Track the Films You Watch (2005) - Page 65

Michael Elliott · 12-22-2005, 12:29 AM

12/19/05

Convict 13 (1920)

Buster Keaton gets mistaken for a convict and must find a way to break out of prison before they hang him. Here’s another middle of the road short from Keaton, which features plenty of small laughs but not enough to make this one of his better films. Highlights include the scene where he tries to catch the fish who ate his golf ball as well as the scene where they go to hang him.

Daydreams (1922)

Before a father will let him marry his daughter Buster Keaton must go into the city to try and find a good job. Once in the city Buster finds it impossible to keep a job and soon has the police chasing him. Here’s a pretty good short that has several nice laughs including a suicide attempt plus another scene with Keaton working on the stage. The stuff dealing with a parade is another highlight.

12/20/05

Last Gangster, The (1937)

Strange but highly entertaining gangster film from MGM has Edward G. Robinson marrying a woman who doesn’t know about his deadly pass. Robinson eventually has a son with her but before he meets the child he gets sent to prison for ten years. The mother then finds out about his past and decides to kidnap the kid so that he doesn’t turn out like his father. She eventually marries another guy (James Stewart) but soon Robinson is out of jail and looking for revenge. This is certainly a lot tamer than the Warner gang pictures of the time but that’s a good thing because there’s a lot of heart and emotion in place of the violence. Robinson is very good and incredibly touching in the end and Stewart shines in his role. John Carradine has a very good part as a man picking on Robinson inside prison. The ending is predictable but the film still works very well.

Basketball Fix, The (1951)

A poor college freshman is a wiz on the basketball court but soon gets involved with gangsters in a points shaving scheme. Here’s another moral “B” film from the 1950’s this time taking shots at gamblers. The film doesn’t have good acting or a real good story but it remains slightly entertaining throughout. It doesn’t hurt matters that it only runs 65-minutes either. John Ireland stars as the sports reporter who starts to see the star shaving the points.

12/21/05

Dr. Renault’s Secret (1942)

Dull horror film about Dr. Renault (George Zucco) and his little secrets including his mentally challenged assistant (J. Carrol Naish). For some reason this is a rather well known film among horror fans but I can’t see why because the big “secret” is easy to see within the first five minutes and the rest of the film is slow and boring. Zucco and Naish are mildly entertaining but the film goes no where in the end.

Night World (1932)

Strange Pre-Code from Universal takes place at a nightclub during the Prohibition era where the women wear very little clothes and the alcohol is running free. Outside some Pre-Code dialogue and situations the story here is rather weak because it seems the director was only wanting to show the women and booze. The film runs a very fast 56-minutes but a few of the scenes go on a bit too long even with the short running time. Lew Ayres, Mae Clarke, Boris Karloff and George Raft star. Watch for the joke aimed at James Whale’s Frankenstein.

Curse of the Swamp Creatures (1966) BOMB

Incredibly bad film from the infamous director Larry Buchanan. One jackass goes into the Everglades to find oil when he encounters a jackass scientist mixing alligators and humans. The budget of this thing is so low that the director just used black people for his half human/half alligator creatures. When the title character finally shows up he looks pretty good but he doesn’t get on the screen until the very last scene in the movie. Bad on all levels and only recommended to those who are wanting to take off five years of their life.

george kaplan · 12-23-2005, 01:52 AM

Kung Fu Hustle

I'm really torn about this one. It took over 15 minutes for me to laugh once at this film. I knew this was supposed to be a comedy, and I thought that either I had the wrong film, or that the 'comedy' would be such that you'd have to really be a genre expert to get it (like the supposed comedy Samurai Spy, which after it ended an hour and half later had elicited a grand total of zero laughs from me). But this film did have a number of laughs, and while it wasn't constant by any means, when they came, I was laughing very hard and very loudly. Whether there are enough laughs for me to want to watch this again - I just don't know at this point.

Michael Elliott · 12-23-2005, 03:29 AM

Just in case you didn't know TCM has their new site up, which includes a movie database, which is very handy and has some nice information as well as trailers and other goodies. You can also now vote on stuff you want to see on DVD.

12/22/05

Horrors of the Red Planet (1965) BOMB

Four astronauts crash land on Mars where they walk around for an hour’s worth of running time before meeting the planet’s wizard (John Carradine). Here’s a really bad movie that somewhat keeps you interested because you’re expecting something to happen but when nothing does happen you can’t help but be really pissed. Carradine doesn’t show up until the final ten minutes and when he does it’s only his head. The rest of the cast members are equally awful as are the special effects, directing, screenplay and so on.

House of the Black Death (1965)

Two warlocks, one good (John Carradine) and one evil (Lon Chaney, Jr.) battle over human souls. I really don’t have the faintest idea what this film is about because there are three storylines going on and none of them make any sense on their own so mixing them together is even more confusing. One of the stories deals with the warlock’s other brother who’s a werewolf but we never actually see the wolf. Again, here’s a film that you hang onto because you’re expecting something to happen but nothing ever does happen so in the end you’ve just wasted your time. To make matters even worse Chaney and Carradine don’t share any scenes together.

Terror in the Wax Museum (1973)

Set in a wax museum in London, several murders are starting to pile up and everything points back to the museum. Is is a deranged killer, the new owners or are the wax figures coming to life and killing? Here’s another remake/rip-off of Mystery of the Wax Museum, which is pretty flat from start to finish but the veteran horror cast makes it worth watching. Ray Milland, John Carradine, Elsa Lanchester and Patrick Knowles star.

Michael Elliott · 12-24-2005, 06:39 AM

12/23/05

Cyclops, The (1957)

A woman (Gloria Talbott) travels to the Mexican desert to locate her husband whose been missing for three years. She finds him but he’s now a huge, one eyed Cyclops. Here’s a classic of the 50’s sci-fi directed by Bert I. Gordon who would make a career out of these “man/animal grows big” films. The entire cast, including Lon Chaney, Jr. are a lot of fun and the dialogue gets some nice chuckles as well.

Ask Father (1919)

Before he can marry the woman he loves Harold Lloyd must first ask for her father’s permission. The only problem is that her father is the busiest man alive so getting near him will take some time. Here’s a very funny one reel that has plenty of laughs throughout. The stuff with the two bouncers, one a midget, is histerical as is the moving floor in the father’s office. The scene where Lloyd climbs up the side of a building is also great.

Safety Last (1923)

Before marrying his girlfriend country boy Harold Lloyd moves to the big city in order to make lots of money. He fails but tells the girl he’s doing well and when she makes a surprise appearance Lloyd must try to get money quickly. To do this he decides to climb up the side of a skyscraper. There are too many laughs in this here but the final twenty minutes are among the most suspenseful moments ever put on film. I had heard all about the building climbing sequence but damn was this thing brilliantly done. This sequence alone makes this a must see.

Eastern Westerner, An (1920)

A party boy (Harold Lloyd) is sent out west by his parents but once there he encounters a group of masked bandits. I really didn’t find this short very entertaining. Not many laughs to be found here.

From Hand to Mouth (1920)

A tramp (Harold Lloyd) meets a young homeless girl and her dog and the three try to get some food. I’m sure this was meant to be a sweet little film but it doesn’t come off that way and the lack of laughs make it rather uninteresting.

Christmas Party, The (1931)

Jackie Cooper wants to throw a Christmas party for his football team but his house is too small so MGM lets him have it on one of their sets. This is a pretty good short that features cameos by the big boys of MGM including Clark Gable, Norma Shearer, Marion Davies, Lionel Barrymore, Jimmy Durante, Wallace Beery and others.

MGM Christmas Trailer (1937)

Judy Garland at 15 years old sings Silent Night. That’s all there’s to this short but it’s a very good singing worth catching on TCM.

Play Girl (1932)

Irresistible pre-code about a working class girl (Loretta Young) who believes in working for something in life and not just marrying into it. She eventually falls for a compulsive gambler (Winnie Lightener) and after their married the ugly nature of gambling comes into play. This is a wickedly funny and in the end depressing little tale that works wonders in its short sixty-minute running time. Young and Lightener make for a terrific couple and the racy sexual dialogue makes for some great laughs. Young is beautiful and charming as ever and delivers a knockout performance. This was the first film I’ve seen Lightener in but he was wonderful as well. Edward Van Sloan has a small part as well.

Jim_K · 12-24-2005, 10:02 AM

(like the supposed comedy Samurai Spy, which after it ended an hour and half later had elicited a grand total of zero laughs from me)

Seeing as how Samurai Spy is an action/adventure film, you expected laughs?

What made you think it was going to be a comedy?

george kaplan · 12-24-2005, 10:22 AM

What made you think it was going to be a comedy?

Obviously, I named the wrong film. I saw a number of 60s Samurai films all around the same time, and I know at least one was supposed to be a comedy. I think it was probably Kill!, which I saw about the same time I saw Samurai Spy. In any case, there was some film introduced as a comedy of the Samurai genre, which I sat through without cracking a smile.

Brook K · 12-24-2005, 11:53 PM

Yes, Kill! is the film that is the genre parody. I did laugh a few times - the beginning when Nakadai enters the dusty town, a common opening for samurai films and Westerns, and it's shot like a typical "cool epic" entry, but then he gets dust his eyes and coughs; the farmer getting turned on by covering the whore in dirt and that comic freeze frame where he throws her in the air in his excitement; and I think there was a funny line or two here and there. But I agree that it certainly wasn't a laugh-a-minute comedy or even a laugh every 10 minutes comedy.

I agree with you on Kung Fu Hustle too. I liked it to an extent, but it wasn't nearly as funny as God of Cookery.

SteveGon · 12-25-2005, 09:33 AM

Kiss of Death (1947)

Viewed 12/20/2005

Solid noir about an ex-con forced to rat on his former accomplices by a determined district attorney.

out of

The Bird With the Crystal Plumage (1970)

Viewed 12/20/2005 (first viewing)

Beautifully-shot suspenser from Dario Argento. A writer witnesses a near-fatal assault and becomes embroiled in the search for a killer.

out of

Lancelot of the Lake (1974)

Viewed 12/21/2005 (first viewing)

Robert Bresson's austere exploration of the final days of King Arthur's court, centering on the doomed affair of Lancelot and Guinevere.

out of

Flic Story (1975)

Viewed 12/22/2005 (first viewing)

Excellent policier about an ambitious young detective assigned to capture a deadly criminal who's just escaped from prison.

out of

The Milky Way (1936)

Viewed 12/22/2005 (first viewing)

Pretty funny little comedy stars Harold Lloyd as a wimpy milkman whose altercation with a drunken boxing champion turns him into a star pugilist.

out of

McCabe and Mrs. Miller (1971)

Viewed 12/23/2005

Robert Altman's western about a gambler whose dreams of success are threatened by a ruthless mining company.

out of

Signs & Wonders (2002)

Viewed 12/24/2005 (first viewing)

Oddly-nuanced drama about a man desperate to regain his family after leaving them to run off with his mistress. Engrossing and unconventional.

out of

Cabiria (1914)

Viewed 12/24/2005 (first viewing)

Early historical epic from Italy follows various characters as they try to survive in perpetually-conflicted ancient Rome.

out of

Happy holidays to all!