"They might see the big board"!
"They might see the big board"!
The older I get, the better I was.
Easiest way to get me to laugh: quote a line from Dr Strangelove, my all time favorite movie.
“From thirty feet away she looked like a lot of class. From ten feet away she looked like something made up to be seen from thirty feet away.” – Philip Marlowe
Well, after Gen. Jack Ripper, what else can you say. Hal, can you post Slim Pickens' reading of the survival kit?Originally Posted by Hal...
The older I get, the better I was.
Not off memory, if that's what you're asking.
But anyway...
Maj Kong: Survival kit contents check. In them you'll find: One forty-five caliber automatic; two boxes of ammunition; four days' concentrated emergency rations; one drug issue containing antibiotics, morphine, vitamin pills, pep pills, sleeping pills, tranquilizer pills; one miniature combination Russian phrase book and Bible; one hundred dollars in rubles; one hundred dollars in gold; nine packs of chewing gum; one issue of prophylactics; three lipsticks; three pair of nylon stockings.
Shoot, a fella' could have a pretty good weekend in Vegas with all that stuff.
Aside from that last line, the other one that gets me is the "combination Russian phrase book and Bible." Love that.
I'd say ¾ of the reason I love that movie so much is how absurd George C Scott's character is. The lines Kubrick & Terry Southern gave him are what makes the movie, for me. In fact, given the number of times I've seen this movie, Scott's lines are just about the only ones that still make me laugh out loud.
This is probably my favorite:
Pres Muffley (after hearing Gen Ripper's last comment before sending the planes in to bomb the USSR): This man is obviously a psychotic.
Gen Turgidson: Well, I'd hold off judgement on a thing like that, sir, until all the facts are in.
I also love the way Turgidson keeps putting in new pieces of gum in his mouth even tho he hasn't finished chewing the previous pieces.
“From thirty feet away she looked like a lot of class. From ten feet away she looked like something made up to be seen from thirty feet away.” – Philip Marlowe
Yet, chillingly real. It is such a great movie.
Off-topic, since it's a color film, I watched Brando in "Mutiny on the Bounty" last night. What a beautifully shot movie. Really striking to watch. Brando's hamming almost sunk that ship all by itself. (He was much better after the mutiny, though.) I think it's the first time I saw that one all the way through. Compared to the original (B&W and back on-topic) with Laughton and Gable, well, it just doesn't compare. Laughton was just so great in pretty much everything he did.
"The Cain Mutiny" was on after that, but I didn't watch it, as it was too late.
"The White Zone is for loading and unloading only. If you got to load or unload go to the White Zone!"
I read in Kubrick's bio that they based Turgidson & Ripper on Lyman Lemnitzer, who was the Chairman, and Curtis LeMay. Somehow they knew of the insanity in the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
Another thing about that movie was the set design. Kubrick invited some high ranking officers from the Air Force, maybe even SAC, to tour the set. Everything about the B-52 was classified so Kubrick & Ken Adam, the set designer, had no idea what it actually looked like. But when the AF officers saw the fictional B-52, they were in shock.
“From thirty feet away she looked like a lot of class. From ten feet away she looked like something made up to be seen from thirty feet away.” – Philip Marlowe
One of those movies in on ME-TV (Svengooli) tonight. "Straight Jacket." It's a B-movie, but Crawford plays it with dignity and respect for her craft. It's actually a pretty good movie (three stars) and has a cool twist at the end.
She plays a woman just released form a mental institution. Grisly axe murders start happening upon her return and she's suspected and not really sure, herself, if she's the culprit.
So, if you're willing to put up far too many commercial breaks, insipid routines and terrible jokes, I recommend checking it out, if you have nothing better to watch.
We'll be watching the first installments of the 2017 Twin Peaks series, which just arrived in the mail.
"The White Zone is for loading and unloading only. If you got to load or unload go to the White Zone!"
I've seen it a couple times. Not bad at all. I believe Robert Bloch of Psycho and "That Hell Bound Train" fame was the writer.
Lou
Looking forward to my day in court.
Looking for a great one to watch while everyone else is viewing the Oscars?
"Grand Hotel" is on tonight at 10 pm on TCM.
"The White Zone is for loading and unloading only. If you got to load or unload go to the White Zone!"
"The Public Enemy" (1931) with Cagney and "Little Caesar" (1930) with Edgar G on tomorrow night on TCM.
"The White Zone is for loading and unloading only. If you got to load or unload go to the White Zone!"
I am so there. Love 'em both.
Lou
Looking forward to my day in court.
I saw this recently recommended by Richard Roeper who previewed it on Dish TV...
Susan Hayward played the role most excellently, a woman too hard to handle.
I Want to Live! is a 1958 film noir written by Nelson Gidding and Don Mankiewicz, produced by Walter Wanger, and directed by Robert Wise, which tells the true story of a woman, Barbara Graham, an habitual criminal convicted of murder and facing execution. It stars Susan Hayward as Graham, and also features Simon Oakland, Stafford Repp, and Theodore Bikel. The movie was adapted from letters written by Graham and newspaper articles written by Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Ed Montgomery. It presents a somewhat fictionalized version of the case showing a possibility of innocence concerning Graham. Today, the charge would be known as felony murder.
The film earned six Oscar nominations, with Hayward winning a Best Actress Oscar at the 31st Academy Awards.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I_Want_to_Live!
Spoilers below:
She was a brunette bombshell, a diabolical dame, a femme fatale with a sordid past and unsavory ties to Los Angeles' criminal underworld. They called her "Bloody Babs."
"If any life could be squeezed into a one-dimensional archetype of the bad and beautiful female, it was that of Barbara Graham," Cal Poly history lecturer Kathleen A. Cairns writes in "Proof of Guilt: Barbara Graham and the Politics of Executing Women in America." "(Her) life story might have sprung from the imaginations of any of a number of hard-boiled fiction writers specializing in stories of ...voluptuous women who brandished their seductive charms as lethal weapons."
Charged along with two male friends in the murder of an elderly widow during a botched robbery attempt, Graham became the third woman to be executed by the state of California on June 3, 1955. Years later, her case - chronicled in a popular Hollywood movie - became a rallying cry for anti-death penalty activists.
Proof of Guilt: The Tragic Life and Public Death of Barbara Graham
by Sarah Linn (September 22, 2013)
https://www.kcet.org/shows/artbound/...barbara-graham
Late to the discussion, and I didn't read all 74 pages, but among my idea for best b&w films would be both Bergman's Wild Strawberries and Seventh Seal. Citizen Kane is always up for discussion, don't you think? Basic Film Noir, but a beautiful-looking film on top, is Out of the Past, plus Robert Mitchum is such a great wise-ass protagonist. Can't pick one. Seventh Seal. Probably.
Of possible interest to classic movie fans; Dick Churchill , the last surviving member of the POW escape that inspired the movie The Great Escape passed away . He was 99. One of my favorite movies , even though its not BW , I thought it was more at home here than in the other thread. Whats their nickname , The Greatest Generation? It fits.
Holy shit, John, I didn't think you still posted here.
I thought WS was a snooze fest, like most Bergman films (sacrilege, I know!). Persona is the equal to SS, imo....among my idea for best b&w films would be both Bergman's Wild Strawberries and Seventh Seal.
I will say this about Bergman, tho: his B&W movies are some of the most beautiful B&W movies you'll ever see.
Nope. Incredibly innovative and influential, yes! Incredibly boring, as well, imo.Citizen Kane is always up for discussion, don't you think?
I so hoped that would be a good movie. And I guess it was, for the most part, but I hated that ending.Basic Film Noir, but a beautiful-looking film on top, is Out of the Past, plus Robert Mitchum is such a great wise-ass protagonist.
the Maltese Falcon, Double Indemnity, The Big Sleep, and The Killers were all much better Film Noir movies, imo.
But, hey, good to see you around, John.
“From thirty feet away she looked like a lot of class. From ten feet away she looked like something made up to be seen from thirty feet away.” – Philip Marlowe
Speaking of Citizen Kane, I heard a story 30some years ago that the inside joke in CK is that "Rosebud" is the nickname William Randolph Hearst gave to Marion Davies' clitoris.
Rationally, I don't believe it. But there's still a part of me that wonders because I also think it's just the sort of joke Welles would make. And if so, is brilliant.
Anyone else ever hear this story?
“From thirty feet away she looked like a lot of class. From ten feet away she looked like something made up to be seen from thirty feet away.” – Philip Marlowe
Hal , must disagree on your take on Out Of The Past . Even though the ending is not a "happy" one , even by noir standards , I thought it was an asset .Haunting in a way. The cast is amazing , Douglas is fantastic, as is Mitchum. The others you list are great too , I just feel OOTP deserves a seat at their table.
Nope, but Rosebudd is a motherfuckin' PIMP, two d's for a double dose of dis pimpin'
https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x87kjp
I heard it was the nickname Hearst gave his pecker but I've got no substantiation on that
I don't like country music, but I don't mean to denigrate those who do. And for the people who like country music, denigrate means 'put down.'- Bob Newhart
Logan's Run is on late tonight on TCM! Haven't seen that in quite a while, but it's a 70s favorite. "I am Box!"
(Followed by 2001: A Space Odyssey - my real favorite!)
I saw that in the theater when it came out. It was the first PG-13 movie I saw that had nudity.
The things we remember from our teens.
"The White Zone is for loading and unloading only. If you got to load or unload go to the White Zone!"
My issue with the ending is not what was written but how it was written. Otherwise, I actually agree with just about everything you say.
Here's a Film Noir I don't think we've ever discussed: The Big Clock, made in '48, starring Ray Milland (it was remade in the late '80s as No Way Out with Kevin Costner). It's been a long time since I've seen it, but I remember really liking it. Anyone seen it?
“From thirty feet away she looked like a lot of class. From ten feet away she looked like something made up to be seen from thirty feet away.” – Philip Marlowe
BTW, when I was at the hospital today I saw Bullitt was being shown on TCM. I actually watch a good bit of it in the waiting room.
I wouldn't consider McQueen one of my favorites but he played some of the coolest characters ever.
“From thirty feet away she looked like a lot of class. From ten feet away she looked like something made up to be seen from thirty feet away.” – Philip Marlowe
I saw that in the theater too - my father took us, and even his mother! Yeah, Jenny Agutter was a sight to behold!I saw that in the theater when it came out. It was the first PG-13 movie I saw that had nudity.
The things we remember from our teens.
Another favorite. Elisa Manchester is a hoot. A lot of star power in this one. Cool premise.
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