Crawdaddy's "Random Thoughts" about Home Video, Film & TV (4 Viewers)

[Walter Kittel]

I am not surprised at all by the conclusions reached by that linked article, assuming we are talking about cumulative ratings for the entirety of the catalogs for these services. I can't speak to Disney+ (because I don't subscribe to that service) but with regards to Netflix and Amazon Prime...

Both of these services do have quality content; no doubt. But they also have a lot of junk programming that brings down their aggregate ratings. Amazon has tons of crap on its service. If you scroll through their listings you will find a lot, and I do mean a lot of sub-par programming.

I am fairly certain that HBO Max and Peacock have smaller catalogs which (stating the inverse) raises their average ratings.

- Walter.

 

[Robert Crawford]

I am fairly certain that HBO Max and Peacock have smaller catalogs which (stating the inverse) raises their average ratings.

- Walter.

I'm not so sure about HBO Max and Peacock having smaller catalogs. They have a lot of programming on those two services.

 

[Walter Kittel]

It is just my impression based on scrolling through the listings on a variety of services, not intended as an authoritative statement.

- Walter.

 

[Robert Crawford]

This is the last Noir Alley movie until September 5th due to TCM's annual "Summer Under the Stars" movie festival. As most of you already know, John Garfield is one of my ten all-time favorite actors. My affinity for Garfield was passed down from my father during my childhood in the 1960's. He introduced me to Garfield with such films like Destination Tokyo, Air Force, Pride of the Marines, Dust Be My Destiny and They Made Me a Criminal just to name a few that used to play often on our local NYC Metro TV stations. It wasn't until later when I was first watched this great movie along with Body and Soul, Force of Evil, The Postman Always Rings Twice, He Ran All the Way and The Fallen Sparrow. Actually, it wasn't that much later for some of those movies so it probably was during my teenage and college years in the 1970's. Anyhow, "The Breaking Point" (1950) was Garfield's second to last movie before he suddenly died of a heart condition at just 39 years of age. What an influential actor that probably inspired actors like Brando, Newman, McQueen and De Niro. Garfield was another victim of the Un-American Committee. Those assholes ruin so many film careers and permanently damaged the quality and quantity of movies that generations of movie fans would never experience because actors, writers, directors and producers were blackballed from the industry during their most productive years.

I'm only going to watch Eddie's comments as I'll be taking a deep dive into my 2017 Criterion Blu-ray. This movie is the second film adaptation based on Hemingway's "To Have and Have Not". Many will argue the 1950 movie is superior to Bogart's "To Have and Have Not". I love both movies, though, I consider the 1950 movie superior to the 1944 movie. I tend to watch the 1944 movie more often due to the general tone of both movies. TBH, the 1944 movie played more often on TV too. With that said, no question the 1950 movie is a more powerful movie!

Updated TCM's Noir Alley 2020 schedule:

03-07-20: Ride the Pink Horse (1947)
03-14-20: I Wake Up Screaming (1941)
03-21-20: Elevator to the Gallows (1958)
03-28-20: Crime Wave (1954)
04-04-20: Address Unknown (1944)
04-11-20: Beyond a Reasonable Doubt (1956)
04-25-20: Wicked Woman (1954)
05-02-20: Fallen Angel (1945)
05-09-20: Mildred Pierce (1945)
05-16-20: The Crimson Kimono (1959)
05-23-20: Cornered (1945)
05-30-20: A Kiss Before Dying (1956)
06-06-20: The Underworld Story (1950)
06-13-20: Murder by Contract (1958)
06-20-20: Underworld U.S.A. (1961)
06-27-20: The Lady from Shanghai (1947)
07-04-20: The Sign of the Ram (1948)
07-11-20: Bodyguard (1948)
07-18-20: Three Strangers (1946)
07-25-20: The Breaking Point (1950)

 

[Robert Crawford]

The "Summer Under the Stars" schedule. No doubt, I'll be watching a couple of days like August 1st.

Summer Under The Stars

The stars shine bright in August with Summer Under the Stars 2021. Join us as we celebrate each star's galaxy of work every day in August.

summer.tcm.com

 

[lark144]

View attachment 75933

This is the last Noir Alley movie until September 5th due to TCM's annual "Summer Under the Stars" movie festival. As most of you already know, John Garfield is one of my ten all-time favorite actors. My affinity for Garfield was passed down from my father during my childhood in the 1960's. He introduced me to Garfield with such films like Destination Tokyo, Air Force, Pride of the Marines, Dust Be My Destiny and They Made Me a Criminal just to name a few that used to play often on our local NYC Metro TV stations. It wasn't until later when I was first watched this great movie along with Body and Soul, Force of Evil, The Postman Always Rings Twice, He Ran All the Way and The Fallen Sparrow. Actually, it wasn't that much later for some of those movies so it probably was during my teenage and college years in the 1970's. Anyhow, "The Breaking Point" (1950) was Garfield's second to last movie before he suddenly died of a heart condition at just 39 years of age. What an influential actor that probably inspired actors like Brando, Newman, McQueen and De Niro. Garfield was another victim of the Un-American Committee. Those assholes ruin so many film careers and permanently damaged the quality and quantity of movies that generations of movie fans would never experience because actors, writers, directors and producers were blackballed from the industry during their most productive years.

I'm only going to watch Eddie's comments as I'll be taking a deep dive into my 2017 Criterion Blu-ray. This movie is the second film adaptation based on Hemingway's "To Have and Have Not". Many will argue the 1950 movie is superior to Bogart's "To Have and Have Not". I love both movies, though, I consider the 1950 movie superior to the 1944 movie. I tend to watch the 1944 movie more often due to the general tone of both movies. TBH, the 1944 movie played more often on TV too. With that said, no question the 1950 movie is a more powerful movie!

Updated TCM's Noir Alley 2020 schedule:

03-07-20: Ride the Pink Horse (1947)
03-14-20: I Wake Up Screaming (1941)
03-21-20: Elevator to the Gallows (1958)
03-28-20: Crime Wave (1954)
04-04-20: Address Unknown (1944)
04-11-20: Beyond a Reasonable Doubt (1956)
04-25-20: Wicked Woman (1954)
05-02-20: Fallen Angel (1945)
05-09-20: Mildred Pierce (1945)
05-16-20: The Crimson Kimono (1959)
05-23-20: Cornered (1945)
05-30-20: A Kiss Before Dying (1956)
06-06-20: The Underworld Story (1950)
06-13-20: Murder by Contract (1958)
06-20-20: Underworld U.S.A. (1961)
06-27-20: The Lady from Shanghai (1947)
07-04-20: The Sign of the Ram (1948)
07-11-20: Bodyguard (1948)
07-18-20: Three Strangers (1946)
07-25-20: The Breaking Point (1950)

I love both films as well, but Howard Hawks' "To Have and Have Not", though wonderfully made and sexy and exciting and superbly entertaining, has very little to do with Hemingway. It's mostly a cross between "Casablanca" & "Only Angels Have Wings".

"The Breaking Point" on the other hand, is much more Hemingway-esque; more stoic, tense, and aware of that thin line between moral and immoral as well as life and death, how impossible choices can get out of hand almost instantaneously, can push you up against that wall of insanity and desperation and yet there is that aspect of being human, of taking a stand.

In some ways, "The Breaking Point" is even better than the Hemingway source novel. According to the conversation between Eddie Muller and Alexander Payne that was posted 4 days ago on youtube (btw, if you haven't seen the film, don't watch the youtube video yet, as it's awash in spoilers) that can be attributed to John Garfield, who acted as the film's producer, and both suggested Michael Curtiz should be the director and that Juano Hernandez should play the hero's friend.

 

[Robert Crawford]

I love both films as well, but Howard Hawks' "To Have and Have Not", though wonderfully made and sexy and exciting and superbly entertaining, has very little to do with Hemingway. It's mostly a cross between "Casablanca" & "Only Angels Have Wings".

"The Breaking Point" on the other hand, is much more Hemingway-esque; more stoic, tense, and aware of that thin line between moral and immoral as well as life and death, how impossible choices can get out of hand almost instantaneously, can push you up against that wall of insanity and desperation and yet there is that aspect of being human, of taking a stand.

Yup!

 

[Matt Hough]

Yeah, I won't likely watch it again either (I have SUCH a backlog of things I've wanted to watch all week), but will record for Eddie's comments.

 

[rcmeserve]

Many stars of the ‘30s and ‘40s seem very much of their time. I can’t picture Jimmy Cagney, William Powell, or Pat O’Brien becoming stars today. But John Garfield is the exception. If you brought him back to life, I think Hollywood would welcome him back with open arms.

 

[Hollywoodaholic]

The "Summer Under the Stars" schedule. No doubt, I'll be watching a couple of days like August 1st.

Summer Under The Stars

The stars shine bright in August with Summer Under the Stars 2021. Join us as we celebrate each star's galaxy of work every day in August.

summer.tcm.com

Barbara Stanwyck was my father's favorite actress, and I always questioned why as a kid going "you mean that lady on The Big Valley?" I didn't get it. Now I know.

 

[Robert Crawford]

Yeah, I won't likely watch it again either (I have SUCH a backlog of things I've wanted to watch all week), but will record for Eddie's comments.

I think you misunderstood my previous comments. I was going to watch the movie again, but I'm going to watch the Criterion BD instead of TCM's presentation which I did this afternoon. Also, I watched the bonus material for the first time.

I know she is the femme fatale, but I've come to like Patricia Neal's character over the years. The same with Phyllis Thaxter's character. Such a great movie, I'll talk more about it later on Sunday or Monday.

 

[Robert Crawford]

In some ways, "The Breaking Point" is even better than the Hemingway source novel. According to the conversation between Eddie Muller and Alexander Payne that was posted 4 days ago on youtube (btw, if you haven't seen the film, don't watch the youtube video yet, as it's awash in spoilers) that can be attributed to John Garfield, who acted as the film's producer, and both suggested Michael Curtiz should be the director and that Juano Hernandez should play the hero's friend.

There is little doubt that the movie is better than Hemingway's novel.

 

[lark144]

There is little doubt that the movie is better than Hemingway's novel.

Well, I happen to be a big fan of "To Have and Have Not" (the novel) and think it's grossly underrated, and the qualities of realism, stoicism and suspense that I find especially rewarding in the film, are also present to the maximum extent in the novel. I would say that in general, the film equals the novel in excellence and impact. I would certainly not argue that the film is superior to the novel overall, as I still prefer the novel, which is more detailed in terms of character motivation and milieu. And of course, there's Hemingway's writing, which the film really can't begin to capture visually. What I was referring to was certain scenes, such as the climax, where what happens in the novel is changed for the better.

 

[bujaki]

Just for the record, Juano Hernandez was in the original chorus of the B'way production of Show Boat in 1927. Faulkner, who was highly critical of the movie versions of his novels, praised his portrayal of Lucas Beauchamp in Intruder in the Dust, another great film. A great actor, a great man.

 

[Robert Crawford]

Well, I happen to be a big fan of "To Have and Have Not" (the novel) and think it's grossly underrated, and the qualities of realism, stoicism and suspense that I find especially rewarding in the film, are also present to the maximum extent in the novel. I would say that in general, the film equals the novel in excellence and impact. I would certainly not argue that the film is superior to the novel overall, as I still prefer the novel, which is more detailed in terms of character motivation and milieu. And of course, there's Hemingway's writing, which the film really can't begin to capture visually. What I was referring to was certain scenes, such as the climax, where what happens in the novel is changed for the better.

To each his own, but as Eddie stated, the racism in the novel was always a turnoff for me. I think the movie has more compelling characters which makes the movie better with a more powerful ending than the novel.

 

[lark144]

To each his own, but as Eddie stated, the racism in the novel was always a turnoff for me. I think the movie has more compelling characters which makes the movie better with a more powerful ending than the novel.

I can't disagree with you there. The ending is much better than the novel, and also more poignant and human; an ending that kind of flows back upon itself, and makes you see what has come before with a new insight.

 

[Robert Crawford]

By the way, Eddie made an error in his commentary about "The Breaking Point". I'm very surprise he made such an error because I would've thought he watched this movie often enough not to make such an obvious error. Did anybody else catch it? If so, what was it?

 

[lark144]

To each his own, but as Eddie stated, the racism in the novel was always a turnoff for me. I think the movie has more compelling characters which makes the movie better with a more powerful ending than the novel.

Mostly, I like the way the book is written. It's those words and the sound of them that appeals to me; they way they flow across the page and in the mind, creating a rhythm that evokes the oceanic and the body of water where most of the action takes place, the ebb and flow of things, and ultimately an evocation of a specific time and place. When I say I like the book's sense of character, I'm not talking about a traditional sense of character or plot, but rather the evocation of beings through words that seem both evanescent and mythic. When it comes to plot and people, not to mention the racism that distorts the people and plot, the book is deeply flawed.

 

[Robert Crawford]

Mostly, I like the way the book is written. It's those words and the sound of them that appeals to me; they way they flow across the page and in the mind, creating a rhythm that evokes the oceanic and the body of water where most of the action takes place, the ebb and flow of things, and ultimately an evocation of a specific time and place. When I say I like the book's sense of character, I'm not talking about a traditional sense of character or plot, but rather the evocation of beings through words that seem both evanescent and mythic. When it comes to plot and people, not to mention the racism that distorts the people and plot, the book is deeply flawed.

You don't have to further explain your opinion. We all have preferences unique to each other.

 

[Hollywoodaholic]

The Breaking Point. Worth seeing again (and again). What a great little story, perfectly acted and directed. Spoilers ahead, but if you haven't seen this film already, shame on you. I can't think of another Noir where the 'hero' lives and yet the ending breaks your heart. Such a courageous decision on the director's part to leave us with that image. And that death was so quick and callous and not drawn out and over dramatized, which is much more realistic to how such 'random' violence occurs. I think it probably hurt Campbell's getting cast as a good guy in anything from that point on, it was so brazenly callous (and believably acted).

Muller gives a lot of credit to Garfield to leave the camera on Thaxter during their final scene together, but if you go by what the screenwriter wrote, there was really no other choice. Are we supposed to see Harry just grunting and groaning, or are we supposed to focus on his very reason to live? They might have even shot the reverse, but there was no contest which close up to hold on and print.

I can't help but think one of the reasons Harry survives in such a classic Noir is that he doesn't succumb to the femme fatale. Patricia Neal gives it her all, but it just not quite enough to crack his veneer of morality, or loyalty. And don't you think she just was added to this story to prove that point? It's probably the ultimate test that leaves the audience rooting for him to survive.

To improve on Hemingway? What a scriptwriter's dream; and he accomplishes it here. Kudos, Ranald MacDougall.