Crawdaddy's "Random Thoughts" about Home Video, Film & TV (2 Viewers)

[David Weicker]

Curtiz is one of my top five directors.


(other four - Capra, Ford, Hitchcock, and P. Sturges)

 

[Robert Crawford]

By the way, "The Unsuspected" is an underrated 1947 noir/mystery film with one of the greatest character actors to ever appear on the big screen, Claude Rains.

 

[Robert Crawford]

I have quite a few of those titles and enjoy them, too, Robert. I have never seen the last four on your list, though.

The Breaking Point is one of John Garfield's last roles before his tragic death at 39 years of age. What a great actor! He was a favorite of my father so that's how I came to appreciate him during my childhood.

Edit: I should have mentioned that Four Daughters isn't for everyone's taste. It's a melodrama, but it was Garfield's first film and you can tell he was going to be a great actor from this film's performance.

As to We're No Angels, a rather dark comedy starring Bogie, Aldo Ray and Peter Ustinov with a touch of Basil Rathbone thrown in. Another film in which some might not like it, but I was hooked from the first time I viewed it back in the 1960s.

 

[Jimbo64]

I always thought Ann Blythe was amazing in this, especially when you consider her later roles as a sweet soprano! I have a special affinity for my Connecticut stars though...

 

[Robert Crawford]

I always thought Ann Blythe was amazing in this, especially when you consider her later roles as a sweet soprano! I have a special affinity for my Connecticut stars though...

I didn't realize she was from Connecticut. I miss my home state, but not the cost of living.

 

[Jimbo64]

I didn't realize she was from Connecticut. I miss my home state, but not the cost of living.

My mom used to tell me she lived in Trumbull but I've never seen in mentioned anywhere. She is one of my mom's favorites and therefore one of mine. Yes, CT has gotten quite pricey and seeing as I work in downtown New Haven quite a challenge on the highways!

 

[Robert Crawford]

My mom used to tell me she lived in Trumbull but I've never seen in mentioned anywhere. She is one of my mom's favorites and therefore one of mine. Yes, CT has gotten quite pricey and seeing as I work in downtown New Haven quite a challenge on the highways!

I grew up less than a mile from the Trumbull town line. Connecticut has been pricey for a long time now.

 

[Jimbo64]

It has and I bought a house in NC last year with plans of moving but decided against it a few months later

 

[bujaki]

The Breaking Point also has a great performance by the Puerto Rican actor Juano Hernandez; and an unforgettable, heartbreaking final shot.

 

[Walter Kittel]

As to We're No Angels, a rather dark comedy starring Bogie, Aldo Ray and Peter Ustinov with a touch of Basil Rathbone thrown in. Another film in which some might not like it, but I was hooked from the first time I viewed it back in the 1960s.

I first saw this on television (sometime in the 1970s?) and was instantly a fan.

And yeah, Michael Curtiz is a terrific director. One of the things that I admire about him (and in a similar vein - William Wyler) was his ability to craft excellent films in a variety of genres.

- Walter.

 

[Robert Crawford]

This might not be totally accurate, but I'm going to watch "Feud" anyway. The Davis vs. Crawford angle always intrigues me because I remember seeing "Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?" as a kid back in the 1960's, and I still wonder if "Hush...Hush, Sweet Charlotte" would have been better if Crawford, not Olivia de Havilland co-starred with her long-time good friend, Bette Davis?

It's ironic that a very good action director like Robert Aldrich directed and produced those two films and was thrush into the middle between those two female stars.

http://www.fxnetworks.com/shows/feud

 

[Nick*Z]

Personally, I thought De Havilland was the right choice for Hush, Hush Sweet Charlotte; essentially a southern gothic melodrama with some grand guignol factored in. Have you seen Joan attempt it in Queen Bee?!? Typical Crawford. No attempt at a southern accent, wearing gorgeous gowns and chewing up the scenery to the detriment of her costars.

Don't get me wrong. I absolutely adore Joan in her prime. But her later roles all seem to acquire that same grand-standing desperation of an aging movie queen refusing to admit the ship has sailed and she's no longer on it. If only Crawford had kept up with the times and her age and just found a market for her inimitable brand of grit as a matriarch she might have given us all a very memorable last act to a career of largely impeccable stature.

But no. She needed to cling to the specter of youth; the hottest trick in shoe-leather at a time when her warrior-like stance and looks were utterly contradictory to the sexpot she kept trying to fake. Hush, Hush Sweet Charlotte stands on its own merits and De Havilland, at least in my opinion, is slickly sinful and appropriately southern. She even reminds me, in shades of her performance herein, of Davis' own wicked bitch in heels in The Little Foxes; more subtler and nuanced, perhaps, but just as full of acid. Great stuff!

 

[Robert Crawford]

No disc viewings today as I'm off to see "Logan" at the largest screen near my home.

 

[Robert Crawford]

IMO, "Logan" is the best "X-Men" theme film I've seen since they started coming out in 2000. Some people might complain about the length of the film, but I was really into it and the "R" rating is justified considering body count and the level of the violence.

 

[DavidJ]

IMO, "Logan" is the best "X-Men" theme film I've seen since they started coming out in 2000. Some people might complain about the length of the film, but I was really into it and the "R" rating is justified considering body count and the level of the violence.

Agreed. Logan is fantastic.

 

[Scott Merryfield]

IMO, "Logan" is the best "X-Men" theme film I've seen since they started coming out in 2000. Some people might complain about the length of the film, but I was really into it and the "R" rating is justified considering body count and the level of the violence.

I wasn't interested in this film, as the previews being advertised were unappealing to me. I will have to reconsider my interest when this comes out on home video -- we rarely go to the movie theater anymore (just once or twice a year).

 

[Robert Crawford]

Here are some additional links to Noir Alley including schedule of films being shown every Sunday.

http://noiralley.tcm.com/

http://1166199035.rsc.cdn77.org/TCM-00125_NoirAlley-Schedule.pdf

I watched the first Noir Alley showing today. Well, I actually watched Eddie Muller's commentary before and after the film, but watched my Blu-ray of "The Maltese Falcon" instead of the TCM showing. I didn't know Bogart ad-lib that line about "what dreams are made of".

TCM and Mueller are showing "Detour" next Sunday morning at 10:00 a.m. ET. I only have the 2000 DVD release of it from Image. I'll record the TCM showing and compare it to my DVD.

 

[Robert Crawford]

This might not be totally accurate, but I'm going to watch "Feud" anyway. The Davis vs. Crawford angle always intrigues me because I remember seeing "Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?" as a kid back in the 1960's, and I still wonder if "Hush...Hush, Sweet Charlotte" would have been better if Crawford, not Olivia de Havilland co-starred with her long-time good friend, Bette Davis?

It's ironic that a very good action director like Robert Aldrich directed and produced those two films and was thrush into the middle between those two female stars.

http://www.fxnetworks.com/shows/feud

Wow! If the rest of the series is like the first episode then this is going to be great. The casting is dead on! I forgot that Aldrich directed Crawford in "Autumn Leaves" six years before "Baby Jane". Hell, I almost didn't recognize Catherine Zeta-Jones as Olivia de Havilland.

If any of you are not watching this and love classic film then you need to see this series on the FX channel.

 

[Stephen_J_H]

This is worth a concurrent listen. http://www.youmustrememberthispodca...tte-davis-and-what-ever-happened-to-baby-jane

 

[TravisR]

This is worth a concurrent listen. http://www.youmustrememberthispodca...tte-davis-and-what-ever-happened-to-baby-jane

Any and all episodes of that podcast is worth a listen for classic movie fans.