Crawdaddy's "Random Thoughts" about Home Video, Film & TV (5 Viewers)

[Matt Hough]

I have the DVR set to record tonight's midnight showing of Party Girl, another film I've never seen. I'll watch it at lunchtime tomorrow.

 

[Scott Merryfield]

I assume these Noir Alley films will show up on the TCM app soon after airing -- is that correct? I'd like to see Party Girl, but I'd never stay awake for a midnight showing and we do not have a DVR.

 

[Matt Hough]

I assume these Noir Alley films will show up on the TCM app soon after airing -- is that correct? I'd like to see Party Girl, but I'd never stay awake for a midnight showing and we do not have a DVR.

Sometimes they do and sometimes they don't. Noir Alley is also shown on Sunday mornings at 10 a.m. I can't seem to predict what shows up there.

 

[Robert Crawford]

IMO, "Party Girl" isn't Film Noir. I always thought of the film as being alright, but it never felt like a Nicholas Ray film to me. There are current rumors this title might be coming out on Blu-ray thru Warner Archive. I'll buy the disc as the movie is a quality film and some of the coloring in this film would look gorgeous in 1080p. The most interesting aspect of this film is the relationship between Taylor and Charisse. Eddie's comments were good as always, particularly, his comments about what Ray thought of Taylor as an actor.

 

[Hollywoodaholic]

I enjoyed Party Girl having never seen it before, but also question it as a Noir, not because of it being in color but because it had...

Spoiler

... a happy ending. To me it was more like a standard crime drama with some oddly featured musical numbers. I get that Robert Taylor as a mob lawyer fits the protagonist who makes a wrong turn for Noir, but walking away arm and arm with the girl at the end while the smiling DA looks on... not so Noir. You can still have color and have a Noir ending; just ask Faye Dunaway.

I also enjoyed the short piece after the film where we learn Muller's father was a boxing sportswriter for the San Francisco Examiner who frequently hung out with all the mob characters in that world. Definitely a Noir premise.

 

[Matt Hough]

I'm with you guys. This is not my idea of a film noir. Rather, it seemed a period crime drama with occasional musical segues (some of Jeff Alexander's background score was so spritely apart from the dancing that it seemed ludicrous that this was a film being featured on Noir Alley). I figured things were going to work out, but the way they did seemed way too convenient. The writing seemed to peter away in the latter quarter of the movie.

Interesting cast though with Corey Allen as the pretty boy thug and John Ireland as the psycho accomplice.

Oh, and I called it a period drama, but there were certainly anachronisms. If it's the 1920s (as the description in the guide said), Jean Harlow wouldn't have been famous enough to be a fixation. And Cyd's hairstyles never once suggested the 1920s or 1930s.

 

[Scott Merryfield]

Party Girl is indeed available via the TCM app through July 15th. I watched it last night -- it was my first time seeing this film. I can see the debate as to whether this is true film noir or not. Some elements fit the genre, while others definitely do not. It was a decent film, but I agree with Matt that some parts just seemed like lazy story telling. I found it amazing that

Spoiler

neither Robert Taylor nor Cyd Charisse got so much as a scratch while the police were firing blindly into The South Side Club when Rico and his boys all were killed.

.

 

[Robert Crawford]

Party Girl is indeed available via the TCM app through July 15th. I watched it last night -- it was my first time seeing this film. I can see the debate as to whether this is true film noir or not. Some elements fit the genre, while others definitely do not. It was a decent film, but I agree with Matt that some parts just seemed like lazy story telling. I found it amazing that

Spoiler

neither Robert Taylor nor Cyd Charisse got so much as a scratch while the police were firing blindly into The South Side Club when Rico and his boys all were killed.

.

I meant to post the same yesterday, but forgot. However, though it's available on the TCM app, it doesn't have Muller's comments, but Ben Mankiewicz's 2016 comments.

 

[Scott Merryfield]

I meant to post the same yesterday, but forgot. However, though it's available on the TCM app, it doesn't have Muller's comments, but Ben Mankiewicz's 2016 comments.

The version I watched last evening had the intro and post discussion from Muller, not Mankiewicz. I watched via the TCM app on Apple TV 4K. Odd that you got Mankiewicz's comments instead.

 

[Robert Crawford]

The version I watched last evening had the intro and post discussion from Muller, not Mankiewicz. I watched via the TCM app on Apple TV 4K. Odd that you got Mankiewicz's comments instead.

Yesterday, I clicked on Mankiewicz's comments as a separate "Intro" link. I never bother actually clicking on the movie itself to play it. Today, I decided to play the movie so I click on Party Girl and it began with the Noir Alley introduction followed by Muller's opening comments. You learn something new each day.

 

[Robert Crawford]

This morning I watched "The Time Of Their Lives" (1946) starring Abbott & Costello on DVD from the 2008 DVD "The Complete Universal Pictures Collection". I've always loved this film from my childhood as its among my three favorite A&C films. A ghost and comedy story line mixed together. Marjorie Reynolds was also in this film and was very good along with Binnie Barnes, a favorite character actress of mine. I actually watched this DVD twice as I discovered it had an audio commentary by film historian Frank Thompson.

 

[Robert Crawford]

My afternoon viewing was Arrow's UK BD release of "The Blue Dahlia" (1946) with Alan Ladd, Veronica Lake, William Bendix and Ward Cleaver, I mean Hugh Beaumont. It's not my favorite of the Ladd/Lake films, but it's a good film. The PQ of this Arrow release was good, but it's Region B. Some interesting Bonus material too. Based on that bonus material, I'm going to try to view "Somewhere in the Night" and "And Now Tomorrow" on DVD either tomorrow or the next day.

I've never seen "Somewhere in the Night" in its entirety from beginning to end. I know it's not one of Mankiewicz's best, but what a terrific cast.

 

[Robert Crawford]

I've never seen "And Now Tomorrow" and I know it's romantic melodrama which is different for Alan Ladd. Not so much with Loretta Young.

 

[Robert Crawford]

I've never seen "Somewhere in the Night" in its entirety from beginning to end. I know it's not one of Mankiewicz's best, but what a terrific cast.

After watching this film today, I have to correct myself as I remember every scene in this film so I probably have seen it beforehand in its entirety. Not a great film by any means, but highly entertaining film with some silly lines of dialogue as well as some really good quips. A great cast besides the female lead. The film's supporting cast reads like a Who's Who in Hollywood character actors. I mean they had Whit Bissell, Harry Morgan, Jeff Corey, John Kellogg and Richard Benedict and John Russell in bit parts. I noticed that Eddie Muller had an audio commentary on this DVD so I had to watch it again for his comments. Eddie was really funny and very informative with his comments about the film and its cast. This was Joe Mankiewicz's first film he directed after filling in for a sick Lubitsch on Dragonwyck. In a matter of a 4-5 years, he would win two Oscars in consecutive years for writing and directing.

 

[Robert Crawford]

It's been a many, many years since I watched Billy Budd (1962) in its entirety. This morning I watched it twice because of the Stamp and Soderbergh audio commentary. An excellent Blu-ray release from Warner Archive for a fine film.

 

[Robert Crawford]

Well, I finally started watching Michael Shayne films starring one of my old man's favorite actors, Lloyd Nolan. I've had these DVDs for years and never once watched them, but got in the mood for some more Nolan after watching "Somewhere in the Night". My first title was "Michael Shayne, Private Detective". I'm going to try to watch the films in film chronological order. I believe the only Nolan film I don't have is the last one "Time to Kill". Anyhow, over the next couple of weeks I plan to watch the remaining films I have on DVD. I've seen some of these films beforehand, but I don't have a vivid memory of any of them. Perhaps viewing these discs will trigger my memory as it did with "Somewhere in the Night". By the way, Nolan is a personal favorite of mine too as he appeared in some of my favorite films of all-time.

 

[Robert Crawford]

Now, it's time for "Roadblock" a Noir Alley showing.

 

[Peter Apruzzese]

I was up and watched Roadblock live last night. I hadn't seen it previously and enjoyed it very much.

 

[Scott Merryfield]

I'll have to check out Roadblock if it comes to the TCM app. I'm always up for film noirs I haven't seen previously.

 

[Robert Crawford]

I was up and watched Roadblock live last night. I hadn't seen it previously and enjoyed it very much.

I always thought the film was good, but I could never buy how the guilty party was found out. I always thought it was very weak. Maybe, it's just me. I thought Eddie's comments were kind of weak too especially his "after" comments. The final chase scene has been a favorite of mine because of the somewhat tie in to "Them" which is among my favorite films of all-time.