May 2013 Classic & Film Noir Film Challenge (1 Viewer)

[PatW]

Larceny Inc. (1942) (dvd) 4/5

Fun comedy about two bumbling crooks freshly out of prison who buy a failing luggage shop next door to a bank. Fortunately or unfortunately depending on how you look at it, the shop becomes a success. Anthony Quinn plays a vicious criminal who breaks out of prison and tries to force our loveable trio to go along with his plans. One of the funniest scenes ever was Edward G. Robinson trying to wrap a piece of luggage. This is comedy gold.

The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951) (bluray) 5/5

Watching this early sci-fi movie makes me realize how much much I hated the remake. I never get tired of watching this one.

 

[Robert Crawford]

Last weekend, I viewed And Then There Were None (1945) and The Strange Love of Martha Ivers. Both films among my personal favorites.

 

[Michael Elliott]

Torchy Runs for Mayor (1939)** 1/2 (out of 4)The eighth film in the Warner series turned out to be Glenda Farrell's last as she would walk away from the series after appearing in seven of the films. This time out she's trying to bring down a group of racketeers and dirty politicians but to do so she must put herself in danger by trying to run against them for the Mayor office. TORCHY RUNS FOR MAYOR isn't going to win any awards but there's enough going in it to make it worth watching for fans of the series. The story itself is pretty much your typical "B" plot that you could find in dozens of Warner pictures. We've got the dirty gangster who is using money to get into politics. You've got the cops and newspaper editors who are too scared to stand up against them. You then have the hero who will stop at nothing to bring them down. I do wonder why the gangsters would kill anyone who got in their way yet they seem to let Torchy do pretty much anything instead of just knocking her off. Farrell is in pretty good form here as she once again has no problem slipping into the role. The screenplay actually doesn't give her too much to do and there's a good portion of the film where she doesn't appear at all. Both Barton MacLane and Tom Kennedy are good in their parts but they too really aren't given anything special to do. Director Ray McCarey at least keeps the 60-minute running time moving at a fast pace and there's certainly nothing harmful here.


Torchy Blane... Playing with Dynamite (1939)** (out of 4)The ninth and final film in the series finds Glenda Farrell and Barton MacLane being replaced by Jane Wyman and Allen Jenkins. This time out Torchy has herself thrown into jail so that she can get close to a gangster's girlfriend (Sheila Bromley). The plan is for the two to get close and Torchy hopes that the girlfriend will then lead her to the gangster where Lt. McBride and Gahagan (Tom Kennedy) will arrest him. TORCHY BLANE... PLAYING WITH DYNAMITE really isn't all that bad when you consider it's the ninth film in a series but there's still no question that the only ones who need watch it are those who watched the previous eight and just want to say they've seen everything in the series. I think there are some good moments scattered around but even at just 59-minutes there's just not enough going on to keep you fully entertained. I thought both Wyman and Jenkins were good in their roles and I thought their chemistry and back and forth nature made for some entertainment. Bromley was also attractive in her part as is Eddie Marr as the gangster. Kennedy doesn't get as many poems to read but that's okay because it's still nice seeing him appear for his ninth time. The story itself has quite a few plot holes and there are many logical issues but these here shouldn't be taken too serious. After all, this is a "B" picture that was probably made in a week or two.

 

[Michael Elliott]

Larceny Inc. (1942) (dvd) 4/5

Fun comedy about two bumbling crooks freshly out of prison who buy a failing luggage shop next door to a bank. Fortunately or unfortunately depending on how you look at it, the shop becomes a success. Anthony Quinn plays a vicious criminal who breaks out of prison and tries to force our loveable trio to go along with his plans. One of the funniest scenes ever was Edward G. Robinson trying to wrap a piece of luggage. This is comedy gold.

The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951) (bluray) 5/5

Watching this early sci-fi movie makes me realize how much much I hated the remake. I never get tired of watching this one.

It seems now that LARCENY is "available" that it would get a much bigger following. I agree that it's a pure classic and much better than Woody Allen's remake SMALL TIME CROOKS. I've seen the majority of the films Robinson appeared in and while he'll always be remembered as a tough guy, his comedy was extremely good.

DAY is also one of my favorites.

 

[Robert Crawford]

This morning I viewed the BD of Leave Her to Heaven. A great film and the disc quality was excellent. The best this film will ever look due to the film element restrictions.

 

[Robert Crawford]

On Saturday, I viewed Cloak and Dagger starring Gary Cooper. Also watched Ministry of Fear and An Officer and a Gentleman this weekend. I can't believer it's been 31 years since the latter film was released. All viewings were BD presentations.

 

[Michael Elliott]

The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962)**** (out of 4)John Ford's classic about a lawyer (James Stewart) who comes out West to discover that his idea of law and order doesn't carry any weight. This is especially proved when he falls victim to a brutal attack by the thug Liberty Valance (Lee Marvin) who doesn't fear a law book but only a gun, which is told to the lawyer by gunslinger Tom Doniphon (John Wayne). If THE MAN WHO SHOT LIBERTY VALANCE isn't the greatest Western ever made it's certainly right up there and I certainly think it's the greatest Western from Ford. There's no question that the director made all sorts of great films but this one here is just pure gold thanks in large part to its story and the wonderful direction but of course there's also the terrific cast that carries everything. Yes, both Wayne and Stewart are too old for their parts but this here really doesn't matter or hamper the film because both of them are just so great in the roles that fans want to see them in. Wayne is playing the typical tough guy, Stewart the lovable weak fellow and then we have Marvin turning in one of the strongest performances of his career as the hated Valance. The three actors are simply so excellent in their roles that you can't help but constantly have a smile on your face and especially during a sequence early in the picture when the three get into an argument inside a restaurant. This sequence here has to go down as one of the greatest and most tense things Ford ever did. The supporting cast also features excellent work from the likes of Vera Miles, John Carradine, Andy Devine, Ken Murray, Edmond O'Brien, Woody Strode and not to mention Marvin's sidekicks played by Strother Martin and Lee Van Cleef. The B&W cinematography really captures the era that the film is set and I really don't think the story would have worked as well in color. The bit about "printing the legend" works so well here because of the B&W. The film has some great tension but there's also a lot of heart, comedy and a couple great beatings. The film is certainly one of the highlights of the genre.

 

[PatW]

Michael, I never saw Small Time Crooks. I'll have to make a point of looking for it.

Francis of Assisi (1961) (tcm) 3.5/5

Reverent account of the life of this saint. Growing up Catholic his life certainly has a lot of meaning. I was surprised that Bradford Dillman did so well.

The Shop Around the Corner (1940) (dvd) 4.5/5

I have a lot of affection for this movie. Though I liked You've Got Mail, this one beats it hands down. Though I've loved Stewart in most everything he's done, this one is one of his best.

 

[PatW]

I've watched recently:Zulu (1964) (bluray) 4/5Jason & the Argonauts (1963) (bluray) 4/5Suspicion (1941) (PBS) 3.5/5I had written reviews for each movie but then for some reason I lost it while looking up something. So the hell with it.So in a nutshell, Zulu was beautifully shot, bluray stellar with crappy audio; Jason was a particular childhood favourite and Suspicion was going along great but copped out with that ending. I expected better from Hitchcock, but still a good movie.

 

[Ruz-El]

Oh rats! I didn't realize this challenge was going on, I would of participated! I keep track of the films I watch, I might make a list of what counted.

 

[PatW]

A Night to Remember (1958) (bluray) 5/5

My favourite of all the movies about the sinking of the Titanic. Everyone working on this film tried to get it right and it was a fairly accurate rendition of the
events at that time. What was nice is on the Criterion bluray, they interviewed one of the few survivors left. I think her interview was conducted in 1990. Anyway she had quite vivid recollections of that night and distinctly said she saw the boat break in two. For the longest time it was ignored as being the faulty memory of a child but it did happen like that as was later proved. Ironically the movie depicts the boat sinking in one piece so someone didn't get the memo. I owned this on dvd shortly after it was released and unfortunately it developed the infamous dvd rot. I was heartbroken but vowed not to replace . I eventually weakened though and bought the bluray.

So this is the end of my challenge this month. Once again I didn't watch as many as I thought I would. Real life has a habit of intruding.

Total movies watched: 16

New movies watched: 6

Least favourite: Francis of Assisi ( I really liked this movie, so there wasn't really a least favourite but perhaps one that I wouldn't watch as much.

Favourite New Movie: Strange Cargo

Overall Favourite Movie: The Day the Earth Stood Still

 

[Robert Crawford]

I've got a lot of titles to add here including White Heat and Champion as well as some vintage WWII War films.