a forum for classic movie fans (up to 1979)

dfordoom @ 06:22 pm: overlooked movies - the early 60s
The early 60s seems to me to be a rather neglected period of Hollywood history. 1967 is often seen as a watershed year, with the release of Bonnie and Clyde signalling a major change in the style of American movies. 1967 was also to be the last year of the Hollywood Production Code with the ratings system being introduced in the following year. But the early 60s is an odd transitionary period, caught between the 50s and the modern era. It did produce some interesting movies. Here are a few that I think are underrated or at least worth a look.

( underrated early 60s Hollywood movies )

dfordoom @ 10:41 am: Star of the Week - Lucille Ball
Our Star of the Week is Lucille Ball, who had quite a varied career in movies before switching to television. She even appeared in film noir, such as the very good Dark Corner.

What in your view were her most memorable movie performances? What were her greatest assets (or greatest weaknesses) as an actress?



Tags: star of the week

mistress_renata @ 03:00 pm: A CLASSICAL MOVIE BLOOPER


In the 1937 classic movie SAN QUENTIN starring Humphrey Bogart and Ann Sheridan there is a blooper. But you have to look quick to catch it for it is less than 15 seconds long. In the road gang escape scene, Bogart (playing Joe 'Red' Kennedy) and his accomplice famed actor Joe Sawyer (playing 'Sailor Boy' Hansen) are racing to beat the train to the intersection where, if they can, will allude the deputies in hot pursuit. All is correct until at one point you see Bogart, who is driving the get-away car, is suddenly seated on the right (wrong) side of the car and Sawyer is on the left--where the steering wheel ought to be. But less than 15 seconds later, they are both back in the correct position for a driver and passenger--Bogart on the left where the steering wheel is and Sawyer on the right in the passenger seat.

I had to run it 3 times to make sure I was not imagining it but it is there. So next time you are watching this Classic Bogart movie keep your eyes tuned to see it. And enjoy the movie as Bogart always came through with a great performance in my opinion.

X-posted.....

dfordoom @ 06:08 am: A Woman of Affairs (1928)
A silent movie on TCM in Australia is a very rare treat indeed. When it’s a Greta Garbo silent movie, and one I haven’t seen, it’s an ever rarer and more special treat. And A Woman of Affairs does not disappoint.

( more scandalous behaviour from Garbo behind cut )



Tags: films, silent films

ladylavinia @ 11:39 pm: "THE THIN MAN" (1934) Review



"THE THIN MAN" (1934) Review

I wrote this brief REVIEW of the 1934 mystery classic, "THE THIN MAN".

dfordoom @ 07:35 pm: not movies, but movie theatres
A post not about movies, but about movie theatres. This is inspired by a book I’m reading about lost buildings. Among the wonderful lost buildings the author talks about are the glorious old picture palaces built during the golden age of movies.

In Sydney we’re lucky to still have the most magnificent of all Australian picture palaces, the State Theatre. But all the others are gone.

Do you still have any of the great old movie palaces in your city or town? Do you have any find memories of these temples to the art and the magic of cinema?



The State Theatre, Sydney

dfordoom @ 03:21 pm: Please, Not Now! (1961)
Please, Not Now! (La Bride sur le cou) is a lightweight but a amusing French comedy. It was undoubtedly considered a little on the risque side in 1961 although it seems rather quaintly tame today. It succeeds mostly because of its star, Brigitte Bardot. She’s likeable, zany without being annoying, and utterly charming. She’s also a more than competent comic actress.

( more behind cut )

dfordoom @ 05:45 pm: Star of the Week - Curd Jürgens
This week our Star of the Week is Curd Jürgens. What are your favourite movie appearances by this actor? What is it you like most, or like least, about him as an actor?

I’m particularly find of his performance in Ferry to Hong Kong, an odd little film in which he co-starred with Orson Welles. It’s a movie I’m insanely fond of, although I can’t rally explain why.



Tags: star of the week

ladylavinia @ 08:53 pm: "THE LADY EVE" (1941) Review



"THE LADY EVE" (1941) Review

I wrote this REVIEW of the 1941 comedy classic, "THE LADY EVE". Directed by Preston Sturges, the movie starred Barbara Stanwyck and Henry Fonda.

dfordoom @ 09:27 pm: Hôtel du Nord (1938)
I’ve now seen quite a few examples of French film noir from the late 1930s, and I’m completely addicted. Hôtel du Nord, directed by Marcel Carné, is a perfect specimen.

( more on this great film behind cut )



Tags: film noir, films

ladylavinia @ 01:55 pm: Karl Malden (1912-2009)



KARL MALDEN (1912-2009)

Karl Malden, one of the stars of TV's "THE STREETS OF SAN FRANCISCO", just passed away, today, at the age of 97. Aside from the famous television series from the 1970s; he appeared in movies like "ON THE WATERFRONT" (1954) with Marlon Brando, "BABY DOLL" (1956), "GYPSY" (1962), "HOW THE WEST WAS WON" (1962), "PATTON" (1970) and also "A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE" (1951), for which he won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor:

ARTICLE

dfordoom @ 10:29 pm: overlooked movies - the 40s
monsterofmud's recent post inspired me to do this. As he points out, "best of" movie lists are rarely interesting since there's generally just the usual suspects and if you're a serious movie fan you've seen most of them and have your own opinions on them already. So, a list of movies from the 1940s that aren't claimed to be the greatest of that decade, but I think they're all worth watching for one reason or another.

( Here's my list )

dfordoom @ 08:38 pm: dads in the movies
Do you have any favourite classic movies dealing with the subject of fatherhood, or fathers? They can be movies about great dads, or about monstrous ones!

dfordoom @ 06:35 am: Star of the Week - Kim Novak
Our Star of the Week is Kim Novak.

What in your view were her most memorable movie performances? What were her greatest assets (or greatest weaknesses) as an actress?



Tags: star of the week

dfordoom @ 07:51 am: trains and romance
On cult_movie we've been talking about the use of trains as settings for horror movies. But the inherent atmosphere and energy of train travel can be used by movie-makers for another very different purpose - for romance. Do you have any favourite romances set mainly on trains? Or involving trains in a major way?

Or any favourite love scenes on trains?

ladylavinia @ 07:22 pm: "BULLITT" (1968) Review



"BULLITT" (1968) Review

I wrote this REVIEW of the 1968 crime classic, "BULLITT". Directed by Peter Yates, the movie starred Steve McQueen.

jahrhundert @ 08:25 pm: Views on Nazi Germany's films
I posted on my film blog about Detlef Sierk's (Douglas Sirk) La Habanera and wanted to know what people in this community thought about Nazi cinema.

Do you think that it's all propaganda? Do you believe that any of their entertainment films were "clean" and didn't have any Nazi ideology in them? Is it even bad to have any Nazi ideology in these films since they could just be a product of their time? American films are probably loaded with American ideals as well but is it because these films were produced in Nazi Germany that somehow it is labeled as propaganda? I have conflicted views on Nazi cinema and thought that it would be interesting if we could get a discussion going.

For those who want to read my entry on La Habanera, check it out here: http://sachlichkeit.net
ZARAH LEANDER NEEDS MORE ATTENTION! What a fabulous actress, singer, and performer.

ladylavinia @ 05:28 pm: "THE SIGN OF THE CROSS" (1932) Photo Gallery and Video Clips


Here is a LINK to a gallery of photos and video clips from the 1932 Cecil B. DeMille classic, "THE SIGN OF THE CROSS". The movie starred Fredric March, Claudette Colbert, Elissa Landi and Charles Laughton.

dfordoom @ 09:46 pm: Human Desire (1954)
I decided to follow up Jean Renoir’s La Bête humaine (The Human Beast) by watching Fritz Lang’s 1954 American remake, Human Desire. In this case it really is a remake, since Lang based his production on Renoir’s film, and not on Zola’s novel. In fact there’s speculation that Lang didn’t even bother to read the novel!

( more behind cut )

jahrhundert @ 09:23 pm: PABST LOVE!
I finally finished my G.W. Pabst marathon on my blog so if you are interested in reading about my musings, please check them out!
http://sachlichkeit.net

I posted on:
Die Dreigroschenoper (The Threepenny Opera)
Tagebuch einer Verlorenen (Diary of a Lost Girl)
Die Büchse der Pandora (Pandora’s Box)
Die Liebe der Jeanne Ney (The Love of Jeanne Ney)
Geheimnisse einer Seele (Secrets of a Soul)

You can find them by simply typing in "pabst" in the search box.

If anyone wants to contribute to the blog by submitting a blog entry about a Pabst film, that would be great, especially on a film I didn't cover. Pabst needs more love outside of just people who like Pandora's Box. Most people don't even care about Pabst's part in Pandora's Box and only talk about Louise Brooks, which upsets me.