Crawdaddy's "Random Thoughts" about Home Video, Film & TV (1 Viewer)

[Robert Crawford]

I may have to give the Falcon a try as I’ve never watched one before. As for your spoiler, that’s a rather common movie old movie cliche.

Spoiler

One shot usually kills bad guys (especially Native Americans in Westerns!) but for the good guys even several shots isn’t necessarily fatal.

You have to see the film then you'll understand why it bothered me.

 

[Robert Crawford]

I need to revisit this fine film and my crappy DVD.

 

[Robert Crawford]

Yesterday, I watched the recently purchased HD Digital of "The Phenix City Story" (1955) a fine film about organized crime in that city. Another film directed by the underrated Phil Karlson, who didn't pull some punches despite the production code as this is one brutal movie. When I first viewed this movie many years ago it kind of shocked me. Furthermore, though the movie is based on actual events, you need to really study the real story about some of the main characters, particularly, one character that is viewed a hero, but really isn't one after you read up on his personal and political history.

 

[Robert Crawford]

I also watched "The Flame and the Arrow" (1950) starring Burt Lancaster and Virginia Mayo. A fine action movie in which the Technicolor looked very good as I watched another recently purchased HD Digital from iTunes. A fun film that I haven't seen for some time.

 

[Robert Crawford]

I know very little about this week's Noir Alley selection "Cash on Demand" (1961) starring Peter Cushing and Andre Morell. This will be my first viewing of this Brit crime drama. Anybody from across the pond have anything to say about this movie?

TCM's Noir Alley 2019 schedule.

03-09-19: D.O.A. (1950)
03-16-19: High Sierra (1941)
03-23-19: Lady in the Lake (1946)
03-30-19: Border Incident (1949)
04-06-19: 99 River Street (1953)
04-13-19: Nobody Lives Forever (1946)
04-20-19: M (1951)
04-27-19: Woman on the Run (1950)
05-04-19: Nightmare Alley (1947)
05-11-19: White Heat (1949)
05-18-19: Key Largo (1948)
05-25-19: Dead Reckoning (1947)
06-01-19: The Asphalt Jungle (1950)
06-08-19: Nora Prentiss (1947)
06-15-19: Pickup on South Street (1953)
06-22-19: Shadow on the Wall (1950)
06-29-19: On Dangerous Ground (1951)
07-06-19: The Tattooed Stranger (1950)
07-13-19: The People Against O'Hara (1951)
07-20-19: While the City Sleeps (1956)
07-27-19: Thieves' Highway (1949)
09-07-19: The Big Clock (1948)
09-14-19: Nocturne (1946)
09-21-19: The Woman on the Beach (1947)
09-28-19: The Harder They Fall (1956)
10-05-19: Trapped (1949)
10-12-19: Clash By Night (1952)
10-19-19: This Gun For Hire (1942)
10-26-19: Force of Evil (1948)
11-02-19: Sweet Smell of Success (1957)
11-09-19: Johnny Eager (1941)
11-16-19: The Hitch-Hiker (1953)
11-23-19: Kansas City Confidential (1952)
11-30-19: The Mask of Dimitrios (1944)
12-07-19: Berlin Express (1948)
12-14-19: Criss Cross (1949)
12-21-19: Cash on Demand (1961)
12-28-19: Repeat Performance (1947)
01-04-20: The Big Sleep (1946)
01-11-20: The Big Night (1951)
01-18-20: The Captive City (1952)
01-25-20: Try and Get Me! (1950)

I forgot to post my comments about "Cash on Demand". I liked it a lot, but I thought the ending got a little too soft for me. A really good movie that I'm happy to have viewed. If we ever get a good HD presentation either digitally or on disc in Region A, I will purchase it.

 

[Robert Crawford]

We lost a lot of movie making people in 2019, with two more weeks left in the year.

Since Christmas Day, I started watching a bunch of the "TCM Remembers" from prior years. Quite frankly, doing so made me sad as I not only took note on how many fine people we lost from the film industry, but it brings into focus your own eventual mortality.

 

[bujaki]

Jerry Herman's death was just announced. 88 years old. Broadway composer, but of course, famous for Hello, Dolly!, among other shows.

 

[Bert Greene]

I'll try to tune in to this week's TCM airing of "Repeat Performance" (1947). It's an old favorite. I thought that Flicker Alley might have had plans to put it out on blu, since they included a photo from the film in one of their giveaway calendars a few years back. But that was quite a while ago, so I guess I made a wrong assumption. I recorded the film off an airing on A&E back in 1986 (not long after they'd changed their name from "The Arts" network), around the same time they also aired "Out of the Blue," another Eagle-Lion item. Enjoyed revisiting the film every now and then. Always hoped for a nice disc release. That "Mr. Fat-W" outfit put it out on mod-dvd, but it was pretty poor looking. I'm not saying "Repeat Performance" is any major classic or anything, but it is quite entertaining. I've always loved Joan Leslie, and she's also supported here by three actors I particularly enjoy, Louis Hayward, Tom Conway, and Richard Basehart.

 

[Matt Hough]

Since Christmas Day, I started watching a bunch of the "TCM Remembers" from prior years. Quite frankly, doing so made me sad as I not only took note on how many fine people we lost from the film industry, but it brings into focus your own eventual mortality.

That has been haunting me more and more this year as people I know and famous folks from the industry that I grew up with leave us.

 

[Robert Crawford]

This weekend's Noir Alley movie is another first time viewing for me. "Repeat Performance" (1947) starring Joan Leslie, Louis Hayward, Tom Conway, Richard Basehart (Film Debut) and Virginia Field.

TCM's Noir Alley 2019 schedule.

03-09-19: D.O.A. (1950)
03-16-19: High Sierra (1941)
03-23-19: Lady in the Lake (1946)
03-30-19: Border Incident (1949)
04-06-19: 99 River Street (1953)
04-13-19: Nobody Lives Forever (1946)
04-20-19: M (1951)
04-27-19: Woman on the Run (1950)
05-04-19: Nightmare Alley (1947)
05-11-19: White Heat (1949)
05-18-19: Key Largo (1948)
05-25-19: Dead Reckoning (1947)
06-01-19: The Asphalt Jungle (1950)
06-08-19: Nora Prentiss (1947)
06-15-19: Pickup on South Street (1953)
06-22-19: Shadow on the Wall (1950)
06-29-19: On Dangerous Ground (1951)
07-06-19: The Tattooed Stranger (1950)
07-13-19: The People Against O'Hara (1951)
07-20-19: While the City Sleeps (1956)
07-27-19: Thieves' Highway (1949)
09-07-19: The Big Clock (1948)
09-14-19: Nocturne (1946)
09-21-19: The Woman on the Beach (1947)
09-28-19: The Harder They Fall (1956)
10-05-19: Trapped (1949)
10-12-19: Clash By Night (1952)
10-19-19: This Gun For Hire (1942)
10-26-19: Force of Evil (1948)
11-02-19: Sweet Smell of Success (1957)
11-09-19: Johnny Eager (1941)
11-16-19: The Hitch-Hiker (1953)
11-23-19: Kansas City Confidential (1952)
11-30-19: The Mask of Dimitrios (1944)
12-07-19: Berlin Express (1948)
12-14-19: Criss Cross (1949)
12-21-19: Cash on Demand (1961)
12-28-19: Repeat Performance (1947)
01-04-20: The Big Sleep (1946)
01-11-20: The Big Night (1951)
01-18-20: The Captive City (1952)
01-25-20: Try and Get Me! (1950)

 

[Matt Hough]

Me, too. I'm very eager to see this tomorrow during my lunchtime.

 

[Robert Crawford]

This weekend's Noir Alley movie is another first time viewing for me. "Repeat Performance" (1947) starring Joan Leslie, Louis Hayward, Tom Conway, Richard Basehart (Film Debut) and Virginia Field.

TCM's Noir Alley 2019 schedule.

03-09-19: D.O.A. (1950)
03-16-19: High Sierra (1941)
03-23-19: Lady in the Lake (1946)
03-30-19: Border Incident (1949)
04-06-19: 99 River Street (1953)
04-13-19: Nobody Lives Forever (1946)
04-20-19: M (1951)
04-27-19: Woman on the Run (1950)
05-04-19: Nightmare Alley (1947)
05-11-19: White Heat (1949)
05-18-19: Key Largo (1948)
05-25-19: Dead Reckoning (1947)
06-01-19: The Asphalt Jungle (1950)
06-08-19: Nora Prentiss (1947)
06-15-19: Pickup on South Street (1953)
06-22-19: Shadow on the Wall (1950)
06-29-19: On Dangerous Ground (1951)
07-06-19: The Tattooed Stranger (1950)
07-13-19: The People Against O'Hara (1951)
07-20-19: While the City Sleeps (1956)
07-27-19: Thieves' Highway (1949)
09-07-19: The Big Clock (1948)
09-14-19: Nocturne (1946)
09-21-19: The Woman on the Beach (1947)
09-28-19: The Harder They Fall (1956)
10-05-19: Trapped (1949)
10-12-19: Clash By Night (1952)
10-19-19: This Gun For Hire (1942)
10-26-19: Force of Evil (1948)
11-02-19: Sweet Smell of Success (1957)
11-09-19: Johnny Eager (1941)
11-16-19: The Hitch-Hiker (1953)
11-23-19: Kansas City Confidential (1952)
11-30-19: The Mask of Dimitrios (1944)
12-07-19: Berlin Express (1948)
12-14-19: Criss Cross (1949)
12-21-19: Cash on Demand (1961)
12-28-19: Repeat Performance (1947)
01-04-20: The Big Sleep (1946)
01-11-20: The Big Night (1951)
01-18-20: The Captive City (1952)
01-25-20: Try and Get Me! (1950)

A good film! One that I will buy on Blu-ray once it's released by Flicker Alley. More to say once others have posted their thoughts. For the life of me, I always wondered why Joan Leslie didn't become a bigger movie star. She had the looks and she wasn't a bad actress. Edit: I guess Jack Warner blackballed her after she took him to court. That's a shame. Also, after getting married and having kids perhaps her drive for stardom wasn't there any longer.

By the way, Eddie hit the ball out of the ballpark with his comments this weekend. Very informative with some great stories.

 

[Matt Hough]

Looking forward to seeing it at lunchtime.

 

[Robert Crawford]

Has anybody else noticed that many movies on the TCM app are staying longer than seven days now? I have some movies saved that won't leave the app until late January. I don't remember it being that way beforehand. Am I wrong by just noticing it?

 

[Peter Apruzzese]

Has anybody else noticed that many movies on the TCM app are staying longer than seven days now? I have some movies saved that won't leave the app until late January. I don't remember it being that way beforehand. Am I wrong by just noticing it?

Yes, I noticed it too.

 

[Hollywoodaholic]

Repeat Performance. A bit too melodramatic for me (hey, it's about actors). And I agree with the Times about Hayward's 'boiled ham' performance. My problem is that he is an asshole from scene one; where's the moment in the story where we see why Sheila fell in love with him in the first place? He's just a drunk creep and an asshole.But I thought the finale, no spoilers, was finely directed and a solid payoff. And now we see how Mrs. Lovey Howell got typecast! Muller's comments were great.

 

[Matt Hough]

I found the movie very entertaining, but I did despise Hayward's character and found that her devotion to him needing to possess abnormal amounts of patience and understanding was beyond saintly. Virginia Field was a jerk, too, and deserved some kind of comeuppance.

Eddie did the movie proud with his comments, always so informative and entertainingly conveyed. And I look forward to seeing what he has to say about classic The Big Sleep next week.

 

[Bert Greene]

Florid, post-war melodrama (especially so-called womens' films) can often grate on my nerves. Additionally, I'm generally not too fond of the back-stage milieu... unless it's from really old-time days of early-talkie musicals or similarly, about traveling vaudeville tours and such. Yet despite these qualms, I've always enjoyed "Repeat Performance" (1947) quite a lot. Maybe it's the fun 'fantasy' element that overrides these biases of mine. That, and the fact I have such a fond affection for the film's cast. A mutual friend was going to take me to visit Joan Leslie at her home once, but things didn't pan out, for reasons I don't recall. I was wanting to ask her about this film, which I knew she regarded as a favorite of hers. Several years later she was a guest at one of the Memphis Film Festivals (which I usually attended), but I missed out on that one too! grumble.

But back to post-war melodrama, I also revisited "Desert Fury" (1947) over the weekend, via Kino's fairly recent blu release. I'd seen the film once before, on tv in the early-1980s, and had been curious to see it again for decades. Mainly because I fondly remembered the visuals of the Arizona location-work, and how vividly rich and appealing I found it. The film proved to still have that intoxicating visual flavor, all in brilliant Technicolor. But the storyline itself was for the birds. Overbaked soap-opera nonsense. Not the kind of thing I have much patience for, and I found the viewing to ultimately be a chore. Seemed to be a real waste, expending all that great imagery on such a lame plot and lame group of characters.

 

[Robert Crawford]

I think most of us are in agreement that we couldn't understand Leslie being this devoted to Hayward's character. Hell,

Spoiler

she shot him at the beginning of the film which was never fully explained except maybe jealousy that she didn't want him to leave her.

I understand she got her big break because of the play he wrote and he insisted she get the lead role, but damn, she shouldn't have to take that much crap from him. Just look at the following line of dialogue that I found cringing with my current gender sensibilities:

Hayward to Leslie: You're only a woman. You're not expected to have either judgment or intelligence. Ouch!

 

[Robert Crawford]

I found the movie very entertaining, but I did despise Hayward's character and found that her devotion to him needing to possess abnormal amounts of patience and understanding was beyond saintly. Virginia Field was a jerk, too, and deserved some kind of comeuppance.

Eddie did the movie proud with his comments, always so informative and entertainingly conveyed. And I look forward to seeing what he has to say about classic The Big Sleep next week.

Yeah, that's another thing that bother me about this movie. Anyhow, I really enjoyed the film and will look forward to its eventual Blu-ray release. I hope Eddie does a commentary for it.