Crawdaddy's "Random Thoughts" about Home Video, Film & TV (3 Viewers)

[Robert Crawford]

Key Largo. I can't believe I haven't seen this film before (or don't remember from perhaps a 60s TV viewing). Top notch writing, directing and acting all around. Robinson and Trevor are definitely the stand outs, but don't forget Barrymore. His helplessness and despair in the wake of Rocco was heartbreaking and palpable, and when also he's told the Osceolas were dead.

The fun Muller comment was the bit actor who went on to invest $5,000 to start Hamburger Hamlet, which later sold in 1987 for $33 Million. I contributed to that fund having many meetings with my agent at the Hamlet on Sunset right at Doheny in the 80s before it sold. That was the business lunch location. There also was one right on Hollywood Boulevard across from the Chinese Theater. That was the tourist mecca location. Location location location.

Yeah, I didn't know that story and frankly I didn't remember anything about that hamburger chain. It seems like they got out at the right time.

https://www.latimes.com/local/obituaries/la-me-marilyn-lewis-20170505-story.html

 

[Matt Hough]

I watched the whole thing in one big gulp rather than just Eddie's opening and closing comments and the movie itself on Blu-ray. I'll save that viewing for another time when I really want to be blown away by the visual quality which, as I recall, was a bit sharper than the HD broadcast on TCM.

Yes, Eddie comes through once again with another interesting and informative set of opening and closing commentary. I, too, think Lionel Barrymore deserves kudos for his work. You could really feel his pain and misery over the death of those brothers.

Looking forward to next week's Bogie movie, too. It's not one I've seen very often.

 

[Robert Crawford]

Yes, Lionel Barrymore was really good and I always got a kick out of that line from Edward G. about not giving him that gun because he'll use it. That was a very effective scene about the Osceola brothers.

 

[Robert Crawford]

Looking forward to next week's Bogie movie, too. It's not one I've seen very often.

That film has its critics on this forum as I think one of friends from across the pond really hates that film. IMO, an okay film that was directed by James Cromwell's father.

 

[Robert Crawford]

Today, I received the book "City Boys" by Robert Sklar about Cagney, Bogart and Garfield. Has anybody read this book which was released back in 1992?

 

[Robert Crawford]

I spent some time on Wednesday watching the two following movies on the TCM app even though I own the Warner Archive DVD releases. The "The Man with a Cloak" (1951) is an interesting film with a great cast that I haven't seen in about ten years or whenever the DVD came out. A twist of an ending for this film noir/mystery/crime film that takes place in 1844 in NYC surrounding a murder plot involving an elderly wealthy man and his plotting housekeeper along with a newly arrived young woman from Paris and her recent acquaintance with drunkard, but poor poet named Dupin.

My second film also starred Joseph Cotten "Walk Softly, Stranger" (1950). This is one film that I never watched from beginning to end until today even though I owned the DVD. Over the years, it's one of those movies you've seen on TCM and watched bits and pieces of it, but never seem to find time to watch the movie in its entirety. Robert Stevenson directed this drama with some film noir elements in it. This RKO movie was filmed in 1948, but wasn't released until two years later in 1950 due to Howard Hughes again messing with another movie release. Not a great movie by any means, but intriguing with its concept about a mysterious man who returns to his hometown and romances a rich, young woman that has been crippled by a skiing accident. IMO, a pretty good movie with some crime and larceny thrown in along with a good cast of actors. Interesting seeing Jack Parr in this film's cast before his television career. Also, I believe this movie was filmed before, but was released after "The Third Man" which also starred Cotten and Valli. From what I can gather this movie lost money for RKO.

 

[Matt Hough]

Thanks so much for alerting me to these two movies, neither of which I have seen. I was particularly surprised to see Barbara Stanwyck taking second billing to Joseph Cotten in The Man with a Cloak. I never would have guessed that would have happened. Can't wait to see these.

 

[Robert Crawford]

Thanks so much for alerting me to these two movies, neither of which I have seen. I was particularly surprised to see Barbara Stanwyck taking second billing to Joseph Cotten in The Man with a Cloak. I never would have guessed that would have happened. Can't wait to see these.

Both films have expired on the TCM app, but they play often on the channel so I'll be on the lookout for future showings.

Leslie Caron is really young in this film, perhaps she's about 20 years old.

 

[Matt Hough]

Ack! OK, thanks for the tip. I did record The Prize last night since I haven't bought the Warner Archive Blu-ray of it, so I guess I can watch that instead. Also, we have Elementary coming back to us for 13 weeks.

 

[Robert Crawford]

Mike Clark's Blu-ray review of "Summer Stock".

https://www.mediaplaynews.com/summer-stock-review/

 

[Robert Crawford]

Revised "Noir Alley" Schedule with "Dead Reckoning" (1947) added for this week's showing and Thieves' Highway (1949) added to July 27th. I'm expecting some schedule changes after July.

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: The Bribe (1949)
10-12-19: Clash By Night (1952)
10-19-19: This Gun For Hire (1942)
10-26-19: A Woman's Secret (1949)
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: I Died a Thousand Times (1955)
12-28-19: Repeat Performance (1947)
01-04-20: The Big Sleep (1946)
01-11-20: The Captive City (1952)
01-18-20: The Big Night (1951)

http://noiralley.tcm.com/images/pages/schedule/TCM-00125_NoirAlley-Schedule.pdf

The following link has all of the Noir Showings since their launch.

https://letterboxd.com/maxvayne/list/turner-classic-movies-noir-alley-hosted-by/

 

[Robert Crawford]

I watched "Sands of Iwo Jima" again. It's one of those films that I have memorized because of so many prior viewings. One of my favorite scenes in the film is the one in Julie Bishop's apartment. That wasn't always the case, but the older I got, the more appreciated the context of that film sequence that started off in a bar and ending in that apartment. The following dialogue kind of places context for me. A really good film and one of Wayne's best acting performances.

John M. Stryker/JohnWayne: Well, I guess into each life a little rain must fall.

Mary the bargirl/Julie Bishop: There are a lot tougher ways of making a living than going to war.

The second film I watched today was "Flags of Our Fathers". A great film that leaves me crying throughout its run time. Eastwood did an excellent job directing this film as well as "Letters from Iwo Jima".

 

[Robert Crawford]

Hubba, Hubba! I know Liz Scott had her critics about her acting ability, but she was one good looking woman with her husky voice that I found extremely sexy.

 

[Hollywoodaholic]

Dead Reckoning. A sleeper. Meaning I literally dozed off. Too much droning narration. Too many fake glycerin tear streaks down Liz Scott's face. Too much dubbed singing. Too many fake fake driving sequences against poor rear screen. Slow pace. Predictable plot made unnecessarily confusing. And it took FIVE writers to come up with this?

 

[Robert Crawford]

Dead Reckoning. A sleeper. Meaning I literally dozed off. Too much droning narration. Too many fake glycerin tear streaks down Liz Scott's face. Too much dubbed singing. Too many fake fake driving sequences against poor rear screen. Slow pace. Predictable plot made unnecessarily confusing. And it took FIVE writers to come up with this?

As I stated earlier in this thread, "Dead Reckoning" has its critics. IMO, it's an okay film, not one of Bogart's best. The film could have been cut another 10 minutes which might have helped, but better writing was needed here. Eddie's comments were lacking a bit for me as I wanted him to talk about John Cromwell more and he didn't even mention his son James Cromwell. I do hope this film gets a Blu-ray release one day as the transfer used on TCM's broadcast appears to be slightly better than my 2003 DVD.

 

[Robert Crawford]

This morning I also watched my HD stream of "Stalag 17". I really like this fine film, but I have to admit the older I get the more annoyed I get with Robert Strauss's character. He kind of got on my nerves, particularly the dance sequence at the Christmas party. Look at the movie poster below. Perhaps, it's just me being a cranky old man this morning. Otherwise, a great film.

 

[Matt Hough]

I did appreciate Eddie's end-of-film comments about two of the key supporting actors in Dead Reckoning. I didn't know much about either one of them, and what he had to say was illuminating to say the least.

Yeah, the movie is too long, and Ms. Scott doesn't disguise her villainy very well (or maybe we should blame that mostly on the writers who make her an obvious villain). Can't you imagine Raymond Burr playing Marvin Miller's role? Anyway, looking forward to next week's comments on The Asphalt Jungle.

 

[Robert Crawford]

I did appreciate Eddie's end-of-film comments about two of the key supporting actors in Dead Reckoning. I didn't know much about either one of them, and what he had to say was illuminating to say the least.

Yeah, the movie is too long, and Ms. Scott doesn't disguise her villainy very well (or maybe we should blame that mostly on the writers who make her an obvious villain). Can't you imagine Raymond Burr playing Marvin Miller's role? Anyway, looking forward to next week's comments on The Asphalt Jungle.

You're right, his end-of-film comments were better than this before film commentary. I did know a little about Wallace Ford as well as Morris Carnovsky and the Group Theatre.

 

[Robert Crawford]

This evening's viewing is the HD Digital stream of "The Gunfighter" (1950)

 

[Cranston37+]

Anyway, looking forward to next week's comments on The Asphalt Jungle.

"The Asphalt Jungle" includes the exact moment I fell in love with noir. No it wasn't an entire movie, it was a moment.

I had already seen a number of noirs and enjoyed them, but then Jean Hagen peels off her fake eyelash, proceeds to do the rest of the scene with one on, one off, then at the end of the scene she peels the other one off...

I had been so used to Hollywood actresses being photographed so perfectly, under the best lighting, from the best angle, with heavy filters...

When I saw how this played out I "got" noir.