AFI 100 Years Series Discussion & Challenges, vol. 2 - Page 3

The funny thing - of the new AFI films in the Quotes list, there were three films listed that have never been released on VHS or DVD in NZ that I would have had to tried to acquire from overseas - Beyond the Forest, Knute Rockne All American, and The Naughty Nineties.

The next month, TCM very kindly showed the first two of those films. I've now watched Forest and have Rockne taped and ready to watch. Now I just need to wait for them to show Naughty Nineties.

And speaking of Abbott and Costello movies:

Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein

Other than my irritation at the inaccuracy of the title (they never meet Frankenstein), it's a pretty good film. I loved the fact that they had the original Dracula (Lugosi) and Wolfman (Chaney), even if they had to use a new actor for the Monster. I tend to feel that the film would have been completely dfferent had it not had the original stars. As it was, the film really felt like a genuine Universal monster film - even though the plot, with Dracula trying to resurrect the monster, seemed a little silly. The great thing was that the monster scenes were played completely straight. Dracula, the Monster, and the Wolfman, were never trying for the laughs. They were always serious. The comedy grew out of the reactions of Abbott and Costello to the otherwise serious situation. And it worked well. It was a lot of fun and most enjoyable.

This is certainly the key to the film. There are some Universal fans who bash this movie because they feel the monsters are being made fun of but I find this to be a silly statement for several reasons. The biggest reason is that the monsters here are a lot more violent than in any of the previous films. The Wolf Man does a lot more damage than before, the death of a certain doctor is probably the most graphic in any of the films and finally, the film really tries to scare the viewer. I think the key in the scares is, for A&C fans, we love the duo so there's a reason we don't want to see them hurt by the monsters. At the same time, as you said, fans of the monsters should love this because they are at their prime. There was a lot of controversy at the time of release because parents weren't happy that their kids came out crying after a "family" A&C film. While there are plenty of laughs here there's no doubt this film scared the crap out of people back in the day and I still think it holds more suspense of any of the Universal films. Another critic of this film was Lon Chaney, Jr. who said A&C ruined monster films but he was clearly drunk at the time.

Glenn Strange who plays the monster also did so in HOUSE OF FRANKENSTEIN and HOUSE OF DRACULA. Jack Pierce, the man who made all these monsters, originally wanted Karloff's monster to look like Strange did in these three films. In a way, from the make up point of view, this is how the monster is suppose to look. Of course, it would have been great had Karloff agreed to do the movie. Stranger is the fact that Lugosi wasn't the first choice to play Dracula. I think the film benefits greatly from him who, IMO, is better here than he was in DRACULA (1931).

There have been hundreds of horror/comedies but this here is certainly the best.

Sons of the Desert

Laurel and Hardy are members of the California branch of the Sons of the Desert lodge, and intend to go to the lodge conference. However, when their wives object, Hardy is forced to pretend to be ill and in need of an ocean voyage in order to get away from the wife and get to the conference.

It was an interesting experience watching Laurel and Hardy. I used to love them as a kid, but haven't watched any of their material in 10 or 15 years. I enjoyed it, but not as much as I expected.

The film has three very definite stages to the film, and it was only the last part where I really felt the film came together. The first part, with the two trying to plan to attend the conference, had some wonderful little sequences - Stan being locked out, or Oliver's supremely unconvincing efforts to play sick. But there were as many bits that didn't work as did work, and I was astonished at the way the two mugged for the camera. Quite off-putting. But still, some good stuff.

The middle section, with the two attending the conference, was pretty dire. Pretty much laugh-free, it is fortunately pretty short. The worst part - a potentially amusing part where Oliver ends up talking to his wife on the phone without realising it, ended up going nowhere and played no part in the film.

But the third part of the film redeemed all of its faults. A great extended sequence has the two returning home, only to discover that they need to hide their return for 24 hours, unaware that their wives have discovered their deception. It's a delightful part of the film, impossible to describe without spoiling it, but an absolute must-see. It is on sequences like this that L&H have built their reputation, and after an unimpressive first two-thirds, the two completely justified their position as comedy greats.

The film is in the Laughs list, and also the Quotes list, for Hardy's line, "Well, here's another nice mess you've gotten me into!". The interesting thing for me was that I remembered that it was Laurel who would always mess things up, but it was Hardy that would suffer the consequences - hence the fanmous line. What was interesting in the context of the film was that it was all Hardy's fault - it was Hardy that forced Laurel to go to the conference, who decided to go with the fake cruise story, who at every point made the decision that would lead them inevitably to that nice mess. So the line's not just about the mess teir in, it's about diverting blame away from the person responsible. Which I found interesting.

And, incidentally, the disc I watched also had a colour version. I glanced at it for 30 seconds out of curiosity, and had to turn it off. Worst colourisation effort ever. Words cannot describe how ghastly it was. he thought that people would prefer to watch that over a nice clean B&W print fills me with dread.

Animal House

I wasn't terribly impressed with the film. It has a pretty high reputation that I honestly did not feel was deserved. A hugely influential fraternity comedy, I was expecting quite a few laughs, and it never delivered. The odd smile occasionally, but not often.

I had several real problems. Firstly, there were two many damned characters, to the point where several that seemed pretty interchangable - I couldn't remember which one was going out with Karen Allen, for instance. My other main problem with with the film was that it just felt like a collection of setpieces. A lot of individual scenes trying to be funny, and failing, but without any through-line to allow the film any direction. It may have been delibe - it certainly reflected the directionless way some of the guys were pursuing their education - but I just though it was bad filmmaking.

I will say, however, that I was impressed with John Belushi. There is just something about him that really does hold the screen in a way I don't remember ever seeing anyone else hold the screen. Between this and The Blues Brothers, I realise just what an incredible talent he was, and what a terrible loss he was to the world.

Bright Eyes (Butler, 1934)

AFI 100 songs - "On the Good Ship Lollipop"

Orphaned Shirley Temple is caught up in a tug of war over who gets to adopt her. A rich old curmudgeon, and her Godfather, a poor pilot.

Temple is quite cute, and quite a performer at age 5. I enjoyed Charles Sellon's performance as the wheelchair bound, old rich guy who wants to adopt her. His cranky character was a lot of fun.

There isn't enough to make this much of a movie, and another little girl in the movie, a rich spoiled brat, is really annoying.

The song itself has Shirley singing to a chorus of a dozen pilots. Hard not to sing along, a catchy, cute song.

The Paleface

Jane Russell stars as Calamity Jane, offered a pardon for her crimes if she will help with an investigation to catch the people selling weapons to the Indians. She ends up having to marry Bob Hope, as an incompetent dentist who ends up believing himself to be a true hero.

In the world on comedy westerns, this really was nothing special. Six hours after watching it, I barely remember a thing about it. Pretty dull and unenjoyable. The film is listed in the Songs list for "Buttons and Bows", a song which seemed decent to me, but nothing spectacular. The most interesting part of the song was the fact that Bob Hope's accordian playing seemed pretty unconvincing to me. I really don't see how this film got listed.

Matthew - I didn't care for The Paleface much either, Bob Hope's humour doesn't get me laughing much. I remember reading a synopsis at All Movie Guide or the like that the movie's noteworthy for being the Blazing Saddles of its day.

I liked the song Buttons and Bows, I don't have a problem with it being on the list. Probably helped its AFI selection that the song won the Best Song oscar.

I guess it shows the reputation Hope has in Hollywood for musical comedy that 2 of his songs made this list. When I think of Hollywood movies and their songs I don't think of Hope.



Beaches (Marshall, 1988) ½

AFI 100 Songs - "Wind Beneath My Wings"

Movie starts out well, then drowns in a tide of schmaltz. Movie about the lifelong friendship of Bette Midler and Barbara Hershey.

I remember back in 1988 Hershey starring in The Last Temptation of Christ, and the press she got over having cosmetic lip injections to give her sexier, pouty lips for that movie. She has the same sexy lips in this 1988 film - meh.

The girl who plays 11 yr old Midler is great in a small role, and Bette has a couple of funny scenes. But I found Beaches pretty dull, the plot very predictable.

The movie's AFI song, "Wind Beneath My Wings", isn't one I liked very much. Its 80's synth sound doesn't appeal to me, and it's just too sappy for me to like a whole lot. The movie I thought though chose the timing very well to present it - plays as a tribute to one of the characters who is terminally ill.

That's interesting, Adam. I haven't seen Sunset Blvd in years, and it will be interesting to go back and see the song in that film - now that I know it.

I wasn't saying that I disliked the song, I thought it was okay, I just didn't see what it was that made that song get into the list above all the others. I didn't know about the Best Song Oscar, or that it was so popular generally, which explains a lot.

Revisits

To Kill A Mockingbird

Score: A

Not really sure what my original review said, but during this viewing I was really moved by the film.

The Sting

Score: A

Great American filmmaking. That's about all I have to say.

Adam - Inherit the Wind...

I liked the film a lot, too.

I read in a Gene Kelly biography that Tracy and March, two proud old pros, didn't get along too well on set, forever trying to steal scenes from each other in the courtroom.

If I remember correctly, when Tracy was speaking, March would furiously fan himself. When March was speaking, Tracy resorted to tactics like picking his nose (I don't remember seeing that during the film, might have got edited out).

The 100 Years Of Film Scores list is out.
Only 25 scores listed, rather than 100, and only 3 films are new to the lists:
* The Pink Panther (1964)
* The Mission (1986)
* How the West Was Won (1962)

The full list:

1 STAR WARS (1977) John Williams

2 GONE WITH THE WIND (1939) Max Steiner

3 LAWRENCE OF ARABIA (1962) Maurice Jarre

4 PSYCHO (1960) Bernard Herrmann

5 THE GODFATHER (1972) Nino Rota

6 JAWS (1975) John Williams

7 LAURA (1944) David Raksin

8 THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN (1960) Elmer Bernstein

9 CHINATOWN (1974) Jerry Goldsmith

10 HIGH NOON (1952) Dimitri Tiomkin

11 THE ADVENTURES OF ROBIN HOOD (1938) Erich Wolfgang Korngold

12 VERTIGO (1958) Bernard Herrmann

13 KING KONG (1933) Max Steiner

14 E.T. THE EXTRA-TERRESTRIAL (1982) John Williams

15 OUT OF AFRICA (1985) John Barry

16 SUNSET BLVD. (1950) Franz Waxman

17 TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD (1962) Elmer Bernstein

18 PLANET OF THE APES (1968) Jerry Goldsmith

19 A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE (1951) Alex North

20 THE PINK PANTHER (1964) Henry Mancini

21 BEN-HUR (1959) Miklos Rozsa

22 ON THE WATERFRONT (1954) Leonard Bernstein

23 THE MISSION (1986) Ennio Morricone

24 ON GOLDEN POND (1981) Dave Grusin

25 HOW THE WEST WAS WON (1962) Alfred Newman

It has been a while since I posted (or have really been able to see very many movies). In an effort to catch-up he is my ranking for the first 75 Quotes movies. I use a 4 star rating, based on J. Rosenbaum: 4=masterpiece; 3=must-see; 2=worth seeing; 1=has redeeming feature(s)

2001: A Space OdysseyOpen the pod bay doors, HAL.
42nd Street Sawyer, you're going out a youngster, but you've got to come back a star!
Airplane! Surely you can't be serious.---I am serious...and don't call me Shirley.
All About Eve Fasten your seatbelts. It's going to be a bumpy night.
Animal Crackers One morning I shot an elephant in my pajamas. How he got in my pajamas, I
Annie Hall La-dee-da, la-dee-da.
Apocalypse NowI love the smell of napalm in the morning.
Bonnie and Clyde We rob banks.
CasablancaHere's looking at you, kid.
CasablancaLouis, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship.
CasablancaOf all the gin joints in all the towns in all the world, she walks into mine.
CasablancaPlay it, Sam. Play 'As Time Goes By.'
CasablancaRound up the usual suspects.
CasablancaWe'll always have Paris.
Chinatown Forget it, Jake, it's Chinatown.
Citizen KaneRosebud.
Cool Hand Luke What we've got here is failure to communicate.
Dirty Harry You've got to ask yourself one question: 'Do I feel lucky?' Well, do ya, punk?
Dog Day Afternoon Attica! Attica!
Dr. No Bond. James Bond.
Dr. StrangeloveGentlemen, you can't fight in here! This is the War Room!
Dracula Listen to them. Children of the night. What music they make.
E.T. E.T. phone home.
Forrest GumpMama always said life was like a box of chocolates.
Frankenstein It's alive! It's alive!
Funny Girl Hello, gorgeous.
Godfather II, TheKeep your friends close, but your enemiescloser.
Godfather, The I'm going to make him an offer he can't refuse.
Gone with the Wind After all, tomorrow is another day!
Gone with the Wind As God is my witness, I'll never be hungry again.
Gone with the Wind Frankly, my dear, I don’t give a damn.
Graduate, The Mrs. Robinson, you're trying to seduce me. Aren't you?
Graduate, The Plastics.
Grand Hotel I want to be alone.
In the Heat of the Night They call me Mister Tibbs!
JawsYou're gonna need a bigger boat.
Jazz Singer, The Wait a minute, wait a minute. You ain't heard nothin' yet!
King Kong Oh, no, it wasn't the airplanes. It was Beauty killed the Beast.
Little Caesar Mother of mercy, is this the end of Rico?
Lord of the Rings: The Two TowersMy precious.
Maltese Falcon, The The stuff that dreams are made of.
Marathon Man Is it safe?
Midnight Cowboy I'm walking here! I'm walking here!
Mommie Dearest No wire hangers, ever!
National Lampoon's Animal House Toga! Toga!
NetworkI'm as mad as hell, and I'm not going to take this anymore!
Now, Yoyager Oh, Jerry, don't let's ask for the moon.
On the Waterfront I coulda been a contender.
Planet of the Apes Get your stinking paws off me, you damned dirty ape.
Poltergeist They're here!
Pride of the Yankees, The Today, I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of the earth.
Psycho A boy's best friend is his mother.
Rocky Yo, Adrian!
Scarface Say "hello" to my little friend!
Shane Shane. Shane. Come back!
Shining, The Here's Johnny!
Silence of the Lambs, The A census taker once tried to test me. I ate his liver with …
Some Like it HotWell, nobody's perfect.
Sons of the Desert Well, here's another nice mess you've gotten me into!
Star Wars May the Force be with you.
Streetcar Named Desire, A I have always depended on the kindness of strangers.
Streetcar Named Desire, A Stella! Hey, Stella!
Sunset Blvd.All right, Mr. DeMille, I'm ready for my closeup.
Sunset Blvd.I am big! It's the pictures that got small.
Taxi Driver You talking to me?
Terminator 2 Hasta la vista, baby.
Terminator, The I'll be back.
To Have and to Have Not You know how to whistle, don't you, Steve?
Treasure of the Sierra Madre, TheBadges? We ain't got no badges!
Wall Street Greed, for lack of a better word, is good.
When Harry Met Sally I'll have what she's having.
White Heat Made it, Ma! Top of the world!
Wizard of Oz, TheI'll get you, my pretty, and your little dog, too!
Wizard of Oz, TheThere's no place like home.
Wizard of Oz, TheToto, I've got a feeling we're not in Kansas any more.