours after meeting her. She eventually accepts. The first half is all kind of adventurous and fun and sweetly romantic with a touch of comedy...

Then there was the second half, in which we leave light and happy behind and swerve straight into melodrama. I find it very ironic that I viewed this film in the two segments, because it is almost like two movies! This wasn't a bad movie, but it doesn't hang together very well, and it has a lot of missed opportunities. It also doesn't hit the emotional points like it should, as there's a lot to be emotional about in this movie, but it glosses past those things.

I love Anne Baxter, so it was quite fun to see her with William Holden, who is as incredibly handsome and charming as ever. She finds marrying one brother is very nearly like marrying all four, as they all share a home and Holden can't yet afford his own place, and that starts ratcheting up the tension. The four brothers were quite good together, very likeable, though Sterling Hayden seemed to spend most of the film in a cranky mood. Of course, his character is jealous of Holden's for winning Anne Baxter's love when he wanted it himself, so maybe his crankiness is justified. The other supporting actors in the film are all fine, particularly William Bendix as another flyer who spices up his mail route by buzzing farmhouses and trains against strict orders. Flying in a straight line is too boring for him. The owner of the mail service is played by Howard Da Silva, and I really liked him. Made a great boss really trying to make a go of this new airmail service thing. The cast was definitely the best thing about the film.

Things I didn't like... well, besides wanting to re-write parts of the script to flow more consistently, I didn't like the ending. I know one of their points was that flying in those early days is dangerous, but really? REALLY???? They'd proved how dangerous it was long before the ending. Which seems kind of tacked on and I'm not sure how it helps the movie. Besides it made me very grumpy and unhappy. LOL!

I used to think only Dana Andrews needed to stay away from planes, but I was wrong. William Holden also needs to stop flying planes. His track record is getting nearly as bad. Hmph.

Listy things -- Kirk Douglas

2011-11-18T07:54:00.000-08:00

My favorite Kirk Douglas films:

1. 20000 Leagues Under the Sea (1954)
2. The Vikings (1958)
3. Lonely Are the Brave (1962)
4. The Strange Love of Martha Ivers (1946)
5. Tough Guys (1986)
6. Seven Days in May (1964)
7. Paths of Glory (1957)
8. Out of the Past (1947)
9. Gunfight at the O.K. Corral (1957)
10. Heroes of Telemark (1965)

Kirk Douglas is one of those actors I tend to take for granted and forget how much I really love him. He stars in my favorite movie of all-time, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, and The Vikings is, if not in my top 10, then my top 15 movies. If you had asked me who my favorite actor was when I was a kid, I would have told you it was Kirk Douglas.

I have to rank Lonely Are the Brave at the top because I absolutely love him in that movie (might actually be my favorite Kirk Douglas performance), but as I've said before, I have a hard time actually watching the film. I have two tough-to-watch films on this list. Lonely and Paths of Glory. Those go along with The Ox-Bow Incident, on my list of very painful movies to watch, but all three are also so good.

And why is Tough Guys not out on DVD??? I love this movie. I went and saw it a bunch of times in the theater when it came out, and I'm not sure I've seen it since! I think I saw it on video once, but that's it. This was such a good, underrated movie. Burt Lancaster and Kirk Douglas and Eli Wallach were so great in this movie. Man, I'd dearly love to see it again.

I had the pleasure of meeting Kirk Douglas at a book signing, oh man, twenty years ago now (where is the time going??). When I told him 20,000 was my favorite movie, he sang part of "A Whale of a Tale" for me. It's one of my fondest memories.

(Tomorrow... Ralph Meeker)

Listy things - Richard Widmark

2011-11-15T17:13:00.000-08:00

My favorite Richard Widmark films:

1. The Alamo (1960)
2. Alvarez Kelly (1966)
3. Run for the Sun (1956)
4. Yellow Sky (1948)
5. The Law and Jake Wade (1958)
6. The Last Wagon (1956)
7. Warlock (1959)
8. Pickup on South Street (1953)
9. The Sell-Out (1976)
10. The Frogmen (1951)

I find it interesting doing these lists to see that I tend to have a strong sentimental attachment to the first film I saw someone in. In Richard Widmark's case, it was The Alamo, and I admit, I'm still a sucker for him in that film. Widmark is another actor who never turns in a bad performance. I've seen some rather odd movies he's been in (I'm thinking of A Talent for Loving here), but he is always great, playing smirking, violent bad guys as easily as upstanding good guys. My favorites are the rather greyer characters in the middle, naturally.

(next up... Kirk Douglas)

Listy Things -- Oliver Reed

2011-11-14T07:32:00.000-08:00

Favorite Oliver Reed movies...

1. Crossed Swords (1977)
2. The Four Musketeers: Milady's Revenge (1974)
3. Gladiator (2000)
4. The Sell-Out (1976)
5. The Great Scout & Cathouse Thursday (1976)
6. Revolver (1973)
7. The Three Musketeers (1973)
8. Lion of the Desert (1981)
9. Royal Flash (1975)
10. Z.P.G. (1972)

(next: Richard Widmark)

Listy things -- Lee Marvin

2011-11-09T17:32:00.000-08:00

My favorite Lee Marvin movies:

1. The Dirty Dozen (1967)
2. The Professionals (1966)
3. Paint Your Wagon (1969)
4. Cat Ballou (1965)
5. Donovan's Reef (1963)
6. The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962)
7. The Great Scout & Cathouse Thursday (1976)
8. Attack (1956)
9. The Comancheros (1961)
10. Seven Men from Now (1956)

Lee Marvin never turns in a bad performance. I've liked him in everything I've ever seen him in, and that includes some very fine television roles as well as his film roles. His guest star appearances on Bonanza and Combat! are particular favorites of mine. This was a hard list to narrow down. I love his voice (and yes, I even like his singing!), his swaggering stroll, the way he could play the meanest guy ever and turn around and play comedy (or both in the same movie: Cat Ballou).

The Great Scout & Cathouse Thursday should probably be considered a guilty pleasure. I didn't expect to like the movie when I first saw it, but I couldn't resist the lure of seeing Lee Marvin and Oliver Reed in the same film. Two of my favorite hard-drinking, hard-hitting men together? In a comedy Western? Where Oliver Reed is playing, of all things, a Native American?? I started out watching the movie sort of open mouthed, a bit shocked, and then the movie got a little farther along, and I started laughing... and laughing. By the end, I found I'd thoroughly and unexpectedly enjoyed it, irreverent as it is. And it is very irreverent. Ahem. I've known how funny Lee Marvin can be, but I didn't know Reed could be just as funny. The combination is rather brilliant. (The IMDb trivia notes on the film say the two got into a drinking contest. Of course. If they hadn't, I'd have been shocked. Apparently lasted ten hours, and Reed won, which also does not surprise me in the least.)

(Tomorrow, since I've just been talking about him... Oliver Reed)

Listy Things -- Aldo Ray

2011-11-07T17:12:00.000-08:00

My favorite Aldo Ray films:

1. We're No Angels (1955)
2. Battle Cry (1955)
3. What Did You Do in the War, Daddy? (1966)
4. Nightfall (1957)
5. Men in War (1957)
6. God's Little Acre (1958)
7. Kill a Dragon (1967)
8. Miss Sadie Thompson (1953)
9. Pat and Mike (1952)
10. The Secret of NIMH (1982)

Mmmm, Aldo Ray. Love his brawniness, love that raspy voice, love how vulnerable he can still be despite that physical strength. If this was a "favorite roles" list, there would be a couple television episodes on here, but I chose film, so...

God's Little Acre is a rather bizarre film, but yowza, Aldo Ray is so hot, I don't care about the rest. Same with Miss Sadie Thompson. I can't say I like the film (Rain with Joan Crawford is a much better version), but it's got a good cast, and I just ignore the stuff I don't like. Besides, with scenes like the opening scene -- Aldo Ray and a very young Charles Bronson (Charles Buchinksy in those days) rising out of the tropical surf, dripping wet and in nothing but swim trunks -- I admit, any substance to that film is completely lost on me after that beginning of sheer eye candy appeal. Um, yeah... where was I? And the last film on my list is indeed an animated film, with just his voice, but I really love his character of Sullivan in that film, so I'm counting it for now.

(next up... Lee Marvin)

Listy things -- George Raft

2011-11-06T08:56:00.000-08:00

Favorite George Raft films:

1. Spawn of the North (1938)
2. Souls at Sea (1937)
3. Each Dawn I Die (1939)
4. Invisible Stripes (1939)
5. Rumba (1935)
6. Scarface (1932)
7. Some Like It Hot (1959)
8. They Drive by Night (1940)
9. Loan Shark (1952)
10. Background to Danger (1943)

I find it very amusing that my favorite two George Raft films also star two actors I'm not particularly fond of, Henry Fonda and Gary Cooper. Yet I'll watch each any day of the week just to catch those two particular films, which showcase George at his least smooth and well-dressed. Not that I mind him smooth and well-dressed, because damn, the man can wear a tailored suit like nobody's business. But I tend to love rough-and-tumble first, and Spawn of the North and Souls at Sea deliver that. I love the first half of They Drive by Night for the same reason, rough and tumble and scruffy, fisticuffs and wise-cracking.

(up tomorrow... Aldo Ray)

Listy things -- Joel McCrea

2011-11-05T10:16:00.000-07:00

Today is Joel McCrea's birthday! I'm delighted to be attending the open house at his ranch in Thousand Oaks and will report in on that later. But for now, here's my favorite films starring Joel McCrea:

1. Ride the High Country (1962)
2. Dead End (1937)
3. The More the Merrier (1943)
4. The Most Dangerous Game (1932)
5. Bird of Paradise (1932)
6. Sullivan's Travels (1941)
7. The Silver Horde (1930)
8. Foreign Correspondent (1940)
9. Union Pacific (1939)
10. Buffalo Bill (1944)

There are so many enjoyable Joel McCrea movies that this list was kind of hard! And I still have so many films of his left to see! Of course, Ride the High Country is still my absolute favorite by a long shot. I have a lobby card from that film on my wall. Makes me happy every time I walk back it.

(up next... George Raft)

Listy things -- Dana Andrews

2011-11-04T17:19:00.000-07:00

My favorite Dana Andrews' films:

1. The Best Years of Our Lives (1946)
2. Swamp Water (1941)
3. Where the Sidewalk Ends (1950)
4. Fallen Angel (1945)
5. Laura (1944)
6. Ball of Fire (1941)
7. State Fair (1945)
8. Night Song (1947)
9. The Frogmen (1951)
10. The Ox-Bow Incident (1943)

It's very hard to put Ox-Bow Incident on that list, because that movie is very painful to watch, but at the same time, he's so wonderful in it that it is one of my favorites. Actually, typing up this list really put me in the mood to watch most of these. I kind of wore them out a few years back, but now I'm fresh and ready to watch!

(next up... Joel McCrea, just in time for his birthday)

Listy things! -- William Holden

2011-11-03T19:52:00.000-07:00

I have at least three movie reviews I'm behind on, but I've been fighting a cold and can't focus on anything right now... so we're going to do some lists for November, starting with my personal top ten favorite movies from several of my favorite actors.

I absolutely love how many people can adore the same actor and yet love completely different movies starring them. As they say, how boring it would be if we liked the same things, right? And when there's a jillion movies to choose from, and only ten can go on a list... So, here's my personal favorites (ie: the most watched go-to movies when I'm in a William Holden mood). There's still a few of his films I haven't yet seen, that I have a feeling will be on this list, once I do see them, like Streets of Laredo. That's the thing... favorite lists are so flexible and ever-changing. But as of this moment:

William Holden

1. The Wild Bunch (1969)
2. The Horse Soldiers (1959)
3. Sunset Blvd. (1950)
4. Escape from Fort Bravo (1953)
5. Alvarez Kelly (1966)
6. Stalag 17 (1953)
7. Picnic (1955)
8. The 7th Dawn (1964)
9. Golden Boy (1939)
10. Texas (1941)

(Up tomorrow... Dana Andrews)

Background to Danger (1943)

2011-10-24T13:20:00.000-07:00

This was a pretty entertaining, but not great, spy movie. On the surface, it sounds like quite a winner. The plot is intriguing. Set in WWII, in neutral Turkey. The Germans aim to break that neutrality and give Germany a chance to take over by convincing Turkey Russia plans to evade. They've cooked themselves up a nice little scheme, complete with a fake invasion plan, photos, maps, etc. that the main German instigator (Sidney Greenstreet) plans to publish in a Turkish newspaper. Standing in the way of the nifty German plot are an American spy (George Raft), and several Russian ones (including Peter Lorre and Brenda Marshall).

The movie starts out promising enough. Raft manages to obtain the photos and plans, but the woman who gives them to him is murdered and Raft framed. He's then kidnapped by Greenstreet's men -- not before hiding the plans, of course. Greenstreet does not remotely play nice in his quest to recover the plans, and when Raft refuses to cooperate, our hero gets kicked down to the cellar, only to be rescued from torture by Peter Lorre, and the race is on to see who can obtain the plans first -- and stay alive while they're at it.

Alas, the second half of the movie isn't as fun as the first, but it's livened up considerably by Peter Lorre and Sidney Greenstreet. How can you go wrong with either? Lorre plays a good guy for once, albeit a devious, tricky spy, who loves his vodka. He's delightful, and his lines and delivery made me laugh outloud more than once. He's definitely worth the price of admission alone. I love when he finally tells Raft the truth, isn't believed, and kind of throws up his hands. And the way he sits crosslegged on top of a table to tell his story. He's just plain fun in this movie!

Sidney Greenstreet plays one of those pontificating bad guys who likes to hear himself talk. But, he also smart, one step ahead of the good guys most of the movie, and isn't afraid to do his own dirty work when it comes down to it (though he prefers to do it in comfort). And while he may speechify an awful lot, his dialogue is filled with dry humor and some really nice turns of phrase that also made me grin.

Brenda Marshall plays Peter Lorre's sister, and I hate to say it, but she appears to have hated making this movie or something... she put zero personality into her role. She has no chemistry with Lorre or Raft or even the scenery. She's the weakest link here, her part is unnecessary anyway (token female good guy and tacked on love interest), and I really wish her part had been cut completely. She at least gets to drive the car in the big car chase... but she's pretty expressionless there too.

George Raft turns in a mostly average performance, with a few really good moments and a few snappy lines of his own. I still adore the man. I do love when he gets that stubborn set to his jaw and that defiant look in his eye, and I love the back and forth with Peter Lorre he gets to do as both try to play each other to get what they need, and as they alternate who has the drop on the other. Not nearly enough fisticuffs from him, but there's still plenty of running and scrambling around to show off his physical grace. And he sure does know how to wear a hat and coat well.

The rest of the supporting cast was excellent, I loved the train sequences (trains in old movies are never a bad thing!), the wild, fish-tailing car chase was exciting, shadows and dark alleys abounded, and I loved the confrontations between good guys and bad guys. There was also a lame epilogue, and a couple of lame deaths, but for the most part, it still kept me solidly entertained in a B-spy movie way.

Blowing off the cobwebs

2011-10-09T15:26:00.000-07:00

My apologies for the neglect. A combo of vacation, illness, and impending story deadlines has left me with little time for blogging in the last month. I've watched only a couple movies in the past month, and those were re-watches. Weird to go such a long stretch without watching a movie, but I read a lot in there. No fiction, though, oddly. Only biographies on Wyatt Earp and Bat Masterson. I loved reading about both men. Up next is another biography, this one on Travis, Crockett, and Bowie. Really looking forward to it, but man, it's a fat book!

I've also had a birthday, and I find that while I don't need quite glasses yet, I'm distinctly getting more and more farsighted nowadays. Pretty soon my arms won't be long enough, and then I'll need glasses. LOL! No problems with driving or seeing anything far off. Just the up close stuff. I also cannot read for hours and hours like I used to in my youth. My eyes take longer adjust quickly from up close to distant and back again, and reading nowadays tends to leave me with a fair bit of nausea if I try to read for too long. It's unsettling. I just try to make sure I read in bright light and for shorter periods of time. Ahhhh, how the body slowly changes with age.

Most free time lately has been spent racing a deadline for my next anthology submission. Once it's off my plate, there's another one to write... but I should be able to get back to watching old movies. I hope. I'm craving some Dana Andrews and William Holden about now!

Ivanhoe (1952)

2011-09-16T10:48:00.000-07:00

This version kind of made me laugh. It's as if someone read the story and said, "What's this? Ivanhoe spends most of the story sidelined? But we've got Robert Taylor lined up for the role! What's up with this Black Knight who keeps rescuing Ivanhoe? King Richard? Bah! Who needs King Richard, give his part to Ivanhoe!" And so, Ivanhoe becomes the Black Knight instead of the Disinherited Knight and any time there is a rescue or heroic action scene by someone else, they give that part to Ivanhoe. He becomes a bit of a superman! Nothing can keep him down. Oh, he still gets wounded, but he bounces right back up so he can go storm the castle himself. Now if you're going to have a movie called "Ivanhoe," and you're unfamiliar with the story, this version might actually be truer to your expectations. But coming to this version last, I was a bit underwhelmed.

And so far, I think the only movies I genuinely like Robert Taylor in are Westerns. I dig him in Westerns, but in these older period movies? Much as I want to like him, he's just flat and expressionless and seems a bit out of time and place.

Best things in this one are George Sanders and Joan Fontaine. Really, can you go wrong with George Sanders? He is always awesome, purring his lines with that smooth, delicious voice. He makes an excellent Bois-Guilbert in this version. I quite enjoyed his performance. And Joan Fontaine might just be my favorite Rowena in any version. She's beautiful, strong and feminine at the same time. Normally, I'm kind of rooting for Rebecca to win Ivanhoe, but not in this version. In this one, I loved Rowena. I'll admit, though, I'm not an Elizabeth Taylor fan. She was undeniably beautiful when she was young, but her voice always grates on me, and she just didn't sell me on her Rebecca. I guess she kind of fits with Robert Taylor, though.

Nice scenery, nice jousting, great storming of the castle, and a first-rate score by Miklos Rozsa also helped this version. This is probably my second favorite Rozsa score after Ben-Hur. He wrote some of the most beautiful and romantic and heroic music ever for this one, and I could listen to it all day. I absolutely love his score.

Ivanhoe (1997)

2011-09-08T17:18:00.000-07:00

This was the next version I saw of the Ivanhoe story. This is an A&E mini-series, and it is fabulous. Just as I watched the first one for Sam Neill, I tuned into this one for another actor, this time, Valentine Pelka. He's one of those British actors most people have never heard of, but I love love love him. He plays Maurice de Bracy, which delighted me no end, after loving Stuart Wilson in the same role.

What I found was a rock solid mini-series that was gripping start to finish. It has an unfair advantage over the 1982 version because it is a mini-series. With a running time of 270 minutes, it has room for character growth and depth that the other versions, of course, don't have, and it uses them wisely. This is also a much grittier, more "realistic" filming of the story. The characters look dirty, scroungy, and like they belong in the time period much more than the 1982 version.

The cast? Really, they're unrivaled here. Everyone of them looks and fits their role and turns in above standard performances. No cheese here! Ciarin Hinds gets the plummy Brian de Bois-Guilbert role and he is perfect. I may have loved Sam Neill, but I can't say I truly cared about his Bois-Guilbert. Not so this time, I was much more invested in the character. (But again with the unfair mini-series advantage of having so much more time and space...) Susan Lynch is Rebecca, and she, also, shines. The two play off each other very well, and their scenes are some of the best in the mini-series. James Cosmo plays Cedric, and, as opposed to the complaining version in the 1982 version, this Cedric is fierce, and definitely more action less talk, and definitely no whining. He'd be a scary stern father that you wouldn't want to mess with. (You know, I don't think I've seen James Cosmo in anything but period/fantasy movies. I can't even picture him in modern day clothes!). Stephen Waddington is Ivanhoe, and is more than adequate. Valentine Pelka makes a most excellent de Bracy, even more honorable than Stuart Wilson's, and if I hadn't already been in love with actor and character, this would have cemented it! Christopher Lee is even here, being absolutely terrifying as the rigid head of the Knights Templar. Everyone else fills in their characters nicely.

Special credit goes to Sian Phillips who has a brief but absolutely priceless appearance as Queen Eleanor, who meets with her two feuding sons. It might just be my favorite scene in the film. At the very least, it's the one that made me grin the most! Brilliant dialogue as she verbally lashes her two sons. Now this is a powerful and smart Queen! She's so good, you almost wish there was more scenes with her!

The only extremely minor downside is this version does not appear to have had a big budget. There are not hundreds of extras available to storm the castle or fill in the stands for the jousts, or even to populate Prince John's castle, which seems woefully understaffed. This didn't actually bother me because the rest was so good, but I've heard other complaints that it's "too small" in scale. Rubbish. I'll take it just as it is.

So, yes, this is far and away my favorite version of Ivanhoe. It's true to the story, has a great cast, great scenery, and is meaty. A&E got this one right!

Ivanhoe (1982)

2011-09-06T17:33:00.000-07:00

I recently re-watched three versions of Ivanhoe, and thought I'd write up my thoughts on each here. The three versions are the 1952 Robert Taylor movie, the 1982 TV movie, and the 1997 TV mini-series. I'm going to start with the 1982 version, as that was the first Ivanhoe I saw. After I've written up each individually, I'll do a compare/contrast.

I did not see it when it aired, but caught it several years later on video. I rented it solely for Sam Neill, and fell in love with the story of Ivanhoe, among other things. I grew up on the Robin Hood legend, King Richard, Prince John, the Magna Carta, and that whole time period, so Ivanhoe was a natural for me. I'm just surprised it took me that long before I saw a version. (I read the book shortly thereafter, loved it too.)

This is a star-studded version, with a decent budget, lots of action and vibrant color, but a bit cheesy and/or dated in places (depending on how you want to look at it). Sam Neill plays Sir Brian de Bois-Guilbert, the Knight Templar who falls in love with Rebecca of York, whose played by Olivia Hussey. I loved her in Romeo & Juliet, and she did not disappoint here. James Mason plays her father, Isaac of York. Julian Glover is King Richard, Ronald Pickup is Prince John, Anthony Andrews plays Ivanhoe, John Rhys Davies is Front-de-Boeuf, Michael Hordern Cedric, and Stuart Wilson played Maurice de Bracy.

I was surprised by a couple things when I saw this movie. Ivanhoe may be the title character, but he's not the heart of this story. He spends most of it sidelined with injuries he receives in a melee that was unfairly stacked against him. If not for King Richard, he wouldn't have made it out alive! So, while he moans and groans and tries to recover, the other characters take over the story. In particularly, Bois-Guilbert's forbidden love for Rebecca. In many ways, he is the main character. He's also the only character who truly has a character arc, the only one who changes throughout the story. This, naturally, makes him the most interesting character. Well, almost.

I also fell in love with Bois-Guilbert's cohort, Maurice de Bracy (and by extension, the actor that played him, Stuart Wilson. After seeing him in this, I sought him out in other films, and still keep my eye out for him. He has never disappointed me in a role yet.) De Bracy is a mercenary knight, leader of the Free Companions, but he's honorable, and I am always a sucker for honorable men. He also is lovely to watch when he swordfights. He's quick and very graceful, more so than any of the other actors. In an unstaged fight, I think he would have beaten everyone. His fights are too short, but that's what the rewind button is for! LOL!

As much as I love Sam Neill, in this particular film, I liked Stuart Wilson more. Not to say there was anything wrong with Sam Neill. He was deliciously angry, smarmy and condescending, and finally frustrated with the whole unrequited love thing. One of the things I love about this version is that he nearly takes Ivanhoe apart in their final showdown. Ivanhoe may have bested him in the joust, but I think even were Ivanhoe fully recovered from his injuries, this particular Bois-Guilbert is the better swordsman, and the victory is clearly in his hands. I loved that, because it made his sacrifice for Rebecca that much more poignant.

Things I didn't like: Michael Hordern and Lysette Anthony (Rowena). I like both actors in other movies, but they both annoyed me here. Hordern because his Cedric was a whining complainer and a bit of a fool (not the actor's fault, but the script's), and Rowena because her spunk was overridden by her simpering and sad pouting. Hard to explain, but she just annoyed me here. Too bad, because she had some sassy dialogue and showed spirit. The actor playing Ivanhoe was adequate, but his character is overshadowed by the others, so honestly, I didn't pay that much attention to him.

John Williams at the Hollywood Bowl!

2011-08-28T10:41:00.000-07:00

Wow, went to the Bowl last night to see John Williams conduct the LA Phil in a concert of various movie music. The concert was sold out! The attendance sign said 16,792 people were there last night!!! It was packed to the gills, and it was AMAZING. Hundreds of people had brought lightsabers. Williams opened the concert with a medley of famous movie themes (accompanied by clips from the movies played on a giant screen), and when Star Wars came on, those lightsabers all came on and the theater glowed around us, as everyone cheered. And that was for just a very short clip of the music. It was just a taste of what was to come. We knew when the full theme would be played later that night, the Bowl would go bonkers mad.

Sure enough, at the end of the second half of the concert, Williams started with "The Asteroid Field," from Empire, and a few lightsabers clicked on. Then Princess Leia's theme. More lightsabers. And then... the main Star Wars theme accompanied by film clips... and the place went MAD in the best possible way. All those lightsabers went on. Everyone was laughing and cheering and if you could have bottled the love and enthusiasm in that audience, you could have made a fortune. It was amazing. I've been to a lot of John Williams concerts, but holy smoke, I've never quite seen anything like this.

That was technically the end of the concert, but the deafening round of applause brought Williams back out, who launched the orchestra immediately into the Imperial March. You thought the audience went mad for just the Star Wars theme? This was even bigger! And all those lightsabers? Started keeping the beat. Sheer. Awesomeness. Hundreds of lightsabers stroking the downbeat. Wow. Just wow.

After that cue, John Williams was peering out in the audience, and he realized the whole place was glowing with waving lightsabers, and he pointed, and his mouth dropped open in surprise and awe at the tribute.

We got two more encores, ET and Indiana Jones, and then, even though the audience had not quieted in the slightest, and was still clapping madly, alas, the lights came up and that was that. What a fabulous evening. Here we are thirty-four years after Star Wars came out, and John Williams and his music are still moving people that much.

And then nearly 17,000 people headed for the exits en masse...

One of the other highlights for me was when they played the How the West Was Won theme and showed clips from all kinds of Westerns. Loved loved loved that. Lots of other good stuff, more medleys, a suite from The Reivers, Harry Potter, etc. They showed the opening from Last Crusade without music, and then with music, and that was pretty cool.

I'm embarrassed to say I had no real idea who James Taylor was, but for those who do -- he was a guest narrator during The Reivers suite, and he also brought his guitar and played a piece. At the very end of the concert, John Williams brought him back on stage to show him the audience with all their waving lightsabers, and they were both boggling.

Coincidentally, Dear Old Hollywood has a great post on the Hollywood Bowl and it's history today too. Check it out!

Where has the time gone?

2011-08-24T10:11:00.001-07:00

Ahhhhh, summer, it's slipping away fast. Kids are back in school, the nights are cooling and the sunlight is starting to slant that golden shadowed way it only does in autumn. Fall is my favorite season, so no complaints, but everything seems to be moving so fast!

I have not watched much of anything in the last month. Oddly, only a few newer movies. Not sure how that happened!

The quick summary:

1. Cowboys & Aliens (2011) -- which I had to go see in the theater because I love Daniel Craig. It was okay. Entertaining but ultimately forgettable. And some plot points the previews and the movie's first twenty minutes led me to anticipate didn't happen (namely, some sort of conflict between Harrison Ford's character and Daniel Craig's). But noooooooo, the aliens arrived and any pretense at actual story went right out the window. ("Is this a stand-up fight or a bug hunt? ... It's a bug hunt.") I intensely disliked the female lead. She did not seem to fit in this movie at all and it jarred every time she was on screen. But I did looooooove Clancy Brown's brief time on screen. Would have loved more of him. And Daniel Craig is always a good thing.

2. Ironclad (2011) -- I liked this one quite a bit, mostly because the actors were first rate and the dialogue well-done, but it suffered from eye-rolling character cliches that quite annoyed me. It also suffered from really really REALLY over-the-top gore that had even me looking away, and the shaky-camera syndrome that ruined all the battle scenes and sword fights. Will someone ever get it in their heads to stop this?? I want to actually see those sword fights, not catch brief glimpses of metal here and there. But I'm a sucker for the Alamo and anything resembling a one-sided fatal stand, so this movie pushed the right buttons to keep me interested. And Brian Cox was amazingly awesome as always (I really would watch him in anything), James Purefoy was perfect and brooding and handsome, Vladmir Kulich was cool and had a much bigger role than I thought he would.

3. Chain Reaction (1996) -- One I really only watched to hear the Jerry Goldsmith score and see Brian Cox. It was entertaining enough, a bit predictable. One of those where you don't want to think too closely about it, just enjoy the action and conspiracies.

4. RED (2010) -- okay, now this one, I really loved. Bruce Willis, John Malkovich, Helen Mirren, Morgan Freeman, Mary Louise Parker, Karl Urban, and Brian Cox (again). Thoroughly entertaining. No shaking camera, either, despite all the action! Humor is dark, but made me laugh. The actors mesh well and more than deliver. My favorite character was Brian Cox's Ivan, naturally. He was classy and funny and awesome all at once. Love! It's one you don't want to think too closely about; however, because it doesn't take itself seriously, I have less problem with plot holes than I would otherwise. It's all for fun. This one, I immediately ran out and ordered the DVD.

Romeo & Juliet (1968)

2011-07-31T16:23:00.000-07:00

I recently rewatched this film, when I was in the mood for some Shakespeare. It was the first Shakespeare story I was introduced to, back in the seventh grade, when my school showed it over two afternoons in the auditorium. My memories of that experience are still very strong, mostly because I must have bawled for at least an hour after it ended and my mom picked me up with my best friend. I still remember sitting in the car crying and crying.

I love this movie. Everything about it is note perfect for me. The casting, the gorgeous score by Nino Rota (I really love that music!), the scenery, the costumes. I'm the first to admit romances aren't normally high on my list, but if I'm going to watch one, I'll take this one. And because it was my first exposure to Shakespeare, it has always held a special spot in my heart for me.

It really struck me on this viewing how the story only works because the protagonists are teenagers. They are such typical teenagers. Instantly passionate over something, instantly angsty, instantly drastic, instantly woe-is-me-it's-the-end-of-the-world the minute something goes wrong. I think I had to get old enough to be around teenagers and witness this behavior to appreciate this about the play.

Leonard Whiting and Olivia Hussey are perfect. She is so beautiful. Really, they're both beautiful people. I remember watching "The Last Days of Pompeii" miniseries because she was in it. They make the perfect couple, and I always believe it when they see each other and fall in love. They sell me on it every time. And I love John McEnery as Mercutio. I remember the first time I saw Paul Bettany (in A Knight's Tale), my first thought was of how much he reminded me of John McEnery. Not a bad thing. LOL! I'm not a particularly big Michael York fan, but he made a great Tybalt. His sword fight with Mercutio is one of the highlights of the film.

And I always feel badly for the Prince, stuck with these two unruly problem families who will not live in peace. I'd have confiscated their lands and banished the lot of them from Verona. All are punished indeed.

And I realized while watching this that there is one song I do know all the lyrics to. Shocking, I know, and probably even odder that it is the song from this film: " What is a Youth."

Hollywood Collectors Show July 2011

2011-07-20T22:38:00.000-07:00

I really wanted to meet Ernest Borgnine, so I attended the Hollywood Collectors Show last Saturday. He's in so many of my favorite movies: The Dirty Dozen, Flight of the Phoenix, The Vikings, The Wild Bunch, among many others. He popped up in my favorite movies more often than my "favorite" actors did! And I can't think of a time when he wasn't part of my movie-watching experiences. So, I got to meet him and thank him in person for all the wonderful years of performances he has given us. He was very nice, gracious, and funny. He laughs a lot! I know he's 94 now, but he sure doesn't act it! I got his autograph on his biography, which I'm really looking forward to reading. It was an honor to meet him in person.

I also chatted with Ed Asner, who was also very nice, gracious, and very funny. He cracked me up. I think I laughed more waiting in his line than any other time that day! He was eating lunch when I stopped by, and he would growl, "Whaddaya want?" to people in line -- but he couldn't keep a straight face, and he would break into a smile. I told him the first thing I ever saw him in was Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, and that he made such an impression on me that I never forgot his character's name (Alexi Brynov). Probably because his bad guy character died nastily by drinking sea water, and a gruesome, unusual death was guaranteed to make someone memorable in my young mind. I got a pic from Up signed for my nephew. Mr. Asner was a very cool guy.

It was a fun day.

Opera at the Bowl!

2011-07-18T22:17:00.000-07:00

I was privileged to attend Turandot at the Hollywood Bowl last night. I love the Bowl. I never tire of attending concerts there, and I wish I lived closer (and money grew on trees) so I could go more often. Although I really do need to remember that it gets cold there after dark, no matter how hot the day, and bring a warmer jacket next time!

Puccini's Turandot is one of my favorite operas by any composer. It has such beautiful, stirring, noble music -- particularly the main theme. Whenever that theme swells and the chorus comes in, I get goosebumps or teary-eyed or both. Last night was a constant state of both! The first act was so beautiful, so perfect, that I nearly cried through the whole thing. It's very rare to get a performance that measures up to a recording, but that first act was outstanding. The singers, chorus, children's chorus, the orchestra, the tempos... it was exactly how I want to hear my Turandot. The tenor, Frank Porretta (who turned out to be a sub, and thank God, as he was phenomenal), and the soprano singing Liu (Hei-Kyung Hong) were in fabulous voice, and I could have listened to them all night. I'd love to have that first act on CD.

Alas, in the second act, Turandot finally shows up, and the opera had its only downside. At least in this performance, the soprano, Christine Brewer, could not hit the high notes. (I read in a review that she has sung the big aria in concert and did fine, so I'm prepared to cut her some slack... the Bowl is outdoors, chilly, and is probably a tough place to sing an opera for the first time, particularly the role of Turandot which is a toughie.) It's too bad, as she had a really nice voice when she sang lower and softer. She reminded me a bit of Marilyn Horne, if Horne had been a soprano. Similar quality. But when Brewer should have soared, she... well, she kind of yelled her highest notes (very bizarre) and then slid/scooped back down to the next note she could hit. It was rather like watching a minor train wreck. Fortunately, the really high stuff is only in the second act, and she didn't have to stretch too much in the third, so there was no more cringing, just pure enjoyment.

And even those disastrous high notes weren't enough to dampen the evening or the opera. I had a great time. I'm very impressed with Gustavo Dudamel's conducting -- he hit everything just right. The right tempo's a big deal when that main theme kicks in in Turandot. Too slow it can be ponderous, too fast and it loses impact. Dudamel conducted it beautifully the whole evening. There wasn't one thing I would have asked for differently (well, besides Turandot actually hitting her highest notes, and I'm hoping she just suffered an off night).

And I'm looking forward to Frank Porretta performing again in the LA area, as I will definitely go see whatever he's in. Good tenors are, unfortunately, a rarity these days.

Man, I do so love opera. My first and truest love!

It's the simple things

2011-07-03T11:55:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, my three-and-a-half-year-old nephew couldn't wait to show me his new DVD. "It's baseball! With Gene Kelly and Frank Sinatra!" I can't tell you how cool it is to hear this little boy enthuse about Gene Kelly and Frank Sinatra movies. He started with Anchors Aweigh, then he moved on to On the Town. His new movie addition is, of course, Take Me Out to the Ball Game, which he is already in love with. It may end up being his favorite of the three, given how much he loves baseball.

It's never too early to start the next generation on classic films!

Terror in a Texas Town (1958)

2011-06-25T21:19:00.000-07:00

Whoa, this was a doozy of a little Western! A familiar enough story but with new trappings, and, man, did I enjoy it. Basic plot involves a wealthy man, Ed McNeil (Sebastian Cabot), buying/forcing everyone else out of a large area of land. He's not above a little murder to scare the rest of the farmers out. His hired gun, Johnny Crale (Ned Young), kills a Swedish farmer for him. But just when McNeil thinks he's got everything in hand, the Swedish farmer's son, George Hansen, shows up, played by Sterling Hayden. He proves more stubborn and ornery than they figured, and things naturally boil to the inevitable showdown -- with a few twists along the way, so that things aren't quite what you expect.

Things I really loved about this movie: Hayden's character, Hansen, never touches a gun. Doesn't ask for one, doesn't even think about one, even after he's beaten and finds out what's really going on. Hansen is a seaman (how appropriate for Hayden!) and whaler, and when he heads to the final fight -- it's with a harpoon! Now that's not something you see everyday in a Western!

Johnny Crale, the hired gun... what an interesting character he turned out to be! He's the only complex character in the film. Crippled (lost his right hand, had to relearn to shoot left-handed), ready to hang up his gun... but won't, losing his nerve... but finding it again. He seems constantly on the verge of of regretting his actions and breaking away from it all with his long-suffering girlfriend, but always returns to what he knows best: killing. And he's pretty vicious about it. Not content to kill somebody, he empties his gun into them after they're down. It's wild and a bit unexpected. He's definitely a bit unbalanced and it was so cool to watch his cold fish character vacillating. When a victim finally stands up to him without fear, he completely trips on it, and really starts losing his hold on things. It's all quite fascinating and really turns the villain into something yet again.

Victor Millan as Jose Mirada was excellent. Probably my favorite character.

And I loved how the film opens with the final showdown, cuts before you find out what happens, and then goes back and tells how we got there. The script is very tight, nothing wasted (Dalton Trumbo is the screenwriter, so this doesn't surprise me). The plot takes several standard Western tropes and twists them ever so slightly.

I think the only thing I didn't like was the score, which just seemed oddly perky and out of place. But that's a very small complaint in a movie that went way beyond my expectations. When I started the film, I thought it'd be just a throwaway Western... but that was not the case at all. This one's a keeper. It's available on Netflix instant viewing.

Book release!

2011-06-15T22:46:00.001-07:00

Lawyers in Hell which includes my short story about Bat Masterson and Wyatt Earp, "Measure of a Man," has hit the bookstores ahead of schedule! It is out right now in paperback and hardcover! You can find it here:

Amazon Paperback

Barnes & Nobles Hardcover

Revolver (1973)

2011-06-01T19:58:00.000-07:00

Just a quicky review today, as I have not had time to watch anything else lately. I've had another short story accepted to an anthology, and I've been busy with editing and moving on to the next story that's due! Very exciting, but not conducive to watching movies!

Revolver is an Italian production directed by Sergio Sollima and stars Oliver Reed and Fabio Testi and, while a little muddled and a little slow in places, still kept my interest throughout. I'm sure a good part of that is simply that Oliver Reed is just so damned entertaining to watch. The basic plot concerns a prison warden, Vito Cipriani (Reed), blackmailed into freeing prisoner Milo Ruiz (Testi) when his wife is kidnapped. He takes matters into his own hands and kidnaps Milo in turn, in order to gain insurance that his wife will be returned to him, then quickly finds out things are not what they seem. Plot twists, an unlikely partnership, and bloody mayhem ensue.

Things I liked: The partnership between Vito and Milo that starts out of exepedience and turns into genuine friendship. It's played naturally and really well by the two leads, and I liked it. I liked the story line with its conspiracies and twists. I liked the European shooting locations. I liked Ennio Morricone's score. I like the ending. I really like two Oliver Reed moments in particular, one where his character balks at trespassing. It's a lovely character moment, considering he's trying to illegally cross the border, not to mention he's stepped outside the law in several far more serious ways by that point. And there's a moment where he drives away from a random bystander wounded in a gunfight and asking for help. Vito's upset, he hesitates, and he still has to drive away, and it's very nicely done. Very haunting. It's one of those decisions you know will give his character nightmares later.

There was also one really neat line of dialogue which sort of sums up the theme of the film:

"Society has many ways of defending itself: with red tape, prison bars, and the revolver."

I like that a lot. It's used in the trailer, and I can see why. It's a nice hook.

Things I didn't like (and groaned over): the horrible 1970's clothing some of the characters are wearing... egads. Seriously, I'm not sure there was a worse fashion era than the '70s. Or at least, it's not my style. I couldn't even bear to take screenshots of the worst offenders. But Oliver Reed, fortunately, was not a casualty of the awful wardrobe brigade and he looked great. Almost out of place next to the eye-popping outfits he was surrounded with. Dig his warm coat with the collar turned up half the time.

I'm still a little confused over who one character was who popped up out of seemingly nowhere and I never did catch a name or who he was or how we arrived there, but okay, I'll go with it. And there was some really bad cliche dialogue a couple of times, but overall, I still enjoyed the movie. Any excuse to watch Oliver Reed be broody and angry and bust up the scenery is time not wasted.

Wild Rovers (1971)

2011-05-19T15:24:00.001-07:00

I'll admit up front that this review might be just a wee bit colored by the frustrations I've had trying to watch this film. For some reason my computer has fits with Netflix instant viewing now, and glitches every few seconds. I tried to watch this movie a month or so ago, gave up, and finally just bit the bullet and watched it, constant glitching and all.

Despite the fact that this is a Western, and stars William Holden, I did not particularly enjoy it. There was too little plot for its length, and consequently I found it tedious (not a normal complaint of mine -- I generally like long movies). But I need strong plots, and this one just didn't have one. Has an okay main concept, but doesn't do much with it, relies on coincidence and fate rather than character action. There's also a subplot about sheep farmers that really has nothing to do with anything, it just gets in the way of the rest of the story. Yawn.

The good things that almost outweigh the rest:

William Holden. I thought he was fabulous, particularly towards the end of the film. Watching him react to things, watching the emotions on his face nearly made me like this movie despite the lack of plot. He carries this film, and his character is the only one who changes a tiny bit.

Jerry Goldsmith's score. I've always liked this score, so it was great to hear it in context, and more than that, hear the music that's not on the album.

Moses Gunn as an old soldier friend of Holden's was great. And the scenery was pretty nice, but that's about all the positive.

And you know, I'm really really glad the first thing I saw Tom Skerritt in was Alien. He was a good guy there, nice, brave, and a bit naive. Mostly, he was just a nice guy, and I really liked him. I swear I have not seen him play a good guy since then. He shows up a lot in older films (and TV shows), usually as a young, whining, uncouth lout who I usually cannot wait to see get what's coming to him. This movie was no exception.

The Postman Always Rings Twice (1946)

2011-05-17T08:24:00.000-07:00

I had seen this movie a long long time ago, but it has been so long, I'd forgotten what happened in it! It was quite different from what I thought I recalled. I always thought of Lana Turner as much more of a femme fatale than she actually was. I love that she always wears white, except for a couple of times, which I'm sure is loaded with symbolism, but it's too early in the morning for me to delve into that.

My favorite part of this film was just watching John Garfield. He has an easy acting manner that just makes him fascinating to watch. He reminds me, physically, just a bit of a young Charles Bronson. I really liked him and do believe I will need to rent a few more of his. There was a special features piece that was TCM's "The John Garfield Story." I watched that too, and enjoyed it a lot, but it was so sad too. I knew he'd died young, but only thirty-nine? Sad. Such talent, taken away so early.

Hangover Square (1945)

2011-05-01T17:10:00.000-07:00

What do you know? I finally had time to watch a movie! I've had this one from Netflix most of April, while my life has simply been too busy to find time to watch it or anything else. And what an enjoyable film this was too.

Laird Cregar plays the lead, George Harvey Bone, a brilliant, but schizophrenic composer, who gets siderailed by Linda Darnell, playing a sexy greedy manipulative songstress, who uses anybody she can to get ahead in the world (and then dumps them when someone mores useful comes along.

Faye Marlowe plays a beautiful pianist in love with Bone, though he can't seem to see how much she cares for him. And George Sanders puts in a turn as a good guy, a doctor Bone consults about his mysterious lapses in memories.

His mysterious lapses are episodes triggered by discordant loud noises. And once he trips over, he goes violent and murderous. When he finally snaps out of it, he can't remember what happened. A shopkeeper is murdered in the opening frames (very creepily, close angles, camera in POV of murderer), and Bone fears he may be guilty during one of his lapses. He goes to Scotland Yard, to George Sanders, for help, to find out if he's guilty and what he can do to prevent the lapses. Bone is a soft-spoken good guy who means well. He loves his music more than anything else, and his lapses in memory truly bother him. Laird Cregar always dominates a scene, and he is superb here, at turns gentle and quiet, letting himself be bullied around by Linda Darnell, who wants him to give up his concerto to write songs for her to sing (and advance her career), and then scary and ominous when he gets triggered. His life was so short, and it's such a shame. He was such a charismatic actor.

The movie features one of the most memorable ways to dispose of a body ever (I admit, I grinned in writerly delight at the cleverly beauty of it), and a spectacular finish. The running time of this film is only an hour and seventeen minutes, but it uses all those minutes well and, while Sanders is very under-utilized, the rest of it moves nicely in that short time frame.

The memorable score, including Bone's Concerto, is by Bernard Hermann.

April 17

2011-04-17T10:57:00.000-07:00

Two of my favorite actors - old and new - share a birthday today: William Holden and Sean Bean. I'm not sure what it is about April, but so many of my favorites were born this month, and that includes friends and family.

And tonight, Game of Thrones premieres on HBO. It's the first day in years that I really wish I had television. I love the books, and with Sean Bean playing my favorite character from the first book (Ned Stark), it's as delightful as finding out he was playing my favorite character from the Lord of the Rings series (Boromir), or my favorite character from the Iliad (Odysseus). He has a habit of doing that, and no complaints here! Alas, Game of Thrones will air tonight, and I will not be able to watch it, but I will be dreaming of it, and waiting for the day I can watch it myself. Sigh.

Happy birthday, Sean Bean, and happy birthday to my number one favorite -- William Holden.

Quicky run-down

2011-03-29T10:04:00.000-07:00

I was visiting a friend for the past few days, and she showed me a bunch of movies, new and old, that I'd never seen before.

Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953) -- fun! I love Jane Russell in particular, and the music is catchy.

Moonstruck (1987) -- meh. Not bad, but not my type of movie. At least it had opera in it!

Inkheart (2008) -- fun! Helen Mirren steals every scene she's in. I want to see this one again.

Meet Me in St. Louis (1944) -- entertaining, nice music, but not one I particularly want to see again.

Chicago (2002) -- blech, did not like this one, mostly because I could not care about the unsympathetic characters. Why, exactly, am I supposed to root for murderesses to evade their sentences? I did like Catherine Zeta Jones, though. I thought she was great, but it's just not a story I cared for.

True Grit (2010) -- well, I didn't actually finish watching this one. I was so bored about forty-five minutes in that I gave up on it. I know, I'm a Western fanatic, but nothing about this one caught my attention long enough to keep it.

Snippet!

2011-03-20T12:21:00.000-07:00

Click here to read a snippet from my upcoming story "Measure of a Man."

Publishing news!

2011-03-10T15:01:00.001-08:00

Woo! After a long hiatus of working on novels, I have just had a short story accepted to the newest volume in the Heroes in Hell anthology. My story is called "Measure of a Man" and will be out this summer in Lawyers in Hell. I got to write about Bat Masterson and Wyatt Earp, and even work in opera. Life is good!

This is not the cover, just a promotional postcard, but it's pretty cool looking!

Warlock (1959)

2011-03-02T17:04:00.000-08:00

This is an excellent film. It won't make my own favorite list because I dislike Henry Fonda and there's way too much of him and way too little Richard Widmark, but that's a personal prejudice, and doesn't prevent this from being a great movie.

This one has a complex, yet satisfying plot. The town of Warlock is overrun by a nasty set of cowboys who feel it's their right to control everything, using whatever violence is needed. Richard Widmark plays Johnny Gannon, a member of the cowboys who stays distinctly on the sidelines and who decides to quit their company when he can't stomach their methods any longer. His younger brother, Billy, played by Frank Gorshin, stays on with the cowboys.

The town hires a famous marshal/gunfighter, Clay Blaisedell (Henry Fonda) to clean up the town. He brings with him his partner, Tom Morgan (Anthony Quinn, who is fabulous in his role), and their entire gambling establishment! He does his job, cleans up the town, but in a bid for true law and order, the town hires Gannon as the new marshal. Multiple alliances, betrayals, and showdowns ensue between various parties.

What I liked best was, of course, Widmark's role as Gannon, taking on a tough job but believing in the law and justice, even though he's liable to get backshot at any moment. I love love love characters who are willing to die for what they believe in. I loved Anthony Quinn and his complex dependent relationship with Henry Fonda. Movies rarely get into how complicated friendships can be. Usually, scripts reserve such complexity for "love" relationships, but in real life, straight friendships can be even more complex. This movie doesn't shirk that, and I very much appreciate that. De Forest Kelley also has a nice role as one of the cowboys, who goes from leading the violence, to honoring his own word and helping out Widmark when he's also had enough.

The movie is action-filled, and yet works in the deeper stuff without ever slowing down the action. I appreciate that too. It's a well-rounded film with a satisfying ending. Very enjoyable.

(more lovely scenery too!)

The only things I didn't like where the two women characters, played by Dorothy Malone and Dolores Michaels. Their characters were both necessary to the story, but I found them both annoying. And I really wish someone else had the Henry Fonda role. He's fine, he does a good job, there's nothing wrong with him and his character is quite intriguing, I just personally don't enjoy his performances. Sorry.

The Sell-Out (1976)

2011-02-26T15:41:00.000-08:00

I've been watching Richard Widmark and Oliver Reed movies lately, so imagine my sheer delight when I discovered a movie with both of them in it! Mwah-hah-hah! I had no idea they'd made a movie together.

The Sell-Out is not good, but it's not bad either. I found it entertaining enough that I'd definitely watch it again, particularly if I can get a better copy. The DVD I watched had absolutely terrible picture quality. It's a fairly formulaic spy film, but it's elevated by Widmark and Reed's performances, and the location shooting in Israel. Widmark stars as Sam, a retired CIA agent, living in Israel with his girlfriend. He's dragged back into the action when his old protege Gabriel (Reed) comes crashing back into his life. Seems Gabriel defected to the Russians awhile back and now wants out. Seems certain members of the CIA and KGB have a secret agreement to help each other eliminate certain agents who are either embarrassing or compromising to each agency and Gabriel is next on the list. He turns to Sam for help. Some failed assassination attempts on Gabriel kill innocent bystanders and bring the Israelis in, and things get complicated fast. Add in Sam's current girlfriend, Deborah (Gayle Hunnicutt), who used to be Gabriel's girlfriend before he defected... and things get even more complicated.

The film's strength is definitely the two leads. As they were the reason I watched this, they did not disappoint. Widmark and Reed work really well together, playing, sparring, and snarling at each, but always with a current of respect underneath. Particularly Reed for Widmark. And when Sam physically threatens Gabriel, you get the feeling he's perfectly capable of carrying out his threat, even though he's twenty years older. Ultimately, Sam and Gabriel slip back into a smooth partnership when they find themselves on the run together. I particularly liked the last half of the film, once the two go on the lam. Sam leads, Gabriel follows, backing him up, deferring to his old boss instantly, and I just loved watching the two actors support each other when they head towards the inevitable confrontation with the man who set them up. There's something very satisfying in movies where the two characters are at odds until circumstances put them on the same side. Like in LA Confidential, when Ed Exley and Bud White finally join forces.

The last third of the film is basically one big car chase as the two men race for the border to Jordan, pursued by both the bad guys and the Israelis. Pretty exciting chase through interesting scenery. Best moment of the entire film is when they find themselves in the middle of a mine field in the desert. After driving along at about half a mile an hour for a few nail-biting moments, Widmark finally growls, "Oh the hell with it," and stomps on the accelerator, flooring it. Made me grin in a good way. It was a great moment. Also sort of summed up the fact that neither he nor Gabriel had anything else to lose at that point.

So, a rather routine, betrayed-spies-on-the-run-in-foreign-country flick, worth watching for Richard Widmark and Oliver Reed, if they're your cup of tea.

(And I must admit, it's also just plain, silly fangirl fun to hear both Widmark and Reed say "Deborah," which is also my name.)

The Last Wagon (1956)

2011-02-23T18:33:00.000-08:00

Another highly enjoyable Richard Widmark Western, although this one has a few problems, mostly stemming from the fact that it can't quite make up its mind whether it wants its central character to be a hero or an anti-hero, and that leads to a few plot problems, particularly the ending, which goes a bit out-of-the-blue Hollywood. However, I didn't really mind, because Widmark was absolutely fabulous, the action was fast and entertaining, the Arizona scenery spectacular, and did I mention that Widmark was wonderful? This was pretty much a win-win film!

(gorgeous scenery!)

Widmark plays Comanche Todd, a white man raised by Comanches. The film opens with him on the run/getting caught by one of the nastiest, most brutish sheriff's I've ever seen. Egads! This guy was pure meanness, and the actor (George Matthews) was perfectly cast. (How nasty is he? He shoots at a young boy and beats up a teenager half his size! Dude! At least Widmark is a grown man and can take care of himself -- mostly.) Timothy Carey shows up briefly as the sheriff's ill-fated brother in the beginning. Fortunately for Widmark, they meet up with a wagon train heading to Tucson, and the settlers don't take kindly to the nasty sheriff's behavior, even if Widmark's character is a murderer and the sheriff tells them repeatedly he deserves it.

The story changes direction abruptly when the wagon train's young adults take off in the night to go swimming and when they return... Apaches have massacred everyone else in the wagon train. The wagon Widmark is shackled to is shoved off a cliff, but he survives the fall. The rest of the movie's action is about Widmark helping the young people get out of Apache country alive. Trust and overcoming prejudice become the main themes through the rest of the film. Nick Adams plays one of the survivors who gives Widmark the most attitude (naturally). Felicia Farr plays the oldest of the group, and the most sensible. I've liked her since I saw her in 3:10 to Yuma. She and Widmark fall for each other, and I liked their quiet romantic moments, snatched in moments here and there between attacks and running for their lives.

I watched this one twice while I had it from Netflix, and wouldn't mind owning it on DVD either.

(James Drury shows up briefly as a cavalry officer)

The Law and Jake Wade (1958)

2011-02-19T10:59:00.000-08:00

What an enjoyable Western! I really loved this movie and will have to pick it up on DVD at some point. Robert Taylor, Richard Widmark, and Patricia Owens star, John Sturges directed. I'm not particularly a Robert Taylor fan, though I also don't mind him either. He's quiet a large chunk of the time, his character lost in thought -- plans and self-recriminations -- and he does the brooding/scheming thing here pretty well. His silence is countered by Richard Widmark, who is absolutely delightful here as Taylor's opposite -- a quite garrulous outlaw who appears to love the sound of his own voice as he uses words to undermine Taylor. He's also just as smart and calculating. More so, in some ways than Taylor's character. They are very well-matched for cat-and-mousing with each other.

This movie wastes no time whatsoever jumping into the action. Taylor, a former outlaw now turned lawman, busts Widmark out of jail in the first five minutes. They were partners awhile back, but Taylor couldn't stomach the killing and went straight. Only problem is, when he quit, he ran out on Widmark with the all the money from their last bank holdup. So, not only is Widmark sore at being betrayed, he wants his money back. The rest of the movie is a quest to retrieve those buried funds. Throw in Patricia Owens as Taylor's girl, who Widmark kidnaps and brings along as insurance for Taylor's good behavior, and Widmark's gang of ne'er-do-wells, and the requisite Indian attack and there's plenty of action to keep the film moving.

What I particularly loved about this movie was Widmark's character, Clint, and the contrast between him and Taylor's character, Jake. Clint has no morals, no qualms or even a flash of conscience over killing, robbing, whatever. At the same time, though, he has a very distinct code of honor, and he never lies in the film. He's, ironically, more loyal to Jake than Jake is to him. Wouldn't stop him from killing Jake, but there's respect and genuine friendship there too. You get the feeling Jake's death would be the only killing he might regret, even as he recognizes the necessity. He likes Jake, even after being betrayed. Clint is also brave and pretty darn fearless, going after the Indians alone.

I love me a well-rounded and complex bad guy, and Clint is that. Smart too. He knows Jake well enough to take serious precautions on preventing him from escaping or gaining the upper-hand. For example, he insists on keeping Jake's hands bound behind him while they travel, refusing to untie him, because he knows darned well what Jake's capable of. I loved that when Clint reluctantly relents and gives in to the repeated protests of his own gang to untie him, as he's been expecting, the second he does Jake bolts. And I love even more that Clint does not berate his men for what is really his own failing. He knew better. So he just gives them a look, and takes steps to regain custody of his former partner. Widmark is so perfect in the role. And naturally, there's the inevitable showdown between the Jake and Clint, with some great dialogue, and a last exciting bit of cat and mouse.

The movie is filmed around Lone Pine, so there is also lovely Alabama Hills, Death Valley, and Sierra scenery. It's beautiful.

All in all, a very satisfactory Western.

Slow time for films chez moi

2011-02-11T08:49:00.000-08:00

Alas, it's been a mostly no-movies zone over here for a while now, so I have nothing to report. Life has been too busy, and I've had a deadline on a short story I need to meet, so my time has been spent writing. I did watch Burnt Offerings (1976) last weekend, which is actually a horror movie. Highly unusual for me to watch horror, but Oliver Reed was in it, so I gave it a shot...

Actually rather liked it, and it didn't give me nightmares. It was more of a suspense horror film than freaky gory horror, and I can handle that. Falls under that horror subgenre of "Deadly Houses." I swear, anyone ever offers you a deal to go babysit a gigantic mansion out in the boonies somewhere, for an unbeatable price -- Don't Do It! This particular mansion wasn't haunted, it was just alive, and needed injuries and death to "feed" and regenerate itself. Naturally, if you go there to stay, you get put on the house menu. Coolest scene in the movie was when the house was "refreshing" itself, the old boards popping off by themselves to expose shiny new white boards underneath, old broken tiles cascading off the roof. Freaky and very cool. Bette Davis was in this film, and it might just be the first time I actually liked her in a movie. Maybe she mellowed as she got older. But her Aunt Elizabeth was neat. I wanted her for my aunt!

Oliver Reed was very great, as usual. Very appealing in this movie. I'd say his character was the only sensible one in the movie (until the end -- dude, run away, run away!), except he was handicapped by nightmares from his youth of this funeral and a very frightening, grinning Chauffeur, who was more terrifying than the house. The Chauffeur's one of those creepy characters who is twice as creepy because he doesn't really do anything but grin at you, but what you think he might do is the terrifying part.

Creepy!

The Prince and the Pauper (1937)

2011-02-01T17:55:00.000-08:00

Alas, this movie was a disappointment to me. But when Errol Flynn is top billed and he doesn't appear until an hour into the movie, and then has maybe twenty minutes of screen time?? Hmph. The lack of Flynn does not make me happy, even though I knew going into the film he would most likely be playing a light, flippant character. Sure enough, he did. Not a bone of seriousness in anything he does. But at least I expect that from him going into the film. I just didn't expect so little for him to do in the film. I hoped his role would be a bit meatier.

The movie was very surfacy, no emotional depth, nothing for me to hold onto or go away with when the film ended. It's a diverting, but ultimately forgettable, two hours of entertainment. My favorite parts were the exact opposite of what I had enjoyed in Crossed Swords! In Crossed Swords I liked all the Edward/Miles Hendon stuff. In this one, I liked all the Tom Canty/court stuff. That is mostly due to three things in this version: 1) Miles Hendon and Edward do nothing of interest in their section, 2) Tom Canty is not a bumbling idiot and gets one of the best scenes in the film (when he objects to taxing windows -- totally awesome moment), and 3) Claude Rains. All the seriousness I wanted from the movie, I got in Rains' character. He was fabulous as the Earl of Hertford, angling for a way to control the throne. Not really outright evil, just power hungry and ambitious, and when presented with an opportunity to seize control, he doesn't hesitate to grab it. Whenever Rains got screen time, the movie perked up considerably. They could have doubled the size of his role and I would have loved this film a lot more!

This movie has the advantage of twins playing the Tom/Edward roles, so there's no split screen or other movie magic to show them together. This is very cool, and I much appreciate it, but I can't say I really engaged with the kids either. They were just there, and they had far too much screen time. The end coronation in particular dragged on way too long, but here I'm spoiled by Crossed Swords, which intercut the coronation with the problems Edward had of getting there on time. That kept the tension going the whole time, where this film only showed the pomp and circumstance.

My personal bias in films is always the serious over the lighthearted, and action/adventure over plain drama, so while I'm glad I saw this one, it didn't satisfy my movie needs like Crossed Swords did. I'd very much like to see the Walt Disney Guy Williams' version of Prince and the Pauper, but, alas, I don't believe that one's on DVD. I have a feeling I'd really like that one.

A ramble of thoughts

2011-01-25T17:41:00.001-08:00

I have not been able to put Crossed Swords out of my head since I saw it. I no sooner returned the DVD to Netflix on Monday than I ordered it from Amazon. Recalling various parts of the movie and the music have been consuming most of my waking minutes. It's been a long time since a movie so grabbed me and wouldn't let go. Makes me wonder why. Why this one and not that one? Why A and not B, even when they're in the same genre? What is it that plays so strongly to our individual passions?

This particular movie speaks to me. I wouldn't expect it to speak to anyone else, not even my sister or close friends. We all have different loves, different passions, different buttons to push, and different needs. This movie meets mine, or at least the Oliver Reed portions of the film do. I know some of the reasons, but not all of them.

I know a lot of it is due to Oliver Reed himself. I remember when I saw Gladiator for the first time. I was thoroughly in love with Russell Crowe, but every time he played a scene with Oliver Reed, Crowe faded into the background. Considering how much I loved Russell Crowe, that's saying something. But Reed just has that affect, I don't care if he was 62 in Gladiator, he is still more charismatic and sexier than his younger co-star. It was Proximo's voice, his lines of dialogue, and the way he said them that stuck with me, not Maximus. I can never recall the famous Maximus lines that were plastered in the media for awhile while Gladiator was out, but I can still to this day quote most of Proximo's lines from "you sold me queer giraffes" to "I did not say I knew him, I said he touched me on the shoulder once," to "Why would I want that? He makes me rich," to lines in between. I can't even properly remember my favorite Maximus line from the end about smiling back at death... But start me with "Oh, you should see the coliseum, Spaniard..." and I'm off and running. That's the Oliver Reed touch. In a world of blandness, Reed's zest is never less than memorable. I went into Gladiator loving Russell Crowe and came out loving Oliver Reed.

I would love the Crossed Swords/Prince and the Pauper character of Miles Hendon, as written in this particular version of the story, no matter who played him, simply because he's written as the kind of hero who automatically appeals to me. But I also know Reed takes the character well beyond the ordinary, just in the delivery of his lines, in his physicality, his emotion. In simply being Oliver Reed.

I know this movie's themes (again, in the Oliver Reed portions of the plot) touch on many things I love -- betrayal, loyalty, identity, standing up for what's right, protecting the innocent, truth and honesty and honor and bravery, love.

And I know the rest of what's grabbed me so hard is the music. I don't even want to look at how many times I've played the main and end title cues in iTunes. But it's a lot. The last time I listened to a theme that many times in a row was the main title for Ride the High Country, which is a movie, not remotely coincidentally, that has many of the same themes and the same type of hero as Crossed Swords. It's just set in a different time period with guns and rifles instead of knives and swords. And that film also got in my head and stayed there for days on end.

Even exploring some of my thoughts here, it still fascinates me just why movies like Crossed Swords and Ride the High Country hold such power over me after viewing them.

Crossed Swords (1977)

2011-01-22T13:45:00.000-08:00

While I'm in the realm of 1970's movies, I watched this film for the first time this week. This is what my sister would call a very definite "Deb Movie." It has all the sorts of things I love in my action movies, and I do believe I'll be picking it up on DVD when I can, just so I can watch the good bits whenever I want.

It's a bit of a mixed bag, but the good outweighed the bad and I found myself really enjoying this version of Mark Twain's "The Prince and the Pauper." I had no idea what to expect, honestly. I rented it because Oliver Reed was in it, and he did not disappoint. Seriously, throw Oliver Reed in a period movie with lots of sword fighting, and that'll make me happy right there. Give him excellent dialogue and an interesting plot and I'm even happier. Add in some lovely scenery and costumes. Then throw in a bunch of other great actors: Ernest Borgnine (in a nasty role as the pauper's father), and Charlton Heston (as Henry VIII!), Rex Harrison, Raquel Welch, George C. Scott... good lord, but this film is chock full of big names! And everyone of them turns in a great performance.

Crossed Swords is a familiar tale - pauper and prince look so alike, on a lark they switch places, not realizing how a simple change of costume will change everyone else's perception of them, rendering anything they try to say irrelevant. The prince is summarily tossed out of the castle, and the pauper has to pick up his place as Henry VIII's son. Soldier of fortune, Miles Hendon, helps the prince stay safe out in the tough streets of London and beyond, not believing Edward's claims of royalty, until he himself, is tossed and beaten out of his own house by his ratfink of a younger brother who has usurped his inheritance and intends to keep it by denying his brother's identity. Miles realizes the prince is indeed who he has claimed he was the entire time and sets about getting him to the coronation.

The weakest link in this film is, unfortunately, Mark Lester, the young man playing the lead dual role of Tom/Prince Edward. He's not terrible, and he doesn't derail the movie, but he's just... weak. He seems too old for the role. He's too deliberately awkward, and they could not possibly have given him more terrible wigs to wear. He's much more watchable when he's in Edward's shoes. The Tom character is far more annoying. Tom also has the added disadvantage of being in the lighter, "comedic" scenes, and comedy just doesn't appeal to me the way the more serious scenes with Edward do. The other light scenes are when George C. Scott appears as the Ruffler, a one-time monk now leading a band of outlaws and vagabonds. That scene is also played for comedy, and while Scott really does shine in his role, I just don't suffer comedy well, and that's a skippable scene for me when I rewatch this.

Back to the good...

Charlton Heston as a dying Henry VIII. I suppose it shouldn't surprise me that he can play such a famous monarch so well, but I was still surprised. He gets some great dialogue, and he delivers it so well. Color me impressed! He might be my favorite cinematic Henry VIII now.

The dialogue was very well done, smart, and with just the right sound to it. The script in general was very entertaining. It was a lot more violent movie than I expected, starting from the opening physical abuses Tom's father heaps on him, to the frequent sword fights, which were, with one exception, one man (Reed) against many. He sure got ganged up upon!! They weren't sword fights so much as brawls, but really, is there anybody who can brawl as well as Oliver Reed and be so believable about it? One thing I really loved about the fight sequences was how different each was, and how differently Miles Hendon (Oliver Reed's character) approached each set of opponents. From leery and careful with vicious Ernest Borgnine and his minions, to uncaringly recklessly angry with his brother and his minions. I was also impressed at how fairly Oliver Reed's character fought despite the continuing overwhelming odds against him every time. Dude, if an angry Ernest Borgnine character was coming at me swinging a cudgel, I sure as hell wouldn't reverse my sword simply because I wasn't facing a man with a blade. I'd run the bastard through before he beat the crap out of me, particularly with three other armed, scurvy goons jumping in the fray too! But Oliver Reed is playing a far more noble character, and so he does not do that, and, yeah, he gets the crap beaten out of him because he plays fair. I so dig it! It just makes me love his character more. I'm such a sucker for moral characters who stick by their code of honor and their word. This movie is so up my alley!

Oliver Reed... ahh, he gets to do all those Oliver Reed things he does best -- fight, deliver angry speeches in that deep, rough-'n-smooth, wonderful voice, get in trouble, get out of trouble, rescue the hero multiple times, and look good while doing it. He has a couple hilarious moments that completely busted me up. One is when he's trying to fit into his younger brother's clothes and they're too small (in a scene that reminds me of a story I once wrote...) and he rails at his brother, "Are you some kind of a midget??" Hm. Probably not funny out of context, but dang it's funny in the film. Another is when he tells the prince to stand back and let him do the fighting, as fighting is his trade. And Edward tells him very calmly, "Forgive me, Sir Miles, but I've seen you fight three times. Once, we ran away, twice you lost." The look on Oliver Reed's face is priceless. There's also a couple really awesomely done emotional moments, such as when he realizes Edward has indeed by telling him the truth about his identity, that he is the king. That's my favorite moment in the whole movie. I could watch Oliver Reed's reaction right there over and over and over. He's such a darned brilliant actor I just don't tire of watching (and learning) how he does things.

Ah, this movie really was made for someone like me!

The music is lovely. Less than thirty seconds into the main credits, I told the cat, "Maurice Jarre!" The man has the most unmistakeable and unique sound. I have a bit of a love/hate relationship with Jarre's film scores. This one was no exception. At first, it feels almost out of place, too distinctive, and it almost distracts from the movie, but it's still a catchy theme, and it grew on me so much that when it finally got used gently, beautifully, in an emotional moment, it just completely worked. And one thing I do love about him: his scores are never boring. There's more originality and beauty and creativity in one of his scores than in all of Hans Zimmer's scores combined. And if there's one thing I want most out of music, it's beauty. I own an LP of this score, which I wish I could play right now, instead of setting the movie to repeat the end credits over and over.

Lalla Ward plays a small role as Princess Elizabeth. I know her only as the second Romana from Doctor Who, so it was fun to see her in something different. She made a very good, strong Elizabeth, and has one silent moment with Charlton Heston that's another of my famous parts of the film.

I'd be remiss if I didn't mention that this film has a bizarre epilogue of sorts, where the various characters' fates are revealed. No spoilers, but it was so out of the blue, I have to admit I laughed out loud at more than one of the characters' fates. Miles' future in particular, only because they could probably never have pulled that bit off with any other actor in the role but Oliver Reed. But because it is Oliver Reed, it works. It is very sad, and that doesn't mean I like it, but it works.

Westworld (1973)

2011-01-18T16:35:00.001-08:00

This is the umpteenth time I've rewatched this movie, but I've never written about it before so.... I've always loved Westworld. It's both fun and frightening. For one thing, the concept is great. Westworld is one of three amusement sub-parks within Delos. The other two are Roman World and Medieval World. For $1,000 a day, guests can immerse themselves in the time period recreations, which are populated by robot characters so real you can only tell them apart by their hands. I'd jump at the chance to go to Westworld! Man, where do I sign up?

Heading on vacation to Westworld are two buddies, Peter (Richard Benjamin), a first-timer, and John (James Brolin), who's been to Westworld before. I love the opening in the hovercraft, when Peter's grinning like a goon and asking all the dumb questions most of us would probably ask if we got to go there ("can I get the holster with the strings?" he asks). The two vacationers' adventures in Westworld are juxtaposed against the behind-the-scenes shots of how the park is run. Every time the scene cuts to the workings of the park, it's a bit creepy. And each time gets creepier, particularly as you find out there appears to be a virus spreading through the robots and messing up their central controls. You know it's only a matter of time before the robots stop obeying their programming and start doing whatever they want. And then the fun really begins. Not.

And for our two particular vacationers, that means running afoul of the Gunslinger.

If I was going to rank "movie things I don't want chasing me," then Yul Brynner's Gunslinger from Westworld is right up there in the top five. I originally saw Westworld on television when I was fairly young, and Yul Brynner's Gunslinger scared the crap out of me. He still does. Like the Terminator that came years later, he has a one-track mind and he just doesn't stop coming after you not matter how you try to destroy him. But I find him scarier than the Terminator, mostly because Yul Brynner can act and Arnold can't. Brynner's got these frightening little smirky satisfied smiles that pop up when he knows he's figured out your plan that are chilling. You can see his robot mind recalculating his own counterplan. It's lots of subtle expressions that just really bring the Gunslinger to life.

Heck, just the way he walks is downright creepy, particularly towards the end when his footsteps are echoing down the underground tunnels, with no music, just those boots tapping concrete as he stalks his prey... and then he breaks into a precise jog, those echoing footsteps going to double-time. It makes me want to start running away every single time I get to that part, and I'm sitting comfortably on my couch. And his eyes! Gah! Those reflective eyes still freak me out. Even his few lines of dialogue are creepy. The fact that he dresses just like his character Chris (from The Magnificent Seven) just increases the cool factor, even if you wouldn't hire this guy for anything in the world.

And really, when it comes down to it, the main reason to watch Westworld is to watch Yul Brynner play the scariest robot ever. Oh, the two main characters are entertaining, and the supporting actors fill in the cracks, and there's some truly funny moments, along with bar brawls and jail breaks, and shoot outs, and sword fights (in Medieval world, which we get a few glimpses of). Don't think too closely about the plot or how this amusement park works (but what if someone wanted to walk around at night when the crews are cleaning up with floodlights? she asked plaintively), cuz there's a jillion holes if you start thinking. But it's not about that. It's about:

Tech: "Gunslinger... must be a model 404 or maybe a 406. If it's a 406 he's got all the sensory equipment. It's a beautiful machine."
Peter: "He's after me!"
Tech: "I don't doubt it."
Peter: "What can I do?"
Tech: "There's nothing you can do. If he's after you, he'll get'cha. You haven't got a chance."

And watching Peter trying to escape and out-think this unstoppable Old West terminator is what makes Westworld such a cool movie.

Run for the Sun (1956)

2011-01-15T09:11:00.001-08:00

This film is right up my alley and I thoroughly enjoyed it! It's a nice, solid action film. I've been wanting to see this one since I watched The Most Dangerous Game and found out that this movie was also based on the original short story. Thanks to Netflix's streaming video, I finally got to see it. When I originally saw The Most Dangerous Game, I thought Run for the Sun would not be as good. I was wrong.

Richard Widmark, Jane Greer, Trevor Howard, and Peter van Eyck star, and everybody's in fine form, particularly Richard Widmark. I would not mind crash landing in the jungle with him!

The story is only loosely based on the original story. The only similarity really is the hunt through the jungle. This time around, it's not about a hunter bored with big game and moving on to more clever prey, aka humans. This time, we've got two men (Howard and van Eyck, as a British traitor and German officer respectively) hiding out in the jungle to escape their WWII war crimes, who go hunting for Widmark and Greer simply to keep them from escaping and spilling the beans on their hideout. The rest of the story also follows the "hunt" theme, as Greer's character, Katie, hunts down Widmark's character, Mike, for an article in her magazine. He's a world-famous writer who up and quit and disappeared in the middle of his career, no one knows why, and Katie tracks him down to a village in Mexico to get the scoop. Complications naturally ensue when they fall in love and Mike finds out who she really is.

This movie is a lot of fun. Lots of action, violence, great jungle scenery, suspense, and a satisfying climax. Greer and Widmark have good chemistry and I really like them together. She holds her own and even comes up with a couple plans on her own to aid their escape. It's nice to have a strong-willed, independent woman along, not just a damsel in distress. Our two villains work well: van Eyck's character is pretty fanatical about maintaining their secret, Howard's character is exhausted and sick of hiding out in the jungle.

"Have you ever seen a more splendiforous crash, Boss!"

2010-12-29T13:20:00.000-08:00

I had no expectations going into Zorba the Greek (1964). I knew nothing about it other than it starred Anthony Quinn, and he danced. That's about it. I discovered a movie that doesn't seem to fit in any particular category. It's funny, it's tragic, it's romantic, it's charming, it's shocking, it's violent, it's sad, it's happy. It's got a little bit of everything thrown in there. I honestly didn't quite know what to make of it on my first viewing. It was an odd sort of movie. I had to think about it for a couple weeks. And since it didn't leave my head, and parts of it wouldn't stop playing through my mind, I watched it a second time.

And I found I'd gotten past what I thought was odd the first time through, and I really liked it on the second viewing. It's infectious. I've always liked Anthony Quinn, and he's perfect as Zorba, but really, this movie works more for me because of the other lead, Basil, played by Alan Bates, because it is from his view that we see things. And his is the character who grows and changes throughout the film because of his association with Zorba and the latter's enthusiastic lust for life.

I've only recently discovered Sir Alan Bates, and what a wonderful actor! He's been a delight in everything I've seen him in so far. I first saw him in Royal Flash (highly amusing), then watched The Go-Between (very good), and now Zorba. He's a bit of a chameleon, appearance changing dramatically for different characters, and his performances are first rate. He has a very expressive face, his character's emotions usually transparent. I like that a lot. He's also devilishly handsome.

The story is about Basil, an English writer fallen on hard times, going to Crete to try and get a mine he inherited working. Zorba presents himself as just the man to help him do that, and Basil, on a whim, takes him up on the offer. The two become partners, and there are various encounters with the locals who live in the closest town. Irene Papas plays the local widow. She is such a beautiful woman. She has almost no dialogue, but she doesn't need it. Her looks say everything she needs to say. Lila Kedrova won an Oscar for her role as Madame Hortense. Her character was so touching and sad and full of hope, just wanting to be loved, afraid of being deserted yet again.

It's still a bit of an odd movie to me, but I already want to see parts of it again. It has that power. I suspect one day, I will probably end up owning it, just to watch parts of it when it calls to me.

Merry Christmas!

2010-12-24T09:41:00.001-08:00

It's Christmas Eve, I have the day off work, and I'm watching movies, not holiday films though. I actually only own one Christmas movie -- We're No Angels -- and I recently watched that with my niece. I was thinking about that today, how many of the classic Christmas movies I see my friends blogging about, that I haven't even seen: Miracle on 34th Street and Christmas in Connecticut and A Christmas Carol (any version) or that Charlie Brown special. I do love It's a Wonderful Life, and Three Godfathers, and I remember watching The Bishop's Wife when I was young, mostly just to see Cary Grant decorate that gorgeous tree. I couldn't really tell you much about the rest of the movie. And we always watched Ben-Hur if it was on television this time of year. And my dad would always put on White Christmas and Holiday Inn. But for the rest? My family was just not into Christmas movies.

My mom was and is an action movie person, and Christmas movies (with the exception of something like Die Hard) just don't slot into her idea of a good movie. My dad is the sentimental one, but if mom complains too much, he'll change the channel.

So, I've been simply re-watching movies I love that I haven't seen in awhile. Last night I watched Time After Time, the best time travel movie out there. That movie is near perfect, start to finish. I wanted to watch Silverado today, one of the best modern Westerns made, but darn it all, I found that somehow, I don't own it on DVD! So, I'm listening to Bruce Broughton's wonderful score instead, while I wrap the last Christmas presents. Then, I'll watch Ride the High Country, because my Western cravings will only be whetted by Silverado. I'd like to watch Ride Lonesome, but I don't own that one either, so if I have time, I might put on Von Ryan's Express. I've been wanting to re-watch that one for awhile.

Happy holidays!

Oh the weather outside is frightful

2010-12-20T07:57:00.000-08:00

Less than a week remains to Christmas! This Christmas meme comes from Writing with Style and seemed a nice way to start out this last week before the holiday.

1. Egg Nog or Hot Chocolate?
Neither. Just hot tea for me.

2. Does Santa wrap presents or just sit them under the tree?
Alas, Santa hasn't been around for quite some time.

3. Colored lights on tree/house or white?
Colored lights for both. And that's the big lights, not those dinky little ones.

4. Do you hang mistletoe?
No.

5. When do you put your decorations up?
They start going up the weekend after Thanksgiving.

6. What is your favorite holiday dish?
When I was little, it would have been the homemade Star Wars-shaped sugar cookies my mom made. Since then? Um, well, normal food gets served around here at Christmas time, so there's nothing special in the food department.

7. Favorite Holiday memory as a child:
Simply waking up when it was still dark outside and creeping to the living room with my sister and staring agog at how beautiful the tree was, and the presents that had magically appeared beneath it. Creeping out there together, very quietly, to see what Santa had brought. But that first sight of the tree Christmas morning was always magical and I still remember the feeling it evoked.

8. When and how did you learn the truth about Santa?
I don't remember now, probably around nine or ten, but I remember leaving cookies and milk out for Santa for many a year before then!

9. Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve?
Used to, but now that the family's all scattered, not anymore.

10. How do you decorate your Christmas Tree?
The way my mom decorated the tree when I was little. Big colored lights with reflectors behind them, lots of icicles and garland, and only ornaments that are balls or tear-drop shaped. No things on my tree, though I love seeing the various types of decorations on other people's trees.

11. Snow! Love it or Dread it?
Loved it when I lived in it, miss it now.

12. Can you ice skate?
Yeah. Not well, but I can get by.

13. Do you remember your favorite gift?
Nope, but I remember that getting a bike was pretty darned exciting.

14. What’s the most important thing about the Holidays for you?
Being with family, the festive atmosphere, and the beautiful lights everywhere. I take long detours when driving at night, just to see the lights people have up. There's the most gorgeous street a few miles from here that is so amazing. These people do it up right.

15. What is your favorite Holiday Dessert?
None.

16. What is your favorite holiday tradition?
Don't have any traditions, other than decorating the tree and house and opening presents with the family Christmas morning.

17. What tops your tree?
I have a poinsettia star thingy, but I want to get one like my mom has, which was a tall pointy thingy with tiny bells on the sides.

18. Which do you prefer giving or receiving?
Giving is always a wonderful thing, particularly to the younger ones.

19. What is your favorite Christmas Song?
O Holy Night

20. Candy Canes! Yuck or Yum?
Yuck

Forever Female (1954)

2010-12-19T21:12:00.000-08:00

Well, I'll state right up front that I am not the intended audience of this movie, so take anything I say with a grain of salt. Someone who enjoys romantic comedies might like this movie a lot, but if William Holden hadn't been in it, I wouldn't have watched it, or I would have got partway in and turned it off. And that's because the two lead women characters (played by Ginger Rogers and Pat Crowley) seem deliberately to be the most annoying creatures on the entire planet. And I love Ginger Rogers, too! She's wonderful! And she's good here, it's just that her character drives me batty. And fortunately, her character isn't half as annoying as Pat Crowley's name-changing up-and-coming actress, whose very voice drove me up the wall. Both women change into different, nicer people at the end, their "true" selves, I suppose, but by then, it's too late. The movie's over.

And oddly, as annoying as the women are, the two lead male characters (Paul Douglas and William Holden) are the exact opposite. They're both nice and charming and even funny in some moments. Particularly Paul Douglas, who plays Ginger Roger's ex-husband. He's a complete sweetheart, as he puts up with everything else. For one thing, they're both honest about things and the women aren't. I just don't get it. I don't get what this movie's really trying to be about or what it's trying to say. I failed to see the humor (not surprising, really, given how not into comedies I am).

However, Paul Douglas? His character almost saves the picture, and he and Ginger Rogers are very natural and delightful together -- when her character stops being the vain actress. I love their scene at the airport, where she comes to see him off. William Holden is as handsome as ever, but he simply doesn't get much to do here.

Publishing news!

2010-12-16T08:54:00.000-08:00

Seems appropriate to post this now, following on yesterday's submarine conversation. My short story "Silent Hunter," in the anthology Sha'daa: Last Call, is now available from the publisher! This is a companion book to Sha'daa: Tales of the Apocalypse, to which I had also contributed a story. The Sha'daa is a shared world anthology about a fictional apocalypse that takes place once every 10,000 years. Invited writers chose from a set of story lines and then ran with them. When I saw one of the available stories was about a submarine, you can imagine how fast I snapped that up! I wrote a story about an inexperienced lieutenant and his experimental sub's showdown with a horrific leviathan of the deep. "Silent Hunter" ended up being more fun to write than just about any other short I've ever written.

They did a great job on this book. Each story even got an illustration. Here's the one for my story. Quite cool.

It's not available from Amazon yet, but as soon as the release is expanded, I'll post the news here.

Submarine Command (1951)

2010-12-15T07:50:00.000-08:00

One of my favorite subjects! Submarines! Alas, this movie's script is at its sharpest when the characters are ashore and there isn't a submarine in sight. The first twenty minutes were my favorite, when we're actually at sea, at the end of WWII, doing what subs do best: sneaking up and sinking the enemy, rescuing downed pilots. I really do love the opening of this movie.

Then... it derails a bit because the war ends, and the sub goes home. But at the same time, the strongest and best written parts of this movie happen in the middle, in the scenes between Nancy Olson's Carol and William Holden's Ken White, who marry shortly after the war. Their relationship is very well done, and the two actors really bring it to life. Nancy Olson gets my favorite line of the whole movie, when a cranky, irritated Holden storms out of his own party, and she says to the other guests, "Excuse me, I have to kill a husband, I'll be right back." I love their interactions in this movie. Nicely handled, and their conversations have a realistic feel.

The driving force of the film, however, comes from the beginning where Holden dives the sub with the captain and another man still on deck. I love this, and I don't mind at all that Holden's character is eaten up by guilt for most of the movie. Who wouldn't be, even if you know you did what you had to? What I mind is the fact that the film cheats the moral dilemma by showing the audience that the captain was killed before the sub dived, and by having one of the more experienced men on in the crew (William Bendix) take exception to the fact that Holden's action saved the rest of the men on the sub, particularly with a Japanese destroyer bearing down on them dropping depth charges. Excuse me? I don't buy Bendix's CPO character's reaction for a second. A younger crewman, inexperienced and idealistic, absolutely! But not Bendix. He's been around, he knows how the deal works. Bendix then carries a grudge the rest of the film, and the ridiculousness of it is compounded by how easily he forgives Holden at the end, for a completely unrelated set of events. I never did figure how the latter event would forgive the former in anyone's mind except in the realm of Hollywood. Too bad, because that initial moral dilemma is so delicious and could have been better served half a dozen ways.

The ending action... well, it reminded me a bit of Crash Dive, which had more than its share of problems too. (And would someone explain how Mr. Rescued Flyboy ends up as the one playing commando? I know it's just to keep our cast of characters together, but really.) I've never been fond of the whole submarine-as-glorified-taxi routine as a major plot of a submarine movie because it takes us off the sub to follow the people on shore. The only time it really works is in a movie like The Frogmen, where the movie isn't about the sub or its crew. Also, what the heck??? Since when do WWII subs have to fully surface to get off a radio message? You just raise the antenna which is attached to one of the periscopes. I swear, submarine movies provoke the most talking to the screen out of me when I watch them and they do dumb things.

Now, all that aside, I still enjoyed the movie. I mean, come on, my favorite actor captaining a submarine, some lovely real submarine footage... that's enough to keep me hooked and watching and drooling and wanting more. I've given up expecting much from most submarine movies anyway. I just need to remember to ignore the plot and the technical errors and enjoy the actors and the sub, both of which I love.

The Turning Point (1952)

2010-12-13T07:20:00.000-08:00

This movie had great promise. Edmund O'Brien stars as an idealistic special prosecutor out to get organized crime in the city. He really wants his cop father to take on the position of chief investigator, but his father (the always reliable Tom Tully) is reluctant because he's secretly on the take. O'Brien's childhood friend, William Holden, who is now a reporter, figures out what's up with the father, but then tries to both protect O'Brien from the truth and help the father out of his fix... with rather disastrous results. Add in O'Brien's girl, who falls for Holden, in some smooth-talking nasty bad guys, and this sounds awesome.

This is a great setup, with great actors... but the movie never quite finds its groove and settles in. It's awkward and a bit cumbersome, instead of smooth and tense, which is really too bad. For me, I think a big chunk of the problem is the love story thrown in the mix. That pesky romantic angle that Hollywood just has to toss into the middle of everything. It's the most awkward and cliche part of this film, with little chemistry between any of the parties, and it just bogs the good stuff down. So this movie ends up just okay, rather than great. Highlights include the Neville Brand as a hitman, Tom Tully as the father torn by guilt, and Adele Longmire as Carmelina, who does the right thing at great risk to her own life.

And it seems to be a trend... if Edmund O'Brien and William Holden are in the same movie, things won't go well for Holden in the end.

Proud and the Profane (1956)

2010-12-06T22:00:00.000-08:00

This movie has the feel of a movie that wants to say something profound about the human condition. It tries very hard. It has appropriately weighty speeches, but really, it's just a lousy excuse of a movie. I did not like this film much. It was condescending, contrived, full of varying degrees of unlikeable people behaving badly, and had a lame excuse of an ending.

It's an unlikely, unpleasant, and unromantic love story, starring two very fine actors, Deborah Kerr and William Holden, who get to do nothing worthy of either of them. She plays a woman who's lost her husband in the war. She joins the Red Cross hoping to get to where he was and find out what happened to him. William Holden's character is first rate jerk who decides she's the one attractive enough on the island to go after. He lies about her husband to get close to her. He is a truly uncouth lout with no good qualities whatsoever. In one of the few honest scenes in the movies, Deborah Kerr's character actually admits he's a boorish jerk and she should dump him, but gosh, he's still attractive despite all of that! He honks his car horn and she's out of there like a flash to go out with him again. What??? Yeah yeah yeah, movies adore "opposites attract " scenarios and all that jazz, but this movie goes beyond that into ridiculous.

And Deborah Kerr's character is not exactly a sterling example either. She's cowardly and weak (clearly, or she wouldn't have let this loser of a man near her), and begs off a lot of work in the Red Cross because of her selfishness. We find out more about her character later, in a moment that's supposed to be eye-opening, but you can see it coming a mile away and as with the whole plot, the scene's set up is convenient and contrived instead of organic and natural.

Neither lead character seems remotely real. They're like overdrawn caricatures, put there to pound you over the head and make some point about Good, Bad, Redemption, Truth, Honesty (and yes, this movie wants them to be capped because they're Important, don't'cha know) that, frankly, eluded me because the characters are just so awful that 1) I don't buy any message about them, and 2) I don't give a flying hoot what happens to them. Not even my beloved William Holden. (Well, actually, I kind of really wanted his character to get knifed in one part and killed in another, but I got cheated even of that.)

However, this film does have one very bright spot: Thelma Ritter. She is absolutely marvelous! (when is she not??) She is so good and solid and entertaining, and basically everything the rest of the characters are not, that she single-handedly very nearly makes the movie worth sitting through, just for her. Considering what dreck the rest of the film is, that's saying a lot. Ms. Ritter -- my hat's off to you!!

But as far as William Holden movies go, this one is down near the bottom of my list.

And so ends November 2010

2010-11-30T17:40:00.000-08:00

I got my 50,000 words of new novel done this year, making this my seventh successful nano. This was the year of slow and steady, where I needed the weekends to make up for the lack of time during the week days. I'm fairly pleased with how the month's writing went. I skipped over a few scenes in the beginning, but overall, everything is usable, and I did not go off on any strange tangents. I got hit with lots of surprises, mostly in the character area. I should be used to this by now, but my two intended bad guys failed the evil test and have become good and semi-good guys. One of my good guys becomes a bad guy, but I knew that before I wrote one word of story, so that did not surprise me. There was also an even bigger bad guy behind the not-bad-any-longer bad guys who revealed himself. That was a delicious revelation, because it made everything else I was doing make sense. Mwah-hah-hah.

I never did make it to the big awesome scene I had in my mind. That's still down the line a bit. I will be continuing on the novel in the next few months to completion, though not quite at the same pace.

To celebrate, I watched The Seventh Dawn (1964), with William Holden, Capucine, and Tetsuru Tanba on Netflix instant viewing. I'd never seen this one before, and I really liked it because it had multiple triangles going on -- romantic and ideological, and I am very partial to triangles in fiction. This movie takes place entirely in Malaysia and was filmed on location. It opens in Malaysia at the end of WWII, with the Japanese surrender. Our three main characters have been together awhile and have an easy camaraderie, and complete loyalty and trust and love in each other. After the war, though, Ng (Tetsuru Tanba -- who I know best as Tanaka from You Only Live Twice), heads off to Moscow to study communism. Ferris (William Holden) and Dhana (Capucine) stay behind in Malaysia, where Ferris becomes a very successful landholder and businessman. Ng returns as Malaysia is trying to gain its independence and things turn nasty as his new communist ideals put him on the other side of the line from his former companions. This sets up a nice hotbed for all sorts of my favorite things: betrayal, acting/dying for your beliefs, loyalty, the bonds of friendship, love, rebellion, racing the clock.

What I liked best about this movie was the quite complex relationships of the characters. Ferris and Ng both love Dhana, but Dhana loves Ferris and so stays with him. But he won't marry her, and just keeps her as his mistress, until he realizes too late what he took for granted. A young Susannah York also stars in the film, as Candace, who also falls in love with Ferris, but to my great delight, he actually doesn't fall for her in return. Quite surprising, and very refreshing. The only big flaw is that Ng is not given the same depth of character as the others, and I really wish they'd given him more. It was needed to balance out the sides and show where he's coming from.

Other things I liked:

this is not a happy movie, and that lack of rosiness really works here.
William Holden in a sword fight! Okay, it was a machete fight, but that's pretty darn close.
the on location scenery and real jungle
leeches!
William Holden (that almost goes without saying, but I really liked his character in this film)

The Four Musketeers (1974)

2010-11-18T22:10:00.000-08:00

Ah-HAH! I was wondering why a couple years back, when I was watching various versions of The Three Musketeers, I didn't like The Three Musketeers (1973) when I thought I had had good memories of it. It's because my memories were of The Four Musketeers! Which really is technically the second half of The Three Musketeers. They filmed too much material and ended up splitting it into two movies, released a year apart. I'm rather glad, actually, as the first half is crazy, oddly a bit boring, and over-the-top, and I'd really rather skip it, whereas the second half is by far my favorite Musketeers movie (seen to date). It blows away the other versions out there.

The Four Musketeers deals with Milady's revenge, which is far more interesting than the whole Buckingham/Queen of France/jewels thing. You know, when I think of the top villains out there, I tend to overlook Milady de Winter, and that is a huge mistake. She is one of the best villains ever. I'm personally not that fond of Fay Dunaway, but I honestly cannot think of anyone better for this role. Her Milady has just the right kind of cold beauty, the right manipulative smarts to be playing a very unrepentant murderess. She is a worthy adversary, and I love Fay Dunaway in this movie.

(and she has great costumes)

I had a copy of a young adult version of The Three Musketeers book growing up that I used to read over and over. Milady imprinted on me very strongly because I think she was one of the first female villains (outside of Disney and James Bond movies) that I'd ever encountered -- and she got executed for her crimes! That blew my mind when I was young. Somehow, I expected her to get off, just because she was a woman, and she didn't. There's something still a bit shocking about it to me, even if she is one nasty and deadly lady. It's been awhile now, but I think that was one of the things I liked least about the 1993 version -- they changed her character a bit and made her less evil and more sympathetic. Phooey. Wimps. That takes away the essence of what makes her such a great character!

Athos has always been my favorite Musketeer, and of course, the more Milady around, the more Athos. That is a good thing, particularly when it's Oliver Reed playing him. I really like Oliver Reed. He turns in such fascinating performances. He's compelling, dangerous, charismatic, and sexy, and hey, Athos is a perfect role for that. Reed and Dunaway play off each other beautifully in their one major scene, when they reunite. There are so many undercurrents between them, so much unsaid. The way Athos touches her cheek before he leaves, her reaction after he's gone.... It's absolutely perfect and just about my favorite scene in the movie.

All the things I expected of the 1973 movie and didn't find were in this one. This movie is also comedic to a certain extent (though tempered by more serious bits than the first movie has), but the humor is a lot more natural to the story (for the most part) in this one, instead of eye-rollingly over-the-top. I'm particularly fond of the more subtle background humor, like Aramis covering his shoulder with a handkerchief before leaning against a dirty wall. I love Constance and the key. I love Rochefort's (Christopher Lee) droll, "Why bother, I might die of old age," line, and Porthos: "This wine does not travel well." And Richelieu: "One should be careful of what one writes." I love the herd of goats crossing in front of the row of active cannons. I love the sense that this is a real world, not a set. I love the sword fight on ice, but then that's one thing both movies do very well -- the sword fights. This one has a great sword fighting finale. The sword fights here are much more realistic than the average film, with fighters using any weapon at their disposal, with longer pauses between short flurries of action. I'm surprised no one got more injured than they did on the making of this film. From the making of video on the DVD , it appears everybody did their own stunts/fights (for the most part), and it looks extremely dangerous.

I would be remiss if I didn't mention how much I loved the way this movie was shot. The angles and positioning, and lighting. Neat stuff, like this one shot across the interior of a two-storied inn, where you watch Richelieu enter the ground floor, pan up to Aramis and Porthos playing cards and Athos keeping watch across the way, and then Richelieu crosses in front of the camera, while Athos reacts across the inn... all in one take. There's a lot of scenes set up like that and I really appreciate it.

This is one I'd very much like to own on DVD and will have to pick up at some point.

Quo Vadis (1951)

2010-11-13T09:54:00.000-08:00

This is a movie that never quite works for me, as much as I want it to. It is a sumptuous feast for the eyes, from the costumes to the sets to the matte shots to the gigantic crowd scenes, it is big and BIGGER and always pretty. I love this about the film. I love that about epics in general. But the story? Simply doesn't work for me. There just isn't any substance to it.

The biggest problem for me is love story between the two main characters of Marcus Vinicius (Robert Taylor) and Lygia (Deborah Kerr), as it is supposed to provide the emotional core to this story. I didn't buy it at all. Marcus Vinicius is an arrogant jerk who thinks he can take what he want. He's in lust with her, not love, and I don't mind that. That seems realistic. What I mind is that Lygia falls for him, when he gives her ZERO reason to do so (other than he's handsome and Robert Taylor, but yanno, that ain't enough). She's a smart and caring girl, true to her religious convictions, and she wouldn't give his character the time of day, particularly after he forcibly has her removed from her life and everything she loves, just so he can make time with her. This would still all work if his character showed more depth than a shoebox. The best love stories often start with two diametrically opposed characters, but there has to be something good or redeeming about the jerk so we can believe a girl would fall for him. And he does change his ways over the course of the film, but I don't particularly buy that change either. Vinicius's flatness is partly Robert Taylor's fault -- he does not particularly convey anything more going on in his heart beyond what's on the surface -- but mostly, it's the script's failure. This is a script that tells, not shows.

The love story that does work for me in this film is that of Petronius and Eunice. Now, they're convincing, and touching, and feel genuine. Petronius is one of the better characters in the movie. He's played by Leo Genn, who always turns in first rate work. I mostly know him from Moby Dick, but he made a lasting impression in that film on me. He is fabulous here, flattering and placating Nero, trying to steer the emperor to act for the good of Rome and not his own selfish interests. Now there's a losing battle, but it gives him some of the best and wittiest dialogue in the film. I really liked him.

And, of course, this is also the story of Nero, played by Peter Ustinov. I think it's quite amazing that Ustinov can make Nero both completely mad and yet still sympathetic. There's a fair bit of scenery chewing in his scenes, but it's the delightful, entertaining kind, particularly as he's surrounded by very staid and serious people, and his flamboyant turn provides some much needed color.

I just have to add that Poppaea had the best costumes, hair, and jewelry, and the actress (Patricia Laffan), had exactly the right exotic look to pull it all off with poise and elegance.

My favorite scene in the movie was when Lygia refuses Vinicius's marriage proposal because of her beliefs. This was the first (and only) scene Deborah Kerr actually got to do something other than be the perpetual helpless victim and damsel in distress. I loved her here. If this movie had let her do more like this, this would have been a great movie. And it was also the first scene in which I actually liked Robert Taylor's character for once.

This movie kicked off the run of epic biblical films, and I have to thank it for that. Without this one, there may not have been 1959's Ben-Hur, which is a far superior movie with a stronger, more emotional story and deeper, believable characters. Even Miklos Rozsa's score to Quo Vadis seems like a warm up to the Ben-Hur score.

16,000 words and growing

2010-11-12T08:18:00.000-08:00

National Novel Writing Month proceeds. Nano has gotten very interesting for me. They don't really talk about how nano changes for a writer each year they participate. The pep talks, etc. all still mostly speak to beginners, or first time nano'ers. They don't talk about how easy nano gets after you have a few under your belt. Or maybe it doesn't for other people? Maybe it's just as hard for them on their tenth as it was on their first?

Not for me. Maybe because I came to Nano originally as a more experienced writer, but once I learned that writing 1,666 words a day can not only be done, but done pretty easily, that particular challenge was gone. I've successfully completed six nano's before this. Achieving word count is not really an issue. The last couple times, and this year in particular, I've become pretty lackadaisical about nano. I don't stress and stay up until eleven or twelve at night just because I need another few hundred words that day. I don't get that thrill or that excitement or that anxiety anymore, not about the month itself. About the story I'm writing, yeah, but that's a different thing entirely.

Nowadays, nano is about maintaining discipline. More than that, it's about understanding story and storytelling. About what makes a good story, what each scene needs to do in the small individual picture and in the big picture. I am not fond of writing crap. I don't have time in my life to spend November writing crap that I'll have to spend the next year re-writing into something decent. That's just a load of road apples. If I'm not writing usable material right here, right now during nano, that is on track for my goals for my novel, then there's no point in participating at all.

And so I throw out a lot of words during nano, and I tend to write pretty sparse when I write this fast anyway. I delete extra adjectives and phrases I know I won't keep in a later draft as I go. I had a scene started the other night that I was ready to end, when I realized nothing had changed in the scene. It was informational only, and the character was in the same spot at the end as at the beginning. So I deleted about four hundred words, re-thought it to make it an actual functioning scene, and re-wrote.

And that's how this writer's seventh nano session goes. It's no longer about the word count, it's about getting the story as close to right the first time through. That's the challenge now, of staying on track while moving at the speed Nano requires. And all that Nano talk about just keep writing, allow yourself the freedom to suck... that is dead-on right to encourage and create successful first time nano'ers, but it could not be more irrelevant or annoying when you're down the line. I keep waiting for the "So, you've done this before, eh? Well, now, let me tell you what your next nano challenge is going to be and how to beat it." But no one writes those pep talks.

Maybe I should.

Interesting.

Time Limit (1957)

2010-11-01T12:34:00.000-07:00

Watched this film yesterday and enjoyed it immensely. Richard Widmark plays an Army colonel investigating a case of treason during the Korean War against Richard Basehart's Major, who refuses to defend himself against the charge. Widmark suspects something else is going on, but nobody's talking. The movie follows his patient and frustrated investigation as he's hounded to close the case by a General, whose son was killed at the same POW camp Basehart was a prisoner in.

The last twenty minutes really take off, when characters start to crack and reveal the truth. There is a fabulous, passionate exchange between Basehart and the General (played by Carl Benton Reid), about the nature of heroes, cowards, Army code. It could seem a bit speechy under a different director or actors, but the actors here are all strong, and they pull it off. It was so good I rewatched the ending three times. I'm particularly fond of how it keeps changing how you think about the situation as each character chimes in, and I think it ends in the right place as well, with the General's answer to Basehart's question.

Martin Balsam plays Widmark's aide, and despite his rather annoying, smarmy character, he also gets a great serious scene defending Widmark. A very young Rip Torn plays another POW member who gives his testimony in the case. He also gets some powerful moments. Dolores Michaels plays Cpl. Evans, who is Widmark's other aide. While she's mostly just a secretary, she also gets some good moments, where she stands up to Martin Balsam, and where she figures out some key points. There's some attraction between her character and Widmark's that is nicely underplayed. I really liked her.

This film was directed by Karl Malden, in what I understand was his only directing venture. He does a fine job, and I would have liked to have seen what else he might have done, how he might have grown as a director.

November madness begins

2010-11-01T08:19:00.001-07:00

I hemmed and hawed and finally decided to participate, yet again, in NaNoWriMo, aka National Novel Writing Month. This will be the seventh straight year I've participated. Egads! Seven??? Where has the time gone? This is gonna be a tough year, because three nights a week are lost to kickboxing lessons. I think my weekends are going to take the brunt of it, and my parents are coming down for one of them. Should be interesting.

My project this year is the novel I tried to start two nanos ago, but after only one day, I switched projects. It's a fantasy novel, entitled The Traitor.

I have a couple films to write reviews of over the next couple weeks, as time permits.

Amanda's Cinema Survey (Oct 2010)

2010-10-25T18:18:00.000-07:00

This is the annual survey questions from Noodle in a Haystack! Pop over to her site to read other bloggers answers.

1. What is your favorite movie starring William Powell and Myrna Loy, excluding all of The Thin Man films?
Alas, I haven't seen any of their films other than the Thin Man series, which I've seen all of.

2. Name a screen team that appeared in only one film together but are still noteworthy for how well they complimented each other.
I can't think of one, although I know there are plenty!

3. Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers' best film together?
I think Top Hat, although my personal favorite is Swing Time

4. Your favorite actor named "Robert"?
Robert Ryan

5. An actor/actress who, when you see one of their movies, you always wish that someone else was in his/her role?
Henry Fonda

6. An actor/actress that someone close to you really loves that you can't stand or vice versa?
My sister and I agree on most everything, no polar opposites on anybody.

7. An actor/actress that you both agree on completely?
Anthony Hopkins

8. Complete this sentence: Virginia O'Brien is to Ethel Merman as...
hm, every comparison I've come up with doesn't quite work...

9. What is your favorite film starring Ray Milland?
The Big Clock

10. You had to have seen this one coming: what is your favorite movie of the 1960s?
The Dirty Dozen

11. An actor/actress that you would take out of one film and put into a different movie that was released the same year?
Brandon de Wilde -- I'd get him out of Shane. I don't care where he goes, as long as it's out of that movie!

12. Who was your favorite of Robert Montgomery's leading ladies?
Well, as I've seen almost none of his films, I can't rightly answer this.

13. You think it would have been a disaster if what movie starred the actor/actress who was originally asked to star in it?
I hear Gary Cooper and John Wayne had been the intended stars of Ride the High Country. As much as I love John Wayne, I'm really really glad he didn't do this one. I don't think it would have worked nearly as well.

14. An actor/actress who you will watch in any or almost any movie?
George Raft

15. Your favorite Leslie Howard film and role?
Alas, other than Gone With the Wind, it does not appear I've seen any of his!

16. You have been asked to host a marathon of four Barbara Stanwyck films. Which ones do you choose?
Ball of Fire
Golden Boy
The Strange Love of Martha Ivers
Jeopardy

17. What is, in your mind, the nearest to perfect comedy you have ever seen? Why?
Well, I'm not a comedy person, but I'd choose It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World -- only comedy movie that has no serious moments that I like all of, and only one I laugh at most of.

18. You will brook no criticism of what film?
N/A - everyone's entitled to an opinion! Criticize away!

19. Who is your favorite Irish actress?
Maureen O'Hara

20. Your favorite 1940s movie starring Ginger Rogers?
Haven't seen any other than The Barkleys of Broadway

21. Do you enjoy silent movies?
Yes

22. What is your favorite Bette Davis film?
None.

23. Your favorite onscreen Hollywood couple?
Joel McCrea and Frances Dee

24. This one is for the girls, but, of course, the guys are welcome to answer, too: who is your favorite Hollywood costume designer?
Edith Head

25. To even things out a bit, here's something the boys will enjoy: what is your favorite tough action film?
One of my favorite types of movies! I have to pick one?? Die Hard.

26. You are currently gaining a greater appreciation for which actor(s)/actress(es)?
Olivia de Havilland

27. Franchot Tone: yes or no?
Yes! Mutiny on the Bounty has been a favorite since I was a wee thing.

28. Which actors and/or actresses do you think are underrated?
Van Heflin, Glenn Ford, Dana Andrews

29. Which actors and/or actresses do you think are overrated?
Bette Davis, Joan Crawford

30. Favorite actor?
William Holden

31. Favorite actress?
Barbara Stanwyck

32. Of those listed, who is the coolest: Paul Newman, Robert Redford, Steve McQueen, or Patrick Stewart?
Steve McQueen

33. What is your favorite movie from each of these genres:

Comedy: None. Oh, okay. It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World

Swashbuckler: The Black Swan

Film noir: Kiss Me Deadly

Musical: South Pacific

Holiday: It's a Wonderful Life

Hitchcock: Rear Window

Saddle the Wind (1958)

2010-10-17T10:06:00.000-07:00

This was a pretty good movie, and I quite enjoyed it. Mature ex-gunfighter-now-cattle rancher, Steve Sinclair (Robert Taylor), trying to keep his younger trigger-happy brother, Tony Sinclair (John Cassavetes), out of trouble. Tony claims he's learning gun play just to protect his older brother. I wish they'd done a little more with that, as it really does turn out to be one of his strongest motives, but it needs a little more to support it properly throughout. It gets overshadowed a bit by lust for power through violence. We've seen families split apart like this before, particularly in Westerns, so I was rather pleased with the more unusual ending, which twisted back to the "protecting my brother" angle.

The actors and the dialogue are the strongest part of this movie. I'm not a Robert Taylor fan, but he did really seem to settle into these kind of roles as he got older, in a very comfortable believable way. I liked his Steve Sinclair. Cassavetes works for me as the younger brother. One of the reasons I wanted to see this movie was to see him out of his expected element. I think he was just great in a Western. He brings his full energy and brooding and brings Tony Sinclair alive. Cassavetes always was good at letting you see what was going on inside the character, and that works well here to keep Tony human and someone we want to see redeemed. You see his fear, you see his determination to make it "his way," even when he doesn't realize his way is wrong. He always has the potential to see the light and turn his fate around, and that keeps you hoping he will.

The rest of the supporting cast is great, with Royal Dano a standout. He plays a homesteader reclaiming a stretch of land that had belonged to his father. His arrival and determination to stay on his own land no matter what spurs the morality of the other characters to choose sides in the battle.

I particularly love the film's first five minutes. Through the opening credits, we see Charles McGraw riding along. He could be the hero, until the credits end and the music takes an abrupt ominous turn (nice score by Elmer Bernstein!) as he arrives in town, and we realize, nope, this guy ain't the hero. He's someone you don't mess with, and he's here up to no good. The first scene where he walks into the closed bar, demands breakfast and whiskey, played against Jay Adler and Stanley Adams (Cyrano Jones from Star Trek's "The Trouble with Tribbles") is simply marvelous. The give and take, the pointed words... this is probably my favorite scene in the movie. Jay Adler's line "You finished with my breakfast?" is priceless.

I really do dig the dialogue in this movie. It's a Rod Sterling script (another reason I wanted to see this movie), and I think he does really well with it. He leaves a lot unsaid, uses silence well, and that's something I always appreciate in a script.

"Sing for me, and I'll smile for you." -- Tony Sinclair

"I wanted one thing in my life, that was to see you rise up. You only got up as high as your gun belt. That's a low height for a man." -- Steve Sinclair

The Colorado scenery is also amazing. You know me, I need beautiful outdoor landscapes in my movies, and this one provides those and then some. Absolutely gorgeous country in this movie.

Does it get any prettier than a valley of blooming lupines in front of green mountains topped with snow and a brilliant blue sky?

Air Force (1943)

2010-10-11T10:45:00.000-07:00

Still on an Arthur Kennedy kick, so watched Air Force. It's a film about the crew of a B-17, sent to Hawaii on the eve of Pearl Harbor, and then on to Wake Island and the Philippines. It's a good, serviceable film, but nothing particularly special or memorable, but definitely worth a watch. Some really nice aerial footage. I've always been fond of B-17s, and so spending time in one in a movie is never a bad thing. I like that we get to see the different stations on the plane, what the crew does while they're just cruising along trying to get somewhere, the necessity for the crew to function as a complete team in order for the plane to function.

There isn't much plot to this one. We're mostly just along for the ride with the crew as they stop at the famous battles, and then finally get to engage in one of their own. There's a few routine subplots -- the soldier (John Garfield) with a chip on his shoulder whose enlistment is up, who naturally stays in after war breaks out. He also flunked out of pilot school, but still gets to use those skills to save the plane. There's a pursuit plane pilot (James Brown) who complains mightily about those clunky big B-17s -- and then naturally ends up joining the crew and changing his tune. There's the old-timer (Harry Carey) whose son in Manila dies in combat (one of the truly sad and effective moments in this film). There's a cute dog named Tripoli the marines at Wake Island pass off to the B-17 crew, knowing they're going to get wiped out.

Not nearly enough Arthur Kennedy to suit me, but the other characters were interesting enough to keep me paying attention.

They Died With Their Boots On (1941)

2010-10-08T07:49:00.000-07:00

I'd never seen this movie before. Watched it back in September and never had time to post about it. I think it's great that since I've seen it, several other posts on it have popped up! I love the timing!

And I really loved this movie. I rented this one primarily for Arthur Kennedy, but was not disappointed in anything else about it. In fact, everything about it surpassed my expectations. The supporting actors were all top notch. Errol Flynn made a great romantic screen Custer. Olivia de Havilland could not possibly be more beautiful. I have to admit, I haven't seen many of her films, mostly just the Errol Flynn/de Havilland combos and, of course, Gone With the Wind. She's wonderful in every one of them, but for some reason, her performance in this movie particularly struck me. Now I want to see more movies just to watch her.

This has to be one of the most romantic movies I've ever seen, in the best sense of the word. They really are a great screen pair.

And I loved Arthur Kennedy in this. Loved how he would be fighting panic every time Custer confronted him. His character wanted to be anywhere else in the world but right there, dealing with his long time nemesis. And, naturally, I loved his fate, me being so fond of that good old redemption theme.

On location - Alabama Hills 4

2010-10-07T07:49:00.000-07:00

Here's a few shots showing the front of the Lone Pine Film Museum. I didn't go inside this trip, but I've been in it several times before. A must for any fan of Westerns or the Alabama Hills! Great exhibits, showing posters, photos, costumes, etc. from many of the films made here. There's a short film that runs in their theater that gives some more background on films made here. I love this place! It's so much fun to visit.

On location - Alabama Hills 3

2010-10-06T07:42:00.000-07:00

This last one is of Mt. Whitney, just peaking out from beneath the clouds. The road cutting up the Sierra in the back there is the road up to Whitney Portal (where Humphrey Bogart would have his showdown at the end of High Sierra).

On location - Alabama Hills 2

2010-10-05T18:29:00.000-07:00

On location - Alabama Hills

2010-10-04T10:54:00.001-07:00

One of my absolute favorite places to visit is the Alabama Hills, in Lone Pine, California. I could spend days just exploring and clambering over the rocks. The rock formations, with the Sierra (or the White Mountains) in the background are so distinctive. There's no place like it. The landscape is instantly recognizable in any film made there, and hundreds of films, TV episodes, and commercials have been filmed here over the years.

I was there over the weekend and took some pictures I'll be sharing here over the next week.

Let's start with the two historical plaques. Click the images to make them larger.

A man without armor...

2010-09-28T07:55:00.000-07:00

I've been watching the 4th season of Have Gun-Will Travel (this show is absolutely, without a doubt or even a close challenger, my favorite Western television series ever, and Paladin my favorite Western TV hero). To my delight, they just had what we would probably call today a crossover episode -- the writers combined HG-WT with Jules Verne's Around the World in 80 Days! Paladin helped Phileas Fogg et al get to Reno from San Francisco.

When I was young, I must have read my copy of Around the World in 80 Days a hundred times and then some. I absolutely loved the book. It's actually the only Jules Verne book I truly love. 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, and Journey to the Center of the Earth made great movies, but I don't particularly enjoy either book. Around the World, however, is a fabulous book, and I have yet to see a movie version I like.

The thought of Paladin and Fogg together makes me rub my hands with glee... unfortunately, the concept was far better than it played out, and it was a very disappointing episode (the only disappointing ep of the season so far). Fogg was made out to be a bit of an idiot, which is not at all how he is in the book. Paladin and idiots never mix well, because he does not suffer fools. Now if Fogg had been more true to his book character, the two of them butting heads would have been most enjoyable. Instead, we get Paladin saving Fogg's hide when it shouldn't have needed saving to begin with. Weak story. An odd side plot about some Colonel (who was in civilian clothes) challenging Fogg to a duel was the main conflict in preventing him from keeping to his rigid schedule, and it never worked right. It was played for laughs, without being particularly funny. I think the ep was aiming for a stiff upper lip British stereotype humorously clashing with Old West pragmatism/violence, instead of a real story. Too bad, because this could have been a great episode.

Makes me want to re-write it, naturally, into the episode I wanted to see.

Not fond of change when none was necessary

2010-09-26T12:44:00.000-07:00

What the heck? IMDb has changed their page format from easy-to-read to stupid-and-annoying to read. Where you used to see everything on one page, now you have to click on the "more credits" button (on multiple sections) to get to the rest. Which you have to scroll down to find first. And there is a preponderance of pictures and images that space things out so much you're scrolling downwards forever. What, people can't read any more? Everything has to be visual?

So, one of my favorite and most frequently visited websites for info has become one of my least favorite to navigate. Thanks, guys.

A couple of Westerns

2010-09-11T09:50:00.000-07:00

When I'm feeling melancholy, I turn to music. I find it interesting, that in these moods, it is invariably Jerry Goldsmith, and specifically, his Western film/tv scores I turn to. 100 Rifles, Rio Conchos, The Loner, Take a Hard Ride, Bandolero, Hour of the Gun... these are what I crave most, where I find my solace, the music I want to turn up and crawl inside until I become one with the notes. I'm not sure why.

I tend to turn to Western films for viewing as well. I watched two new ones this past week, both with Richard Widmark.

Cheyenne Autumn (1964). Big star cast, great scenery, okay movie. This one I liked mostly for Richard Widmark. He's playing a good guy here, a genuinely good guy, and as much as I like him when he's smirking and evil, I really really like him when he's good, and I wish he'd had even more screen time. He's one of the few characters sympathetic to the Cheyenne plight, who is working to help them within the constraints of his position as Army captain. I particularly like his scenes with Patrick Wayne, who starts out not the least bit sympathetic, and I would really have liked to have decked him myself. He makes his own foolish mistakes though and comes around, though. Sean McClory played my other favorite character, a doctor who finally stands up to Karl Malden. Sean McClory's one of those very underrated actors that deserves more appreciation.

(I want Richard Widmark's jacket.)

The movie has an odd section in the middle with Wyatt Earp and Doc Holliday (Jimmy Stewart and Arthur Kennedy, respectively) that is comedic and just a bizarre interlude in the middle of everything else. Pick that section up and put in another movie, and I'd probably really like it -- it's very funny -- but it sure didn't belong here. Edward G. Robinson shows up in a small but pivotal role and manages to steal every scene he's in. But he does tend to do that.

The thing I liked least about the film was the score. I'm afraid, I am just not an Alex North fan. There is not one score he's written that I even remotely like. I was also mad that the streaming video on Netflix was not widescreen, other than the opening credits. What's up with that? Grrrr.

Yellow Sky (1948) - now why the heck haven't I seen this movie before?? I loved this movie! Gregory Peck plays the leader of the outlaw band. They rob a bank and flee into the desert, barely make it to a ghost town where an old prospector and his granddaughter are living alone. The granddaughter is played by one of my favorite actresses, Anne Baxter, and boy howdy, I LOVE her in this movie. She's packing and she can use rifle and pistol very well -- and fists! One of my favorite moments -- she slugs Gregory Peck in the jaw! Dude! Gregory Peck! She's young and pretty and tough and vulnerable, and she really carries a lot of the weight of the film. There's a lot of scenes where she says nothing, and you can tell exactly what she's thinking. She is wonderful. If she wasn't one of my favorites already, this movie would have put her there.

Richard Widmark is a well-dressed, smart, sly, double-crossing gambler ruled almost exclusively by his own greed. He's back in top bad guy form, and he's great here. The opposite of his Captain Archer in Cheyenne Autumn. That smirk and giggling laugh of his are so perfect when he's lounging about contemplating wrong doings. His character would have come out on top, too, except for one big flaw... he's hasty. He needs a little more patience. All that gold could have been his.

A lot of this one was filmed in the Alabama Hills, Mt. Whitney and the glorious High Sierra in the background. Gorgeous country, and those rocks are always a great place for a bit of cat and mouse. I've hiked the Alabama Hills, and that place just never loses its magic. Yellow Sky was entertaining start to finish. Almost a bit noirish, more character-oriented than usual, with the outlaw band turning on each other when confronted with a fortune in gold and one woman, their strengths and weaknesses brought out by the situation. The other supporting characters are all strong. I particularly liked Charles Kemper as Walrus, who fills his canteen with whiskey instead of water... and then gets stuck without water in the desert. He was very believable throughout the film.

Strange threesome

2010-09-09T18:59:00.000-07:00

I've been watching a lot of movies lately, but I've been very remiss about posting about them. Just haven't been in a posting mood. Anyway, I'll try and fill in some of the blanks with some short reviews.

Under the Mountain (2009) - rented from Netflix for Sam Neill, 'natch. Who I loved. This was an interesting movie. Sort of Lovecraft meets Lord of the Rings. Our heroes have to pitch something into the volcano to destroy the Big Bad Evil while extremely creepy minions try to kill them. There isn't enough to this movie to really make it work right. But if you check your brain at the door, the lead actors are all quite engaging and fun to watch. This is billed as a family movie, but I wouldn't let any youngsters watch it. The Wilberforces are flat-out freaky (very nice make up and effects on them), and their dialogue is nicely not-human in cadence and wording. Sam Neill was wonderful, as usual, his character a bit shady and lost, redeeming himself at the end. Mmmm.

Speaking of checking your brain at the door, I went to the movie theater and saw an actual currently playing movie! I just couldn't resist going to see The Expendables. Yeah, yeah, but I grew up on violent action movies and this sounded right up my alley. Of course, I also had this misconception that Bruce Willis was going to have more than 5 minutes of screen time (I love Bruce Willis), but you know, he got one of the funniest moments, and he got to threaten Sylvester Stallone. I'd say that's a win.

As for the movie, it was a fun popcorn flick, not too much plot, not too much character, but enough of each to backbone the explosions, shoot-'em-ups, and hand-to-hand fights. I was surprised at how much I liked the Expendables themselves. In particularly Jason Statham's character and Jet Li's character, who hands down got the funniest dialogue. There was one great action sequence (the plane escape), the rest was par for the course.

Fun, but good lord, I can handle a lot of violence, but really, do we need that much blood and flying body parts? Really? It's all very cartoonish, but still I was a bit surprised by how gory it was. Not one I'd want to own, but I'm glad I saw it in the theater.

Father is a Bachelor (1950). (Thank you, Kate!!) We're still in brainless territory, but this one is a very cute and harmless film. William Holden plays part of a medicine show act who gets stranded in a town when his boss is arrested. He hides out, does some fishing, discovers a houseful of orphans and ends up caring for them, problems ensue, problems get solved. There really is nothing more to this movie than cute, but that's okay. When the cute is William Holden, I'm fine with it. However, there's also that bunch of kids. I liked the boys, but the little girl just made me roll my eyes and wish her elsewhere. There is a hilarious scene though when WH thinks he can make her a dress to replace a ruined one. This is a bit of a musical too, with lots of singing... only someone's dubbing over WH, and it's not a good match. Sigh. All's well that ends well, though, and this was overall a pleasant, if not particularly memorable movie.

Oh, and I have this pet peeve about actors who can't chop wood. I can't remember what movie it was now, but there was some modern movie with some buff guy who was supposed to be chopping wood, and he couldn't do it. He was doing these short little choppy swings that would accomplish nothing. I've chopped wood, and when I can swing an axe in a full overhead swing and split a piece of wood in two, and some manly actor can't when he's playing a character who's supposed to be able to... well, it irritates me greatly. It's just one of those pet peeve things. Not that I had any doubts on the matter, but I'm pleased to say William Holden chops wood beautifully.

Day 30- Your favourite film of all time

2010-09-09T18:44:00.000-07:00

My, but this is a familiar question! Didn't I answer this before?

Day 29- Favourite film from your childhood

2010-09-03T08:31:00.000-07:00

Well, duh! Star Wars. Of course.

Han shot first.

Compare and contrast

2010-09-03T08:08:00.000-07:00

I just watched Operation Valkyrie (2004) and Valkyrie (2008) . The former is a German film made for TV, the latter, the big budget Tom Cruise movie. Guess which one I liked better?

Yeah, the German one.

They're actually surprisingly similar. Both run through the events, without much background or detail, but the German film brought in more of the character motives, and it felt more fleshed out. It was also tighter and, to me, more emotional. Tom Cruise didn't do a bad job, but Sebastian Koch as Stauffenberg was much more interesting and... animated? than Cruise. I definitely believed in him and his determination. I can't say that about Tom Cruise's portrayal. I liked almost all the German actors in the key roles better than the big budget version. There was this solidarity and emotion to them that the same characters in Valkyrie lacked. Operation Valkyrie version also was, oddly, easier to follow. Which seems odd, as I thought it moved too quickly, and I would have loved another half hour. But seeing its counterpart, Valkyrie gave out no more information (and in some cases, less) and wasted time with a lot of excess "pretty" shots... troops mobilizing, long driving shots, and annoying "this is what's going to happen if we stick to the plan" visuals as plans were explained. etc. Just let me watch it as it happens! I don't need previews to understand what you're telling me. Operation Valkyrie cut to the chase, and I appreciated that. I also preferred listening to the dialog in German.

I did watch the German film first, so I have to wonder if I would feel differently had I watched them the other way around? No, probably not, because Operation Valkyrie was still tighter, and still better acted, and had better music. Valkyrie has that heavy-handed dirge-like music, the kind that pounds you over the head with "pay attention, the good guys are losing, feel bad now!" Blech.

Valkrie did have the always wonderful Ken Brannagh and also Thomas Kretschmann, though Ken was only really in the beginning and Thomas only in the end (but yowza! he got to have a swimming scene, so I'm not complaining too much about his lack of screen time).

But Operation Valkyrie had Hardy Kruger Jr., who is Hardy Kruger's son and also a very handsome and fine actor. I really enjoyed watching him. He had a pretty large role, so that made me happy. I'd love to catch him in other things.

Day 28- Favourite film from your favourite director

2010-08-31T17:14:00.000-07:00

Before 1970: Robert Aldrich. Considering three of his films are in my top ten films of all time, this is a no-brainer. I can't say that for any other director. Several of his other films I'd also rate very highly. Since I've talked about The Dirty Dozen before, I'll go with my second favorite film directed by Aldrich - The Flight of the Phoenix (1965).

"Is that meters or yards, Mr. Dorfmann?"

I should devote a whole post to this movie, but for now, I'll just say that the outstanding ensemble cast and the well-written dialogue just awe me every time. I particularly love Hardy Kruger's Dorfmann and Richard Attenborough's Lew Moran. The scene where Moran goes from laughing hysterically to sobbing is just bloody brilliant. Ian Bannen is another favorite. I love watching Dorfmann butting heads with Frank Towns (Jimmy Stewart). And yet they still get the job done, all tempers and egos, cold practicality and emotions, clashing magnificently, right through to the very end. I always did prefer Jimmy Stewart when he played cranky loner characters to cheerful ones, and in this movie he's saddled with a load of guilt on top of it. I love the moment when he admits to himself in his log that the cause of the accident was "Pilot error."

The movie also has my favorite deVol score, and I'll take his sweeping desert theme over Jarre's Lawrence of Arabia main theme any day.

Post 1970: James Cameron. Also a no-brainer. He's the only modern director that has given me quite a few of my favorite modern films, Aliens, Terminator, Titanic, and, of course, the new one, and my favorite film by Cameron to date: Avatar. Appropriate to be writing this now, as the movie is currently back in theaters for a short two-week re-release. My sister and I went and saw it twice this past weekend, and hopefully we'll get to see it again this coming weekend before it leaves the theater. This is one of those films that must be seen on the big screen, and I love the 3D. We drove the extra distance to see it on an IMAX screen, since I refuse to sit through the Real3D version again. I've talked about how much I love this movie previously, so I won't repeat, but, if anything, I loved the movie even more seeing it again this weekend. Avatar is a particularly immersive, emotional experience (something watching it at home on DVD simply cannot deliver). I always get teary at two parts. Happy parts, actually, not sad ones. Reminds me of the Lord of the Rings movies... I bawl at all sorts of non-sad parts in that one, like the lighting of the beacons in ROtK. Usually those moments are tied up in the music as well, which is the same with Avatar. I'm weird, I know, but that's how I react to overwhelmingly, beautiful things.

Day 27- A film you wish you had seen in theatres

2010-08-30T18:40:00.000-07:00

The movies I'd wished I'd seen in the theater are numerous and I could probably list fifty here right off the top of my head that I'm dying to see on the big screen. I've been fortunate to catch quite a few in the revival theaters over time, though there's plenty I still want to see. Of those, I'm going to go with these two, as I think they're both particularly crying out for a big screen viewing.

Before 1970: Where Eagles Dare (1968). One of my favorite war movies, one the family watched all the time growing up, the story that introduced me to Alistair MacLean, and that introduction, changed my life. This movie has sweeping on-location scenery, and that wonderful nasty cable car journey and fight that I would just love to see in a darkened theater. I'd love to see Richard Burton and Clint Eastwood wreaking havoc big screen. This is a movie meant for the big screen, and if it ever gets shown somewhere, I'll do my darnedest to try and get there for the viewing. (Really, I'd like a triple feature... this one, The Great Escape, and Von Ryan's Express -- three of my favorite war films that all require the big screen for proper viewing.)

Post 1970: Galaxy Quest (1999). Don't ask me how I managed to miss this one, but I didn't discover this one until later, on DVD. The rest of my family saw it in the theater, but for some reason, they just didn't make an impression on me that hey, you don't want to miss this one. It promptly became a family favorite when it was released on DVD and I kicked myself for missing it. I'd love to see it re-released.

Day 26- A film that you love but everyone else hates

2010-08-30T18:00:00.000-07:00

Waterworld (1995). LOL! And I do, I love this movie, I really love this movie, and I freely admit it. But I appear to be quite alone in this, even though I don't get the hatred. Even my sister loathes this film! The ocean setting is way cool, the plot is fun and since it's a fantasy, who cares if the oceans really wouldn't rise that high? The action is exciting, the end satisfying, Dennis Hopper as the Deacon (and his Smoker minions) is just the right shade of crazy. This is an popcorn action/adventure, post-natural-apocalyptic film, with characters I cared about. I saw it in the theater when it first came out and, honestly, there wasn't anything I didn't like about this movie (except the score... this is another of those movies, like Tombstone, where the score is better outside and separate from the film than it is in it... though I've come to like it with the movie too). It's like Mad Max on the high seas, though I would rather watch this film than any of the Mad Max movies (and I'm quite fond of the second one too).

Kevin Costner is great in the cynical, tough loner role, the Mariner. His character is more action than words, and he plays it well. His trimaran is one of the coolest boats ever, with a bunch of nifty gadgets to allow one man to run her where three would probably better. That boat makes my top ten favorite vehicles list. I love how he gets saddled with Enola (great name!) and Helen, and how he slowly comes to love and protect the little girl. The scene where he teaches her to swim is one of my favorite moments. The entire rescue scene is my other favorite part. "Why aren't you rowing?"

There's the theatrical version and the longer version, and I love both. I've actually only seen the long version once, but it explained a lot and filled things in, and I need to check it out again. The theatrical version is the one I know best.

So, yeah. Waterworld is the film I love but everyone else hates!

Day 25- Favourite film villain

2010-08-29T12:05:00.000-07:00

These questions are slightly tricky. Not best. Not scariest. Not most evil. But favorite villain. Which is quite different.

Before 1970: Messala, Ben-Hur, 1959. The character who introduced me to one of my favorite themes - betrayal. And boy howdy, he's really got the corner on the betrayal market, and all just to get ahead in the world. Doesn't realize success will only take you so far, and friendship is one of the precious fragile things in life you can't take for granted. He also assumes Judah will think as he does, big mistake, and when he discovers that Judah chooses to protect his people over siding with the Romans, Messala feels a bit betrayed himself. Of course, he set himself up for that fall. I always liked that he investigated the rooftop accident himself, found Judah was telling the truth -- and then did nothing about it. Still miffed and and finding another way to success through Judah's fall. He really is out to win, which is perfectly demonstrated by the ruthless way he drives his chariot in the famous race. And then, he gets the best death scene ever. Judah Ben-Hur's journey through hatred and back would be nothing without a worthy antagonist, and Messala is that and then some. I've loved him since the first time I saw the movie.

Post 1970: Rene Belloq, Raiders of the Lost Ark, 1981. Ahhh, how I love Belloq. I'm particularly fond of bad guys who are one step ahead of the good guy, and Belloq was always a smart one. Well, until that minor misconception over what the ark would allow him to do. But the rest of the time, he's often ahead of Indy, and when Indy does slip ahead, Belloq figures things out and gains the upper hand again. I love that. He doesn't like the Nazis he works for, but they're useful, bringing him funding and manpower he wouldn't have otherwise, and so he tolerates them. He's also handsome and charming, something my favorite villains have in common.

Day 24- Favourite film based on a book/comic/etc.

2010-08-28T10:26:00.000-07:00

Well, a lot of my favorite movies are based on books, including my favorite movies of all time, so I'm going to go with movies with a comic book source here instead. And that gives me:

The Rocketeer (1991).

This movie didn't do well when it came out, and I've never figured out why because it's a great movie. The only thing I can think is with the period setting and the story line, this is a very old-fashioned movie. Maybe it just didn't jive with modern audiences, where people like me, who love older movies, period settings, and action -- well, this film was right up my alley. I mean it's set in the late 1930s, has Nazis and Hollywood actors and gangsters, a zeppelin, airplanes, Griffith Observatory, a wonderful Rondo Hatton look-alike, Howard Hughes, great costumes, a hero who flies, and a fabulous James Horner score. This is such a fun movie! The cast is perfect, the movie well-paced, funny dialog, the action thrilling. I love this movie.

Cliff: "How do I look?"
Peevy: "Like a hood ornament!"

Day 23- Favourite animated film

2010-08-27T12:26:00.000-07:00

Before 1970: Fantasia (1940). This is actually the only animation film I own on DVD, though I like most of the early Disney films. There's quite a few of the one in the '60s and the more modern ones that I've never even seen (101 Dalmatians, Jungle Book. etc.) Fantasia, though, is perfect. The animation is gorgeous, lush, exquisite. The music is wonderful. I grew up on classical music, and I'm sure this movie shaped the way I hear music, and even the types of classical music I like. I prefer my music to evoke images. This is also part of the reason I love orchestral soundtracks so much. My favorite segment of Fantasia is Beethoven's 6th Symphony. I love the flying horses, unicorns, centaurs, and mythological setting. The only section that I don't love is the sort of intermission bit on notes/sounds. Though, man, every time I see the Night on Bald Mountain segment as an adult, I'm surprised that it didn't scare my pants off as a kid. It's frightening!

(my favorite moment - brave mommy unicorn)

(exquisite animation)

(Love those water-toting broomsticks!)

Post 1970: Cars (2006). This is my hands-down favorite of the Pixar films. I do not tire of watching this one. You know it's bad when your nephew wants to watch something, and you're telling him "Cars! Let's watch Cars!" just because you want to see it yourself. I find this ironic too, because I don't like car racing generally, and I also cannot stand Owen Wilson in anything I've seen him in -- but I don't mind him at all as the voice of Lightning McQueen. He suits the role. I love the story of this one, the little life lessons. I love love love Doc Hudson, love the whole tractor-tipping, love how the beautiful scenery awes McQueen. Love the town of Radiator Springs and how they spiff it up. Love Mater and Luigi and Guido and, really, all the characters in Radiator Springs. It's just a very satisfying movie, and it doesn't get old. (The Cars dvd also has my favorite Pixar short film: One Man Band. I haven't tired of that one yet either!)