1950s: What Titles Did You Vote For? (1 Viewer)

[Lromero1396]

I agree with all of the anti-True Story of Jesse James sentiment. It's killed by the exceptional anti-charisma of Robert Wagner. I've heard that Nicholas Ray originally wanted Elvis Presley for the role of Jesse, and kind of lost interest in the film when he couldn't get him--now THAT would have been interesting.

This is an example of a film which could have been good, but everything went wrong. HOWEVER, that still does not make it a more worthy candidate for release than The Tall Men, Broken Lance, or The Bravados. I can't believe it's still getting more votes than Oscar winners like Anastasia . True Story of Jesse James shouldn't even be up for consideration. Oh, and while we're at it, I don't see how Black Widow is getting more votes than some of the afformentioned titles. It's an average whodunit which can't be cassified as noir really.

 

[Matt Hough]

Originally Posted by Ejanss
D'oh, that's what I forgot!: A 30's write-in vote for Stormy Weather, with Lena Horne!
Thanks for the reminder.

It wasn't a 30s film: it was released in 1943.

 

[Ejanss]

It wasn't a 30s film: it was released in 1943.

Okay, a 40's write-in vote, then. Don't have many of those anyway.

 

[Ejanss]

Ah well ... I wasted yesterday's vote on a non-Fox picture. So today I went with PRINCE OF PLAYERS, a wonderful companion piece to this year's LINCOLN!

So would be Young Mr. Lincoln, with Henry Fonda (if Daniel Day-Lewis could take the definitive-Lincoln typecasting away from anyone). Thanks for whoever spotted that for the 30's write-ins.

 

[PODER]

Hoping against hope, today I went with THE BEST THINGS IN LIFE ARE FREE ... in its original wide screen format, of course ... not that abysmal pan-and-scan thing they just put out as a DVD-R!!

 

[john a hunter]

Has anybody considered Boy on a Dolphin starting Sophia Loren, Alan Ladd, and Clifton Webb? It's a gorgeous DeLuxe color Cinemascope adventure filmed on location in the islands of Greece. It has a wonderful score by Hugo Friedhofer too. This hasn't been released in the U.S. since the VHS days and is supposedly a favorite of Rupert Murdoch (Hahaha not sure how valid that statement is).

This would be a great choice even if Rupert likes it-which I find hard to believe.

 

[Moe Dickstein]

So would be Young Mr. Lincoln, with Henry Fonda (if Daniel Day-Lewis could take the definitive-Lincoln typecasting away from anyone). Thanks for whoever spotted that for the 30's write-ins.

Young Mr. Lincoln is a Criterion title. They would be the ones to talk to about a blu upgrade

 

[philip*eric]

PRINCE OF PLAYERS would be an awesome release on Blu-ray - in its original Cinemascope and Stereophonic sound - with a very fine score by Bernard Herrmann. The cast is great too with Richard Burton as Edwin Booth, John Derek as John Wilkes Booth, Raymond Massey as their father , Maggie McNamarra as the love interest. It has never been released commercially and never shown in its widescreen format on the tube.

 

[lionel59]

You mean '40's for STORMY WEATHER! (released 1943)

 

[lionel59]

I have other Carlotta releases (eg WILD RIVER SD). They generally do terrific transfers. I can't imagine them doing anything less than a 16:9 transfer of VIOLENT SATURDAY which I'm sure Fox will do for them but not for Twilight Time. Maybe Twilight can nab the transfer and re-issue theirs as a Blu Ray offering. (One can only hope!) The Spanish and Australian transfer in PAL is non-anamorphic and to be avoided. Very soft. So far, the Letterbox Twilight copy is the best available. Great movie- 'THE ASPHALT JUNGLE meets WITNESS meets PEYTON PLACE'. Speaking of which, why isn't PEYTON PLACE amongst the '50's list? Nominated for 9 Oscars inc Best Picture, Laurel Award winner for Best Drama, stunning location footage in Camden Maine, one of Franz Waxman's best scores and a rare case of Hollywood improving on an admittedly 'trashy' source material by giving more depth to the characters and subtlety to the lurid elements of the book. (Which I enjoyed as a guilty pleasure as a teen in the '70's),

 

[Lromero1396]

I have other Carlotta releases (eg WILD RIVER SD). They generally do terrific transfers. I can't imagine them doing anything less than a 16:9 transfer of VIOLENT SATURDAY which I'm sure Fox will do for them but not for Twilight Time. Maybe Twilight can nab the transfer and re-issue theirs as a Blu Ray offering. (One can only hope!) The Spanish and Australian transfer in PAL in non-anamorphic and to be avoided. Very soft. So far, the Letterbox Twilight copy is the best available. Great movie- 'THE ASPHALT JUNGLE meets WITNESS meets PEYTON PLACE'. Speaking of which, why isn't PEYTON PLACE amongst the '50's list? Nominated for 9 Oscars inc Best Picture, Laurel Award winner for Best Drama, stunning location footage in Camden Maine, one of Franz Waxman's best scores and a rare case of Hollywood improving on an admittedly 'trashy' source material by giving more depth to the characters and subtlety to the lurid elements of the book. (Which I enjoyed as a guilty pleasure as a teen in the '70's),

I know, seriously! Fox left A LOT of good ones off this list, Peyton Place being one of them, but perhaps it hasn't had any ultra resolution work done yet.

This would be a great choice even if Rupert likes it-which I find hard to believe.

Like I said, it's SUPPOSEDLY a favortie of Rupert's. Personally, I don't believe it either. I just decided to write that here for everyone else to evaluate.

 

[Doug Bull]

Let's hope that if "Prince Of Players" ever gets released on Blu-Ray it comes from a better source than this faded 35mm Cinemascope 4 track magnetic Stereo print sampled here.

 

[philip*eric]

I hope that Fox has better materials to work with on PRINCE OF PLAYERS -- still isnt it possible to fix the color digitally if the best source is damaged ? My write-in again today was THE GIRL CAN'T HELP IT - this musical comedy classic would look and sound spectacular(esp. if a stereo print can be found) on Blu-ray!

 

[JoHud]

Hoping against hope, today I went with THE BEST THINGS IN LIFE ARE FREE ... in its original wide screen format, of course ... not that abysmal pan-and-scan thing they just put out as a DVD-R!!

Made the same request for Night People, Fraulein, and Intent to Kill since the MOD releases are garbage P&S transfers and deserve better home video releases.

 

[Adam Gregorich]

Another vote in for Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter. I have never seen Don't Bother to Knock. It sounds kind of creepy. Any thoughts from anyone here on it?

 

[lionel59]

Re PRINCE OF PLAYERS, Fox would have protection, 3-strip separation IP negatives of this title. They would not need to use an old faded 35mm print. The color is preserved in these black-and-white separation negs (similar system to the old 3-strip Technicolor process). Because shrinkage can occur in the materials over time, restoration work can often require adjustments to line up the images correctly and prevent a soft-focus or even a 'ghosting' look to the movie. (I once saw a poorly-lined up print of COVER GIRL on vhs in which Rita Hayworth looked to have four eyes in the final sequence). Going by the restoration work required for other De Luxe color movies from the same era -Fox used to give this information out as a special feature- it may not require that much extra time and expense. As the movie did not do well at the box office-despite the best reviews thus far for any Fox CinemaScope movie- the original negatives and IPs may be in very good shape due to minimal use. Personally, I'd rather tolerate some color fading or even a black and white transfer in CinemaScope as opposed to a 1.33:1 'pan+scan' abomination. (!) Re DON'T BOTHER TO KNOCK, I haven't viewed it for years. I remember Marilyn having great screen presence but being somewhat out of her depth in this role. Maybe if she'd done it after her stint at the Actor's Studio......(with Paula Strasburg as "co-director" irritating the studio director no end- after one take in SOME LIKE IT HOT, Billy Wilder said with barely concealed sarcasm: "Was that good for you, Paula?"). Widmark is great as usual and Anne Bancroft is good (and wasted) in a supporting role before she became a star in the play THE MIRACLE WORKER, after which time Hollywood woke up to her talent). Visually I don't remember it as being very impressive. In truth, I'd prefer something in 'Scope and color from the '50's, although I made a write-in vote for THE STRIPPER ('60's) simply because it's only ever come out on VHS in full-frame. It has a terrific Jerry Goldsmith score released by FSM, so maybe Twilight Time will be able to persuade Fox to do a Scope transfer for them. Being in b+w there will be no color-fading issues to be concerned about. It was bought for Marilyn before the play flopped on Broadway. Interesting cast (Claire Trevor, Richard Beymer, Carol Lynley). There was apparently am early cut preferred by the director. If it could be found it'd be terrific to see both- some whole characters(eg. Lynley) were excised in the first cut.(see the notes in the FSM CD)

 

[Robin9]

I have never seen Don't Bother to Knock.  It sounds kind of creepy.  Any thoughts from anyone here on it?

It's a small scale suspense drama in black and white. Don't think of it as a Marilyn Monroe movie. It's worth watching partly because it has Richard Widmark. Elisha Cook Jnr plays his normal character and Marilyn is quite good. Go in with modest expectations, remind yourself it's not a Marilyn Monroe movie . . . . and you will not be bored.

 

[Lromero1396]

I hope that Fox has better materials to work with on PRINCE OF PLAYERS -- still isnt it possible to fix the color digitally if the best source is damaged ? My write-in again today was THE GIRL CAN'T HELP IT - this musical comedy classic would look and sound spectacular(esp. if a stereo print can be found) on Blu-ray!

I'm not sure that The Girl Can't Help It was originally mixed in stereo. Record labels always did recordings of pop songs at the time in mono. And it was expensive to get those recording artists into the studio. But, I've also heard that it was mixed in stereo originally. It'd be nice to get some definite info on this. With regard to Prince of Players, Fox should restore and release that title, regardless of the cost or condition of the elements. And yes, color can be fixed digitally, but only to a certain extent. If the film element has a completely collapsed yellow layer, then restoration of that element will be very difficult. Vinegar syndrome is also a factor here, particularly for the 4-track magnetic audio masters. However, I would assume that the biggest fix would be color fading. Same story with any titles from this era.

 

[Lromero1396]

*sigh of relief* True Story of Jesse James is down where it belongs and Inn of the 6th Happiness just shot up. And Desk Set has been bested by Carmen Jones! Wow! I still think we need to rally in support of Inn and Anastasia because these two films deserve proper restoration and not a licensing to Twilight Time.

 

[Persianimmortal]

I have never seen Don't Bother to Knock.  It sounds kind of creepy.  Any thoughts from anyone here on it?

It's a good film, especially if, as Robin says, you don't go in thinking of it as a Marilyn Monroe movie. It is a bit disturbing at times, but still entertaining. I think both Don't Bother to Knock and Niagara are well overdue for a BD release, whether by Fox or Twilight Time. They represent the other side of the Marilyn coin, and a restored Niagara in particular would look splendid.