Home Theater Forum › Home Theater Forum › Entertainment › Movies (Theatrical) › "The HTF 100 Great Films of the 1930's Challenge"
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:

"The HTF 100 Great Films of the 1930's Challenge" - Page 10

post #271 of 1024
3/24/03 at 11:34am
Quote:
Originally posted by Lew Crippen
I watched Of Mice and Men and it was nothing memorable at all. I think that Lon Chaney, Jr. was given lot of critical praise for his portrayal of Lennie, but John Malkovitch’s effort was far superior.

It’s OK and the B&W fits the plot well, but I find this only of historical interest.


(I'll save the eloquent reply for later.)

Lew, you're nuts.
Reply
post #272 of 1024
3/24/03 at 12:06pm
I watched Duck Soup last week bringing my total to 29.

I really enjoyed this movie and am looking forward to April 1 when TCM will be showing 7 Marx brothers films.
Reply
post #273 of 1024
3/24/03 at 1:06pm
Quote:
Lew, you're nuts.
Welcome back Agee. I look forward to your views, the more so as your knowledge of classic films is broader-based than mine.

I’d watched the two versions back-to-back, and to be honest have problems with both (except JM’s characterization of Lennie, which I think first rate).

You probably don’t want to know my opinion of The Lost Patrol at all. Just say that this is one where George has expressed everything for me already.
Reply
post #274 of 1024
3/24/03 at 3:38pm
Thread Starter 
Added the listings for May.

Will get the view counts updated in a day or two. I feel like such a slacker as I am so far behind on my viewing. But I have got a lot taped, so eventually when I go on one of my month long movie binges, I should be able to burn throught about 30 or 40 films easily
Reply
post #275 of 1024
3/26/03 at 11:58am
I am not one for musicals but I have to admit, I enjoyed 42nd Street a lot more than I thought I would. My rating out of 5.
Reply
post #276 of 1024
3/26/03 at 4:23pm
Quote:
I am not one for musicals but I have to admit, I enjoyed 42nd Street a lot more than I thought I would.

Same here. Marred somewhat by Warner Baxter's horrible over-acting, but I'm a sucker for that pre-Code dialog.

16 to go.

Rob
Reply
post #277 of 1024
3/29/03 at 2:02pm
Added The Lady Vanishes (A) in my seen (23) list.

The Adventures of Robin Hood (A), City Lights (A+), Dracula (A), Frankenstein (A), Gone With The Wind (A-), Grand Illusion (A+), King Kong(A), Modern Times (A+), Snow White and The Seven Dwarfs (A), The Wizard of Oz (B), Wuthering Heights (B-), Alexander Nevsky (A+), The Awful Truth (A), Duck Soup (A), Fury (A), Grand Hotel(A), The Hunchback of Notre Dame (A), Mr. Smith Goes To Washington (A+), M (A+), Ninotchka (A+), The Lady Vanishes (A)

At bat: Bringing Up Baby & It Happened One Night
Reply
post #278 of 1024
3/29/03 at 4:36pm
Thread Starter 
The June listings have been added to the scedule
Reply
post #279 of 1024
3/31/03 at 8:27am
Charge of the Light Brigade - a well done film that works but really didn't do much for me. A main problem is the romance angle did not work for me at all. Still not a bad film.
Reply
post #280 of 1024
4/1/03 at 7:59am
My Man Godfrey - Another screwball comedy that I really enjoyed and found very funny. One of the pleasures of visiting these older films, besides the film themselves, is seeing these great actors that sometimes are not as well known today. I have always enjoyed William Powell but my esteem for him has grown considerably with every film I see him in. A real pleasure in watching this film was discovering Eugene Pallette. He was wonderful in the role as the father.

Captains Courageous – A highly enjoyable film. A conventional story is well told with some very nice photography and scenes on the open sea. My biggest complaint is with Spencer Tracy’s performance. I know he won the Oscar for it but what a terrible accent. It sounded like Chico Marx was dubbing his voice. I’m probably not giving this film enough credit. If made today it would be ruined by an annoying kid actor and money spent on special effects instead of script. I was reminded of this at the end of the film where this fictional film had significantly more emotional impact that the based-on-fact The Perfect Storm that had a similar ending.
Reply
post #281 of 1024
4/1/03 at 9:14am
I'm pretty sure Tracy hated that accent himself.
Reply
post #282 of 1024
4/1/03 at 12:09pm
Quote:
A real pleasure in watching this film was discovering Eugene Pallette. He was wonderful in the role as the father.
Check him out as Henry Fonda’s father in The Lady Eve

He alone is worth the price of admission.

That couch has been there 15 years and no one has ever fallen over it before
Reply
post #283 of 1024
4/3/03 at 1:27am
The Reluctant Dragon - ½


I just realized from imdb that this isn't 39 like I thought, but 1941 :b
It's not on the list, but I just finished watching "The Reluctant Dragon" the full feature on the Disney Treasures release. My conclusion is that this should definitely be on the list. It's important, one of the first features that took you behind the scenes I bet, and very entertaining, the cartoons are spectacular, I wish there were a full animated version of Baby Weems, that was a wonderful cartoon, but the penciled drawings have so much character I'd almost prefer not to see the polished product. I assume there it was never completed or it would be on the set, am I correct? (didn't look too closely at the extras so I may have missed it). In all one of the more satisfying and delightful films from the thirties I"ve seen. I highly recommend that anyone participating in the challenge pick up this dvd set before it disapears, the feature alone is worth the price of admission.
I for one would have thought they would never get away with such an extremely effeminate character in the titular role, the stereotypes had me in hysterics here.
One thing though, shouldn't the film have been zoomed in whenever the black centaur from fantasia showed up so that we wouldn't see such horrible racism that could mar forever the image of the disney company? after all that's why we can't see them in Fantasia.

highly recommended and a lot of fun.

Adam
Reply
post #284 of 1024
4/3/03 at 4:41am
Added All Quiet On The Western Front (A), Bringing Up Baby (B+) & It Happened One Night (A) in my seen (26) list.

The Adventures of Robin Hood (A), City Lights (A+), Dracula (A), Frankenstein (A), Gone With The Wind (A-), Grand Illusion (A+), King Kong(A), Modern Times (A+), Snow White and The Seven Dwarfs (A), The Wizard of Oz (B), Wuthering Heights (B-), Alexander Nevsky (A+), The Awful Truth (A), Duck Soup (A), Fury (A), Grand Hotel(A), The Hunchback of Notre Dame (A), Mr. Smith Goes To Washington (A+), M (A+), Ninotchka (A+), The Lady Vanishes (A), All Quiet On The Western Front (A), Bringing Up Baby (B+), It Happened One Night (A)
Reply
post #285 of 1024
4/4/03 at 12:37pm
Just a question for all those that saw Lost Patrol, did you time shift it from TCM?

because I noticed on IMDB, they show two run times, 74 minutes and thena 66 minute runtime for the TCM library print.
http://us.imdb.com/Title?0025423

Now I'm almost positive that the back of the vhs case I watched at USCs cinema library said 74 minutes, but I may be totally wrong, I'll have to double check, still as quickly as the film moves along, losing eight minutes of what was probably character moments may significantly affect how the film works.

Adam
Reply
post #286 of 1024
4/4/03 at 2:09pm
This movie isn't listed, but I've been watching Intermezzo, both the original Swedish version (1936) and the US remake (1939). Both star Ingrid Bergman - the remake was her US screen debut. Both are recommended. The Swedish original is on DVD from Fox Lorber but Fox hasn't released the remake yet.
Reply
post #287 of 1024
4/7/03 at 8:39am
Ok, saw The Black Cat and I was expecting to see something based upon the Edgar Allan Poe short story . I don't see the similarities but all in all it was enjoyable. I really don't think you can go too wrong with Lugosi and Karloff. I give it out of 5.
Reply
post #288 of 1024
4/7/03 at 10:15am
Of Mice and Men – I enjoyed this. Not a great film but a very good film and not too much I can complain about it either. This acting was good and the B&W photography was very good.

I haven’t seen the Malkovich version. I should probably rent this since I like both leads. I’ve only seen the 1981 tv movie with Robert Blake and Randy Quaid. I’m sure this plays a lot differently as does anything with Robert Blake.
Reply
post #289 of 1024
4/7/03 at 10:31am
Having reached the half-way point I thought I would list the films I've seen.
None of these films on this challenge are really bad so the rankings are more personal and on a curve.


(Personal Favorites)
The Adventures of Robin Hood. . . All Quiet on the Western Front
Angels with Dirty Faces . . . . . City Lights
Frankenstein. . . . . . . . . . . Fury
Horse Feathers. . . . . . . . . . Grand Illusion
M . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . My Man Godfrey
Mutiny on the Bounty. . . . . . . Rules of the Game
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs . The Thin Man
Top Hat . . . . . . . . . . . . . Twentieth Century
The Wizard of Oz. . . . . . . . . Wuthering Heights


(Very good films)
After the Thin Man. . . . . . . . Animal Crackers
Another Thin Man. . . . . . . . . Bride of Frankenstein
Bringing Up Baby. . . . . . . . . Captains Courageous
42nd Street . . . . . . . . . . . Gone with the Wind
The Invisible Man . . . . . . . . It Happened One Night
The Life of Emile Zola. . . . . . Little Caesar
Lost Horizon. . . . . . . . . . . Modern Times
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington. . . Ninotchka
Of Mice and Men . . . . . . . . . The Public Enemy
Stagecoach. . . . . . . . . . . . Trouble in Paradise
You Can't Take It with You


(Didn't really appeal to me)
The Black Cat . . . . . . . . . . Boys Town
Charge of the Light Brigade . . . The Good Earth
Gunga Din . . . . . . . . . . . . Freaks
A Midsummer Night's Dream . . . . Nothing Sacred
Red Dust. . . . . . . . . . . . . San Francisco
Swing Time
Reply
post #290 of 1024
4/8/03 at 1:55pm
Fury

Definitely belongs on this list, though it doesn't quite achieve greatness for me. But a very good film.
Reply
post #291 of 1024
4/13/03 at 6:40am
Dodsworth - A decent melodrama about a couple having their midlife crisis. Overall, I thought this was a decent movie, but didn't really get going until the last 30 minutes or so. 1/2
Reply
post #292 of 1024
4/13/03 at 2:39pm
Is it too late to join? I have seen 25 of the 102 films, but I'll say here that I have seen 24, because it's been too long since I last watched The Hunchback of Notre Dame.

Last seen:

Mr. Smith Goes to Washington -
I had been meaning to see this film for years but never got to it. It's wonderful and I was surprised how involving it was. The third act in particular is very intense. I absolutely loved Jimmy Stewart (boy was he young here) and Claude Rains. A.

Looks like Little Caesar and Gone with the Wind are next.
Reply
post #293 of 1024
4/14/03 at 9:06am
A Night at the Opera - It has been a while since I’ve seen this but I think my feelings about it haven’t changed. The comedy is some of their strongest with some great scenes. Still the musical numbers don’t quite work for me. As many of the Marx Brothers film’s it loses steam part way through. The brilliant first part is enough to make this one of their best.


A Day at the Races - I saw it a few days ago and it doesn’t seem to stick with me as most of their other films. The examination scene was brilliant. The songs were still mostly dragged the film down, except for the very odd segment with Harpo in the shanty town. It seemed out of place yet has more energy that most of their musical numbers.


Mr. Deeds Goes to Town - Very enjoyable. The only negative I can think of is the ending seems a little to quick and ties things up too neatly. A typical Capra complaint. Otherwise this is a movie filled with positives. I’m not a big Cooper fan but he really fits the part here. I loved the scenes with him and Martin Stemple’s former employees, especially with Cobb.
Reply
post #294 of 1024
4/17/03 at 8:42am
Stage Door, a movie about (New York stage) show business. And one of those films of the 30s that is all about women (and probably, mostly for women). This is a reasonably close adaptation of George Kaufmann and Edna Ferber and the very witty, rapid-fire dialogue reflects this.

Strangely for an ensemble piece, this is clearly a Katherine Hepburn vehicle. And to be sure, when she is on camera (most of the time) she clearly dominates the screen. But when watching, I’m reminded of Dorthy Parker’s bon mot, ‘she ran the gamut of emotions from ‘A’ to ‘B’”

True she does throw us a change-up, when ‘acting’ at the end. But ironically, in trying to demonstrate that her character has become a fine actress, she overacts.

Worth seeing for the dialogue.

I see that in addition to your other charms, you have that insolence generated by an inferior upbringing.

Fancy clothes and fancy language.

Unfortunately, I learned to speak English correctly.

That won't be of much use to you here - we all speak pig Latin.

And I use the right knife and fork. I hope you don't mind.

All you need's the knife.
Reply
post #295 of 1024
4/24/03 at 9:06am
Charge of the Light Bigrade has so many bad lines that it is hard to know if the acting is any good. After all what can anyone do with ‘You are not fighting one legion, you are fighting the whole British army.’ David Niven has the best role of any of the cast (which includes Errol Flynn and Olivia de Havilland), as his character gets killed early on and he is saved from further harm.
Reply
post #296 of 1024
4/25/03 at 11:51am
I'm up to 25 with Little Caesar

I saw The Public Enemy a while back and loved it. Having seen Little Caesar, I consider it a counterpart. With The Public Enemy, I liked both the melodramatic story and the characters, but in Little Caesar I didn't care much for the story at all. This one was about Rico and the character made the movie. B+
Reply
post #297 of 1024
4/28/03 at 6:48am
Capitan Blood is a lot of fun, as nowhere does it take itself seriously or pretend to be anything other than a romp for Errol Flynn. Olivia de Havilland even gets to appropriately overact at the end.

This is complete with everything, including pirates swinging on board another ship with cutlasses between their teeth.
Reply
post #298 of 1024
5/1/03 at 8:02am
Lost Horizon, is an idealistic, retreat from the real world with its problems of war, death, disease, dehumanizing industrialization and the desire for personal gain and honor to one where these problems disappear and a perfect, communal society exists where not only to people live in peace and harmony, but sickness is eliminated and death delayed. And one that can be used as a platform for other

Capra shows us early on that this is not supposed to be realistic, as the journey from the real to the ideal world, takes place in a closed space (an airplane) during an overnight flight where the protagonist portends the change by drinking until he falls into a deep sleep.

The film is, for my tastes pretty heavy-handed, but to be fair, Capra points out that even a perfect paradise is not for everyone. And there is so much that is charming (such as the character portrayed by Edward Everett Horton) that the film is well worth seeing.
Reply
post #299 of 1024
5/1/03 at 5:10pm
After a six week hiatus I'm finally back, huzzah that now I only need to worry about finals and one last paper!

Captain Blood

That two star rating is not an insult, I thoroughly enjoyed this film, it was quite wonderful. It has great action, romance, and comedy. It kept me entertained for two hours which is what I wanted. It loses points because it never seems to rise above its B movie origins although the elements are there for it to do so. That and the intertitles got to be histerical five minutes in. Also some of the dialogue was terrible, but I eventually got to accept Flynn's soliloqueys when I realized that's what they were instead of just bad writing.

I've seen the first fifteen minutes of the Adventures of Robin Hood or so. but other than that this is my very first Errol Flynn film. I must say he is absolutely magnetic, an excellent actor that held me riveted to the screen (for the most part). I'm now anxious to see more of him in this challenge, I just wish he'd been given more to work with.

A very fun time, extremely solid movie I enjoyed a lot.

Adam
Reply
post #300 of 1024
5/3/03 at 3:01pm
The Charge of the Light Brigade -

Love Triangle + Bad to awful dialogue + giant spectacle + historical inaccuracies = Pearl Harbo.... I mean The Charge of the Light Brigade, oops.

The best thing about this film is the score, rousing, emotional, and high action, its a fantastic offering from Max Steiner.

The worst thing is the terrifically horrible dialogue! It wasn't particualarly awful until the first meeting between Perry and the Love interest but WOW! That has to be some of the absolute worst dialogue and worst performances I've ever seen. Errol Flynn and some of the supporting generals do a better job with their material and manage to make it not so terrifically awful. I was initially distracted by the semi minamalist soundstage sets and matte painting backgrounds, but I don't hold that against at all, in fact it was fairly good. I was annoyed at the obviously californian exteriors though.

The final charge was magnificent, with some awesome moments (the standard falling but then managing to hold it up for another horseman to grab it), undercut by the sickening stunts the horses went through (especially scary seeing all those very real horses roll over forward *shudder*)

It was sorta enjoyable in a cliche Hollywoos way, but its frightening to see how little has changed between Charge of the Light Brigade and Pearl Harbor.

Certainly a disapointing film to be my 100th film this year!
Reply
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:
  Return Home
  Back to Forum: Movies (Theatrical)
Home Theater Forum › Home Theater Forum › Entertainment › Movies (Theatrical) › "The HTF 100 Great Films of the 1930's Challenge"